All May sailings is now canceled

[Toledosfinest]

We had our second NCL Getaway cruise to Greece and Italy. We were booked for May 2020, and May of 2021 and now both are cancelled. The 1st cancellation like everyone has said NCL did give us an extra 25% in FCC. Took that FCC and the 100% FCC and rebooked the Greek cruise for 2021, and used the extra 25% and booked the NCL Joy for Jan 2022. The Joy will cost us $248 for the week. Can't beat that.  Now that our 2021 Greek cruise was cancelled, we got NCL's letter and they are not giving the extra FCC this time. I guess most of us should realize that the cruise lines are hurting big time, and they cant keep giving away extra FCC. We pulled up the FCC on NCL web page under our account  and saw the amount of credit, and just booked another Greek/Italy cruise on the Escape for May 11 2022. The total cost including using NCL airfare will cost us $700 more for almost the same cruise that was cancelled. I know that nobody wants to pay more, but prices for everything has gone up, and I guess if we really want to travel again on cruises, then we pay up. It will take cruise lines months or years to recoup what they lost because of Covid. Lets just hope we are over the peak of this terrible virus and get back to somewhat of a normal life..

[seaman11]

On 2/17/2021 at 5:35 AM, hamrag said:

 

🤣 🤣

 

Seaman, I feel a sense of deja vu.....

Well MSC is sailing is it not?  I heard they handled a recent covid case very well onboard. 

[bmwman]

2 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Well MSC is sailing is it not?  I heard they handled a recent covid case very well onboard. 

Er no ..MSC have two ships going nowhere and with the outbreak these are now pulled. The fact that Covid got on board freaked some ports I have heard.

 

Given the way the European health authrities are going and here in the UK there will be no cruises in Europe until after the summer and with alaska closed I imagine that the Carribean may be a very busy area. 

[seaman11]

5 hours ago, bmwman said:

Er no ..MSC have two ships going nowhere and with the outbreak these are now pulled. The fact that Covid got on board freaked some ports I have heard.

 

Given the way the European health authrities are going and here in the UK there will be no cruises in Europe until after the summer and with alaska closed I imagine that the Carribean may be a very busy area. 

1 false positive is not an outbreak. nice try though. btw they handled it very well. 

[Stevio]

9 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Well MSC is sailing is it not?  I heard they handled a recent covid case very well onboard. 

MSC are not currently sailing. Italy has travel bans between their own regions with a national 10pm curfew in operation. I do not think their ports would yet welcome cruise ships after all the hard containment work they have done.

Once fully vaccinated of course a different matter. MSC have pioneered onboard mask wearing, passenger tests, checks and social distancing.

Edited February 21, 2021 by Stevio

[Roger88]

25 minutes ago, Stevio said:

MSC are not currently sailing. Italy has travel bans between their own regions with a national 10pm curfew in operation. I do not think their ports would yet welcome cruise ships after all the hard containment work they have done.

Once fully vaccinated of course a different matter. MSC have pioneered onboard mask wearing, passenger tests, checks and social distancing.

These bans most likely will be off by summer, cause this season is promised to be very high on demans so I am sure they will figure to get ready for it this year 

[bmwman]

As has been said you are spreading fake news.

 

MSC are not sailing why on earth did you say that.

Ports are closed 

It was not handled well they have the whole ship quarantined.

1 is an outbreak - nice try Seaman to avoid the sad truth Cruising is still  months away. What has not been widely  reported is how may others tested positive. 

 

For NCL the earliest is now 1 June.

 

NCL are burning cash per their own admission at $175M per month and still need to find finance for all the new ships. Of course they want to get going but if the offering is so different with face nappies and all other SD measures it will not be as attractive to a lot. Of course others will go but I wonder if the demand will be the same as pre Covid given quarantine restriction around the world .

 

Pricing is going to be very interesting.

 

Further the vaccination program has not even started in many areas yet

 

 

[EllaDuChien]

MSC left Genoa port today at 5pm for her regularly scheduled sailing.  She is headed to Civitavecchia as scheduled.  Her last sailing had one positive case.  They pulled in to a pre-arranged port to disembark that passenger, then resumed the sailing. Here is the news release:

 

Tuesday night, February 16, a positive Coronavirus/COVID passenger was detected on the MSC Cruises' liner MSC Grandiosa sailing in the Western Mediterranean.

As soon as the traveler's positivity was detected, the man was isolated, like his wife who tested negative. The close contacts of the couple were traced, isolated, and tested. However, their tests turned back negative and the passengers remained onboard in isolation.

