mjb1127

I wonder how Alaska sailings will be handled. No private islands and port intensive. Maybe they'll skip Canada and ding each passenger a charge for Jones Act? For that matter, Alaska will need to open up, too. As I've said on other posts, I just hope they figure this out 90 days before the first May sailing.

This tells me the system is working as designed.  On land people are still getting infected so it's important to recognize that there will be cases detected on ships.  Even the best tests can still produce incorrect results so they keep on testing and have a plan when a test is positive.  
If only we all had this capability in our daily lives the spread would drop significantly and more could be opened across society.  

As I look back and relive early February I was on Ovation of the Seas to New Zealand.   When I boarded on Feb. 2nd in Sydney the news was all about the wildfires in Australia.  Sydney was in the midst of celebrating the Lunar Festival for the Chinese new year.  I first learned about the virus and the outbreak on the Diamond Princess while I sailed around New Zealand.  As the cruise progressed discussion of the virus started to be heard around the ship more and more.
I enjoyed many conversations in the Concierge Lounge with the concierge.  She is from China.  She had one more cruise left in her contract and had been onboard for months.  The ship started to take the temperature of the crew numerous times during the cruise.  They were looking for signs and symptoms of the virus.  Near the end of the cruise she told me her mother told her not to go home to China, it was too dangerous.  She didn't know what she was going to do and she was trying to extend her contract.
It was the mention that ship crew were having their temperature taken on a periodic basis and the timing of the cruise in early February that now comes back to me with greater meaning.  
What occurs to me now is how Royal Caribbean was taking steps in response to the virus long before this country even started to take notice.  At least one cruise line did a better job in the early days of the virus than the U.S.A. did.  It wasn't really until early March that the U.S. woke up to the reality of the virus.  The response was to panic buy toilet paper.  
It's easy for the media to point the finger at cruise ships.   They are a faceless object.  The U.S.A isn't alone with having a slow response to the virus.  Many countries around the world were slow to respond.  So while the virus was spreading in places like churches and schools around the world somehow cruise ships were supposed to know what the rest of the world did not.  For a journalist pointing a finger at churches is a résumé generating event, better not go there.
Taking crew temperatures appears to be a minor step yet in hindsight it shows Royal Caribbean had taken notice of the virus and were doing something in response to the virus at least a month before many countries around the world did.  The media will never report that.  

Here in a landlocked state a senior bridge tournament on February 29 killed 13 and infected dozens more.   Contact tracing did not show any cruise ship history.  Cruise ships made the world wide news, the seniors who died made the local news.  
The entire COVID-19 disaster in the NYC area occurred from spread on airplanes from Europe in February and March leading to the spring outbreak.  
Did the virus spread on cruise ships?  Yes.  Did the virus spread in churches, schools, airplanes, buses, trains, restaurants, bars and so on?  Yes.  That's what this virus does - it spreads anywhere that people gather.  Yet the media continues to focus on cruise ships because it generates clicks and ad revenue.    

Lots of people are ready to get out and relax.  Seeing many people booking all inclusive and land vacations with a backup as a cruise vacation just in case they start back. We are all ready to vacation!

If this is how people are learning they carry a viral infection it's probably a good thing they booked a cruise.  Otherwise they would be in their community spreading the disease without ever knowing.  
Once they know they are infected they can stop putting other people at risk, address their health condition in isolation and hopefully recover.
Otherwise it's sort of like saying we should just stop testing people because no one wants to find out they have it.

I am ok with enforcing boarding times.  My next cruise is out of Alaska so will just get more time to sightsee.

I am ok with enforcing boarding times.  My next cruise is out of Alaska so will just get more time to sightsee.

I have a feeling that once your cruise is a go... Your Meh will become a HOLY CRAP WE'RE GOING ON A CRUISE!!! 

We took my then 13 year old son to Europe and sailed out of Civitavecchia.  We spent 3 days in Rome and the night before the cruise in Civitavecchia.   
Definitely, recommend getting to your embarkation port at least 2 days prior to your cruise if coming from the US.
 

