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Okay, I'm just relieved that this is direction this thread is headed in...

Omg I thought the same thing....

Me, seeing that headline and opening this thread to see what's being talked about...

I reached out a few times and @AnnetteJackson responded not only on this blog but also via the private message. I am so sorry we are loosing some very fine individuals that we have learned to count on, they will be sorely MISSED. I wanted to publicly shout out to Sharla Manglass of MEI and the countless others of MEI TA's who are still sticking it out for us, I can't imagine how this situation has upended their lives as well. I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for continuing to take great care of us during these unprecedented times. I for one appreciate every single thing they do for us, please know you ARE appreciated Sharla, more then you know! Thanks for sticking it out with us, you are the BEST this industry has to offer.

With all of the bad going around I have been able to find a silver lining. I got in contact with my TA and let him know that I wanted to use my FCC for a rebooking in October. He said that it was already there to use and we are all set. We even get to upgrade from interior rooms to balcony rooms! My mom will now get an ocean view balcony to sit on and drink coffee in the mornings. My MIL and son will have a central park balcony. All I have to do now is wait on the cash refunds, which will probably take longer than I prefer. Now to just hang in there and pray that we ALL are back cruising again soon!

OK, since I've gone down this rabbit hole this far, I'll share one more thing and then I'll be done. My friends (who are all breed enthusiasts and one is the breeder of my lost girl) collaborated with an artist (painter) friend of ours and this arrived at my door yesterday.

Word on the street: Prices on Llamas & Sheep on the rise due to increased demands for Emotional Support Animals...... https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ICm8/trivago-buffet Shown here in a graph, because if its in a graph its true:

@crisgold52 I'm so sorry your agent has put you through this, I too am a control freak and the vacation planner (I joke that's why my wife married me, outsource her vacation planning). I've mentioned this before, but my wife and I planned a group cruise for our wedding in 2016. I was the group contact. Never again. I had to direct my family and friends through the groups department to pay (with restricted hours), nothing could be done online, I received 5 different answers to the same question from 3 different group "specialist" and had to manage the entire thing. Way more stress than a groom needed. When we decided to do another group cruise for my wife's bday, I immediately hit the affiliate link here as everyone raves about MEI. I was randomly assigned an agent and she's been great. She has been invaluable. I knew immediately I wanted to be #teamtravelagent and passed along another booking I made (not group related). Due to COVID-19 both sailings are being cancelled and sorta combined into one for next September. She's handling it all. I get one correct answer with possible ideas / solutions I never even thought about. Hopefully, some day you'll give the travel agent route another try.

You had me at camping. You had me at wineries. You REALLY had me at camping with access to wineries. Why ruin it with NASCAR?

Phew. I'm not alone.

Just as long as those aren't pineapples in those hammocks!

If Florida would have followed New York's example, they would not be in the predicament they are in now. New York was the highest and now is the lowest state in numbers as WE New Yorker's listened and were directed by a great Governor who got us through the rough time. The Governor in New York wants the ports open again but that is not his call.

Yeah, add me to that list

OH, OH, I WANNA PLAY!!!! I like silver linings. I had a sailing booked on Rhapsody, because it was the only ship going to Roatan (the only request my Honduran wife made for the cruise) the week we could go. THE WHOLE WEEK. Crazy. But, thanks to our dear friend Covid-19, we were cancelled, and rebooked for a sailing in 2021 that goes to Roatan, AND Coco Cay, on HARMONY. This will be my 1st Oasis class! AAAAAND were going from an ocean view to an ocean balcony!!!!

Thank you! I am still around - just not with MEI-Travel. Always happy to help if I can.

No words. I don't want to get in trouble on the site, so I will try to temper this, but WE folks in Florida don't need the folks in New York to give us a lecture on what we should have done. I have been in my house 98% of the time since March, with numbers no where near what NY experienced. You may recall when things got bad in NY there were tons of flights of people leaving NY and coming here. You can have your Governor too.

Rules without enforcement mean nothing. Like wearing shorts in the MDR. I miss the simpler pre-Covid days when that was the big argument of the day. I can't wait for those days to return! ?

