MuttMutt

I understand. I sometimes wear my contacts but am ok to drive or dive without corrective lenses. But yeah, getting on the ship and in the water is something I really miss right now. Did some local lake dives a couple months ago but closed on a house so trying to fix some issues before the middle of October so may not get much water time till then. Most of my lake dives end up being underwater clean up dives as well but I enjoy getting the trash out of the water and posting videos on YouTube. 

I understand. Hopefully things go well for you. 
 
I did my certification a little over 2 years ago in OKC after my wife passed away and it was one of the best things I could have done. 

I understand. Hopefully things go well for you. 
 
I did my certification a little over 2 years ago in OKC after my wife passed away and it was one of the best things I could have done. 

Rhapsody of the Seas is a vision class and predates the PADI onboard shop.  Pretty sure you still have to be on a Freedom, Oasis, Quantum, or Voyager class ship to have the PADI dive class available.  You could do the classroom part at a local dive shop and then do the in water portion at a port but that may require more than one day to complete depending on the dive operation at the port.  It would also likely need to be booked outside of the cruise lines available activities.  
 
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/01/23/royal-caribbean-becomes-only-cruise-line-offer-full-range-of-padi-scuba-diving-offerings

Current size for ships in the Panama canal is 1201ft  maximum length with a 168.14ft maximum width which is likely closer to the waterline. Draft is currently limited to 44ft of freshwater with a maximum height of 190ft above water unless there is a low water situation and then it's 205ft above water. 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax#Ship_dimensions
 
More than likely with the new locks in place the height will be the biggest issue. Freedom class seems to be about 209 feet above the water line for height but if that is saltwater measured it may squeeze through at low tide.  The Oasis class is an absolute no go as it is over 230 feet. The voyager class sits around 206 feet tall so if that is measured in saltwater it will likely just squeeze under the bridge at certain times as well. 
 
 

Multiple things for me. 
 
I will never pay full price for the drink package. And odds are good that I will never buy a drink package either. Tea is my main thing and it's free so no big deal there. 
 
I will never pay for a suite. And odds are good that I will always be in an inside room. A room is a place to cover the 5 S'  sleep,  shower,  shave,  sex,  and s... you fill in the last one.  I would rather walk around or people watch than sit in a room. 
 
I will never pay for a cabana on a private beach or island. 

I guess I got kinda lucky. Didn't get the same room on a B2B but only move next door and it was booked a couple months apart. 
 
It sucks that you didn't get them both but if it's close is not the end of the world either. You can make a call or two and see if you can get some sort of concession on it but this happen and for me a room is where you sleep not where you spend the whole day. 

Technically everyone who is on the cruise will be able to log in to the cruise planner and pay for things they want to do. If something is going to be booked as a group it may even be best to book an excursion with one person paying in case there are limited spots. Otherwise someone may get left out. 
 
With that said a Travel agent would not be a bad idea with so many people and rooms. Especially if you want them all close together. 
 
 
 

Technically everyone who is on the cruise will be able to log in to the cruise planner and pay for things they want to do. If something is going to be booked as a group it may even be best to book an excursion with one person paying in case there are limited spots. Otherwise someone may get left out. 
 
With that said a Travel agent would not be a bad idea with so many people and rooms. Especially if you want them all close together. 
 
 
 

Once on the ship with my gear stowed I plan to do as little as possible and outside of my dive excursions I'm not going to do much planning either. 

Once on the ship with my gear stowed I plan to do as little as possible and outside of my dive excursions I'm not going to do much planning either. 

Once on the ship with my gear stowed I plan to do as little as possible and outside of my dive excursions I'm not going to do much planning either. 

My number 2 dose of Pfizer was rough. Swelled lymph nodes,  fever,  chills, aches,  pains,  headache,  etc.  My friend got hers and want much more than a little tired and standard daily aches and pains,  maybe a headache but compared to me she got off easily. 

One unvaccinated person infected on a ship will blow up in the media and end up costing cruise lines hundreds of millions should the CDC step back in and declare them closed again.  Just the bad press from a claim of an infection from a cruise will cost all cruise lines a hit to stock prices and a drop in bookings.  That's a direct hit to their bottom line.
The absolute last thing any cruise line can afford is a case or claim of a case aboard a ship.  
I respect everyone's individual choice for or against getting a vaccine.  I also respect a business having the ability to establish policy to protect itself from a crazed media eager to see it fail.
To that end I hope cruise lines establish a vaccine requirement.  They need to do so to protect themselves. 
I'd really like to see a common sense policy of 100% vaccinated crew and guests with masks only required until you step your first foot onboard the ship.  At that point the mask comes off and the party begins.
I understand this will impact families with members that can't or choose not to vaccinate.  Unfortunately until this virus has moved past society that is an unfortunate outcome.  Once protocols are no longer used anywhere on land they can be removed from ships as well.  At that point all are welcome back on board just as they will be everywhere on land.
Cruising is NOT a constitutional right and businesses must be free to take whatever steps are necessary to operate and protect their brand.  
For those that choose not to vaccinate, including friends I have, that choice comes with consequences like not being to enjoy a cruise.  That is your right to choose, don't take this personal, it's not meant to be an attack but I'm ready to cruise and the safest way to make that happen as quickly as possible is to require a vaccine.  

