Why the Cancellations??

[LocoLoco1]

Industry-wide cruise cancellations or 1/2 full ships lately. Whyso? Low customer interest? Illness after booking? CDC rules? Crew illness? Foriegn country’s quarantines?

[CruiserBruce]

The ships have limited capacities, due to CDC requirements and Covid containment needs, like rooms for quarantining.

 

I think you can figure out the reasons for people canceling...some just aren't comfortable with traveling in these conditions.

[jhannah]

Some cancellations are due to crew developing Covid. This impacts the ship's ability to provide targeted service levels.

Some ports are pushing back and denying entry.

Yes, some folks are choosing to postpone their cruises until things settle down. (Will they ever settle down, really?)

I hope things will find some level of stabilization so cruises can continue at a reasonable rate.

[LocoLoco1]

Sailing at 1/2 or 2/3rds capacity certainly can’t go on indefinitely. Nonetheless, I’ll just keep my 15/day booking in place but won’t book any Air/Hotel yet. 

[Mary229]

  Sure travel sentiment is down from 2019 but the cancellations are caused by labor shortages and crew quarantines. Even airlines are experiencing delays and cancellations.  

 

The ships would rather sail even with less than full capacity and many are.  I think when the spring season opens we will see a marked difference in capacity and travel enthusiasm.  

[Corby114]

My Nieuw Statendam January 2th to January 12th had only six hundred thirty eight passengers sail instead of the sixteen hundred plus passengers that had booked this voyage. The full ship complement is one thousand thirty five crew. Only seven hundred fifty crew were in this sailing. To my knowledge no one contracted Covid during this sailing. Also, this was the third consecutive sailing with no crew allowed to leave the ship during the scheduled port stops.

[mikebsxm]

My biggest concern cruising now is the disaster that happened on the NCL Gem 10 day cruise from New York to the Caribbean on Jan 9.  The only port that would allow them to dock was St. Maarten.  All other ports denied the ship's entry.  They had an overnight in St. Maarten and a slow cruise back to NY.  That would be my concern cruising now.  Yes, they got their money back, probably as future credits, but not a great way to blow a 10 day vacation.

[dogo88]

We were on the 1/2/22-1/16/22 Zuiderdam Panama Canal Cruise from San Diego to Ft Lauderdale. In talking to the staff they told us that the ship had approx. 900 passengers. The return cruise was looking at about 1000 passengers. If that number dropped to under 600 for whatever reason then that cruise would have been cancelled. So for the Zuiderdam PC cruise 600 was the magic passenger number. 

Yes we did have a number of port cancellations but some were substituted with a few other ports. Nothing great but a chance to get off the ship if you wanted.  We actually had a pretty good time with only 1/2 full ship. Minimum lines and easy reservations to Pinnacle and Canaletto. Lots of sea days but we enjoyed them. 

[golfbagger]

Why Cancel?  Have not done so Yet!  Scheduled to sail on 2/13--- But--- Jumpin Jingle-bells,  why take a risk of being sent to a  "Q room" that you did not book?  I would like to support other passengers and also the cruise line.  Is moving to a later date the best way to manage?  Help!!!

Bagger

[Cleckie]

6 hours ago, mikebsxm said:

My biggest concern cruising now is the disaster that happened on the NCL Gem 10 day cruise from New York to the Caribbean on Jan 9.  The only port that would allow them to dock was St. Maarten.  All other ports denied the ship's entry.  They had an overnight in St. Maarten and a slow cruise back to NY.  That would be my concern cruising now.  Yes, they got their money back, probably as future credits, but not a great way to blow a 10 day vacation.

Actually I believe they received 100% refund to original form of payment in addition to 50% of amount paid as FCC

[iceman93]

22 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

I think you can figure out the reasons for people canceling...some just aren't comfortable with traveling in these conditions.

That's a really good way to put it, because there are two categories of people who might not be comfortable with traveling in these conditions: those who see COVID as a big threat, and those who see COVID restrictions as draconian.

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, iceman93 said:

That's a really good way to put it, because there are two categories of people who might not be comfortable with traveling in these conditions: those who see COVID as a big threat, and those who see COVID restrictions as draconian.

Then there are people who accept the world they live in and make the best of it.  I am so beyond talking about Covid and if by now I haven’t figured out how to cope in this environment - shame on me.    

[FlaMariner]

We've cruised twice since the unpleasantness and we booked #3 for March....

 

For us, it's the best time to cruise, ever.....

 

We are enjoying low capacity ships with an attentive staff at some very good prices.

 

The only pesky thing is the mask theatrics and Covid testing drama but we muddle through for all the good times!

 

Get out there!

