Curt From Canada

11 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Nerd alert!
Seriously, thank you for sharing and your fourth observation is important.

I'm still laughing.  Thanks, I don't get a chance to do that lately.

It took me over 60 years to really understand my chosen profession (Engineering).  With that much training, "nerd" is now genetically encoded.

Curt from Canada

1 hour ago, Reigert2008 said:

I know I've seen this on here before (or maybe not), but when does Royal "generally" assign the cabin numbers for GTY (guarantee) cabins?  This is our first time doing a GTY cabin, which was originally booked in 2019 so I cannot remember what I was told or find the information.  Really just curious since my in-laws have a GTY cabin as well and will need sure they have a good feel for things before we set sail.  Thanks.

 

I fully expect things to be "different" due to the COVID situation, but looking for a general timeframe from the before times

 

 

 

Before MAR 2020, I kept a database (with lots of input from this fantastic board).  Below is the data (a small sample, but with some trends if you look at it).  My plan is to start up again (as soon as the sailing begin ... I should have said that louder ... AS SOON AS THE SAILINGS BEGIN! ... and they will).  A few observations:

1).  A few get assigned very far in advance.  These appear to be outliners (and the frequency may come down over time with more data).

2). Just over a month before there is an inflection point where almost half have their assignment set.

3). Almost all have been set 10-19 days before sailing.

4). All have been assigned by the time you board. 

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

3 hours ago, JeffB said:

I think it is going to take more than political pressure, more than public shaming to get HHS to back off. I think legal minds are going to have to come up with a constitutional challenge to the implications - a barrier to free trade under 14A of the US Constitution - and in an appropriate federal court, request an injunction to stop enforcement of the NSO by DHS.

I think the CLIA press release today is a shot across the bow of HHS ..... we're coming. The intent is to threaten to get the HHS/CDC in a court room to argue why cruising is unsafe due to the risk of the spread of C-19 and then  have opposing counsel shoot all their reasons for it down. If there is a threat of such action, I think it is unlikely Biden's Justice Department would be willing to defend the CDC's/HHS's position when it can so easily be proven by the available facts to be indefensible.

We can only hope.

I agree.  Actually, that is the main reason that I called the Del Rio quotes a little bit of "theatre".  They:

• Are good sound bites ... "I'd like to hear an argument why we couldn't sail" would make a great T-Shirt.
• Make me want to break into song ... which happens on literally every cruise I have been on (ask me, sometime, about an electric rendition of "Mack the Knife" at the Chef's Table).
• Feed the soul ... not quite "When the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the drum", but good enough to take to the barricades.

Better days are coming ...

Curt from Canada

14 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

There's an entire discussion about this on the last 2 pages (as of now) here:

 

I was looking for Del Rio quotes specifically.  Not because I think it will make a difference, but because of the "theatre" (not something I can go to these days).

Here are a few of my favourites from the article:

• “This impasse has got to stop,” Del Rio said. “The cruise industry must participate in the great national reopening. Every other hospitality travel and tourism sector has been allowed to operate and we have not.”

• “We were disappointed,” Del Rio said. “We thought it was a step backward, quite frankly.”

• Del Rio called the combination of safety protocols and the vaccine requirement “just an unbeatable airtight set of circumstances that will make cruising a very safe vacation alternative.”

• “I’d like to hear an argument why we couldn’t sail,” Del Rio said in an interview. “If everyone on board is vaccinated and following the protocols, there is absolutely no need for the conditional sail order to exist as it is known today.”

This is what a "Cruise CEO Super Hero" sounds like.

Curt from Canada

Article in the Washington Post April 5, 2021 (I do not think it is April 1st anymore).  Del Rio issues the Cruise Ship equivalent of a "Shot Across the Bow".

Can't get the article link on here due to a paywall ... not sure how I was able to read it.

Calling all techies!

Curt from Canada

@Matt Doing his best "Devil on my Shoulder" impersonation.

Curt from Canada

1 hour ago, JasonOasis said:

At this point I would just be happy with the CDC getting out of the way and allowing cruising to resume in July, and no masks on the pool deck.  But it would be nice if we could get rid of the masks policy completely once more people are vaccinated.

There is good news coming out of Israel where they have vaccinated at least 56% of their population.  As one would expect hospitalizations and deaths have decreased but so has the rate of community (person to person) spread.  But don't expect the CDC to admit that anytime soon they will just continue to say there isn't enough data to drop the mask mandate if everyone is vaccinated.

My favourite tracking graph is below.  A few observations/questions (all cruising related):

1) Why is Australia not cruising?  Their control is world class (even without wide spread vaccine rollout ... using Israel as the gold standard).

