joshgates

It's more of an issue if they get the channel. Cruise ships have international television feeds, which often means events and sports in the U.S. are unavailable due to blackout rules.
Certainly if they can get the channel with NASCAR on, they would be happy to change at least one of the TVs for you. But I think the coverage is the bigger issue than the bar.
One alternative is to stream the event on an iPad while you watch at the bar. If your cable provider allows you to do so (or you have some streaming package like MLB.TV), you can stream it (internet permitting) at Playmakers.

Yap , I will give it a try although almost forgotten how to write a cruise blog.
First why did I choose  this name ? I guess it's quite obvious no one really knows what will happen during this crazy times so it's hard to plan. What we are planning is to be as flexible as we can and have lots of plan B/C/D and even E if needed mainly to try and have fun with whatever will be. Regarding the name , I wanted to call it "cruise to the unknown" but that unfortunately already taken here (remember the days people were cruising and written blogs about it ?).
Why started now ? Two weeks looked like a good time to start and beside while writing this first post I am seating at one of my favorites beach near my home and what is better place to start writing a cruise blog if not here ?
What is the plan , in high level
1. Try avoiding cathing COVID-19 in the next few weeks . Take a c19 test 3 days before the cruise. 
2. Fly to Orlando (cheaper ticket than Miami)
3 Visit Universal park 
4 Drive to Miami and get on Symphony. Convincing the check in people to accept our vaccination paper (the vaccine card here is a pdf file which we need to print but it contains all the information RCL asking for) . Both of us already got the third  Pfizer booster shot this week so I hope no issues.
5. Do our first B2B , first time in grand suite.
6. Fly to the West coast to meet some family ( stopping in Vegas for few days)
7. Fly back home
More information to follow , for now going to seat back relax and enjoy the  breeze and sunset here
 


 

Can get the BinaxNOW from emed with overnight shipping.  Never hurts to have a few extras laying around just in case.

Just because you're clueless and/or inconsistent about one thing doesn't mean you're not an expert at others. ?

I know these are accepted with Royal for travel and you can buy a 6 pack for $150 +shipping through the website.  The State of Ohio actually offers these free of charge and can be picked up at most of our libraries.  I just went and got 3 to confirm they were the proctored version for our upcoming cruise next month.  I came home and used one to see how they worked and now we have the 2 for our travels next month.  So I would check with your state health departments and see if they offer rapid at home tests, I'm sure if Ohio is using eMed/Abbott then I am sure that many others are as well.
Hope this helps others.  We were just going to go the CVS route but this option is awesome and saves the $150 for the ship.

I agree on Beach Club - we had 2 days at Coco Cay and enjoyed the day we spent at the pool bar just as much.  I do think the Beach Club would be well worth it with full capacity at Coco Cay (at least at the $79.00 that we payed)

Come into Nassau a few days early instead of just the day before. I was able to wander around some butI wouldn't have minded a few extra days to actually plan something to do and experience the island while tourism is as low as it is.
More time on the pool deck, most of the time I avoid it because of how packed it is, and I kept that habit, only really spending the mornings out there.  
I wish I hadn't done the Beach Club at CocoCay both days, it was fantastic no doubt and the food was wonderful, but looking back I missed out not doing the waterpark or spending any time on the rest of the island.   
Taken more NUUN with me, there were a couple rough mornings.

