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MASSIVE LAND ATTACK Allies launch all-out invasion MICHAEL BAYLEY says war will end 'decisively' WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN MIAMI -- President of Royal Caribbean Michael Bayley announced last night that he had ordered his Cruise ship commanders to "use all forces available, including ground forces," this includes passengers, to secure the beaches looking for secluded sites that would accommodate the Suite guests, not forgetting about those Pinnacles. The announcement came about 10 hours after Barbados ignored Mr. Bayley ultimatum to start withdrawing from beaches by noon yesterday. The actual date and timing of the ground war had been tentatively decided for some time, Chief Marketing Officer & Senior Vice President Jim Berra said later, but had been subject to change depending on the weather or developments on the diplomatic front. The preparations would have been stopped had Barbados complied with the deadline set by President Bayley on Friday, the secretary said. Senior Vice President, Marine Operations Greg Purdy stated that he knows of the secluded location because he awoke from and all-night rum drinking binge, with no one is sight for miles. Mr. Purdy stated that he knows how actor Tom Hanks feels when shooting Castaway! It wasn’t until a fishing party spotted him on the beach and directed him to safety some 500 meters away. Palm trees and local vegetation had blocked his view from seeing Liberty OTS at the port. Mr. Bayley said the decision to launch a ground campaign had been made "only after extensive consultations within our coalition partnership (Celebrity Cruise Lines)." As the map indicated the island of Barbados is under heavy bombardment from RCI ships, with Liberty OTS dropping the ground forces at the port. Note…Rhapsody is miles from the fight, but none the less bringing up the rear. Rhapsody is the ship in the far left, all by her lonesome.

@Debsters41 Tell them that I said you could have all mine! ?

Well @Suzie Q , as we told our friend who is also missing her 40th birthday celebration this year, you get to be 39 for another year. Covvid canceled your birthday.

Guess who came back early this morning. I wish there was a way to let everyone know not to feed the troll and avoid replying to any articles from that guy.

Sharla has been great, from before this whole pandemic and through it. Awesome, because with extended family trips Sharla handles everything, NOT ME! She assists everyone with booking, helps with airlines if needed, answers questions.... all in a timely manner.

Is it still allowed to bring service animals on-board? Mine’s well trained, I promise. ?

I had both my college boys home, for the first time in four years, on my birthday and Mother's Day.

Michelle (MEI) was successful in a Lift & Shift of our Aug 11, 2020 Alaska cruise to Aug 3, 2021. Same ship, same cabin and same money. Color us HAPPY and thanks Michelle!

My husband is someone that gets how to circumvent a ship easier than I can. I admit to being navigationally challenged. The thing with big ships to me is it can be difficult to navigate if you don't want to utilize the elevator. Try whenever not to use it during peak times (dinner/shows), unless you see the stowaway in the elevator. We do everything to avoid elevators. Have to burn off those calories somehow. I swear on Anthem he had us take 2 staircases down, went through the casino, than had to take a staircase up on the opposite side of the ship to the MDR. Not sure, that was it, but pretty sure. The funny thing is my 1st cruise with him I complained. I learned quickly we got there faster than the elevators. 3rd cruise with family. Their reaction was where are you leading us, the elevator would be faster! They too quickly learned that the people we saw waiting at the elevator on the same floor arrived a few mins later., and we did not speed walk. The best part of taking the staircases to me is the amazing artwork that you will never see in the elevator. To illustrate how bad I am navigationally. The only way I knew which floor I was on, or which way to turn on our deck was the artwork. (that and cabin decorations!). I will also say on big ships I refuse to do less than 7 nights. Not because there is so much to do, but because it will take me 5 days to figure out the fastest/easiest route to my cabin. Husband on Day 3 when we return from a port, will say; go ahead, take us back to our cabin! Who knew that in my 50s I would still be given a pop quiz? I always get us there using his route, but luckily it is not timed. Only the artwork keeps me on point.

