tonyfsu21

My kids make a real mess of the cabin (seriously embarrassing) so I feel obligated to excessively tip the attendant. I don’t do drink packages or dining packages but always tip $1 extra per drink and $20-$50 after speciality dining. My family does not do the main dining room either because of the 2 1/2 dinners and less then great food. These folks work really hard & I personally don’t mind tipping them for good service. No matter how you slice it, the speciality dining even with an excessive tip is much cheaper then a comparable land based option.

You could always book the Royal Loft Suite and have your Genie arrange a great party for you in the suite.

I landed # 17 three times in a row on roulette and wouldn’t take this bet. Keep in mind if they announced today that cruising would resume it would take a couple months to ramp up staff and other logistics.

Unless I’m onboard. I have some horrifically annoying extended family members that like to show up unannounced so I am constantly closing those doors.

Same here except we have been doing Thanksgiving since 2008 on a ship. It’s going to be very weird celebrating the holiday at home & not on a ship.

Personally I believe November sailings were a “no go” in September based on logistics alone. 2020 goes up in smoke. Hopefully by Summer 2021 we will be sailing again.

Aruba is perfection IMHO. We are addicted to the Southern Caribbean routes.

I admire your optimism, however, it’s still entirely possible that your March cruise will be axed along with all of 2021. Consider if cruising starts back up (best case now with crew mobilization could be 12/1) and despite all the COVID19 mitigation’s in place someone (either crew or guest) spreads the virus on a sailing...... At that point I believe the proverbial fat lady will be singing goodbye 2021.

We are hurting down here in Fort Lauderdale. The lack of ships in port has turned the 17th street area into a ghost town. I have to admit it was nice for the first month or so without all the people but at this point it’s just sad. So many small businesses made a large portion of their living off the cruisers that came into town weekly. I am really excited to cruise again and most importantly bring some life back to 17th street.

Plexiglass barricades at all the casino tables for sure. No congregating at bar areas (inside & outside casino). Pool area roped off & reservations are going to have to be made to enjoy a pool day. 50% capacity in all dining venues w/ expedited service in the dining room to turn tables. Embark/Debark done 100% online and staggered times granted for getting on and off the ship. Windjammer reworked to a marketplace where you scan barcode at table & order via app & food delivered to table. Room service staff increased to allow for expedited service to alleviate windjammer load. Staff in promenade mall enforcing movement with dedicated lanes on both directions (no more massive crowds in the promenade). Rising tide bar closed until further notice. Sunset sail away for suite guests cancelled and replaced with a free drink voucher. Suite lounge access limited to first come, first serve w/ a 10 minute maximum stay (same with Diamond lounge). This represents my opinion on worse case scenario & if this becomes reality I would have to rethink cruising.

Here’s a few more exhaust views from a drone fly over.

Here you go. Disregard the arrow in 3rd pic showing our loft from a previous post.

Here’s a couple views from my drone

Based on what it could potentially take to ramp up these ships, I would venture to guess holiday 2020 sailings are most likely not going to happen. This assumes that RC has not already started the process on the backend to get things moving. It’s one thing to get CDC backing but the bulk of the start up process will involve some serious logistics across multiple continents.

I was getting 1:30 pm boarding times pre-Covid and as always disregarded them and was on the ship by 11am for the most part. I think the boarding time is more of a suggestion but maybe things are actually changing?

Uber or Lyft is the best option. Avoid cabs if possible.

Me too. Was really looking forward to another awesome Thanksgiving on Oasis!

It’s a roll of the dice. Personally I wouldn’t take that bet and I really enjoy gambling.

I’m gonna throw it out there, 2021 is a wash. I think we cruise again in early 2022.

Did you lift & shift yet to 2021? Losing hope for 2020 at this point.

I can see the tourneys being cancelled but I think the casino would be the absolute last thing that RC would consider closing. Much like a Vegas resort, they can put all the bells and whistles they want on that ship but it’s foundation is still the casino.

I took this Sat pm while at the Downtown Cigar bar in Fort Lauderdale. Little to no wind and a small amount of rain. Just another Saturday night. Thankfully we were once again spared.

It all boils down to the “floating petri dish” description that was exploited by the media. I would guess even with CDC approval that RC, Carnival & NCL are hesitant to restart operations because nobody wants to be the guinea pig. I would guess that one major outbreak on a cruise ship (thanks largely in part to negative reporting by news media) would put the last nail in the coffin for the cruise industry. This is going to be a delicate dance and I hope we can all sail again soon. I certainly don’t rule out an implosion of the entire industry though.

Agree the slot machines are mind numbing but I have done as well or better on machines then tables. Higher stakes play though for sure as I can’t hit a button all night betting .50 cents a push and ending the night with a cramp in my finger! Average $10 per slot pull and minimum $100/hand on table is more exciting for me personally (and the players club perks are decent).

Without chips, games like Craps & Roulette officially suck. Also, what about rolling the dice? At some point there has to be a line in the sand regarding the overall experience. If I wanted to play video roulette or video craps it can be done on my phone on my couch. Part of the experience is the casino itself. A beer at the casino bar while catching part of a game on the TV or watching a hot table and deciding where to put my money down. The experience will change but it’s just a question of how much?