JeffB

Judging the impact of Omicron on RCL's operational plans is speculative but I don't think there is any question that corporate is looking at this. Based on our experience on Equinox right now, port status changes day to day. When we boarded 9 days ago, only 1 port out of 7 allowed touring on your own (Antigua). Today, in St. Kitts, we can tour on our own. Go figure???? We've also not been advised to mask indoors or alerted by email that a cruise we're taking in February aboard Reflection will require masks indoors. I'm suspecting that will change. I can make a case that while masking was arguably only minimally effective in preventing the spread of SARS2, given the 5 fold increase in transmissibility of the Omicron variant compared to Delta, masking indoors makes sense, I'd say less so outdoors. Personally, I can deal with this. I believe we're in a wait and see mode with respect to Omicron and more importantly on the disease impact it will have. I feel the masking steps Carnival, NCL and RCL are implementing, with a known end-point date reflects that. The lines will continue to assess rates of infection given established health protocols and disease impact on board their ships and decide what easing or tightening of health protocols will be required. Ports of call will be doing the same, hopefully not in the panic mode. Unfortunately, the world is in panic mode wrt Omicron. Increased transmissibility is behind it. Context, no surprise, is absent. The lack of it in the public domain does not mean it is not available to public heath officials yet lock-downs and boarder crossing closures, intended to reduce human mobility and contact, is on-going. Apparently, there is no real cost/benefit analysis being done before taking these more draconian steps. Does the disease impact measured by hospitalizations and deaths warrant tight restrictions to mobility and social contacts? Clearly not yet. Well see. The cruise industry is going to come under increasing pressure to stop or significantly reduce operations to ostensibly curtail the spread of Omicron without any substantial evidence that cruise ship movement is a source of it. In fact, the evidence is strong that it is not. No matter. I do see some evidence that government officials are more reluctant to impose lock-downs and shutter businesses or direct cancellation of events where there are people congregating and risk of spread is increased. Caribbean governments have been highly conservative while at the same time providing windows for their tourism based economies to operate. For example, unrestricted access to a port and surrounding areas may not be allowed but certain areas, usually areas in contact with the port itself can be accessed by cruise ship passengers. I'm also finding that "government approved" tours can be booked at the port. Yesterday in Barbados, you could debark into the port area and shop there and it looked like grabbing a taxi tour was easy. I suppose there is probably a government defined process for a taxi to get a port pass and then hire passengers. My point is that Caribbean governments are working to protect tourism by being sensible about COVID risks. As well, with the COVID circumstances in short notice flux, the cruise line may not be in the loop. One additional comment on Friday's fake cruise news appearing in USA Today about 50 COVID positives on an RCL ship embellished with the headline from the source used in their story, "cruise lines suppress information." https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2021/12/articles/disease/covid-19-cases-increase-on-cruise-ships-as-lines-suppress-information/ Patently false. First, I've been on seven Celebrity cruises since June 26th including the first revenue sailing on that date from Piraeus (Athens Greece) on Apex. On 3 of those 7 cruises, there were announcements by the captain of positive COVID cases aboard. All of them involved one positive case obtained from self reporting to medical and up to 7 close contacts identified through security cameras all of whom reportedly were tested negative. Protocols were followed, no out breaks occurred on board and ships embarking in ports of calls, according to the lack of press reports of such events, surely something that the press would have jumped on were not the cause of spreading SARS2 infections. Second, RCL or Celebrity have no duty or responsibility to tell the press anything about COVID cases aboard. If the press wants factual information about the numbers of cases on board any cruise ship currently operating it's available at the CDC web site. Where's the "surge?" There isn't one and the reason is because cruise industry COVID protocols are better at preventing the spread of disease than any place on the face of the earth. Is there a possibility that cases will increase? Yes. IMO, how COVID cases are handled per guidelines by the cruise industry is a spectacularly effective example of how to do it. You're going to hear a lot of misinformation about COVID in general and about how the cruise industry specifically is dealing with Omicron. If you want to take a look at the factual numbers for any cruise ship in operation, here's the CDC link to the section that provides it. At the link, you have to scroll down to the chart you want to use. You also have to study what comes before it to understand what the chart data means - that's one of the reasons the MSM doesn't use it. Too much work. Just lie, it's easier. From the chart at the link, Symphony embarked an assumed 60% of capacity or about 3500 passengers - I suspect it was less than that. There are probably 1300 crew aboard. Symphony was designated "yellow" status by the CDC on Friday, the 18th (the chart is current as of the 17th). To cross the threshold from green to yellow, 0.7% of travelers (includes crew and passengers) have tested positive for COVID. That's roughly 34 COVID positives aboard. To cross the threshold from "yellow" to "red" requires a number of factors be present such as medical facilities being overwhelmed - obviously that never happened. So, maybe 34 cases tops. Not a "surge", not 50, not 44 among other erroneously reported numbers of positive cases on Symphony I've seen reported today. No "suppressing" information on COVID cases by the cruise lines. It's all right there at the CDC web site but, wait, requires some digging to find it. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/management/technical-instructions-for-cruise-ships.html#green-ship The most important lesson learned out of the Symphony COVID cases is that SARS2 and all it's variants cannot be eradicated; the virus will be present for the long term, perhaps forever. But it CAN be managed. The ship and shore facilities followed protocols to protect other passengers and crew from becoming infected. By the prompt isolation and transport of all the positives on board ship, the community was protected. Think you'll hear that from the MSM. Nope.

