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Port Canaveral begins vaccinating cruise ship crew. https://www.floridatoday.com/story/money/business/2021/04/30/port-canaveral-becomes-first-u-s-port-start-vaccinating-cruise-crews/4896178001/ Port Canaveral on Friday became the first U.S. port to coordinate COVID-19 vaccine distribution to cruise ship crew members, in advance of a possible return to cruising in July. The U.S. cruise industry has been shut down since March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The vaccination of crew members will help accelerate a return to cruising. --- It is expected that a number of other cruise ships will be docking at Port Canaveral in the coming weeks, so their crew members can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. === It also is possible that cruise ships not typically at Port Canaveral will be docking there so crew members can get vaccinated aboard the ships. Port Canaveral said it developed its vaccination procedures in cooperation with the Parrish Healthcare Center, Canaveral Fire Rescue and cruise lines' medical personnel. The port said up to 1,000 COVID-19 vaccination shots a day can be provided to vessel crew members, as well as to shoreside and waterside support personnel.

What did one octopus say to the other octopus? Let's hold hands and hands and hands and hands and hands and hands and hands and hands.

What’s brown and sticky? A stick.

I heard that the world's tongue twister champion just got arrested. They're going to give him a really tough sentence. This morning I tripped over my wife's bra when I got out of bed. It was a booby trap. I tried to climb a really tall tower in Paris once, but, Eiffel off. ?

Start watching those old world war two movies and practicing your "tunneling" skills.

A peanut, and oat and a raisin sit down for a drink. The bartender looks at them and says, "What do you think this is? A granola bar."

I got my first AZ shot 10 days ago so I'll be good to go soon. But I don't cruise (fingers crossed) until December so I can be patient about it.

Direct from the source. It's interesting (to me at least) to see reference to a month of twice-weekly meetings between the CDC and the industry. https://www.portcanaveral.com/About/Recent-News/Port-Canaveral-First-Port-in-U-S-to-Support-COVID- Port Canaveral, FL – April 30, 2021 – Port Canaveral is the first U.S. port to sponsor COVID-19 vaccine distribution to port workers and vessel crew members in response to a Florida Public Health Advisory approved by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Scott A. Rivkees, MD issued on April 29 expanding vaccine eligibility to include individuals who are in the state for purpose of providing good or services for the benefit of residents and visitors of the State of Florida. “We have been working closely with our cruise partners, the Florida Department of Health, and our port community to come up with a plan and timeline of vaccinating cruise ship crews that could begin the process for a safe return to cruising,” stated Capt. John Murray, Port CEO. “This expanded eligibility is significantly important for our cruise tourism business, and we’re proud of our efforts to help get this industry up and running.” Port Canaveral developed its vaccination model in cooperation with the Parrish Healthcare Center at Cape Canaveral, Canaveral Fire Rescue, and cruise lines medical personnel. Up to 1,000 COVID-19 vaccination shots per day can be provided to vessel crew members, shoreside and waterside support personnel, which aligns with recommendations released this week by the federal Centers for Disease Control for a return to cruising in the U.S. Port Canaveral officials consulted with the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and cruise line operators, as well as the CDC to develop its vaccination model to efficiently and expeditiously get vaccines disbursed to crew members and shoreside personnel. Ship operators responded positively to the expanded eligibility and vaccine doses were administered to personnel on Friday at the Port. Yesterday, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidance, allowing cruise ships to sail with vaccinated crew and passengers as early as mid-July. The change to the restart timeline comes after a month of twice-weekly meetings between the CDC’s maritime team and the cruise industry and ports, including Port Canaveral.

What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator.

Sorry to hear you're having a rough time with shot #2. But take comfort that at least it's not this... ? https://m.tiktok.com/v/6955324892459928837.html?u_code=di5idi3bfja18b&preview_pb=0&language=en&_d=di5jf3k5gceh76&share_item_id=6955324892459928837&source=h5_m

I think it's a good plan and will try to fix formatting if needed and merge threads if there are duplicates.

twangster, Royal Caribbean should employ you, feels like you know more about them than they do!!

