Kata

Cousin got off of Anthem this past Sunday and said part way through the week crew put on n95 under their normal mask.  This is a step backwards for crew.  I was on the ship for 2 weeks prior to this cousin and the first week observed the “quarantine meals” for deck 3 going through the deck 3 dining room through the corridor door.  That same sailing numerous people reported testing positive post  cruise (no, I do not believe it was related)  .  My second week a lot of people reported testing positive post cruise.  My cousins cruise this past week, she reported 75 families quarantined onboard.  I’m not sure how accurate that number is.  Bottom line, I don’t see Royal  unmasking their crew anytime soon. That’s just my opinion though. 

Jetblue and Frontier have entered the chat, too

United initially said they weren't, but once TSA said they were no longer going to enforce it, United announced they're dropping theirs.
 
American Airlines just announced it too

Fly!  Be Free!

Southwest, Alaska, United and Delta have already dropped their mandates

TSA not enforcing travel mask mandate after judge strikes it down
04/18/22 6:32 PM ET
https://thehill.com/policy/transportation/3272328-tsa-not-enforcing-travel-mask-mandate-after-judge-strikes-it-down/
Well, for now, it's toast.  

Two year old vaccines mean nothing as far as ensuring a covid free ship.  The take at home proctored emed tests are pretty worthless as well.  Time to put it all to bed.  Get quadruple vaccinated and wear three masks around if it worries you.  Or do nothing.  Up to the individual.    

That's b/c everyone who is cruising now MUST be vaccinated.  Believe me, there are plenty of us who would cruise now if we could.

Great news !  We are booked on this cruise, too !!
The bad news is...we will have to cancel since they are still requiring vax and testing.
Too bad...I would have loved to meet you both.
Hopefully, soon !

I'm good if they don't extend final payment.  I just wish that they would release the Europe protocols for summer.  For our situation, our final for Anthem July 8th is due by the end of next week, but I have no idea what the protocols will be.  I would feel much better about final if they released that.

I think with cruising "officially" back, we will go back and keep the 90-day FPs.
I have Sept, Oct and Nov cruises and they start being due in June.

@jay1021 I agree with you. When we visited in November & December there were the weekend party hops ships at the island, wow! I was taken aback. There were chairs scattered availability. The lines for the slides were just under 60 minutes for each slide, kids only did 3 all day because the amount of people it felt like people soup. Passengers brought blue tooth speakers & loud music was on the beach, what ever style they likes clashed with the next group and the Oasis pool was just bodies. 
We were wearing vax bands at the time & you could see the 2 ships were represented everywhere, it was NOT an enjoyable outing. It was the first time we smelled marijuana on Coco Cay to that extent, for our family specifically it was outside our comfort zone. We figured make the best of it but it was a chore to do, just disappointing. We also understand everyone derives enjoyment in their own way, so we to are sad this Island may have turned a corner. Fingers crossed no, may have to bite the bullet and do the club, at least once!

I'm hoping they won't need masks soon. It's not really fair that if passengers don't need them, that crew should at least get the option to wear them or not.

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

It was quite the fiasco trying to decide if we’d go ahead and make our final payment for a group family cruise to Alaska in the summer. We ended up canceling, wah wah. But! My husband, little one, and I juuust booked a five day out of Galveston. None of us are vaccinated. We are putting in a special needs request for no vaccine. Hopefully that’ll be approved. You only get one shot and have to have already paid for your cruise. Apparently there are one of two routes you can take with that, religious/conscience exemption OR medical exemption. Does any one have experience with these requests?

No “ugly head rearing”, relax and turn off the television. 

Well, Pooch, Thing have changed since you did last week!  As mentioned above CVS has discounted their outside testing sites, its now inside within the Mediclinic and I could not make an appointment 14 days out.  
 