.......... interesting observation: About a week prior to this 12n, S. Caribbean sailing on Equinox, I received an itinerary update. As I'm in the remain flexible mode, I paid little attention to the modifications which involved COVID measures implemented by local health authorities in the ports to be visited. One of the changes was new restriction on going ashore on your own in the 7 ports of call on this sailing. Only way to go ashore was with a Celebrity curated tour with one exception that allowed you to go ashore but a restriction to remain within the port shopping area. Within this area, you could book "government approved" tours by local vendors. I had a private tour booked with a local vendor in Barbados. After contacting him, he told me he was not "a government approved" tour operator and I had to cancel. Of the 7 ports visited on this itinerary only one allowed you to disembark at the port and explore on your own (Antigua and Barbuda). All ports stipulated masks to be worn indoors and outdoors regardless of vaccination status. I find this both troubling and these kinds of COVID measures to become more common and more restrictive. While there is a trend within western governments, not including Canada and others that are already returning to very restrictive containment measures in the face of Omicron, to recognize that managing SARS2 and it's variants can be done more wisely than imposing the draconian, costly and largely ineffective mitigation measures of the last 15 months. I doubt that is going to happen in Caribbean governments. What will be interesting is how the cruise industry will engage local public health officials at all the ports cruise ships call on, both in the Caribbean and globally, in an effort to continue cruise operations going forward in this emerging reality of persistent SARS2 and COVID presence.