[LocoLoco1]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

We've cruised twice since the unpleasantness and we booked #3 for March....

 

For us, it's the best time to cruise, ever.....

 

We are enjoying low capacity ships with an attentive staff at some very good prices.

 

The only pesky thing is the mask theatrics and Covid testing drama but we muddle through for all the good times!

 

Get out there!

 

[VermeulT]

On 1/22/2022 at 10:55 AM, mikebsxm said:

My biggest concern cruising now is the disaster that happened on the NCL Gem 10 day cruise from New York to the Caribbean on Jan 9.  The only port that would allow them to dock was St. Maarten.  All other ports denied the ship's entry.  They had an overnight in St. Maarten and a slow cruise back to NY.  That would be my concern cruising now.  Yes, they got their money back, probably as future credits, but not a great way to blow a 10 day vacation.

Depends... do you cruise for the destinations or for the cruising?  As far as Caribbean goes, there are few ports I'd be crushed if I missed. I would certainly not feel I BLEW a 10 day vacation.

[mcrcruiser]

We think the decision whether to cruise or not has a lot to do with  the age factor . We being in our 80s  must be more careful .We have just recovered from omnicron   .We have  6 future cruises booked starting Dec 3,2022  .We are hoping that much of this virus threat could be behind us ;as we are not fully comfortable with the current protocols especially ,at our ages 

[Sushicat]

I heard that one cruise was cancelled because a large charter group backed out and the chances of filling those berths were slim. Not sure what cruise line it was or what the charter group's affinity was. 

[leerathje]

20 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We think the decision whether to cruise or not has a lot to do with  the age factor . We being in our 80s  must be more careful .We have just recovered from omnicron   .We have  6 future cruises booked starting Dec 3,2022  .We are hoping that much of this virus threat could be behind us ;as we are not fully comfortable with the current protocols especially ,at our ages 

 

I'm 55 and I have cancelled two cruises lately...one for December 1, 2021 and one for February 23, 2022. What with the hoops that Canadians have to jump through to cross the border just to get there....I have NO DESIRE to spend a cruise (and my holidays from work, as I'm not retired) or a portion of, in quarantine.

 

I'm not a "lay in the sun" kind of person.  I take a cruise to see the ports, not sit on a boat and do nothing. I'd book an all-inclusive in Mexico if I wanted to do that.

 

That being said, I support COVID guidance and restrictions.  It's not just Omicorn out there, but Delta is still floating around as well.  Even though Omicron appears to be less lethal, there are still those fully vaccinated getting sick and being hospitalized. I'd rather it not be me.

 

L.

 

[Hlitner]

So lets go back to the original topic of "why cancel?"  As one who has been traveling (extensively since last July) and taken 3 cruises (48 days) in the last 6 months I think the answer is pretty obvious.  The cruise lines all planned on a "soft opening" when they gradually resumed operations.  Ships were generally operating far below capacity because of a combination of soft bookings and government mandates.  The CDC Guidelines are no longer mandatory and there are no more government mandates (regarding capacity) so the cruise lines are on their own.  But bookings have continued to be soft and Omicron has caused lots of on board issues with both passengers and crew.  Add to this the big increase in fuel cost (a major expense item for any ship) and increases in nearly all commodities (especially food).  There have also been numerous problems with ports who refuse docking to ships with too many COVID cases.

 

Put all this together and the cruise lines have again been reducing operations to trim costs and also deal with crew shortages due to COVID and related issues (most crew must quarantine for 10-14 days when they arrive on a ship for their contract).    Some cruise lines (such as Seabourn and MSC) have tried to continue with their schedule while other lines such as RCI have reduced the number of cruises (including last minute cancelations).  

 

For those who have been staying home and delaying trips/cruises I will suggest that traveling these days is a mixed bag.  And many folks seem to be having problems dealing with their own demons (i.e. Covid Phobia) which results in them canceling or not even booking any cruises/trips.  We live in a major cruise port (Puerto Vallarta) during the winter and have actually had friends who came here for the winter change their minds (within 2 weeks) and head home as they simply could not cope with their own Covid Phobia.  Lets be honest....traveling and cruising is not fun if you are afraid to go out of your cabin, eat in a restaurant, relax at a bar, etc.

 

My suggestion to those debating whether to book a cruise is that they first look inside themselves and resolve whether they can travel in this COVID world without having all kinds of doubts and 2nd thoughts.  DW and I have had a lot of fun on our 3 recent cruises (and our winter in Puerto Vallarta) because we have been able to accept (for about a year) that COVID is just one more risk (life has many risks) that we can handle.  But not everyone can mentally deal with the risk (many call this risk tolerance) and failure to accept the risk will likely mean you will have a miserable time when traveling.

