2020 & Beyond

[Theme music playing] Welcome back to Countdown Travels podcast. I’m so excited on the feedback that I’ve received on my first episode. And we are diving into episode number two talking about what has happened since 2020 and where were going. Thanks again for coming back, and here is episode number two. Welcome back to Countdown Travels podcast. This is episode number two and we’re calling this one “2020 and Beyond.” Oh boy. What kind of like a rollercoaster ride it’s been since 2020, right? Especially for those of us that work in the travel business and for those of us that focus on cruise travel. I was completely shook, like many of you, when March 2020 hit. I actually remember where I was at. I was at my daughter’s school. I was talking to the principal, and we were just finding out that the schools were about to be shut down. And she looks at me and she says, “Susie, this is going to be like a long process. This is not going to be like a two-week thing.” Because, initially, the schools had shut down for two weeks. And I looked at her and I was like, “You’re crazy,” like, “we’ll be back.” And she’s like, “No, I don’t think the kids are going to come back this school year.” And I said, “No, we’ll be back. It's going to be fine. It’s no big deal.” And, well, I think she was -- she was more than right because I never imagined in a million years that we have lived through what we have lived through the past two years. And how it relates to cruising -- well, we all know what happened from 2020, and it lasted for how many months? How many months was the cruise-line business, the ships, the -- everything completely came to a complete halt. Something that just, truly, had never happened in the way that it did. And we honestly did not know how to do this. We did not know how to navigate, you know. I had people scheduled to cruise, you know, that -- the following month, and I kept on saying to them, you know, “We can always rebook you. We can always rebook you.” The cruise lines were like, “what do we do? How do we do this? We have people paid in full. The ships are full of crew. We have current ships out in the water not knowing, like, what’s going to happen. How do we get these people off the ship? How do we get them safely home?” Things started to shut down. Countries started to shut down. We were navigating, literally, through waters that we had never navigated through and not knowing how to do this and still have to, somewhat, continue to be hopeful. Meanwhile, you know, COVID starts to spread and you’re like -- well, at first it was like, “No it’s not going to happen here in the United States,” and it happened. And we are not knowing how long this is going to last for. I remember, back in 2020, they kept on extending the pause in sailing, the pause in service a month at a time, and then it became two months at a time. And it just continued to keep on going and going, and we were just like, “When is this going to end?” I remember one of my clients, I booked her, I kid you not, like a total of six times. And we just -- I just didn’t know what to do. I mean, we -- we just knew that we were hopeful that the cruise lines were going to come back. And then they start to send their crew home, and we knew at that point, “Okay, this is going to be -- this is going to be a long time before we are back in the water. This is going to be a long time before we’re back in business.” I -- I literally -- I think my heart sunk. Um, while I was happy for the crew to go back home, because a lot of these crew members had been stuck on these ships for so long, and I just remember feeling like “Oh my gosh, empty ships,” like, “what?!” That is crazy because, if you know anything about cruising, you know that they don’t stop. They don’t, like, sail for five months unless they’re going to get service or go into dry dock or, you know, some sort of mechanical or maintenance type of work. They generally keep on going. You know, they have their current sailing and the next one comes in that same day. It’s just like a continuous rotation. And, to know that the ships were going to be, um, chilling out in the ocean with a skeleton crew, which meant, like, all these people were going back home, um, but when are they going to come back? Like, when are those ships going to have passengers again and crew again? We had no idea. And I remember like feeling so incredibly sad because months had gone by and we had no idea. We just knew that the CDC did not want us operating. And how do we continue to provide hope, those of us working in travel? Like, I would get asked the question all the time: when are we coming back? I don’t know. I have no idea when we’re coming back. You know towards the end of, I would say, fall to the winter of 2022 things, little by little, started to open up again. And you have some of the theme parks that started, um -- Disney and Universal, airlines -- people started flying again. Little by little, travel was coming back but it wasn’t for the cruise industry coming back. It was for other segments of travel coming back. And so you had this kind of like, “Hmm, why are we allowed to go to Disney World but we can’t get on a cruise ship? We can go to Disney World, not provide any type of documentation, not have to provide a negative COVID test or show proof of vaccines, but we can go to Disney World.” I went to Disney World. I took my two kids and my husband, and we had never been and, quite frankly, I was just completely, emotionally, um, spiritually spent. And I knew that we were going to do it safely, and we were going to take precautions, and we had one of the best weeks ever at the Disney parks. So here we are now looking at the world of travel, seeing how other, um, types of travel, you know, are able to start operating and the cruise lines are not. And so we continue this game of, you know, dealing with refunds taking months at a time, people being so frustrated, uh, people being angry. Uh, the whole concept of, what is a FCC? What -- what does that mean? A Future Cruise Credit. Is there a future in cruising? How are we going to start tracking all these FCCs? I mean, at -- in the beginning it seemed like, “Okay we can do this.” And then, after -- after cancellation -- and cancellation, it’s kind of like, “Woah. Where is this