Sailing on Celebrity Equinox out of Fort Lauderdale on a 12n S. Caribbean Itinerary as I write this. This isn't going to be a cruise review. See the subject line. We live in Fort Lauderdale. We're lucky and have friends that will drive us to the port (Terminal 25). You can park steps away from the Terminal 25. Convenient but expensive ($10/day). Come a day or 2 early, park in your accommodation's lot and take a shuttle or Uber/Lyft. That's going to be cheaper unless your cruise is 5d or less. Don't bother arriving before your scheduled boarding time. Boarding times are enforced by terminal staff (not Celebrity employees). The boarding process is organized, plenty of staff to guide you (and herd the guests). They are good at what they do. Follow instructions. Have hard copies of you boarding pass, vax card and test results. Organize them for easy access and display to staff when they ask for them. Don't count on finding that stuff on your phone! Guests behind you will appreciate that. Check in is entirely digital. It helps if you do everything you're asked to do before boarding ..... Celebrity will send you lots of emails to insure you know what to do. Do it. Other guests wanting to board expeditiously will appreciate that you were prepared. Terminal staff use tablets and scan documents. Your Sea Pass card (room key) will be in the holder at your cabin. Avoid the elevator (1 of 4 blocks of 4 cars) adjacent to where the gangway brings you to the ship's entry way on deck 5. Go all the way forward or aft and use those elevators. Avoids all the guests standing around the entry way wondering where to go. You'll have local network (4 or 5g) connection on your phone until your around 6 miles off shore. To connect to the ship's wifi to use the Celebrity App aboard, select wifi in your settings and click on the Celebrity Equinox Wifi link. Follow the on screen instructions to connect (You can select your internet package here) to set up your account and pass word. Once you've done that and had a look at the Celebrity App, you can use your connection to the 4g/5g local area network to make phone calls, texts etc. Don't forget to put your phone in Airplane Mode as you sail out of the port and leave the range of the local area network. If you don't you'll connect to Cellular at Sea for phone and texts. Unless you have a huge bank account, you'll want to avoid connecting to it. After switching on the airplane mode, go back to settings and turn your wifi back on. Connect to the Equinox wifi and sign back in. The ship's Wifi is OK for most things you will want to do on the internet. You can't stream with the standard package. I don't think it is worth it to buy the streaming upgrade. It's not cheap. (pricing and that option will appear when you set up your onboard wifi account I described above). I learned that just recently, crew from countries previously denied access to the US because of the vaccinations they received in their home countries were not approved by the US CDC. That's been resolved. Accordingly, crew staffing has improved dramatically and Equinox was being staffed for a full passenger load (about 2800 guests). Before the sail date, there were 2200 guests who had booked this sailing. within the last three weeks before the sailing there were in the neighborhood of 400 cancellations (Fears of Omicron?). The ship sailed with roughly 1800 passengers and a full compliment of around 1260 crew members. Circulating wait staff in the restaurants bars and lounges were notably more numerous than when we sailed Apex in July, Equinox in August and Millennium in November. We've sailed aboard Equinox maybe 6 or more times. Staff friendliness, engagement and service were outstanding as usual .... partly because of increased numbers of crew but mostly because Celebrity in general and Equinox in particular pride themselves in delivering excellence. Hope you learned something new here. I'll post again if anything new comes to me.

You might also like the Celebrity App ...... I'm aboard Equinox on a 12n S Caribbean itinerary currently ported in St Croix, USVGI. Yesterday my wife's new Android phone (Galaxy A52, 5g) was having problems withe the Celebrity App. Part of the problem was that the App requires you to select your current cruise if you have more than the one you are on registered at the Celebrity Web site under "future cruises." The App interfaces with the Celebrity Web site and the steps in changing between cruises on the Celebrity App isn't clear or straight forward. If you only have one cruise scheduled, the App defaults to it. If you have more than one, to get to the scheduled events for the cruise you're on, you have to select the one you are currently sailing on in the app on a list that appears (hard to find) in the app. Fixed. I had to speak to the Digital Manager to understand the process and it's importance in making the app functional while on board. The Digital Manager told me that it is corporate policy that a ship's events, like evening chic (formerly formal nights) and the kind of events you are asking about within the app 4w prior to the sail date. Not all ship's digital managers meet that policy directive but eventually, the by-day schedules for the ship you are getting ready to sail aboard become accurate. The schedules are quite complete. I think you will find what you need. I recommend you download the Celebrity App - in fact, you have to in order to complete much of your pre-boarding requirements. It takes a while to get used to the features (unless you are under 40 and grew up with this technology). It's a great app and has improved since it was introduced maybe 3y ago. You can upload photos of your vax cards, pass ports and pre-boarding test results. It speeds up the boarding process if you are able to do this. I always recommend you print out hard copies of everything and have them organized and easily accessible. If your phone fails or you lose connectivity with the local area network, hard copies come in handy. You will also complete most of your pre-sail safety brief and life boat drill on the app.

The problem that is probably giving you fits is going to be a reliable network either 4g or, if you have a cell phone and plan for 5g. Your PC is likely connected to cable or fiber internet with a much more reliable and fast download speeds. Even with a decent 4g network connection, video can be problematic. If you can get to a location where you can connect to the internet on your cell phone wirelessly, it will probably work fine.

