Should we proceed?

[jennie0820]

My husband and I have a long awaited cruise planned for January leaving from Florida on the Encore.  We have only paid the deposit, but I am getting more and more nervous as days go on with the recent news and am struggling with what to do.  We are relatively new to cruising (this will be our 4th), and I worry if we make our full payment we will end up not getting to leave from Florida due to the lawsuit.  

 

I have thought about getting onto another cruise with NCL leaving from a different port (not in Florida) just to avoid this mess...

 

Is anyone else worried or am I overthinking!?  

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

 

[tallnthensome]

Just sail from somewhere else that doesn't allow non vaxxed passengers to try and get on like DeSantis is wanting to allow. 

[jingle5616]

I would be more worried about my cruise fare being tied up in Bankruptcy proceedings.

[MichiganBound]

I personally wouldn't be booking any future NCL cruise that departs from a Florida port until the issues between the cruise line and Florida get resolved.  It seems too risky to me.  Having said that, only you can decide what level of risk you are willing to take with your cruise booking.

[SheSailsFL]

Personally would not tie up any more of my cash in an NCL FL departure until that lawsuit is resolved.  That said, several other cruise lines do have FL departures are sailing at 90-95% vaccinated, so that’s an alternative to consider. 
With the virus variant getting worse, I don’t see them relaxing those rules for a while. 

[KateQ22003]

I am in the same boat (no pun intended) with a cruise on the Dawn in February that I really want to take. Unfortunately, it leaves from Tampa so I am going to hold off until things shake out with Florida. I may just choose something out of NYC instead.

[sanger727]

January is a long time away and this will sort itself out before then.  When do you make final payment? I would wait until then to make a decision. For all we know this will get resolved in time for NCL cruises to resume next month. 

[jennie0820]

25 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

January is a long time away and this will sort itself out before then.  When do you make final payment? I would wait until then to make a decision. For all we know this will get resolved in time for NCL cruises to resume next month. 

Final payment is due in September.  I'm worried that isn't enough time 😕

[MichiganBound]

In January 2022, you have NCL cruise options departing from New Orleans, New York, and Los Angeles.  If you're open to travelling a little further, you can also get NCL cruises departing San Juan or Panama.  So you do have other options should you choose to scrap the Florida departure.

[jennie0820]

5 minutes ago, MichiganBound said:

In January 2022, you have NCL cruise options departing from New Orleans, New York, and Los Angeles.  If you're open to travelling a little further, you can also get NCL cruises departing San Juan or Panama.  So you do have other options should you choose to scrap the Florida departure.

Yeah I"ve been looking into some of those.  It's about $1,000 higher than the current cruise, but might be worth it for piece of mind.  

[zerooveride]

We were booked on the 12/26 Encore out of Miami. When all of this Florida mess (no checking vacines, CDC lawsuit, NCL lawsuit) started, we switched to the Encore in Alaska in August and to the Breakaway out of New Orleans on 12/26. 

 

The Florida cruise situation is a mess and just didn't want to deal with it. 

[jennie0820]

6 minutes ago, zerooveride said:

We were booked on the 12/26 Encore out of Miami. When all of this Florida mess (no checking vacines, CDC lawsuit, NCL lawsuit) started, we switched to the Encore in Alaska in August and to the Breakaway out of New Orleans on 12/26. 

 

The Florida cruise situation is a mess and just didn't want to deal with it. 

That sounds like a good plan and a fun time!  I'm thinking if we proceed, we will need to just change ports.  I don't want to deal the the FL mess either!

[BermudaBound2014]

I'm not entirely convinced this "mess" is specific to Florida but time will tell. Currently NCL is the only cruise line of the big 3 not sailing from any port in the USA. With any luck, that will change August 7th when the Encore departs from Alaska, but I personally recommend waiting to give NCL any funds at this time. Of course, my opinion is very unpopular with those who have already booked, but the OP asked for opinions so I'm contributing :).

[Karaboudjan]

Just remember - The 100% vaccination status is only effective through 10/31.  After that NCL is free to adjust without reneging on the 100% commitment.  If 95% vaccinated cruises continue to operate without incidents I can't see why they would not do that unless they win the challenge to the law, but in either case I think the situation should settle down.

[ChiefMateJRK]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Of course, my opinion is very unpopular with those who have already booked, but the OP asked for opinions so I'm contributing :).

Booked or made final payment?

[JamieLogical]

If final payment isn't due until September, why not wait and see what happens with the Gem sailing out of Miami in August?

[BermudaBound2014]

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Booked or made final payment?

