Ships to sail at reduced capacity until AT LEAST 2022

[Saint Greg]

7 minutes ago, seaman11 said:

its not disgusting . i find it relaxing.  

 

[PhillyFan33579]

4 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

Actually skridge - they market themselves as the FUN cruise line. I'm guessing widower's and single people like to have fun. We like Carnival for just this reason. Even the old folks like to have fun. That's generally true with RCCL but not as much and definitely not true with Celebrity in OUR experience. We like being around people who are fun, like to engage in conversation, and like to laugh. On Carnival - we have found that to include people of all ages.

My experience has been significantly different than yours. I have had just as much fun if not more fun on cruises on RCI and Celebrity. However, especially when cruising in the Caribbean, I am more about the ship than the ports, and Carnival ships pale in comparison to RCI and Celebrity ships. But Carnival clearly wins when it comes to rude and obnoxious behavior. We (my wife and I) witness that on almost every Carnival cruise we go on. We have personally never seen behavior any where near this on RCI and Celebrity cruises. 

[Computer Nerd]

11 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

Are we even sure the general public, outside of cruising fanatics, will even want to take a cruise vacation? Cruising in my local market (less than an hour from several major cruise terminals) has been extremely popular pre-Covid but most people I talk to aren’t interested or are exploring other future vacation opportunities. They might not even have to limit capacity much if there isn’t an interest.

You're talking to the wrong people!

 

Ready to cruise? yes, Yes, YES!!!

[Computer Nerd]

10 hours ago, SDPadreFan said:

If my wife passes before me, I'll just stop cruising under the current rules. After 24 years in the Navy, I'll do just fine not cruising. If I pass first - I've already given my blessing for my wife to shack up with the pool boy (not that she needs my blessing). But if she remarries, she loses my military retirement Survivor Benefit Plan benefit. So just shacking up would be the best financial decision.

She would also lose her military ID meaning commissary, BX, and Tricare access. I too have told my wife to shack up and do whatever but don't ever remarry....unless it's to another military retiree.

[skridge]

10 hours ago, Roz said:

I'm a solo and I pay double.  What's the difference?

The difference is I can fit my family in one room yet they are going to penalize me and charge me for two rooms.  I don't agree with that. That is my opinion.  I am writing that is my opinion at the end of every post now in hopes the keyboard warriors will not attack me.  It is not helping.

[sanger727]

20 minutes ago, skridge said:

The difference is I can fit my family in one room yet they are going to penalize me and charge me for two rooms.  I don't agree with that. That is my opinion.  I am writing that is my opinion at the end of every post now in hopes the keyboard warriors will not attack me.  It is not helping.

If they do try to sail with reduced capacity, I agree that from a business standpoint it makes a lot more sense for them to encourage solo cruisers and discourage bookings with more than 2 per room. It wouldn’t be ‘paying double’ or a penalty. If you book 4 to a room you still pay for passengers 3 and 4. The discount of the 3rd and 4th passenger has always varied by cruise. And on occasion they charged more for the 3rd and 4th passenger as they get close to capacity. It does seem likely that the 3rd and 4th passenger discount would likely be a thing of the past (same as how solo cruiser discounts used to be common and are less common now). So, no, I don’t think they will prevent you from booking 4 in a cabin. But passengers 1 and 2 will be $600 each and passengers 3 and 4 may be $700 each. Then it quickly makes sense to book two rooms, unless your children are too young to be in their own room.

[RWolver672]

They talk about reduced capacity yet now they have opened up the Mardi Gras for more bookings  when she first sets sail.   They have said for quite a while that it was sold out for those dates.  

[Doggielover68]

1 hour ago, skridge said:

The difference is I can fit my family in one room yet they are going to penalize me and charge me for two rooms.  I don't agree with that. That is my opinion.  I am writing that is my opinion at the end of every post now in hopes the keyboard warriors will not attack me.  It is not helping.

Think of it like airline tickets. Each butt in a seat costs money because that is a seat that can't be sold if someone is sitting in it for free. With reduced capacity on ships, having 2 kids in a room for free takes away a spot for 2 paying adults because the cap is based on total occupancy of the ship. 

 

And just because someone can fit in your room doesn't mean it should be free to do so, especially now. Each additional child is an extra person taking up a now more limited seat on Lido, space in the pool, space in the pee..I mean hot tub...another person in line at the buffet, more linens to wash, more trash to throw away,etc. 