From the CDC web site busting myths and vaccine misinformation. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html?s_cid=11353:testing positive after covid-19 vaccination:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY21

Sure, Meclizine does not work for everybody and I've had conversations with neurologists who have told me, it's not very effective. Hell, a martini works great for me . Seriously though, the kind of symptoms described by the OP can be classified as a condition called Benign Positional Vertigo (BPV). It is a vary common complaint among seniors and there are reasons for it - usually none indicating a serious condition - hence, "benign" - beyond the scope of this answer. The standard of care for this condition when it becomes persistent is a referral to who I call the "dizzy doctor." Well, they are usually physical therapists or rehabilitation medicine specialists trained in evaluating your vertigo and treating it with positional exercises as has already been noted. I'd add to that posters comment that identifying exactly which maneuvers to perform requires a step-wise approach to identify exactly which one of your 6 semicircular canals (3 on each side of your head) is causing the erroneous signal to your cerebellum. Then, you'll be prescribed specific maneuvers to do at home.

Those RCL staff (or it may be terminal staff using tablets that connect with RCL's on-board health screening system) will accept digital proof of your negative Rapid AG test. Digital test reports might contain a QR code that when it is scanned your test results and all the required details of it (test date, type test, test result, time of result, etc.) are downloaded to RCL's system. I can't speak in detail about this issue but QR codes can be squirrely meaning the scanning device and associated software may not be able to read the QR code. I know this is an issue between countries in Europe. I've not heard that it is an issue between testing labs/clinics that produce a digital QR code containing test results and cruise lines that scan them. But for that reason, I try to carry a hard copy. If, in your case you can't print out a hard copy from your phone try this: on your phone, download the digital report as a.jpg file (there will be some kind of app installed on your phone or your phones browser to do that. Then email that file to yourself. If you have access to a PC connected to a printer (e.g. at home or office) open your email and print the attachment. Voila. Another option: return to the test center at the airport and ask them to print a copy of the results ...... that may be your best bet as I get from your post that you're traveling and won't be around a PC connected to a printer. Also airports have business centers. You may be able to access one of these and get to a PC that's connected to a printer. I'd say the chances of your digital AG test result on your phone working fine are high with only a minimal risk that it won't. Go with what you're comparable with.

Blood etoh levels (alcohol concentration in the blood) and the detection of the specific proteins associated with SARS2 infection (COVID) are not related in any way. Nor is a COVID test going to detect you are over the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle. Just in case you are worried about that.

Good catch ...... even though the proctored AG tests (e.g. Abbott's Binax Now among others) are considered reliable indicators of a COVID infection if present, the data suggests that a trained health care provider administering the test and having it read by that trained provider is a step up in reliability form the process available through a proctored AG test. My take is that this is hair splitting but it is what it is. I can't speak for other areas but testing provided by clinics within a pharmacy in south FL are easily accessible, have competent nurse practitioners who administer rapid AG tests and read and record the test results. You'll walk out with a print copy of the test results that meet CDC and FL State authority's requirements for reporting results. I recommend the U of Miami clinics associated with Walgreens pharmacies. You can call U Miami clinics directly, talk to a human and schedule a rapid AG test at a Walgreens that works for you. Good luck. We've got this.

Some facts on this phenomena: Your vestibular apparatus - the semicircular canals in your skull and on both sides of your head - send signals to your cerebellum at the base of your brain responsible for collating all of your sensory inputs to keep you upright. Perseveration is the term used to describe the continuance of input from your vestibular apparatus to the cerebellum even when you're not actually experiencing them (e.g., the rocking motion of the ship you were on yesterday and are off of it today). You can shortcut the sensation of continuing motion you're experiencing after debarkation by taking OTC Meclizine (Bonine). Preferred to Benadryl because Meclizine has less sedative affects than Benadryl or you can just wait it out.

