Mandatory paid excursions......no thanks

[Jonny Rotten]

I just called Norwegian to ask about our summer Europe cruise.  

They said as per there CDC guidelines ALL ports would need to be on an excursion. I asked if it was free due to it being mandatory and not by choice. They said we would need to pay full price just like normal. First off we don't like excursions and to add insult to injury they are  forcing us to pay for something we don't want.....looks like we're cancelling our cruise. Not to mention I'm thinking this would double our cruise price. No FREAKIN way. What a disaster 

 

Are other cruise lines forcing this rule?

I can't imagine anyone going along with this

Cruising is dead this summer

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jonny Rotten

[ldubs]

Why would the CDC have anything to say about a cruise in Europe?  

[Jonny Rotten]

6 minutes ago, ldubs said:

Why would the CDC have anything to say about a cruise in Europe?  

The rep said said it was their agreement with the CDC they made last fall 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jonny Rotten

[Essiesmom]

First, how do you know Europe will even let you in this summer?  MSC and Costa sailing from Italy only take guests from Schengen countries as of now.  And yes, they have to take ship excursions.  People who skip out during the excursion are left at the dock.  Do some reading on the forums here.  EM

[cruisemom42]

Call again -- the rep you spoke to obviously doesn't know what s/he is talking about. CDC has no authority over cruises in Europe -- I assume this is fully in Europe, not a trans-Atlantic?

 

Of course, cruise lines that have already begun cruising in Europe are also requiring ONLY ship-sponsored excursions. This includes MSC, Costa, and (I think) TUI.  However, that is in agreement with European authorities, not the CDC.

 

[Jonny Rotten]

Could very well be miss information, and it sounds like it is

Either way it still sounds like all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Which is a deal breaker for us. No chance we would ever do that

This was news to us a bit shocking and totally disappointing

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jonny Rotten

[clo]

15 minutes ago, Jonny Rotten said:

Could very well be miss information, and it sounds like it is

Either way it still sounds like all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Which is a deal breaker for us. No chance we would ever do that

This was news to us a bit shocking and totally disappointing

 

It's a deal breaker for a lot of travelers. We're very much DIYers. But I have until 6//22 to cancel our 9/22 cruise.

[LHT28]

Just cancel now  then you will not have to worry about it

 Doubt the cruise will sail anyway

[getting older slowly]

Basically this has been bought up many times...

 

It is up each country to decide if they want people running freely around from another country....   So very difficult/ impossible to contact trace.

 

So taking a ship organise on shore tour is really the only way keeping people contained.....

 

and if you don't like it... don't go on the cruise....

 

I think a lot of things will change in the coming years per cruising as we knew it

 

The OP  Jonny Rotten...is a newbie and sometime searching does not bring up what one wants....

[crazyank]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

Why would the CDC have anything to say about a cruise in Europe?  

 

3 hours ago, Jonny Rotten said:

The rep said said it was their agreement with the CDC they made last fall 

 

The "rep" has it wrong, the CDC has no authority over European cruises. However, it's a pretty safe bet that excursions will be paid only (no DIY) for at least 2021 in Europe.

[BoozinCroozin]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

Why would the CDC have anything to say about a cruise in Europe?  

That was my first thought as well. CDC has no jurisdiction outside the US.

[sverigecruiser]

7 hours ago, Jonny Rotten said:

Could very well be miss information, and it sounds like it is

Either way it still sounds like all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Which is a deal breaker for us. No chance we would ever do that

This was news to us a bit shocking and totally disappointing

 

 

I don't think that they mean that all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Most likely it will be mandatory paid excursions if you want to leave the ship. So not mandatory to pay for excursions if you stay on the ship.

[paul929207]

1 hour ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I don't think that they mean that all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Most likely it will be mandatory paid excursions if you want to leave the ship. So not mandatory to pay for excursions if you stay on the ship.

This is my understanding. If you want to get off the ship in a port you will have to purchase a cruise line excursion. You may NOT exit the secure area around the dock. You must stay with the group. 

 

Failure to comply will result in you being left on the pier and not being allowed to reboard.

 

You would be allowed  to NOT purchase an excursion and stay on the ship for a port.

