JasonOasis

God I hope so it would be nice to see Navigator sailing out of Long Beach year around...... Fingers crossed!!!!

If cruising has resumed in the U.S. by June and if the Oasis is fully crewed and ready to resume cruising is there a reason why you believe Cape Liberty could remain closed?

I explicitly stated one part of it is testing I never stated the "no positives cases" is 100% attributed to day of embarkation testing alone. It is one part of a multilayer system that is working in Singapore and can be modified, enhanced and adapted to allow cruising to safely resume in this country by July or August of this year. Cruise lines in Europe and EU governments have figure out their own plan for safe resumption of cruising, the CDC together with cruise lines here in the US can figure this out by working together and the first step in working together is having a dialog with each other. So I stand by my comment it is encouraging news to see the CDC reach out to RCG and I am hopeful cruising will resume in this country this summer.

You bring up a really good point 35,000 passengers have sailed without a single positive case. One part of that is also do to testing the day of embarkation, that is a key difference between RCCL in Singapore and what CCL proposed a few weeks ago where they would allow a person to board with a 5 day old negative test. This is encouraging news at least the CDC is talking with cruise lines so at least they realize they need to get the ball rolling.

Wonder of the Seas is do to enter service at some point in 2022. I'm wondering if Wonder of the Seas will traverse the same route as Spectrum of the Seas did in 2019 to get to China? Or is Wonder to large to take the same route the smaller Spectrum took especially through the Suez Canal? Spectrum of the Seas had some interesting ports of call during that one way journey. So far I've only book one cruise in 2022 I'm trying to hold out to see how Royal Caribbean plans to get Wonder from Europe to China.

This does open the door for RCG to resume European cruises. In addition to Odyssey of the Seas which is slated to begin sailing out of Europe once its handed over, RCG also has Jewel and Anthem of the Seas anchored off shore near South Hampton, Celebrity Cruises also has a couple of ships stationed in Europe as well. If some European governments allow cruising to resume RCG appears to be ready to go. The only issue is for now is American's still can not travel to most of Europe as a tourist so these cruises initially will be for Europeans only. With most European governments putting even more international travel restrictions in place over the past few weeks I think it is going to be a while (July or August) before Europe relaxes restrictions to the point where Americans and enter freely like we did prior to COVID.

@gabeb848 I went back and looked at the photos, how high do you think the ceilings are inside Windjammers market place? As many times as I've been on an Oasis Class ship I've never actually paid attention to the ceiling height in Windjammers. How ever tall the ceilings are in Windjammers is how tall the ceilings will be on the lower suites on Wonder of the Seas, because the lower level suites are located where Windjammers is located on all other Oasis Class vessels. And it would appear Windjammers has be relocated down to deck 16. But from the pictures either Windjammers is going to be huge or Royal Caribbean will re-locate other venues to the deck 16. You might be right crown lofts may only be one level on Wonder of the Seas. The more I look at the renderings the more differences I'm noticing between Wonder and other Oasis Class ships.

@gabeb848 I just spent a few minutes going over the rendering of Wonder of the Seas and if you notice the entire upper floor levels have been completely redesigned. Look at the floor directly below the pool deck where the flow rider is located, on a US Oasis Class ship there are cabins on deck 16. But looking at what I'm assuming is deck 16 on Wonder of the Seas it looks more like an upscale restaurant, or upscale gaming or perhaps maybe even shopping, it is hard to say with certainty but there for sure are no cabins where you would traditionally find cabins on other Oasis Class ships. Also if you look at the full rendering of Wonder of the Seas you will notice another big difference. You suggested they perhaps remove some crown loft suites I'm thinking just the opposite. Look at the full picture of the ship instead of there only being one deck with cabins there are now two decks with cabins and both decks appear to be at least two stories high. Looking at the pictures it looks like the crown lofts will now be located one deck below all Star Class suites on Wonder of the Seas. Judging from the photos I'm thinking Wonder of the Seas may actually be taller than any US based Oasis Class ship.

This is what I was trying to suggest a few weeks ago RCG needs to get ahead of this by being proactive and not reactive. I'm not saying they need to cancel all their May and June cruises right now. I do however believe at the very least RCG should reintroduce options like the lift and shift and and extend the cruise with confidence programs now and not wait until the next round of massive cancellations are announced. Another reason why it makes sense to reintroduced these options now and not wait is it will reduce the strain on their reservation centers and employees if and when the next round of massive cancellations are announced.