Packing like you suggest is a really good idea. In all our travels, we've not lost or had a bag delayed yet (knock on wood). My bags have taken a beating. Maybe 6 or so years ago I bought a set of Samsonite Soft Sided Spinner luggage. It's as light (the material has carbon fibers interwoven) as the hard sided stuff. It was expensive but aside from one of the zipper pulls coming off (easily replaced) it has held up remarkably well considering what beatings bags go through. I also prefer the durability of soft sided luggage. When the light weight, hard sided luggage first came out, I tried it and in about 6 months I had holes/tears in the sides. I 've found the low cost stuff you find all over that the frames break down and they just doesn't last but maybe a couple of years if you travel a lot on an annual basis. IOW, you get what you pay for. But thanks for that great packing tip. Never thought of it.

I've heard members here complaining about RCL's IT Department. I'm pretty sure that Celebrity uses the same frame work for it's APP. I have a cruise departing Port Everglades aboard Equinox on December 10th. I uploaded photos of our CDC vaccination cards on Thursday of last week. After reading this thread and out of curiosity, I opened the Celebrity App. The message that said "validating your vaccination record" after I uploaded the photos is gone and replaced by a green "your all set." TBF, my cruise is just over two weeks away. It may be how quickly your vax record is "validated" is based on how far off your cruise is.

I stand by my "screw RCL's" use of Optum although I regret the use of the term "screw." One can parse the numbers but the more reliable vendor of rapid at home AG tests offering the best value is probably not RCL's Optum. It may or may not be an accurate position to say RCL wanted to use the purchase of rapid AG tests via Optum as a revenue stream. That's becasue we have no idea, at least I don't, what the contractual arrangements are between RCL and Optum. But knowing what I know about corporations and RCL in general, they're not looking for the best deal for their guests but rather to optimize profit margins in a very difficult time to do that - IOW, anything helps. Ask yourself why would RCL offer one single vendor and set up a link at the RCL web site to that vendor instead of providing a list of the many vendors out there offering the Abbot Binax Now test kits if there wasn't some kind of contractual stipulation that RCL will derive some benefit ?

That's exactly what this is about. It's not about increased numbers of guests needing more time. That's not a problem now, even with the requirement to arrive only at your scheduled arrival time and won't be a problem going forward. My take is, once you've boarded, who cares whether your departure time is at 4, 5, 6 or whatever. More over, what's driving how many guests can be accommodated is crew staffing. Many Asian crews have been vaccinated in their home country but not with the approved vaccines required for entry to the US. Sinopharm is popular in Asia but it's not approved in the US. I'm told that laid off crew in the South East Asian region, e.g. Thailand, Philippines, can't get AZ, Pfizer, Moderna or J&J vaccines because the Chinese demanded sole rights to distribute in delivery contracts. Apparently this is a pretty big problem for the lines - getting crew legally into the US. That's not going to end anytime soon. There are a lot of frustrated and laid off crew who are itching to get back to work and shipboard duty save for having been vaccinated with US approved vaccines. The processes, for example, to obtain waivers (seems sensible), bring crew in, administer appropriate vaccines, accomplish the quarantine and testing routines is complicated by politics and varying PH protocols in the countries involved. I'm told by experienced staff that what seems as the simplest solution - take the approved vaccines to the crew you want back - isn't going to happen because corporate is taking the position they won't do that. It's not a cost or logistics issue, it's conflicting medical standards between countries, vaccine politics and the costly red tape to get something like that off the ground.

I heard back from both my tour guide in Barbados and the company I booked with (Tours by Locals) and the tour my guide runs is not "Government Approved." So, in most cases, it appears if you sailing Celebrity, Barbados can not be visited on your own. Ship Excursions only. Having said that, check with the line you are cruising with. This may not be applicable to all lines and keep checking. This is a fast moving ball game.

Personally, I don't have a problem with not getting off in any Caribbean port while on a Caribbean itinerary cruise. Destinations are not the primary reason I cruise the Caribbean annd I do so frequently sometimes spur of th moment as I live about 15 minutes from Prot everglades - $10 Uber or Lyft ride. TBF to Celebrity (and probably RCL) when I took my first Caribbean cruise on Equinox the week after Edge became the first cruise ship to make a revenue sailing from Fort Lauderdale, I think there was only one port (Coz) we could explore on our own and that changed the day before we got there (could still cycle through the port stores just couldn't go out in town). The rest were ship sponsored excursions only. I booked two and they were surprisingly good - the largest one had 22 guests, the other 12. Quality guides and great tour. Besides that both of them were under $100pp - I think they were like $65. My advise, especially if you love to cruise and have been to Caribbean ports once is to roll with it. Things change day to day. If you think exploration of a port on your own is green-lighted and you book a private tour on your own and you subsequently learn things changed and that port is now restricted, cancel the private tour (most will offer full refunds) and take a look at what the Excursions Desk is offering or stay aboard and take in a movie.

