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2021 and beyond cruise wear

Key thing I've come to learn and understand about the J&J vaccine over the weekend is that, while it's only 49%-72% effective (depending on the region you're looking at and how widespread variants are there) at blocking infection, it has been 100% effective at preventing death due to the disease and over 90% effective at preventing the disease from becoming serious enough to require hospitalization. And those latter stats include all the people in the trial who've had the various variants. That's on par with the other vaccines, and as others here have noted it's a game changer when combined with the fact that it's stable at standard refrigerator temperatures, only needs a single dose, and can be produced in much larger quantities. @WAAAYTOOO, this vaccine still isn't what you'd call a "traditional" vaccine based on a dead or weakened version of the virus. It's delivered using an Adenovirus (i.e., cold virus) that has been genetically modified to carry the DNA for producing the spike protein, but also modified so it can't reproduce itself. Same end result -- "infected" cells at the injection site produce just the spike protein, which gets secreted from the cells into the blood, and an immune response is triggered. This is a newer approach to vaccine design that's been researched for decades, although the first such vaccine was only approved last July (for Ebola) -- see this article from the New York Times that explains it all at a high level.

We're supposed to cope?

mRNA is big. Not just for COVID 19. Cancer, flu and even the common cold is in its sights. Too soon to tell, but very promising. I am glad to be alive in the 21st Century, and not the 16th Century. ? Curt from Canada

Just a pedantic point here: it's actually also 100% effective at preventing hospitalization per the trial data. Severe disease is classified as low oxygen (below 95% saturation) with or without hospitalization (and a bunch of other criteria)... Pfizer also had a case of severe disease classified this way that also didn't require hospitalization. So even better news! I think you and I have discussed this earlier, and we seem to be in agreement that if the bar is no nCoV-19 anywhere on a ship, then cruises will never sail again. If the bar is instead a much more reasonable metric based on cases of severe covid, then once we have decent, population level immunological resistance to disease via the vaccines and natural infection then we should be good to go.

The face shield is only a supplement to a mask. CDC recommends it only in addition, not in place of, cloth face coverings. I’ll bet no will be the answer.

We love the Intercontinental Miami!! That is our go-to hotel when sailing out of Miami. We always book the Bay View rooms and we also book Club level since that gives you access to their lounge (well worth the extra cost IMO). The hotel is a 5 min walk to Bayside Marketplace where there are tons of choices for dining and shopping. It’s a 15 min ride to South Beach if you want that. And best part is that it takes less than 10 mins to get to the port of Miami. Love that hotel, I miss it. ?

This morning while I was driving around town, I noticed a bumper sticker that said "I am a Veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal". And then I realized, we have a lot of Proctologists driving around here! ?

I read this blog every day. I then scroll the message boards endlessly. Then I watch YouTube videos of Ship tours from Harr Travel or Cruising with Ben & David, then I watch docuseries, such as "Might Cruise Ships". Then I go to the RCI site and research things to do and do mock reservations to try out different combinations of itinerary/stateroom/etc. This really hasn't helped all that much...but it's better than watching the so-called "news".

Yesterday I was watching ship tour videos on YouTube. When I finally get to go on a cruise I plan on Celebrity Edge to be my first trip.

I'm so very sorry for what I'm about to post.....I'm working a lot of hours and am tired. The first thing I thought of when I read your reply was....

