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Just had 3 of 8 scheduled Covid tests (rapid PCR) get cancelled by CVS. Did my due diligence and scheduled them 2 weeks out and got everything squared away. Now I’m scrambling to find alternative testing sites in the area. Doesn’t help that 0 testing sites are giving tests on 12/31 or 01/01 (I checked all of them weeks ago when appointments opened). Cruise boards on 01/03.

Also, we can’t do the proctored tests because we have unvaccinated kids under 12. Luckily only the adults got cancelled at this point. Really is a mess trying to get tested with the proper non-antigen test in the 1 day window for testing the holiday crams us into. Praying we get results back on time as there’s literally no room for error or other alternatives I can think of for our situation.

Got adult tests rescheduled. Just wanted to post this story to help others, might want to schedule a “backup” test.

Anyone here know of anyone that's had a name change since their Covid-19 vaccination, and if they've had any issues with using their vaccination card with their previous name to sail?

Wife changed her name since she got vaccinated and wondering if we'll run into issues since all her documents will have her new name, and her vaccination card will still have her old name.

21 minutes ago, LizzyBee23 said:

I think the date being so far out may be to signify two things: 1.) the mandates are here to stay, and 2.) a shot across the bow about a future date for pediatric vaccine requirements.

I'm really hoping they don't create any new pediatric vaccine requirements. My kids pediatrician has already recommended against vaccinating my kids 7, 8yo so mine won't be unless his recommendation changes. I'm going to assume he's not the only one recommending against kids in that age range being vaccinated.

Took a cab, had a great driver that talked to us the whole time about all the things we were driving by and the history. Was like we booked a tour.

Cabin all the way forward or aft on lowest decks. (Or any deck for the walking distance.)

Anchor noise, docking noise, and stabilizer noise.

Fairly sure a stabilizer was broken on one cruise, middle of the night you'd hear a loud SLAM like something metal smashing into the side of the ship. It would wake you up and you'd have to deal with trying to sleep over the sound of it doing this slamming noise randomly all night long. 

Or a cabin below the pool deck/buffet restaurant. Deck chair noise at all hours of the night while crew stacks/unstacks them or drag them across the deck.

Mine took less than 24 hrs to apply. I went directly through Royal.

Can those who have recently cruised on AOS through the Bahamas and Cozumel share your mask requirements on different shore excursions you went on?

Bahamas and Cozumel both still have mask mandates and I'm curious when/where this is being enforced on RCL booked excursions.

Yet another option... forget transporting it on the plane and just buy it before we board. There appears to be a liquor store a few hundred feet from the pier. Prices for Non-US wine is usually similar so I think I might just pick up a few bottles there before heading to boarding.

Thank you @Josh C!

I think I have a plan.
1. Pack the wine we want to bring in Jet Bags in our checked baggage for the flight.

2. Open luggage after clearing customs to remove the wine and place it in a small backpack that I can easily carry around the island with all our documents.

3. Send rest of the suitcases to the ship.

4. Explore Nassau until later in the day and check in for dinner on the ship.

More questions that might come up:

- With how bags are being handled in a non-traditional way, how would someone carry on wine?
- Can we still bring 2 bottles onboard?
- Do we have to handle anything at Bahamas customs by bringing 2 bottles of wine in checked baggage?

I'm looking at my options for exploring Nassau since I'm coming in the morning of the cruise. I love exploring new ships, but I'd hate to waste a whole day in Nassau if it's available.

Hopefully someone who was on this or the next AOS sailing can answer.

My questions:

- Can you disembark after checking-in and entering the ship in Nassau on embarkation day to explore the island?
     If Yes,
     - What time do you need to be back on board?

     Regardless,
     - Luggage is, dropped off/taken to the ship, at check-in (British Colonial hotel)?
     - Are you required to immediately board after check-in?

28 minutes ago, DublinFC said:

anyone know when the case is supposed to be heard today?  If already posted and I missed it my apologies.

