Curt From Canada

Got them all now ... thanks to all. Curt from Canada

You have me "pegged"... I am a data zealot. Let me have a weekend ( of dancing, a woman and songs ) and I will determine the best way to put out a call to those who thirst for the knowledge that the sciences, math and data brings. 😉 Curt from Canada

I "buried" the lead on my previous post. We never ate in the Windjammer once. We were just passing through to go to iFly. Curt from Canada

Anthem of the Seas boarding on FEB 23 had the three questions that everyone was required to be asked: 1) Been to China, Hong Kong or Macau in the past 14 days? ... No 2) Have you (to your knowledge) been exposed to anyone from those 3 countries? ... No 3) Do you have any cold/flu like symptoms? ... No All passengers were being funneled through these quick and easy questions. After that, facial recognition pushed us quickly on board (no need to show passports ... you have to be set up through the APP to do this). The bigger issue for us was a number of idiots not washing their hands when it was required. Walking through the Windjammer wash station to avoid both the sanitizer "spritz" and the wash station requirement (there was lots of room) was the gold medal of stupidity. Curt from Canada

For those who have booked GTY cabins, they have sending me the "days to sailing" when they get assigned their cabins. To be clear, the "scientific method" is minimal, and I am only measuring one dimension (time to sail when room is assigned). The "data" has been fairly consistent: Almost everyone gets their assignment at least 10 days before sailing. There is another inflection point at 30 to 50 days where they become available. And there are a few (just under 20%) that get them well in advance of sailing. Any and all data is gladly accepted. Curt from Canada

What better way to get ready to jump on a ship than to send out the "latest, greatest" update of the GTY Assignment Timing Graph. Thanks to all that keep posting their data. If you are cruising this week and see someone with a "scorch the floor" Swing or a "somewhat competent" Foxtrot that will be my soulmate and I. 😉 Curt from Canada

If I had to guess on the way assignments are assigned, I would say it is a combination of: Harry Potter on a Colorado "high" Keith Richards on any day that ends in "y" (I know "children" from the 60s and 70s got that one) I was going to say Timothy Leary, but man that is one wack-job ... Let's go for Spaceman Bill Lee (before, during and after any basebal game). 😉 Curt from Canada

Thank you ... added

Sounds about right. Flu vaccines have a few drawbacks: 1). They take about two weeks to be fully effective. 2). They do not cover all strains. The researchers each year have to make estimates on which strains will be the most prevalent. There are always strains out there that we are not protected from. Don't get me going about overeating. My Dr. put me on a crazy diet. In less than a month it will face the biggest test yet ... Cruising On A Diet. 😉 Sounds like a horror movie title. Curt from Canada

Below is the only pattern I can see for room assignments (for GTY). There are definitely 3 infection points (100+, 30-39 & 10-19). We just did a GTY Balcony on a future Anthem cruise (1st time). We received our assignment 13 days from sailing (10-19 is the last big chunk of assignments). Not sure about noise for this GTY assignment. We have not been on the cruise yet, but it is on Deck 12 (close to forward elevators - Starboard side). Curt from Canada

Ooops ... just saw John and Katrina Blair are now on Vision of the Seas (as of FEB 01). Neil Diamond fans will have to follow John there. Curt from Canada

100% ... this is a few bells and whistles cruise ship. However, it has a big heart. More importantly, you should take advantage of: 1). Its connection with the sea. Like the Radiance class you always see the water. On a large number of ships you can go for very long periods of time without seeing water ... on Grandeur the sea is always there. 2). The Centrum. There is always something happening there. We always get to know the R-Bar staff real quick. We would start there at 4:30ish and dance, drink and talk with people up until the shows or dinner. 3). If John Blair is the cruise director, do not miss his Neil Diamond Tribute Show. We first saw the show in 2006 and saw in 2017, 2018 and 2019. It is quite good (I do not remember any other Cruise Directors doing something similar). 4). Charleston ... It was amazing; we really need to go back now. 5). Chops ... We always had good meals at Chops ... Giovanni's was 50% great and 50% bad (really weird this lack of consistency). We are booked through until the end of 2021, so no more Grandeur ... we always had fun on Lady G. Curt from Canada

Certainly, you should be most concerned about the flu virus ... it kills approximately 25,000 to 65,000 people in the US each year. for 2020 (in less than two months it has already claimed 14,000 people). Your best preparation for any high capacity "event" (public transportation, shopping, entertainment, flying, cruising, etc) is to get a flu shot immediately. Especially, if you are young or old. Curt from Canada

One of our best Diamond Club experiences was on Oasis in Blaze (our 1st cruise as "Diamonds" ... in 2006). We had a great time with our Bartender (Sheldon). We talked Martinis all week and he made a perfect modification to a Deani Martini that still stands today. Any Diamond Lounge with a bar is a great Diamond Lounge. Curt from Canada

Thank you ... added