dr martini

I'll never run myself ragged trying to do everything.. From now on im just going to relax.. 

I can’t find a single redeeming thing about Nassau. I find it to be a garbage dump personally w/ pushy locals and not much to see or do (safely). For us, Nassau, Falmouth & Honduras are days to enjoy an empty ship. 

1. Sail out of Baltimore in January. Rough seas in the western Atlantic that time of year and too cool for the first two days. (Unfortunately, It only got up to 70 & cloudy in Nassau)
2. If Possible, not go to Nassau again. (just stay on board if we do end up there)
3. Dragon's Breath Flight Line in Ladadee. Too much money for a SHORT experience.
4. Never done this, but, be a volunteer for The Quest. ? 

Not get a booze package.. lol

The news always takes the "doom and gloom" approach because it garners way more ratings than "things will be fine".  
They always latch onto the worst case scenario discussions because it gets them clicks/views.

Where's the block user button? ? 

Great topic for times like these!  I'm a proud German/Irish catholic, I've always gotten DBP and hey, I'm not driving the ship.
Day 1-3ish are a lot boozier than days after but here we go-
8-9AM -order a few orange juices with the bagels/danishes and coffee room service.  Mix the champagne I brought onboard (as my two bottles of wine) with the OJ and enjoy on the balcony
10-11am- Bloody mary from pool bar or the new bar by the windjammer (great addition)
Noon-3p Sea day couple beers by the pool, maybe a fun cocktail like mai tai or mojito, if on diving/snorkeling excursion most of them provide a local beer like Carib or good old cheap and easy rum punch
Then either back to the room and nap or in a good shady deck chair spot, then get ready for dinner.  
5-6pm - After cleaning up for dinner grab a bourbon old fashioned or some other classy cocktail at Schooner or somewhere else on the lower decks/around promenade type area
Red wine with dinner, Regular coffee with dessert, after dinner Jameson/ginger or another mojito somewhere with live music.  
Later in the cruise....it's just the beers around the pool in the afternoon and maybe the wine with dinner or the cleaned up cocktail.  The speed and quantity of consumption definitely taper off as the week goes on.  Man I miss cruising.
 
 

Great topic for times like these!  I'm a proud German/Irish catholic, I've always gotten DBP and hey, I'm not driving the ship.
Day 1-3ish are a lot boozier than days after but here we go-
8-9AM -order a few orange juices with the bagels/danishes and coffee room service.  Mix the champagne I brought onboard (as my two bottles of wine) with the OJ and enjoy on the balcony
10-11am- Bloody mary from pool bar or the new bar by the windjammer (great addition)
Noon-3p Sea day couple beers by the pool, maybe a fun cocktail like mai tai or mojito, if on diving/snorkeling excursion most of them provide a local beer like Carib or good old cheap and easy rum punch
Then either back to the room and nap or in a good shady deck chair spot, then get ready for dinner.  
5-6pm - After cleaning up for dinner grab a bourbon old fashioned or some other classy cocktail at Schooner or somewhere else on the lower decks/around promenade type area
Red wine with dinner, Regular coffee with dessert, after dinner Jameson/ginger or another mojito somewhere with live music.  
Later in the cruise....it's just the beers around the pool in the afternoon and maybe the wine with dinner or the cleaned up cocktail.  The speed and quantity of consumption definitely taper off as the week goes on.  Man I miss cruising.
 
 

Oasis class is in a league of their own so nothing compares to it on any cruise line.  
Having said you'll find the roots of Oasis class on Voyager class.  Staple features like The Promenade and Studio B Ice Skating all originated on Voyager class.  A single flowrider instead of two but the Viking Crown Lounge is open to everyone unless there is a wedding or private event.  The helipad is open to the public.  Even the concept of a car in the Promenade of a cruise ship started with Voyager class.
I love all classes and can find something to love about all cruise ships.  I like the diversity that Royal offers across the fleet.  For me Voyager class is a sweet spot for a large ship (larger than anything in the Carnival whale tail fleet up to this point) but not so big either.  Once the largest cruise ships in the world there is a lot to like about Voyager class and Mariner has a Bamboo Room that you won't find on any Oasis class ship.  

YEP!!!  Life is too short. Can't live in fear. Just follow the protocols and you will be fine.

What gets me are the people who think Key West is some sleepy little town that without cruise ships will go back to being Hemingway-esque.
You have an international airport, spring breakers up the wazoo, and enough tourists from the Southeast US to make it one of the top tourist destinations in the USA. 
Every city has its set of problems, cruise ships were not one of them for Key West.

