First Cruise Ends with Covid-19

Cruise lines are making it very attractive to book a cruise. After taking a cruise in the Med a few years ago, I was put on mailing lists for glossy brochures from several cruise lines. From prices shown in recent brochures, it looks to me as if several lines have discounted rates and added other incentives for 2021 cruises. I have considered booking a September 2021 cruise in Europe, counting on a vaccine for Covid by then. Other people must agree because several cabin sections are sold out already on the cruise that interests me.

Many are sold out from those who had cruises cancelled but were not given refunds.

Unfortunately the tests are not 100%..... so with a boat full of people there's going to be a few that fall through the cracks.

You couldn't get me on a cruise before, let alone now.

You couldn’t get me on a cattle ship, COVID-19 or not. These things have been floating Petri dishes all along... gross.

Know people that did an Alaska cruise on a small ship, 90 people, and loved it. It's an area that requires quite a lot of "kit" to access and to do that yourself is involved and $$$. Although said cruise was expensive too..... I would consider that.

My elderly neighbors do 3 cruises a year all different places, and have done so for the past 30 years. They tell me that their Alaska cruise was by far the most breath taking and best one.

No kidding, a floating contagion hotel.

Not only Alaska has amazing views and wild life we also has amazing fishing!

We had 5 cruise ships booked for drydocking in 2020 and all cancelled. Most are tentative for 2021 but all depends on how things go with the pandemic. The entire cruise industry is pretty unstable. I'm sure there will be consolidations, some won't make it and things will change regardless if a vaccine fixes things quickly. It is not just the cruise lines that are affected but many of the small towns and communities that have become somewhat dependent on the cruise ship tourism dollars.

We're itching to take an Alaska cruise when we get our 2nd shots. Dockmaster which cruise would you recommend? The Inside Passage or some others?

I think the National Geographic cruise is the one I'd take if I were going to Alaska with a commercial carrier. I've done a few seasons on a private yacht there, and those guys would end up in some of the cool places we went.

Thanks for the tip Ken.

Once things return to whatever the new normal will be, there should be lots of options, The Inside Passage is very popular. There are also lots of boutique cruise lines now that use smaller ships and have different experiences. Look at the cruise line as closely as you do the itinerary. Different cruise lines offer different focuses and types of cruises.