Will NCL pull a "ROYAL" with the Gem and Joy??

[SSFun]

8 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I hear you! My cruise cancellations thus far are as follows:

Bliss B2B March 2020

Ruby Princess Sept 2020

Getaway Jan 2021

Joy May 2021

Emerald Princess Sept 2021

 

And now a B2B on the Joy for Sept 2021.....

We're the same. 4 cancelled cruises and now the Joy. I have been looking at replacement cruises and am just not "feeling it". I'm just so sad that it is looking like they are cancelling again. I was getting so excited. I know that is really my own fault that I got my hopes up but still...

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, SSFun said:

We're the same. 4 cancelled cruises and now the Joy. I have been looking at replacement cruises and am just not "feeling it". I'm just so sad that it is looking like they are cancelling again. I was getting so excited. I know that is really my own fault that I got my hopes up but still...

 

I don't think you should blame yourself. NCL billed these cruises as their "Return to Sailing" and really pushed the idea that these were FINALLY some cruises we could safely book without fear they'd be cancelled. I don't know how they can expect us to trust them that it's safe to book any of these cruises now. I understood when they had to keep cancelling US cruises due to the no sail order and the conditional return to cruising requirements, but this is pretty cruel.

[CroozFanatic]

10 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Let us know what he says! I can't tune in right now as I am listening to a webinar.

 

Frank says:

 

Very confident in Alaska sailings

30% of the fleet by October 1st, 70% by Jan. 1st., 100% by April 1st

2022 bookings best year ever

Sticks to 100% vaccinated crew and guests, for now, not forever

FL vaccine passport issue will work through with the Governor - FL very important

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, CroozFanatic said:

 

Frank says:

 

Very confident in Alaska sailings

30% of the fleet by October 1st, 70% by Jan. 1st., 100% by April 1st

2022 bookings best year ever

Sticks to 100% vaccinated crew and guests, for now, not forever

FL vaccine passport issue will work through with the Governor - FL very important

 

No mentioned of our cancelled cruises then.... And it sounds like there still isn't a compromise with FL that would allow the Joy or the Gem to sail from there.

[DCGuy64]

It's all good, @BermudaBound2014, I know you are disappointed like the rest of us are. I think my disappointment would be less had it not been for two things: 1. The Gem was to be the backup for the MSC Virtuosa/Seaview since we weren't sure what borders would be like for Americans this summer, so now the backup needs a backup, LOL. 2. The decision to port abroad instead of waiting for the CDC seemed like a stroke of genius at first, but if nobody bites, then they just have to cancel. Odd, I thought all of us on CC would be enough to fill all those sailings (he said, only partially kidding....)

 

@JamieLogical - yah, you've been through the ringer, too! I am sorry.

With the good news about Alaska and the generally positive news about vaccinations here in the States, this comes as a bit of a gut punch.

I use a personal financial software tool on my phone to track savings/spending, and I was proud of myself for having saved all of the money to pay for our upcoming cruises. Now it seems anticlimactic. 😏

 

 

[Seany527]

I was excited to be on the Joy sailing the Caribbean. 
The Bliss in August doesn’t excite me. It feels like I would be settling. 
 

Alaska was one of, if not my favorite cruise, but for some reason the Caribbean is calling my name. 

[DCGuy64]

16 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I don't think you should blame yourself. NCL billed these cruises as their "Return to Sailing" and really pushed the idea that these were FINALLY some cruises we could safely book without fear they'd be cancelled. I don't know how they can expect us to trust them that it's safe to book any of these cruises now. I understood when they had to keep cancelling US cruises due to the no sail order and the conditional return to cruising requirements, but this is pretty cruel.

Exactly. It just feels like we were led to believe THIS was going to be the return to sailing, and now it isn't. Honestly, I'm at the point of thinking of booking elsewhere. Maybe Celebrity, Royal or Carnival will be sailing sooner than NCL.

When Frank says 30% of fleet by October 1, what does that mean? Where are these cruises? Not interested in Alaska right now, and I'm assuming PoA is a no-go at the moment. Maybe we'll try Greece on the Jade instead.

[JamieLogical]

Just now, Seany527 said:

I was excited to be on the Joy sailing the Caribbean. 
The Bliss in August doesn’t excite me. It feels like I would be settling. 
 

Alaska was one of, if not my favorite cruise, but for some reason the Caribbean is calling my name. 