Better than the alternative

Noro has long been "under control" on cruise ships. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen on ships, but relative to other places in the US it is very minor on ships. The CDC themselves reports this: The CDC reports cruise ships account for around 1% of all reported cases, so few they don't make it onto the chart above. Norovirus is the most frequent (over 90%) cause of outbreaks of diarrheal disease on cruise ships and these outbreaks often get media attention, which is why some people call norovirus the “cruise ship virus.” However, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage (1%) of all reported norovirus outbreaks. https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/trends-outbreaks/outbreaks.html You are almost twice as likely to get noro in a private residence (1.9% vs. 1%) You are 6 times more likely to get noro at a school or daycare. You are 22 times more likely to get noro at a land based restaurant. The highest number of noro outbreaks occur in health care facilities accounting for 62% of all reported cases. In reality though on land many noro outbreaks are never reported so the odds are likely even better on cruise ships where noro outbreaks have to be reported per federal regulations. If a local restaurant, church or high school has an outbreak there are no federal regulations requiring it to be reported to the CDC and local media might not even report it. That's the frustrating aspect of the pandemic. Cruise ships get a lot of attention meanwhile the virus is spreading out of control in many places but it's much harder to determine if spread occured on a city bus or an airplane even though those are one of so many places that spread is occuring. Meanwhile cruise ships are locked down while other spreading venues are free to carry on.

I'm hoping the J&J vaccine will have better availability and distribution trends compared to the existing vaccines. If so, that could be a huge factor in getting ships back into service sooner rather than later.

This is not necessarily a topic for a cruise blog, but your words have touched me. This is not a cheery topic, but an important one. My grandfather passed away from colon cancer as well (long ago ... I am not a young man). It affected me significantly, and hurts over 40 years later. mRNA (and some other similars) have the ability to energize our immune systems against the cancer "invaders". It still is not proven, but it may be the best bet we have (currently). I pray for the day these game changers save millions. Curt from Canada

It just may turn into that because of these new strains or variants. I already get the flu shot so it won't be a huge deal but rather not get it every year. Speaking of the flu shot. I hear Moderna is working on mRNA vaccines for a better flu shot and that would be very welcome.

I witnessed a very rowdy exchange between a traveler and TSA at DFW airport last week. Traveler felt a face shield alone was sufficient (no mask), they were escorted to the exit door, and not allowed back into the terminal. I assume a flight was missed.

I think the bar for the vaccines should be decreased hospitalization and death. People still can get flu after a flu vaccine but most will have mild symptoms and not require hospitalization. That’s why I’m pretty excited about J&J vaccine. One shot = quicker availability for the public. I’ve already received 2 shots of Moderna and would’ve signed up for J&J if I didn’t have earlier access

Celebrity just had a webinar on Alaska. When they talked about Skagway, they also noted the train and suggested that rather than taking the train out to the end and back, replace the return trip with a ride on the bus back so you see different areas. Alternately, if you think you'll have good luck with the weather / don't mind the cold / are good on a bike, you can actually bike back to the port; the presenter said you'll only be pedaling for maybe 5 or 10 minutes, the rest of the time is spent riding the brakes as it's downhill almost the entire way. The other thing the presenter noted was to sit on the left side for the train ride, and then if you take the bus back to also sit on the left side.

Traditionally there has been a pre-cruise meet up. We don't usually make plans until much closer to the sail date. All are welcome, even those not sailing. Just like my group cruises, I want them to be as inclusive as possible. Renting a car will almost certainly be cheaper than ubering to Miami from Orlando. I'll defer to @Sharla or @michelle for hotel recommendations. What I do is look for Priceline Express deals with at least 4 stars near WDW. You will almost always come out with a nice hotel.

I'm number 214,897 in my county.

@RickinSTL really hoping that isn't the case. One day, when we are cruising again, I'm going to Alaska and I better get to enjoy the train!

Thank you guys very much for the details and pictures. We really appreciate your time and effort with excellent feedback.

Unless the train breaks down like it did with us in 2016 lol

How sad is it that we all get excited to see what the new schedule will be. This is the only pleasure in the cruising world now. Can't wait to get back!