First, get the EMed proctored AG tests direct from EMed - the 6pk costs $150. I ordered mine on their web site and they were delivered in 3 days - no charge. You can pay to get them overnight. Download the Navica App to your phone. Abbot and EMed - the makers of the BInaxNow AG tests (both types - non-proctored and proctored) and the lab Abbot selected to officially result AG tests - have partnered with Navica to provide a means for you to present either a digital QR code or hard copy letter as proof of proctored AG testing. I've used them for boarding Celebrity Millennium out of Fort Lauderdale last week without any problems. IOW, no question they were acceptable proof of a negative test. Second, the expiration date on the test kit box (only one test in the proctored kit, two in the self test) has probably been extended. I don't have the link but if you Google expiration date extension for Abbot Binax Now test kits, you'll find a letter from Abbot (check to make sure it's the most recent letter, there are several) that shows the extended expiration date for the test kits by product number (also on the box). The ones I bought in July, had an expiration date in October but was extended until February 2022. I carried that letter with me when I boarded Millennium just in case. Didn't need it then but will carry it again in December when I board Equinox and in February, 2022 when I board Reflection. Also, besides your digital proof that will reside in the Navica App (easy to use) you'll get an email from EMed Labs that will have an attachment containing a letter that is a hard-copy of your test results with all the required information on it. Download it to your PC and print it. Carry that just incase your phone or internet connection poops out when someone is asking for your test results in the terminal on boarding. Finally, the Binax Now unproctored AG tests, although they can't be used for poof of COVID testing to board a cruise ship can be used, for example, as a screening tool for upcoming holiday gatherings with family or friends. It may sound like overkill to some but surveillance testing of attendees to large family gatherings, especially if there are vulnerable, at risk family members attending, is a good way to make sure you won't become one of those super-spreader events. Even if you can get some but not everyone to get the tests (in FL, I see plenty of them in CVS and Walgreens and are about $23 for two tests), its a good step in mitigating spread. Finally, screw RCL for charging more for these tests than you can get commercially and direct from EMed.

Well, this is pretty simple. I will cancel my privately booked tour in Barbados if I need a PCR test within three days of entry to get outside the terminal and meet my tour guide. No big deal...... except my tour guide loses income and continues to struggle financially. What's frustrating is the differences among country's entrance requirements pertaining to the pandemic. Not just in the Caribbean, although it is particularly stupid in this small region, but just about anywhere on earth that might be considered a tourist destination. This isn't hard. If you're vaccinated and can prove it your risk of spreading SARS2 to Barbadian locals is so low that the benefits to the tourist trades by allowing visitors meeting specific vaccination requirements to enter outweighs any disadvantages or risks to the local health care system even though it may by record be unable to cope safely and within its resources with a serious outbreak. The Caribbean Islands have a health consortium that can review the data and establish uniform and sensible travel rules in the post pandemic period (where we actually are now) for it's membership. Why can I visit Tortola or Antigua virtually unrestricted but have to show proof that I'm not infected with SARS2 to visit Barbados. Insanity. OK, done with rant ..... but it made me feel better.

After your post, knowing I have a 12n S. Caribbean cruise booked on Celebrity Reflection leaving 12/10/21 that ports in Barbados, I quickly looked for updates on the Celebrity web site. Lo and behold, an 11/16/21 release of updated health and safety protocols listed for ports Celebrity visits in the Caribbean was located. Yep, Barbados is one of the ports that guests cannot explore independently and instead are required to book Celebrity excursions. But wait there is one of these: ** by Barbados. In the footnotes it states that in Barbados guests can explore on their own if they booked tours that are "government approved." Fine, is the tour I just booked in Barbados "government approves"? Can I exit the cruise port terminal and pass through Barbadian immigration authorities to get to my tour guide and not show that I've had a negative PCR test within 3 days of our port call? If I want one on board Reflection, can I get one? What is the cost? I've emailed the company (Tours by Locals) I booked a tour with in Barbados and the tour guide to see what they know about this. I'll let everyone know. Interesting times. Remain flexible.