 

The Bliss to Alaska is more than twice as much as I paid for a Haven for my B2B on the Joy.... so definitely not a good consolation prize.... Also, the worst part in all of this for me is that I was booked on the Emerald Princess to Alaska for a really good price for 9/4. I had assumed that cruise would be canceled, so I booked the Joy as my "sure thing". The Emerald Princess *was* cancelled, but they offered to let me transfer my booking to the Majestic Princess for that same week (Sunday to Sunday instead of Saturday to Saturday) and I could have kept all my pricing and promos, but I opted to just take the cash refund for my deposit because I was sailing on the Joy instead....

[DCGuy64]

I think @JamieLogical makes a good point about feeling cheated since those of us who booked felt like we were supporting the company when it needed our help, but now they're just blowing us off. Like, thanks, guys! (I'm still holding out some hope they're just pivoting to FL and we'll get to see the Caribbean yet). For various reasons I can't really travel much after October 1 so August/September is kind of "it" for me.

The silver lining is that so far all I've paid is 1 CN certificate, so I'll get that back. But not another dime until I'm sure it's sailing!

Edited May 25, 2021 by DCGuy64

[Seany527]

5 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I think @JamieLogical makes a good point about feeling cheated since those of us who booked felt like we were supporting the company when it needed our help, but now they're just blowing us off. Like, thanks, guys! (I'm still holding out some hope they're just pivoting to FL and we'll get to see the Caribbean yet). For various reasons I can't really travel much after October 1 so August/September is kind of "it" for me.

Do you think the Gem would keep the same port of calls if sailing from FL?  Barbados is kinda far. 

[BermudaBound2014]

I call BS on Frank. Those of us with more realistic perceptions of the industry response to covid have been quite accurate for over the last year. I wish I could be Susie Sunshine and optimistic, but I would prefer to consider myself a realist. 

 

 So here I go with yet another prediction (you can call me debby downer if you want DC lol )........

 

NCL will not be anywhere near 100% by next April. That's crazy talk.

In fact, I stick by my original thought that not all cruise lines will survive this in tact.

Big Changes are coming for the industry as a whole.

 

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, Seany527 said:

Do you think the Gem would keep the same port of calls if sailing from FL?  Barbados is kinda far. 

No

[forgotmyCCname]

18 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

No mentioned of our cancelled cruises then.... And it sounds like there still isn't a compromise with FL that would allow the Joy or the Gem to sail from there.

Joy is now scheduled for October sailings out of Miami. The Haven prices are double what we paid.

[SSFun]

2 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I think @JamieLogical makes a good point about feeling cheated since those of us who booked felt like we were supporting the company when it needed our help, but now they're just blowing us off. Like, thanks, guys! (I'm still holding out some hope they're just pivoting to FL and we'll get to see the Caribbean yet). For various reasons I can't really travel much after October 1 so August/September is kind of "it" for me.

I'm not sure I'm holding out the same hope. I just went to my summary page for my Joy cruise and the payment tab at the bottom of the page  is gone. When I clicked on "print vacation summary" there was no info there other than the flights that they had preplanned for us. I'm guessing in a day or two we will  be getting the dreaded email that the cruise was cancelled and refunds are in progress. I do hope you are correct though. 

@JamieLogicalI am so sorry about all of the shifting you did to get onto Joy for your B2B. I know I am disappointed but I can't imagine how this is making you feel.

[forgotmyCCname]

8 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I think @JamieLogical makes a good point about feeling cheated since those of us who booked felt like we were supporting the company when it needed our help, but now they're just blowing us off. Like, thanks, guys! (I'm still holding out some hope they're just pivoting to FL and we'll get to see the Caribbean yet). For various reasons I can't really travel much after October 1 so August/September is kind of "it" for me.

The silver lining is that so far all I've paid is 1 CN certificate, so I'll get that back. But not another dime until I'm sure it's sailing!

They ARE pivoting to Miami, Florida- in October with big price jump ( at least in the category we had booked).

 

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, Seany527 said:

Do you think the Gem would keep the same port of calls if sailing from FL?  Barbados is kinda far. 

In a word, "no."  I said something similar earlier. That's kinda why I'm ticked: DR would be a great starting point for islands more to the South. I don't see getting that far on a 7-day cruise from Miami, unless it's 2 sea days at first and then maybe only 1-2 other spots on the way home.

