Wonder Heading Back to Port Canaveral?

[Ravenclaw78]

I went ahead and PIF because if our November Panama Canal cruise is cancelled, I would like to take advantage of the FCC. I, too, wondered why people were cancelling before their PIF and have not seen a logistical reason other than cash flow.

If you've decided not to go even if they do sail, and you believe there's even a chance that the cruise might still sail as scheduled, then you might decide it's not worth paying in full and risking losing some or all of your money.

 

[stsomewhere]

We cancelled before our paid in full date. Too many unknowns. Travel restrictions, what type of cruise modifications would be put in place. We did not want to take a FCC because we did not know the next time we would sail with them. We liked the DCL WBTA interary because it worked with our schedule and we liked the idea of characters and other special events DCL offers on transatlantic crossings. We prefer to sail on NCL now that our kids are adults. ETA: It was very stressful wondering if your cruise was going to be cancelled, would flights be cancelled, 14 day quarantine upon arrival in UK, we had two Candain ports which we could not go to due to Canada not allowing ships until 10/31 That stress was gone once we decided to cancel on our PIF date 6/4. DCL cancelled cruise on 6/8. ( the same day as the UK 14 day quarantine began)

 

[MomOTwins]

I went ahead and PIF because if our November Panama Canal cruise is cancelled, I would like to take advantage of the FCC. I, too, wondered why people were cancelling before their PIF and have not seen a logistical reason other than cash flow.

Some people cannot cruise again in the window to take advantage of the FCC, especially if they already had a cruise cancelled and so their window is shorter because it runs from the original cancelled sail date. For example one poster on here had a wife who was newly pregnant at the start of the 15 month window--and 9 months plus 6 months (minimum infant age) means that 15 months won't work. In less extreme examples, another person mentioned that they had very limited windows each year in which they can take vacation and even with 25%, the 2021 cruise in their vacation window would be much more expensive given Disney's seasonal pricing.

 

[auntlynne]

On the internet this morning, curious where the ships were - and thinking that all four ships were now in the hurricane zone for the summer.

Found the Magic in Dover, England, to allow crew to disembark and go home. Why not fly from the US? It appears the CDC has a requirement that crew members may not travel by commercial means.

• “Ensure disembarking crew members:
  • will not stay overnight in a hotel before the flight or at any point until they reach their final destination
  • will not use public transportation (including taxis, rental cars or ride-share services) to get to the airport/charter flight
  • will not enter the public airport terminal
  • will not take commercial aircraft after an initial charter flight
  • will not have a transportation layover exceeding 8 hours
  • will not have interaction with the public during their travel home or to their new duty station (e.g., rental car companies, restaurants, other public areas)“

Air travel is to be chartered, not commercial. If DCL doesn’t want to charter flights to the regions around the world from which our waiters, stateroom attendants... hail, then they have to get to a country that will allow them to board commercial flights. I’m guessing England, France, or The Netherlands would offer the long-haul flights to get them back to Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe.

I figure the same concept applies to the Wonder. Drop offs in several Caribbean countries with international flights would help workers get home. (The US built a nice airport in Grenada - yesterday’s stop? -after their skirmish).

I have wondered what it was costing to keep a ship in a California port, anyway. Nothing is cheap there.

I’m booked and PIF for an early November Magic sailing, (1) to be ready to book Palo on Platinum date of July 10 or (2) hoping to get 125% credit on a future cruise if cancelled. I just found a decently priced a Magic Norwegian cruise next September as a replacement (or better yet, as just another vacation).

 

[insureman]

Looks like the Wonder and Dream are heading to St. Lucia.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Looks like the Wonder and Dream are heading to St. Lucia.

Yeah, I saw that earlier, but I neglected to post the info.

 

[SamFaniam]

Looks like the Wonder and Dream are heading to St. Lucia.

it’s interesting that they would both go there. I guess I assumed they would swap over any necessary crew members, and then go to different islands if they are dropping people off. But perhaps switching to the other ship is not an option.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

it’s interesting that they would both go there. I guess I assumed they would swap over any necessary crew members, and then go to different islands if they are dropping people off. But perhaps switching to the other ship is not an option.

More likely, since the Dream came from PC and the Wonder from Grenada to get to Barbados, they both might as well stop at St Lucia on the way back to PC. That way no extra risk swapping crew from one ship to another.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Now they're both headed for St Vincent.

 

[insureman]

Yes they are.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Now the Dream is headed back to Barbados, and the Wonder is headed for Trinidad.

 

[T & R]

Now the Dream is headed back to Barbados

That’s odd, weren’t they just there? Why would the turn around and go right back?

 

[o&smom]

That’s odd, weren’t they just there? Why would the turn around and go right back?

I think they are just doing ”donuts” in the ocean for a little fun!