Hi Everyone!  This is my first time doing anything like this, so I apologize in advance if it stinks  
We - me, DH, and our 2 sons (J 15 and M 13) - were originally planning on going to Disney the last week in August.  But with the spiraling case counts we have been getting nervous.  After much debate, we decided last night that we would cancel Disney (for the 3rd time due to COVID) and I started playing around on Royal’s website.  I found a 2 bedroom aquatheater suite for a good price and called to book it immediately.  The boys got over the Disney disappointment pretty fast when we told them about the cruise.
Joining us on this cruise will be my mom, Mary.  We’ll be leaving our house in New Hampshire on Saturday the 25th and spending the night at her house in Connecticut.  Google maps says it’s only about a 2 - 2.5 hour drive from there, so I think we’ll be fine driving down Sunday morning.  5 people and luggage in my Traverse may be a little squishy.  
This is our first cruise on RC.  We’ve cruised on Disney several times, but the last 2 trips have been “disappointing”.  We’re all looking forward to trying something new.  So far we’ve booked tickets to Thrill water park and a chill island beach bed.  I’d love to book a cabana as DH and mom aren’t water park people, but thrill water park, cocoa beach club, and chill island are already sold out.  The floating cabanas are $1700! and Oasis Lagoon seems like a crowded location.  Breezy Bay and South Beach aren’t listed. 
 
I look forward to bringing you all along and appreciate any advice you have. 

Cruising during this restart won't be for everyone.  That isn't meant to downplay your experiences, in fact quite the opposite.  Feedback like this is critical so others can determine if they are willing to accept the experience on board during the restart. 
I can tolerate it given the opportunity to sail but I completely respect anyone who doesn't like the sound of cruising right now.

That's not what I suggested. I said car manufacturers cant build vehicles that simply drive and "good luck" if they get into an accident. They added air bags, seat belts, crumple zones, and a host of other safety features.
Why? Because federal regulators (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) demanded it, and the public did too. They wanted safer cars that would protect people inside if there was an accident. People did not want to be in a "death trap" no more than being on a "floating petri dish".
By the same token, federal regulators (CDC) want cruise ships to be safer for anyone onboard. And there is a lot of demand from the public to have health protocols onboard.
We're well past the notion of shutting down the cruise industry, so now cruise ships are doing what's necessary to add health protocols onboard to protect their business.
This isn't about the shutdown last year, this is about what cruising is like going forward. And just like other industries, cruise lines have to adjust their protocols.

Like closing the barn door after most of the horses have already disappeared. But I still think it's a long-overdue and necessary step.

This is a classic case of ignorance, which is not an excuse.
Shame on media on reporting on this as if these people are some kind of martyrs. 

My issue with this, beside the obvious as stated in the comments above, is the news media practically salivating over these stories….’left to fend for themselves’…what, were they abandoned in a forest filled with wolves? …’trip of a lifetime’…isn’t that what they always say? …’fixed incomes. And they FRANKLY can’t afford to stay the night in Seattle and then fly home early to Illinois’ …what are they, penniless and laying in the gutter? …’They will work to be made whole by Royal Caribbean’…yeah, make sure you keep pushing the victimization narrative. It’s such a shame that agenda-driven so-called journalists can’t even google information and report the facts. Whatever happened to fair and balanced…or even just reasonable common sense? Nope. Gotta get eyeballs on the story.

Ovation was scheduled to leave from Seattle for over two years now.  I don't think they cancelled all cruises that were booked before the pandemic and created new cruises like they did for Serenade that was supposed to sail from Vancouver but moved to Seattle with ATRA.   
However I think most of us can read between the lines and know how this likely went down.  The dunce force is strong with some anti-vaxxers.  

Canada will never be the new Australia, water in Canada toilets will always swirl the opposite way. 
 
Coriolis effect > COVID effect 

@Snotarni and @joshgates  thanks for the input, we went ahead and booked it for our upcoming Adventure sailing as we both like sushi. I saw a Youtube video of the experience and it looked like a great meal.  

Fully agreed with @Snotarni, well well worth it, already booked it for my next cruise ?  
It is a lot of food since it's 5 courses, but it's mostly smaller portions.  Except the Teppan Beef Fried Rice, that was a huge bowel of it, but absolutely fantastic.  Favorite sake was the perfect snow but the she's a geisha cocktail was incredible.

Fully agreed with @Snotarni, well well worth it, already booked it for my next cruise ?  
It is a lot of food since it's 5 courses, but it's mostly smaller portions.  Except the Teppan Beef Fried Rice, that was a huge bowel of it, but absolutely fantastic.  Favorite sake was the perfect snow but the she's a geisha cocktail was incredible.

