twangster

I booked them to sail from LA to MX. I wanted 7 nights since I am flying to the port. I've done B2B on carnival from CA to Ensenada and Catalina so several things pushed me to the 7 night cruises. I wanted to book in November but will be on the Odyssey inaugural US cruise. Seeing the price motivated me to jump on that particular cruise since it met my criteria and avoided flying at Christmas when flights are at peak prices. While booking I said "that's gotta be a mistake" since they were lower than the other 7 night cruises, even lower than the Christmas peak holiday sailings when solo discounts don't apply.

A look at the CDC's "preposterous" requirements for cruise ships test sailings https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/05/11/look-the-cdcs-preposterous-requirements-cruise-ships-test-sailings

Seems like the products are on display behind each plate. Goes to show how they are adapting.

Kosher food presentation

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/how-many-cruise-points-will-i-earn

No more escargot shortages.

I noted the same but Royal seems to be trying to negotiate vaccines so I let it go for now. Cyprus seems to be a friendly port open to crew embarkations so my assumption is she is crewing up before a 14 day quarantine period then heading to the UK for her summer season.

It's your house, by all means. Include some rice and drop a few hundred balloons from the ceiling.

Not so fast. The CDC must be from Missouri, the "Show Me" state. If the CDC isn't there to see it, it didn't happen.

Breaking news... CDC states "Pigs could fly" but looking into the details of their statement it was discovered pigs would need to grow wings first. To prove her point, Director Walensky addressed Congress on the matter: The CDC has since released another statement offering to make it easier for pigs to fly by eliminating test flights however growing wings is still a condition all pigs would need to meet in order to qualify.

Last week I received an email from revenue management letting me know that my March bookings involved a pricing error but they would honor the bookings. I had two suite cabins booked, one for me and another for a family member. To give you an idea of the error involved my suite would normally go for 234% more while the other suite would normally be 255% more each on a solo basis given our unique qualifiers (CAS status, age, state, etc). Both suites have the capacity for 6 guests. I had booked both suites with a single guest in each cabin. I offered to let the bookings go. An email exchange followed that turned into a game of phone tag as we both worked around busy schedules but we eventually talked on the phone. Revenue management was very clear I could keep the bookings and they would honor the pricing. They requested the phone call to make sure I understood they would honor them. I told her to cancel them. I didn't feel right taking advantage of what was clearly a pricing error. I knew it was a error when I booked it and give Royal a lot of credit for offering to honor the bookings despite the thousands of dollars they would lose by doing so. A family of four booked in one of these suites would have gone for 500% more than I was booked for. Between the two suites it amounted to an error that would cost Royal over $10k in revenue if both suites were booked at capacity not to mention losses in gratuity and onboard spending. Simply stated it didn't sit right with me to take advantage of the company especially during these dark times with so much lost due to the pandemic. Call me a fool but I slept better knowing I did the right thing. BTW - nice people in revenue management.

Cruise lines just want to sail without having to ask a team of lawyers WTF just happened and what does it mean to us. Classic government hindering business at both the federal and state level. Completely unnecessary at both levels.

PTZ port webcams includes an option to listen to VHF marine radio channels. Just heard an exchange between Enchantment and Summit. Enchantment will have divers in the water doing work today. Summit plans to depart around 1700 today. https://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/ ?: PTZtv

Why did the coffee file a police report? It was mugged.

Watching Brilliance arrive in Miami this morning. Carnival in the government cut with Freedom slowing approaching the channel off camera in the distance. Two webcams on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d11qKztvBAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIXMFa6WECY

Pretty simple ? Go to the main or homepage for the blog. Not the message boards but the site royalcaribbeanblog.com homepage. Upper right is a search box.

I imagine it's a lot easier navigating a ship through an ocean filled with icebergs compared to navigating the CDC here in America. So much so, no cruise line has announced plans for US sailings, yet. Celebrity has hinted at some news soon so if that comes before Royal we'll get a glimpse at what another brand is thinking for the US market.

Insurance comes in many flavors and forms but in the end it's a matter of finding a policy that meets your unique needs. Some policies lean towards covering the vacation itself while others lean towards covering the participants for things like medical coverage or issues related to the people involved. It really depends what you are looking to protect or cover. Consider these resources: Podcast: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-315-travel-insurance-101 https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2019/12/03/video-why-you-should-get-travel-insurance-your-cruise

Two possible reasons come to mind. 1) They may have elected to forego the normal in water botton survey that would be due around now and went for a full dry dock to reset the cycle and keep her in service for the next 5 years. Basically take advantage of the downtime to get a jump on the drydock cycle. 2) Something has raised a flag so they wanted to get it checked it now rather than risking a service interruption once a restart begins. If you are going on a long family vacation in the car sometimes you might do some routine maintenance before it's actually due.

Yes, at least a year. No word why.

Symphony is headed to drydock: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/04/05/four-royal-caribbean-cruise-ships-will-get-dry-dock-work-spain

UCF dropping mask requirement on campus in Florida. Encouraged but not required. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/05/10/ucf-no-longer-requiring-masks-on-campus-effective-immediately/ Students packed in a lecture hall or cafeteria is different from a cruise ship right?

I booked an airport hotel at Heathrow for my planned Anthem TA. It was a Hilton brand and within walking distance to the terminals (long walk but totally walkable). I ended up using the hotel in March when the travel ban was first put in place and I had to scramble home from Spain VIA London coming off the Allure TA last year. Fortunately I was able to just move the date of my reservation. My original plan was go downtown from the airport hotel. It's a bit of train ride to downtown but being at the airport for an early flight the next day made it worth it.

Different experience going east versus going west due to the numerous time changes. That's not a reason not to do it, just something to be aware so don't base all transatlantics on an eastbound as the impact to your sleep cycle is different. Try one both ways to experience it yourself. Heading east they typically change the clocks mid-day versus at or after midnight heading west. My Anthem east TA last year was cancelled due to the virus but I'd have no issues on Anthem, love the ship.

FDA had approved emergency use of Pfizer for 12 and up.