Andrew72681

7 hours ago, Jill said:

Disappointed that masks are required on the pool deck. Hopefully that’ll change for US cruises to the Caribbean. I don’t mind wearing one walking around, elevators etc. but sitting in the sun on the pool deck is pretty much a deal breaker. 
 

Face Masks
Face masks are required in all areas of the pool deck unless you’re in the water, where you should continue to observe physical distancing

Just imagine what those mask will smell like later in the day after you’ve sat in it in the Caribbean sun. 

On 10/6/2020 at 9:14 AM, JLMoran said:

@Mathias, I found a clarification on contra betting over on CC. It is described as you guessed -- For roulette, simultaneously betting on red and black to be able to always have half your bets win. For craps, it's simultaneously betting on the pass and don't pass lines (although the way the don't pass line works, you'll always lose more on that than the pass line for any given bet). In baccarat, it's simultaneously betting on player and banker.

So I think what you described as a strategy -- you always bet on black while your wife always bets on red -- would work since you individually are not contra-betting. But, you would have to be very careful that the casino staff didn't catch on that you were working with someone to effectively make a contra-betting strategy between the two of you. Since they do watch all the tables just like in the land casinos, this could be tricky. Any gesture of affection, high-five at the end, or other giveaway could be all they need to pull you and your wife aside and say that you've forfeited any winnings for coordinating a contra-betting strategy in violation of the rules.

Even without high fives, they are most likely going to know that you came together. I’m sure they swipe your card in when they give you promotional chips and also when you get to the table. 
I wouldn’t risk it 

7 minutes ago, Boston Babe said:

Breaking news, on the phone with RC now, 4PM, they will announce Cruises Cancelled Nov 1-30,2020

Not surprising, will suck to see my first star class sailing go. Was such a great deal. 

23 hours ago, CJS2766 said:

I'm also one of those that's supposed to cruise Nov 8 (7 night Western Carib.) I wish we would hear something already, even though I know the realistic outcome. I have to cancel flights and make other arrangements. RCG has to know and realize that there will be no 7+ night cruises. Ugh, I hate that I will have to wait ONE more year til I cruise again. As much as I miss it, I can't cruise with all the restrictions they would most likely impose for the for the foreseeable future.

Can 2020 be over already!!!!

I’m right there with you, I was bullish about our cruise happening till about a month ago. Now, I’m almost sure my 1/1 Navigator and 1/30 symphony sailings will vaporize as well. And I’d probably put my Alaska sailing in July below 50%

1 hour ago, KWong said:

I live in the heart of Leafs Nation, and it's never not funny when they fail to win.

One of the twitter account that pops up In my feed from time to time is @leafslastcup. The best part is that they also keep track of days since the David Ayres debacle. 

2 hours ago, Mathias said:

And does anyone know what the minimum bet is at roulette if I want to play red or black?

Most times I’ve seen roulette minimums are usually 10-15 on outside bets. If it’s a very busy sea day night it might be 25. 

46 minutes ago, KWong said:

Keep Bettman far away from the cruise industry, please and thank you. 

Don’t fret, just like the Stanley cup when cruises start back up it’ll be US only

2 hours ago, twangster said:

The National Hockey League is posting about cruise ships?  Slow off season I guess...

Would make sense this time. They were able to go through the entire playoff preceding without a single case popping up.  

1 hour ago, Scooter6251 said:

That's my issue with them now.  We're scheduled for Nov 1.  We would really like to know as there are logistical items for us to handle.  Are they trying to make us cancel so they save the 25% FCC bonus if they cancel.

Yeah, I’m on November 8th on Oasis so in the same boat. Was supposed to be our first star class experience, but we know from others, no one from the 11/1 sailings or 11/4 Oasis 4 night (all of which are under the 30 days) have received their questionnaires. And many of the families stay in contact with the Genie’s and so far none have been recalled. 

7 minutes ago, jticarruthers said:

but if the CDC isnt allowed to extend the ban then they will have a small slate of cruises they hope to run in Nov ...

If that’s the case and they only have a small slate (based on what they e said before, short cruises, etc..) then cancel the others. 7 night sailings don’t look probable for November so let those people know. 

1 hour ago, twangster said:

You can get groceries delivered.  Should that be a new law?  Curbside pickup or delivery only. 

Theaters are not essential.  Restaurants are not essential as you can cook at home.  If that's the measure and the CDC had the authority I wouldn't be grocery shopping tonight, not in the store anyways, just at my laptop.

At its peak, the wait to get groceries delivered from my wegmans was 9 days. Curbside pickup was a week to get a spot. 
Amazon/Whole Foods ended up publicizing 20k confirmed cases today from its employees. And if they could, I’m sure they’d want them shutdown. 
The cruise industry never belonged under the purview of the CDC and are now being punished for it. They probably never thought they’d be in this situation. 

1 hour ago, twangster said:

If I get the virus in the grocery store my burden on healthcare is no different than if I get the virus on a ship.

For most people I would say that that they have to go grocery shopping to survive but not cruising. But we’ve seen how much you cruise

1 hour ago, twangster said:

The CDC makes a point in yesterday's announcement stating that 0.019% (41) of US deaths have occurred or are believed to occur related to cruise ships.  They didn't provide the percentage because it would make their argument look silly.  