I feel ya. Prior to last year, between work and fun, I spent far more time away than at home.... For cruises, I canceled everything except December on the Grandeur this year. It's easier for me to cancel a trip than to plan it while not being sure if it's going to be able to go. December's far enough away that I can put a little time and day dreaming into the planning but not be too upset if I need to reevaluate later this year. I'm also looking at booking different cruises than I ordinarily would for 2022/2023, I've only ever done the Caribbean, preferring land based trips for everywhere else, so lots of other places to look into. Currently I'm researching Antartica and Alaska cruises, they've been on my todo list for awhile now and there's a ton to consider for both of them. Been wanting to go to Europe, spend a few days/week in France and then do a Mediterranean cruise, so using it as an excuse to learn French via Duolingo while I wait till that's possible. One of the things I noticed when I stoped traveling is that I never really took the time to document any trip that I've gone on. I was (and still am) a proponent of enjoying the now, sometimes I could get caught up in taking a photo more than I was enjoying the moment I was in. All fine and dandy till I want to look back and try and relive a trip in my memory...I don't have as many photos/etc to trigger those memories. So now I've decided to start documenting my trips a bit more. Photography's already a huge hobby of mine (although mostly studio based or environmental portraiture) so I'll spend some time picking what my ideal travel kit would be. What I'd bring for the Caribbean is different than I'd bring for a bucket list trip like Antartica. Part of me's also amused at the idea of trying to drag along my 8x10 to just go complete overkill. Started teaching myself watercolor painting too to make a travel journal with, a combination of writing, sketching, and painting. We'll see how that goes (not well so far!). Good things to help though and hopefully make future trips even more enjoyable. Off of that, I've started reading back through live blogs and longer reviews, some YouTube vlogs, and movies about travel/adventure. I still travel some, but it's much more local. My last "I NEED TO GET AWAY" trip was a few hour drive and a stay at an airbnb in Cherry Springs so I could do some astrophotography uninterrupted for a few days. Took up some older hobbies too to keep myself busy, right now I'm making a 1/12 scale dollhouse for my nieces with hand tools, keeps the hands busy while listening to the RCB podcast ? tl;dr, lots of planning for the future and new projects to keep occupied / improve myself in the mean time. It's been a strange year.

LOVE IT

So I watched the Alaska webinar; looks like they're finally figuring out how to properly do them, the audio issues were nonexistent (but my God does Lisa Lutoff-Perlo need to spend the frigging $100 on a good mic), transitions between presenters / videos / etc went without any delays or hiccups, etc. Once those points are credited I'll be at 27 Captain's Club points. Still a long way to go to get to Select, but considering I haven't taken a single cruise with them yet (and may not now until 2023 at earliest), I'm fine with that. Considering Verandah cabins are only 3 points per night, and their current pricing would only ever have me in Ocean View rooms (2 points), I've effectively gotten 9 / 13.5 days worth of credit from just filling out surveys, taking quizzes based on their marketing materials, and watching webinars.

Look for a Royal Caribbean patent application in the not-too-distant future. ????

The time for beer hats has finally arrived! Easy drinking without mask removal, as long as they come out with a cocktail version for me we're all set.

Um, that's not correct at all. I don't have the schedule when next sailings will be released. Wish I did.

A few years ago on Independence we used the computers that were situated in the Library so our son could get his exam results, can't remember how we paid but we didn't get an internet package.

Don't know about Allure, I can't recall one on my Quantum sailing FWIW, but there was one on Explorer as recently as October 2018. On Quantum, I simply paid for 24 hours worth of connection on my device. You don't need to buy a package for the whole trip.

Uh, not sure why you felt the need to drag up a 2 year old thread. Since you didn't bother to quote anything controversial, I'm not going to bother rereading the whole thing to check but I don't recall anyone suggesting service dogs shouldn't be allowed on board. However, there certainly have been issues with people clearly bringing pets on both cruise ships and airplanes. That's not cool and that's pretty much all that needs to be said on the topic.

Wow ! More sailing (and due to sail soon) than I thought.

A face shield and mask protect you and others from two different things. A shield is used to prevent liquid from entering and exiting your face, for example if someone sneezes on you. A facs mask filters out small airborne particles that you inhale and exhale as your breath So one doesn't work instead of the other, but they work together to protect you from different contagions.