I guess we were lucky.  Pulled into the marked parking spot at CVS.  Got a call from the tech, both went in, showed ID. Swabbed our noses ourselves & got text results in an hour that I then printed out.  Hoping the requirement will be gone by our October cruise

Fear not!  The eMed test is remarkably convenient, easy, quick, and painless.  There are several videos online on how to do the test, and the proctor will walk you through the entire process.  You'll just need to create an eMed and NAVICA account and log-in (laptop with a camera, tablet, or smart phone) to get started.  
Here's the link to Matt's video on how to do the eMed testing:
 

The community testing site in New Rochelle, NY area had offered the rapid PCR all along which was great-especially when we crujised out of Bahamas and needed a PCR..  I used them because I knew they would always be open (back in the fall a lot of other CVS sites did not meet their obligations, cancelling testing last minute due to lack of staffing-  I know the rapid PCR has a higher likely to pick up old remnants giving a "false positive" but it was the risk I chose to take.  Now looking to book a test and that location is only offering the antigen test (good -less concern about that false positive from an old infection)....but it's no longer worth the drive for me since there are now CVS locations near me that now offer the same test and I can book same day as needed.   (forgot to mention I would also drop by my college kids and bring them groceries/necessities so it wasn't a complete waste to drive the 45 mintues)
I imagine there will soon be costs associated with "test for travel"....but they are wisely asking the right question "have you been in a situation where being socially distant was not possible", that pretty much covers all of us.  What I don't like is that I will now have to be "thrown in the mix" with sick people who want testing/visit at CVS for "real illness".  I guess it is time to break down and use the backup Emed tests I have for cruising.....I have 12 available to me (have family cruising with me soon enough....but I'll use it for my solo cruise so I can "get over my fear" and see how easy it is.  I mean 12 tests....I'm bound to not go through them all for that one completed testing right?!  

That is interesting, because same thing happened to me yesterday in Massachusetts.  I went to CVS to get our test.  The outside pod had note stating as of 3/16/22, testing at minute clinic.  I didn't think much of it.  the nurse did take vitals before the swab.
An hour or two later..... my phone rings and it is nurse practitioner calling..... my heart sank.   Then he tells me the test was negative.  I was thinking, they would only call for a positive.
I cannot wait until the testing goes away... hopefully soon.

I just got my Antigen test done at CVS. This is the tenth time I’ve had it done there since September for my cruises and today was completely different. Instead of going into the ‘pod’…or mini-trailer…in the parking lot for a quick nose swipe, followed by an email an hour or two later with the results, there is a new procedure.  
Now I have to go into the Minute Clinic inside the store itself. The visit is now considered a full clinic visit and I had to answer the usual slew of questions when you go for a doctor’s visit, including medical history. Then my vitals were taken…followed by the nose swipe. 
Now instead of the quick hour or two email notification, I have to wait until near the end of the day when the ‘provider’ (doctor or NP) on-site calls me with the result and then follows that up with the email. 
According to the nurse, this is CVS’s new procedure and it will be for all CVS. Not a problem for me as my insurance covers the Minute Clinic, but I hope it doesn’t cost anything for those whose insurance doesn’t cover…or charges a copay.
I believe this is because there is a huge drop in demand for the tests…which is good news!
I went online and checked CVS scheduling for available tests. There now seems to be lots of tests available in my area where before it was hard to find them less then a week away. I’m hoping Royal does away with the pre-cruise testing soon.

Up to date in the eyes of the CDC is fully vaccinated and boosted (if eligible). Technically you can be up to date with no booster.
Eligibility for booster: For Pfizer/ Moderna, booster after 5 months from last dose in two dose series. For J&J, 2 months after dose. For 5-11 group, boosters are not recommended at this time.

I don't think it will be canceled because Ulraine and Russia are both far away,  but if fuel prices continue to increase, there may be a fuel surcharge.
Department of State posts alerts when they think US citizens should not go to a country.  You can get emails from them. 
Western Europe should be safe.

I'll be on that itinerary in mid-June and I'm not too worried since the destinations are not anywhere close to Ukraine.