According to the MSC Cruises' protocol, any suspected cases are transferred to a ground facility in order to receive assistance. It was done Wednesday morning, February 17, when the ship made a stop in Palermo, Sicily Italy, and transferred the guest and his wife to one of the ground facilities that the cruise line had reserved.

MSC Grandiosa continued on her itinerary as scheduled.

 

Only the people that were in close contact with the positive case were quarantined and tested.  They were allowed to disembark as scheduled when they returned to Genoa.  Yes, the cruise is limited to only EU residents, and yes you must only do MSC excursions but she is sailing.  Do I think this has any bearing on when cruising will start in the US?  No, I don't, but the fact is that MSC is indeed cruising in Italy with port stops.

[farmersfight]

On 2/20/2021 at 6:27 PM, seaman11 said:

Well MSC is sailing is it not?  I heard they handled a recent covid case very well onboard. 

 

RCL's Quantum of the Seas is doing cruises to nowhere out of Singapore with Singapore residents only. Many covid protocols/restrictions in place. Seems to be going well.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24352-royal-caribbean-extends-singapore-season-for-quantum-of-the-seas.html

 

@seaman11, you could change your citizenship to Singapore, move there and start cruising right away!

[DCGuy64]

On 2/21/2021 at 2:29 AM, seaman11 said:

1 false positive is not an outbreak. nice try though. btw they handled it very well. 

Exactly. Even 1 confirmed case isn't an outbreak, it would be referred to as an isolated incident.

And MSC is visiting ports, it boggles the mind that anyone with access to a computer and internet would attempt to argue the opposite, but there we are. MSC has navigated (no pun intended) the pandemic quite well. I think they'll be seen as a success story when all is said and done. They're also poised to get through this nicely due to their shipping business. We are looking forward to sailing with them soon.

[seaman11]

On 2/21/2021 at 11:47 AM, bmwman said:

As has been said you are spreading fake news.

 

MSC are not sailing why on earth did you say that.

Ports are closed 

 

 

 

 

23 hours ago, EllaDuChien said:

MSC left Genoa port today at 5pm for her regularly scheduled sailing.  She is headed to Civitavecchia as scheduled.  Her last sailing had one positive case.  They pulled in to a pre-arranged port to disembark that passenger, then resumed the sailing. Here is the news release:

 

Tuesday night, February 16, a positive Coronavirus/COVID passenger was detected on the MSC Cruises' liner MSC Grandiosa sailing in the Western Mediterranean.

As soon as the traveler's positivity was detected, the man was isolated, like his wife who tested negative. The close contacts of the couple were traced, isolated, and tested. However, their tests turned back negative and the passengers remained onboard in isolation.

According to the MSC Cruises' protocol, any suspected cases are transferred to a ground facility in order to receive assistance. It was done Wednesday morning, February 17, when the ship made a stop in Palermo, Sicily Italy, and transferred the guest and his wife to one of the ground facilities that the cruise line had reserved.

MSC Grandiosa continued on her itinerary as scheduled.

 

Only the people that were in close contact with the positive case were quarantined and tested.  They were allowed to disembark as scheduled when they returned to Genoa.  Yes, the cruise is limited to only EU residents, and yes you must only do MSC excursions but she is sailing.  Do I think this has any bearing on when cruising will start in the US?  No, I don't, but the fact is that MSC is indeed cruising in Italy with port stops.

I guess BMW did not hear this news . lol

[farmersfight]

20 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Exactly. Even 1 confirmed case isn't an outbreak, it would be referred to as an isolated incident.

And MSC is visiting ports, it boggles the mind that anyone with access to a computer and internet would attempt to argue the opposite, but there we are. MSC has navigated (no pun intended) the pandemic quite well. I think they'll be seen as a success story when all is said and done. They're also poised to get through this nicely due to their shipping business. We are looking forward to sailing with them soon.

 

Hi @DCGuy64,

 

I was quite interested in MSC as well. They seem to be trying to establish a foothold in the U.S./North American market and therefore are being very competitive in their pricing; except for solos (like me).

 

I did a couple of mock bookings on a couple of their FL based ships (Miami & Port Canaveral) and they were very expensive for me. No studio cabins and I'd be required to pay the full 100% solo supplement (pay for 2 in the cabin). It's too bad (for me) because MSC looks like they have some really beautiful ships and a large fleet. I think they have a brand new ship, MSC Seashore, that will also be home ported in Miami. That may be a good one for you to look into if you are interested in cruising with MSC, since she will be a brand new ship.

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Hi @DCGuy64,

 

I was quite interested in MSC as well. They seem to be trying to establish a foothold in the U.S./North American market and therefore are being very competitive in their pricing; except for solos (like me).

