Some Good News

[Paulchili]

1 minute ago, pinotlover said:

I personally believe Oceania, as well as other lines, will start sailing in 2020. It just may not be from US ports. Crystal has already announced they are. 

This , of course, implies flying to the embarkation port that could be in Carib or Europe or Asia.

Not sure how excited people are about flying long distances at the moment. Granted, things could be very different in December (or not).

[ORV]

I can't say exactly who but I did read a quote recently from either Fain or the President of Carnival, that they could have a ship ready to sail in 30 days. 

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, Paulchili said:

This , of course, implies flying to the embarkation port that could be in Carib or Europe or Asia.

Not sure how excited people are about flying long distances at the moment. Granted, things could be very different in December (or not).

also that some Countries will allow Americans to enter by the time the ships start sailing

So far  they are not allowed in

[clo]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

I personally believe Oceania, as well as other lines, will start sailing in 2020.

That's just the old "think/feel/believe" thing, right? Not based on anything? I see Croatia is opening. BFD. The rest of the EU, S. America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, lots/most of Asia????

[pinotlover]

Our next cruise is Istanbul-Dubai. Most of the flights, booked through UA on miles, is on Turkish Airlines. They are restarting flights 7 days per week again from the US. They are open now for US tourists. Turkey is not part of the EU. Israel has announced they are reopening also.

 

Interesting read on new Turkish Airlines procedures. For international flights, you’ll be called individually or by seats for boarding, no more mass line ups! Temperature checks and pre boarding survey. Most interesting part I hadn’t heard before is the new limitations for carry ons. Basically small handheld or small backpacks only. No more suitcases or any other larger items. Most everything gets checked at the front counter! Sounds like boarding will start early to gate check everything they are now banning being brought aboard.

Edited July 17, 2020 by pinotlover

[marylovestotravel]

23 hours ago, pinotlover said:

. Do you believe that it will be that in 6.5 months when we’re supposed to sail ( their summer)! Do you predict everything to just remain static in the world? 
 

I personally believe that the conditions will be very different come late Jan 2021. I’m certainly  not cancelling cruises now for future dates. A lot will evolve between now and then!

 

On the bright side, it appears Crystal is going to start sailing soon in the Carribe! 

 

I know it sounds very pessimistic, but I personally feel that we should be very cautious going forward.

 

We were suppose to sail from Lima to Buenos Aires Mar 15, 2020. Even with news of the virus spreading, I was confident that we would be able to sail and get home safely as, after all, South America is about as far away from China as you can get! Then the disastrous news from the Diamond Princess and other cruise ships made cruising a bit chancy - but we were still going. After constant urging from my Dr Daughter, (who was experiencing the begining of care home shut-downs), we finally pulled the plug 2 days before we were leaving for Lima. On Mar 13 Oceania cancelled all cruises. As the countries in South America shut down,  Marina was not even allowed to dock in Lima to disembark passengers. Or in Chile. Many on our roll call who had continued, had difficulty getting home before Lima closed the airport. Some didn't get home until weeks later.

 

This is suppose to be our replacement for the cruise that did not happen, but you can't blame me for being cautious about committing when we felt we missed the bullet last time. We look forward to visiting South America and doing the Cape Horn transit. We've done a lot of planning. But we have to be pragmatic as well. I have a little background in microbiology and that is a reminder that we don't necessarily have the grip on infection control that we think we have. As it is, at this point in time, infections are at an all time high, and climbing.

 

I think the situation could evolve in a very positive manner and we can get better control of the pandemic, but that requires all countries to be very serious about the way they handle the medical crisis. As they say - it's a small world!

 

Mia

 

 

 

 

 

[clo]

59 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Israel has announced they are reopening also.

Just saw this a couple of days ago re Israel:

 

"

But that wasn’t the end of the story. The country is now seeing a fiftyfold increase in new cases and is starting to shut down pubs, pools and gyms once again. The government is now wondering whether Israel reopened too soon".

 

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, pinotlover said:

Most of the flights, booked through UA on miles, is on Turkish Airlines

If you are flying in business on Turkish you will be pleasantly surprised and should be very pleased.

We were. IME it beats all other European business classes including the likes of Lufthansa, British, etc

[pinotlover]

37 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

If you are flying in business on Turkish you will be pleasantly surprised and should be very pleased.

We were. IME it beats all other European business classes including the likes of Lufthansa, British, etc

Business Class it is! 

[Paulchili]

33 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Business Class it is! 

Hope the cruise and the flight on TK works out for you.

