Ship

Matt has some great photos of these rooms…
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/11/photo-tour-of-2-bedroom-grand-suite-royal-caribbeans-freedom-of-the-seas

Matt has some great photos of these rooms…
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/01/11/photo-tour-of-2-bedroom-grand-suite-royal-caribbeans-freedom-of-the-seas

This is by design. The app allows you to pull up any sailing in the coming months and check out ship, activities, etc. If you click on select different sailing at the bottom, you will have the option to either click into one of your actual upcoming reservations or select another ship and mock sailing.
Hope that helps!

To show you how twisted my sense of humor is I was on Anthem when we pulled into San Juan beside Oasis.  As I looked right into the UP cabin knowing I had booked that very suite I was tempted to buy a blow up Barbie and Ken life size doll set thinking I could place them is various positions when I was out of the UP cabin because you can see into these cabins while in port or if another ship is right beside you.

There are some privacy concerns with the UP.  The windows are not tinted so while in port a set of binoculars or telephoto lens will be able to look right into the cabin.  Also the balcony cabins on deck 14 can look forward into the UP windows so expect to have the rear shades closed most of the time.  
The more I've thought about, the less I was drawn to them.  I got a great rate when they first opened so maybe it was a blessing my cruise was chartered.  I'm much happier in the GPS hoping it doesn't get cancelled with another charter.  
I may do a 1L panoramic ocean view at some point just for the view which was the most compelling reason to do the UP in the first place. 

If you are that concerned about being on a huge ship with a few kids on board, then you're not likely to be traveling, none the less cruising, anyway.

True! I started cruising when I was young and continued after having children, my son and daughter love it so much. Cruising is our favorite type of vacation as it has something for everyone! 

The WHO recommends against vaccine verification for international travel
 
https://www.who.int/news/item/19-04-2021-statement-on-the-seventh-meeting-of-the-international-health-regulations-(2005)-emergency-committee-regarding-the-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-pandemic

Thought I'd post some interesting and good news today. We need that.
Read an interesting Bloomberg News piece on government's authority to mandate vaccines. A good deal of it dealt with Governor Desants' EO banning "vaccine passports." His intent was to ban such requirements for a patron to enter any business operating in FL under a FL business license. There was lots of misinformation about this pretty narrowly focused EO as you'd expect that implied it had broad effect and would include cruise lines. I had argued it won't as I understood it. The debate continues - mostly because controversy is newsworthy. Let's clear some things up:
A requirement to show proof of vaccine for entry wouldn't violate HIPA as has been claimed. That is because the entity requiring such information isn't a healthcare entity. According to the lawyer quoted in the Bloomberg piece, "there is no statutory, regulatory or constitutional bar to that (a requirement to show proof of vaccination for entry) to happen as long as it is applied in a non-discriminatory manner." I think that last legal opinion is definitive on it's face. Clearly that's not going to end the debate. What I think is clear is that the cruise lines have looked at the legal implications of requiring vaccinations to board and have decided that it is necessary layer of many other mitigation measures and requiring it is legal. Plan on getting vaccinated if you want to board a cruise ship when cruising restarts. I like that
Desantis was quoted as apparently implying the cruise industry would be required to comply with his ban. I can't find that direct quote. I also think that given his strong support for the restart of cruising, if he actually did say that, there are plenty of ways for him to side-step it.
In other vaccine news is you haven't heard it already, Pfizer has announced "a third shot (a booster) will likely be required 12 months from the date of your second shot." I never thought there was any question that SRAS2 would become seasonal much like influenza and that annual shots would be recommended to blunt it's effects. SARS2 is with us. I think this is good news. It indicates Pfizer thinks SARS2 will become seasonal and immunity will wane over time. It will need to be boosted. Like the influenza virus, its genomic makeup will vary. The one thing we have going for us is that these mRNA vaccines have 90-90% efficacy with effectiveness, even in the face of variants, around 80% effective in preventing death, serious illness and transmission. Flu vaccines are between 35 and 50% effective. 
A CBS's 60 Minutes segment aired on Sunday. It featured a scientist who works within DARPA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) who described two pretty amazing advancements that "would stop the next pandemic in its tracks." (Link belwo) The reason I mention this is that most of us are suffering from pandemic fatigue and have lost some hope for the future. We'll let me tell you scientists and researchers haven't lost hope and continue to advance technologies and therapeutics in ways unimaginable a decade ago.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-pandemic-science-military-60-minutes-2021-04-11/
Unrelated to COVID, my daughter is such a researcher. She lives and works in Switzerland. Her work involves supervising a research project that builds synthetically derived tissues that when assembled become an organ. One can then test the effect of a therapeutic without involving human trials. The net result is speeding the introduction of advanced therapeutics through the regulatory process. A kidney and liver have already been assembled. Proof of concept is underway.  
Have nice day! ?

I don't see other cruise lines following this. They need kids on board too much.

I think banning kids and families will backfire big time for NCL. And it'd be even worse for RC to change their mind now.

In an effort to thwart chair hogs has anyone considered a "parking meter" type contraption on deck chairs? It would be simple, scan your cruise card and get 60 minutes of time on the clock. Put your books and towels on the chair if you wish. When the timer goes off a crew member can remove the items and free up the chair. If you are legitimately in the pool area, go top off the timer and get another 60 minutes. 

Hopefully masks won’t be needed for much longer. Those that like them can continue to wear, just like in the past. ?

Hopefully masks won’t be needed for much longer. Those that like them can continue to wear, just like in the past. ?

Hopefully masks won’t be needed for much longer. Those that like them can continue to wear, just like in the past. ?

Both Disney and Universal Studios just announced that they will no longer require temperature checks. I'm sure that the mask mandate may fall by the wayside soon as well. 
I still don't believe that what DeSantis is doing is going to affect the cruise lines. He has no control over them. I'm still saying that cruising from Florida will start up in mid July. 

Hopefully masks won’t be needed for much longer. Those that like them can continue to wear, just like in the past. ?

You should be able to get closer to these lighthouses by land. 
 
If you want to get close by sea, I recommend the Costa line. 

In most cases you get what you pay for.