SC is one of the states that is seeing numbers skyrocket. I go two hours west, and im fly fishing and backpacking in the mountains. I go three hours east, and im in Charleston, eating Shrimp n Grits, and relaxing on the beach. Does it get any better? Restrict me to my own state all you want. Wait.....nevermind.....its HORRIBLE here. You shouldnt move here. We have all kinds of poisonous snakes and spiders....STAY AWAY!

PLEASE don't give anyone ideas....?

I'm talking the wife into upgrading now, at current prices, as I think they're good and that "prices going up" worked on me LOL. I agree, possible tactic, but I'm not taking the chance.

CruiseTipsTV, TipsForTravellers, and CruiseRadio are my go to channels (also RCB YouTube videos #supportmatt)

Even though Florida is spiking, it’s the 20-30 age group seeing the most cases. ICU Hospitalizations in my area (Jacksonville) are at a whooping 14. Roughly 35% of cases are asymptomatic. Big spikes in agricultural areas. The media wants you to believe the narrative that we are all hooked up to ventilators and dying in Florida. That is simply not the case. You have to dig into the numbers to see what’s going on. Our deaths continue to decline.

You should be able to ask on the call to have your reservation given back to you from the agent. They will have to go to resolutions and then contact the agency owner to have them release it, but it can be done. Have you called the agency owner instead of the agent. That might help as well.

This just in!! RCI will limit swingers to 2 persons per hammock and/or 2 persons per room until further notice...

The living will still get hit with the bill. The dead won't pay their bills so the living will end up picking it up in the form of higher rates. Next taxes will increase. States gotta make up their budget shortfalls and the feds gotta cover those trillions spent. COVID-19 - the gift that keeps on giving year after year.

My fear is that schools will make it mandatory for children....Kind of like kids who are not given all the non-flu vaccines are not allowed in most public/private school settings.....I am fearful of giving anything to my kids that I feel is rushed......

I'm sorry for your loss. With Leslie working from home for the foreseeable future, we had decided when this craziness started to foster some dogs. We have had 5 so far. One just overnight and one for as long as 5 weeks. They have been a little sanity in all this craziness. They have been good for the heart.

No, I totally get that.

I know that guilt. My goldie died in the hospital, alone (over night) and I have never forgiven myself for that. The ONLY positive about that (and you can call me a coward for this....I know I am) is that we did not have to make the decision about putting her "down".

Sometimes it's a loosing battle on some of these topics! The sky is falling for some of these people! We ALL base our thoughts on what we read, listen and see. To be fair, we all have a right to see the positive and negative things in life, no matter where we get the info! LOL

I never pay attention to the infection rate as it is influenced by how much testing has been done. I only look at the hospitalization and death rate. When hospitals start to lean toward being overwhelmed, it's a problem. If 100% of the population was infected but nobody ended up in the hospital, well, who cares? But the states who refused to take this seriously are experiencing overwhelmed hospitals. Those who did/are simply aren't. The "media" that I pay attention to are the doctors and nurses who are friends of mine who live around the country and who are dealing with this stuff.

WOW!!! You guys must be going nutz!!! A 3 month lock down for me, I was like a dog chasing his tail!!

I dont see how they KNOW that? I have FCC, but when I rebooked it was a new reservation and I paid a deposit. Who is to say I am, or am not using my FCC on THIS cruise? I am....but they dont know......

Being honest i had never heard of it before, in fact i actually got out an old world map and searched and i still couldnt find it... as a final resort i asked my wife if she knew where it was ! Her reply was simple and straight to the point Its probably next the the Gspot so waste of time you looking as you cant even find that ???? Aplogies if offended but a little light humour brightens these dark times

Yeah its a shame i cant hop on one of the 10 daily flights from London to New York because of the International Travel Ban ? And also we were ONLY last to be banned because US citizens on vacaction needed a place to get home from! Italy is closed make your way to UK taking all luggage and any virus with you ?? so its not as if the US was doing us a favour, in fact you put us more at risk by the uk having to accommodate people from varuous virus hit countries making their way home to the US, you were looking after your own which is only right but that is the only reason Donald let us still fly. And as soon as US citizens were home he shut the door leaving UK citizens stuck in US. Some countries such as Italy had already imposed no flights before the US, others we about to follow so it didnt really matter as it was happening anyway With regards being outraged NOPE!! TBH in Europe its different we dont see the world revolving around the US, it was mentioned on the news and that was really it.

