brycemo

I think this is the first time we’ve actually seen RCI talk about Project Discovery in writing.  I’m on Quantum of the Seas at the moment, and watching Entertainment Today this morning John our CD mentioned that the Senior Officers info sheet that used to be at Guest Services can now be found on the wayfinders that are near the elevators. So being curious, I went to read through it and found this under our Staff Captain.

Lol
 
Social media:  Making everyone’s personal opinion feel relevant to individual echo chambers for a couple decades….and now it’s become “newsworthy”. 
 
In other news, different people like different things.  
 
I like broccoli. Fight me 

Summary of various cruise line approach to their children programming in case you decide to try another cruise line:
 
Disney
Guests can book one session per day per child on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
Carnival
With the approval of vaccines for children ages 5-11, our Camp Ocean program will be re-opening, on a modified basis. Based on the advice of our medical advisors, Camp Ocean will be limited only to fully vaccinated children within this age range. Unvaccinated youth and teenagers will not be permitted to participate in supervised Circle “C”® and CLUB O2® youth programs, or access Sky Zone® if cruising on Carnival Panorama®.
 
Princess
We'll continue to operate our Camp Discovery youth and teen programs at reduced occupancy and promote physical distancing and mask wearing. Following the CDC’s recommendation, we look forward to welcoming vaccinated children.
Yes, our youth and teen programs will continue to operate with reduced occupancy, physical distancing and mask wearing.
As the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine becomes available to children 5-11 years old, following the CDC’s recommendation, we look forward to welcoming vaccinated children from the age of 5 and above.
To limit crowding in the centers, entry will be restricted to youth participants. High touch surfaces, supplies, and equipment will be sanitized frequently. Activities such as singing events, Stanley the Bear, dining events (including Kids Dinner and port day lunch), and contact sports will not be offered.
 
NCL
As of November 24th, Our Kids clubs and drop-off services are not available until further notice on all ships/sailings. Activities for youth and families will be provided onboard including movie nights, game shows, and other activities. There will not be a drop-off service and parents must attend the session with their children. Times and locations will be noted in the Freestyle Daily and on the NCL app when you board the ship.
 
MSC
Our Kids Club and family activities will welcome kids and parents in a healthy and safe environment while ensuring a fun and enjoyable experience.
New measures include reduced capacity, a streamlined registration process, contactless temperature check and hand sanitization upon entry. We're adding new exciting activities and family game shows that will be available for booking up to one day in advance. Toys and water will be provided by our staff, while personal belongings are not permitted as an additional safety measure.

Boarding Mariner yesterday we were treated to a SpaceX launch putting another 53 Starlink satellites into orbit.  The launch was at 10:20am just 10 minutes before my assigned check in time so I watched the launch from the terminal 5 parking garage in Port Canaveral.




Today I was walking around Mariner and visited the deck 13 mini golf area.  I noticed there are now a set of four poles outside the glass in an area close to where the Starlink antennas were placed on Freedom for the Starlink test on that ship.






I don't know for certain these will be used for Starlink antennas but there is that potential.  Only time will tell what these will be used for.

Hardware is of little concern on the scale of a cruise ship - this is the company that just spend 1.2 Billion on their latest ship. Starlink likely will have cheaper ongoing costs, and without doubt would have a lower cost-per-usage considering the incredible (relative) download speeds Starlink is capable of. I would like to think the price would come down, but even if not, the value for money would be unparalleled by other cruise lines.

Hardware is of little concern on the scale of a cruise ship - this is the company that just spend 1.2 Billion on their latest ship. Starlink likely will have cheaper ongoing costs, and without doubt would have a lower cost-per-usage considering the incredible (relative) download speeds Starlink is capable of. I would like to think the price would come down, but even if not, the value for money would be unparalleled by other cruise lines.

That ball or whatever it is ,is big.
 

 

If the gap is the same width, then the ship is definitely larger, although I wouldn't have expected royal to expand the ship in width, considering this is one of the more limiting factors in ports-of-call, etc.

How is this possible? Icon is being constructed in a dry dock. 