I'm sure a few of you have seen this link. There are a small number of ships sailing , others planning to start Feb '21. MSC sailing one, and starting another from Italy. https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24279-cruise-ships-back-in-service-february-2021-update.html

I think people and this includes me kinda miss the point with these vaccines. Its not just about preventing Covid-19 altogether, its about not getting severe sickness, hospitalization and death most importantly. If it can turn it basically into a common cold you get over in a few days that is a huge win obviously. I have shortsighted on this fact myself. The J&J vaccine is very, very intriguing. One shot and done, easily transported and stored. J&J can manufacture at an incredible pace and capacity.

I agree with @IRMO12HD; if you wear contacts, they are a great option too. Then you don't have to worry about a new mask if your Rx changes (or leaving your mask at home or on the ship). Unfortunately, I can only do contacts if the excursion is early in the cruise. I think the increased salt throughout the week does something to the shape my eyes. I just can't get them in comfortably after day 4, but when I get home it's back to normal after a few days.

New itineraries are always exciting because there could be some intriguing surprises.

This is a re-post ... so regulars can pass it by. Grandeur is one of our favourite ships. It's connection with the sea is a highlight. The restaurants can not compare with the larger ships, but we sail for different reasons: Frequently, you will hear experienced cruisers talk about the different reasons for cruising. Sometimes the discussions separate into three camps: “stay on the ship” versus “visit ports” versus “be at sea”. Obviously, there is no “right” answer, but it is very interesting to hear the preferences of others. I think when a cruise line offers “choices”, so that you can meet your needs, they deserve your “attention”. One of the reasons my soulmate & I cruise so often on Royal Caribbean, is the wide variety of experiences on board their ships. I am certain that there are other cruise lines that offer the same variety. Still, one tends to stick with the known versus the unknown. Below are different ways to approach cruising: 1). The Ship is the Destination: How can anyone disagree that the ships are so special that passengers want to maximize their time on the ship? The large ships offer so much that visiting no ports would probably be fine for some. On our last trip, Harmony of the Seas was so busy there was little time for afternoon naps (we think this is necessary if you dance all night). Even their medium sized ships are packed with on board options. So many ships (Oasis, Quantum, Freedom Classes) have so many things to do; we frequently are stuck trying to determine what we will not do (because there is more than one event at the same time). 2). Travel is the Main Goal: We have spent a lot of time in Europe with self-directed land vacations. It is a different experience and has its advantages. One thing that is an absolute pain is packing, unpacking and travel between destinations. When we are in “Travel Mode” it is such a treat to unpack and pack once and wake up with a new experience almost every day. These are not necessarily restful vacations, but they are stimulating and are normally filled with many special memories. Although these can be had on the large ships, we find that small and medium ships are better to meet this objective. 3). Stay Connected to the Sea: After all, this is a cruise ship. Some ships have a strong and obvious connection with the sea. Everywhere you go you can see the sea. When we travel, it is never so obvious than when we are on the water … we are not in our home, we are venturing out, we are exploring. Small and medium sized ships maintain this connection easily. The larger ships get the more difficult it is. We have been on Grandeur three times in the last 2 years. Lady G does not have all the “bells & whistles”, but she has sea views everywhere. In support of Goal 2), she taken us to many places we have never been before. She also has been the catalyst, for our main reason for cruising … 4). Make Your Own Fun: We did not start with this strategy, but it is becoming our primary one. Sometimes, day to day routines can foster a complacency that turns into a “rut”. Travel is one way to shake this up, but we think the concept is a little simpler. By using new experiences (ship or port or sea), we “connect” better on cruise ships. Relationship building is about shared experiences, and we find that we converse more, laugh more, dance more (and drink more too) on the ship. As much as possible we try to travel with friends. The more friends, the more opportunities to build deeper relationships. It does not matter if the ship is big or small, if the number of days are few or many, or if we are in port or at sea … we make our own fun. For 1) … we enjoy: Allure, Harmony & Anthem. For 2) … we enjoy: Radiance, Grandeur, Adventure, Explorer & Anthem. For 3) … we enjoy: Grandeur, Radiance & Anthem. For 4) … we enjoy: All the above. Regardless of how you cruise … Have a Blast. Curt from Canada

