How long is too long?

[jane01jp]

We are retirees with grown children, and are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). We had our back-to-back August 2020 double-dip Dream cruises cancelled this year, and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

During the pandemic, we have radically altered our vacation habits, but have not eliminated, nor curtailed them. We spent eight weeks at Isle of Palms, SC this summer, as opposed to our usual one week. We have always been big fans of western national parks, and are planning to go out to Arizona/Utah in October.

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

 

[BartmanLA]

While it's not a certainty at this point, I'm hopeful that there will be progress now that the No Sail order will expire, and the cruise industry is going to meet with Federal officials soon that could open the door to allowing cruise lines to resume operations at some point in the near future. Be that as it may be, we're booked on the 2021 WBPC, and hoping to book the 2022 WBPC so we can enjoy that trip one way or another, it's our favorite itinerary.

 

[Intr3pid]

If you are referring to a vacation that involves just relaxing and putting your feet up, yes, there are many other ways to do it. We have a week booked in Cancun for this December to do exactly that.

I don't know if you can avoid your deal-killers altogether in a land vacation, and we sure are glad they are enforcing masks while the pandemic is still raging.

For us, hiking in a national park is something very different and doesn't compete with our cruise vacation. We would do both - sometimes with the cruise as a reward after a more active trip.

If you are into travel, however, cruising is hard to beat. It's a true escape. It's cost- and time-efficient and can take you to places in one trip which is nigh on impossible to do in a land vacation.

 

[Snowwhyt]

We are retirees with grown children, and are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). We had our back-to-back August 2020 double-dip Dream cruises cancelled this year, and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

During the pandemic, we have radically altered our vacation habits, but have not eliminated, nor curtailed them. We spent eight weeks at Isle of Palms, SC this summer, as opposed to our usual one week. We have always been big fans of western national parks, and are planning to go out to Arizona/Utah in October.

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

Well it’s always good to switch things up for a while. Getting out and enjoying other things will only make you enjoy parts of your return to cruises even more. (Advice not recommended for marriage)
Maybe you will incorporate a extended vacation. Start in Galveston end with an entire week in Puerto Rico. Or start with a week in Vancouver and finish with a seven day Alaska cruise. Perhaps your port adventures will change.
I have been interested in the Canada cruises also. But I like it cold.

 

[jane01jp]

Well it’s always good to switch things up for a while. Getting out and enjoying other things will only make you enjoy parts of your return to cruises even more. (Advice not recommended for marriage)
Maybe you will incorporate a extended vacation. Start in Galveston end with an entire week in Puerto Rico. Or start with a week in Vancouver and finish with a seven day Alaska cruise. Perhaps your port adventures will change.
I have been interested in the Canada cruises also. But I like it cold.

Maybe so. Thanks for your encouraging words.

 

[DCLMP]

We are retirees with grown children, and are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). We had our back-to-back August 2020 double-dip Dream cruises cancelled this year, and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

During the pandemic, we have radically altered our vacation habits, but have not eliminated, nor curtailed them. We spent eight weeks at Isle of Palms, SC this summer, as opposed to our usual one week. We have always been big fans of western national parks, and are planning to go out to Arizona/Utah in October.

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

We're not retirees, but my kids are close to being grown 16 and 17. Every vacation over the last twelve years has involved a cruise{25 cruises}. We cancelled our European cruise this Summer and went to WDW instead. I was planning on rebooking the cruise for next Summer, but now I'm looking at doing something different like a land trip to Japan or Germany or maybe an adventures by Disney vacation. We also plan on visiting some of the national parks in Wyoming and Montana, and maybe finally taking that Washington D.C. trip we've been putting off. I feel like the longer this goes on the less likely we are to return to our cruising habits.

I was OK with the face coverings at WDW, but all the restrictions on the cruises doesn't sound appealing. I was really hoping to do one more cruise before my oldest turned 18, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

On a positive note there are a lot of places I'd like to go that would be better by land so I guess this is my chance to do those.