Hi everyone I was scheduled to go on Ovation of the Seas September this year to celebrate my big 40th! I was sooo looking forward to it but now it looks as though it will happen next year due to cruise delays ?. Anyway I’m just so grateful I Never got sick with the virus and grateful for my health. Plus going next year instead will mean saving a lot more money ?.

We have a 10th anniversary of my wife's 29th birthday planned too and are in the discussion phase of rescheduling. Ironically, not 100% because of COVID-19 but the cancellation polices help us make it so more friends can join, at a later date.

We have been using Michelle Cunningham for a about a year now from MEI Travel after always making our own cruise plans for more than 20 years. All we can say is how much help she has been with all the issues going on at this time with our current reservations. We highly recommend her.

If you’re looking for that new ship feeling but a little more upmarket. There’s some decent deals on Celebrity Apex (which luckily is already done and just hasn’t sailed yet) that leaves on 11/21 out of Port Everglades.

When they need to cancel a sailing they do just that - cancel it. It's not like with airlines that can swap in another plane when one breaks down. Any other ship already has bookings and most likely the process of mapping booked cabin to another ship would be highly problematic. It's simply more efficient to cancel all bookings and then people can find a replacement cruise that suits their needs or accept a refund. I'm booked on the first four Odyssey sailings and then again in the spring in Europe. I'm assuming the first four will be lost but I'm not sure about the transatlantic or the first one from Rome. Only time will tell but I expect the build delay will be measured in months, not weeks.

While I haven't used MEI to book a cruise (yet) I have used them for many Walt Disney World bookings and have found them very good. Being on the other side fo the world I find they are responsive and willing to go that 'extra mile' (Funny we still say 'extra mile' even though we use km's). The good thing is they will be as 'hands on' or 'hands off' as you would like. Sometimes I'll just use them for reservations bookings and others the whole 3,342 step process that is booking a Disney holiday (Fastpasses, dining, tours etc etc etc). For those not in the US considering using MEI I can't speak highly enough of them.

Where do sheep go on vacation? The Baaaa-Haaaa-maas ?

Article from today’s WaPo discussing the realities we need to face around the likelihood this virus is NEVER “going away”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/05/27/coronavirus-endemic/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most The article rightly points out we already have 4 coronaviruses today, which cause the common cold and which have never been stamped out. Vaccinations will help with managing this virus, but we have to stop looking for a quick-fix solution to “get us back to normal” and understand that the presence of COVID-19 is the new normal. I don’t think for a second this means that we’re all going to be isolated for the rest of our lives, or that cruising is done as a form of travel and vacation, or that we’re done for as a species. But I think it does mean we really should stop saying things like, “Things will be back to how they were once 2021 comes around”, and start planning on lives where this new virus is going to be a thorn in our side for at least the next decade. Hopefully our favorite cruise line and all the others are already taking that long-term view.

I checked my account today and there was nothing there. Not surprised though as I used the summer offer for a week on Harmony, and the fall offer for a four night solo sailing on Indy.

They had an issue last week with all the FCCs that were done. They are working to correct them to Dec 31, 2021.

I am disabled and can't remember if the public rest rooms have automatic openers. I wish the handicapped rooms had them! Try to manage your scooter, put the key in the door, then push the door open. Trust me it takes many tries!

Yep, that's definitely a $10 handshake opportunity. ?

Ok, there goes my 11 night from Montreal. The only thing I ordered from the cruise planner was the $41 drink package. I'll miss that. I sent an email to MEI to see what we need to do. I assume we will have to wait for the official announcement, then I'll cancel the drink package. I don't want FCC, I want my money back.

I have always been able to get items from the current MDR menu when dining at a specialty restaurant. As @twangster mentioned, it is considered a “special favor” to get something from the MDR so just keep that in mind.

Understood. In theory or pre-COVID-19 Oasis had plans to visit some Canadian ports. So from a technical perspective she can fit in some Canadian ports.

We absolutely LOVE your Vlogs! Your love for cruising on Royal Caribbean is obvious and Anthony is hilarious (mostly on purpose ?). Please keep them coming!

