KathyC

I know a bunch of people jumped on those sailings; other than @Matt I can't remember who else booked.  I'm not sure anyone has booked hotel etc yet, but I tagged matt in case he has been researching already and has some advice. 

Our Governor has currently "paused" all additional re-openings as our numbers were tracking really high.  The last week they have been going down, but now with the pause in being able to offer the J&J vaccines it will delay additional vaccinations.  I don't see him saying no if the CDC allows the re-opening though.  But I also do not see him doing what the Florida governor is, and filing any lawsuits or pushing back.  
That being said, re-election is coming up.  We shall see what noise the dock unions make.  We already have such a busy port that we don't need the income from just the normal one ship each from Royal & Celebrity (and usually a second Royal in the summer.)  The cruise industry isn't a big deal up here.

Unfortunately, my date to rejoin a cruise ship for work has been postponed. I'm assuming it's because the CDC has still not confirmed cruising out of the US yet, and Royal are not ready for non-essential crew to return just yet.
 
 

Since Michael Bayley likely reads this blog every morning, I feel it is our duty as cruise fans to provide suggestions which might help Royal Caribbean stay in business. Once sailings resume, a potential reduction in passenger capacity may be in place. Therefor a reduction in crew seems appropriate. I think passengers could step up to fill the void and Royal could reward them accordingly.
Job-Sing washy washy song at Windjammer entrance. 
Reward- drink package (helps with job)
Job- Scan ocean for other ships/obstacles and report hazards to captain.
Reward- keep the binoculars (if voyage is free of collisions)
Job- be a cook at Izumi Hibachi
Reward- Unlimited dining package (if egg into hat trick is successfully executed)
Job- fix a plugged stateroom toilet
Reward- a new Royal Caribbean branded outfit

These are some of my ideas and I’m sure Mr. Bayley would like to read others as well.
 
 

Mine is, yes.  Usually it's a box to click towards the end of the reservation.  I use a TA for my bookings, so I just request a refundable rate.  

Not all sales apply to all sailings, so keep checking back once it gets a bit closer to sail date.  @Matt's blog posts about the sales usually mention which sailings the sale applies to.  

Saw the doctor today for dressing change and to confirm everything looked good. He said it looked perfect! ?
Color of the flap is exactly what it should be, the skin graft is taking properly, and he had even been able to simply stitch the larger “paddle” section closed instead of having to graft that as well.
I have a big lump where the graft is located, and he warned me not let that area get any pressure put on it; if it does that can badly impair circulation and cause me problems. So I’m being careful when propping it up on pillows, and going to make sure to baby it for the whole week.
Next follow up in about a week. I’m certain that as long as I take good care of it, this really will fix everything and I’ll be right as rain again. ☺️

I have one booked for August that I may or may not keep, but used FCC to grab a cabin they day the sailings opened.  I used a TA, and our rate actually went down $500 after we booked it.  They price check often and was pleasantly surprised!  That difference would cover air for one of us at today's prices...hoping as the world opens up the air drops. 

Hey all! Doc said the surgery went great, no problems at all. I’ve got one heck of a sore throat from being intubated for anesthesia for 2+ hours, and I’m only just now getting off my usual post-surgery nausea (or maybe not so much; sat up to help with doing the breathing exercise that helps clear the anesthesia and felt another wave hit me ?). But foot is decently comfortable with meds; and doc said he wants to see me tomorrow to change the dressing and do an initial evaluation.

Hello All, 
just found out that my Greece cruse was cancelled my travel argent called me while i was getting my second shot to be fully vaccinated. Now doing lift and shift for July 3, 2022 - So Sad!!! - good news is now i have another day as the ship leaves on a Sunday instead of a Saturday. The family and I were planning to start a pre cruse in Rome, then Florence and end in Venice. We now have an extra day any suggestions on which City we should spend the extra day. We were planning on leaving California on a Friday and arriving in Rome on Saturday Afternoon June 25, 2022. - Good news is more time to save and more time for everything to get back to normal in Italy. All advise is welcome in these sad days. I have planned the trip and booked back in October, 2019 ?

Does Celebrity enforce the British Pub Trivia rule of chugging ones beer for incorrect answer? 
I may be confusing British rules with Irish. 

Welcome to the boards!!
Here are a couple of blog posts about the Labadee & bungalows: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/08/30/spotted-beach-bungalows-royal-caribbeans-labadee 
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/08/29/25-tips-great-day-royal-caribbeans-labadee
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/10/12/friday-photos-october-12-2018 

We had trivia on Summit, and they were British Pub style.  I bet you will be pleasantly surprised! 

I know that at times interactions with the RC service team can come with an element of frustration so I thought I would share an example of where the RC rep showed initiative and flexibility to resolve my query...
I booked one of the UK only sailings on the day they became available; however upon browsing the RC web site the very next day (as I am in the habit of doing whilst I await the green light for operations!) I noticed that the sailing was available at the same price but this time with OBC as an added extra.
I called RC and explained the situation, asking whether I needed to cancel the original booking under CWC and re-book in order to acquire the OBC. The rep (Christian) advised that the answer was technically yes I did, but as I would then be unable to apply the FCC from the CWC to the same sailing he would see what he could do.
After a few minutes he returned and advised that under the circumstances he had obtained authorisation to apply the OBC to my existing sailing, thereby saving me the inconvenience of cancelling/re-booking/dealing with the FCC/etc. Within two minutes of ending the call I received a revised invoice from RC showing the OBC and it was also available on my cruise planner.
Way to go Christian, and way to go RC! ?