 

[Drfate102]

For us, it isn't a matter of when we will get back on, but will we be able to afford to and not due to loss of jobs, I work infrastructure and my wife works government. But people love cruising and demand will spike back up, but there are ships out there that are being scrapped, which lowers supply and how long they will have lower capacity. All of this is going to raise prices. So it is a wait and see what happens.

 

[GPaLarry]

We are very retired and have done 9 DCL cruises and one on Princess (never again). I sailed on a troop ship (USNS Patch) from New Jersey (Fort Dix) to Bremerhaven, Germany in 1959...it was no cruise so I don't count it in my total. Wife and I do mix air and land travel with sea...and non Disney. South Africa, Australia & New Zealand, Europe and South America have been mixed with DCL cruises and we plan to do this for a few more years until age and physical abilities slow us down. Travel is always an adventure for us and we hope the new virus restrictions (many imposed by the countries we go to) permit great, new experiences...with or without the mouse.

 

[Quellman]

Absolutely we have been reprioritizing our plans for trips. Make everything an adventure says I. Though to be fair, we have always been planning other trips as well. We have done a week at the mountains and the beach (until Sandy showed up) this year. In the future we have more trips planned to coincide with our homeschooling. Philly, NYC, Washington DC, state and national parks. Obviously funds are limited. Cruising will likely not be an every year adventure, but closer to every 2. We will still visit Orlando every year (DVC) but maybe not always do just Disney.

 

[CamColt]

I'm not against other vacations, however they will not replace my love for cruising. They are in addition to.

 

[DCLMP]

For us, it isn't a matter of when we will get back on, but will we be able to afford to and not due to loss of jobs, I work infrastructure and my wife works government. But people love cruising and demand will spike back up, but there are ships out there that are being scrapped, which lowers supply and how long they will have lower capacity. All of this is going to raise prices. So it is a wait and see what happens.

I agree with you I think prices will go up as capacity goes down. I see the same thing happening with flights. Good luck on the job front. We went through that in the 2008 recession. Not fun.

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

I'm not having any of those thoughts. The way I see it, there's no telling how long mask wearing, and distancing is going to be. Either I can keep pushing back the cruise until it's all over, (which who knows how long it will take, could be months or years) or go, try to have a fun and relaxing vacation, and then wait until the rules have changed or gone away to book a restricted-free cruise.

 

[AquaDame]

We are retirees with grown children, and are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). We had our back-to-back August 2020 double-dip Dream cruises cancelled this year, and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

During the pandemic, we have radically altered our vacation habits, but have not eliminated, nor curtailed them. We spent eight weeks at Isle of Palms, SC this summer, as opposed to our usual one week. We have always been big fans of western national parks, and are planning to go out to Arizona/Utah in October.

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

We are not. Cruising is just one of many kinds of vacations we enjoy. We've been all around the world on guided tours and DIY tours; to visit family, to learn, to work. I do think it is possible to outgrow things and don't doubt that one of these days an embarkation will be our last, but it won't be because too much time has passed since we sailed. I don't think time will make us "forget" cruising if all our other trips and experiences haven't already done so.

I do think that this break is forcing people who only cruise and do the parks to try something new though, and the gleam of that big world might entice some folks to forget for awhile or for forever.

 

[Travel60]

We also do many types of vacations. When kids were younger (through college) cruising was tops. But, when it's just DH and me, I'd rather do small ship cruising, excursion cruising or river cruising. Or land tours/excursions -we won't cruise until vaccinated. I think I just got weary of unmannered kids and entitled adults (I know most are not like this but it only takes one or two). For now, DCL is probably on the back burner but once my grandchildren get old enough to cruise, my tune will probably change.

 

[DCLMP]

We are not. Cruising is just one of many kinds of vacations we enjoy. We've been all around the world on guided tours and DIY tours; to visit family, to learn, to work. I do think it is possible to outgrow things and don't doubt that one of these days an embarkation will be our last, but it won't be because too much time has passed since we sailed. I don't think time will make us "forget" cruising if all our other trips and experiences haven't already done so.