2) Given the phenomenal results out of Israel, it is not a random selection to home port Odyssey there.  Israel is still the "canary in the cave" and their results mean Cruising may return sooner than even the most pessimistic among us.

3) UK & US vaccination rates are very encouraging.  Vaccination rates approaching Israel will result in a similar "off the cliff" drop in infection rates.  I can smell the sea air now.

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

Sometimes I think I am on Candid Camera (young people ... look this up).  Two images from the identical cruise.  Same price ... but missing "Pre-Paid Gratuities" option.  Now I am certain it is IT gremlins or someone pressing the wrong button:

Always Included "Discount" shows on both.  However, "Always Included" is not indicated on first.  Not a big deal ... I am sure my TA would fix.

Below is the "new" options screen.  Darn, I can not longer pay "pre-paid Gratuities" that I "paid' in my AI rate:

As before I get NRD and Pre-Paid Gratuities.  But pre-paying for something that is included in my AI price is really odd.

Curt from Canada

3 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Captain Obvious noted "If you want the refundable deposit then you just pay a higher rate."   Depending what you book, some of the deposits can be "throw away".  Under current conditions, I had a low deposit (NR) on a suite (had booked onboard), but Celebrity let me cancel the '21 booking move the entire deposit to another booking in '22 l (no penalty or processing fee).

Thanks to you and @twangster for trying to solve my "Cruising Mystery".   To be more direct with my questions:

1).  Celebrity ALWAYS INCLUDED [AI] has Drinks, WIFI and Gratuities included.  There is no option to book a Celebrity Cruise (unless the cruise is very, very close in) without Gratuities being included in the booking rate.  Why, then, does the website have the option to "pre-pay Gratuities"?  Why would anyone do that?

2).  I understand that all AI bookings are NRD.  It is nice that you have the option at the end to make them refundable.  My process is to "ALWAYS" book Refundable and then convert to Non-Refundable at final payment day.  Is this an option?

Thanks for the input ... I think Celebrity is in transition and there are a key issues that I find confusing.

Curt from Canada

43 minutes ago, twangster said:

That's the discount applicable to this cruise at the time of quote.

In your example the deposit is NRD or Non Refundable Deposit.

The name "ALAWAYS INC" is the name of the fare promo discount likely to differentiate from someone who booked the same cruise prior to AI.  This way anyone who gets involved to manage the reservation from this point forward knows the basis of the cruise fare.  They don't have to look at the date to determine if this was booked before or after AI was introduced.  Two things are immediately evident.  This is an AI booking and it has a non refundable deposit.  

When booking Royal we see similar notations.  Below is an example.

In my case I get Crown and Anchor balcony discount, this cruise had a reduced single supplement and the promo at the time of booking was BOGO60. 

My discounts for this particular cruise are:

Balc Suite

Single

BOGO60

They all get listed as NRD since I booked a non refundable deposit this time.

Had I booked fully refundable deposit the word NRD would be absent but all the same promo discounts would be listed, unless a better combination of promo discounts was applicable to refundable deposits.

 

That makes a lot of sense.  One twist is the for an AI rate they asked to Pre-Pay Gratuities (or "Maybe Later":

It also skips the Two Upgrade Option Page.

Website gremlins???

Curt from Canada

I just looked up my May 2022 Silhouette Cruise (where we got a great "pre-AI" price).  There were no options for AI "upgrades", AND a choice for pre-paying gratuities was required.  I choose to not pre-pay gratuities and this was the summary I got:

I will not go on a rant about how AI puts Celebrity out of reach for me (virtual non-drinker, "always" wanting to disconnect and someone who enjoys paying gratuities with on board credit ... OK that was a small rant).

My question is ... "What is a credit of $368 for ALWAYS INC NRD?"

This is definitely new.

Curt from Canada

17 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

To all my fellow Canadians here on the message board, just saw this come up on my news feed.  Hints at when the border might open up for us.   Doesn't look good for us even if cruises do resume in the summer.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/vaccine-and-case-counts-will-determine-when-border-opens-says-trudeau-1.5344805

I am afraid like @Lovetocruise2002 and other Canadians, this is the only cruise ship I will be on this coming summer:

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

My guess is December 1, 2020.  I am not 100% certain, but I think a Quantum Class ship sailing from a part of the world that is impossible for me to get to.

Sorry, I know everyone is upset (me too), but it is Friday afternoon and I am feeling "punchy".  90 minutes to Martini Time!

Curt from Canada

15 minutes ago, MrB said:

The US has had a precipitous drop in February from the crazy January. But.. those numbers have leveled off, and actually look like there might be one more spike before the vaccine numbers start to take over. That leveling off started about 10 to 14 days ago. I'm hoping we can avoid that spike, but it's looking like that's gonna happen. 

