WAAAYTOOO

I find all three to be poor arguments (from NCL's side).
 
Laws every day prevent "free speech" by individuals and corporations. And I'm not sure how the 14th amendment is in place since there's no federal law that the FL state law is conflicting.

Gentle reminder about what “freedom of speech” actually covers:
https://xkcd.com/1357/
 
NCL saying their first amendment rights were violated is complete and utter BS. Sounds like their lawyers need to go back to third-grade Social Studies and pass the class this time.

On adventure 6/26 it was still annoyingly smoky. Part of that seemed to be the same guy in there smoking all the time, and he always seemed to be at the same blackjack table I was heading too. 

Hi all, thanks again for your guidance, I'm happy to report that I've received my cruise planner refunds

Want to say the voucher in the lounge idea has been a swirling rumor since 2016. I recall on Allure when they were scanning everyone's card in the Diamond Club when getting a beverage. Plus the "use anywhere during happy hour" vouchers had rolled out.

 
Part that took me for a surprise with the new voucher program was getting rid of the limited selection menu. Being free to select what you want is a huge upgrade in benefit.

In theory the double points offer is simply offsetting the 15 months during which zero points were earned by anyone. So it's not like the total points distributed from March 2020 through December 2022 would be much different between what it would have been had sailing never paused and what it will be if sailing continues opening up as planned going forward.
In fact, considering the removal of a few ships from service, it's likely the maximum number of points that could be earned with the current fleet under double points is less than could have been earned pre-COVID-pause.
Certainly, some people are taking full advantage of this double points offer. But there really are just a limited number of cabins to be sold.

I expect the new Diamond Drink offers will become permanent. It takes a significant load off staffing for the Happy Hour period in the Diamond Lounge and overflow areas, spreading the demand out ship-wide throughout the entire day. It likely makes for a happier diamond and above passenger, overall. A handful of people might have gotten more alcoholic beverages the old way, but it's unlikely to really be a large number of people who will be upset with the change. And I suspect many more people will like the change overall.

I'm pretty sure somewhere in the past I posted a desire for Royal to make the drink "coupons" work for any drink, any time.   That was long before the notion of a pandemic entered the picture.  
Not only did Royal do just that but they granted more drink coupons for those that have climbed higher.  Then they made them work at the private destinations.

I'm very happy with this change.  
Losing some lounge access is a bummer but there was writing on the wall that was a possibility.  Some people can smell it's going to rain.  This is a change I could smell coming.
Everyone places different value on different components or benefits of any loyalty program.  For me Crown and Anchor is still the best in the industry and a reason to keep coming back.
Thank you Royal.
 

The hazmat suits are utter theater.

I believe I’ve read elsewhere that she has since tested negative after returning home.  Why didn’t Royal do a second test to confirm the first positive?  Seems like a logical step to take given that these tests do have a history of false positives.

Our experience in Adventure was about 15 minutes. Was barely long enough to finish our checkin (partial check-in as you’re really not all the way checked in till the test comes back.) We only sat in the waiting pen for about five minutes. 

We got our Genie questionnaire yesterday (Symphony, 43 days out).  That's the good news.  The bad news is, we cancelled the cruise, yesterday.  ?

Haha thanks for reading! Yeah I wonder if I'll still micromanage or if I'll finally be able to let loose (I doubt though, the planner in me is itching to give our genie a plan but I need to resist)
Right now...I've just finished planning my reply for the questionnaire ? yes I have taken down notes of everyone's answers and am about to send them through..

In other words doing nothing. No change from 6 months ago.

Thankfully for the first time since early June, it didn’t rain in NE Florida! 

I am genuinely interested in helping the cruise lines succeed.  Even to the point I would wear a mask on a test cruise. 
It's only 2 days (most of them in FL anyways) and it's not a cruise I'm paying for.  I don't want to wear a mask on a cruise vacation I'm paying for that is 5 or more days, I've already posted to that effect.  For a short test cruise that helps the industry?  I'll gladly mask up and do my part.   
There is also a part of me that believes the CDC introduced test cruises to create a roadblock that cruise lines would have a hard time overcoming.  It would be incredibly satisfying knowing I helped the cruise lines get past the CDC malarkey.  

A month ago, they were threatening to leave FL:
https://patch.com/florida/miami/cruise-line-threatens-skip-fl-ports-over-vaccine-passport-ban
That threat didn’t generate the change they desired.  They really don’t have any other option but to sue if they want to restrict to only vaccinated passengers. ??‍♀️
I guess this will drag thru the courts, like the State of FL vs CDC.  Am I the only one who thinks by the time these are finally resolved, it won’t matter anymore? 

The Ultimate Dining Plan using the ala carte pricing with the $35/person per visit method with Izumi sushi.   

I have done the small, medium and large, and even though there was something to enjoy on all of them, I really enjoy the bells & whistles of the Oasis class.  I love that there is so much to do and see on the larger ships.

YUCK ????? lol ….. I hate Pepsi ??? ….. Coke Zero Rules! ???
 

Does it matter what kind of PCR test? Minnesota offers saliva PCR tests.

RCL 'email' only says it has to be a PCR test.  Nothing more specific.

Corduroy pillows are making headlines! 

Thank you, Matt.  So glad cruising is back.  I missed it.  Maybe they will add Coco Cay instead of Grand Cayman.  Not a bad substitution!

I'm actually very shocked they're doing this, especially since after next week they won't even need to do test cruises.

Looks like Indy is moving to Port Canaveral for Nov 1 sailing and Adventure moves to Galveston for Oct 29. Musical chairs for sure.