LizzyBee23

I think another important consideration is that the increase in capacity which we've seen over our past three cruises since January is occurring with vaccine mandates and testing in place.  RCCL could risk a decrease in demand should these protocols be done away with as many people are choosing to cruise because these protocols are in place.  

I'll not get political in this venue.  But, I will say that one reason why I retired from the Army when I did is because I could see the direction the Military (DOD) was going.  Nuff said!

I'm not DoD but kind of DoD adjacent, and the hoops you have to jump through to get a CaC as a civil servant or contractor right now would absolutely boggle your mind (entirely due to staffing at OneStop). New employees, or those who had the misfortune of losing their ID, can easily go weeks without having one right now. Their only task is to get to OneStop at 7a, and hope there are enough spaces left after those in uniform get their appointments assigned.

It's amazing, back when I was in the Army, I could walk into the Personnel Office, without an appointment, and get a new military ID.  So could the rest of my family.  We didn't/don't pay any taxes directly to the U.S. Army for any personal services.  We all pay a lot of taxes to our Cities, Counties, and States for personal services.  But, I'll be damned, all we get is you have to jump through hoops, dot Is, cross Ts, hand over your first born, whatever.  

Okay, I see that now.  I was just looking at her OP.  I'm also rushing trying to help.  I can only imagine what she's going through.

Depending on where you live and when you are cruising - same or next day in-person passport service may also be an option.  See https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html and yes, cruise qualifies for international travel definition (did this for daughter back in September as her passport was expired, though being 7, she didn't strictly need the passport).

Hello all,
We are so excited for our first ever Alaska cruise in 44 days! We are arriving a day early and will be staying at the Marriott Waterfront hotel. My wife and I love seafood and was wondering what places are recommended for good seafood (especially King Crab) that may be close to where we are staying? This will be our first time there and would love to try some good food while there. Also, is there any "must see" while we are there? We arrive around 10:30 and I figure by the time we get to our hotel, not sure how much actual time we'll have, but would like to try and make the most of it!
 
Thanks all!!!

I think Jay may have meant to throw an "expired" in there somewhere

Does your DMV do the digital licenses now? That may be an option. Or some form of non-driver's license. Sometimes they're really wonky about what they can get for you same day.

Many is doing a lot of work in that sentence... Thankfully most schools have come to their senses.

Many is doing a lot of work in that sentence... Thankfully most schools have come to their senses.

Many is doing a lot of work in that sentence... Thankfully most schools have come to their senses.

Many is doing a lot of work in that sentence... Thankfully most schools have come to their senses.

Many is doing a lot of work in that sentence... Thankfully most schools have come to their senses.

Actually it's quite a small portion now.
 

 

Some protocols observations after coming off Liberty today.
 
Very little optional masking by passengers. Less than I expected. People were literally giddy to be on packed elevators again.
Ports of call all had mask requirements as did the tours. No one said a single word about it though.  
The crew can't wait to get rid of masking. At least they don't have to double mask anymore.
Adventure Ocean is back to 90% of normal (the 10% is not going back to the regular advertised theme nights more so than any protocol issues), despite kids still having to wear masks.

The issue I have with this is that when booking there is a message that says most cabins can accommodate up to 4 passengers. If this is the case, I do not understand the reason behind they increase of price for passengers 1 and 2

Crew no longer has to double mask in public or mask at all in crew areas.
 
I've seen a few outdoor crew not masking at all this week, too

Your message came off more caustic than kind and honest to me. This is a message board about cruising, not trying to convince people to make personal life choices. Let's keep it that way.

I am sure the option of getting vaccinated was probably already considered.  Don't you?

Shhh... You're about to make me go in for a 6th time on the idea that we may actually be at a turning point. Perhaps motivated by letting myself watch Wonder videos this afternoon.

But that's a very different argument with a very different solution than the justification for continued restrictions on board which just seems to scream "try harder". You're trying to appease an audience that cannot be sated, and destroying your actual customer base on the way. 
I'm too jaded/mentally exhausted to say "I think we may be at a turning point" for the 5th time in 2 years. With the cruise lines not making much of a fuss about the continued voluntary programs from the CDC, I really don't see an end in sight. Our last cruise (we finally went on one with our cruise crazy in laws, after delaying for most of last year) was enjoyable in the sense that Coco Cay is just awesome no matter what, and the meals in the MDR were just a blast thanks to the excellent, very kid-friendly service... but the rest of the cruise was just blah. The insanity around AO, and the limitations with scheduling shows with unvaccinated kids being huge reasons why. Thankfully there were Legos for sale in the gift shop and we had a balcony. Otherwise the time onboard would have been an absolute bust.
I mention all of that to illustrate that the way RCL (or any other cruise line) is operating is going to continue to cost them customers. You can point to transient booking numbers to say that's not the case, but we're second generation die hards and it will take a lot to get us back on a ship (unless coerced by grandma and grandpa, who for the first time ever, have stopped trying to get us on oard for our yearly get together in light of our recent experiences). I know we're not unique.

Sure, but this was pointing out the utter hypocrisy of achieving 95% vax rate by packing a ship full, and likely negating the marginal benefit of vaccines (not really a debate... Have a look at the latest data out of 4x jabbed Israel).
I understand this is a rah-rah cruising board, and try to remind myself of that every time a comment is deleted for being "off-topic" (though the best description would be COVID-mitigation-critical). But come on... The industry will not survive under the thumb of the CDC. It's not really the time to accept a "compromise" that so hobbles the industry (even though the reference to unmasked rugrats makes it pretty clear there is some motivated reasoning going on here).
So yes... The two things fit a reasonably sardonic definition of hilarious.

Backwards, but kind of points to the absurdity of it all at this stage... We all get to participate in our own little version of the Met fiasco with ship's crew.

I'm guilty of this one.  Sometimes it's the only way to get on at all !