JimnKathy

This whole case makes me wonder if the grandfather was under the influence of prescription drugs combined with some onboard cocktails. It is just a terribly sad tragedy for the whole family.

Excellent points. I'd also add that wearing a mask for me isn't all bad, either. It helps to hide my little double-chin and lets me grimace at folks who try to do me wrong in public spaces. ?

12 per stateroom.

That's one of those questions to get the correct answer prior to arriving at embarkation. I would expect that a regular mask is the way to go just to avoid any needless challenges...I call it "playing the COVID game".

Good advice. Even for those of us who don't do the beverage package, we'll just ask the bartender to hand us a few bottles of water after signing our tab...haven't been charged yet and end up having plenty of free water to drink without a hitch. Of course, you can also bring up to 12 bottles with you on board as well.

Terrific tool...a permanent addition to my travel folder.

My suggestion is to get a massage a day or two prior to sailing in your hometown...it's a better value AND will really get you in the mood to relax and enjoy your cruise! ?

Wow, we'll miss ya'll by a week...sailing the 18th and 25th. Happy sailing to us! ?

Same here. We've taken short road trips, flown to visit grandchildren and a staycation or two...we're ready for our September B2B on Symphony. ?️

After booking cruises, just do what many of us do and keep your cruise planner purchases updated in a simple spreadsheet and price-check your purchases every week or so to see if you can capture any price drops...I always just chuckle at the 40% off sales banner specials. ?

If I didn't have the Costco branded VISA card, I'd definitely carry a RCL cc in my back pocket. ?

FYI, Costco's branded VISA card pays 3% for any and all travel and restaurant purchases, 4% on gas, 2% at Costco and 1% on anything else. It has no annual fee for Costco members.

So true. ? We also had that crispy chicken sandwich stuffed with fried mozzarella sticks per Matt's recommendation...totally delicious AND totally calorie-laden! ?

...and 12,000 people fall down stairs and die every year in the U.S. Perhaps we should outlaw multi-story houses while we're at it? ?

While I think RCL will continue to be a great cruising brand for many years to come, future earnings per share will be diluted by new stock issuance and a more than doubling of their overall debt levels (due to COVID). Bottom line is that the company management is in survival mode and is doing everything they can to keep things afloat (pun intended) while the world works on defeating this pandemic. Common shareholders just need to understand that it'll take the company many years to pay down their debt levels to make the stock an attractive investment.

I cut and pasted some RCL stock news posting earlier this morning that anyone who owns shares should be made aware. Like other cruise lines wading through this pandemic year, RCL has been issuing lots of new debt which places a pretty big drag on their balance sheet and income statement. Be careful out there when considering where to allocate your investment dollars. "Royal Caribbean Group's (RCL) credit rating is in danger of being downgraded deeper into junk territory by S&P Global Ratings, which citing expectations that the cruise operator's recovery will take longer than previously projected. The company's issuer credit rating of B+, which is four notches below investment grade territory, was put on CreditWatch with negative implications, as Royal's recently extended suspension of cruises through February is beyond S&P Global's assumptions, which was for operations to resume in a phased manner starting in the fourth quarter. "Accordingly, we expects Royal to burn more cash relative to our previous expectations and for leverage to remain very high in 2021," S&P Global said. The stock, which rose 1.5% in morning trading, has tumbled 37.9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 14.1%."

I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a thing similar to a "golden ticket" to ease one's way as we move about. I plan on getting a vaccination when it becomes available just to reduce the risk of getting COVID (I'm 59 in a few weeks). I also get a regular flu shot every year (going on three decades) and I rarely deal with getting sick for more than a day or two a year from anything other than a normal cold and/or allergy symptoms.

True dat! The smiling crew members will give me that "Durn dude, do you really need that 4th roll!?" look as I saunter away from the serving table. ?

Disappointing, yet not surprising. Knowing that vaccines are on the way and test cruises are beginning this past week, it really looks like sailing could begin late Spring or early Summer.

Coco Cay is an incredible place. As others have already noted, it's big enough and so well-designed that you never feel like you're on a crowded island, yet small enough that you can casually stroll wherever you want within a few minutes. The shuttles are plentiful, too. Simply an amazing amenity available for RC guests.

I actually like the fact that crew members will handle doling out food at the buffets. It'll eliminate hundreds of folks touching the same serving utensils and keep people from actually using their hands to pick up bread, fruit, etc. and then put it back on the buffet. This alone may help eliminate the risk of norovirus & covid spread, let alone all of the other lovely germs that that one can acquire on any common carrier.

We just booked Quantum for an Alaskan cruise for August 2022...we are pumped like nobody's business! It is exciting to see this test cruise happen...nothing like "breaking the ice" to get all of us back out sailing again! ?

We scored a $49 price ($10 better than the previous sale price from several months ago) on the Coco Beach Club experience for the first half of our B2B Symphony sailing out 9/18. Interestingly enough, the price of 2nd leg Beach Club only went down to $89 (we had already picked up a good deal a few months prior at $79) after it had been priced at $169 for a good while. Other than saving $4 each on a wine/cheese package and a champagne/strawberries package, we didn't find any additional discounts applicable to our B2B.

I tend to agree. Once vaccines are rolled out to the mainstream folks (I read today on CNBC that frontline workers in law enforcement, healthcare, etc. could begin vaccinations within the next 2 months...an addition 3 or 4 months for everyone else), the outbreak risks would be negligible at that point. I'm guessing a June or July start date for cruises.

Yeah, because those Lava Flows are such low-cal beverage options! ?