luv2sail

I have noticed just what you are mentioning. A coworker just left on a cruise yesterday. Another coworker was whispering that going on a cruise is a big mistake. Every ship outbreak is splashed all over the media. Seriously, if I hear "floating petri dish" one more time. . . I am a first grade teacher. I have much less personal space in a given day than I ever do on a ship. My sweeties cough and sneeze on me all year long. We are packed in the classroom, the cafeteria for lunch. At any given time, fifty percent of the school could be in the hall coming and going to PE/music/art, lunch, or recess. We are clearly not transporting viruses from one part of the world or country to another within the day. But we have 1200+ people in one small building. What about theme parks? I loooove Disneyworld. However, the famous, "fill in all available space" phrase they use just makes me crazy. The lines, the rope drop crowds, the crowded restaurants - personal space is very limited. When I think about hotel rooms, I get a little worried. Just rinsing the glasses and coffee makers and so forth and so on. Surely, viruses are spread in hotels and without a huge spotlight shining on them. Sorry about the rant. With two trips planned and prepaid, I am on edge.

True Our San Juan stop was cancelled last July on our Harmony cruise due to the riots. We were sad, but glad to be safe.

We got to Port Canaveral early (maybe 9:30/10:00ish) and made a bee line to Guest Services as soon as we boarded Harmony to get cards for both rooms. There was no line and no problem.

Ok, thanks! This makes sense.

Yes, I have all my shows booked. It opened maybe two/three weeks ago. I was surprised - but happy. The app is also already showing all of my reservations and everything that I have booked. We are sailing on Symphony. All of this is sooner (as far as I can recall) than my Harmony cruise last summer.

This is a concern of mine. We leave on May 30th. I am not sure about the typical ocean conditions during that time of year. But I read to book the reservation for Hiro on the first night so you would have another chance to see it if it is cancelled. That is what I did and now I am wondering if that is a mistake. If it is cancelled, then that many more people will be in the standy by for Hairspray. Not to mention, if you don't have a reservation for the future Hiro show, you would have to be in standby for that show as well. I wonder if I should change my reservations????

Ohhhh! I am happy that I checked out the Live Blog forum tonight! So glad I found your blog! We will be at our Symphony 90 day mark the day after you return to Miami. Thanks for helping me with the "pre-cruise excitement - everything is planned - what do I do NOW waiting game."

We paid $119 on Liberty. I watched, but the price never went down. It was pretty expensive IMHO. The cruise planner said that you had to wear long pants. Of course, I forgot to bring a pair (we were cruising in June). So, I bought a pair of sweat pants for the tour. I was a little irritated because someone was allowed to wear shorts on the tour. It worked out because I had the pants for ice skating, too. We didn't see the laundry room. But we did see almost everything else others mentioned. We also spent a long time in one of the kitchens. Everyone we encountered on the tour was very kind and welcoming. In addition to the lanyard, we received a luggage tag and a rope with knot tying instructions. I am glad we did it once. I wanted to keep my teens busy during our two consecutive sea days. For us, it was worth the price. We visited three ports. We had a snorkeling excursion in Cozumel, a Stingray City/Turtle Farm excursion in Cayman, and a cheap Red Stripe beach excursion in Jamaica. Since the beach excursion was relatively inexpensive, I justified the cost of the tour. If you are visiting familiar ports, you may want to skip an excursion and do the ship tour instead. I am able to entertain myself just walking around most port areas. But if the ports are new, you may just want to save the ship tour for another time. YMMV

I like it much better on the upper deck. I like to choose a chair on the railing side of the track and turn my chair around to enjoy the sea.

Thanks! I updated my app and my Symphony sailing showed the info.

My Symphony May 30 goes to both. I booked a bungalow in Labadee and the Beach Club pass in Coco Cay. Can't wait!!

100 days for us! We get to kick and wave tomorrow!

When I took my first cruise many years ago, we booked an inside cabin. Everyone told us that we would be given an upgrade. Well, that didn't happen. We boarded the ship, stepped in the cabin, stepped back out, got off the ship, and went back to the check in counter at the dock. Then, we paid to upgrade and got back on the ship and found our new cabin. That sure wouldn't happen today!

One balcony cruise for me. I would feel trapped like a rat in an inside. I spend plenty of time on my balcony and love it. It is so peaceful listening to the ocean as we sail.

I have totally changed my thinking on this question lately. If you were on an excursion, say a snorkeling trip, would you put it in a water proof container/pouch and swim with it?