Extend Your Stay

[Tatra603]

What happened to 'Extend Your Stay'?

Is it still available? 

Haven't seen any mention of it for ages. 

Has it been quietly dropped?

 

[wrk2cruise]

I don't think it's been available since the restart due to covid and cleaning protocols.   Even prior it was rare to have it offered here in the US.

 

We were just on Connie a couple weeks ago B2B.   The ship was cleared and we were back onboard by 9:30 am so don't expect to hang around onboard.

Edited January 29, 2022 by wrk2cruise

[davekathy]

My guess is it was terminated for the obvious, covid protocols when cruising resumed. 

Edited January 29, 2022 by davekathy

[canderson]

Currently not even available to upper suites where it's one of the standard perks.  Seems they want even public areas fully clear of pax for cleaning at the turn.

[jelayne]

We did a B2B in October. B2B cruisers who were booked in Suites met in the Retreat Lounge at 9 were escorted off the ship at 9:15 and directly back on.  We were changing suites and we when to our new suite at 9:30 to find our belonging had been moved and the new Suite was fully cleaned and prepped. 

[canderson]

13 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We did a B2B in October. B2B cruisers who were booked in Suites met in the Retreat Lounge at 9 were escorted off the ship at 9:15 and directly back on.  We were changing suites and we when to our new suite at 9:30 to find our belonging had been moved and the new Suite was fully cleaned and prepped. 

We had the same B2B experience, though as it was a restart, the clumsiness of the process took more like 30 minutes to get us back aboard.  We really appreciated that we (along with about 50 others) were allowed back on quickly in spite of the cleaning scramble at the turn.  

 

At the end of our 2nd leg, we had to he off by 9:30.  There would have been only 10 couples that would have automatically been provided access to "Extend Your Stay" (8 RS and 2 PH), and I'm sure with flights that not all could have taken advantage of it, and we were surprised that it was not offered to us since it was a standard perk for the cabin.  I could understand if there was concern that a lot of pax might pony up the $59, and why they might not offer that due to potential for high number of takers, but not even 10 couples at the high end?

 

[Phxazzcruisers]

Since the restart, the ships have to be completely cleared and cleaned, the only exceptions being B2B cruisers.  Extend your stay will not return until this pandemic goes away and things return to normal, if ever......  Even when they had it is the past, it was only on selective sailings....

[canderson]

8 minutes ago, Phxazzcruisers said:

Since the restart, the ships have to be completely cleared and cleaned, the only exceptions being B2B cruisers.  Extend your stay will not return until this pandemic goes away and things return to normal, if ever......  Even when they had it is the past, it was only on selective sailings....

What surprised us was that the ship was 'cleared' for at most 30 minutes, and would have been half that if shoreside had their act together on the reembarkation process (Tampa, and their first experience of doing it).  So is this clearing business just some CDC nit in the CSO (optional now)?  If so, not clear why a small number of upper suite pax couldn't be left aboard until later.  They'd be vastly outnumbered by the B2B pax who typically reboard within minutes.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by canderson

[1025cruise]

Clearing the ship is an immigration requirement. That's why B2B guests need to debark. In some circumstances, if there are a lot of B2Bers, immigration might come onboard to clear in a lounge. Note that this is pre-covid.

[barbette165]

6 minutes ago, canderson said:

What surprised us was that the ship was 'cleared' for at most 30 minutes, and would have been half that if shoreside had their act together on the reembarkation process (Tampa, and their first experience of doing it).  So is this clearing business just some CDC nit in the CSO (optional now)?  If so, not clear why a small number of upper suite pax couldn't be left aboard until later.  They'd be vastly outnumbered by the B2B pax who typically reboard within minutes.

 

 

Do the B2B passengers still need to have a test the day before changeover? If so, then all passengers onboard after the ‘clear’ will have recently tested negative. Unless they also test the extend your stay passengers, there is perhaps an increased risk that a virus outbreak could be seeded on the next cruise. It’s a risk they can avoid by removing the facility.

[canderson]

9 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

Do the B2B passengers still need to have a test the day before changeover? If so, then all passengers onboard after the ‘clear’ will have recently tested negative. Unless they also test the extend your stay passengers, there is perhaps an increased risk that a virus outbreak could be seeded on the next cruise. It’s a risk they can avoid by removing the facility.

Yes, B2B are still tested the day before the turn.  Still, a small handful of Extend guests won't make a difference.  The ship is about to board another boatload who tested 48 hours before, but may still be asymptomatic carriers (for a whole host of reasons, including their pre-cruise travel with a bunch of people who may also have been carriers).  The statistics don't really seem to argue against a few Extend passengers.  Wouldn't have been a big deal, but we had a 4:00pm flight out of Tampa, and would have enjoyed the extra time aboard.