whoa

Came back from my 7 day oasis cruise. Aqua 80 was great, highly energetic and entertaining. Frozen in time was meh. Terrible and disjointed story line using Hans Christian Anderson as the backdrop. As for Cats, I understand now why this show was so maligned over the decades- major snoozefest. What were they thinking??? Credit to all the wonderful and talented performers who had to work with such material and poor decision making.

Eat to my heart's desire. My favorite thing on any cruise ship. 

Eat to my heart's desire. My favorite thing on any cruise ship. 

My wife and I do the one login for two devices. 
 
She stays logged on her phone the whole cruise and I swap between my phone and iPad. 
 
In order to not risk kicking her offline, I log out of my current device before I log in to the other one.   I’ve never kicked her off by doing this. 

The first gives you two separate log ins. No one can be kicked off of their (one device at a time) that they are logged into.
The second gives you one log in that can be used on two different devices and a device could be kicked off. If the two people each only have one device, there shouldn't be a problem. If there is a third device (maybe one person has a phone AND a tablet), it could kick off one of the users on one of the connected devices.
For example, my family of four got the one log in, two devices package. My husband needs one for work and the kids and I will share the other. If both of my kids try to log on at the same time, my husband will get kicked off. We were willing to trust the kids and work out a schedule to save $10-15/day. Some people don't want to deal with the hassle and pay more to each have their own log in.

Kudos to RC for implementing such a thorough evacuation protocol, from sealing her luggage to isolating the exit areas. The staff was totally professional throughout. I am impressed. Just WOW!!!

Kudos to RC for implementing such a thorough evacuation protocol, from sealing her luggage to isolating the exit areas. The staff was totally professional throughout. I am impressed. Just WOW!!!

Please let's keep politics and non-related cruise discussions out of this. This tends to open doors to different opinions and that's how disagreements start.

Here’s another installment from a passenger on TUI regarding the buffet:
Hi again!??‍♀️
One question about our recent cruise onboard TUI Cruises - Mein Schiff 6 came up quite often: Is the buffet restaurant open and how is it handled?
Therefore I made a video to show you the Health and Safety Measures:
Before entering the buffet restaurant, which is called Anckelmannsplatz onboard TUI Cruises, you have to wash your hands. Afterwards you need to sanitize your hands. You have to wear a proper mouth and nose mask. Staff is overwatching it. After you‘re finished with washing and sanitizing your hands, a crew member will show you to a table (you can request a special table - for example by the window). You will be seated at a table with silverware, which is sealed in an envelope. The crew member will ask for your stateroom number and type it in his tablet-PC. So the cruiseline knows, where you were seated and who could be a contact person in case of an outbreak of COVID-19 onboard. Tables without placed silverware on top are „closed“ - they have a sign on it. 
At the buffet counters you will find markings on the floor, which show you, how near you are allowed to stand in front of the counters. If there are other people waiting, you’ll have to wait with a social distance next to them. At the buffet counters crew members will serve your food. You just tell them what kind of dish and how much you would like to have. At each counter you‘ll receive a new plate- crew won’t put the food on the plate you‘ve already had in your hands. So you‘ll end up with many plates, if you want different kinds of food.
Drinks are served by the crew at the fountain station. You just let them know what kind of drink you‘d like and they will place the glass on a table. If you want a refill, you‘ll receive a new glass! As soon as you will sit down at your table you can take off your mask.
I personally hope that this measures will stay post COVID-19. I always avoided the Windjammer, due to many people not washing their hands and touching things. Also it will help to decrease food wasting!
I am aware that there are a few more questions, which I will happily answer tomorrow.
video here: 
 

Lifted and Shifted:
From: Harmony of the Seas (November 1, 2020)
To: Harmony of the Seas (November 14, 2021)

Lifted and Shifted:
From: Harmony of the Seas (November 1, 2020)
To: Harmony of the Seas (November 14, 2021)

Lifted and Shifted:
From: Harmony of the Seas (November 1, 2020)
To: Harmony of the Seas (November 14, 2021)

Lifted and Shifted:
From: Harmony of the Seas (November 1, 2020)
To: Harmony of the Seas (November 14, 2021)

Lifted and Shifted:
From: Harmony of the Seas (November 1, 2020)
To: Harmony of the Seas (November 14, 2021)

Cattle prods (maybe)?

I booked a cruise on the Harmony for November 1st through my TA on December 2019 for 2 central park balcony staterooms. Cost was $4900 Cdn, a good deal. I priced out similar rooms just now and the price jumped to a whopping $8900 Can. Probably a function of reduced capacity and increased labor and protocols.
If this is going to be the new normal going forward, I will hold off doing any cruises until prices stabilize, if ever.

We're set to sail on Harmony, November 1st. I have a sense that RCL wants to use that date going forward as an experiment and phase-in period with reduced passenger capacity as well as an opportunity to institute new health protocols.
The idea of possibly cruising again is exciting and yet scary at the same time given that we would be their "guinea pigs".

I would love to see a separate "international" section in the menu which changes each night, highlighting a couple of dishes, to celebrate and recognize the many cultures that work tirelessly on the ship.

Appears to be first come first serve. We're central park balcony and our check-in is for 2:30.

You know what they say, what's old is new again. Some of the best new ideas are just recycled old ideas.

I would love to see a separate "international" section in the menu which changes each night, highlighting a couple of dishes, to celebrate and recognize the many cultures that work tirelessly on the ship.

I would love to see a separate "international" section in the menu which changes each night, highlighting a couple of dishes, to celebrate and recognize the many cultures that work tirelessly on the ship.

Congrats to MSC! Protocols are working as planned.

Congrats to MSC! Protocols are working as planned.

Congrats to MSC! Protocols are working as planned.