Wearing Masks = Cancellation

[ampurp85]

I personally hated the mask and only wore them when absolutely necessary. If I didn't want to comply I order online. The day we no longer had to wear them to work, I was face free. In Feb 2020 I planned a hybrid vacation for my mother's 60th birthday: she has never been on a cruise and always wanted to go to Disney/Universal. We had been resigned to the fact that mask might be a thing, we weren't going to cancel our vacation as we missed out on our Oct 2020 RCG cruise on Liberty. None of us planned on getting the vaccine as I had Covid in April of 2020, but our jobs required it so we bit the bullet.

 

I don't think its a good idea to have mixed cruises but I want to cruise. It is not that as a vaccinated person I am overtly concerned with catching Covid. My concern is that there has to be different sets of rules and restrictions. I understand that ports may change and they may have mask restrictions. I really want to cruise so I am okay with mask in common areas, not happy but okay. I have a 2br GS on Allure with 5 adults. The current price for 4 adults is almost double. I am not missing out on finally trying suite class on an Oasis class ship because mild mask restrictions.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, crewsweeper said:

Carnival is requiring masks at various points.  Vaccinated on board not needed.  masks needed for everyone in terminal buildings for embarkation, debarkation, and ports. and may be needed by everyone when in port depending on port rules.

 

Sorry, mask vigilantes have won this round.  

Yes. You need to follow the laws in the countries you are visiting.

 

In the Bahamas, you are squirted with hand sanitizer every time you enter a store and are required to wear a mask in public. Our hotel told us that the local officials are anxious to collect the $250 fine from any tourist violating the laws. 

 

In Cozumel, we were squirted with hand sanitizer 4 times between the gangway and our dive boat just down the pier. And we had to walk through sanitizer to sanitize our flip flops to walk back on to the dock. And wear a mask. 

 

Their laws.

Edited June 24, 2021 by BirdTravels

[zekekelso]

3 hours ago, VermontsFinest said:

You have options. RCL can set their own policies and doesn't care if you cancel.

They might not care if Baldy cancels - one family isn’t going to break them. But as more and more people cancel, they are going to care. A lot. 
 

Not sure I agree with the OP. But I hope he and lots of other people vote with their wallets. And most importantly, tell RCI why they are cancelling. 

[AF-1]

Looking at the travel requirements to sail on Royal out of the US is you are vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask in bars, dining room, or outside. If you walk in royal promenade, you should wear a mask but if you stop to eat you can take it off.  That doesn't seem too unreasonable to sail.  What are the main complaints about this process?  I am asking because I plan to book a cruise out of port Canaveral on Mariner of the Seas for Oct.  

[MrMarc]

2 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Looking at the travel requirements to sail on Royal out of the US is you are vaccinated you don't have to wear a mask in bars, dining room, or outside. If you walk in royal promenade, you should wear a mask but if you stop to eat you can take it off.  That doesn't seem too unreasonable to sail.  What are the main complaints about this process?  I am asking because I plan to book a cruise out of port Canaveral on Mariner of the Seas for Oct.  

First of all, no one knows what the protocols will be like in October. In fact, I don't think we can be sure about next week.  We seem to have divided into 3 camps: No masks at all, masks for unvaccinated people and a smaller I just don't care.  If you book it, you can get 100% cruise credit if you cancel up to 2 weeks before the sailing, but you have to rebook at the prevailing rates(which may be higher).

[MrMarc]

4 hours ago, baldilocks said:

We are fully vaccinated and see no need to be wearing masks and social distancing on Royal ships. So if they want to do this, we will cancel along with some friends that say the same thing. They are are not going to come all the way from NE to wear masks on a ship.

But if they don't, there are just as many, if not more, people that will cancel.  Whatever they do, they are going to make people mad.  But they have to make a choice.  For me it is not a comfort issue, but a safety issue.  If I feel safe with whatever they decide, I will go, if I don't then I won't.  Either way, I will not be upset at the cruise line, they have to make a hard decision.  I run a small business and am totally exhausted from explaining my decision.  I had to make one. 

[LHARTWICK]

According to RCL's site, vaccinations are required to sail out of Galveston in August, although the MASK information page has nothing re: Galveston cruises?  I'm assuming no mask if fully vaccinated?

[Pandamonia]

3 hours ago, VermontsFinest said:

No... no they don't. Demand is too high and they are selling out of cabins on close-in sailings out of Nassau (arguably less popular due to the required flights involved)

 

If there was no demand, I'd agree with you. But they have ran the numbers and I assure you cancelations due to not willing to comply with their policies will be easily re-booked by those that will.