10am start time. Last hearing went on for almost 4 hours.

Don't panic. A lot of things are shifting around right now. They likely have closed some of the bookings to avoid conflicts with lift & shift customers.

Hearing scheduled for 6/10/2021 10:00AM. Looks like we're not going to get any ruling until ANOTHER hearing is held. 

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59804600/state-of-florida-v-becerra/

23 minutes ago, FManke said:

Bringing food off of the ship is a big no-no. Some ports even employ dogs to sniff out "food smugglers." 

In Cozumel there are dogs at the end of the pier sniffing for food and there are baskets full of various ship foods they've confiscated. Mostly bananas...

12 minutes ago, Matt said:

Kids are allowed on all Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises.

In the case of Celebrity, they've said once the ship hits 5% capacity of unvaccinated passengers during bookings, passengers under 16 who are unvaccinated will not be able to purchase a ticket.

This seems like the fastest path back to service and how they can book families under current guidance. Test cruises with the extra protocols will cause restart delays. At this point it's almost a choice of cruise vaccinated or wait until fall when the current CSO expires to sail.

I foresee the CDC denying 1 or 2 "test" voyages that are run before gaining approval, and they've got to do it for EVERY ship. 

CDC could've made it so much easier on the family oriented lines by stating it differently. What percentage of passengers on cruises are under 12? This data isn't available anywhere I've seen. But my best guess in what I've seen, there's a maximum of 200 kids under 12 on cruises that are carrying 4k-6k passengers. I don't think I've ever seen more than 5% of a ship filled with <12yo 

For ships with at least 95% of crew and 100% of passengers over 12 years old fully vaccinated. < Writing it this way would've made it 100% more clear.

Recent video of Fain posted in @Matt blog has him saying ships could be sailing as early as next month (June). Not sure if that's what he meant or he's referring to July, but as of right now I believe the optimistic viewpoint is that July cruises will still be on for those that have not been cancelled.

This could be a "testing the market" situation. Happens every once in a while, like in real estate, a real estate agent will price a house above market just to see if it will sell or garner interest. If it works it pushes the market up higher... Alternatively, it could be they're expecting/planning to run ships at reduced capacity and have decided to raise fares to compensate for those losses.

IMO, I'd expect prices to normalize within 3-6 months for off peak sailings and maybe a year for peak time.

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

Tell that to the people who expect luggage tags on day 89. 

I always spend a lot of time planning ahead for vacations. It's killing me to have to wait until the last minute to do all the normal things I would've done by now, check-in, tags, transport,  OBP, excursions, etc. 

I just noticed the entire Royal Caribbean fleet is Bahamas flagged. I doubt they'd pull the Adventure sailings and irritate them. It's also kind of a big deal for them because their goal is to be a long term homeport going forward, and they're pushing to invest in cruise terminal infrastructure, etc.

I see they pushed it out past their anticipated guidance update at the end of this week. Maybe CDC is hoping Florida will agree to drop it after the new guidance is released and digested by the cruise lines. 

I feel like the renewed optimism of summer US cruises we're seeing from Royal plays into this theory.

7 minutes ago, Matt said:

Link?

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59804600/state-of-florida-v-becerra/#entry-58

Notice of mediation conference/hearing just filed. Who wants to donate to Pacer to get it? 

33 minutes ago, twangster said:

Indeed.  

A great sign would be the CDC removing test cruises entirely.

 

I agree with removing them entirely. What does the CDC have to gain from test cruises other than putting another gate/roadblock in the process? If the cruise lines have to "test" their protocols to make sure they're effective then it seems to point out the person writing the protocols has no idea if they're going to work. 

Simple steps:
1. Write the rules.
2. Clarify rules with cruise line operators over short period (This really should only take a maximum of 1-2 weeks).
3. Enforce rules by punishing non-compliance.

I honestly believe the CDC has done a reprehensible job of Step 1. If they established requirements even close to what we have on land we'd have been at step 3 ages ago.