 

[JonKPest]

They might be waiting for test results to come back from a lab.

 

[mmouse37]

I went ahead and PIF because if our November Panama Canal cruise is cancelled, I would like to take advantage of the FCC. I, too, wondered why people were cancelling before their PIF and have not seen a logistical reason other than cash flow.

We are also booked with friends for the November Panama Canal cruise but I think I want to cancel before the PIF date. No one know what DCL will do and if they will even offer the 125% FCC. I just want to cancel it and be done with it but I will discuss with my friends what they want to do.

MJ

 

[T & R]

I just want to cancel it and be done with it but I will discuss with my friends what they want to do.

It’s messed up that we are being put in this situation. Although DCL is not responsible for the COVID, they don’t have to be this way. DCL could be up front, honest and transparent regarding their intentions on upcoming cruises. It’s not just the cost of the cruise. Many of us have air, hotel and travel money at stake as well. DCL knows right now whether or not they intend to sail if the CDC doesn’t extend the no cruise order. Just be honest with us and we’ll understand but enough with the string along game.

 

[disneyfunfamily4]

We have two cruises booked for October out of San Diego. While we realizing these may not happen we We are hopeful. We’ve already had our epic Vancouver and DCL alaska cruise canceled after years of planning. So no along with October (which we hope will happen but totally understand that it may not) we have a NyE out of Galveston booked and have a new cruise next summer to Alaska. Please just find a vaccine. I’ll take it.

 

[ironz]

It’s messed up that we are being put in this situation. Although DCL is not responsible for the COVID, they don’t have to be this way. DCL could be up front, honest and transparent regarding their intentions on upcoming cruises. It’s not just the cost of the cruise. Many of us have air, hotel and travel money at stake as well. DCL knows right now whether or not they intend to sail if the CDC doesn’t extend the no cruise order. Just be honest with us and we’ll understand but enough with the string along game.

Have you not figured out that DCL might not yet KNOW what they are going to do? As someone tried to explain to you in another thread, they have a lot to consider, and it's not just the passenger, they have to be mindful of the crew, the port staff, and the citizens of the countries and states that they will visit.
Would you rather they just cancel the rest of 2020? Would you feel better knowing you have no chance of going on your upcoming cruise? Maybe they are trying to salvage part of the latter part of this year. But they don't even have crew repatriated that have been stuck on ships without passengers since March. Can you not give these people a break? Not to mention, with the various travel restrictions currently in place, they aren't going to be able to re-staff the ships at the drop of a hat.
Maybe they are waiting for the various governmental agencies in many countries to let them know when they can have the ships staffed properly?
This virus might not be affecting you or your state as badly, but it is affecting a lot of people, it is not just a bad flu, a lot of people have died in a short period of time, and it needs to be taken seriously. (still-- and I'm as tired of all the precautions as anyone, and am missing a cruise, another vacation, and many plans with family and friends, as we ALL are.)
Of course, DCL and the parks all want to get back to some semblance of normal, but in the meantime, we all just need to deal with it. Don't assume you're going to sail (on any line). Don't assume it's going to be like old times with crowds of people everywhere. You might have to wear a mask. These are not normal times.
But DO take some responsibility and either just plan to wing it for now, or cancel/reschedule your cruise. Seems to me that having a plan is better for you than not knowing.

 

[WishUponAStarryNight]

It’s messed up that we are being put in this situation. Although DCL is not responsible for the COVID, they don’t have to be this way. DCL could be up front, honest and transparent regarding their intentions on upcoming cruises. It’s not just the cost of the cruise. Many of us have air, hotel and travel money at stake as well. DCL knows right now whether or not they intend to sail if the CDC doesn’t extend the no cruise order. Just be honest with us and we’ll understand but enough with the string along game.

I’ve been giving DCL the benefit of the doubt since all of this started, but they really need to provide an update on the August sailings out of Port Canaveral. They’re just weeks away and nothing suggests they’ll be sailing that soon. At the very least, DCL has to know how much time they’ll need to get back up and running. It’s the lack of information that’s frustrating, even if the communication is that they still just don’t know when they’ll get back to sailing.

 

[DCLCruiseFan09]

There are honestly still so many questions about COVID-19 that the assumption that "Disney knows but wont tell us anything" is absolutely incorrect.

They are truly following cruise industry standards for cancellations. It seems as though Cancellations are coming between 4 - 6 Weeks out so that when they do get the green light to go ahead, they don't have to wait for a long period of time to resume cruising.

I feel like it's safe to assume we will hear about updates to offerings on board once they announce they will be sailing again.

In the future, if you have issues with flexibility in travel plans, pick a travel option that has a more options rather than a cruise. We tend to book last minute (1 week - 1 month out of a cruise) as I have issues with paying in full 3 months in advance and being locked in.