January & February 2022 Cruisers

[mustymom]

As long as my test is negative 72 hours before, I will be at the pier and ready for the 2nd test on Sunday January 9 to board the Gem. I don't care if the ship sails for the whole 10 days without stopping. I just love being on the ocean. It is the best way to relax on a vacation.

[brandybit]

I'm hoping by our sail date they change that rule of cruises after Feb 1 needing to have a negative test within 48 hr, and instead test at the pier at NCL's expense like they are doing for cruises up to Jan 31.  We will be at Disney for the two days prior to sail and will not be able to get to a testing site.  

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

For people who are cruising in January or February, have you made a decision on going or cancelling?

 

Our cruise is on the 15th on the Escape and we decided to go for it.  If it gets cancelled, we will choose a refund instead of FCC.  We are meeting family members and have decided to make the best of it.  We do appreciate being given a choice of a full FCC.  

What are you doing?

There is no reason to cancel. We have all made a decision to book a cruise in the middle of a pandemic. 10's and 10's of thousands of people cruise every week. And so are we!

[vswan]

Supposed to go late January. Right now I am in a wait and see mode. I keep hoping that this fast moving variant moves fast and is out of here before then. Or than I get it and have recovered prior. Sailed in November on HAL. Masks required and it wasn't that big of a deal to me, so that wouldn't make me cancel - and I loved the lower guest count. The reason that I am considering going is that I have a 25% and a 10% discount applied to this cruise and would probably loose both if canceled - and future prices look higher so my FCC wouldn't stretch too far.

[exgman]

3 hours ago, WYB! said:

Departing for a B2B in less then 10 days.

 

I'm not going to worry about the things I can't control.

I'm going to do my best to make sure I'm protected and do my best to protect others.

 

I've gotten my 1 & 2 shot and booster in November + Flu shot in September and scheduled a PCR test for within 72 hours of my voyage. I'm fine with the indoor mask mandate. I also have (Non-NCL) travel insurance.

 

I've made my specialty dining reservations and used 30k in BoA points to upgrade from a O4 to a BA cabin category and got my eDocs and luggage tags printed.
I also plan on bringing my bike with me too.

I will call people out on board if I see something that isn't "kosher" with current guidelines.

Safe travels & Happy New Year

- WYB

You’re taking your bike? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. 

[CruiseFanatic223]

We're going if the ship is sailing. Had several cruises cancelled, even one for a mechanical reason prior to COVID even starting. We are ready to sail!!

 

7 hours ago, JennyLou97 said:

Our cruise plans have been cancelled 5 times already - we have our bags packed and will be leaving tomorrow for cruise departure on Sunday!  I'm 100% ready to set sail!

Encore out of Miami?

 

7 hours ago, SharkieQueen said:

We are due to leave on Sunday, and can’t wait. So excited 😀😀😀

Encore out of Miami?

 

7 hours ago, johnoj said:

Both of us tested negative late yesterday with a proctored test at CVS.  Leaving tomorrow for Miami and then the Encore on Jan 2.  We're going at this point no matter what.

So did we. We'll be on the Encore as well! See you then!

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, mustymom said:

I don't care if the ship sails for the whole 10 days without stopping. I just love being on the ocean. It is the best way to relax on a vacation.

Amen Sister!  Preach it!!!!

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 hours ago, WYB! said:

I will call people out on board if I see something that isn't "kosher" with current guidelines.

WT* does this mean?  Are you really planning to play Covid Police on your "vacation?"  Please stay off my cruise....

[WYB!]

I guess it means if I see something I should say something rather then keep it to myself and then only complain about it on a CC board after the cruise is completed.

 

I'm not going to worry about the things I can't control.

I'm going to do my best to make sure I'm protected and do my best to protect others.

 

If your plans is to screw up a cruise, I'd appreciate it if you stayed off any cruise. Thanks.

 

Also, my bike has spent 116 days so far on NCL ships, which is also why I don't really care what port the ship ends up going to as I'll just ride around in any port as long as the weather is nice.

 

Additional information on bikes with NCL can also be found here:

 

Safe travels & Happy New Year!

 

- WYB

Edited January 1, 2022 by WYB!

[Tantsee]

We got cold feet and cancelled our 1/2/22 cruise on the Dawn just before final payment.   It seemed like the hysteria was dying down a little, so we decided to rebook.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the room we wanted, so we ended up booking basically the same cruise, but for 1/18/22 instead.  Now that the pandemic is ramping back up, I have to admit we are both a little concerned, but still looking forward to the cruise.  We are in our favorite Deluxe Owner’s Suite, so if a quarantine happens or we’re stuck at sea, I’m fine with that!   😎

[MsTabbyKats]

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

There is no reason to cancel. We have all made a decision to book a cruise in the middle of a pandemic. 10's and 10's of thousands of people cruise every week. And so are we!

No ...we made a decision to book a cruise when the covid rate was very low,  when breakthru cases were minimal and when masks weren't mandated.

 

[snooper1225]

9 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

For people who are cruising in January or February, have you made a decision on going or cancelling?

 

Our cruise is on the 15th on the Escape and we decided to go for it.  If it gets cancelled, we will choose a refund instead of FCC.  We are meeting family members and have decided to make the best of it.  We do appreciate being given a choice of a full FCC.  

What are you doing?

My husband and I are on this cruise as well.  Unless NCL cancels, we're just going to go.  This is just crazy, it's day to day

[tupperstamper]

We are on the Pride of America January 29. We are looking forward to it after 5 cancelled cruises.