 

If I want to bring adult friends, it costs money no matter where they sleep. Having a family is fine and is the social norm, but vacations cost money and parents should be prepared to pay for each child

[famski740]

No one ever said that a 4 person room had to be for a family.  I have seen 4 adults in a room and they end up (in their own way) sharing the expenses.

[xDisconnections]

6 hours ago, Computer Nerd said:

You're talking to the wrong people!

 

Ready to cruise? yes, Yes, YES!!!

Maybe but I’ve never been known to have the popular opinion around here. 

[molly361]

19 hours ago, LadyMac72 said:

So what happens if there you're on a fully booked ship for 2021 and TPTB decide to reduce capacity?

The fairest way would be to go by date booked.  Last in first out

[Eli_6]

18 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

 

They can. They would just have to buy two rooms. A lot of families do it that way already.

We do that anyway.  A "vacation" with my husband and two rowdy boys all in a 185 SQ ft room and sharing one bathroom and one tv is not a vacation to me. 

 

And because I have priced both, you can get two adjoining rooms on Carnival for Cheaper than one room on Disney on many cruises.  

[Saint Greg]

4 minutes ago, Eli_6 said:

We do that anyway.  A "vacation" with my husband and two rowdy boys all in a 185 SQ ft room and sharing one bathroom and one tv is not a vacation to me. 

 

And because I have priced both, you can get two adjoining rooms on Carnival for Cheaper than one room on Disney on many cruises.  

 

Oh yeah. I have a relative whose family will only cruise Disney. I've priced them for his family before. CRAZY prices.

[Eli_6]

5 hours ago, Doggielover68 said:

Think of it like airline tickets. Each butt in a seat costs money because that is a seat that can't be sold if someone is sitting in it for free. With reduced capacity on ships, having 2 kids in a room for free takes away a spot for 2 paying adults because the cap is based on total occupancy of the ship. 

 

And just because someone can fit in your room doesn't mean it should be free to do so, especially now. Each additional child is an extra person taking up a now more limited seat on Lido, space in the pool, space in the pee..I mean hot tub...another person in line at the buffet, more linens to wash, more trash to throw away,etc. 

 

If I want to bring adult friends, it costs money no matter where they sleep. Having a family is fine and is the social norm, but vacations cost money and parents should be prepared to pay for each child

Additional people in the room costs the same whether they are adults or children.  

 

The reason some people need to have additional people in the same room is in the case of a baby or very young child.  

 

I agree with you, though, because quite frankly I see more people doing 4 adults to a room to save money than families using the rooms. 

Edited July 11, 2020 by Eli_6

[Eli_6]

Frankly, based on my own searches (where I was trying to find two adjoining rooms for my husband, kids and I), I think they are not booking many of the cheaper rooms.  I have looked at sailings that have dozens upon dozens of balconies and suites but pretty much no inside or window rooms.  I was trying to find a balcony connected to an inside for safety reasons for my kid's. Did finally find one, but had to call. It wasn't on the website.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

6 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

They talk about reduced capacity yet now they have opened up the Mardi Gras for more bookings  when she first sets sail.   They have said for quite a while that it was sold out for those dates.  

 

Yep - for months I was looking at our 3/6/21 Mardi Gras sailing and there was nothing to be found (new booking wise). On a couple of calls to Carnival I even asked if they'd look closer at that date... "yes, it's totally booked... every cabin". Didn't make sense to me. Now it does. Just goes to show you, don't believe everything you see/hear. Now THAT'S an example of "fake news", lol.

 

Tom

[coevan]

16 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

Not necessarily. I buy cheers and internet every cruise. I eat in specialty restaurants. I book excursions through carnival. I bet I spend more than a lot of couples.

 

I only ask for 1 room cleaning a day and I tip extra to make up for the lack of another set of gratuities.

 

 

 

 

Why are you ignoring A.I. properties? Liquor free, internet free, satellite TV (with real channels) activities all day, free snorkeling, diving, water skiing, wake boards, have you ever been?

 

P.S tipping is not allowed, saving more money

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by coevan
added content

[Saint Greg]

3 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

Why are you ignoring A.I. properties? Liquor free, internet free, satellite TV (with real channels) activities all day, free snorkeling, diving, water skiing, wake boards, have you ever been?