Yes, there is some optimism to be had here, but we need to be watchful  and accept that there will be setbacks, both major and minor.

I process the county-by-county numbers in the US everyday (I'm a data nerd) and have since  I found my good CSV source in April 2020. It looks better now than it has since the summer of 2020. My issue presently is that in the counties that I pay particular attention to, including the county in which I reside, there has not been as drastic a reduction in cases in comparison to, say, Los Angeles or even other local surrounding counties. This recovery is not as wide-spread as the cumulative numbers suggest. That leaves some room for a resurgence.

 

 

No doubt the vaccines need to take hold, and that does not happen the second you get your first jab ... there will be a lag.  The UK was ahead of the US by about a month, so I look to them to be the leader (of the only two countries that affect my cruising) ... it is really all about me.

Still, all I need is between 2,792 to 8,878 passengers and crew (vessel dependant) to be fully vaccinated to join my soulmate and I on a cruise ... I am still packing (and I am not packing light).

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

This is the biggest reason I am encouraged, happy, exhilarated, and putting on my dancing shoes as I write this:

As the two most important cruising countries in the world (to me) continue to crush the virus, I get closer to the 5 cruises we have booked (all five sailing from US or UK).  Keep rolling up your sleeves so you can pack and dream (not necessarily in that order).

Curt from Canada

Darn ... now I am constantly checking.  I have a bad case of "Lovetocruise2002itis".  There is no known cure.

Curt from Canada

4 hours ago, SteelersNationVA said:

If one has the cash to do only 1 glacier viewing plane excursion, would you do a flight in Denali, Kenai Forjds NP, or Mendenhall Glacier?  The entire trip will cost an arm and a leg. We will have to pick and choose. Which flight would you pick and why? 

We did this about 3 years ago:

1).  Fly to Vancouver and take Radiance to Seward.

2). On the way we visited the Hubbard Glacier (it is far north, so there are not many "return trip" sailings ... you need to take a one way to Seward, or the southbound to see Hubbard).  It is spectacular.

3). We did a land tour (self directed) up to Anchorage, Talkeetna and Denali.  I am certain there are other tours, but we liked the flexibility of doing it ourselves.  We took the train mostly, but saw Denali from Talkeetna and on a 13 hour tour through Denali National Park.

4).  Took the train back to Anchorage and flew home from there.

There are tons of Tour Companies ... we used this one:

Alaska Tour & Travel

I am certain others will be similar.

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected

Curt from Canada

26 minutes ago, twangster said:

More similar than different.  

The outdoor food venue on the pool deck is different.

Entertainment may be slightly different.

Some of the signage on Quantum may retain both languages.  

If you were on one ship and through some sort of magic they transported you to the other ship you probably wouldn't notice right away.  

We have spent a lot of time on Anthem ... that could make it even more "Freaky Friday".

Thanks for your thoughts,

Curt from Canada

I am certain if I did a deep dig, I could find out the answer to the question below.  Sorry, I am in a little bit of a hurry to book almost identical cruises from Vancouver on either Quantum or Ovation.

What are the key differences between the two ships?  Any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Deane

57 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

The smart people here can correct me here on my thinking when it comes to kids and vaccination. If all the adults on a cruise are vaccinated and this virus doesn't effect kids as bad as adults wouldn't it be OK for them to cruise without being vaccinated? The adults couldn't get sick or severely sick and thus there couldn't be a big break out on a cruise. Flawed thinking? 

A couple of concerns:

1) I do not think how "smart" people are these days counts for much.  The data and information about the virus changes frequently.  Therefore being right today, almost guarantees that you will be wrong tomorrow.

2) Cruise lines have been vilified for decades that they are breeding grounds for disease (I do not believe this, but perception is more important than reality).  One positive test on a plane or train is a footnote. One positive test on a cruise ship sends regulators into "panic" mode.  The cruise industry is at the mercy of public opinion and can not risk even small outbreaks on ships.  They will probably be very cautious through 2021 and even into part of 2022.  Not because they want to, but because they are in survival mode.

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

8 hours ago, gabeb848 said:

Does anyone else just love the new ship name artwork on the Odyssey OTS. I think its really beautiful, fun, and different, It really pops now.

As long as there is a Schooner Bar and Boleros they can put a massive "Titanic of Seas" banner from stem to stern (as long as it does not block my balcony view).

"It's not what is on the outside of someone (thing) that matters, it's what is on the inside".

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

4 hours ago, Traveler said:

Well maybe better news , have a look on the number of new cases in the US , seems its going down , and its not just in the US , something happened and it its not just the vaccine :

This graph is from the CDS site (you can also track on number of people that go the vaccine in the US)

https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailytrendscases

This is the most important graph for the resumption of cruising.  Many other countries have much better results.  However, they are not the cruising "capital of the world".  As the US gets under control (and they will do quickly with the rapid expansion of jabs in arms), starting cruising out of the US will get easier and easier.

