Ditchdoc

Don't remember for sure. Its in my tag somewhere. Remember the zip line was there and not much else except lunch, booze, and beach.

Don't always follow the crowd. The path less traveled is more serene, less stressful and just as much fun. Find out where you can eat that is not the Windjammer. You will be glad you did.

Currently planning .... With the 60% off the second guest, for a larger balcony, mid-ship on deck 9, the price for 13 nights is about 4k (everything included) for two or about $300 a day with a low price guarantee should the price drop. Airfare in coach will be about the same or 4k for us with current pricing. By the time we stay in a hotel a few nights pre-cruise, additional meals, excursions, visa fees and so on I figure a budget of 10k US should cover about everything. We had considered the Galapagos but it was going to cost about the same for 1 week to see volcanic rock, lizards and turtles. It was an easy choice to pick New Zealand for 2 weeks instead. Obviously it could be more or less depending on a lot of variables. We try to do something nice every 5 years on milestone anniversaries. 2023 will be our 40th year so this is it. We started with the Caribbean, then Alaska, then the Panama Canal, then Cuba, now New Zealand. In betwixt and between we like going to the western US national parks and touring as well as trips to places like Orlando (we love Disney), New Orleans, San Antonio, Seattle, and so on. We are thankful for the opportunity to do this much. Sorry to digress. Hope the pricing info is helpful.

I was very excited to find this and read through it while making notes. Its a ways off but we have reserved a similar 13 night cruise on Radiance in February 2023, a bit over 600 days away but time fly's. It will be over valentines and my wife's birthday. Right now excursions, flights etc are so far out they can not be made yet but I have plenty of time to plan and consider options. Thanks for all the inside information and photos.

Thanks for the topic and info. We are reserved for February 2023 on Radiance for 13 nights. Only 639 days and counting. I would appreciate any input, comments, recommendations, experiences you may have had on similar trips.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/alaska-tourism-recovery-act-canada-cruise-ship-ban Alaska Senators Introduce New Legislation to Bypass Canada’s Cruise Ship Ban If passed, cruise ships would be allowed to travel between the state of Washington and Alaska without stopping in Canada.

Key West, Venice ..... maybe others. Cruise ships carrying 6,000 passengers has it down side. You can only put so many people in VW, or a phone booth (both extinct now and perhaps a warning) and towns.

Keep in mind that traditionally these cruises start or end in Vancouver. So many are entering Canada to stay for a day or two.

Timely to the conversation https://www.cruisehive.com/royal-caribbean-not-to-cancel-any-canada-and-alaska-cruises/47061 "Royal Caribbean has now announced it will not be canceling any voyages. This includes cruises embarking/debarking from Canadian ports and those itineraries touching on Canadian ports of call." “As the state with the most extensive shared border with Canada, the Alaska Delegation has worked in good faith to seek a compromise over border crossing restrictions due to COVID-19, keeping in mind the health and safety of Alaskans and Canadians. Canada’s announcement to ban all cruise sailings carrying 100 people or more traveling through Canadian waters, without so much as a courtesy conversation with the Alaska Delegation, is not only unexpected—it is unacceptable.” Senators from Alaska "An amendment to the passenger PVSA seems to be one viable option if Canada refuses to budge."

I see. Now I understand better why most of the Alaskan cruises depart from Vancouver. Its kind of a goofy rule to me. I guess the second part is what covers the various "river cruises" is the US. II also cruised from Baltimore to Bar Harbor Main and then on to Nova Scotia and back. So that makes sense as well with this PVSA. Still kinda of goofy to me but it is what it is.

No doubt there are things I do not understand but I do not see what the issue would be for a ship sailing from a US port to a US port. RCCL sails from Miami to Key West (or did) on a regular basis. The major issue I see from a previous post is "Cruise vessels carrying more than 100 people are still prohibited from operating in Canadian waters. " It might be hard to get from the state of Washington to the state of Alaska without going through Canadian waters since the inside passage does go though British Columbia.

Vaccine required by everyone .. crew and all passengers ... I'd go for it. If I had to wear a mask the entire time .... I'll spend my money doing something else. Maybe buy and RV and land cruise.

Not sure it would even be necessary. An Alaskan cruise can start/stop in Seattle and make all the routine stops in Alaska and never port in Canada. The difference between Vancouver and Seattle is less than 3 hours by car. Ships have some leeway with speed. Obviously a ship will not go 52knots (60mph). More like 20 knots so estimate 9 additional cruise hours. This means burning a bit extra fuel or perhaps dropping a stop or spending a hour less at each stop. I've been on cruises where itinerary or times change and are made up one way or another. Making up about 9 hours on a week long cruise by moving a port from Vancouver to Seattle should not be too difficult. No doubt there are other logistics in the supply chain but RCCL has plenty of people to figure that out.