 

Do you have any idea how business works?

 

No ships = no capacity = no profit. 

 

Who cares if they are filling 10% of their fleet they are losing money every day. Their debt is so huge that it will take decades to pay off. 

 

They cant even fill the ship sailing around the UK

[Empehi]

IMHO RCL needs to maximize capacity on their sailings.  They should seriously offer vaccinated cruises and non-vaccinated cruises. This would give all cruisers an option of what protocols they feel comfortable with. In the short term perhaps the vaccinated cruises will have to sail out of a state other than Florida. I believe they are doing this in Alaska and the Bahamas.

 

As for me .... three RCL cruises in the future and I will cancel if they sail with non-vaccinated protocols.

 

 

[Luckynana]

3 hours ago, GA Dave said:

I am fully vaccinated and so is my son.  We both wore masks on a five day trip to Universal Orlando and found no problem with it.  It did not destroy our good time at all.  The only issue was when we both forgot to take them off (which was allowed) on the log flume ride.  OMG!  🤣

 

LOL!  

[atricks]

How long does it take for rooms to open back up after someone cancels?  There's a few sailings I'd book in a heartbeat if some folks cancel for these reasons.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

5 minutes ago, atricks said:

How long does it take for rooms to open back up after someone cancels?  There's a few sailings I'd book in a heartbeat if some folks cancel for these reasons.

 

Are you saying you can't book that same cruise now?

[atricks]

7 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

Are you saying you can't book that same cruise now?

 

A lot of the sailings in August/September have room categories unavailable right now, or outright nothing (Odyssey in August for one, early September for Symphony, etc).  So in those cases, yes.  With limited capacity on board it means more than usual if someone cancels out.

Edited June 24, 2021 by atricks

[whyrlygig]

Wearing a mask is no big deal.   We certainly will not be letting something so simple ruin our good time or our vacation.  

[Deseo1578]

So my question would be, is that a reason for cancelation if you did not had refundable deposit on this? Cancelling and asking for money back not a credit?

 

Thanks 

[Mikew0805]

7 hours ago, baldilocks said:

We are fully vaccinated and see no need to be wearing masks and social distancing on Royal ships. So if they want to do this, we will cancel along with some friends that say the same thing. They are are not going to come all the way from NE to wear masks on a ship.

That is certainly your choice. I am sure it will ease up as time goes on. 

[zekekelso]

3 hours ago, MrMarc said:

But if they don't, there are just as many, if not more, people that will cancel.  Whatever they do, they are going to make people mad.  But they have to make a choice.  For me it is not a comfort issue, but a safety issue.  If I feel safe with whatever they decide, I will go, if I don't then I won't.  Either way, I will not be upset at the cruise line, they have to make a hard decision.  I run a small business and am totally exhausted from explaining my decision.  I had to make one. 

I believe - I could be right, I could be wrong - that RCI has made the worst possible decision. In trying to find a middle ground, they’ve made a choice that pleases almost nobody. What any business owner wants - I’m sure you will agree - is customer feedback. 
 

Bitching about it here may make people feel better, but the only feedback RCI is going to listen to is cash. If people book, that tells RCI one thing. If they don’t book and especially if they cancel, that tells RCI something different. If enough people - like the grail knight from Indiana Jones - tell RCI they have chosen poorly, they will change policy. One thing we can all agree on is that the current policy isn’t carved in stone and could change tomorrow. 

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, zekekelso said:

I believe - I could be right, I could be wrong - that RCI has made the worst possible decision. In trying to find a middle ground, they’ve made a choice that pleases almost nobody. What any business owner wants - I’m sure you will agree - is customer feedback. 
 

Bitching about it here may make people feel better, but the only feedback RCI is going to listen to is cash. If people book, that tells RCI one thing. If they don’t book and especially if they cancel, that tells RCI something different. If enough people - like the grail knight from Indiana Jones - tell RCI they have chosen poorly, they will change policy. One thing we can all agree on is that the current policy isn’t carved in stone and could change tomorrow. 

Cruise Critic is a tiny sampling of cruisers, although being a sampling, it could also tell you how most cruisers think. I would bet, that there are a bunch of cruisers out there, given a good price, would jump at booking a cruise, regardless of what the rules are.

I have a B5B booked next March, and although Australia may not open, I’m there for all 5. For every person that says they will cancel if they have to wear a mask, there will be another one who doesn’t care.