Here is what my Soulmate and I did a number of years ago (the interesting thing was the RCL agent convinced us out of a 14 day north/south B2B on Radiance to do this instead): 1). Fly to Vancouver and take the North Bound cruise to Seward. Make sure you get a Starboard Balcony (do not miss the Inside Passage ... I thought I could touch the tress on the shoreline). 2). Make sure the itinerary has the Hubbard Glasier ... it is stunning. We enjoyed tons more on the cruise, but many people have already covered. Hubbard was the highlight of the cruise. 3). Do a land tour (we did ours self directed, but a tour group would be fine as well). Do not miss: Denali ... We had two views of the spectacular mountain: Talkeetna and from Denali National Park. Talkeetna ... a great town to visit. If you are there on a Sunday morning there is a cafe that only plays the Beatles (we stayed there for a couple of hours (breakfast and a break)). Denali National Park ... we had a 13 hour bus tour. It was "other worldly". Anchorage ... lots of history and things to do there. Alaska ... was one of the most welcoming places we have ever visited. We thought it was once in a lifetime visit. Nope ... we will go back. Bore Tide Surfing on Turnagain Arm ... We did not do it, but it was fun to watch. Obviously, there are more things to do, but we only had 6 days. 4) Fly back out of Anchorage The RCL agent (who was from Alaska) said the North and South itineraries were pretty much the same. She said, "do not go all that way and miss Denali". Hope you have a blast, Curt from Canada

Tracelets -- Don't really care, I can think of a few ways to have some fun with this one anyway... Staying in my cabin while leaving it hung on the door so it tags every person who walks past as being within my bubble. Sending my cabin mate around with both when getting something to eat or whatever, etc. I think it's more of a gimmick than anything and won't do much good. It's not like that by the end of the cruise you won't have come within 10 feet of nearly every person on the ship and IMHO that is what the bubble will end up being. It's a wireless tech and sadly being wireless it's not all that reliable, I used to shoot WiFi connections 10 miles and hated troubleshooting problems because it's hard to test the air. Sometimes it meant just swapping equipment while hoping that would fix it. The worst was when I was able to see the tower with my naked eye and be unable to get a decent connection. Limited time in the pools -- Fine not a problem as long as they also limit the times in the chairs so people can't horde them, maybe pick up towels left unattended. I am more for the hot tub than the pool anyway and honestly would rather be 80 feet under the water. Limited tables for dining -- Meh, the ships are also going to have limited capacity as well so I doubt it's going to be a huge deal. Temperature checks -- May ask for them to use my thermometer... Going to buy a rectal one so we can all thoroughly enjoy the experience. ? But seriously, walk into a doctors office or hospital right now and they are doing temp checks as long as it's the non contact ones it's a few seconds. And they won't be able to do them if you have been in the pool or the sun unless they plan to have a large waiting area because the water will throw the temp low and the sun will throw it high which means they will need a spot for a 5 minute sit down for the temps to normalize. Limited seating in the theatre -- Who want's to sit right next to someone else anyway, usually at least one seat between anyway. Also see limited tables for dining as that also applies here. But hopefully they plan on adding in an extra show or two so everyone gets to enjoy. Muster 2.0 -- You mean I don't have to stand in some smooshed together group and listen to some woman complaining about being there while her kids are running around like they have no manners and the baby is screaming? Yes please!! 1 metre social distancing - 1 meter is personal bubble space to me. I also doubt that a large chunk of people are going to truly follow that to the letter anyway, shoot tons of people don't wear masks either. That is part of the reason why I use a P100 respirator instead of a cheap cloth mask that doesn't have a chance of sealing. I also have received the 1st dose of the Pfizer C19 vaccine and get the second in a couple weeks, if any boosters come out I will probably have that earlier than the average person as well. And finally I doubt a large chunk of this will matter by the time cruising gets going again. They haven't even had a test cruise in the US yet and until they do I consider everything dead until further notice. I just wish that RCCL would give some points for booking and trying to go, especially if they cancel. The only thing I see sticking around for a while is temp checks and Muster 2.0 by the time I am getting on a ship again. I think the temp thing will end up being a couple thermal cameras here and there near hallways and while coming on or off the ship.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55850352 The BBC report that the Novavax vaccine was 60% effective against the South African variant, not brilliant but better than the seasonal flu jabs we get each year. "The Novavax jab, which is given in two doses, was shown to be 89.3% effective at preventing Covid-19 in participants in its Phase 3 clinical trial in the UK, and around 86% effective at protecting against the new UK variant. The Phase 3 trials - the final stage before a vaccine is looked at by a regulator - enrolled more than 15,000 people aged between 18-84, of whom 27% were older than 65, US firm Novavax said. In the South African part of the trial, where most of the cases were the South African variant of the virus, the vaccine was 60% effective among those without HIV."