No, the itinerary nor the ship needs to be the same.  The thing they look at is the # of days and the itinerary "name".  So if you have an 8 day Western Caribbean cruise on one ship, they will L&S to any other ship with an 8 night Western Caribbean sailing that is +/- 4 weeks on either side of the original date.

If you have the option to take this cruise in 2021, use the Lift & Shift option before final payment to move your booking over to the same cruise for November 2021. Gets you a few benefits compared to a straight-up refund:
Price is locked at the rate of your current booking, as long as you take the same cabin class and category that all passengers are currently booked in; if you cancel now and book the later trip at some future date, you'll be paying that sailing's current rate If you do it before the current final payment date, you can still cancel that booking later on with no penalty, as long as you do it before the new sailing's final payment date No need to make the current sailing's final payment as long as you Lift & Shift before Aug 31, since you now have the new sailing's final payment date I think that by that time in 2021, the US will have finally gotten its spit together and we may even have a vaccine. But if you're dubious about sailing resuming even then, I would advise to go ahead and take the full refund now before final payment. Once you've passed final payment date, you can't cancel for a refund without penalties unless Royal cancels the sailing itself and offers 100% refund. Any cancellation done by you and not Royal after final payment must be done for FCC if you want to get back 100%; cash refund will still be subject to the usual post-final-payment cancellation penalty schedule.

I don't even see why cruise lines are being so unfairly targeted when several flights are taking off and landing every day. I also use trains very frequently, also quite risky , especially since they are getting busier now.
If anything, cruise ships were definitely very ahead of their time with the handwashing stations. That was never a common thing on land, and indeed, probably should have been. There was a study carried out finding out that many McDonalds touchscreens were absolutely filthy. Definitely a huge risk to the public. Not the case on a ship.
I imagine that the hand washing stations will become commonplace in the future post COVID but it's by no means a new idea.

Disagree with you.. Princess canceled their around the world sailings.. Of course they did how could they control the amount of ports they were going to. That has NOTHING to do with Royal being able to operate some cruises to the Caribbean. I am not saying Royal will be able to operate fully and go everywhere but I do believe they will be able to go to the Caribbean.. And Cunard another specialty line I don't consider what they do to have any effect on what Royal does.. This article doesn't scare me at all.. I do believe at some point in 2021 Royal will be sailing the Caribbean and the Bahamas.. 

Hope it pushes some regulatory/statutory reform on the US side to allow the industry to operate between AK and lower 48.  But the cruise lines are going to need to lobby for it.

I'm thinking the 10:45 boarding is a thing of the past. I bet they are going to give themselves more time to clear the ship and do a complete deep clean inbetween each sailing. 

I just checked my first sailings, which are Nov. 6 and 13 on NAV.  We had already checked in but when I went to look at the boarding passes it made me pick a boarding time.  This was not there when we did the original check-in last week.  The earliest time was 2:30.  We chose 2:30.
Now....I fully expect these cruises to be cancelled, but it's nice to see that they are implementing boarding protocols.  It's a step in the right direction, even if these particular cruises don't happen.

Planning an Alaska road trip as a backup if my Radiance sailing gets cancelled in June.

Hi all!  I'm going to blog my first Alaskan cruise on this thread.  It will be a "lazy" blog as I may not post a lot like I did in my other RCCL cruises.
If there's anyone sailing on the Ovation soon, you can post questions and photo requests for features of the ship you might be interested in. 

Each cruise line has different things they are known for.  Royal is known for a roast beef sandwich called the Kummel wick which is served at Park Cafe.  You should try it.    That said if having a BLT is a make or break item for your vacation, then maybe it's best to stick to Carnival.

The new Navigator Dunes mini golf and deck 13 forward sun deck:
 

Video walk around the new pool deck:
 

Pictures are great and I have more coming but here is a video walk through of the newly AMPED Promenade:
 

Yes, see the cruise compass link below.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compasses/liberty-of-the-seas/sun-2018-12-16-0000

I would pick either the Edge to the Med or Freedom of the Seas to the Southern Caribbean.  You've already done Oasis class with Harmony.   Symphony isn't that different.  So, Edge or Freedom is a different class.  Edge looks awesome but Freedom might be more economical.