DunkelBierJay

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

I didn't even know large cruise ships visited Canada in the winter.  Who knew?

Kind of like changing the date on a previously published world wide cruise avoidance warning.

4 hours ago, JT2 said:

Per CDC most people that have contracted the virus have been wearing masks. Europe is under a second wave as well and have been under a very restrictive mask mandate. The push should be for the vaccine, hopefully available by end of this year.

I am in complete agreement. I go down the rabbit holes of the CDC, WHO, NEJM and NIH and scientific opposition to what politicians, media and others promote every day. If you go into the bowels of those sites, you realize media and government marketing programs aren't being truthful, I have a growing library of links and pics built since the stat below came out in August. This hasn't changed. I am only posting this because the shaming of those who question this needs to end. If anyone feels better wearing a mask, please do so. We aren't staying home for you any more than we expect someone else to stay home for us.

At the same time, I will stay off ships until masks are made optional. A vacation should not be oppressive.

"The idea that healthy people are endangering others simply by breathing is the biggest scam in the history of the world." -Anonymous

(I know the argument about asymptomatic transmission. I will refrain from spamming this thread with the information that counters that idea -- everyone will get this virus one day anyway)

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/pdfs/mm6936a5-H.pdf

I saw some pics of the welcoming of Apex to this hemisphere, but didn't see this YouTube video from Captain Kate on this thread, so I am posting it here. It makes the Cunard meetup in the River Merzy a few years ago look like amateur hour...impressive as it was.

5 minutes ago, vanelli56 said:

Pro Tip: if you are on an Oasis class ship that also has a Wonderland restaurant (i.e. Harmony OTS) .... they have a Bar above the dining area that you can get drinks from without actually having to go and dine at wonderland. Our bartender knew what he was doing!!!! We had the UDP and made it a point to go see him almost every night! Made us some of the best drinks on and off menu!! A definite hidden gem of a place to get drinks. 

Also.... Wonderland was a very neat experience too! (if you are into new and different things) But if you are the kind of person that gets Chicken tenders and fries, everywhere you go... best not waste your money on the dinner. Otherwise, well worth it and cant wait to go again!  

Totally agree...while dining at Wonderland is fun to do once, I wasn't wild about the food. It was  just too weird for me. The drinks were awesome.

It's going to happen eventually, so might as well be now...my pessimism makes me want to snark on the report, though.

I bought The Key once and I think it is worth it if you are getting VOOM, and if you don't want to rush getting to a show. We boarded late, so we couldn't do the Chops lunch or utilize the carry on storage, which I think is minor. I think anything more than $24.99, it loses value.

While on board Brilliance at the back by the windows in the Colony Club, I noticed engine vibration. I am checking to see if anyone has been in an aft cabin on Jewell, specifically 8168 or nearby if any vibrations can be felt that you might think are more pronounced than anywhere else on the ship. I have this booked for a Baltic in 2021.

If it expires, how can it extend? I don't remember the no sail order having an expiration time on 9/30/20. Does that mean it's already expired?

If I sail out of FL, I am more inclined to drive now after just being annoyed the whole time on a flight to/from Jacksonville in July. I am not tempted to justify it saying it's "not that bad." I am more inclined to say that it just sucks. The sketchy reporting of numbers from the CDC and localities about infections and deaths caused me to quit playing this fear game months ago. Active cases have consistently been at 0.12% of the population where I live (lockdown has been done for months and masks mandates have been done for weeks) and there haven't been deaths (0.01% to population) in weeks. I hope we just learn to live with it and keep good manners and hygiene.

The thing that has me most puzzled is what happens with a positive test in the terminal after someone has been in a taxi/uber/lyft, hotel, touched doors, tipped porter, luggage handled...it seems like a formula for a mess

I was thinking concerning a denial of boarding due to a positive test. If RCL institutes the dual test model with one five days prior to sailing and another on embarkation day. You test negative on the first test, and positive on the second test, and boarding is denied, who assumes that cost? If it is still classified as a pandemic, I understand that insurance may not be available. Does the passenger eat the total cost, or will a FCC be offered? Does anyone know if RCL will adopt an MSC approach? Also, what if it turns out to be a false positive test? If you test positive at the terminal, does the entire terminal shut down? Has any policy emerged, or are there any predictions?

If you book b2b or side by side, the second cruise will be outside the five day window for the first test if the first cruise is four days or longer.

It won't matter for me...my snark bone is active on this after Fain's mask comment...I'll keep my money.

It never occurred to me until this thread, but I would love it especially since it seems like river cruising is more expensive than ocean cruising, and if there is a way to get the cost down, I would be really into it.

I can only remember the most aft stairway is just aft of mid-ship below the Viking Crown. It's not that big of a ship, so the walk isn't far.

Put all of Congress on a cruise to nowhere and don't let them off until they repeal the Jones Act.

I'd love to do New England - Montreal in the Fall -- something like that would be really fun.

I just repriced a Baltic cruise in May...saved about $80 pp. I will know exactly when the new invoice comes.

Update...we saved a total of $140 on our rebook...$70 pp

There are a few creative #mscgrandiosa hashtags on Instagram that are fun to watch...

48 hour rule applies as usual

Well...here's this...sorry if anyone takes issue with my mistrust of governments and health authorities...I understand...no ill will...

Some of you may watch Don's Family Vacations on YT he can be a little entertaining, but is pretty infomrative...if you claim that this is isolated, I will have @CruisinForABruisin's reaction to my comment...

1 hour ago, Jill said:

Are you at Vandy?

Go Dawgs

Yes, Vandy alum and Bama fan...Roll Tide

I work in higher ed at an SEC school...I can tell you that the paranoia over having students on campus much less contact sports is incredible. The staff at the Athletic department are saying that even IF they start playing, they don't think they will get past game 2.

Compare that with Hurtigruten, and then look at Aida and MSC. I understand MSC committed to paying medical bills for people who contract it on one of their ships. That's bold. At some point, everyone will just have to get on with it.

I just have one word...

Both!

18 minutes ago, Matt said:

Good argument made, and I agree with all of your points. Ultimately if the virus were handled better, this wouldn't be an issue for the agency.

The issue I find with the CDC isn't that they are being unfair to the cruise lines, just that the cruise industry is treated with great scrutiny (which is fine) but so many other aspects of travel are not.  That double standard is what irks me, not that the CDC is going after cruises.

It brings up what eats at me, which is...the reason behind the double standard affecting the cruise industry so disproportionately...is it pandering? Is it sensitivity to louder critics, the press, their Washington overlords? Combine it with the CDC director's reported admission that there is a financial incentive for hospitals to report cases...the unreasonable repatriation measures from the U.S., IMO. I could go on and on...

One of the YouTube channels I watch (that gets it wrong a lot), so I won't mention the name spent 8 minutes on it, most of which was speculation click bait. I REALLY hope Empress is spared. Love that ship.

I have been to Chops on these ships with rankings next to each:

Enchantment -- #2

Brilliance -- #3

Allure --#5

Symphony -- #4

Empress -- #1

The common thread I see is that smaller ships seem to have been better in my experience. This isn't to say that it wasn't worth it on the Oasis class ships, it definitely was, but I had dining packages on those sailings. One way to get a really good value is to book lunch. The cost is about half.