And you are absolutely right, the rules change daily. Right now with cruising just beginning to open up again, they are testing the waters on what people want.

[DeputyDawg46]

I wish the people that do NOT want to wear a mask would hurry up and cancel so I can get a decent room or room at all.  I'd wear a mask to sleep in, if required, to get back to cruising.  Had 14 of 16 cancelled last year and 8 cancelled so far this year.  Fully vaccinated and ready to sail!!  Vaccination is not 100 percent foolproof.  Wear a mask!!  All aboard!!

[broadwaybaby123]

11 hours ago, baldilocks said:

We are fully vaccinated and see no need to be wearing masks and social distancing on Royal ships. So if they want to do this, we will cancel along with some friends that say the same thing. They are are not going to come all the way from NE to wear masks on a ship.

I'm a New Englander myself who has kind of the opposite view.  I work in healthcare and have to wear a mask 8-10+ hours a day.  I have no issues wearing a mask...in fact, with the way things have been going with the virus, I'll wear a Hazmat suit on the ship if I have to!

 

And yes, I have been fully vaccinated and am ready to rock!  Half of my family are healthcare workers (myself, 4 cousins, Mom, Aunt, and best friend are all healthcare workers and I have another cousin who is a retired nurse) so we all got our vaccines early (New Year's Eve for me for my first dose), and the other half of my family got theirs starting in Feb. 

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, zekekelso said:

Bitching about it here may make people feel better, but the only feedback RCI is going to listen to is cash. If people book, that tells RCI one thing. If they don’t book and especially if they cancel, that tells RCI something different. 

I wonder what percent are booking with the FCCs they took compared to those with new bookings that actually will count as new revenue?  I think the majority booked are those who did a lift and shift or paid with accumulated FCCs. If anyone who fits in that group cancels it won't send any message.

[Biker19]

8 hours ago, MrMarc said:

If you book it, you can get 100% cruise credit if you cancel up to 2 weeks before the sailing

Under CWC, you cancel up to 2 days out.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, zekekelso said:

I believe - I could be right, I could be wrong - that RCI has made the worst possible decision. In trying to find a middle ground, they’ve made a choice that pleases almost nobody. What any business owner wants - I’m sure you will agree - is customer feedback. 
 

Bitching about it here may make people feel better, but the only feedback RCI is going to listen to is cash. If people book, that tells RCI one thing. If they don’t book and especially if they cancel, that tells RCI something different. If enough people - like the grail knight from Indiana Jones - tell RCI they have chosen poorly, they will change policy. One thing we can all agree on is that the current policy isn’t carved in stone and could change tomorrow. 

 

9 hours ago, zekekelso said:

They might not care if Baldy cancels - one family isn’t going to break them. But as more and more people cancel, they are going to care. A lot. 
 

Not sure I agree with the OP. But I hope he and lots of other people vote with their wallets. And most importantly, tell RCI why they are cancelling. 

What people don't realize is that is not a matter of mask or no mask. It's not a matter of catering to a niche group of people that want to travel on a vaccinated cruise. 

 

Right now, the cruise lines have to make the general population feel safe about cruising again. They can't do that if there is a COVID outbreak on every cruise. For the next few months of startup, they should be trying to minimize the risk of an outbreak by maximizing the number of vaccinated passengers and changing the protocols to minimize the chances of transmission. 

 

Even the 92% vaccinated, 25% loaded cruise out of Nassau this week had 2 COVID cases amongst the unvaccinated passengers. If I were still onboard, I would have a mask on and be splashing sanitizer at every Purell dispenser I passed. Since the one COVID case was symptomatic, I know that Royal is hoping and praying that they can get back to Nassau on Saturday before more people become symptomatic. 

[zekekelso]

20 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Right now, the cruise lines have to make the general population feel safe about cruising again

I think there are two groups out there. One group prioritizes safety and minimizing the risk of the cruise being interrupted by an outbreak. The other group prioritizes having no restrictions - freedom baby. You can go after one or the other of those groups. What I don’t think exists is a middle group wanting a cruise with lots of restrictions and lots of unvaccinated passengers, but for some reason that’s who RCI is targeting. 

Edited June 25, 2021 by zekekelso

[L454S]

After all the cancellations/fcc/etc. over the past year or so, we now have 4 booked.

 

If masks are required by sailing time......we CANCEL. It's no big deal, just find something else to do/see and enjoy life. Some can't let go of covid as a lifestyle, sad......