[Honolulu Blue]

4 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

Do you think the Gem would keep the same port of calls if sailing from FL?  Barbados is kinda far. 

 

Not a chance.  The natural replacement home port for a cruise with this itinerary would be San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

So here I go with yet another prediction (you can call me debby downer if you want DC lol

Not at all! I think you're pretty fair about your predictions. It's the people who make sweeping negative generalizations with 0 factual basis for them that get me. You're very balanced.

BTW one of our land based vacations cancelled last year was to your fair state. Michigan summers are the best. Now I want blueberries. And fudge. ☺️

[DCGuy64]

Interesting that they're listing the Sky sailing from Miami in September. Wonder if that one will also get the "royal"  treatment?

[jmele999]

I am sad and upset about the Joy.  Was NCL just trying to see if they could get enough people to book to justify sailing about Jamaica?

[graphicguy]

Is the Joy/Gem cancelled yet?  My TA said not to jump the gun just yet.  She knows more than me (and probably the rest of us).

 

I still think it would be a tough sell to fill any of the ships to even 50% capacity, let alone one the size of the Joy, in 3 months.

 

I’ll wait and see.  Not going to get all bothered on speculation.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The Bliss to Alaska is more than twice as much as I paid for a Haven for my B2B on the Joy.... so definitely not a good consolation prize.... Also, the worst part in all of this for me is that I was booked on the Emerald Princess to Alaska for a really good price for 9/4. I had assumed that cruise would be canceled, so I booked the Joy as my "sure thing". The Emerald Princess *was* cancelled, but they offered to let me transfer my booking to the Majestic Princess for that same week (Sunday to Sunday instead of Saturday to Saturday) and I could have kept all my pricing and promos, but I opted to just take the cash refund for my deposit because I was sailing on the Joy instead....

 

"Good" news? I was able to contact my Princess-equivalent of a PCC and he got my booking transferred from my canceled Emerald Princess Alaska sailing to the Majestic Princess, instead of the cash refund for my deposit I had previously requested. At least now I haven't really lost anything there. If some kind of miracle comes through for our Joy bookings, I will still opt for that, because we were booked in the Haven. But at least I do still have a cruise lined up for Sept. 5 now. 

[coastcat]

25 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

"Good" news? I was able to contact my Princess-equivalent of a PCC and he got my booking transferred from my canceled Emerald Princess Alaska sailing to the Majestic Princess, instead of the cash refund for my deposit I had previously requested. At least now I haven't really lost anything there. If some kind of miracle comes through for our Joy bookings, I will still opt for that, because we were booked in the Haven. But at least I do still have a cruise lined up for Sept. 5 now. 

I’m glad I had already decided to switch from Joy to Bliss for the August 7 sailing. I just wish the Bliss Studio plus port fees weren’t almost the same as the Joy Club Balcony. 
 

Jamie, I’m on the Majestic Princess September 5 sailing too! First time on Princess and am looking forward to the comparison. For starters, I could afford a balcony (albeit obstructed) on Princess so they win the first round…

[forgotmyCCname]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Is the Joy/Gem cancelled yet?  My TA said not to jump the gun just yet.  She knows more than me (and probably the rest of us).

 

I still think it would be a tough sell to fill any of the ships to even 50% capacity, let alone one the size of the Joy, in 3 months.

 

I’ll wait and see.  Not going to get all bothered on speculation.

 

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

Is the Joy/Gem cancelled yet?  My TA said not to jump the gun just yet.  She knows more than me (and probably the rest of us).

 

I still think it would be a tough sell to fill any of the ships to even 50% capacity, let alone one the size of the Joy, in 3 months.

 

I’ll wait and see.  Not going to get all bothered on speculation.

I have to get bothered because I need to make different plans. 

[graphicguy]

5 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

 

I have to get bothered because I need to make different plans. 

Oh, I get that!  Believe me!

 

As contingency, I’ve already crossed Carnival off because of their own craziness.   NCL cancels my Joy cruise and reschedules from MIA at a higher price, given what some of us have been through with them, I’ll get my refund (no more FCCs for me, no matter how much they sweeten the pot) and forgo any Latitudes perks….forever since I’ll never cruise with them, again!

 

But, I can’t get any refund (yet) given my reservation is now frozen.

 

In the interim, haven’t sailed Celebrity in a long time, so am checking them out.