Something else relevant to the OP's Yay or Nay question on infection control measures in the Windjammer and elsewhere aboard cruise ships is this. If the SARS2 pandemic has taught us anything it is the omnipresence of viral pathogens that can both kill humans or make them seriously ill requiring hospitalization and post hospital rehab. The world's capacity to defeat these threats with vaccines, medical management and pharmaceuticals is more than amazing. But these pathogens are out there and new ones for which humans have no immunity, as was the case with SARS2, and capable of brining human activity to a halt, will arise and spread causing the same kind of social and economic disaster that SARS2 did to a world that was completely nonchalant about the dangers of these viruses. It should be a wake-up call for everyone to take infection control and the kinds of good hygiene that help achieve adequate levels of control seriously. One poster recounted that she was in favor of keeping guests from touching utensils or food in buffet settings and leaving that to wait and serving staff. Why? Because she was witness to too many guests being careless or ignoring health measures, e.g., vigorous and correct hand washing, before entering congregate settings where food is being served. I though it great she admitted to not doing the 20 second hand washing thing like she should at times. I'm guilty of that too. But also, I've cruised 6 times in 5 months since the restart, have scrupulously followed good infection control procedures of my own and that of the ships I've sailed on and not once gotten a hint of a URI or intestinal disorder. It can be done. Do it.

What would be telling is to see RCL's actual infectious disease cases where guests sought treatment in medical (sx to include diarrhea, cough, runny nose, sore throat etc) since the restart with Health and Safety Panel Recommendations in place. I'd say only about 20-30% of guests suffering with such sx actually go to medical so take the number that do and increase it by 70%. My guess is that cases of infectious disease on board, not including COVID, is astonishingly low compared to pre-pandemic times. Peoples mostly informed gut feelings seen here by the number of "nays" are expressing that the benefits of hand washing/sanitizing, reducing touching surfaces in eating venues as well as toilets, theaters, etc. far exceed any draw backs or inconveniences to guest and/or crew produced by these protocols. There are very likely objective data to support continuing them. One thing the pandemic has done is increased our sensitivity to the potential of spreading infectious diseases. Before SARS2 being germ sensitive and practicing good hygiene measures wasn't a part of too many cruisers and travelers daily routines while aboard ship; maybe after they got Norovirus or a terrible chest cold they did. But it most certainly is now, or at least the numbers of those practicing good hygiene measures has increased. I can't argue persuasively that 90% of the protocols in place to prevent the spread of SARS2 shouldn't be retained. Guests may not like the inconveniences of following good hygiene and infection control protocols. But to have corporate back-off of them in the face of the remarkable improvement they have probably achieved in shipboard infection control, including preventing outbreaks of COVID aboard ships, would be monumentally stupid.