It’s a great itinerary.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Paulchili

[clo]

2 hours ago, Paulchili said:

If you are flying in business on Turkish you will be pleasantly surprised and should be very pleased.

We were. IME it beats all other European business classes including the likes of Lufthansa, British, etc

I've not been to the new terminal in Istanbul but the previous business class lounge was incredible.

[pinotlover]

The TK part of our flights are ORD-IST then DUB-IST-ORD. Expecting great flights on TK!

 

Hopefully it goes!

[Paulchili]

33 minutes ago, clo said:

I've not been to the new terminal in Istanbul but the previous business class lounge was incredible.

It is one of the nicest lounges and so many wonderful food choices.

[clo]

15 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

It is one of the nicest lounges and so many wonderful food choices.

In the new terminal? If so, good to know.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, clo said:

In the new terminal? If so, good to know.

Not 100% sure but I believe it was in the new terminal.

[tvmovielover]

We used the business lounge in early 2019 transiting to and from India.  I believe it was the new terminal-if not,I will try to go through IST again to compare.  The number of food choices was so large that I did not find out there was a lower floor with even more choices until the return trip.  Even with many people present, it was not difficult to find a comfortable place to sit and eat, etc.  Turkish is a great airline even in the main cabin.

[dj_crusin]

We just received another notice reducing our time for final payment from 120 to 60 days on our 30 day cruise in December.

Dan

[roger b]

On 7/31/2020 at 5:01 PM, dj_crusin said:

We just received another notice reducing our time for final payment from 120 to 60 days on our 30 day cruise in December.

Dan

 Can you please post this notice  Cheers !!

[GeorgesGal]

On 7/31/2020 at 12:01 PM, dj_crusin said:

We just received another notice reducing our time for final payment from 120 to 60 days on our 30 day cruise in December.

Dan

Dan, which ship and sailing, please?  I have 12-20 Riviera booked and haven't received anything.  Perhaps my TA isn't forwarding?

[Hawaiidan]

As up date  saw on MSNBC.....   All the cruise lines Royal, Carnival,Norwegian  and others said they will now not start till AFTER   October 31..... a cute way of saying November !

 

[deadzone1003]

47 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

As up date  saw on MSNBC.....   All the cruise lines Royal, Carnival,Norwegian  and others said they will now not start till AFTER   October 31..... a cute way of saying November !

 

I think you can't even access October cruises right now on Oceania's website.  So, they have been deleted. We have to wait another 30 days until they cancel November cruises.

[dj_crusin]

Guest Names: Cruise: MARINA 19DEC2020 xxxxxxxx Group #: xxxxxxxx Invoice #:    Travel Agency: DAN..................   Travel Agent: .............   Update to Cancellation Penalty Policy  on your Upcoming Cruise   Dear Valued Guests and Travel Advisors,   We have amended the final payment date for 2020 voyage departures to 60 days prior to departure. Up until the 60-day mark, you will incur no penalties, including admin fees, for cancelling.  Cancellations made within 60 days of departure will incur our published cancellation penalties. We hope that this change provides you with an extra measure of flexibility and peace of mind.   We look forward to welcoming you aboard.   Sincerely,   Carlos E. Ortega Vice President, Guest Services        This eMail was sent by: Oceania Cruises 7665 Corporate Center Dr. Miami, FL. 33126, USA

 

[Redtravel]

Anything further out than 90 days is outrageous.  The only line that I have ever paid more than more than 90 days before sailing was on Viking. most on Viking was 150 days.  Just because a cruise line or travel agency asks for a final payment by a specific date, they often will adjust if asked.  I am amazed at how many people just pay up way in advance. They often complain, but never ask for an extension.  In this new time of the pandemic when nothing is sailing, you should be able to dictate your dates. That's if you still really want to sail.  With the news coming from the few ships that have attempted to sail unsuccessfully, I doubt that bookings will happen much until safe.

[jonthomas]

Yes I agree with you .

[ORV]

15 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Anything further out than 90 days is outrageous.  The only line that I have ever paid more than more than 90 days before sailing was on Viking. most on Viking was 150 days.  Just because a cruise line or travel agency asks for a final payment by a specific date, they often will adjust if asked.  I am amazed at how many people just pay up way in advance. They often complain, but never ask for an extension.  In this new time of the pandemic when nothing is sailing, you should be able to dictate your dates. That's if you still really want to sail.  With the news coming from the few ships that have attempted to sail unsuccessfully, I doubt that bookings will happen much until safe.

Well I've never heard of such, really? Have you tried dictating to them the price you'd prefer to pay also? 

 

Does this work with credit card companies also?