I don't know. Maybe on CocoCay, but in the other ports? For crowd control it would make more sense to me if they had more offerings and just lowered the number allowed on each excursion.

Amen to that!!!

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You can do everything it just means that by day four or five your wife and daughter will hate you because you ran them ragged. I speak from experience

While I was not at Coco Beach Club, we had a cabana at Chill Island on our second stop and it was amazing. The island works very well and doesn't ever seem crowded. Our first stop we did the water park, and this was just fun beyond fun. I honestly feel that you will be fine. Our cruise was at the end of October, specifically October 31, and it was not crowded at all. The water park had minimal lines. It was all around good times.

A Rubbermaid Cocktail! I remember those... I mean, I remember *hearing* about those, from other bartenders. *cough*

@Ogilthorpe those were the days of layered shots and crazy named drinks. B52s, Green Martians, and every sexual innuendo! My husband and I are laughing these days because back in the late 80s it was wine coolers in every flavor...Can we all say Bartle and James? How about ZIMA? Now it is Truly and the Claw. Just like fashion, it all comes back around with a new twist just several decades later! OBTW there is 1 more reason I drink my ritas on the rocks. It is not that pre-made crap that runs and runs out of the slushy type machines. EW gross!

@HeWhoWaits I too thought that it was made with Frangelico. I just remember back in my cocktail waitressing days (30 yrs ago), that this was a popular drink. I just can't recall the other name, they are both identical just Frangelico in one compared to amaretto in the other. I like amaretto, but I like Frangelico more. Those were the days of women ordering ….white Russians, Melon Balls, white wine spritzers and of course daiquiris and frozen margaritas. I worked at a very popular club, and we would say to anyone that ordered a daiquiri/margarita the blender was broken. Bartenders couldn't waste their time making it. Their belief was if you want a Margarita go to Chi-Chis (showing my age). It took too much effort which equaled less $$$ making tips compared to a Tanqueray and tonic. Our bartenders would mutter nasty words, and there were times I saw them add "special" ingredients aka the drink mat liquid at the station. From that point on I have always been easiest concoction. such as, Bourbon and Diet Coke and if I have a rita it is always on the rocks! I wonder if they even sell Midori anymore!

If you add a shot of vodka, it becomes a roasted toasted almond. I make ours with vanilla almond milk, gives it extra flavor.

A traditional Nutty Irishman is Bailey's and Frangelico, but a variation can be made with Amaretto in place of the Frangelico.

No traffic to go to work (well at least it was like that before they opened again most of the things here) Dinner on time with the family Local temporary farmer markets in the neighborhood were real farmers came everyday with different ultra fresh products that they could not sell to the restaurants

Another deal breaker for me will be if they only offer short (3-5 days) cruises. It is not worth the time and expense for me to fly to Florida for a cruise less than 7 nights.

Jewel of the Seas, December 22, 2020

Saved on gas. I’m one of the very blessed ones that kept my job while working at home. I have left my house to market shop and go to Lowe’s. But kept it at once a week. I do not like delivery services. I like to go out and see people. My husband works for the P.O. and works 6 days a week. We really haven’t changed much. I will add that at first I was NOT happy with becoming a homeschooling mom also; however, I think it was a blessing in disguise. I helped my daughter with things she was struggling with and the teachers were too busy for her. She is definitely ready for 8th grade!

My mother smoked when I was a child and my brothers and I have never touched a cigarette. The smell makes me cough and sneeze, and my eyes water. The stale odor stays in my hair and my clothes much too long. I always try to avoid any venue with smoke and/or smokers. I am all for non-smoking cruises!

For me the Windjammer is like going to Walmart. Sometimes its a necessity but you really don't enjoy the experience lol

This also fits nicely with the Windjammer discussion!

@Cmaccullen There have been numerous reports that CCL and RCCI have enough to stay down until around 2021. I am not saying they should but it has literally been 2 months and a few days. It seems like people don't want things done right but done fast. This ordeal has driven home how much of an instant gratification society America is......even countries whose primary source of income is derived from tourism have not been in such a rush.

I was so proud of this. You are correct. Very many hours involved