We did it on Adventure a couple weeks ago...  it was AWESOME!!  The food was great, the Saki was plentiful;  it was a nice way to get a delicious preview of Izumi options.  I believe it was 5 courses (last was dessert).

Plenty of laws were passed in the United States that later proved to be unconstitutional. That's why we have checks and balances to ensure no branch exerts too much power incorrectly.

Had some time to reflect on the cruise on a 16 hour travel day yesterday and wanted to put together a quick good / bad list.
On the good side:
Service was incredible across the board.  I don't think I met anyone that was just "nice".  No waits for anything, everyone remembered your name and often had your drink ready before you got there. Food was great, friend of mine ended booking too, so out of respect for her tastes did mostly Chops and Giovanni's for dinner but both places were better than I remembered. Ice show was amazing Lack of crowds was a unique experience.  Not sure I'll ever have a chance to be on a ship that empty again.  I was a little worried that being so empty it wouldn't really feel like a cruise, but most of the experience was still there...and in a lot of ways better. DBP was the right choice.  By a good margin.  My new loves are espresso martini's and "She's a Geisha". Sushi and Sake lunch.  I'd seen this as an option sometime last year and have been wanting to try it since then.  So worth it.  I was stuffed when I left but the food and the pairings were fantastic.  Well worth it if you like either. Coco Beach Club - Love it there, beautiful area, great food, fantastic staff.  Wouldn't mind trying a cabana at some point either, those looked fun. No chair hogs! Didn't matter when you went, you could get a seat pretty much anywhere anytime and enjoy. Not as good
UDP - So. Much. Food.  I prefer to eat smaller meals through the day when I'm actively doing anything.  Here they just insisted on bringing so much, even sending back plates half eaten it was a struggle.  Not to mention with only a few restaurants on board I was struggling to find anything that sounded good by the end of the week.  First world problems.  I don't think I'll do the UDP again unless it's on a ship with more choices or if I'm going to be dining by myself so I can just grab a roll or two at Izumi when I want. Not much in the way of activities.  Not really an issue since they're not a main focus for me, but it's nice to have the option. Not being able to sit at the bar in most bars was strange, while I'm glad they allowed it at the blue moon, I'm hopeful it'll come back to the others as well. Internet was a little iffy, I hope they upgrade it on the rest of the ships at some point too. Overall, I wish I'd gone in June so I could have justified a back to back, it was just a great time and an incredible/unique experience that I'd glad I got to do.  It was the perfect first cruise back for me, now I'll just be looking forward to the Grandeur in December.

You have no inherent right anywhere to board a privately owned cruise ship. Typically "discrimination" extends to religious and disability related reasoning. There's also the elements of employment law/equal opportunity law that defines discrimination in those settings involving things like race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Most of the states trying to make vaccination status some sort of protected class are going to face uphill battles because of the nature of a pandemic and the requirement of vaccination for health and safety reasons. But at best, you could see perhaps valid reasoning here for protection for access to essential services, like being able to go into a grocery store. But again, when there's a health safety concern it wouldn't be that unvaccinated couldn't enter; it would be that different precautions could apply to unvaccinated in order for them to enter. Anyway, then we get back to you not having an inherent right to board a privately owned cruise ship.

I think expecting a significant drop in price is unlikely. 

And it's gone...
 
The cruise was just officially canceled. So glad they waited 3 days after final payment was due to do it... ? This is the 3rd one canceled after final payment was due so not much of a surprise i guess.
I have to plan my time too much to keep this stuff up. Cruising just doesn't seem like a safe enough bet for my time until all this stuff is in the rear view. So i'll probably be taking a break from the boards again. I'll be back when there is more confidence in the industry!
 
Guess I'll focus on Land Cruising. (RVing has been my main covid vacationing) Mine is on the left.
 

I hope more ports will impose such vaccination requirements since the lines (and Florida) are unwilling.