acesandeights

Some more encouraging vaccine news from Down Under
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/university-of-queensland-coronavirus-vaccine-trials-prove-successful-on-elderly/news-story/414925bd8710ceef76a1fcdf9c2d7b02

DT said the Covid talk would go away after Nov 4th.....he's been right...I haven't see much at all about Covid deaths and cases in the US since, even though its record setting and will continue to be I am sure with all the celebrations for Biden that the news wont criticize or call super spreader events....?
As for a vaccine..I'll take any news  we can get  that gives us any hope or good news!!!...this seems the most promising so far out of all of them....Here in Canada, our prime minister is hopeful that first quarter of 2021 we will have vaccines rolling out...at least in limited #'s.

Once again, keep the political talk, conspiracy theories and Canadian bacon discussion out of these threads please.

I have to agree with you.  Nothing that I wanted had gone down below the usual sales price.

There is a new Black Friday Casino offer, out yesterday.  As part of that offer, for the first time ever, Club Royale is offering double rewards points for casino play time.  Not to be confused with Crown & Anchor points, casino rewards points are awarded for casino play and is based on the amount of time you play, the amount of your wagers and the individual games (or slots) that you play.  Award points can result in "free" casino cruises, cumulative points towards qualifying for the following year's casino status and discounts on future cruises.
We booked an additional Mariner sailing to go along with the other 2 we have, giving us a B3B on Mariner in Sept. 2021.  Fingers crossed that they will allow a B3B by then and that they will allow >7 nights on board.

The Key will have a designated place (either Chops Grill or the MDR) for their embarkation lunch.  If the designated place is Chops, all Key personnel who wants embarkation lunch will go to Chops to eat.  IF their designated place is the MDR, all Key personnel will go to the MDR to get their embakation lunch.  Regardless of which venue that they eat in, the menu is the same - and it is from Chops Grill.

Was on Ovation 2 weeks ago in a suite. Because of key sales chops was closed for everyone else. Concierge could not even get table. So another suite perk falls off the list. It does amaze me how royal has taken something that literally costs them nothing, early boarding, move up in line, wi-fi and a lunch and have turned it into a large revenue source. What next clean towels and soap 10 dollars a day. Coin slot on tv. Elevators cost 1 dollar a ride. 

Photo credit: Unimedien

I read over on another forum a user claims they will use floating drydocks instead of digging out a graving dock.  
Chances are 90% of the work will come from non-cruise ships simply because there are so many more tankers, cargo and container ships compared to cruise ships.  
The Freeport yard owned jointly by Royal and Carnival may eventually get back into the fray if they get the two broken dry docks back in service.  Even if they do they likely won't attempt the mega ships in Freeport again plus some maintenance does require the entire ship be dry, not just part of it.  Royal and Carnival will likely continue to use Freeport for the ships that will fit simply because they own the yard.
Only time will tell what Oasis class do.  It will be 2024 when the next cycle begins with Oasis for her 5 year mandatory dry dock.  That will be her 15th year in service and she will soon reach the time when ships begin to require more frequent visits to dry docks for mandatory maintenance.  Older ships must dry dock every two and half years so doing so in Mexico versus crossing the Atlantic will be very compelling.  Even more so on a 30 month cycle because that won't always line up with the European summer cruise season so avoiding a costly transatlantic off season will be significant.
With Icon class on the horizon having a shipyard capable of mega ships in North America could be a game changer looking well down the road.  Even for Odyssey they will have to see how her numbers look in the Caribbean versus the Med.  If she makes more money in the Caribbean seasons and they can keep her here in 5 years time when she needs her first mandatory dry dock I'm sure they'll have no issues having the work done in Mexico.  
By the time any of Royal's largest ships in the Atlantic basin require a dry dock there will have been hundreds of non-cruise ships through the Progresso shipyard and it will be well known in the shipping industry how the quality of work in this yard compares to other shipyards.   I suspect it will be fine.  Fincantieri knows ships.  It's their shipyard and while numerous blue collar jobs will be staffed by Mexicans they will staff management, engineering and other key positions from around the world.   At the end of the day the shipyard has to compete with other shipyards or it will fail.   

Not sure I can agree with this one 100%. I was looking at Azamara for 2022 European itineraries (they and Oceania are actually the only other lines I've found to have released them), and they had two Med itineraries of interest -- I want to say 9-night and 11-night -- that started at $3,600 and $4,000 per person, respectively, for an inside cabin. Vs .Celebrity, with very similar itineraries on Constellation in 2021, that were averaging $1,600 per person for an inside; and $2,400 per for a verandah. And those prices were reflecting the new Always Included changes. I realize that Connie is about 2x-3x the passenger capacity of Journey, and that I'm looking at 2021 vs 2022 sailings. But that is definitely not what I'd call "approaching Azamara".
And last I checked, Azamara wasn't any more all-inclusive than X; with Always Included, they may actually be a bit less all-inclusive since they don't include internet (granted, of less value on super port-intensive cruises like they offer) and IIRC also don't include alcoholic beverages on board. (my TA was also uncertain about that, so please correct me if that's wrong)
I will be checking the 2022 pricing quite closely on Celebrity when those Med itineraries finally get released. But even though I have back-burnered those Azamara sailings for the time being, I highly doubt that X will price theirs at close to those numbers. And when buying two cabins for my whole family, Azamara pricing is just too high to manage on my budget.

Probably time to cull the fleet.  A couple of the M class are tired despite the "Revolution upgrade" .  We sailed Alaska on Millennium after upgrade and were underwhelmed.

