twangster

The cruise planner is pretty bare but that's expected right now.

Cabin assigned. Ocean View Balcony.

In this thread the access rules for venues for the current restart ships have been posted for August only. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/23966-august-protocols-for-florida-cruises/&do=findComment&comment=258885 It appears all ships currently designate the DL as "Everyone" so masks will be required. Beyond August has not been announced yet.

Pretend there is an international border between you and MCO. MCO is in another country, a circle is around MCO that places it in a foreign country. In this make believe Florida, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miami don't have airports. For airports in your home country the closest airport is Atlanta, or Key West. MCO is so close and much cheaper to fly from, but to get to MCO you have to cross an international border that's closed right now. So Atlanta is it. Landing fees are crazy at Canadian airports so airfare is more costly relative to US airports and for her the closest Canadian airport is a long drive away.

Madly trying to learn the TikTok app as I write this... just in case.

Not sure what their plan is. Probably depends how many are signed up by midnight.

Formal night? Lobster? ? Mamma Mia! Here we go again...

CocoCay and back.

Status Update: Thank you for registering for the Allure of the Seas® simulation voyage. We've reserved your stateroom and reservation numbers will be provided to you once manifested. A system generated invoice will automatically be sent to the email address on record. Please proceed with making your travel arrangements*. For more information, please reference your event info document. We also ask that you acknowledge the informed consent form that will be sent to each guest, as it is required prior to confirming your reservation. We can't wait to welcome you onboard Allure of the Seas!

I've pretty much decided that if this proceeds I'm not going to live blog it. There is too much riding on this for the cruise line. Posting an errant photo or comment could cause the CDC to pause or fail the simulation cruise. Once it's known the certificate to sail has been awarded I'll consider posting about the experience, assuming I am selected to go forward.

I think the short notice will impact many. It's mid week so for many that means getting time off work. Others will have plans already that can't be changed easily. Some have to fly and will need a hotel but for a 2 night cruise? I didn't like doing that for a normal 3 night cruise before the pandemic.

I completely understand where you are coming from so no judgement. I cancelled an August cruise due to the requirement to wear masks indoors for vaccinated. Once Royal announced protocols they gave me 30 days to request a refund in full. That refund posted to my credit card yesterday. Protocols for September and October haven't been posted yet because there is hope the CDC will ease back on masks requirements for vaccinated. Now with more news of delta surging I'm thinking they won't ease off mask requirements for vaccinated, not yet, not soon. If the CDC perceives that any protocols are being ignored you have to know they will come down on the cruise lines and the cruise lines will adjust. Everything is changing so quickly what someone on a ship experienced last week is already becoming stale. No disrespect meant to them, they observed and experienced what they observed and experienced, but you can't project that experience forward and apply it for a cruise two months away. I am paid in full for more cruises while I eagerly wait to understand the protocols. I really want to cruise so I'll make another judgement once all the facts are in. I'm not going to cancel prematurely based on projections, fears and assumptions. If you use CWC now you'll get FCC for your deposit unless it was a refundable deposit. If you pay in full and wait for protocols to be announced you can hope the refund policy I was able to use will still be offered in the future but that isn't a certainty either. At the end of the day follow your gut and do what you feel is right for you.

I'm having a hard time remembering since it's been a few years now. I don't recall having to register but mine asked me to go along and be near in case she didn't like it. Here are two examples. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/liberty-of-the-seas/sun-2020-03-01-0000-0 and another https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/freedom-of-the-seas/sun-2019-12-29-0000-0 A few more in the cruise compass section: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass

Me and hundreds of others by the look of it. I'll feel more confident that I'll be sailing once I get a confirmation email as they've indicated.

Global warming. Wait for it...

It's taking Brightline that long to lay parallel track within the existing railway roadbed down the coast from Cocoa to West Palm.

I've moved.

Long way up the coast past Canada and back. Serenade was longer as well.

No C&A points so... ? Allure was my last ship before the shutdown and it's closer to home so no flights or hotel. It would be kind of fitting to have Allure be my next ship even if it doesn't count in all respects.

Yes, a few weeks ago.

Invitation Received Choice of Allure or Ovation.

Could you imagine trying to accomplish something like the Panama Canal in current times? It would never happen.

No but they are burning up the Amazon delivery trucks. While it's a shame they can't go shopping in port I have seen crew videos showing the Amazon sized toiletries arriving and the wave of Amazon boxes that greet each ship that ports. Ironically they are probably saving money getting their stuff on Amazon.