I do think that this break is forcing people who only cruise and do the parks to try something new though, and the gleam of that big world might entice some folks to forget for awhile or for forever.

This is true. We've cruised all over the world. I think it's the easiest way to travel with kids. It's not so much seeing a big new world it's changing the way I see the world.

 

[tvguy]

Well, it hasn't impacted us. We've gone as long as 14 years between cruises. And THAT wait was until we felt the cruise industry have a handle on another health issue, norovirus. The difference in sanitation from 1998 to 2002 on ships was amazing. No hand sanitizer station stations on ships in 1998, but all over the ship in 2002. The next year we cruised Disney, and even more so. And we cruised a year ago and you could not get on or off the ship, into dining room or public area without being stopped by a crew member with a huge jug of hand sanitizer. And they wiped down railings and elevator buttons multiple times a day, and that was several months before covid-19.

We were in Phoenix the week of March 9 this year when everything started hitting the fan. We haven't been more than 40 miles from home since, and then only twice to pickup our wine club items. Today is my last day to work for a week, and we aren't going anywhere, same with our week off in July. There isn't anywhere to go. But the truth is, we were going to retire 2 months ago and live very close to the belt financially for the next three years anyway. We were going to live off savings until retirement benefits kick in in three years. The cost of healthcare before we qualify for Medicare has gone through the roof. By putting off retirement 10 months we literally are saving enough in medical premiums to buy a new car.

 

[bobbiwoz]

This year we cancelled two very significant cruises, Australia and the Mediterranean including Italy and Israel. If there is any possibility to get those in during our lives, I am all for it!

 

[KashasMom]

We are retirees with grown children, and are big DCL fans (21 cruises so far). We had our back-to-back August 2020 double-dip Dream cruises cancelled this year, and have scheduled the Magic Canada cruise for October 2021.

During the pandemic, we have radically altered our vacation habits, but have not eliminated, nor curtailed them. We spent eight weeks at Isle of Palms, SC this summer, as opposed to our usual one week. We have always been big fans of western national parks, and are planning to go out to Arizona/Utah in October.

We are starting to ask ourselves, if we get out of the habit of cruising, due to extended shutdowns or restrictions that are deal-killers for us (such as mandatory face coverings), will we ever go back to cruising? Ditto for Disney/Universal parks.

Is anyone else out there having those same kinds of thoughts?

We usually visit the parks as part of our cruise - a day here or there. Somehow we end up taking a cruise or two each year but cruises are not our primary type of vacation. We generally like to spend more time exploring a particular place and cruises are so limited as to where they can go as well as ports being so far from too many cities. A big change for us is having a daughter in middle school and after taking her out of school last year for a Disney cruise, she asked that we not take her out of school anymore to travel. So our vacation time is at a premium! We have a Disney cruise planned for August but beyond that I'm not actively considering cruises. There's too much of the world to see that we can't see on a cruise.

 

[jane01jp]

We usually visit the parks as part of our cruise - a day here or there. Somehow we end up taking a cruise or two each year but cruises are not our primary type of vacation. We generally like to spend more time exploring a particular place and cruises are so limited as to where they can go as well as ports being so far from too many cities. A big change for us is having a daughter in middle school and after taking her out of school last year for a Disney cruise, she asked that we not take her out of school anymore to travel. So our vacation time is at a premium! We have a Disney cruise planned for August but beyond that I'm not actively considering cruises. There's too much of the world to see that we can't see on a cruise.

I know what you mean. We prefer land-based vacations when we are going to new places.

 

[truck1]

For those that mention ships being scrapped, and inventory going down, keep in mind that Carnival and Royal are both adding mega ships to the fleet. Theres at least 1 more Oasis class ship coming in which would roughly equal 2 to 3 times the capacity of just 1 ship sent to the breakers, not counting Oddessey, and Carnival has 2 mega ships coming up that would probably equal if not exceed the capacity of the 4 Fantasy class ships they sent to the breakers.
The number of ships may change but inventory is most likely going up. Or at least staying even.