Both really, but you and I have different philosophies/strategies. You book MANY cruises long in advance (what did you say you have nearly a dozen on the books?) and don't worry about losing any money (deposit or final payment) because your credit card will reimburse you.

 

My strategy (even pre-covid) is to typically book after final payment is due for the 'normal' cruisers. The strategy has saved me thousands. It works for me. Others not-so-much. Of course, I am very flexible with room location. I also don't believe it is the credit cards responsibility to reimburse me should the cruise line go belly up because that just makes credit card fees/interest rates go up for everyone else. If I don't feel a company is financially solid, I will not invest in them, and this is not limited to the NYSE, it also includes investing in a personal cruise deposit.

 

Like I said, a very unpopular opinion 🙂

[jennie0820]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

If final payment isn't due until September, why not wait and see what happens with the Gem sailing out of Miami in August?

Oh I forgot they were leaving then.  That's a good point, thanks!

[saltsandknit]

The Gem begins sailing August 15th you have time to see how early sailings are working out. Florida can’t stop cruises they can only access fines and only if there is proof the law was broken. I have no idea how this will turn out but I have faith that NCL will still sail and work this out through the courts

[Sand and Seas]

Like mentioned above, I'm watching the Gem's August 15th sailing as it is before the due date for our early January Miami cruise.    

 

We are getting closer to NCL's return to sailing from US ports.    It will be fun to read accounts from those on the earliest sailings while the rest of us prepare for our cruises.  I'm planning to cruise from New Orleans in December and Miami in January😎

[RumRunner2021]

3 hours ago, jennie0820 said:

My husband and I have a long awaited cruise planned for January leaving from Florida on the Encore.  We have only paid the deposit, but I am getting more and more nervous as days go on with the recent news and am struggling with what to do.  We are relatively new to cruising (this will be our 4th), and I worry if we make our full payment we will end up not getting to leave from Florida due to the lawsuit.  

 

I have thought about getting onto another cruise with NCL leaving from a different port (not in Florida) just to avoid this mess...

 

Is anyone else worried or am I overthinking!?  

 

 

 

I don't think you're "overthinking."  You're in a tough spot.  I wouldn't worry too much about getting the money back (just DO NOT take anything other than the full cash refund you're entitled to).  I would probably focus on fully refundable hotel and airline tickets (assuming that you are flying).  Those are hard to find.  Southwest Airlines has favorable policies, and they do fly into all the FL airports; but I'm not sure how many parts of the country they fly from.

[Diane67B]

I am in the exactly the same position as you with an Encore cruise leaving Miami in January. I’m scared too. Honestly, I hope that by then it will all be smooth sailing. I am anxiously waiting the Gem sailing out of Miami in August. I will be on pins and needles until then. It’s sad because usually six months from a cruise, I am so excited. This time I feel like I’m riding a rollercoaster of positive and negative cruise news. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

If I don't feel a company is financially solid, I will not invest in them, and this is not limited to the NYSE, it also includes investing in a personal cruise deposit.

 

I look at a deposit as an investment.  It's a cheap/refundable (i.e. free) form of insurance that guarantees I won't be negatively impacted by rising prices.  The posts on this forum that say "I'm so shocked because the cruise I looked at three/six months ago has gone up so much that I now refuse to pay for it" are legion.  You get what you play for.

[CarolinaMamma]

7 hours ago, jennie0820 said:

My husband and I have a long awaited cruise planned for January leaving from Florida on the Encore.  

 

Which sailing are you booked on? We are booked on Encore from Miami 1/16/22 and I am hoping for the best, but not booking flights until I see how things go with the Gem in August.  I really don’t want to book a different ship because prices have increased quite a bit from when we booked. 

[DCGuy64]

7 hours ago, jennie0820 said:

My husband and I have a long awaited cruise planned for January leaving from Florida on the Encore.  We have only paid the deposit, but I am getting more and more nervous as days go on with the recent news and am struggling with what to do.  We are relatively new to cruising (this will be our 4th), and I worry if we make our full payment we will end up not getting to leave from Florida due to the lawsuit.  

 

I have thought about getting onto another cruise with NCL leaving from a different port (not in Florida) just to avoid this mess...

 

Is anyone else worried or am I overthinking!?  

 

Thanks for any insight!

 

 

Overthinking.

 

We're booked on the Gem for September, final payment is next week. The only way we won't go is if NCL cancels, and I doubt they will. They have a lot riding on the resumption of cruising so I expect we will go and all will be well. I'm not worried about the company financially, not one bit. Good luck on your cruise, January is a long way off and way too soon to be worrying about.