 

 

Sounds like you have a solution for someone who doesn't have a problem.

[coevan]

uh? not a solution, just an alternative. When I bring up A.I. the first thing people say is how expensive they are, crunching the numbers if you cruise and buy all the goodies, i.e internet, drink packages and such, the prices are much closer than you might think

[coevan]

They are all over the Caribbean, name an island and you will find all inclusives. we are going to Jamaica in December. We have stayed in St.Lucia, Antigua, Granada, Barbados and the Turks and Caicos. 

[Saint Greg]

7 minutes ago, coevan said:

uh? not a solution, just an alternative. When I bring up A.I. the first thing people say is how expensive they are, crunching the numbers if you cruise and buy all the goodies, i.e internet, drink packages and such, the prices are much closer than you might think

 

I have a friend who did an all-inclusive in Jamaica last year. I am familiar with them. I have five cruises booked and two FCCs so I'm not looking for alternatives. I'm a little weird with the kitchens in some of those countries. Some of the things I've seen. I've seen kitchens I wouldn't eat out of. I'm comfortable with the food on the ships. Not the only reason...but a big one is I'm afraid I'd end up over there and not want to eat.

[coevan]

Sandals food is fabulous. 7 full service restaurants, all miles above the MDR. Don't get me wrong, we love cruising, just a completely different vacation. With Covid, we feel more comfortable with 100's of acres and 400 guests, plenty of room to spread out and social distance, impossible on a cruise ship. Their pools are 1/3 of size of the ship

[skridge]

9 hours ago, sanger727 said:

If they do try to sail with reduced capacity, I agree that from a business standpoint it makes a lot more sense for them to encourage solo cruisers and discourage bookings with more than 2 per room. It wouldn’t be ‘paying double’ or a penalty. If you book 4 to a room you still pay for passengers 3 and 4. The discount of the 3rd and 4th passenger has always varied by cruise. And on occasion they charged more for the 3rd and 4th passenger as they get close to capacity. It does seem likely that the 3rd and 4th passenger discount would likely be a thing of the past (same as how solo cruiser discounts used to be common and are less common now). So, no, I don’t think they will prevent you from booking 4 in a cabin. But passengers 1 and 2 will be $600 each and passengers 3 and 4 may be $700 each. Then it quickly makes sense to book two rooms, unless your children are too young to be in their own room.

I have never seen it more expensive to book 3rd and 4th in a cabin.  If it comes to that I will find another vacation option.  The reason I like cruising is it has always been less expensive than land based vacations.  This is actually a fact and not an opinion.

[skridge]

7 hours ago, Doggielover68 said:

Think of it like airline tickets. Each butt in a seat costs money because that is a seat that can't be sold if someone is sitting in it for free. With reduced capacity on ships, having 2 kids in a room for free takes away a spot for 2 paying adults because the cap is based on total occupancy of the ship. 

 

And just because someone can fit in your room doesn't mean it should be free to do so, especially now. Each additional child is an extra person taking up a now more limited seat on Lido, space in the pool, space in the pee..I mean hot tub...another person in line at the buffet, more linens to wash, more trash to throw away,etc. 

 

If I want to bring adult friends, it costs money no matter where they sleep. Having a family is fine and is the social norm, but vacations cost money and parents should be prepared to pay for each child

I will not be cruising if this is the case.  The whole reason I cruise is because it is affordable.  This will make it unaffordable so I will quit cruising until it is affordable again.  I am not going to be a guinea pig for the virus anyway so by the time I get back on a ship this will probably be a moot point.

[sanger727]

36 minutes ago, skridge said:

I have never seen it more expensive to book 3rd and 4th in a cabin.  If it comes to that I will find another vacation option.  The reason I like cruising is it has always been less expensive than land based vacations.  This is actually a fact and not an opinion.

It’s unusual but has happened, especially for holidays or summer time when they have many families booking. At the end of the day the passenger price is the passenger price and if they discount 3Rd and 4th it’s just that, a discount. They do it to encourage bookings. If they find themselves with plenty of bookings then there is less incentive for them to offer discounts. Yes, it’s entirely possible for cruising to become less affordable moving forward if they do sail at reduced capacity.