July 2021 is probably the earliest cruise line can realistically resume cruising. As long as the CDC is sitting on the sidelines not giving the cruise lines any information or directions as to how to at the very least conduct the required test cruises normal cruising can not resume. Four or five days ago there were reports in the Miami Herald that have subsequently been walked back but the original report stated the Biden Administration was considering restricting travel to Florida. As stated the administration has since walked back those comments an official gave to the Miami Herald but together the fact the Biden Administration considered but then walked away from requiring all passengers test negative before a domestic flight gives us insight into where this Administration and head of the CDC is at right now. With all the travel related news coming out of Washington D.C. over the past few weeks and the CDC's directors stance and willingness to entertain the idea of restricting travel to Florida and domestic travel over all, with all of this information even a July resumption date might be overly optimistic.

Thank you I'm going to go ahead and book the January 2023 cruise.

I've sailed on Anthem 3 times in the past but never during the winter (DEC-MAR). Royal always throws some really cool one off type cruises on Anthem, and in January 2023 they have an 11 night Southern Caribbean cruise that caught my attention. My question is for those who have cruised out of Bayonne during the winter how many days does it take to reach warm weather on the outbound and how many days are you in cold weather on the inbound? I'm asking because I live in cold weather state this cruise looks great but I'm just wondering how many days will I have to spend in the cold while onboard?

I like the analogy you used because no one is saying everyone must be vaccinated. Everyone will still have a choice even those who work for the cruise line if they choose to not be vaccinated they they are choosing to end their employment with the cruise line. Anyone can choose to not be vaccinated and that is okay it is their choice like you pointed out. However the cruise lines have every right to then say you can not work for us or cruise with us if you haven't been vaccinated. I honestly think this is coming and I think this is probably the only way the CDC allows cruising to resume from US ports.

If this drags out into the fall I say bring on Mexico and Barbados. Most people who don't live in Florida or near a homeport like New York or Long Beach already know we have to think about airfare when we cruise. Even before COVID a round trip to Mexico wasn't that expensive at least not from Chicago. Ticket prices depending on the airline were about $30-$40 dollars more than a flight to Florida. If the CDC wants to continue to punish cruise lines I say move some of these ships to a new homeport even if it's only temporary. It is a shame the disparity in how the CDC has treated the airlines v.s. the cruise lines.

My husband and I did not even get to go on a cruise at all last year. Our cruise was scheduled for April on Oasis of the Seas which was canceled. We also had a 12 night Australian cruise on Ovation of the Seas in November which I canceled after seeing just how serious COVID was and after the Australian Government completely shut down Australia. Even though the original plan was to re-open Australia on October 1, 2020 I had a gut feeling that wasn't going to happen and just canceled our cruise out right. We also had a second November 2020 cruise on the books a 7 night cruise on Symphony of the Seas which RCG canceled. The last time our feet stepped off a cruise ship was the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2019. We have two cruises booked this year one on Symphony of the Seas, their Halloween cruise (I love being on a cruise ship on Halloween for some people its Christmas or Thanksgiving for me its Halloween, it is so much fun). After that cruise our next cruise is in November on Odyssey of the Seas for 9 nights. Fingers crossed the CDC allows cruising to resume and toes and legs crossed there are enough vaccine in widespread distribution with people vaccinated that we can at least have some semblance of a normal cruise.

I'm not sure the CDC is going to sign off on a plan that accepts COVID tests that could potentially be up to 5 days old. The CDC requires all international inbound travelers to present a negative test taken within 72 hours of their arrival into the US. With that in mind there is no way the CDC green lights a plan that would allow passengers to board a cruise ship with results that could be up to 120 hours old. If Carnival wants to push the CDC then they should follow MSC's lead and require all passengers present a negative test within 48 hours of embarkation or they could take it a step further and offer the rapid antigen test at the port which is similar to what some airline and airports around the world have rolled out. It is a great first step but I don't see the CDC signing off on this plan unless Carnival makes some serious changes to their pre-embarkation testing requirements.

There are several things that caught my attention in Carnival's announcement. First was guest are allowed to submit a test taken up to 5 days prior to cruising. While that might seem like a great idea its concerning because that is a lot of time between the test and the cruise. I think last year MSC required all guest over the age of 6 to present a negative test taken within 48 hours of embarkation. The second thing that caught my eye was guest will be required to wear mask at all times outside their stateroom which is to be expected. However the second bullet point under the exceptions stated eating and drinking seated at a table. Does this mean the only way you can be serve or consume any type of food or drink outside of your stateroom is if you are seated at a table? No more walking while enjoying a cocktail? I'm just trying to see if interpreting the restrictions correctly.

