Dad2Cue

I have mine booked for August 29, 2022 on Quantum. Originally it was booked for August 30, 2021 but that cruise on Quantum was cancelled. I did a lift and shift to the 2022 cruise. My wife knows that this cruise is for our anniversary so it won't be a surprise. What she doesn't know is that I used a sizable FCC from another cancelled cruise and splurged on our first ever Grand Suite. We did an Alaskan cruise several years ago. Alaska was great but that cruise happened in May so it was somewhat cold and was snowing in places. I'm hoping it won't be so cold in August. If it is, I'm

It isn't an election year plus covid isn't so new anymore. I am somewhat concerned that cases will spike again. Last summer without a vaccine cases went down too. Was it because of the mitigation strategies or a seasonal variation in cases?? It never seems like there is one factor at play in anything related to the medical realm. The cause and effect scenarios are always multifactorial. I do wish this would all go away and we can get back to normal which includes cruising. However, I think we all will need to adapt to a new normal. The vaccine will likely be part of the new norm

My brother had a Boardwalk balcony and complained about the noise. I enjoyed a Central Park balcony as a quieter alternative. I like an Ocean View balcony but there isn't much to look at except for the ocean. If I want to see the ocean, I go to the top deck or somewhere else. I especially enjoy the sunrise, the sunset and pulling into the ports but not necessarily just to look at the ocean.

I have more than one cruise booked and some are "old style" and some are "new style". I can't forget the old style because I still see that on some cruises. TBH, I don't really like either one. Maybe if it was consistent it would be better.

I have nothing against NJ for some cruises. A Bermuda cruise with a stop in Boston on the way back was great. A New England/Canada fall cruise sometime in the future is on the bucket list. However, where I live it is cold in the winter especially in January and February. There is something nice about getting on a plane and flying to Florida in the winter. We usually spend time in Florida before and after the cruise. NJ isn't quite so appealing in the wintertime.

I think he just means everyone's cruise will cost more to accommodate the people who are eligible to be vaccinated and choose not to be. That's how it usually works. This is already happening I think when I look at the cost of future cruises. I'm curious about this statement which he doesn't elaborate on. I wonder if once the ship is out to sea they will start asking, start testing and start restricting?

What does it take to shut down a single cruise for an outbreak of norovirus? I think it is about 2% of the guests onboard the ship. Say there are 4000-5000 guests on average so only 80-100 people "reporting" gastrointestinal symptoms and the cruise ship goes back to port I believe. I agree, just a couple of cases of covid found during the daily testing on the people who aren't vaccinated will shut everything down again. It won't really matter if people are reporting symptoms or not if they are testing. I'm thinking about 5-10 positive tests and my cruise will be toast and future crui

One could argue that is the same as asking. I just hope the majority of people voluntarily provide proof. Somehow I don't think the new verbiage "strongly recommended" will be enough for many people but I could be wrong. I can envision a plexiglass tunnel disguised as a slide that leads off the ship! Personally, I don't have too many worries but the financial risks for Royal could be enormous. I can see a person who wasn't vaccinated suing Royal because they caught covid while on a cruise.

How will Royal know if they can't ask who is and who isn't vaccinated? This all seems silly to me because supposedly nobody will know who is vaccinated or not. It will just be a personal choice about what people want to do to protect themselves which is fine with me. It just seems more likely that there will be outbreaks of covid on cruise ships and then we will likely know who wasn't vaccinated.

Is this the same kind of conditional agreement/understanding that changed the No Sail Order to the Conditional Sail Order? I no longer have a vested interest in this because my Quantum Alaska---August 2021 cruise was cancelled unconditionally.

What survey??? Maybe it was the email that seemed like a survey that I just deleted. It seemed like a satisfaction survey---did it ask about vaccination status? I'm not sure what the demographics are for Royal guests but my guess is that the older age of the spectrum is well represented. I think the percentage of "older" people who are vaccinated is quite high in the United States but 90% seems like a stretch. The other factor is that people who want to cruise are probably more willing to get vaccinated in exchange for some normality. It would be interesting where Royal got that

I learned early on that FCCs were a pain in the a--. Now I take refunds whenever I can. Refunds aren't any better because they can happen in dribs and drabs and make no sense at all. I have had mistakes that worked in my favor so I guess that overall I can't complain. I may even owe Royal some money.

It seems like the CDC will be staying busy. It seems that the CDC is having some trouble supplying information so it isn't just the cruise lines. https://www.americanoversight.org/the-cdc-has-been-illegally-rejecting-valid-foia-requests-were-suing I bet there be even more lawsuits before this is finished.

As more obstacles are overcome, it gets very difficult to rationally explain why cruising isn't allowed. Even "reasonable" restrictions are becoming difficult to justify.

"Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a press briefing. "If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic." Does this include cruising??? We stopped cruising because of the pandemic!!!