We had a day stop a couple years ago and loved it.  We just wandered and had such a good day.  Definitely a city we want to go back to. 
I can add to the above with a couple places to eat:  Jestine's Kitchen at the Corner of Wentworth & Meeting Streets

 
Peace Pie for a custom made ice cream sandwich.  223 Meeting St was the one we went to, but I think there are two locations. 

 
 

Finally heard back from the surgeon. Seems my results got misplaced or something, and they only found them today. Test came back good, as expected, so I'm all clear for the flap procedure. And he spent a good bit of time answering my questions that I came up with based on what I'd read about it, so I'm feeling a lot less nervous now about what to expect and overall prospects.
Surgery is on Monday, at 11:30 AM. Glad I won't be up at the crack of dawn, but I'll be up VERY late Sunday night to make sure I have a good meal before my fasting window begins.
Hmm.... if it's right at midnight, is that still second dinner or is it first breakfast? I've gotta keep the proper Hobbit meal order after all. ?

NJ updated ours yesterday, we are now April 19 for 16+

We had a day stop a couple years ago and loved it.  We just wandered and had such a good day.  Definitely a city we want to go back to. 
I can add to the above with a couple places to eat:  Jestine's Kitchen at the Corner of Wentworth & Meeting Streets

 
Peace Pie for a custom made ice cream sandwich.  223 Meeting St was the one we went to, but I think there are two locations. 

 
 

Which is funny, because when I was first looking at hybrids years ago, the Explorer was one of the higher-rated options. But I just loved my BIL's Fusion Hybrid (his was the first model year released; 2011?) and have been itching to get one ever since. This one that was just delivered today is WAAAY more refined and spacious feeling than that original model (which IIRC had a lower roofline and might have been a bit narrower). And wow is it quiet! Took it for a test drive on delivery, road noise was almost non-existent.
 
Oh, and for those who are getting their second shot of Pfizer (and probably Moderna, based on tales I've heard) -- be ready for a rough day after. I was knocked out all day yesterday with body aches, low-grade fever, a sometimes-pounding headache, and just feeling totally beaten-down. Tylenol (all that I'm allowed now that I'm a week out from surgery) didn't do a heck of a lot, but at least it was only the one day of miserable-ness.
You know you're feeling lousy when you choose to watch the Ultimate Edition cut of "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice", followed by the Zack Snyder cut of "Justice League"... and don't feel like that was seven hours of your life you'll never get back! ?

A long-awaited day has finally arrived...

Bit longer this time around, thanks to a larger crowd. But still only 30 minutes from getting on line to getting my arm jabbed; about 25 minutes of that time was spent just slowly snaking along the line. Arm is a little sore and not really anything else so far, but I remember it takes around 8 hours before second-shot side effects really start to hit. Hoping my immune system shows a good, strong response to this second jab.
 
Oh, and @rjac -- I totally hear what you're saying about not taking any major time or spending money. But the front part of the car was really quite a mess and I'd be embarrassed handing it over to the delivery guy in that state. I just used one of our older vacuums to clean up the worst of what was on the front mats and floor, and some cleaning wipes to get the major grunge up off the dashboard and console surfaces. The rest I'll leave to their detailing team; at least now the car looks lived in but not like a dumping ground. ?

I'm not sure.  St. Thomas comes to mind, but since that's a US territory they may have to abide by the CDC rules.  I'm thinking maybe Cozumel.

This whole thread makes me realize that poop jokes are not my favorite.  But they are a solid number two.  

Thanks for the info!
We're planning to be on the June 5 cruise and fly in the day before as well. I already have a hotel booked and I'm stoked! Flights were booked through Celebrity.
I'm forcing myself to wait until 30 days prior to the cruise before worrying about how to get all of the tests.  I figure that conditions will change, so there's no point in worrying about it too much now.
That said, here's how I expect things to develop if things continue on their current path:
Wife and I are both vaccinated already. About May 5, I will start searching for a COVID testing location near my home for the pre-trip test. (many places advertise same day results, so we'll just have to find the best one that is the correct test type.) June 2, get our COVID tests locally. June 4, fly to St. Maarten June 5, depart on Celebrity Millennium During the cruise, I expect Celebrity to set up on board testing for our return home June 12, dock in St. Maarten, catch our flight home. Of course we all still have questions.  What will change between now and June? What will the protocols be on board and in port? What time should we plan to board the ship? How much exploring can we do in St. Maarten? When will Celebrity open the website for check in?
Regardless of the answers, WE'RE GOING ON A CRUISE IN JUNE! ?

Things I have learned so far:
1. I am able to receive emails from Celebrity.  Royal has yet to figure this part out for my account.
2. Celebrity has a bug and I get a daily email from the CEO thanking me for booking 22 months from now.

I saw that too. Found the YouTube version of it. 
https://youtu.be/XTSx3DErug4