Some tips from a Celebrity Loyalist but I've cruised RCL plenty of times. Many similarities. (1) Book with a travel agent (TA). I've used Cruises-N-More, MEI, Delta Sky Miles Cruises and Costco Travel. A long time ago I used AAA Travel services. No preference other than I look for the best perks offered by the TA. They vary substantially. Being able to get in touch with them is important (MEI is particularly good for guiding newbies to make good choices) (2) Study the fares (or incessantly bug your TA) and make sure you're getting the cabin and extras that you want and no more. Celebrity is notorious for their conspicuous marketing strategies that while some of them are very good deals, they are all tailored to get more money out of your pocket up front. Buy a drink package in advance ..... IF, and only IF, you are going to consume beverages in sufficient amounts to equal or exceed the daily cost. That's a lot of booze, soft drinks, coffees and squeezed OJ for most people. Do your homework and your math but it's nice just to walk up to any bar and drink-up, get a bloody at breakfast or have different wines during lunch or dinner. Oh, a nice double expresso (usually included in your package) is nice after you had a glass or two of wine for lunch. Remember, you're going to feel like you have to optimize your package and it's easy to drink too much in a day. Hangovers will dampen your enjoyment of the following days activities after a night of drinking martinis. Ask me how I know this. (3) During the pandemic, I'd stick with the shore excursions being offered by the ship. You can book privately now but there are still COVID things going on in ports where a port call might get cancelled due to an increase in case numbers. Once you get some experience (and this pandemic stuff ends) you can branch out. Prices of excursion sponsored by the ship are pretty reasonable these days compared to privately arranged tours. (4) Pack wisely and don't go overboard on weight and or space. Google cruise packing tips. There's good stuff out there on the web. Shoes are hard!! Put some liquid soap in a pump dispenser in your checked bag. It's nice to have that in your cabin's head (that's, the correct term for a bathroom on board a ship). We've started bringing sticky/removable hangers that you can stick on the cabin walls. Hang caps, light jackets (AC makes hallways, and eateries cold) or most anything that won't go in your closet. Bring one of those light weight folding laundry baskets to keep your dirty undies under control. (5) Someone already listed this but it bears emphasis: know the testing protocols and document requirements for boarding. Insure you arrive at the cruise terminal with everything you need including boarding pass, passport, test results, proof of vaccination. Importantly, arrange all your documents so they are immediately at hand and you aren't fumbling around to find them. Make use of the Royal App. Never used it but Celebrity Cruises -an RCL co-brand - probably is identical to RCL's It is very cool and useful. A little janky but once you start using it, it works. You can do a lot of pre-boarding stuff, like upload a copy of your passport and vax card, and have this all digitally available on your phone. Beware though that hard copies should be carried in case your phone or internet connection poops out right when you enter the terminal and someone is asking for your boarding pass!!! (6) Do do one specialty restaurant but even though you might be enticed, the main dinning room complimentary food and table service is great. There will be deals during your cruise. For example, on Celebrity one or more of the specialty restaurants will offer lunch. Usually the same or slightly compacted menu at 1/2 price. Check it out and ask for discounts for dinner. The Food and Beverage Manger will offer these when demand is low and you'll only see that when bookings actually start happening on board. Ask away. All of us here love to talk about cruising.

In general, you are correct and also that position is in keeping with CDC guidelines on testing asymptomatic people. However, I'd argue cruising is a different ball game than where your average joe on the street sits. For example, you're traveling to an EU port and you're flying in to that port 2d before your sail date. The country you're traveling to requires you to be vaccinated with proof and present a negative antigen test within 72h (PCR) or 48h (AG) of arrival. Do you want to risk the entire trip getting blown up because you tested positive on either an AG or PCR test taken within the window? You'll be in an avoidable scramble mode having to cancel airline tickets, transport and excursion booked privately if you arranged this and hotel reservations. Your cruise fare is protected and let's hope you had travel insurance to cover the other cancellation penalties you will incur. Do self tests for everyone in your traveling party a week before the start of the window period to avoid that circumstance. For cruises from US ports, maybe not getting tested in advance works for you. OK, IMO, if you're asymptomatic. If you have what you think might be COVID symptoms in the period leading up to the week before the testing window starts, I'd recommend self testing with a rapid antigen test at least 3d after symptoms appeared and again in 5-6d. But you're right this is a "to each his own" circumstance. A good idea if you're sweating this.

For the type of screening tonyfsu21 appears to be doing, use a self test (e.g. Binax Now) a week before the start of the 2d antigen screening window. I'd not recommend doing a proctored test as, yes, at least for the Binax Now Proctored Tests we used, state health authorities and the CDC are notified of results....official labs like Emed which Abbot (Binax Now) uses in proctored testing is required by law to report results of testing to state PHA's and the CDC. What comes of that information I have no idea. If you test positive on the at home self screening AG test, schedule a PCR test within the 3d window period. If it's positive well, C'est La Vie, you're not going cruising and other guests on your cruise will thank you.