[Travelicious]

1 hour ago, Tantsee said:

We got cold feet and cancelled our 1/2/22 cruise on the Dawn just before final payment.   It seemed like the hysteria was dying down a little, so we decided to rebook.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the room we wanted, so we ended up booking basically the same cruise, but for 1/18/22 instead.  Now that the pandemic is ramping back up, I have to admit we are both a little concerned, but still looking forward to the cruise.  We are in our favorite Deluxe Owner’s Suite, so if a quarantine happens or we’re stuck at sea, I’m fine with that!   😎

That looks incredible!  No way I would cancel!

[travman1031]

We're scheduled for the Encore on Feb 13th. We're good to go.

[luckyinpa]

i dont read the news but was curious and searched some NY area news to see about the ball dropping etc. came across a WM that is closing  https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/2nd-nj-walmart-abruptly-closes-as-states-covid-outbreak-worsens/3473109/

 

and i know some nfl games and other hockey games even locally were canceled the past week or so. id hate to be a sports lover in this environment. i always did wonder under what conditions local stores get closed because theres 100% certainty that someone with covid has been in every store i'm sure. 

 

i dont think ships are gonna close but i do wonder when a ship has an itinerary that last week was denied entry to the ports, what are they gonna do? 

[highseaschick]

10 hours ago, BEACHBARB said:

We're sailing BTB on Joy 1/22/22.  At this point, we are hoping NCL cancels so we can get our money back.  I saw my nephew for a few hours on Sunday (he wore a mask but had tested negative) but now he's positive.  My sister and I both have cold symptoms so who knows if we have it.  All vaccinated with boosters.

 

I hope you do not have Covid but if you do, take the wait and see approach. You may be free and clear in time to enjoy the cruise and not worry about Covid for a little. While people can pick up different variants, the liklihood is that Omicron is the dominant variant going around right now. Wishing you well and a happy and healthy New Year.

Edited January 1, 2022 by highseaschick

[itsnotjustme]

3 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

WT* does this mean?  Are you really planning to play Covid Police on your "vacation?"  Please stay off my cruise....

I guess this means you will not be following the rules??

[classy_cruiser]

I can’t decide. Encore hasn’t seemed to be hit by omicron yet 

[Stealthdog]

Im considering a Feb cruise, but going to wait another 2-3 weeks before i decide.  Depends on what the masking requirements will be at the time.

[MarkusToe]

7 hours ago, Tantsee said:

We got cold feet and cancelled our 1/2/22 cruise on the Dawn just before final payment.   It seemed like the hysteria was dying down a little, so we decided to rebook.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the room we wanted, so we ended up booking basically the same cruise, but for 1/18/22 instead.  Now that the pandemic is ramping back up, I have to admit we are both a little concerned, but still looking forward to the cruise.  We are in our favorite Deluxe Owner’s Suite, so if a quarantine happens or we’re stuck at sea, I’m fine with that!   😎

But you know, they will move you to

q-station in case.....

[cltcruisers123]

We have the Joy in a few weeks on the 22nd with a couple friends. Staying in Haven. Been looking forward to the cruise all year, so we moving forward with it. We’ve been to 3 of 4 ports before and since 2 are Mexico stops and 1 is their private island I don’t think those will get cancelled. I doubt Roatan would get cancelled either. Wife loves to be on the ship more than anything, so as long as they still have activities going on and not confined to cabin I think it will be fine even with masks. 

[Daytonasailor]

12 hours ago, brandybit said:

I'm hoping by our sail date they change that rule of cruises after Feb 1 needing to have a negative test within 48 hr, and instead test at the pier at NCL's expense like they are doing for cruises up to Jan 31.  We will be at Disney for the two days prior to sail and will not be able to get to a testing site.  

We are in the same boat, no pun intended. We are in Miami on Feb 9 for a Getaway cruise on Feb 11. NCL says must be tested 48 hours prior. If we board ship at 11 am, that means test must be conducted on Feb 9 prior to 11 am. We have a FCC from over a year ago and its in the thousands like many others so I'd hate to have a snafu at the dock after getting all shots and boosters required.  Someone said CVS will test. I'll have to check it out and hope results will be back within the time frame indicated.

[MarkusToe]

Question on this CVS test.... Is it available for tourists as well, or US guys only? 

[TNcruising02]

As far as testing ahead of time, we ended up ordering proctored home tests with a company that partnered with Norwegian.  We went to their site, entered the name of the ship and sailing date and the testing dates came up.  I chose two days before the cruise and then I was able to schedule an appointment time for my husband and myself.  I was surprised at how quickly the test kits came in the mail. $40 per person or 3 tests for $80.

From NCL:

For guests that prefer to test prior to travel in the comfort of their home or while travelling, we have partnered with Inspired Diagnostics to provide FDA-approved, proctored, in-home antigen testing for our guests. Inspired Diagnostics is a subsidiary of Inspire Health Alliance, a leader in best-in-class health services. Testing at home is safe, simple, and convenient. Purchasing in-home testing kits takes just five simple, easy steps at: https://inspirediagnostics.com/ncl/.

 

Norwegian Cruise Line has partnered with Inspire Diagnostics to provide hassle-free, pre-cruise at home supervised testing for our guests. Inspire makes it simple and easy to sail away safely with U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention approved test results sent securely to your mobile device or email.

Inspire will ship your test kit a few weeks ahead of your sail date and send you a friendly reminder when it’s time for you to take your at-home supervised test.

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by TNcruising02