It's not absolute, all federal control or all state control, it's a combined or shared function. There are differents areas of jurisdiction. Ships are subject to some city and state regulations such as the ability to serve or tax alcohol or operate a casino on board while in port. Local taxation and regulations apply down to the city and state level but foreign flagged ships are also governed by international maritime treaties so a local ordinance related to something like ADA regulations can't be applied to a ship that is in port. For example if a ship doesn't have a wheelchair ramp into a restaurant that meets local code requirements they can't cite the ship like they could a local business but if a city or state has alcohol regulations those can be applied to a ship in port. Both NYC and Texas have different alcohol regulations that are well known and discussed on cruise forums that apply to cruise ships until they leave and clear territorial boundaries. Florida has them too but they are less impactful so not as frequently discussed. Carnival charges local taxes on a per drink basis while in a US port even if a guest has a drink package. Royal factors these taxes into the bigger picture and doesn't charge them on each drink for guests with a drink package but if you read the terms and conditions of the drink package they could. They do charge them to a guest if you don't have a package and buy each drink as you go. In both cases taxes are remitted but handled different by company policy. This is also one of many factors why ship stores or casinos are closed in port. Some local city or state regulations do apply. Local law enforcement is usually present in any given US port and you will often see both federal and local authorities in their own watercraft policing the movement of vessels within a port. For example you may see US Coast Guard and county sheriff patrols working side by side in their own watercraft. Many aspects of shipping (all shipping, not just cruise ships) falls under federal jurisdiction. Public health inspections for example. A cargo ship galley is subject to public health inspections. Imagine if public health of shipping was left to each county. Each county has its own unique code that can be different compared to another county in another state. It would be very challenging for a cargo ship making calls in different ports to meet different county health code in each port they visit. The solution was to make this a federal responsibility. When it comes to shipping most laws have grown from cargo, container and tanker forms of shipping and cruise ships get painted by that same brush because they are a ship.

I'm sorry this is happening to you! If you have booked cruises, you can contact Royal Caribbean and ask for the cruises to be released back to you. If they say no, escalate it. You have the right to take them back. If you have FCCs (not applied) you can book new with another travel agency or direct. FCCs belong to you, not to the travel agency. Good luck!

I couldn’t agree more…I have 5 suites booked on the Oasis for August and if my grand children are banned I will be cancelling them all! The CDC needs to pull their thumb out of their mouth, get out of their fetal position, and stop imposing absurd requirements that are not supported by current information.

The CDC staff making up these requirements while they sat maskless in a bar must have been laughing their asses off.

What do you call an alligator detective? An investigator.

What kind of ghost has the best hearing? The eeriest.

Why do people say “break a leg” when you go on stage? Because every play has a cast.

Hey all! Clearly the Roll Call sub-forum is something that had a lot of pent-up demand! In the interests of making it easy to search for a particular roll call and add new ones into the forum with a consistent format, please be sure to follow these guidelines: First, always search for your sailing to see if a Roll Call was already created Easiest way to search is use the first word in the ship's name, the word AND, and the date enclosed in quotes (e.g., Vision AND "Aug 14, 2021"); this should properly limit the search and not give a lot of false matches on just the ship or date Don't worry about searching on the full ship name since every ship ends with "of the Seas" If you don't find it through search, try sorting the forum by title (see later posts in this thread for screen shots); it's possible your sailing is there but the entry was created with a different style subject line. If you don't find your sailing in the search results or after sorting, go ahead and create a new topic. Please try to use the following format so it's easily found through search: Ship Name a hyphen Departure date using the format month name (3-letter), followed by the day, then the year; this should help avoid confusion for members from countries where an all-digit date usually puts the day before the month. Examples: Aug 14, 2021 Jun 12, 2021 Jul 22, 2022 An optional itinerary name / description in parentheses This should let anyone easily find any sailing here, without having to guess what date format got used or which ship it's on. Examples: Adventure of the Seas - Jun 12, 2021 Vision of the Seas - Aug 14, 2021 (Bermuda and Perfect Day) Radiance of the Seas - Jul 22, 2022 (Alaska Southbound) Forum moderators / @Matt, if possible can you update the existing topics that include "ROLL CALL" or use a different date format so they're consistent? I figure better to ask this now while we still have a relatively limited number of sailings posted. ?

