Leaderboard

Started this new thread topic spurred on by the news of Azamara canceling cruises through June, 2021. If I'm not mistaken, Azamara ports predominantly in locations other than the US (they list Miami as a port of call). I'm not taking much from this news because of that as I think the tendency is going to incorrectly associate Azamara COVID decision making with RCG. I think Azamara will work closely with RCL wrt health protocols but not undertaking test and restarting revenue sailings from US ports with Azamara not sailing from any of them. Having gotten that out of the way, back to the th

That's easier than you may think...

I've received an update to my programming. We've all grown accustomed to yet another round of bad news, more cancellations, etc. that it's hard to believe the light at the end of tunnel is actually a light and it's getting brighter... and no it's not a train about to slam into us. There will be more cancellations simply because the entire fleet won't start sailing on May 1st so don't confuse my optimism as a suggestion of only good news from now on. There will be small setbacks and cancellations for some cruises coming. If you close your eyes and squint ever so slightly there

This is what I already told my girls. Seriously, I am not waiting around for them. Bit selfish, but that is what happens when you have a cruise crazy mom who has not been cruising for a while.

Not really much to report. There is some kind of "tape" that was covering the incision site, and that's now started to come off on its own. Underneath, I can see what looks like a nicely healing incision. That's as descriptive as I'll get, to spare those with more sensitive constitutions. And we checked our daughter's bank account balance, to see how much see had actually saved up from work for the trip to Japan. She was thrilled to find out that even though she hasn't worked since February of last year, she was so aggressive with her savings during the time she was working that she ha

I agree with @twangster in his assessment. There is a lot of positive change coming, and I think we are on the precipice of many promises finally coming our way. The rollout of the vaccine, plummeting cases, very good news about its efficacy, and imminent information from the CDC for cruise lines all point to ships being able to sail again. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I will be on a cruise ship as a paying guest by the end of 2021.

Every other post is doom and gloom!!! Everyday is like groundhog day with the same virus talk being said over and over again. Im not wearing a mask onboard! Thats fine but you wont be sailing!! Its not a vacation!If thats how you feel stay at home!!! Cant make me do this or that! Well if you want to cruise they can!! Against my rights etc etc etc I can read and its on tv every hour i dont really want to log on here and its the same! Its boring to be honest! Way i see it we can all try and predict the future but no one really can, if we could would we really

Look! A cute baby!

I getting really tired of seeing an adorable husky pup giving us so much pessimism! LOL!

Everyone should know how to contact their elected officials. Start with your local voter registration office or their website. I have already written to my governor and the representatives in Congress for my specific electoral district regarding the CDC and their cruise industry lockout. No elected officials is required to pay any attention to a citizen outside of their district. A senator in Texas couldn't give a hoot what I think because they don't represent me (and I can't vote for or against them). They are accountable to the citizens that reside in their district and those

Good news. It looked a lot better this morning than when I went to bed last night, and so far pain levels are back to where they were two days ago. Sent the doc’s nurse a photo and spoke with her directly. She said the pain was most likely a combination of the front part tearing a bit (she could see that in the pic), but only superficially; plus normal pain from the sutures being pulled and tugged as I move around. No follow-up or delay in getting the sutures removed is needed. She said apart from that, everything looks great and I’m clearly doing everything I’m supposed to be as far

Tide tables and notices of dam closures along the Ems River point to Odyssey of the Seas making the trip down the river towards the sea on the 27th of February. Shipbuilder Meyers Werft has been busy making preparations including testing all lifeboats. Odyssey has been outside at the shipyard secured to a pier next to the construction hall where she was assembled. Odyssey was floated out of the construction hall in November. In the video below Odyssey has been moved away the pier so that all lifeboats can be lowered and tested. Meyers Werft has been keeping the conveyanc

This is my takeaway. The two sides are talking, even if it doesn't result in policy change. I think many, myself included, assumed CDC was "missing in action" and the cruise lines were submitting requests and proposals with no feedback. It's encouraging that the CDC is not only talking, but engaged.

Last night was my first without any pain meds, and my second sleeping in my own bed instead of our recliner. Woke up at 5 AM, but given I got 9-1/2 hours of sleep the night before and have a ton of extra sleep I'm not particularly bothered by it. Feels good to be off those meds and have a fully clear head again. And the tape fell off this morning, so I got my first good look at the whole site. It looks to my eye like it's healing well, so I'm hopeful that I'm beating my surgeon's odds and powered up enough "Wolverine factor" to make this work. I get the sutures out this coming Tuesday, so

I was thinking more along the lines of: Hi, so we understand you run some kind of a business called "cruising" ... we don't really know anything about that, could you take some time and explain what it is and how works ... apparently we are in complete control of your business and we are generally opposed to anything that happens outside of a laboratory in tightly controlled conditions so this is very scary to us already.

Singapore is not COVID free. They haven't eliminated COVID. There are new cases in Singapore everyday. Eleven new cases were announced today. There is no community spread from these cases because they are being caught as they enter the country and isolated. They are caught because of mandatory testing upon arriving. Despite the newly imported cases that have been occurring regularly since December in Singapore, there remains no cases on Quantum. Cruising in Singapore has occurred absent of a vaccine since vaccines just recently started entering the picture. Protocols plus a va

And that will seem low in a month or two. It's coming folks...

Nope I would think someone of that age might want to Sleep in Sun tan Hang by the pool and see the fun there All of the above while on social media

Oops. I just booked Serenade.

In other news, this week I have booked a studio interior on at least 3 cruises, albeit short cruises. They are so cheap!!! What could go wrong?

