august 2020 updates

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drib
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august 2020 updates

Post: # 2991Post drib »

August 1 is a Saturday, so I may just spot check then, and wait until Monday, August 3, for the full update and emails.

New subscribers for emails, by the way, are non-existant.

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bottom of the ninth

Post: # 3018Post drib »

Yesterday, I decided to cancel my one remaining, booked, Regent cruise.

I've held on to that cruise because the deposit was small, compared to the cruises we cancelled months ago, and we had a great fare. (We even picked up a free day when there was an itinerary change.) The cruise embarkation date is in May, but the final payment date is in early January. I decided to cancel it after seeing all the new wait-list statuses picked up in Monday's Fare Compare update. I decided that the earliest Regent could possibly cruise again is December, and there just wouldn't be enough information by my payment date to know if our booked cruise was worth doing. And so, I decided that we might as well get back in the refund line before they cancel the October cruises, which should be soon.

The other big factor was non-financial. How could we possibly fly off to a pleasure cruise when we we haven't seen two of our grandchildren since Thanksgiving? I don't know when we will be able to do that, but at least now, we have nothing else on our schedule.

I have no current cruises booked, and no plans for future cruising. I've also noticed, from Subscriber, that it's much the same for my guests on drib critic, Roll Call, and Fare Compare. And so, August 1 (or 3) will be the last update to Fare Compare, and I won't be adding any new itineraries to Roll Call.

The old data will still be available - I have to pay for hosting anyway - but I don't have to pay for the domain dribcritic. When the domain dribcritic expires October 31, I am not going to renew it. There is usually a grace period for a few months, so you can still access everything there. Once they pull the plug on the domain, though, you can use these links instead:

https://bigdogfoto.com/dribcritic/

https://bigdogfoto.com/dribcritic/rollcall/rollcall.php

https://bigdogfoto.com/dribcritic/rollc ... ompare.php

I won't be posting as much on the message board, but it costs nothing extra to run or maintain - nor does dcrd - so those are still there for you to use or refer, as you wish.

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bodogbodog
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Re: august 2020 updates

Post: # 3019Post bodogbodog »

Sad news but totally understandable

Do you think the US Government might consider a COVID grant to Drib Critic to keep it going?

Makes sense to get in that refund line

Next one for us is June 2021 - but I only have that at 50/50 at the moment - fingers crossed 🤞
Email - bodogodog@gmail.com

Future Cruises - who knows if cruising ever resumes? But maybe they’ll include these ones
May 2022 - Silversea Silver Muse - Tokyo to Vancouver - 21 days - nope Japan was closed
Dec 2022 - RSSC Explorer - Singapore to Sydney
Feb 2023 - Silver Muse - Cairns to Singapore
September 2023 - RSSC Explorer - Vancouver to Tokyo
December 2023 - RSSC Explorer - Sydney to Auckland
Dec 2023 - Crystal Symphony - Auckland to Melbourne - 16 days - nope Crystal went belly up


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Re: august 2020 updates

Post: # 3021Post Sulljo »

I cancelled my May 1 Crystal cruise yesterday. Thanks for all your hard work. I just don’t see it happening for 2021. I have a Ponant and Silverseas for March/April 2022 but that is it. As a solo traveler and travel advisor I hope cruising comes back but then will it even be a pleasant experience.

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Re: august 2020 updates

Post: # 3022Post drib »

Crystal:
trips w/insert: 5, total inserts: 10, total sql: 120 *

Oceania:
trips w/insert: 0, total inserts: 0, total sql: 64

Regent:
trips w/insert: 0, total inserts: 0, total sql: 99

======

* I think the Crystal web pages for 2023 are messed up. The dollar amounts appear to be right, but the port fees were not as they should be, and consequently, they updated to zero. On closer inspection, on the Crystal web site, I think I see the problem:
crystalcruises.com wrote:All fares and savings are cruise only, per person, in Australian dollars including taxes, fees and port charges of $315 per person. Book Now Fares are per person based on double occupancy.
I added the emphasis, above.

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Re: august 2020 updates

Post: # 3023Post Marc »

Drib, sorry to see this site go; I am still holding onto my Crystal River cruise in April and my Navigator cruise next May; I hope both sail. My final payment date for the Navigator is 1 January so I am hoping we know a lot more by then.

Marc

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Re: august 2020 updates

Post: # 3024Post drib »

About two-thirds through the process and it doesn't look like there will be any fare updates today. *

The final emails will go out in about an hour.

To everyone **, and especially to the dribnuts, thank you for participating on the board, even if you were just following along, and best wishes from drib critic for the future.

Marc wrote: Sat Aug 01, 2020 4:04 pm ... I am still holding onto my Crystal River cruise in April ...
Passover 2021 is March 27 through April 4. So be sure to pack a bottle of lamb's blood just in case Earth's streak of plagues continues. The good news, though, is that historically, this would be the last one!

======

* Oddly, Oceania took the trouble to correct the description of this trip:



Previously, it was "Essence of Aegean" - the word "the" was added between August 1 and today. :bow:

** Almost everyone ... I'm not mentioning any names, you know who you are! But I am forwarding your names on to Santa for his coal list.

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