cruisellama

New Infinity Caribbean sailings are posted, starting with June/July itineraries.

Look at the numbers yourself, you'll see cruiseship infection rates are far lower than the states the ports reside. Sailed twice since shutdown, and felt we were in a far lower risk environment once onboard than flying on a plane to get there. There's a continued bias reported by those who don't favor the industry, and use Covid as another way to punch at the industry.

Diamond = Elite, Diamond + = Elite +

"Directed" toward older age group - yep no toys on Celebrity - true. They're actually trying to cater to a much younger crowd on the Edge class - though not kids or teens - looking to hook and keep millennials. Celebrity is more focused on improvements to cuisine. spa, and entertainment for those not looking for on-board water parks - definitely expanding and heavily marketing their suite experience. Options to be a little more inclusive with "perks" on Celebrity. RCL a more a la carte model. We sail Celebrity most of the time, but if we're with kids - its Royal.

Funny on my Nov Oasis cruise - I was in "Pending Status" even after the cruise ended.

The CSO may have expired, but a "voluntary" set of "cooperate" protocols is in its place. Cruise ships appear to be the most "protected" environment - I've been pretty impressed with the sanitization protocols on the ones we've cruised. But not real happy with the mask requirements (especially for those who have taken the jabsss). If there's going to be a mask requirement, then require a "real" ('95 series) mask. So I look at it as helping keeping the crew stay healthy, as they live in a confined exposure environment.

So its operated just like the standard "land based" Brazilian restaurant - thanks!

When I was boosted, the pharmacy tech just added the booster details to the line below the second shot. I'm over a month out for my next cruise so even if the booster requires 14 days, I'll be well over that by embarkation.

Samba is one I have not tried, but plan to in March. Any favorite dishes that are "must try"?

Might be another high end cruise line that comes up for sale...

Ordered Abbott BinaxNOW from EMED, OPTUM site shows tests sold out on 1/23. So wanted to get in the queue. 1. Ordered from: EMED (6-Pack) 2. Ordered date: 1-23-2022, 2pm CST 3. Approval date: 1-23-2022, 3pm CST (per email) 4. Ship date: 1-25-2022 (Tracking # provided) 5. Received: 1-27-2022 (FEDEX 1 day late) 6. Mfg Date: Date not on outer sticker - REF 195-100, LOT 180105 7. Exp Date: 01-01-2023 (Suitable to cover our '22 cruises)

I think your inference is correct - there's probably a play to move people to higher capacity / revenue ships. I think operational costs are better absorbed on the larger S and E class ships. They can command higher rates on E class ships. We'll be sailing the Med on Reflection in June. Fingers crossed on what can and will happen in Europe this summer.

Not being sure, we're traveling from the port to Rome, then spending the night at a hotel near the FCO airport to catch the first flight out

I read on FB there were a few upset folks booked for the Med this spring/summer season and received cancellation letters. Would hope to see itineraries published soon as booking for the summer should be "now". Wondering if there's a maintenance upgrade in the works influencing itinerary release?

Has there ever been a modern new cruise ship that's sailed on its original debut date? Even when they sail, all the amenities/attractions may not be operational for some time.

More cheery news - NOT https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6676/?et_cid=3509161&et_rid=216816920&et_referrer=Boards_WAR_CC

Yeah! https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/26539-galveston-sets-expansion-course.html?fbclid=IwAR3uVRNBUGWGv8hLN_9sBoM-0zX7CouA6X8-u02Gv3ujNDIjM2AmTyIjazE

Curious if the Chef's Table format (seating all at one large table) will be altered due to spacing. We were on a "normal" chef's table in November (single large table). In late December, all the parties were placed at separate tables (Azamara), which dampens the social atmosphere and banter. We'll see what happens in March.

We're booked on Allure early March. As we've successfully weathered 22 days on ships between Nov & Jan 22. We'll continue to push through these trying times unless we finally test out of it.

Catalina a nice place to walk around. The town is Avalon and there's a circular structure called the Casino on the beach (not gaming). Boutique eateries etc. They raise bison on the island and you used to be able to purchase bison burgers, but been many years since I've been there. Can't comment on Ensenada.

With uncertainty in weather and crew related cancelations and delays, we always travel day prior. As we live near a major airport hub, we also purchase direct flights. I have family members that cruise every month (casino users) and they travel "day of" to avoid hotel expenses. They've had exceptional luck in not missing a cruise traveling from VA to FL or TX.

Anyone visit the "Yoda Guy" in St. Maarten?

I sail in March and June. Wary about ordering tests that may expire before the March date. Everyone getting tests with more than 2 months of life left on them? I saw a couple that were good until Dec 22. If that's the norm I'd order just to get ahead of it.

It’s critical for the crew to be healthy- especially the ops teams and hospitality teams. If you can’t operate the ship, no point on having passengers. This just happened to the QM2 in Barbados. Too many crew positive to continue operation. Until the severity of infection is a factor for continuance, we’ll see this swirl.