Hello just a new update. Our family just received our renewal passports yesterday it took 122 days to get them - We went to the post office on Feb 24 2020 and just got them in the mail on 6/25/2020 Something now not to worry about

I can't believe no one has suggested

Might also suggest further sub-forums based on ship and locking the root sub. Then in the locked root have a general how-to and other informational posts.

The US and Canada do not have an agreement for Canada to treat the US Passport as valid for 6 months past the expiration date, though there is an agreement for the US to treat a Canadian passport as being valid 6 months past its expiration date. 9 FAM 403.9 (U) NIV ISSUANCES (state.gov)

My wife’s brother is up in NB now visiting their parents. Last week he missed one of the random “we’re checking to make sure you’re quarantining” phone calls. They threatened him with fines and jail time. He’s fully vaccinated....Pfizer shots I hope things get better for all of you up there soon.

https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel-voyage/td-dv-eng.html The Canada website doesn't say explicitly if there is a validity beyond travel dates required for US citizens. Passports are "recommended". One concern I'd have is with the airline if the Alaska cruise departs from Canada. Often we see airlines establish their own policy that is tougher than the actual requirement. An airline could for example declare you need 6 months of validity beyond travel dates not because that is actually required, it's just safer for them to train their staff on one policy rather than get into the minutia of .. if the passenger is from this country visiting that country and there is a full moon on Tuesday then... So maybe call you airline and ask them. However if your Alaska cruise departs from Seattle you may be okay but is it really worth testing the limits of what you can get away with? You have time now, the easiest approach is to just renew them since you have to anyways.

Agreed. Or try a different web browser. But I'd probably give it a half hour and come back

I think the issue of crew not being vaccinated will be completely cast aside by July 1. Even if they get a two shot vaccine with 4 weeks between and two weeks after second dose to reach maximum effectiveness there is a easy path to get there by mid-July.

University of Texas Medical Branch will be vaccinating crew on 2 Carnival ships at the Port of Galveston next week .

In the past many ships were willing to work with me on the 2nd night.

I've seen that before. Just try later.

Wait, a website error? On RoyalCaribbean.com?

We renewed both of our kids passports separately between February and March, and it took about ~4 weeks with priority processing

Absolutely! Just be aware any left over FCC is supposed to come in the form of a new FCC with a unique certificate number.

Its because the suits having teeth that the CDC has softened its tone greatly. Enough meat for that injunction to move forward that they got real sweet real quick.

Thank you all so much for your advice. Thanks for the explicit directions too. I will definitely try this tactic if things don't get resolved in the next week. I often waffle between whether I'm being too demanding or being a sucker. I've been using the same TA since 2014 and we've had several successful cruises together. She was always very responsive. But ever since early 2020, it's been all downhill. So many problems, so many promises to be patient and she'll send updates. There were never any updates and I would feel like a sucker. At first I'd check every week, then every month. I understand that her business has taken a major hit with the no sail order and I don't want to punish her further, but this response was so terrible that I just give up. It's the straw the broke the camel's back. I did send her an email asking her to release the booking. She wrote back that she's just been overwhelmed by the hundreds of cruise emails she gets every day. (so..many...excuses) She then said she'll try to get to it today. By get to, I have no idea whether she means "release the booking" or "call royal for the F&S". Either would be good for me. Since it's Friday afternoon, I don't have much hope.

I should add I have zero TA background. However, as retired Engineering, Tooling, & QA management with Boeing, I have learned how to not accept bad work, then to get resolution. At 36,000 Feet, you are very happy that I did.