Just an idea but given all this infighting between various states in the US would it not be a good idea to follow the old Soviet Union and break up into smaller independent countries? Imagine 50 separate countries where previously there was only the one! Donald could build big walls dividing each country so there was no movement between them without going through check points and passport control. It would certainly make the world serious live up to its name more ?

The active ingredient in Dramamine is Dimenhydrinate. In Canada it's marketed as "Gravol". According to wikipedia is it available in the UK: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimenhydrinate#Nausea Dimenhydrinate (marketed as Gravol in Canada and Dramamine in the United Kingdom and the United States) is an over-the-counter (OTC) antihistamine indicated for the prevention and relief of nausea and vomiting from a number of causes. Bonine is another popular motion sickness solution that is less drowsy. Both have precautions as it relates to consuming alcohol which is often associated with cruising so do your research. Perhaps inquiring with your doctor will yield something they can recommend. Failing that it will be available without a prescription in the US before you board. Don't assume you will need it. I never take it but I always carry some just in case.

Galveston's Port Director reported this week that they will now study the need for a parking garage at the future Royal Caribbean Cruise Terminal 3. He also reported that the Port of Galveston is continuing its commitment to Cruise Terminal 3 with surveying, engineering, traffic studies and design, and other physical work to support the new terminal. As a reminder, Royal Caribbean requested earlier this year that they be allowed to delay the terminal completion by one year.

Back to the OP's statement... Cruises will start in October! I'm just not confident what year.

@Mrs. Thomas I don't think the government will make it mandatory but I wonder about cruise ships. As a leisurely activity, they could sort of get away with enforcing vaccinations. I personally won't be getting the vaccine until extensive research and testing have been done, even then its only a 50% chance.

The biggest advantage to Lift & Shift is the fact that they price protect your current price. The disadvantage to L&S is that you must wait a full year for your cruise. I would look at the cruise that you would/could L&S to and see what the prices are for your room. If your current price is significantly lower than what they are charging for your room a year from now, L&S might be a good option. Of course, there is always the possibility that the price on the replacement cruise could come down, but the odds are against that. If you want to cruise sooner than 1 year from your current booking, then FCC would be a good option. Just know that there is a significant lapse time between the time that you cancel, using Cruise with Confidence, and when you actually get your FCC/refunds. IF the time lapse is not an issue for you, then the FCC is a good option...it just takes freakin' forever to get it all done.

Just when I was starting to agree with you....

I have same mix but also i was told im 1/8 english. So i donated 2 pints of blood just to make sure the 1/8th was gone ??? Ok so thats Americans and English picked on who's next lol

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11945174/travel-france-italy-spain-holiday-air-bridges/ Report on how the UK are looking at reducing the quarantine measures for counties/ areas visited or from where visitors have arrived from and when its looking to relax these measures. USA is seen as high risk and reports indicates it will be Nov/ Dec

