JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Chances are if you were planning to lay back and relax on a cruise last year, you never got the chance.
Leigh Israel did more cancelations in 2020 than she would like to count.
“We came off of 2019 being the best year we have ever had, I think at our company to literally everything coming to a screeching halt,” Israel explained.
She is president of Avondale Travel and like many of her clients, she is looking forward to taking that vacation which quickly vanished because of COVID-19.
“We were always so hopeful of thinking we were going to reschedule and rebook and people would be traveling and whatnot, but it was a rude awakening,” Israel explained.
However, with the new year comes new hopes of creating new memories. Now more people are calling her to rebook than cancel.
“People are just ready," Israel said. "I mean, I know we are ready. I’m ready. Our clients are so ready."
Last weekend, American Cruise Lines left Amelia Island on a weeklong cruise to Charleston, South Carolina, marking the first cruise in about a year for any company. Its website is advertising another cruise this weekend.
The cruise line says their guest count is well under 200 and therefore is not subject to the same regulations as the larger carriers like Carnival, Disney or Royal Caribbean.
“It’s not the masses like a 6,000 passenger ship," Israel explained. "It’s like a boutique floating hotel."
As more people get vaccinated, she believes more vacations will be on the minds of those who didn’t get to take one and that’s a shot in the arm of optimism the travel industry needs.