Will you ever cruise again?

[cruisewidower, pontefract]

The main three reasons why I love cruising are(in no particular order) 1. the opportunity to enjoy a game of bridge,2.the pleasure in the opportunities that cruising affords one to meet lots of interesting people via dining arrangements, and 3. a varied entertainment programme.
Rumours abound that two of my three pleasures may be compromised ,namely dining being limited to tables for two , and no game of bridge! If this is true, probably the loss of 50% of my cruising joy would lead me to consider whether to bother cruising. Having over 50 cruises under our belts has diminished our thirst for new destinations. Does any other member have a "must have" list.

[ev'n'clive, HENGOED]

I must have deck sports especially on sea days, but I particularly love my carpet bowls followed by chuck a bean bag, morning quiz, quick cup of tea, good lunch then off to golf putting, I do find it strange that on P&O they only do this on port days and on sea days there is nothing, hence I choose not to travel P&O anymore, ( although I am sure they dont miss me ) Already looking forward to next crimbo on Balmoral.. Happy new year all x x x heather x

[Smith7]

It's great to see you posting again Cruisewidower.

In answer to your question- I know that I will cruise again because I just love being at sea on a ship that offers good food, plenty of sea days, pastures new, (although they are becoming difficult to find without flying) and lots of things to do on board in between relaxing on deck and meal times.

I'm just hoping that my July booking on one of Fred's new ships Bolette will still be able to go ahead. The cruise itinerary I've done a few times before but I don't care because I know I will have a great time wherever the ship is going.

[smtcan, Scarborough]

I won't cruise again until interesting itineraries are available and I feel that flights are safe. On board activities are a bonus, but far from the most important attractions.

[Cooke, Ashby]

If I could cruise again I would. I enjoy life on board and I’m not really bothered where the ship goes, although I would like to see Norway again. My husband considers port days an interruption to his cruise.

[Mrs M]

The main three reasons why I love cruising are(in no particular order) 1. the opportunity to enjoy a game of bridge,2.the pleasure in the opportunities that cruising affords one to meet lots of interesting people via dining arrangements, and 3. a varied entertainment programme.
Rumours abound that two of my three pleasures may be compromised ,namely dining being limited to tables for two , and no game of bridge! If this is true, probably the loss of 50% of my cruising joy would lead me to consider whether to bother cruising. Having over 50 cruises under our belts has diminished our thirst for new destinations. Does any other member have a "must have" list.

Yes. We are looking forward to getting back to sea and hopefully, by next summer itineraries will be up and running in some shape or form.

Things will be different as we are large table diners and I too, am a Bridge player and often [I say often and not always, as Bridge seems to bring out some pretty nasty qualities when playing on board] enjoy playing many an afternoon onboard and indeed, online Duplicate has been my brain saver over the last nine months but even if it's offered on board, I shall be giving it a miss next year.

We can survive with little or no activity programme and we can live with changed itineraries with limited ports of call or even none on a shortish cruise. Bring it on.

[annie, Glasgow]

I won't cruise again until interesting itineraries are available and I feel that flights are safe. On board activities are a bonus, but far from the most important attractions.

I think along similar lines.

Back to OP, far too early to say.

All travel will change because of this pandemic.

We may look back on our cruising days as the 'good old days'.

Annie

[Yogini, Waterlooville]

I will cruise again, but I'm not confident about this year's bookings. The cruise that I am more confident about is the round trip out of Cape Town in 2022. I need to contact a cruising friend to decide how long we want to stay in Cape Town before the cruise. The travel agent said that we need to start thinking about booking flights in January.

[Moonraker, Royal Wootton Bassett]

I'd like to cruise again but some, not all, of the Covid protocols would have to go for me to do so. I suspect that they will apply longer on cruise ships than on land so my guess is that I won't be cruising in 2021.

[Topdeck, London]

They are doing tables bigger than 2 for families and groups.

[sandraggg, Newcastle]

We will cruise again only when we can get off in the ports and explore on our own (ie not on an excursion).

Even in ports we have visited many times, we always seem to manage to find something new and/or interesting to do.

[Mrs M]

They are doing tables bigger than 2 for families and groups.

Cunard, via our agent, sent this

** Important information - Linked bookings ** Everyone on board will need to adhere to the most up-to-date guidance regarding the use of face-coverings and social distancing. Guests travelling with friends and family however are able to link their bookings so that they can form a travelling group on board up to a maximum number allowed by UK Government guidelines at the time of sailing - this will help to co-ordinate your experience. This must be done at the time of booking, you will be unable to request this once you sail. Please call our Customer Contact Centre or speak to your travel agent or travel advisor to link your bookings before you sail.
.........................................
but interestingly, only for the 2022 bookings we have and not the 2021.

Now is this an oversight or part of a deliberate policy. We shall see, or maybe not if the 2021 cruises don't go ahead.

[Smith7]

I've just spoken to cruisewidower on the phone, as he is a friend.

He is happy for the forum to know that he also goes by the name of Stan as in stanandmaydupp. Some of you may remember him from the earlier days of the forum and maybe meeting him on Celebrity Eclipse when some forum members were invited courtesy of cruisedot to the naming ceremonies/mini cruises on 3 new ships in 2010.
We made friends with Stan and May at that time and it's become a lasting friendship, I'm pleased to say.

[Mason, Altrincham]

We miss cruising and will be very happy to cruise again at some point in the future. I don’t think we will be able to cruise this summer but are keeping an open mind as to holidays of any description. As it is our son’s wedding in Ireland that was planned for August 2021 has been moved to July 2022 thanks to Covid. Fingers crossed that we all get vaccinated before too long and that life gets back to some sort of normal sooner rather than later. Hang in there people!

Take care and stay well. Helen

[Gill Nickson, Albox]

Sadly, because of health issues, and being unable to get insurance, I will not be able to cruise again.