I think a lot will depend on vaccine documentation. There are a number 'ifs' but ... If I was assured everyone onboard had been vaccinated at least 2 weeks prior to boarding ... I would feel reasonably safe. That means crew, passengers, and all auxiliary personnel. Dock people, check in staff, port pilots, Coast Guard or anyone else that comes aboard for any reason. That is a pretty tall order right there. Then there is the issue of ports, excursions, getting on and off, where did you go, where have you been, were you exposed etc. Hopefully the issue of everyone on board being vaccinated simply eliminates the risk or nearly so. When I cruise, I do not want to be locked in my cabin. I want to socialize, see things, dance, eat dinner and chat and so on. If I have worry about isolating myself every minute, what is the point?

Like many I am anxious to get back to cruising. Of course the big issue is COVID. I have read a number of articles about the vaccine and the many steps taken by the cruise industry and others. My personal opinion is that until COVID is under control, until enough people are vaccinated that COVID cases not only start dropping but are significantly lower, cruising is going to struggle. So I had a simple question I was not really seeing asked. How long will it be before enough vaccine is available for everyone? So I did a little investigation. Of course there are a lot of variables and one has to consider the scale of the operation. I started to look at some numbers because numbers do not lie unless of course you use the wrong numbers. A few basic numbers seems to tell at least some of the story. The cruise industry is a world wide operation. In the world, there are roughly 7.8 billion people. That is 7,800 million people. Being a little more focused since I am in the United States, the US has about 330 million people. Right now it seems Moderna is capable of producing 600 million vaccine doses this year. Plans are to increase to 1 billion in an unknown time frame. Right now Pfizer is capable of producing 1.3 billion doses this year. Plans are to increase to 2 billion in an unknown time frame. Keep in mind that everyone needs 2 doses. The delivery schedule between the US government and both companies is about 300 million doses by July of this year. Currently about 25 million doses have been made available. If you have been keeping track, the US will have roughly enough doses to fully vaccinate (2 doses) about one half of the US population by July. Granted, if things go well, production levels increase, additional vaccines are approved, distribution and administration improves etc .... maybe, just maybe the US will get to that 70% immunity number (or was it 80%) sometime between the 4th of July and Thanksgiving. The last cruise I was on had almost 7,000 passengers from all over the world. I do not want to even try and speculate when the world will reach that magic immunity number, whatever it is. The numbers tell me that it could be at least 2 more years before enough vaccine is available to inoculate the world. My best guess is the cruise industry is in for another year of hard times. I hope it gets better sooner but my thought right now is planning for a holiday season cruise near the end of 2021 with a big blowout new years for 2022 is about the best to hope for. Even then there will be some serious restrictions like proof of vaccination etc.

Buy 'by the inch' 'jewelry' chain.

About a bazillion people on the boardwalk at midnight new years 2020.

'Mind if we join you' ... at a partially full Windjammer table. "Is this chair taken?" before it disappears to another location.

With the change in political winds .... maybe so.

Sure ... would probably be the safest cruise ever.

Hummm ..... Morning Coffee Coffee Coffee Afternoon Perhaps a beer or some frozen concoction Evening Before dinner drink Wine with dinner After dinner drink Throughout the day Water Diamond perks usually cover the cost of drinks

I always liked the variety of the Windjammer while at the same time I did not like what seemed like a competition food grab. Some people can be very inconsiderate in buffet lines. I don't really care that the occasional person that just wants a roll or condiment, jumping in line, grabbing and going. But people that seem to have to push around every piece of food with tongs or what ever trying to decide exactly which piece they want is annoying. Then then there are the kids and slobs that strow food at every opportunity with indifference is inconsiderate to staff and passengers. Of course there is the proverbial table hunt during busy times. On our last cruise I do not remember eating in the Windjammer but maybe once or twice during the week. There were several options that allowed us to eat breakfast and lunch at a different venue almost every day. Many times the food was as good if not better with a lot less stress and hubbub. In part, what allowed us to do this was a lot of new cruisers are just not aware there are options other than WIndjammer. That and we are early risers that puts us ahead of many crowds. If the Windjammer changes dramatically, I don't think RCCL will have much choice but to advertise options more heavily to spread people out. What were once the relatively unknown sanctums and eating options for those in the know will not be as peaceful and attractive. Perhaps this will (or has) play into marketing to sell more tables at specialty restaurants which is what RCCL is turning to more and more where almost everything is optional at a price.

Two Days After SEC Filings Reveal Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain Collected Over $14,000,000 in Compensation in 2019, Royal Caribbean Lays Off 1,500 Shoreside Employees.

The wife and I were on Harmony for New Years along with 8000 or so guests and crew.. About a week after returning home, around January 12th or so, I got sick with a fever for about 3 days and right after, my wife had the same. We shrugged it off. Now I wonder could we have been early COVID survivors.

How did the trees react to spring? They were re leaved.