money at? Where -- how are we going to continue to track this?” Quite frankly, it became like a puzzle. It became kind of like, “Is this --” I -- I honestly -- okay, you guys? I never want to see that acronym ever again in my life, that whole concept of an FCC. I -- I still have FCCs for clients, and I cannot wait for the day when we don’t have to deal with that anymore because, something that you guys don’t understand unless you work in travel is that there’s a lot of things that we can do as a travel advisor, and there’s a lot of things that we have to call in for. So imagine I’m one of thousands in this country trying to advocate for their clients, trying to find out where their money is, trying to find out where their refund is. So what does that mean for us that work in travel? That means hundreds of hours, hundreds of hours on hold trying to connect with the cruise lines, trying to connect with the airlines, trying to connect with LAN suppliers, trying to find out where are they going to get credit. I mean, there’s no flights. There’s no cruises. There’s no nothing. Sometimes I remember once I literally was sobbing. I had been on hold with a LAN supplier for four hours and I got disconnected. I -- I literally cried. I sobbed like a baby because I’m like, [exhales]. I just felt so hopeless, you know, so frustrated and angry. And so now we have -- things are coming back and, during this time, for businesses that focus only on cruise travel -- most of my business is cruise travel. A lot of these online agencies started to close their doors. A lot of these brick and mortar started to close their doors because, what people don’t seem to understand is that when -- we get paid when travel happens. There’s no travel happe-. So, if you are a travel agency that focuses on cruise travel and there’s no cruising, you’re not going to be making money. There were -- there were loan programs that were offered by the government. I personally did not take any, but there’s a lot of people that this was their bread and butter. This, you know -- their travel business was their bread and butter, and here we are, you know, not being able to get paid, not having the money to support and sustain your family because there’s no cruising happening. And that leads us to me. So, if you had booked a cruise on an online, um, agency and they’re closed, I was getting the phone calls because I am a one-man-show, and I give out my personal cell phone and I say, “Hey. Contact me if you need me.” I did not shut down. But yet, you know, we were still having to work through, um, you know, giving people reassurance and trying to navigate through the refunds and the future cruise credits. So I’m at the point now where, you know, we’re coming on spring 2021, still no direction. You know, the -- the CDC kept on kind of like pushing us aside, giving us -- and when -- when I say us, I mean by the cruise lines, the cruise industry -- all this red tape to have to navigate through the conditional sale order and all these requirements that the cruise ships have to comply with in order to get back into sailing. So you have something, like the Diamond Princess, that had been stuck out, you know, uh, back in the beginning of the pandemic that was on the news and, “Oh my gosh,” like, “if you go on a cruise, you’re going to end up getting COVID, and they’re so dirty.” Often, you hear people refer to cruising as a petri dish, like, that there’s, you know -- you’re just going to end up getting sick. And so, already, the cruise lines already had a target on their back because people just seem to target the cruise line industry. And you have, you know, all this negative attention, negative media, and then, on top of that, navigating through the CDC requirements because, you know, we are part of the cruise industry. And, um, Disney didn’t have to do what cruise lines had to do. You know, LAN suppliers didn’t have to do what the cruise lines had to do. And so, you know, you’re hearing from the CEOs and reps from the cruise lines, “We’re changing the muster drill. We’re changing the buffet protocols. We’re changing the fact that you have to be vaccinated, and you have to provide a negative COVID test, and who has to be vaccinated.” All of that was completely fluid. And you know what? It’s still very fluid to this day. June of 2021. There is light at the end of the tunnel. And we have -- Royal Caribbean announced that the first sailing would be from the Bahamas, on Adventure of the Seas, because, at this point, cruise ships were still not allowed to cruise from the United States, so they had to go somewhere. They were dying to start. And I get on that first sailing, and it was such a breath of fresh air. It was a sign of hope. It was like, “Okay, we can do this. We can actually do this. We can cruise safely.” And it was my goal, my mission at that point to demonstrate to the world how we can go on a ship and do this safely and not get stuck at sea the way that the media, you know, and everything at the beginning of the pandemic had portrayed the cruise line industry to be. So the cruising begins and, from that ship, I was able to go on a carnival ship in July and then in August comes around, I’m able to go on their newest ship, the Carnival Mardi Gras, and then on like three Royal Caribbean cruises. It just -- it was nonstop. The cruise lines were hungry to get back. The crew are so excited to have us back on board, to have their jobs so that they can support their families. And, meanwhile, on the flipside of things, the cruisers -- cruisers like myself are super happy, right? They’re like, “Let’s do this; I’m ready.” And then you have, on the other side, “Are you crazy? How could you do this? You’re going to die. You’re so selfish. I can’t believe you’re spreading COVID by going on a cruise.” Now, mind you -- knock on wood -- I have not gotten COVID yet. I did not get COVID the 12 times that I cruised since June. Knock on wood again because I’m getting ready to go on three cruises this month. But I, you know, I -- just a lot of negative, negative, tons of negative attention on -- you know what? The funny part is that a lot of the people that were saying those comments had probably never been on a cruise before. So here we go. We are cruising. I’m posting on social media, navigating