 

Hank

[KAKcruiser]

I'm willing to risk getting covid.  However, I'm not sure if I want to risk being quarantined for 10 days.

[LocoLoco1]

Great thoughts. Thankyou. Methinks cruisers who actually HAVE (or had) Covid probably view things now thru a different lens.  That said, the Yet-to-be ill need to ponder there’s Helluva difference being home and sick from ANYTHING and being far far away.   CRUISELINES?? Methinks the recent onboard situation issues weren’t anticipated, the Suits’ earlier gave sailing the go-ahead and now they’re probably sailing at a $loss$.  Simply a P***poor time to be in the cruising business. I’m still booked.  

[bennybear]

I really wish it was just a mental state of mind. Unfortunately I know several multivaccinated that have been hospitalized, and are facing lifetime complications.   

[Hlitner]

7 minutes ago, KAKcruiser said:

I'm willing to risk getting covid.  However, I'm not sure if I want to risk being quarantined for 10 days.

I thought a blog from a HAL cruiser was enlightening.  These were Americans who were on the Koningsdam and doing back to back cruises out of Ft Lauderdale.  They tested positive at the end of their first segment and HAL tossed them off the ship in Ft Lauderdale.  They were taken to a Coral Springs area hotel where they were to quarantine, but at that point they were completely on their own.  Accordingly they could have simply gone out to the airport and caught a flight home, went out to party on the town, etc.  These folks posted that they felt obligated to continue their quarantine (they should be commended) but that was their decision.  And also consider since they are in the US and will be flying domestically there is no testing requirement.  

 

For Canadians and folks from outside the USA it is an entirely different situation where not only would they need to quarantine (or at least cool their heels) but would need to meet the requirements of testing or a physicians letter before they could fly to either Canada or elsewhere in the world.

 

Hank

[mcrcruiser]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

So lets go back to the original topic of "why cancel?"  As one who has been traveling (extensively since last July) and taken 3 cruises (48 days) in the last 6 months I think the answer is pretty obvious.  The cruise lines all planned on a "soft opening" when they gradually resumed operations.  Ships were generally operating far below capacity because of a combination of soft bookings and government mandates.  The CDC Guidelines are no longer mandatory and there are no more government mandates (regarding capacity) so the cruise lines are on their own.  But bookings have continued to be soft and Omicron has caused lots of on board issues with both passengers and crew.  Add to this the big increase in fuel cost (a major expense item for any ship) and increases in nearly all commodities (especially food).  There have also been numerous problems with ports who refuse docking to ships with too many COVID cases.

 

Put all this together and the cruise lines have again been reducing operations to trim costs and also deal with crew shortages due to COVID and related issues (most crew must quarantine for 10-14 days when they arrive on a ship for their contract).    Some cruise lines (such as Seabourn and MSC) have tried to continue with their schedule while other lines such as RCI have reduced the number of cruises (including last minute cancelations).  

 

For those who have been staying home and delaying trips/cruises I will suggest that traveling these days is a mixed bag.  And many folks seem to be having problems dealing with their own demons (i.e. Covid Phobia) which results in them canceling or not even booking any cruises/trips.  We live in a major cruise port (Puerto Vallarta) during the winter and have actually had friends who came here for the winter change their minds (within 2 weeks) and head home as they simply could not cope with their own Covid Phobia.  Lets be honest....traveling and cruising is not fun if you are afraid to go out of your cabin, eat in a restaurant, relax at a bar, etc.

 

My suggestion to those debating whether to book a cruise is that they first look inside themselves and resolve whether they can travel in this COVID world without having all kinds of doubts and 2nd thoughts.  DW and I have had a lot of fun on our 3 recent cruises (and our winter in Puerto Vallarta) because we have been able to accept (for about a year) that COVID is just one more risk (life has many risks) that we can handle.  But not everyone can mentally deal with the risk (many call this risk tolerance) and failure to accept the risk will likely mean you will have a miserable time when traveling.

 

Hank

Hank you are the eternal optimist  & it works for you . 

We are in  our  80s & we are just recovering from   the omnicron  variant .We had been vaccinated & got theraputic  meds to help us .I can honestly tell you we would not want to get ill again . What we went through was very unpleasant 

 

Certainly we love to cruise again & if thing change we would be cruising ,so we will see how it all works out by summer before we make our final decision . You  know the saying once bitten 

[mcrcruiser]

12 minutes ago, bennybear said:

I really wish it was just a mental state of mind. Unfortunately I know several multivaccinated that have been hospitalized, and are facing lifetime complications.   

Agree  especially if the theraputics were not available to them .They make all the difference in recovering