How does CC members plan to handle the new cruise line requirement to take shore excursions offered by the cruise line?

[Milwaukee Eight]

13 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

No change for us, we only take ships excursions anyway.  I honestly have enjoyed them all, just don't get the negativity.

Same here. We typically use Royal for our  excursions. Exceptions as I recall were in Bonaire (we rented golf carts to get around the island) and Nassau. 
 

M8

[vacationlover_mn]

While I don’t mind ship excursions, I hope this isn’t a permanent change- we just discovered Nachi Cocum on our last cruise, and really want to go back someday 🙂 (yes, I know that we don’t have to take a cruise to go there, but odds are, if we end up doing a non-cruise “warm weather” vacation, we’ll do an all inclusive).

[HBE4]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

While I don’t mind ship excursions, I hope this isn’t a permanent change- we just discovered Nachi Cocum on our last cruise, and really want to go back someday 🙂 (yes, I know that we don’t have to take a cruise to go there, but odds are, if we end up doing a non-cruise “warm weather” vacation, we’ll do an all inclusive).

 

Ditto. Except it was Mr. Sanchos for us.

 

Although I could see future "private" beach excursions offered by Royal taking us to Nachi or Sanchos.

 

[HBE4]

13 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I can't say what's going on in the rest of the world but I was in NYC today midtown and it was very depressing for this time of year. Aside from many businesses gone there wasn't any sign of the Holiday Season. Usually the stores and streets are decorated.  There was no Miracle on 34th street. Hardly any people on the street. This time of year you would be walking shoulder to shoulder. I considered going uptown to see the tree but I was so turned off that I just went to my appointment and went home.  The restaurants that are usually packed for lunch were empty. If this is what the City that doesn't sleep looks like I can't imagine what an island in the Caribbean must be like.

 

Sad, the holiday season is one of the times truly enjoy going into the city.  The one time of the year where everyone seems nice.....well, at least not as gruff as the rest of the year. I have a few friends working in midtown and what they say pretty much jives with your experience.

 

I used to travel into the city once every 3-4 weeks for fun. Haven't been there since last February and don't see myself going in until at least late spring or early summer. Wonder what it's going to be like.

[Iamcruzin]

49 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

 

I used to travel into the city once every 3-4 weeks for fun. Haven't been there since last February and don't see myself going in until at least late spring or early summer. Wonder what it's going to be like.

There is no fun to be had. The city was probably more festive during the depression and WWII. Even after 911 there was life. The homeless are getting very aggressive. One followed me to Penn. I kept telling him that I didn't have cash which was actually true. Told him I can only help him if he accepts apple pay. They are feeling the pinch too. No commuters, no tourists to hand them money. 

[Dennis#1]

3 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

While I don’t mind ship excursions, I hope this isn’t a permanent change- we just discovered Nachi Cocum on our last cruise, and really want to go back someday 🙂 (yes, I know that we don’t have to take a cruise to go there, but odds are, if we end up doing a non-cruise “warm weather” vacation, we’ll do an all inclusive).

We also like Nachi Cocum.  Have been there at least 12 times over the past  years.  Sure would be great if RCCL added Nachi Cocum to one of their shore excursions.

[Dennis#1]

28 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

There is no fun to be had. The city was probably more festive during the depression and WWII. Even after 911 there was life. The homeless are getting very aggressive. One followed me to Penn. I kept telling him that I didn't have cash which was actually true. Told him I can only help him if he accepts apple pay. They are feeling the pinch too. No commuters, no tourists to hand them money. 

So sad.  We cancelled a trip to NYC later this month to celebrate our 55th anniversary.  A few years back in December, we took the Amtrak from DC to NYC for a three day visit.  Visited the Statue of Liberty (and walked up the statue to her head rim), saw several shows on Broadway, and enjoyed many of the restaurants near Times Square.

[lakelorain]

I have 2 concerns.  

Prices on MSC cruises have been lowered and are sometimes free to compensate for everyone having to take ship excursions.  RC still has the same old prices.

Age restrictions limit availability of excursions in some ports.  For example, in Bermuda, most excursions exclude anyone over 70, including a trolley tour that is "mild".