Whether you agree with the measures or not, you will most likely have the choice to go on the cruise or not. If anything, whenever cruises resume in other parts of the world, I would assume that there would be the option to cancel without penalty due to these measures, if not outright cancelling sailings and re adding new “measure introduced” mirror sailings that would probably be cheaper. That’s what happened in Singapore. All sailing were cancelled and replaced with the ocean getaways. The new sailing also had 50% off every passenger to make it a little more attractive. I don’t know about you, but if I can get $3000 off an initial price, measures or not, I will be more inclined to book it. Also, to give you a little insight on why maybe these measure work in Singapore and people still go on them. Singapore is an island (ie completely surrounded by water) smaller than the size of New York City. With closed borders, you’re basically stuck in a small place with no where to escape too. One thing to note about Singaporeans, is they like to travel, even weekend trips to Malaysia feels like a vacation from the bustle of City life. You can imagine the pent up need to leave Singapore. Add the fact that Singaporeans generally follow laws really closely. I’m sure you’ve heard we’re a “fine” country. Yes, you get fined for some of the smallest things and harder punishments for actual bad stuff. It’s not a bad thing, because personally, I like that I can be walking the street at 3am almost anywhere in Singapore and feel completely safe. Lastly, we do have COVID relatively under control. So much so, that I personally feel many Singaporeans are getting complacent. That being said, most everyone has gotten used to the measures we have on land. Masks are worn everywhere, regardless of your line of work. I wear my mask for 10 hours everyday, to the point that sometimes, my face feels naked without one now. Yeah, crazy I know. The need to vacation is so strong that staycations took off, but I would think for most people, between wearing a mask in a hotel and wearing a mask on a cruise. Most would choose the latter Well, I think I’ll end my rant here. Hope you enjoy a little of perspective from a Singaporean

What's the saying, it's always darkest before the dawn? We've made some huge strides since last March. We've got a better understanding of the virus, treatment protocols, mitigation practices, and multiple vaccines approved or in the process of being approved. There have been missteps, mismanagement, blunders, whatever you want to call them along the way but Fauci and most others have been saying for months now that it was going to get worse this winter before it got better. Vaccines are being administered, more are being procured, they're looking at ways to increase production, additional vaccines are in the approval process. @JeffB has made some fantastic posts on the science behind it that I can't compete with, but there's hope on the horizon. Will cruising from the US happen this year? No one knows for sure, everything is still changing too fast and there are too many unknowns, but that doesn't mean there's not hope on the horizon for it, at some point. tl;dr, there's a middle ground between the boundless optimism of a quick start and eternal pessimism of the end of cruising, I think that's where most of us fall.

Of course it's not a good sign but you still have certain individuals <cough, cough, scroll up> who are still in denial. ?

FWIW my vote is for Skagway. The train trip on the White Pass railroad is a bucket list item for us.

I used to think the same way about fins. My brother said, you're in the Caribbean. There's no current to speak of. Just bring your mask and snorkel. You don't need fins. He was right. I haven't traveled with fins for 20 years.

2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine received on 1/19! I have injection site pain (I didn't have any on the first one), but that's it so far. Too bad they canceled my April cruise ? I was hopeful this little card would be my golden ticket to normalcy ... at least if only for a week or two...