twangster

A guest dressed up like the Pope, nowhere near October. A guest in a full bunny costume in an elevator, nowhere near October. A dog walking by itself doing laps around the upper pool deck level. A child dropping his swim trunks on the stairs of a hot tub and immediately emptying the hot tub in a caddy shack moment (Carnival). A Carnival ship nearly hitting us (Oasis) right after actually hitting another Carnival ship. @mpoole3 rather enjoying being dressed in drag for Quest

Actual communication earlier today... Twangster: "I should have CK access so between that and a paid Giovanni's I’m not doing UDP." Matt: "I completely forgot about CK. We're in a suite." Now I find this: I shouldn't be surprised. Never did get that beer he "promised" me before for the 2018 group cruise, or the shirt I won at trivia.

By default it's Lobster à l'a Orange Goop but if ask in CK they will do a conventional tail. You would be wise to mention this request before that night.

When Mardi Gras first launched they had FB vidoes telling people "Masks are required to check in but...as soon as you step one foot on the ship rip off that mask!". While the ship may be at 75% capacity, no venues have any limits. So if all 4,000 guests want to be in the comedy club, it's going to be packed, and mostly maskless unless guests voluntarily choose to follow the "recommendation" to wear a mask. I'll probably still go mostly because Mardi Gras will never see only 4,000 guests ever in the ships life beyond 2021.

https://shop.spreadshirt.com/royalcaribbeanblog/blue+book+it-A5f31c3d11cbf3a5887388652?productType=812&sellable=5agdz72M85sE7XQOyzNd-812-7&appearance=804

That's what Carnival said so I booked it. Then a week after their first cruises they implemented a mask mandate. I'm fairly certain the same will happen if I book NCL. Don't book based on protocols, they change daily in some cases.

Honestly not sure. They don't seem to be used on my next ship or I'd ask.

Hang it on a belt loop or make it a pendant. Q What is a Tracelet™? Who needs to wear it? What if I cannot wear it on my wrist? A The Tracelet™ is a comfortable, water-resistant, hypoallergenic wearable worn by all guests and crew during the cruise. The Tracelet™ helps us with contact tracing in the unlikely event of an onboard health concern. Therefore, everyone onboard regardless of age, needs to wear it. Should you be unable to wear it on your wrist, we will find another way for you to wear it. Any guest who chooses not to wear the Tracelet™ will be unable to sail.

Appointment times are being given out at 3:30pm but that's the time to get in line outside the terminal. If it takes an hour to test unvaccinated and get them on board that's potentially 4:30pm-ish. Then add an hour to let the dust settle, passenger counts to be verified and everyone does eMuster required to sail. 5:30pm +/- an hour is well within reason but then the pilot schedule is also a factor plus other ship traffic.

Cruising during this restart won't be for everyone. That isn't meant to downplay your experiences, in fact quite the opposite. Feedback like this is critical so others can determine if they are willing to accept the experience on board during the restart. I can tolerate it given the opportunity to sail but I completely respect anyone who doesn't like the sound of cruising right now.

No. Contact tracing only. No "smart" integration features.

I don't normally get a drink package but when I know @Matt will be on board it's a compelling case to get the drink package. Otherwise I might miss out when he drinks ALL the Kraken on board.

Meanwhile back to cruising... For my upcoming Mardi Gras sailing there are still families with children waiting for exemptions to come through with 5 days to go. Unvaccinated have to apply for an exemption including families of vaccinated adults with unvaccinated children due to age. Carnival didn't do CDC simulation cruises so they absolutely must maintain 95% vax rates. The problem is some vaccinated are cancelling this week which is messing with their ability to maintain 95%. Families with children are not at all pleased. In some cases 2 out 3 children have received exemptions forcing families to decide what to do. In other cases two vaccinated grandparents are cancelling because one grandchild with their parents in another cabin doesn't get an exemption so this further messes with the ability to maintain 95%. Now we are seeing vaccinated immunocompromised cancelling based on CDC guidelines for a 3rd dose leading to fewer exemptions for children. What a mess. Thanks CDC.

Newer ships have them. Older ships just ask your cabin attendant. They'll supply one for a CPAP.

Does it say what ship? Obviously they didn't embark in Florida so it had to be Indy, Serenade or Ovation.

They trace based on wifi too, much like every retailer who has free wifi in their stores. If a retailer offers free wifi, it's to trace, not out of kindness. I've done RFID in commercial applications for years.

You must call or email. No longer self-service. (800) 526-9723 [email protected] https://dlxffu6hwewxp.cloudfront.net/cas/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18063159_CAS_MemberBonus_Amenity_List_v3.pdf

Allowing personal devices is fraught with technical challenges. FB may require a specific bios version to work, or maybe a specific hardware version. Someone upgrades their FB the week before the cruise and now the system doesn't recognize it. MSC uses a FB like smart device but they supply it. It's running their version of code and they control it. Royal may be using phones too, or collecting data from them and feeding that data into the system that the tracelets use.

Perhaps this will help: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/11/04/how-upgrade-your-cabin-royal-caribbean

It's funny how technology decisions come back around. Princess went the medallion route which is very similar to a tracelet or even Apple's AirTag. It's their version of a wow band on the Royal ships that are wow enabled but now the whole fleet has them. Royal declared that wearables are out and leveraging everyone's smartphone was the way to go. Now that decision is working against them, requiring a wearable exclusively for tracking purposes.

I'm not saying these people were fakers, but if a card is missing details or there are scribbles that's something a faker would do and in this situation they can't take chances knowing there are fake cards out there.

With fakers trying to use bogus cards they've likely had to become overly picky.

There were rumors in the western Caribbean but the pandemic appears to have stopped those rumors.

Everyone is invited. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/events Contact your MEI agent for a quote.

I'm pretty torn what to do with my upcoming Carnival cruise. It's pretty clear to me they are not taking the virus seriously. If I get infected on Mardi Gras and have to skip my Odyssey cruise I'll be pissed.