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We break our pre-cruise diet the night before the cruise when we eat out at Coco Beach for a Port Canaveral departure. Other than that, our first dessert, usually in Windjammer spoils our "healthy" salad lunch on Day 1.

You might still find it cheaper a la carte if 2-3 drinks per day. Keep in mind there are various specials throughout the week, free Crown and Anchor drinks, sampling the booze in duty free, or even buying into a "wine tasting activity".

The primary purpose of travel insurance is to provide protection assuming your cruise does happen. It is separate from Cruise with Confidence. You could have an accident enroute, lose luggage, have an accident on the cruise, etc. If you purchase travel insurance and your trip is cancelled, you can probably transfer the coverage to your "replacement" cruise. (Allianz allows this.)

While most people are trusting, there have been occasional thefts on board or at private beaches. Therefore, I recommend a back-up plan. We have the phone sized lanyard cases previously described, and we alternate using the water so one of us can "guard" our stuff. 98% of the time you will be OK by "covering up", but be prepared for the 2%, even when on an excursion that offers "lockers". The ships are generally safe, but can be quirky. I had a wallet returned to me, but not a baseball cap I left in the MDR. Have a great cruise!

For future, there are phone sized lanyard holders with double seals. I like keeping some items close to me when walking to excursions. Then I can use backpack as suggested on small boat. When taking sunscreen, use reef safe.

Normal clothes for a nice restaurant. Outside it can be breezy and under sail.

We arrived the same day in Europe twice, largely due to my son's school schedule and the high cost of hotel rooms for a party of 3 (Spain insisted on two rooms). We survived hiccups along the way -- flight cancelled, then train broke down, then planes changed. I wouldn't do it again to Europe, but with Air2Sea and trip insurance, we really thought it would work. And it did. The time of year makes a difference (we did this in summer), and I always had a list of back-up connections. Going to NZ, we made it appoint to travel a day early, and guess what -- the airlines lost our luggage....That broke my wife's heart. All you can do is plan with the best information you have, carry insurance, and be determined to ride out the ups and downs.

I think you should try it at least once. We will try a JS on our next Mediterranean cruise in the fall. For us, the cost seemed reasonable, but that isn't always the case. With all of the Covid frustrations, I think it's OK to splurge on a special trip.

I hear what you are saying and agree that positivity rates on cruise ships aren't alarming, but we can't make the scientific comparison you suggest because of sampling issues (we didn't randomly assign subjects to each sample, and sample sizes vary, etc.). I happened to read Virginia stats this morning, and I believe the infection rate among fully vaccinated people was about 1.5%, double that for partially-vaccinated, and 4 times that for unvaccinated. There are still sampling issues, but these data and those from other states are perhaps more like apple-to-apple comparisons that show the benefit of vaccinations. Back to cruising, I don't believe it is riskier than land-based vacations, and I believe it is actually safer. I think you brought up a good point.

You might check that your cruise wasn't recently cancelled. We were cancelled by Royal the day after we received our cruise documents.

I really appreciate the update, but where can I confirm? We talked to our agent yesterday, and it was still on. Thanks! Belay that request -- my wife just found the notice others posted.

Another member recently posted his experience on this. See (from Saturday) the post: Getting off ship after cabin isolation

Congratulations on your results! Have a great cruise! I am definitely envious...

Ham and cheese crepes in Villefranche.

Your picture brought to mind a question -- are we allowed to open the cardboard box (but not the enclosed test kits) prior to the proctored test? Or is the unpacking of the cardboard box something that must be witnessed by the proctor? The video I watched showed a "kit" already removed from a box.

There are problems in your math, too, so we will need to agree to disagree. For example, when we compare the incidence of infection to a broader population (to calculate a percentage), we can't use all of the US. Many of us stay at home and don't socialize, so we aren't in the population of land-based persons from which the testing samples are drawn (biased though they may be). Yet in these samples, the percentage testing positive is very high (as in over 10% for a geographic area). Admittedly, comparing one biased sample to another is like comparing apples and oranges, but the trend is there -- land-based socializers and workers are getting infected at a high rate (over a 1-week period) relative to cruise ships (over a 1-week period). Absent a true random sample study that compares cruising to land socializing, we can't make a definitive comparison. But we do know that millions of Americans are infectious over a two-week period based on government published statistics. We also know that many of them are unvaccinated and unmasked. So we choose cruising because, when we socialize, we want to hang out with vaccinated and masked individuals. Whatever folks choose to do, we hope everyone has a safe and joyful 2022.

The last time we were in Roatan (2019) I wanted to buy some local currency for souvenirs. I noticed in a "straw market" we walked by that Honduran currency could be purchased for US dollars...

Some cable stations are labeled "entertainment" rather than "news" outlets, so we avoid them. I agree we can help spread good news. I enjoy telling people we meet that the incidence of disease on a cruise ship is far less than on land (per capita), as many members have reported and government-published statistics point out. While I am puzzled and disappointed about the CDC recommendation to avoid cruising, I don't let it affect me much. There are other things more dangerous (health-wise) that we will avoid for a few weeks. We wish everyone a joyful 2022, whether cruising or not!

There is another thread with date info, but the tests I received yesterday are good until November 2022. There is a label on the side of the shipping box (from Emed). The tests took 2 days from other date, and I just received this AM the message that my order was shipped.

With the explosion of COVID cases in Florida, I can see why masks would be required on cruise ships and elsewhere. Things will get better, but we need to take note of our current situation.

1. Purchased from Emed 2. Ordered on 29 December 2021. 3. Approved 29 December 2021, Time from order to approval (email) about 30 minutes. 4. Never received a "shipped" email. 5. Packages received 31 December 2021 via Fedex about 1: 15 PM, 48 hours and a few minutes after "approval". 6. Expiration date appears to be 21 November 2022.

As others have reported, my 6-pack arrived two days after the approved order (Wed afternoon). Thus, no delay here in North Carolina. There are actually two packing boxes. A label on the side of each box appears to show an expiration date of November 21, 2022.

No and yes. When I created my Royal App password, it over-wrote my Crown and Anchor password. So now I use the same password for Cruise Planner and Royal App. When I view emails on my cell phone, the marketing messages from Royal (e.g., hot Cruise Planner sale) take me directly to Cruise Planner. Technically, CP and Royal App are separate, but you can use your cell phone and identical passwords for both.

We are sailing 5 February and have decided to pay off our balance and check in. We have a Mexico-Roatan-Belize itinerary and believe some ports will be open. I think you'll be OK for March, but that is just a guess. Also, please relay my thanks to your husband for his service! One last thought - I recommend you consider trip insurance if you don't yet have it and decide to proceed with the cruise.

There is risk of damage or loss when you take your passport off the ship unnecessarily. I remember an excursion to Dominican Republic on Royal when my passport was almost ruined by seawater-- our small excursion boat was caught in choppy waters. And we've had friends who were pick-pocketed in Barcelona and Rome (notorious for that). Usually, the Cruise Compass indicates what the port requires to get back on the ship, and other members have reported that the Port Agent for Royal will retrieve key items from your safe if, due to medical emergency or such, you are unable to reboard the ship. Having said that, we always have ID, even a passport card, when we go ashore. Balancing the risks of being left behind (almost never happens) against the risk of being robbed, one makes a personal choice. Some ports are more dangerous than others. Some excursions are more problematic (how do you safely snorkel with a passport?). Whatever you choose to do, I recommend a back-up of some sort!