 

I don't mind being forced to take a ship excursion in order to get off the ship but the prices should be reasonable and everyone should have a variety of excursions to choose from.

 

 

[dswallow]

I don't go on shore excursions or generally even get off the ship most of the time, so it'll only affect me by perhaps an increase in people onboard while in port, which will of course be a little bit annoying, but survivable. 🙂

Edited December 9, 2020 by dswallow

[davekathy]

Hopefully all this is over before our next cruise. When we do an excursion it's always through the cruise lines. Cost has nothing to do with it for us. But if we don't want to do a shore excursion we like to walk in to the port area (if possible) or take a taxi and walk around the port and shop (my wife does that), sight see and have a drink or two. I do a lot of videoing. We don't like the idea of not being able to do that if ship sponsored shore excursions are the only way to leave the ship. No way would we want to stay on the ship no matter the itinerary or how many times we've been at the ports before. We aren't huge sea day fans. 

Edited December 9, 2020 by davekathy

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Hopefully all this is over before our next cruise. When we do an excursion it's always through the cruise lines. Cost has nothing to do with it for us. But if we don't want to do a shore excursion we like to walk in to the port area (if possible) or take a taxi and walk around the port and shop (my wife does that), sight see and have a drink or two. I do a lot of videoing. We don't like the idea of not being able to do that if ship sponsored shore excursions are the only way to leave the ship. No way would we want to stay on the ship no matter the itinerary or how many times we've been at the ports before. We aren't huge sea day fans. 

Like you we too always do an excursion through the cruise line.When healthy I loved to walk in port as much as possible .Mrs,66 loves to shop.

Again when healthy I enjoyed having a drink or three.We would never stay on the ship no matter how many times we have been to a port and like you we are not sea day fans.

[Milwaukee Eight]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

There is no fun to be had. The city was probably more festive during the depression and WWII. Even after 911 there was life. The homeless are getting very aggressive. One followed me to Penn. I kept telling him that I didn't have cash which was actually true. Told him I can only help him if he accepts apple pay. They are feeling the pinch too. No commuters, no tourists to hand them money. 

And why is this? We have been in NYC the week before Christmas 3 times in the last 4 years and never had a problem. What has happened to this once beautiful city?

 

M8

[lenquixote66]

7 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

There is no fun to be had. The city was probably more festive during the depression and WWII. Even after 911 there was life. The homeless are getting very aggressive. One followed me to Penn. I kept telling him that I didn't have cash which was actually true. Told him I can only help him if he accepts apple pay. They are feeling the pinch too. No commuters, no tourists to hand them money. 

One of my daughters and her husband live on the upper west side.She said that over the past few months homeless people are sleeping on the sidewalk. It has never been like this before.

 

 

 

[Giantfan13]

23 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I can't say what's going on in the rest of the world but I was in NYC today midtown and it was very depressing for this time of year. Aside from many businesses gone there wasn't any sign of the Holiday Season. Usually the stores and streets are decorated.  There was no Miracle on 34th street. Hardly any people on the street. This time of year you would be walking shoulder to shoulder. I considered going uptown to see the tree but I was so turned off that I just went to my appointment and went home.  The restaurants that are usually packed for lunch were empty. If this is what the City that doesn't sleep looks like I can't imagine what an island in the Caribbean must be like.

 

 You can't even go uptown to see the tree now. You need an appointment, a set time, which gives you 5 minutes to view the tree and take whatever pix you can. The entire area is roped off anywhere near the tree.

Sad, but true.

 

Cheers

Len

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

And why is this? We have been in NYC the week before Christmas 3 times in the last 4 years and never had a problem. What has happened to this once beautiful city?

 

M8

It's a direct result of Covid. I walked from 1st Ave to 7th Ave. Park Ave which is residential is usually decorated but nothing going on there. Macy's just had merchandise in the windows. B Altman and Lord and Taylor who always had traditional Christmas Windows  are gone. B Altman went bankrupt in the late 80's but something took over the location on 34th and 5th. When I was there in October the building was still occupied. Yesterday when I passed it was all boarded up.  Lord and Taylor is in the middle of bankruptcy liquidation now but the 5th Ave location was sold last year so that building is under renovation. I know that they are limiting capacity to see the tree and I'm sure if Sak's decorated their windows they must be controlling the crowd if any there. 