Early on the explosion of cases in New England dominated the charts for the country. The New England region accounted for the bulk of the peak observed in March and April and that set the scale for all charts. With the scale set to accommodate New England the rest of the country becomes background noise in the graphs early on. Since that time the New England region has largely got the situation under better control and they have trended downward. Given that this region defined the scale of the charts for the nation, the decline makes it look like all of the US has the situation under control at least in terms of deaths. I've drawn red lines on these charts to split them roughly in half. The first two months on the left, the next two months on the right. The death rate nationwide: Clearly we are losing less people now compared to earlier on. That's the good news. But... Looking at new cases on a daily basis nationwide: The results are different than the death chart, new cases are not trending down like deaths are. Why? Looking at New York and New Jersey they alone accounted for a significant number of the news cases to the left of the red line. When you add the surrounding New England states they are the lion share of the numbers left of the red line. Looking at New York and New Jersey: The most populated states in America are California, Texas and Florida followed by New York. Looking at these other states in the early days over the first two months we see their new case counts were very low left of the red line. To the left of the red line these states each were accounting for 10% of what was occuring in New York alone but they all have larger populations than New York. You can see why they thought it was safe to open based on the scale set by the extreme numbers in New England. Looking to the right of the red line you see where the measures taken in New England allowed them to get the virus under better control. The number of new cases in New England to the right of the red line is 1/2 to 1/3 of what it was to the left of the red line earlier on. Looking at the other most populous states the reverse is true. These states are now seeing double to triple the new cases to the right of the red line compared to what they experienced left of the red line. It has been said that more testing will result in more cases detected. New York state has some of the highest testing rates in the country. The number of tests done in New York far exceeds what other states have accomplished. If more testing is supposed to result in more cases, why has New York significantly reduced new cases over time while testing at a higher rate over the same time period? Looking again at the new cases on a country wide basis: While New England was responsible for the bulk of what we saw early on left of the red line, other states are now responsible for the results we see to the right of the red line. New England has become background noise in the data. This illustrates why you have to be careful looking at nationwide results and applying them to individual regions or states. Looking at the time since Memorial Day we know that case detection lags 7 to 14 days. As many states moved to open over Memorial Day we are just now beginning to see the effects. While it is too early to draw conclusions, it has the appearance that new cases in the US are trending upward since Memorial Day but looking at New England this trend isn't coming from that area. What concerns me is that deaths lag behind case detection. infected will take a week or more to reach the point they feel symptoms and more time before they need a ventilator and they often spend weeks on ventilators before they succumb. With new cases appearing to trend upward since Memorial Day it's hard to imagine that deaths will not follow in the coming weeks or months. The virus hasn't been defeated. It has not been cured. There is no vaccine today. Everyone who is at risk hasn't been eliminated yet. It's illogical to conclude that increasing new cases today won't result in increased deaths in the coming weeks. Only time will tell. The problem for the cruise industry is that they tend to home port ships in populated states. Florida and Texas have the highest number of embarkations. New Jersey, New York and California follow closely if not for Royal Caribbean they are significant states for other cruise line embarkations. The three most populous states and the most cruise embarking states are trending upward in new cases right now. These states are not flattening the curve. Far from it we've yet to see where or when these states will peak. If deaths follow new cases as they always have I suspect they are far from ready to think about starting cruising for a very long time. The declines observed in New England occurred over a two month span after the peak. We don't know where these other states are on their climb towards their peak. Are they a month away from the peak or two months away from the peak? We don't know yet. However if the overall process takes four months to settle down the numbers like it did in New England then we are looking at October before these states are where New York is today and New York is nowhere close to declaring it's time to allow ships to sail. The death chart above loosely follows New England new cases. With New England in better control they are effectively out of play right now. Where the national charts go from here will now be driven by the results of other states as they would have all along if New England didn't experience the initial surge that it did. It's going to be a long road ahead. As tired of all this as we may be, we've only started on the journey.

I love the loft suites on oasis class. Got to be in one for my wife’s and my post engagement a few years ago on Allure. Loved the breakfast in Coastal kitchen every morning. However not a luxury we can afford regularly. I’ll hit you up to sneak us up on the suite deck on sea days haha jk.

Great post...^ Here's my opinion laced rant.... Everyone freaks out when the news reports infections, but never talk about the net effect in the same articles. The numbers I pulled this morning show the percentage of cases and deaths to population...I gather that there is more testing in the US than anywhere else....based on reports I've read (buried deep in main stream media, and easier to find with independent media)....numbers of cases are reported as being inflated for financial reasons such as if someone dies of a heart attack or accident and is infected, the death is attributed to COVID (who knows how accurate that it -- no one is trusting the experts anymore because of goal post moving, changing the story, and what appears to be outright guessing...everyone has seen the reports about nursing homes in certain states that are putting restrictions on people from Florida. They are focusing on cases and not mortality. Big difference. The second shows the European CDCs trend line for deaths. I wish it showed per capita...but, I suspect far, far more people have been infected and were never tested. There was the viral video of the two California doctors who postulated that 70-80 million people could have had it based on what they were seeing in their clinic as opposed to the medical statisticians who always get quoted with scare numbers and ended up being wrong with their mitigation numbers by several times. I think they were talking about 500,000 deaths in the beginning...and the numbers that are getting reported are a fraction of it. not to minimize anyone's direct negative experiences with this, but the numbers don't justify the response, in my opinion. How many people remember the beginning when people were saying they feared the response more than the disease? I certainly did. That seems to be bearing fruit. Call me whatever you like, but something is going on with how power in the US is exerted on the people and on companies such as Royal. Something needs to happen. Sorry, like everyone else, I am fed up with this...we have done our part, and no one is listening except the choir.

Don gets things wrong on a fairly regular basis. He seems nice, but I don't find his content valuable.