Sorry for confusing the Jones act and the Passenger Service Vehicle Act. Also sorry that my comments were misconstrued I never blamed RC for the Pandemic all I stated is RC needs to admit it isn't over. Looking at recent extension of travel bans to the EU some have been extended until May, others have no expiration date, however all will have an impact Americans, any American with a European cruise booked between May and July should prepare themselves for a cancelation. I work in the travel industry I get these alerts and travel ban updates all I was trying to say is RC should go back to the policies they had in place during the second half of last year by being proactive instead of reactive by reinstating the lift and shift an extend the cruise with confidence program to cover all 2022 cruises. If this is me sounding like a maniac I'm okay with it but I am truly sorry my comment came across as me blaming RC for COVID that was not my intent.

If you are use to wearing a mask everywhere it probably won't be a problem, for others who only wear a mask when it is necessary they may be uncomfortable. It is just another thing to think about if you are planning on cruising later on in 2021. I have 2 cruises planned this year one in October another in November, if masking is still required, and social distancing still required even after getting vaccinated I may move those cruises once again to October and November of 2022 because one is a 7 day the other a 9 day. However, I won't make that decision until July or August of this year. If cruising hasn't resumed from US ports by August at the latest then I'm done, I'll just move everything to 2022. If the US hasn't figured this mess out by 2022 I don't know what I'm going to do, both my husband and I love cruising but we can't do this forever I guess we will have to shift back to land vacations. I don't mind wearing a mask, both my husband and I wear masks everywhere except in our home, I just don't know if I want to be bother with masking up on a cruise ship. Get the vaccines up and running, fix the distribution so anyone who wants a shot can get a shot so we can get this virus under control.

RC should immediately cancel the entire 2021 Alaska Cruise season. The Jones Act is not going away or being temporarily suspended simply because of the pandemic. Royal should at once reinstate the Lift and Shift program and extend the program so that is covers all 2022 cruises. I know in 2020 we were all hoping this would all be behind us in 2021, RC needs to acknowledge the pandemic isn't over, the virus is still not under control, the CDC is slow walking the requirements for a return to cruising, governments like the Cayman Island and now Canada have banned cruise ships until 2022. For these reasons and more they should reinstate the lift and shift for all of 2022.

How much power does the CDC have? Meaning can the CDC mandate all crew members and passengers be fully vaccinated before working or boarding a cruise out of all US ports? Is there anything that would either allow or prevent the CDC from passing such a mandate while leaving it to the cruise lines to enforce said mandate?

Are you suggesting those interested in sailing out of Galveston on an Oasis Class ship not book until January 2023 do to construction delays? Or are you saying don't book any cruise until January 2023?

MSC Meraviglia and MSC Divina I've been on both the Divina once and the Meraviglia twice on cruises out of Miami. First and foremost the boarding process is a complete fill in the blank.... show, and we were staying in the Yacht Cub suites. They make you wait in this small dingy room and each person has to see a MSC representative. On one cruise we actually sat in that room nearly 45 minutes while they called people who came into the room after us. Then because you are Yacht Club they have to escort you on the ship it is the craziest thing ever and it is so frustrating . Also when you purchase specialty dinning packages you still can not order anything on the menu. They have a small selection you can choose from everything else on the menu cost extra on top of the dinning package. Once onboard the design and flow of the ships makes no sense and on days when you are at sea MSC's cruise staff does not really plan many onboard activities. I've heard I should give MSC Seaside a try because that ship was designed and built specifically for the US market and has a more American feel than the Divina or Meraviglia. The three good things I will say about MSC is their buffet is open 21 out of 24 hours everyday, they have new shows in the main theater every night, and MSC Meraviglia has Cirque du Soleil at sea. Let me tell you this there is not a single Royal Caribbean show that comes even close to matching the Meraviglia's Cirque du Soleil at sea and they have 2 different shows and both were hands down the best shows I've seen at sea. The quality of those shows match what you see in Las Vegas the shows were just that good.

I'm not sure why everyone is getting so bent out of shape. Royal Caribbeans restrictions will vary from country to country depending on the homeport of the cruise ship. Singapore has some of the strictest requirements in place of any nation. Therefore it is to be expected that the Singaporean Government would extend those restrictions or even tighten those restrictions for cruise lines. For those of us living in the US, I don't see the point in getting upset because if the CDC has its way cruising isn't going to resume in this country until at least mid- summer if we are lucky. The truth is anyone planning on taking a cruise in 2021 should be prepared for some type of restrictions while onboard. If you don't want any restrictions then I would suggest considering delaying your cruises until at least mid-2022 at the earliest or even 2023.

I don't disagree with you, you are absolutely right but at the same time I completely understand why cruise lines are looking at home-porting ships outside of the US. The US market is one of the cruise industries biggest markets. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out because you are right the long arm of the CDC will still impact American's trying to come home after their cruise if these restrictions are still in place.