My wife says that a lot of the patients who come to the office stayed in the Hamptons and a lot of residents are moving out of Manhattan. Working from home they realize that they need more space. Real Estate on Long Island is up and it's a sellers market. In June the streets were empty less traffic on the roads than on Long Island. When I went to the Dr in October commuter traffic had increased from June and yesterday there was road traffic but few people walking on the street. 

My son tells me the places he buy lunch from are hurting and there is a decline in the food. He feels as if it's not turning over fast enough.  Long Island is hopping compared to NYC.  

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, Giantfan13 said:

 

 You can't even go uptown to see the tree now. You need an appointment, a set time, which gives you 5 minutes to view the tree and take whatever pix you can. The entire area is roped off anywhere near the tree.

Sad, but true.

 

Cheers

Len

Well I'm glad that I didn't venture up there.

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

 B Altman and Lord and Taylor who always had traditional Christmas Windows  are gone. B Altman went bankrupt in the late 80's but something took over the location on 34th and 5th. When I was there in October the building was still occupied. Yesterday when I passed it was all boarded up. 

B. Altmans became a specialized Library long, long ago which eventually closed.

Edited December 10, 2020 by kwokpot

[Iamcruzin]

13 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

B. Altmans became a specialized Library long, long ago which eventually closed.

Did it close recently? Something was there in October. It did look kind of like a Library from what I could see from the bus window.

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, Milwaukee Eight said:

So, it’s just COVID19?  How did COVID19 burn 32 NYPD cruisers?  Why is NYPD at the max weekly retirements? COVID19? Doing away with NYPD Special Crimes unit?  COVID19 

Oh please not again. People are working from home. The city is deserted. The homeless aren't criminals they are just hungry and they were there even with all of the extra law enforcement. I never felt unsafe just lonely.

[Milwaukee Eight]

2 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Oh please not again. People are working from home. The city is deserted. The homeless aren't criminals they are just hungry and they were there even with all of the extra law enforcement. I never felt unsafe just lonely.

Which items I mentioned are not true?

 

M8

[Iamcruzin]

9 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Which items I mentioned are not true?

 

M8

  That has nothing to do with the lack of holiday decorations and failed business.  It's a direct result of capacity control and traffic is down.  This time of year brings in tourists which isn't happening and even the NYC residents are staying put at their summer homes.  I hardly saw any Florida license plates on the road all summer so I guess the snowbirds stayed in Florida. Nobody wants to be in Manhattan unless they have to. The close quarter living is too risky now especially with cases on the rise. By the way there are plenty of teachers who retired early this year as well. It's the reason my DIL was able to get a permanent teaching job and yes it was because they didn't want to deal with virtual teaching and covid.

Edited December 10, 2020 by Iamcruzin

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Did it close recently? Something was there in October. It did look kind of like a Library from what I could see from the bus window.

Wikipedia says the Library on the Madison Ave side closed this year. On the Fifth Ave. Side is the CUNY Graduate Center and still open.

[yogimax]

55 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

So, it’s just COVID19?  How did COVID19 burn 32 NYPD cruisers?  Why is NYPD at the max weekly retirements? COVID19? Doing away with NYPD Special Crimes unit?  COVID19 

Rant on M8, Rant on!  Those of us who live in NYC and love NYC know the truth and we are not going to waste our time responding to one-sided talking points.

[Iamcruzin]

1 minute ago, kwokpot said:

Wikipedia says the Library on the Madison Ave side closed this year. On the Fifth Ave. Side is the CUNY Graduate Center and still open.

 Oh Yes, CUNY Graduate Center was on 5th. That was boarded up along with Madison Ave side. the building has beautiful architecture. I hope they don't knock that down and rebuild.  

 

[Milwaukee Eight]

7 hours ago, yogimax said:

Rant on M8, Rant on!  Those of us who live in NYC and love NYC know the truth and we are not going to waste our time responding to one-sided talking points.

I’m one sided and you’re not. Now that is funny. 

And we loved NYC for what it was but not what it has become. We are members of the Hilton Club NYC but will not be going back until they clean up the city. 
 

M8

Edited December 10, 2020 by Milwaukee Eight