 

I did a couple of mock bookings on a couple of their FL based ships (Miami & Port Canaveral) and they were very expensive for me. No studio cabins and I'd be required to pay the full 100% solo supplement (pay for 2 in the cabin). It's too bad (for me) because MSC looks like they have some really beautiful ships and a large fleet. I think they have a brand new ship, MSC Seashore, that will also be home ported in Miami. That may be a good one for you to look into if you are interested in cruising with MSC, since she will be a brand new ship.

Thanks, @farmersfight! Yes, we love MSC. We sailed on the Seaside in October 2018 before she was even 1 year old, and sailed the Meraviglia in December of 2019. We had been booked on the Preziosa for May of 2020, but as we all know, that was cancelled. Now we are booked on their new ship the MSC Virtuosa for July 2021, but I'm not optimistic since the ports are all in northern Europe and lowly Americans like us aren't allowed in. The Seashore is a sister ship to the Seaside, and it indeed is beautiful! We are definitely MSC fans. I don't know if this is an option for you, but have you considered asking a friend to join you so you don't have to pay for a 2-person cabin by yourself? If I were still single, that's what I'd do.

[farmersfight]

4 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

I don't know if this is an option for you, but have you considered asking a friend to join you so you don't have to pay for a 2-person cabin by yourself?

 

I moved up to Michigan not too long ago, so I don't have any friends;

 

A big reason I moved back up to Michigan was to care for my 84 yr old mom. A possibility for a roommate might be my nephew though. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that. Thanks for the suggestion.

[bmwman]

20 hours ago, seaman11 said:

 

I guess BMW did not hear this news . lol

Excuse me , you should not be quoting news when you have believed last year all the rubbish written by the travel press and those silly bloggers  Go back and see how many times you said cruising would be starting after reading the "news".

 

There is one MSC ship sailing with a few people on it and all from Italy. There is no cruising going on as you know it. I know you hate not having the last word but if you lived in Italy you would know that this is a complete PR stunt and nothing more. The fact is there are only a few  ports that will accept the ship. Anyway unless you live in Italy you and I aint going it so not really worth talking about. 

 

Mass cruising will not return until 1 July 2021 at the earliest about  a year after you predicted or simply guessed lol 

On 2/22/2021 at 1:26 AM, EllaDuChien said:

MSC left Genoa port today at 5pm for her regularly scheduled sailing.  She is headed to Civitavecchia as scheduled.  Her last sailing had one positive case.  They pulled in to a pre-arranged port to disembark that passenger, then resumed the sailing. Here is the news release:

 

Tuesday night, February 16, a positive Coronavirus/COVID passenger was detected on the MSC Cruises' liner MSC Grandiosa sailing in the Western Mediterranean.

As soon as the traveler's positivity was detected, the man was isolated, like his wife who tested negative. The close contacts of the couple were traced, isolated, and tested. However, their tests turned back negative and the passengers remained onboard in isolation.

According to the MSC Cruises' protocol, any suspected cases are transferred to a ground facility in order to receive assistance. It was done Wednesday morning, February 17, when the ship made a stop in Palermo, Sicily Italy, and transferred the guest and his wife to one of the ground facilities that the cruise line had reserved.

MSC Grandiosa continued on her itinerary as scheduled.

 

Only the people that were in close contact with the positive case were quarantined and tested.  They were allowed to disembark as scheduled when they returned to Genoa.  Yes, the cruise is limited to only EU residents, and yes you must only do MSC excursions but she is sailing.  Do I think this has any bearing on when cruising will start in the US?  No, I don't, but the fact is that MSC is indeed cruising in Italy with port stops.

 With Italians only and even then not many It is not EU residents. If it was it would be  lot busier!

 

1 in a small number is still enough to lockdown in Europe so 1 is enough to call it an outbreak ..

[RD64]

Further to BMW’s post - the MSC Grandiosa is currently only allowed to dock at Italian ports. Italian cabotage laws are much different than American laws. 

[RD64]

MSC has been trying since the fall to resume cruises to Greece, but they keep getting postponed.

[bmwman]

On 2/24/2021 at 12:52 AM, RD64 said:

MSC has been trying since the fall to resume cruises to Greece, but they keep getting postponed.

Exactly these is no cruising as we know and love it!

[luckyinpa]

that they only cancel till may is a joke. they are officially not getting all the crew even HOME till april tells us a lot. they arent stupid, no way they send people home if they are starting in may/june/july even. they know these people wont be needed for a while. yet now i'm seeing more cruising ads than ever. total misleading