Roll up your sleeves and then start packing swimwear, your clothes for "Formal Night" (or whatever they are calling it these days), and two bottles of wine.

Stay Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected,

Curt from Canada

5 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

Yes, cancer too. Now that would be something. I'd like to see that gone in my lifetime. My dad passed away from colin cancer that spread. No family should have to go through that. 

This is not necessarily a topic for a cruise blog, but your words have touched me.  This is not a cheery topic, but an important one.  My grandfather passed away from colon cancer as well (long ago ... I am not a young man).  It affected me significantly, and hurts over 40 years later.

mRNA (and some other similars) have the ability to energize our immune systems against the cancer "invaders".  It still is not proven, but it may be the best bet we have (currently).  I pray for the day these game changers save millions.

Curt from Canada

8 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said:

It just may turn into that because of these new strains or variants. I already get the flu shot so it won't be a huge deal but rather not get it every year.

Speaking of the flu shot. I hear Moderna is working on mRNA vaccines for a better flu shot and that would be very welcome. 

mRNA is big.  Not just for COVID 19.  Cancer, flu and even the common cold is in its sights.  Too soon to tell, but very promising.  I am glad to be alive in the 21st Century, and not the 16th Century.

Curt from Canada

This is a re-post ... so regulars can pass it by.

Grandeur is one of our favourite ships.  It's connection with the sea is a highlight.  The restaurants can not compare with the larger ships, but we sail for different reasons:

Frequently, you will hear experienced cruisers talk about the different reasons for cruising.  Sometimes the discussions separate into three camps: “stay on the ship” versus “visit ports” versus “be at sea”. Obviously, there is no “right” answer, but it is very interesting to hear the preferences of others.  I think when a cruise line offers “choices”, so that you can meet your needs, they deserve your “attention”.  One of the reasons my soulmate & I cruise so often on Royal Caribbean, is the wide variety of experiences on board their ships.  I am certain that there are other cruise lines that offer the same variety.  Still, one tends to stick with the known versus the unknown.  Below are different ways to approach cruising: 

1).  The Ship is the Destination:  How can anyone disagree that the ships are so special that passengers want to maximize their time on the ship?  The large ships offer so much that visiting no ports would probably be fine for some.  On our last trip, Harmony of the Seas was so busy there was little time for afternoon naps (we think this is necessary if you dance all night).  Even their medium sized ships are packed with on board options.  So many ships (Oasis, Quantum, Freedom Classes) have so many things to do; we frequently are stuck trying to determine what we will not do (because there is more than one event at the same time).

2).  Travel is the Main Goal:  We have spent a lot of time in Europe with self-directed land vacations.  It is a different experience and has its advantages.  One thing that is an absolute pain is packing, unpacking and travel between destinations.  When we are in “Travel Mode” it is such a treat to unpack and pack once and wake up with a new experience almost every day.  These are not necessarily restful vacations, but they are stimulating and are normally filled with many special memories.  Although these can be had on the large ships, we find that small and medium ships are better to meet this objective.  

3). Stay Connected to the Sea:  After all, this is a cruise ship.  Some ships have a strong and obvious connection with the sea.  Everywhere you go you can see the sea.  When we travel, it is never so obvious than when we are on the water … we are not in our home, we are venturing out, we are exploring.  Small and medium sized ships maintain this connection easily.  The larger ships get the more difficult it is.  We have been on Grandeur three times in the last 2 years.  Lady G does not have all the “bells & whistles”, but she has sea views everywhere.  In support of Goal 2), she taken us to many places we have never been before. She also has been the catalyst, for our main reason for cruising …

4).  Make Your Own Fun:  We did not start with this strategy, but it is becoming our primary one.  Sometimes, day to day routines can foster a complacency that turns into a “rut”.  Travel is one way to shake this up, but we think the concept is a little simpler.  By using new experiences (ship or port or sea), we “connect” better on cruise ships.  Relationship building is about shared experiences, and we find that we converse more, laugh more, dance more (and drink more too) on the ship.  As much as possible we try to travel with friends.  The more friends, the more opportunities to build deeper relationships.  It does not matter if the ship is big or small, if the number of days are few or many, or if we are in port or at sea … we make our own fun.

For 1) … we enjoy: Allure, Harmony & Anthem.

For 2) … we enjoy: Radiance, Grandeur, Adventure, Explorer & Anthem.

For 3) … we enjoy: Grandeur, Radiance & Anthem.

For 4) … we enjoy: All the above.

Regardless of how you cruise … Have a Blast.

Curt from Canada