[sverigecruiser]

15 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

This is my understanding. If you want to get off the ship in a port you will have to purchase a cruise line excursion. You may NOT exit the secure area around the dock. You must stay with the group. 

 

Failure to comply will result in you being left on the pier and not being allowed to reboard.

 

You would be allowed  to NOT purchase an excursion and stay on the ship for a port.

 

That's how it has been done so far during Covid.

 

It's a big difference between mandatory shore excursions or mandatory excursions if you leave the ship!

[Jonny Rotten]

I didn't mean if you were staying on the ship and missing ports. I assumed that was pretty obvious

Edited February 23, 2021 by Jonny Rotten

[c-boy]

wow 

[CruiserBruce]

10 hours ago, Jonny Rotten said:

Could very well be miss information, and it sounds like it is

Either way it still sounds like all ports will be mandatory paid excursions. Which is a deal breaker for us. No chance we would ever do that

This was news to us a bit shocking and totally disappointing

 

It has been discussed here many times...and the few cruises that have operated in the last few months have all had this requirement.

[marco]

Yep...we wanted to go to Bermuda this summer.  Our 1st choice on RCI....the cruise has already been canx.  2nd choice was "X" SUmmit.  I called "X" to inquire.    First of all, although they are taking bookings, the sailing is "iffy" right now".  Secondly...  as of right now anyway, I was told......if you want to get off the ship it has to be on a ship's tour.  We've cruised to Bermuda many times and love exploring on our own.  We won't be booking.

[shipgeeks]

From reading the "live from" posts about the European cruises that have been happening for a number of months now, I have learned that 1) their excursions are very inexpensive, 2) they are quite varied, including bicycles, walking, buses, scooters, and more, 3) social distancing is controlled very well.

We are not usually excursion people either, but we would have no hesitation in taking some of those options if we were sailing.

[Charles4515]

56 minutes ago, marco said:

Yep...we wanted to go to Bermuda this summer.  Our 1st choice on RCI....the cruise has already been canx.  2nd choice was "X" SUmmit.  I called "X" to inquire.    First of all, although they are taking bookings, the sailing is "iffy" right now".  Secondly...  as of right now anyway, I was told......if you want to get off the ship it has to be on a ship's tour.  We've cruised to Bermuda many times and love exploring on our own.  We won't be booking.

 

I love exploring Bermuda too. Would never do ship excursions there or most other ports. If I want my Bermuda fix this year it will be flying there. 

[whogo]

Look on the bright side. The cruise will probably be cancelled anyway.

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, Jonny Rotten said:

I didn't mean if you were staying on the ship and missing ports. I assumed that was pretty obvious

 

It should have been more obvious if you had said it.

 

One reason to mandate ship excursions in every port could be to make everyone leave the ship. Extra cleaning?

[iancal]

Does it matter?  It is a little too soon to get a definitive answer.  Conditions could change over the next several months.

 

Why not wait until just before final payment to decide whether to cancel or remain booked?   We would not consider a cruise if ship excursions were mandatory.

Edited February 23, 2021 by iancal

[gerryuk]

When Costa resumed cruises after the first lockdown you could only leave the ship with their excursions. They were selling 5 excursions for 99 euros, very reasonable. I would have thought that all cruise lines will go down the same path, and bundle excursions into reasonably priced packs, until this crisis is over. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Joebucks]

11 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

Basically this has been bought up many times...

 

It is up each country to decide if they want people running freely around from another country....   So very difficult/ impossible to contact trace.

 

So taking a ship organise on shore tour is really the only way keeping people contained.....

 

and if you don't like it... don't go on the cruise....

 

I think a lot of things will change in the coming years per cruising as we knew it

 

The OP  Jonny Rotten...is a newbie and sometime searching does not bring up what one wants....

 

It's a lot more complex than "don't like it, don't cruise". I think many people will accept that cruising will be different. A combination of volume of changes and what is being changed, is likely to turn an awful lot of people away from cruising.

 

I would say the ports of call are a significant value proposition of cruising. Obviously, a portion of cruisers won't be impacted from this. There's a lot of people who just want to get off, explore, hit the shops, hit the bars, hit the beach, etc. This is a big change.