twangster

IIRC I think the fresh guac carried a small uplift but it's been so long I can't remember. It was a very small amount, or something on the menu was. Then again I last had the UDP at Sabor when it was the old UDP so maybe that's changed.

Bargain for anyone looking to climb the CAS ladder and possibly the only way to cruise given the FCDC's new-old rules.

I was thinking about this yesterday. Originally I was thinking Royal will want to show the FCDC it is capable of implementing stringent protocols but now I'm not so sure there is any value or purpose to this approach. The FCDC is steadfast in using year old protocols based on no vaccines so now I'm thinking Royal may be best served by using common sense protocols because nothing they do with influence the FCDC in a good or bad way. The FCDC can't see anything with their heads stuck up their...

Looks like no changes on Harmony.

The dining room flows much better compared to her older sisters.

Odyssey was originally to sail from Rome but with the pandemic they moved the ship to Haifa in Israel. At the moment you have to reside in Israel to book on her. Celebrity is sailing the Apex from Athens in June and Greece is open to US tourists. You read about the travel requirements here: https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/greece-travel-requirements Royal will sail Anthem from the UK this summer but at the moment you have to reside in the UK to book her due to the pandemic.

How did Darth Vader know what Luke got him for Christmas? He felt his presents.

The goal post didn't move but they keep stretching the field and made everything a foul.

Welcome to the message boards! Quantum will have her first year in Alaska next year but her sister Ovation has been in Alaska and offered the Key. If the Key is something you are interested in I'd have no issue buying it for Quantum.

We all love Royal but let's face it... they don't invest in technology for anything but ships. As a former IT executive I have a pretty clear understanding what the IT organization is like there.

The response...

Simply leaving US water doesn't remove federal oversight when the start or end of the voyage involves a US port. If a noro outbreak occurs on a ship that is home ported in the US the ship is required to report it to the CDC regardless where on the voyage the outbreak is declared. If they are in Aruba when the outbreak is declared they are required to report the outbreak to the CDC. For a ship based in another country that doesn't touch the US on the voyage the CDC has no authority.

Science from 1347 seems to be considered current at the CDC. The word quarantine comes from quarantena, meaning "forty days", used in the Venetian language in the 14th and 15th centuries. The word is designated in the period during which all ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague. The quarantena followed the trentino, or "thirty-day isolation" period, first imposed in 1347 in the Republic of Ragusa, Dalmatia (modern Dubrovnik in Croatia).[1][2][3][4] source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarantine#:~:text=The word "quarantine" originates from,prevention related to the plague.

I don't see the CDC verbiage as declaring the CSO contents are optional, more that they don't guarantee an outcome. The CDC doesn't want to be liable if the cruise lines do everything in the CSO and a COVID death still occurs.

In various sections for operation of voyages there are lists of "Requirements" and "Recommendations". Do you not see the requirements as being absolute?

Del Rio interview on CNBC puts doubt on August, discusses CDC update. Calls it "UnAmerican".

Reprieve until Sunday now, +/- 16 hours. Great time to visit Alaska.

It's a long shot but it will be interesting to see what happens.

I tend to agree however I think the cruise lines have to show their investors they are doing everything in their powers to resume operations. If the injunction doesn't bear fruit they'll have little choice but to get some ships queued up to work under the CSO using the CDC imposed 98/95 clause. It won't be the full US based fleet but they have to show that they are trying or investors will fry them. I'm betting on short FL cruises where the silly onboard CDC protocols can be tolerated for a short cruise.

Michael Bayley has been embracing TikTok. His latest post is a shot across the bow of Captain Johnny (Harmony Captain)...

The CDC will forever take a position to keep the public health emergency going. At some point politicians will want to be declare themselves the victor and get out from under the weight of the public health emergency. "Now that we beat the virus under my leadership it's time to rebuild America". That doesn't work if the CDC is still beating their drum so they'll be told...

Another interesting development is the Pfizer submission for full FDA approval for the 16+ age group. Personal thoughts aside, if the FDA does fully approve the vaccine it does impact the discussion for cruise lines requiring vaccines.

At some point soon hopefully a politician in the right place will desire to declare "we won" or "mission accomplished". Once this occurs the public health emergency will be over and the CDC will be put back in the bottle, their magic powers once again constrained. Until that occurs it does not seem likely that cruising will return to anything close to the normal we used to know. The 98/95 vaccination approach seems to be nothing more than a means to bypass the test cruise. This may not be a bad thing because I think it unlikely any ship could ever make it through an actual test cruise and come out with a certificate to sail under the CSO. The CDC will always find something wrong during a test cruise and after 3 or 4 failed test cruise attempts the cruise lines will have to relent and submit a plan to require vaccinations. Essentially the CDC will use test cruises to kick the can down the road another few months. By the time the cruise lines have tried and failed to make it through the test cruise gauntlet the emergency use authorization for the trial vaccines will likely allow individuals 2+ to vaccinate. Once we reach that point the issue facing the cruise lines will become how to handle guests who do not meet the CDC imposed 98/95 rule. At the moment the Cruise with Confidence program would seem to be the answer even if that isn't the path that some will desire. It seems an extension of the CWC qualification period would be appropriate since it currently will not be available for cruises booked after May 31, 2021.

"Australia's version of the CDC".

What’s the best time to go to the dentist? Tooth hurt-y!