I know everyone is keen to get back to Vanuatu but I think their government needs to be conservative in their decision making. It is important to remember they don't have the health infrastructure of NZ, Aust, US or for that matter New Caledonia. The number of hospital beds and ventilators per head of populations is well under the countries most of us call home.
Also unfortunately adding to this as a population they are also over represented in conditions that increase the risk of serious COVID outcomes (such as Diabetes etc). 
On the other hand a great deal of the countries income is from tourism so opening up is important.
Yes, can’t wait to get back there…. But I absolutely wouldn’t want to do so if I knew I was putting the people of Vanuatu at undue risk. I am happy to let Vanuatu make their own decision on when they want to open up and respect the fact they are being cautious. When they do I hope Australia and New Zealand continue to support them as far as ensuring they have access to any medical facilities they may require as they open up and that the cruise lines act responsibility and take into consideration the nature of the countries infrastructure itself when deciding to dock in a given day our not (Which I think they will be especially RCL which has long term agreements in place with Vanuatu). I actually wouldn’t be upset if you had do a rapid test before being allowed off the ship in port. Given most itineraries see a 2 or 3 day sail before you land it gives time for your viral load to be high enough to test positive. It might be a nice compromise between having the ships return and keeping the population as safe as possible (Never will 100% but anything we can do to reduce pressure on their health system the better).

The very first concept drawings of Silja Serenade (a.k.a Grandmother of the Seas - mother to Voyger/Freedom class and grandmother to the Oasis class 😜) from the 1980ˋs had a mysterious ball above the promenade.

The myterious ball was not on the final thing so bumer, no clue what it was suposed to be 😅. It still looks familiar, doesn’t it!
Source & an interesting read for ship nerds: https://valkeatlaivat-blogspot-com.translate.goog/2018/11/silja-serende-special-laivan-tulevaisuus.html?_x_tr_sl=fi&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=fi&_x_tr_pto=wapp
 
 

Well, after a little bit of digging, I have something to add to this... 
Royal Caribbean have filed a trademark for the phrase AquaDome. It's there as both "cruise ship services" and "restaurant and bar services". It's not necessarily in reference to this creation... but if it is, what do we think it is? The trademark was filed back in January, but I haven't seen anything about it since.

 
Other trademarks of interest are "Zone Zero" and "Absolute Zero" - Personally am hoping it's an ice bar! 😂

This is pure speculation, but I found this after poking around and I think I'm on to something.  The posts are from the Hemiva Oy Facebook page.
"Hemiva Installation Oy specializes in the manufacture and installation of high quality marine interiors. The company’s primary function is the manufacture of world-class suites for luxury cruise liners."
For reference, they built the royal lofts, crown lofts, owners, and aquatheater suites for Oasis and Allure when they were put together at the Meyer Turku shipyard.  They also built suites for several other Royal Caribbean ships.
Here's a post from them back in November.  It sounds to me a lot like a royal/royal loft suite. Large bathroom, walk-in closets, balcony with a jacuzzi, and, a large clue, a grand piano.  257 square meters is 2766 square feet.  To put that in perspective, the Royal Loft Suite on Wonder of the Seas is 1524 square feet, only slightly over half the size. 
The only bigger suite at sea for cruise liners that I found would be the Regent Suite (~3000 square feet).
Even if this isn't for Icon, it will be interesting to see what it looks like when it's finished.  Also, what does maid's cabin mean!?

Hemiva Oy also confirmed involvement in Icon with their latest Facebook post.

 
Here's the full size photo of the construction.

 

Maybe if they put bionic bar inside North Star in might be as interesting as rising tide.

I heard one of the evolutionary changes was figuring out an algorithm that made the elevators actually work correctly.

Well, after a little bit of digging, I have something to add to this... 
Royal Caribbean have filed a trademark for the phrase AquaDome. It's there as both "cruise ship services" and "restaurant and bar services". It's not necessarily in reference to this creation... but if it is, what do we think it is? The trademark was filed back in January, but I haven't seen anything about it since.

 
Other trademarks of interest are "Zone Zero" and "Absolute Zero" - Personally am hoping it's an ice bar! 😂

Oops, of course it is! Big mistake on my part - got too caught up in the excitement of new information... The suspense is killing me! 😂 

Well, after a little bit of digging, I have something to add to this... 
Royal Caribbean have filed a trademark for the phrase AquaDome. It's there as both "cruise ship services" and "restaurant and bar services". It's not necessarily in reference to this creation... but if it is, what do we think it is? The trademark was filed back in January, but I haven't seen anything about it since.

 
Other trademarks of interest are "Zone Zero" and "Absolute Zero" - Personally am hoping it's an ice bar! 😂

Great to see!
RIP all the threads asking if ____ of the Seas will get app support.

With the addition of Radiance OTS today, all ships are now on the app, completing the company's transition to a digital cruise experience. 

With the addition of Radiance OTS today, all ships are now on the app, completing the company's transition to a digital cruise experience. 

With the addition of Radiance OTS today, all ships are now on the app, completing the company's transition to a digital cruise experience. 

With the addition of Radiance OTS today, all ships are now on the app, completing the company's transition to a digital cruise experience. 

With the addition of Radiance OTS today, all ships are now on the app, completing the company's transition to a digital cruise experience.