It's a common question during a backstage tour in the theater, and that's the answer to it, usually with some specific examples of parts of the sets. All things considered, you can always remove sets without doing anything to the ship provided you don't care about preserving those parts of the set that would have to be torn apart. ? I dug this info up, not quite complete but I took it through all the Broadway-style show info I could find, plus some original productions. Allure - Mamma Mia (started May 2015 after drydock) Allure - (original productions: Blue Planet) Allure - Chicago (removed) Quantum - (original productions, Sequins & Feathers) Quantum - Mamma Mia (removed - was moved to Allure) Anthem - We Will Rock You Anthem - (original productions: The Gift) Oasis - Cats (started fall 2014 after October 2014 drydock) Oasis - (original productions: Come Fly With Me) Oasis - Hairspray (removed) Harmony - Grease Harmony - (original productions: Columbus) Independence - Grease Independence - (original productions: Once Upon a Time) Liberty - Saturday Night Fever Liberty - (original productions: In the Air, Supreme Divas of Motown) Symphony - Hairspray Symphony - (original productions, Flight) Odyssey - Spectrum - (original productions: The Effectors, Showgirl! Present. Future.) Ovation - (original productions: The Beautiful Dream, Live. Love. Legs.) There's a YouTube video where Royal Caribbean promoted having moved the show, though not really details... but still lots of show music and scenes and a fun watch.

Prior to the shutdown at least two Oasis class had modified their dining. They pushed MTD later and expanded the early traditional dining. However it was limited to just a few ships. When I first noticed MTD times trending later I was curious if the trial on those Oasis class was becoming fleet wide. Then I saw some ships start to have earlier MTD times. So I don't know what's up. Need to get on a ship and ask the dining room manager.

Bring on the vaccine tourists! Come on Canada, get your beavers down here!

The description of the test cruises isn't much different than originally created last fall (which is a problem of course). But the CDC has set up a gotcha to return to sailing. Just more of the same from them. "Look we're trying" yet still making it impossible

I couldn't care less if I were on a ship full of unvaccinated people (as it used to be). The risks are minimal, and those at greater risk should be vaccinated. I don't like the idea of this mass coercion into getting the whole world vaccinated (that's a another topic), we need to live with this like we do flu! Not making people scared of the 'unvaccinated'. There is now no reason in my mind why cruising cannot resume immediately.

Going onboard again next week. Will post more pics

Hmmm. Searching business records I don't see that Royal Caribbean International is registered as a business in Florida. The corporate entity (RCG) is registered but they don't offer cruises. Several instances of former related companies are showing inactive. Celebrity Cruises Inc with a place of business in Miami is listed. However in the shipping world its well known that each ship is a shell company on its own. I don't see any ship "company" registered with the state. This makes sense. Could you imagine the paperwork involved with registering every ship in every jurisdiction they visited? Any experts in Admiralty law? Given the complex corporate structure of shipping companies, particularly with respect to foreign flagged ships, are they considered a Florida business entity? They don't pay Florida business taxation like an otherwise normal Florida business does. So does this bill impact cruise ship operations?

This! "Well how much would that suite be?" "Maybe I'll take this with an inside stateroom". For instance, we love the balcony rooms on decks 11/12 forward on Voyager class (similar setups on Freedom class too) I don't care what category it is, I just want to know how much one of those rooms, in that location will cost.

I professional cruise financial advisor recommended this investment diversification strategy: 15% in cruise deposits 55% in final payments 20% in cruise planner purchases 10% in casino If casino money is played correctly it will cover the other 90% YMMV

Oh, it's real ...... the article reveals the complexity and the politics of legislative action. What is a head scratcher for me is that the Key West "community" that had concerns about cruise ships damaging Key West's ecosystem (reefs) were the group behind the local legislation that banned large cruise ships. I've not seen anything in print that supports that allegation. I also saw some malarky that asserted cruise ship passengers account for only 7% of tourist revenue in Key West, IOW, we don't need them. I can't imagine that to be accurate knowing that thousands of cruise passengers ply the streets of Key West buying stuff, dining and drinking there most days of the year. I doubt the business community that recognizes the economic impact of that spending were given much of a voice in whatever debate was had on it. I'd argue that this local legislation banning big cruise ships is a perfect example of a small vocal minority overrunning the larger community's economic interests. There had to be some middle ground here but that rarely gets found in matters like this where the environment flag is waived.

Just joined tonight. I have no idea what took me so long. This site is so invaluable to me, and I check it frequently hoping for some positive news. Matt and the admins do such a great job, and this place is always so positive.