....... an additional comment as my initial post took an over 65 view of matters. It's important to understand that EVERYONE benefits from a vaccination priority system that vaccinates the 65 and up US population. The cohort from 65 and up has produced 77% of COVID related serious illness and deaths. That's not to say that there haven't been under 65s who have suffered. There have been, and not just a few. But to simultaneously reduce SARS-2 disease burden and control the virus (R0 < 1 on a regional or by state basis or, % positivity < 5% by county) requires initially vaccinating the ove

Actual footage of @Lovetocruise2002 as she responds to these Star Class posts that she can't sail on

The frozen tundra of Texas has thawed out, and work has resumed. The plumbers showed up around 3:00 yesterday afternoon to finish digging the trenches for the pipes manually. They also brought some of the equipment out. The project manager stopped by this morning and said the plumbing should be finished today. We have rain in the forecast this week, so he's not sure if the electrician will make it out before next week. DH's grill should be on the way. He received daily updates from the company about shipping delays due to the weather, but he hasn't heard a thing since it warmed up. He's g

Ok, this alone would creep me the frack out.

I touched on this problem in my original post above. On Friday, the NYTs did a surprisingly apologetic piece on the damage being done by journalists (and scientists) contributing to the the nihilism you speak of. It carries over to anti-vaxer thought as well, that is to say, "if the vaccines have so many caveats about effectiveness, possible side effects, and worst of all the potential for re-infection by a variant even if you have been vaccinated, why bother." First none of this stuff - and it's coming out of the mouths of respected sources like Fauci, for example we're making great prog

Lawsuit has been dropped https://news.bloomberglaw.com/class-action/royal-caribbean-investor-drops-lawsuit-over-virus-disclosures

When you discover a blog but find out you have to read it.

I stopped doing people's homework about .... oh , wait. I never did other people's homework!

Havent tried the suite but did try one of the regular panoramics on Mariner. Very pleased with it, missed the balcony a bit but it was a short cruise and a short walk to the solarium so not a big deal. Didnt notice any wind noise at all, actually very very quiet ... I will say that i was surprised to realize that you can see in through the windows (not sure why that surprised me since they are made of a transparent material called glass but hey ...) Standing in the window on embarkation day and realized people were waving at me from the deck below ... glad i realized that a

Let's all chip in and buy everyone at the CDC some of these shirts... https://shop.cruisehabit.com/products/its-not-a-boat-cruise-ship-style-mens-t-shirt?variant=16248888983654

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 yea

Usually I try to update at least once per week. You can always tell from the last "heart" reaction that I have given what point I got up to. @MuttMutthad a great suggestion a few posts ago to note on the Master List when the last update was so I have implemented that suggestion. If you go to the master list, you can see near the top (in purple) when the latest update was.

"Not as great as advertised. No bar service. No Aqua Theater. No Pool. No Central Park. No restaurants. No Flow Rider. Crew was apathetic at best. One ."

Things that caught my ear on the call: 35,000 guests have sailed on Quantum since she started December cruises This includes more "new to cruise' over expectations. Some 80% of Singapore cruises are being booked by new to Royal. When a buyer for Empress and Majesty was identified the question about Cuba was asked. They believe there are ships in the fleet that could sail into Havana if Cuba becomes available again. A survey of past crew last week indicated a strong desire to return for the overwhelming majority and that 4,000 of around 70,000+ crew have already

Oops. @twangsterjust made me book something too.

So it’s random? Lol. Typical Royal. Why am I not surprised? I just did a quick calculation. If we can get sailing soon, with the double points next year, plus the 3 years after that before oldest daughter turns 18, she should be pretty close to D+ on her own. My younger one will definitely make D+ on her own before 18 if we can keep up this pace. She still has 5 years. If we can sail March 2022, with quad points they will turn Diamond on their own merit with that sailing. My children really need to thank me lol.

If only there were personal vessels that could easily transport you between cities on a high speed corridor that would cost you a reasonable rental rate.....

This is who...

Meanwhile, inside the box, Schrödinger’s cat plans its revenge.

Man, pretty disappointed to see this level of anti masking and anti vaxing. Wouldve expected it on carnival, but thought RCL was better. Hopefully Celebrity is better, or perhaps cruising just attracts a type...

Let's see who understands tis one.

I was near the forward elevator bank on Adventure. Almost right across the hall from it. The view from my cabin door: Noise never bothered me. There is always the chance of a boisterous group talking loudly going down the hall but that occurs down the entire length of the hall where ever that group is at that moment. One time on a Carnival ship there were elevator doors directly across the opening (where you see stairs in the picture above) and in that case I did hear people as they stood waiting for an elevator. On every Royal ship I have sailed that is not how they de

True, but at least it is small enough to sail under the current CDC no sail order!

Thanks for the info. Luckily, I was aware of the complimentary gratuities. I had to call in to upgrade and had done a mock booking online to see that the gratuities were added and highlighted this over the phone. At the time, there was a system glitch where they were unable to input the comp grats, so they just omitted the final payment of it. It was a few weeks of seeing “Pay remaining balance” on the cruise planner before I they finally removed the charge That’s awesome! So far all the communications with her have been phenomenal. She’s been able to answer all my questions an

I Decided Europe is better

I have been looking at a new lens. How did you know?

Bingo! Just need to get this out of a pandemic and/or public health emergency.

We took each of our grand kids on a cruise when they turned 5. This was a rite of passage that they and their parents looked forward to as they approached that magic age. The reason for the single child at a time was so we could concentrate our attention on that particular one and not have to constantly move to track and entertain them all. Once we had taken all of them on their cruise we then took each of the families units separately on a cruise with us. Mom and Dad were responsible for the tracking of their kids and getting them in and out of Adventure Ocean but we did do total family event