Afraid I agree with Twangster and Eric on this. We like to cruise Celebrity if we can get a Celebrity Suite that includes the Retreat. We moved our March 2021 Summit cruise to March 2022 which has now been cancelled, so maybe Summit is going.
Checking Celebrity Suites for 7 nights on Apex/Edge for March 2022 is between $14k-$16k for us both depending on itinerary. Celebrity needs to look at that price point as I'm now looking at Silverseas for that money.
We'll still cruise RC when we travel with our group of friends but fear Celebrity have lost us for the couple of cruises a year we like to take as just a couple.

was thinking about that today at dinner, Kind of like 7 thanksgiving in a row

Exactly the same amount, down to the last crumb of pumpkin pie.
Caveat: I have only ever eaten one Thanksgiving dinner and that was on a cruise. ?

That sounds totally believable.  Throw in alcohol, and its way over the top.

This is why there is a process to have trials and review manufacturer claims.  As much as everyone wants a vaccine ASAP we have to let the process work.

Nope

https://www.azamara.com/life-onboard/inclusive-amenities
 
INCLUSIVE AMENITIES FOR ALL GUESTS:
 
Complimentary AzAmazing Evenings® event (on most voyages) Gratuities Select standard spirits, international beers and wines Bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas Self-service laundry Shuttle service to and from port communities, where available Concierge services for personal guidance and reservations ADDITIONAL AMENITIES FOR VERANDA PLUS* GUESTS:
 
Complimentary Internet (120 minutes or 25% off the unlimited internet package) per guest* One free bag of laundry service per stateroom, every seven days* One night of complimentary specialty dining for two, each seven days Priority embarkation and debarkation Complimentary in-room spirits  
EVEN MORE AMENITIES FOR SUITE GUESTS:
English butler service 240 complimentary Internet minutes per guest One free bag of laundry service per suite, each seven days Complimentary seating in the specialty restaurants dining Priority embarkation and debarkation Complimentary in-room spirits In-suite afternoon tea service $300 in Onboard Credit per person (Club World Owner’s Suites, Club Ocean Suites, Club Spa Suites categories only)

I was very reluctant to spend money on cruise planner purchases but I couldn't resist:
Coco Beach Club --- $53.99 PP
Helium Balloon Ride ---$36.99 PP (not sure if that is good or not)
On our Alaska cruise in August 2021 --- please God, let this one happen ... it's our anniversary and we have a Grand Suite on Quantum!
All Access Ship Tour --- $79.99 PP (I couldn't get the same time for 2 people who would like to do the tour together --- I bought two separate times on the same day... can this be changed?)
Refreshment Package ---$18 per day for the wife ... she likes the better coffee and bottled water ... I use the soda glass!  We like wine, an occasional beer etc, but that is an amenity with the Grand Suite during happy hour.... right???

Royal notes their advertised cruise planner discounts relative to onboard pricing.  That's very convenient since no one knows what the price is onboard until they get onboard at which time the cruise planner has been closed for at least two days.  It's nearly impossible to validate the banner discounts as advertised.
"Pre Cruise Deal" historically was available across the board and typically around 10% off onboard rates.  The cruise planner will almost always be cheaper than onboard rates and the "standard" discount is usually around 10% without any other sales in effect.
I tend to keep or scan the excursion books from onboard for many of my cruises.  For 2021 in Alaska I am seeing up to 50% price increases compared to 2019.  Some CocoCay excursion rates follow this trend.  
A scuba excursion in 2021 at CocoCay is now $68.99 "on sale" compared to $49.99 "on sale" in 2019.  That is not as bad as the Alaska excursions increases I see but it is still a pretty dramatic increase compared to the cost of living index over the same period.
Cruise planner pricing for excursions is and always has been dynamic.  I keep a spreadsheet going for excursions I am interested in.  Pricing is based on supply and demand.  Best pricing isn't usually associated with promotions or sales they advertise.  On any given day of the week one excursion can see a price drop better than a Black Friday or Independence day sale.  There is no rhyme or reason, one day the price drops.  
If you see a price that works for you buy it knowing you can cancel it up to 3 days before sailing.  However keep on checking very often even when they are not offering a particular sale. 

That's why Celebrity is falling off my radar in favor of Azamara.  I was booked to the Galapagos but chose SilverSea over Celebrity.  I won't always cruise at that price point but when I do I'm going all the way. 
Celebrity is never going to be that in my opinion.  You just can't take large ships with nearly 3,000 guests and get there since the crew to guest ratio remains to be mass market ratios.  To truly get better service you need more crew.  Celebrity to me is mostly nicer decor with slightly better food over Royal.  The clientele is different and that is a bigger difference compared to decor, food and service.  

For full suites there is Barefoot Beach at Labadee.  There is golf cart service the short drive to Barefoot Beach.
The cabanas cost extra for all suites but the small beach area is dedicated to full suites and pinnacles.   There is an enhanced lunch buffet in the Barefoot Beach area for suite guests and a bar.  The bar operates like any bar on the ship - it's not included unless you have a drink package.  
There are no other areas or excursions dedicated to suites.

Edge has been wildly successful.  Apex bookings were equally successful.   
Just like they don't stretch ships anymore (smaller lines still do) revitalizing old ships is proving to not be a wise investment when compared to putting that money towards new builds.  
Celebrity is desperately trying to define its place.  The success of the Edge platform is the foundation of where it wants to go.  "Always In" is the next step to where it's trying to go and a step to distancing itself from RCI.  
Azamara has a distinct niche.  You can read what their CEO says here:
https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22233-azamara-brand-with-a-purpose.html
With the changes that Celebrity is making they are starting to find their place in the RCG family.