You've thought about it, you've dreamt about it, you've researched it - Are you going to do something about it? Lets have a look and see what I did. Many Many Many years ago, my parents took the whole family on cruises around the south pacific. I still have a hand carved fisherman's sail boat model from Fiji with 1977 carved into the side. (Hmmm 43 years ago) Back then you could throw coins over the side of the ship when in port and the local would swim down and pick them up, how times have changed. We are addict's, all it took for me then was a taste 43 years ago and even to this day I love cruising !!!! I had wanted to cruise for a VERY long time and based on my professional responsibilities it just wasn't possible. My best friend and I had talked about taking a cruise for a very long time. And it took a long time for both of our schedules to be in line with each other so that we could take time off work to go on a cruise together. In August of 2019 on the celebrity reflection, my best friend and I (Including Families) took a 12 NIGHT SCANDINAVIA & RUSSIA CRUISE. Well like a junkie that has been clean for decades, my cruise addiction got what it needed and like a fresh blood transfusion "CRUISING" was back in my blood. Within a month of returning from Russia, I had booked a cruise for my family. The problem I had, was that it was going to be a surprise, a VERY BIG surprise and I could not tell them. Every chance I got, I was watching Royal Caribbean Blog, The Klaykowski's (AKA The ship show), Cruise tips TV, Tips for Travelers and on and on. "I LOVED IT". Some of it as silly as it sounds was over my head and not until now do I understand what and why they were saying things. If it was mentioned, I bought it. Magnetic Hooks, Highlighters, collapsible laundry hampers, first aid kits, dental kits, sunglasses, sunhats and the list goes on. If you recommended it I got it. My mother had died in January and I thought that it would be a great surprise for my father to go on a cruise with us. In short my father has become a home body and getting him to the cruise terminal in Sydney, let alone out of the house was a bigger task than I thought it was going to be. After three subtle attempts to see if I could get him to Sydney (Australia) to go to sea world, I accepted that he was simply content at home and that was OK. So how do you purchase all of these cruise must haves and not have anyone catch on to the fact that that's exactly what you are planning. EASY - You invent a cruise !!!! What I mean is, you let them know that you are planning a cruise sometime in the distant future but not when they expect it. At the time, we were in Hong Kong and I had told them that I have arranged a vacation at Sea World on the Gold Coast (Queensland, Australia). Everyone was happy we were going on a vacation. Problem was that the cruise I had planned was departing out of Sydney and Sea World is in another state, Queensland. Kind of like saying we were going to Orlando but needed to go via New York. When going to Australia we always flew into Sydney, so telling them that we would fly into Sydney spending a couple of days there and then flying to Brisbane did not draw any undue attention. The reason I used Sea World, was because they had already been there before and they knew what to expect. Because it is a resort it was easy to explain why they needed swimming paraphernalia, hats, sunglasses and so on. So how do you explain why they need cocktail dresses, evening wear, high heeled shoes and so on? I know - tell them that I have prepared a professional photo shoot. We need everyone looking their best so the family can have some lovely photo's to look back on. I had planned everything down to the most minuscule detail. I went to a photo store to laminate their boarding passes, I had their bag tags printed in color, I had personal lanyards made. I even bought them Samsung tablets (Not iPads) as a ruse to give them gifts that included their boarding passes in a bag. Being the genius that I am, I forgot where I hid the damn things before we left. Using some Sherlock Homes logic I worked out - now where would you hide those things if I were you. I FOUND THEM. Afterwards thinking what kind of an idiot would hide them there. Just think about planning a cruise months in advance and 1.) You cannot tell anyone and 2.) Getting them to pack for it. It's crazy !!! My wife though I was nut's, because I was watching her pack. I've never done this before, but she is a genius at packing. (Yes I got the CUBES) This was to ensure that she didn't forget anything (She did - no magnetic hooks or collapsible clothes hamper.) Who needs that stuff at sea world right. A small side note. We had a mini brake in Japan earlier in the year. We were staying at Universal Studios (Osaka) Japan and on one of our day trips went to Osaka Aquarium for the day. To get there you take a short ferry trip from universal to the aquarium. After the day at the aquarium, on the way back to our hotel. While we were on the return