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Very cool - didn't know that was even an option.   Many thanks!
 

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

Really a bummer, but at the same time that island can be really packed (like Saint Thomas, Nassau, others).  It's certainly a debatable, subjective opinion and everyone has different preferences.... I agree with the unfortunate sentiment that the real winners are the lawyers (as with a lot of things). 
 
I would add that there's another sea faring option and that is to take the Key west Express, a couple hundred passenger catamaran ferry that goes from southwest florida.  I am not an employee or anything, I'm not getting paid haha but I can say that I have taken it several times and will again.  It's a fun two or three hour trip and you can go down and back in a day or across multiple days.  The Catamaran itself is newer, clean and has a great three deck setup with food court, bar, different seating layouts....it's a great option if you're like me and the many other midwesterners who are in Fort Myers/Sarasota/Naples FL often.  If you look at a map, the way the keys curl back to the southwest, it's actually a pretty straight shot as the bird flies.  https://www.keywestexpress.net/

You can fly into Key West.

The other curious ballot item gives preference and docking priority to cruise lines that have the best health and environmental records.
How will this be implemented?  Who will create the scorecard for all passenger ships worldwide? 
CDC's VSP doesn't rate ships on a comparative basis.  They simply provide results.  Many ships spend time overseas.  They are only subject to VSP exams once they come to America.  They will naturally have fewer violations because they have fewer VSP exams.  Few countries around the world have a dashboard for environmental violations. 
Will the City of KW now have to hire and build a team to create a dashboard to rate environmental and health metrics for cruise ships?  That sounds like a pretty significant effort.  
The real winners here will be the lawyers who litigate this.  

Navigator four night in February earlier this year, just before everything started going haywire!  Booked a GTY balcony with DX bev on a whim and stayed on the SW side of Florida with some family for a couple nights on either side of the trip, was a very easy drive over to Miami.  As many others have mentioned, so impressed with the brand new upgrades on Navigator and at CocoCay - it was all just so great, especially enjoyed the escape room (set the best time on our cruise but who knows, maybe they say that to everybody) and the schooner bar, best memory probably the last sea day where patience paid off in getting a casita on the upper deck hanging there most of the afternoon and then won big in the casino that night.  Just perfect.  Reaffirmed my love for the voyager class, for me and what I like to do it's just the right size of ship, hope to try Freedom or Indy someday soon as well.....

Navigator four night in February earlier this year, just before everything started going haywire!  Booked a GTY balcony with DX bev on a whim and stayed on the SW side of Florida with some family for a couple nights on either side of the trip, was a very easy drive over to Miami.  As many others have mentioned, so impressed with the brand new upgrades on Navigator and at CocoCay - it was all just so great, especially enjoyed the escape room (set the best time on our cruise but who knows, maybe they say that to everybody) and the schooner bar, best memory probably the last sea day where patience paid off in getting a casita on the upper deck hanging there most of the afternoon and then won big in the casino that night.  Just perfect.  Reaffirmed my love for the voyager class, for me and what I like to do it's just the right size of ship, hope to try Freedom or Indy someday soon as well.....

Navigator four night in February earlier this year, just before everything started going haywire!  Booked a GTY balcony with DX bev on a whim and stayed on the SW side of Florida with some family for a couple nights on either side of the trip, was a very easy drive over to Miami.  As many others have mentioned, so impressed with the brand new upgrades on Navigator and at CocoCay - it was all just so great, especially enjoyed the escape room (set the best time on our cruise but who knows, maybe they say that to everybody) and the schooner bar, best memory probably the last sea day where patience paid off in getting a casita on the upper deck hanging there most of the afternoon and then won big in the casino that night.  Just perfect.  Reaffirmed my love for the voyager class, for me and what I like to do it's just the right size of ship, hope to try Freedom or Indy someday soon as well.....

Navigator four night in February earlier this year, just before everything started going haywire!  Booked a GTY balcony with DX bev on a whim and stayed on the SW side of Florida with some family for a couple nights on either side of the trip, was a very easy drive over to Miami.  As many others have mentioned, so impressed with the brand new upgrades on Navigator and at CocoCay - it was all just so great, especially enjoyed the escape room (set the best time on our cruise but who knows, maybe they say that to everybody) and the schooner bar, best memory probably the last sea day where patience paid off in getting a casita on the upper deck hanging there most of the afternoon and then won big in the casino that night.  Just perfect.  Reaffirmed my love for the voyager class, for me and what I like to do it's just the right size of ship, hope to try Freedom or Indy someday soon as well.....