The problem with the argument of their only being 41 is that there were no cruises after early March. They could just as easily extrapolate that number out and say “If cruising had continued we may have had an Oasis class sized passenger count of deaths”

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Heck, even my Florida hometown ACC team's coach tested positive.  The team still played without him as coach that weekend.

I always assumed the point of the initial lockdown was to stop rapid spreading that would overwhelm our medical care infrastructure.  A byproduct of that is that it bought us time to learn more about the virus and now we are getting to the point where the impact is understood more and we know how to mitigate the risk a bit better.  Now it's time to keep implementing the practices to keep moving forward and slowly reopening everything.  It's still personal choice whether someone wants to patronize a private business but at least the businesses are allowed to be open so you can make that choice.

The biggest problem with the announcement of decriminalizing not wearing mask is the position it puts local municipalities and private businesses in. I’d bet we see video out of some Karen/Kevin screaming at a private business owner that the governor said he didn’t have to wear a mask. 

1 hour ago, JeffB said:

Nor has he said, "Florida is being opened."

Good luck with resorting to semantics by putting it quotes. But last week he said the following. That’s a governor saying Florida is open and also saying that no matter what he wouldn’t close it again. 

“The state of Florida is probably the most open big state in the country,” DeSantis bragged Friday, as he announced the reopening and said he was using his executive power to cancel all fines levied against people who didn’t wear masks. “We’re not closing anything going forward.”

47 minutes ago, CruisinForABruisin said:

Hey Alexa, how many unpaid football players tested positive at Wake Forest (leading to a cancelled game, ACC school) this past weekend?

Or even this week, an NFL game after 9 members of the Titans organization tested positive. 

42 minutes ago, twangster said:

The other aspect that needs to be considered and planned is the ports of call.  For example, Nassau can accommodate six ships.  It will take a lot of coordination between the port, local excursion operators and different cruise lines to ensure that each ship bubble isn't broken at congestion points like port security, waiting areas for excursions buses or just walking down the pier.  Is this being addressed by the Healthy Sail Panel?

How do different cruise lines ensure they play nice with each other and cooperate to maintain their respective bubbles?  If one ship's excursion is walking down the pier do other ships hold and wait until they are clear?  Who manages that when one ship trying to maintain schedule just proceeds ignoring the other ships?

Should the ports involved restrict the number of ships on a given day?  If so, how do they decide which line is allowed in?  It's like the capacity questions that people are raising for guests... what ship gets booted or denied entry to a port?

It's easy to just focus on one Royal ship and think no problem but when multiple cruise lines and multiple ships are all competing for port access who is managing or coordinating that with different countries, different cruise lines and different excursion operators all in play? 

One thing that Don over at EatSleepCruise brought up in a discussion is while most people have thought of Florida’s reopening as a positive, the CDC probably went the other way. Florida being reopened and without masks may have negated much of the goodwill towards the pre testing program presented by the lines. As most people come in before the cruise that’s additional meals out and potential infection vectors. The CDC would most likely prefer a bubble for a few days before the sailing. 

3 hours ago, JeffB said:

The CDC believes congregate settings, such as those present on cruise ships have a high enough risk of promoting viral spread and endangering the Public Health to be curtailed.

I think the biggest part is that this is the easy one for them to control. If we really were going to stop people congregating together churches would still be closed. But that’s a third rail. Airplanes are confined situation, but they are American companies with huge lobbying organizations behind them. 

13 minutes ago, peacefrogdog said:

My family of 5 was moved from a VP suite on Indy to a GS on Navigator. We were assigned 1278 which apparently has a pullman bed in addition to the sofabed.  Does anyone have any pictures of what a GS looks like with the sofa bed pulled out and/or the pullman?  Haven't found any online.

Would also be interested in hearing experiences of fitting 5 in a GS. We are 3 older kids who will be aged 18, 17 and 17.  

That will be tight with basically five adults. Especially giving up the extra half bath that is part of the VP. 

3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I'm with @Floski.  Perk UP PEOPLE !

I think we will be sailing by early 2021.  The right palms are being greased and egos stroked.  I think the wheels are going to start turning very soon.

I think while we may be sailing in early 2021, if the CDC didn’t seem thrilled with the original recommendations, what additional restrictions will they want in place. 

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I am having doubts about my March 14th sailing on Allure as well.  Not sure I will make final payment if sailings are still paused in December.

I was looking at Spring Break cruises to replace my cancelled Odyssey sailing. Started last night looking at all-inclusives. 

6 hours ago, FManke said:

Or they just marked the letter C for every answer?

You mean.......... as cruise ship workers, they marked the letter “sea”

2 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Read CDC wanted to push to Feb '21 but others in the gov't believed too long so  Oct was used as starting peg with the option for a month-to-month slip.   Think that reduces probability of Nov restart.   The CDC could still just sit on the plans until they decide to allow.

It also means those of us with November cruises won’t get much notice before the next round. I’d be RC and Others spend the next few weeks pleading their case and my November 8th cruise doesn’t get cancelled till 10/15. 

4 minutes ago, cruisellama said:

Maybe they all studied for the retest?

Those darn scantron test. Maybe they didn’t full shade the Yes/No box. 

3 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Inaccurate testing is going to be a bugger.

Yes. Hopefully they’ll be able in the future to have confirmation testing available right away.