trip on the ferry, guess what ? We passed Spectrum of the Seas. I just wanted to explode, I just wanted to shout out and say "LOOK THATS WHAT YOU WILL BE ON AT XMAS" It took so much strength to keep my mouth shut, but I did and the surprise was still safe - so the story continues. We arrived in Sydney two days before the cruise, so we were in no rush. Qantas for the most part are very reliable, so I was not expecting any flight delays. I was able to upgrade of flight tickets so the surprise was just getting better and better. They didn't know about the business class seats either. When I mentioned that I had planned this down to the most minuscule detail I was not kidding. I had booked a hotel in Sydney that would require us to take a ferry into Circular Quay. Circular Quay is where the cruise ships dock in-between the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor bridge. This would have us pass the Ovation of the Seas before reaching the wharf. I had made sure that I had the current time table for the ferry, so that we would pass the ship just at the right time and subsequently we could board the ship at our predetermined boarding time. I don't know what time we went to bed the night before the BIG SURPRISE cruise, I was so paranoid about sleeping in and missing the ferry. Remember my wife and two daughters thought that we were going to Sydney airport from the hotel to fly to Brisbane. I'm so close at pulling this off. so so close. We had stayed at this hotel before and my wife new that we could get a reliable airport shuttle service. From the hotel to the wharf, where the ferry was to depart was about a 5 minute work downhill (A very steep downward hill) We had five large suitcases, backpacks, camera bags and nick knacks hanging off us. We looked like Sherpas taking guests belongings to the top of Everest. I'm so close, we were all struggling going down the hill with all of this luggage. My wife looks at me like you cheap bastard you could not even cough up enough money to get the airport shuttle. We are half an hour away from the greatest surprise ever and do I have to take this #$%@ from her. YES YOU DO! She doesn't know and I probably would have thought the same thing. We get to the wharf everything is on track, we are early for the ferry and we are almost there. One thing I have not mentioned is that this ferry is designed for commuters carrying either a hand bag or a brief case, not a family of four going away for two weeks on a cruise. In Australia everyone is quite nice and patient so like a worker bee I grab one bag put it on the ferry and run back and get another till we have everything onboard the ferry. Now I have to get the timing just right, as I had envisaged such a long time ago I was going to get this on film. How do I get them outside while I get their xmas gift bags ready? We will be passing the Sydney Opera house which is on the left hand side of the ferry and the Ovation of the Seas will be on the right hand side as we pull into the wharf. I ask my wife to take the girls out and get some shots with the Sydney opera house in the background, OK - no problem out they go. Every second counts now I have to get it just right. I get everything organized, all of the bags are in order and ready to be given out. I go out the back and ask them to stand on the opposite side of the ferry and this is what happened. When booking the cruise I figured this will be a one off and if I am going to do it I should go all out and give them a cruise that they will never forget. Hence the cost of the surprise, you only live once and life is here to be enjoyed and experienced to the fullest. Also when I booked it I planned for my father to be in our room as well so we needed a large room. We got a suite and every extra possible, the only thing I regret now is that I didn't know about STAR class. (SKY class sucks, it's like being a brides maid.) To follow up their surprise about finding out about the cruise, the next surprise was going to be seeing their room. The next video is of the family seeing their room for the first time. If you cannot smile while ,during or after this room (I cannot really call it a room tour) surprise you need to go take some happy pills. I hope that you have enjoyed this little adventure and trust that you can have as much fun in the future cruising as we had in the past. Just so that I could link these videos to this BLOG, I had to create a YouTube channel about half an hour ago. Nothing sexy to see, just life in the raw. Maybe I will be as creative as Matt and learn how to edit one day. Best Regards Rick I was also wrong about this cruise. I thought that it was going to be a one off - NO - I have four more cruises booked with more surprises to come.

I'm not sure it would be cheap, but I recommend, if you have a full day in Cape Canaveral, that you spend it at the Space Center. There is so much to see. I would definitely NOT try and see any theme parks. They are too far away and the time is too limiting to really do much.