My main issue is instead of expanding places to go they are removing them for trips leaving from Galveston. I agree that Falmouth doesn't habe a lot to offer unless you travel but removing it as an option and not putting something else in place is frustrating. 
 
I'm currently setup to do a B2B on Liberty because it will only visit 1 port twice in 2 weeks. There is no way I would do a B2B going to the same ports. 
 
And yes the ship is a part of the trip but I like to use it as a pleasant means to get to a dive site.  And I am sure others look at it in a similar way. I honestly would not be interested in a "trip to no where".

You get to chose which cruise it is applied to.  It's blanket applied so it may be worth it to use one and save the other for a different cruise (assuming you had two people booked with the same or similar stuff) and supplement the rest with cash if you are planning to do a second cruise as you can not save anything for another cruise.  Once the credit is applied it has to be used on that cruise but anything not used ahead of time should be applied to credit you can use onboard for gratuities and purchases.
 

With a single dose you still have some protection. Probably similar to the single dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine. The second dose gets you to the higher percentage of coverage,  honestly i am surprised that the single dose vaccine wasn't tested as a double for the higher efficacy. 

Like has been said they have AC. Went through in October 2019 and no issues with fog at all either. The terminal isn't brand new but they did have a priority line though I wasn't in it. Showed up at the port parking lot around 11:00 am and was out of the terminal by 12:30 which included the ride over and waiting in line for bags getting checked and then checking in as my travel companion had not been able to do so ahead of time. Waited the longest to go through the security though that was moving fairly well and with the new scheduled check in I am guessing that will be even faster. 
 
I do have to agree that it is much more of a drive to port but there are ways to get there after flying but for me driving down and parking is a better option. 
 
Getting off the ship afterwards is very fast if you choose to take your own luggage down. Customs took about 30 minutes including waiting in line once we were of the ship but other things delayed disembarking from the ship itself on that run. 

Like has been said they have AC. Went through in October 2019 and no issues with fog at all either. The terminal isn't brand new but they did have a priority line though I wasn't in it. Showed up at the port parking lot around 11:00 am and was out of the terminal by 12:30 which included the ride over and waiting in line for bags getting checked and then checking in as my travel companion had not been able to do so ahead of time. Waited the longest to go through the security though that was moving fairly well and with the new scheduled check in I am guessing that will be even faster. 
 
I do have to agree that it is much more of a drive to port but there are ways to get there after flying but for me driving down and parking is a better option. 
 
Getting off the ship afterwards is very fast if you choose to take your own luggage down. Customs took about 30 minutes including waiting in line once we were of the ship but other things delayed disembarking from the ship itself on that run. 

As far as the news reports go on which one is worse and if an existing vaccine works... well throw reading or watching them in the trash. Simply put the news is about ratings and big scary headlines makes most people interested in them. I can barely stand to watch the local weather with the oversensationalization and living in tornado alley is something you have to do sometimes.  That and I feel like I need to get tickets to all the "events" that seem to be popping up. 
 
Save yourself a major headache and an ulcer and watch and read less news about current events that are major headlines. 

Nice.  Got my second dose last Friday.  Lets just say plan to do nothing for a couple days after.  Headache was rough the first day about 2 hours after the shot.  Lymph nodes swelled as well and some nausea.  Second day was fever and headache with joint and muscle ache and chills.  I held off as long as I could before taking tylenol not wanting to interfere with the vaccine.  Third day was more of the same but much less, took tylenol that morning and was good after that.  Only other thing I noticed was being tired but having a hard time sleeping.
I am 41 and pretty good immune system, rarely get sick.  Neighbor of mine is older and had a headache and arm ache from the first one and second was about the same.  I am just glad I planned for down time as I honestly was in bed a good portion of the two days afterwards.

Nice.  Got my second dose last Friday.  Lets just say plan to do nothing for a couple days after.  Headache was rough the first day about 2 hours after the shot.  Lymph nodes swelled as well and some nausea.  Second day was fever and headache with joint and muscle ache and chills.  I held off as long as I could before taking tylenol not wanting to interfere with the vaccine.  Third day was more of the same but much less, took tylenol that morning and was good after that.  Only other thing I noticed was being tired but having a hard time sleeping.
I am 41 and pretty good immune system, rarely get sick.  Neighbor of mine is older and had a headache and arm ache from the first one and second was about the same.  I am just glad I planned for down time as I honestly was in bed a good portion of the two days afterwards.

I believe Cressi sells a mask that has replaceable lenses for people with a need for prescription lenses. I am ok to drive with correction but usually just wear contacts when I dive. I just make sure that I take along extra rewetting drops and flush my eyes well after each dive. 

The ability to go faster and mature it to Seattle is not the major issue. What is at issue is the law that requires any ship departing from the US to dock at a foreign port. 
 
https://www.smslegal.com/legal-news/cant-sail-one-port-another-america/
 
Either the US maritime law will have to be changed in some way or a concession for temp docking in Canada will have to happen. It's a good idea but at the same time may end up being irrelevant anyway by the time cruising actually restarts. 

The ability to go faster and mature it to Seattle is not the major issue. What is at issue is the law that requires any ship departing from the US to dock at a foreign port. 
 
https://www.smslegal.com/legal-news/cant-sail-one-port-another-america/
 
Either the US maritime law will have to be changed in some way or a concession for temp docking in Canada will have to happen. It's a good idea but at the same time may end up being irrelevant anyway by the time cruising actually restarts.