through the pool of negativity, and then also getting a lot of energy from those that are wanting to cruise. And, during all this, there are changes to protocols because of variants that come up that kind of made it a little more challenging. So, as of right now, um, in order to go on a cruise you have to be fully vaccinated. Meaning that you have to have, uh, both doses of the vaccine or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to go on a cruise ship if you’re 12 and over. If you are, um, 11 and under, a lot of the cruise lines are not requiring the vaccine. You do have to provide a negative COVID test, but there are exceptions. Like, Disney does require vaccines for five and over. And knowing like: do I need a vaccine? Do I not need a vaccine? Do I need a COVID test? Who’s doing the COVID test? Do I buy a COVID test? Should I go to my local pharmacy to get a COVID test? So this is more of a reason why I feel like there’s such a value now attached to a travel advisor, because it is our job to stay on top of these protocols. The cruise lines are doing a fantastic job overall, um, letting us know, because a lot of these changes have, um, arisen because of the different variants. So, when omicron came around, things tightened up again. You know, there was a point where masks weren’t required on ships. And then, “Oh, here comes a variant. Guess what? Masks are required again.” And, you know, now I think we’re in a really good spot right now, so I don’t know. I -- I don’t know what’s going to happen. I honestly -- I don’t think any of us do. And a question that I get asked a lot is: are they ever going to allow unvaccinated adults back on cruise ships? I do feel like they will one day. But when? That’s the question. We have no idea. And, um, if you don’t know, um, people aren’t really getting stuck on cruise ships. Like, yes, you’re being isolated if you end up getting COVID when cruising, but you’re not like trapped on a ship forever. It becomes a little tricky when you go on cruises that are not from the United States because you do have to COVID test negative to come home. But that happens if you go to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun. Let’s say you go to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun, and you have to test negative to come home. That is not a cruise line thing; that’s an airline thing, right? And, if you don’t test negative, you can’t fly home. Then you’re stuck at that resort. Well, the same thing is going to happen if you’re on a cruise ship. But, aside from that, most cruises right now are operating from US home ports: from LA, from Florida, from Texas, from the East Coast. So it’s honestly a good idea to stick to this until we kind of see what’s going to happen with air travel, what their requirements are going to be. But the most important factor is to know: what do you need to know? Do you need to be vaccinated? Do you have to have that booster? That’s, uh, you know, the shot I get asked all the time. And, as of right now, they’re not requiring it but, by the time this is posted and you’re able to access it, it might change. We just don’t know. We just don’t know what’s going to happen three months from now. And it’s more important than ever just to make sure that, when you book your travel, that you know what you’re buying. Get that travel insurance. I tell everyone all the time it is worth the money. Air travel right now is really unpredictable. There are strikes going on -- weather, not enough crew to fly these airplanes. And, if you are not able to reach your destination because of there not being enough crew to fly that airplane and you don’t have travel insurance, you’re going to lose your money. So super important to look into that option of purchasing travel insurance because you just never know. Even if you don’t take a cruise during, uh, uh, hurricane season, you just never know what, you know -- we’re kind of -- if you want to travel, fantastic. But be aware that we’re traveling during, kind of, very unstable times with, you know, getting from point A to point B because of the lack of manpower. I mean, you guys see it in your cities where you live. There’s not enough people running restaurants. There’s not enough teachers in the schools. And the same thing goes for sectors of travel. So be patient, be kind, be understanding, and more important than anything though, is be prepared. So I just wanted to recap what 2020 to current has been like for a travel advisor. There is a pent-up demand. People want to cruise; people want to travel. The need is there. People want to get back to a normal way of living. And I just think that you as a consumer need to understand that -- know what you buy before you buy, and make sure that you are ready to comply with whatever you’re being asked to. If you’re asked to COVID test, if you’re asked to wear a mask, if you’re asked to, for the cruise lines, you know, have vaccinations. And, if not, there are other types of travel until they open it up for unvaccinated folks. So thank you again for listening to this one. Um, I will be talking about different topics related to the cruise industry. I have some amazing guest speakers coming on. I’m so excited about this podcast. I hope you found this, um, informational and interesting, and I cannot wait to share episode number three, which will be coming to you guys next week. And thank you again for listening. If you enjoyed my content and what I had to share, I would love if you would subscribe to my channel, my podcast channel. Like and leave me a review. Again, my name is Susie. I’m a cruise IATAN travel agent, and this is my podcast, Countdown Travels. Stay safe, and until next time. [Theme music playing] Well, that’s a wrap for episode number two of Countdown Travels podcast. I hope you guys enjoyed kind of getting a behind-the-scenes of what’s been going on in the cruise world as a travel advisor, and very hopeful for where we’re going. If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to like, uh, follow me, subscribe. What else do we do here in the podcast world? Whatever you feel inclined to, and I look forward to bringing you guys episode number three. Thanks again. My name is Susie, with Countdown Travels, and we will see you guys soon. [Theme music playing]