HeWhoWaits

Grandeur is, indeed, an older ship. But it is far from dilapidated (as some online reviews would lead one to believe). As an older ship, the "bells and whistles" of the bigger ships are missing but for many of us that's a positive rather than a negative. Food quality is not an issue. The only drawback to some (not in my case) is the less extensive specialty dining.

FYP.

That in itself is a reason to try MSC, IMO.

Which, if instituted, means more of MY money (in the form of federal spending of tax dollars) will end up bailing out the airlines.

That's correct. Make sure you have their accounts associated with yours, just in case you sail without them. Then they can get credit for all your sailings.

You receive your C&A membership upon first cruise completion. You can call and get numbers for your kids in advance of their first trip, but they won't officially have status (equal to yours) until after they cruise. The double points YOU receive will count toward their status (until they turn 18).

Agreed. The original double points was for calendar 2021 when January 2021 was considered a potential for sailing. 12 months of double points ending September 30, 2022 means an anticipated first sailing of October 1.

I see what you did there @coneyraven But I wonder how many on this board remember Weekend at Bernie's.

Take a look at the map. Transit is most definitely northwest. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Panama+Canal/@9.143696,-80.8491691,8z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x8fab5f4b31cd492d:0xd9dd11e7a14a0960!8m2!3d9.1438034!4d-79.7285161

The transit from Pacific to Atlantic travels northwest, not east.

One could argue that a 7 night cruise is only 6 full days (departure day is only partial, return "day" ends before mid-morning so definitely doesn't count as a day). Or define the 7 days as 7 24 hour periods, in which case a cruise that boards at noon Saturday and discharges all passengers by 9:00 a.m. the following Saturday has not exceeded 7 days.

What do you call fake spaghetti? An impasta.

Not disagreeing with your statement about encouraging getting to a more normal general life, but the facts are what they are - deaths attributed to Covid-19 HAVE increased the mortality rate in the U.S. Would some of those 3000 daily deaths have been included in the "normal" 7700? Almost certainly. Would most of them have been included? Absolutely not.

We love the sea days. Choosing between an itinerary of 5 ports and 2 sea days vs 6 ports and 1 sea day is a complete no-brainer. 5/2 it is. 4/3 vs 5/2 depends on the ports but unless the 5th port gives us something spectacular, we'd lean toward the 4/3. We really need to get ourselves enough time to do a TA or TP.

What do you get when you cross a bear and a mountain lion? Killed.

I can honestly say I don't have a favorite. Each of my cruises has been on a different ship and each had aspects I truly enjoyed. My wife calls Freedom her favorite because it's big enough to have more than enough to do but small enough to not be overwhelmed.

But the chances of getting the money back in time to use for that trip are very slim.

I suspect they are waiting until after final payment dates for April sailings. Then they will cancel March and April together. That way, they have more people's money and avoid the negative publicity of TWO more sets of cancellations.

XX% off onboard price is the common way used on the website. The only way to check that is to go ask about it when you're onboard and compare THAT price to what you paid.

That SSS3000 is just like the head on a typical sailboat in the 30-40 foot range.

My wife and two friends are booked on a late April Miami to Galveston 12 night. They have not been officially notified of a cancellation. Cruise still shows on their upcoming cruises and cruise planner purchases are still available. BUT - on the phone yesterday with a dedicated Royal Vacation Planner, my wife was told that the cruise has been cancelled and will not be sailing as planned. Interesting that an employee would tell her that just a couple days after sending a reminder about final payment coming due later in the month. Is it cancelled (with refunds due for what's already been paid)? Or is the trip off, but the official cancellation won't be made until AFTER final payment is due? The cynic in me says it's the latter.

Just keep in mind that based on previous announcements, only cruises departing April 5 and sooner could be announced today. Royal will only cancel those that have passed the final payment date. Yesterday was that date for April 5. A pause until May 14 almost certainly won't be announced by Royal until February 14 at the earliest (after final payments that are due on February 13 are made).

It would be SO much better if they showed a couple dock runners that DON'T make it in time.

A perfectionist walked into a bar. It must have been set too low.

Sadly, the thing I will never do again isn't of my own doing. I will never eat at a midnight buffet again.