Cruise Canceled? Take a Trip From Your Own Home

On March 13 in response to an announcement by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) to temporarily suspend cruise ship operations from U.S. ports of call for 30 days, one by one cruise lines began canceling voyages to combat the growing spread of COVID-19. Instead of packing sunscreen and boarding ships, vacationers have suddenly found themselves at home instead of having fun at sea during these suspensions.

In a now-viral video, daughter Jane Trill captured how her parents Norma and Dave handled the cancellation of their 53rd wedding anniversary cruise on a 10-day voyage around the Pacific Islands. Widely shared across social media, the couple is seen toasting while sitting in lounge chairs in their living room wearing bathrobes while watching video footage of an ocean rolling by, while a ship horn is heard in the background.

Cruise cancelled? 🚢No problem 🤣 #Covid_19 #coronavirus #CoronavirusPandemic #CoronaOutbreak #coronavirusaus #covid19australia #royalcaribbean #cruiseships #cruise pic.twitter.com/3JHMsanDHv

— Jane (@janeytrill) March 13, 2020

We’ve rounded up six ways you and your family can bring the cruise experience home while ships are temporarily docked. 

1. Create Your Own Living Room Cruise

Take a page out of Norma & Dave’s book and head to YouTube to search for ‘Cruise Ocean View’ (Like this one). Mix up your favorite cruise cocktail of choice, sit down with your loved ones, and relax. This is a great way to have some fun indoors and pretend you’ve gone on vacation.

2. Try Your Hand at Towel Animal Making

If you’ve got kids who are home from school right now, creating towel animals is a perfect activity to do with them. Some cruise lines actually have towel animal classes onboard, so this is a real cruise activity that you can easily bring home! Grab some clean towels and pull up some videos on YouTube to follow along with — we recommend this one and this one, which also includes tutorials on napkin animals. Share your creations with us on our Twitter or Facebook page, or tag us on Instagram at @cruiselinecommunity.

3. Pull Out The Photo Albums

Take some time to reminisce about all the great ship experiences and shore excursions that you have had during past trips. Pull out scrapbooks and scroll through your albums on social media to relive the great times you’ve had with friends and family. Share some favorites you find with us on Instagram!

4. Get Outside

If you live in a warm-weather climate (or even if you don’t), get outside! One thing that is not being discouraged is getting some fresh air, as long as it’s in the privacy of your own property or you’re in a public place that has few to no other people, such as a park or hiking trail. If you do live in a warm place and have a pool or access to another body of water, even better! Pour a cold drink, get into your swimsuit, and imagine for even a short while that this is the getaway you had been dreaming about.

5. Talk Cruise

Looking for others that share your passion for cruising? Meet fellow cruise enthusiasts and get ideas for planning your next trip in the Cruiseline.com forums. Our friendly community is ready to talk about all things cruise from ships to onboard dining, cabins, destinations, excursions, entertainment, recommendations and more. Now is the time to become part of a community of online cruisers!

6. Plan Your Next Trip

It’s no secret that the travel industry as a whole is severely impacted right now, which trickles down not only to reservations staff at the cruise lines, but also to your local travel agents. When cruise lines are able to resume their normal schedules, there will be lots of great deals offered. Now is the time to think about where you will travel this coming fall, over the holidays, or next year, so contact your travel agent to start planning out every detail of your next cruise. From the best itinerary and ship to cabin type, onboard restaurants, and the places you want to check out while in port, your travel agent can help you plan every detail. Not only will you be helping rebuild the travel industry by starting your planning now, but it’ll give you something fun to look forward to. On top of that, check out our plethora of verified cruise reviews to further solidify your choices and help create the perfect cruise to suit all of your preferences. To make sure you get the best deal even after you've begun payments on your cruise, sign up for our Price Drop Alerts.