FLGooner

For those who don't have a medical reason NOT to get the vaccine, my wife and I believe getting the vaccine is important for the safety of others.  It isn't just one's own health at stake, it is reducing the likelihood that one will be a "carrier", it is increasing herd immunity, reducing the chance of dangerous variants, etc.  Now I admit I am selfish about my own life -- I want to have a happy and enriching life -- but I find that part of the enrichment I receive from cruising is what I gain from others.  I wouldn't want to put others' health at risk unnecessarily.  We have been fully vaccinated, we are booked twice in 2022, and we will willingly follow all protocols in place.  We would prefer not needing to wear a mask all the time for the sheer pleasure, but my wife and I will make the best of whatever circumstances we are in when we cruise.   I have a relative who doubts she can safely take the vaccine for medical reasons, so I understand those who cannot participate in public health that way.  I hope everyone can be happy and safe whether they cruise or not.
 

Covid is apolitical.  It attacks and infects regardless of physical borders or virtual borders created by virtual fences created by politics.  
That's all well and good but when posts move beyond expressing a view and words are directed towards individuals it moves to another level beyond the scope of a cruise centric community. 
It's also disrespectful to the owner of this wonderful community and forum when posts venture well beyond the scope and purpose of this forum as established by its owner.  This is not a forum to discuss if Ford is better than Chevy, if Airbus is better than Boeing or if the price of tea in China is appropriate at the moment.  It's a simple request, keep it about cruising.  There are plenty of other places to talk about all the other stuff.

On the other hand, this far more recent study (November 20, 2020)  shows how effective cloth face masks are: 
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html
 
 

I wear one every day at work, and it's a physical job.  
At this point, I've become used to wearing a mask.  If I have to wear a mask on vacation, so be it.
 
To be honest, the only thing that really bothers me about wearing a mask is when we get customers in the store who have made wearing a mask the hill they're gonna make their patriotic last stand on......they come up to us and tell us how we're sheep for wearing a mask.   My usual response is "My mask is for your protection not mine.  I'm in close contact with 100s of clueless people each day I'm here....how close do you want to get to me??"
 

Wow, that '22 rate is 2X what we had on Edge in Nov '20.   Was supposed to sail Edge again this month but we were cancelled as everyone else.  In your camp, for those prices its time to look at the most inclusive like Azamara or Silverseas if there isn't an adjustment.    There will be a rate adjustment when we get out of these crazy times.  Penned up demand is stoking those rates - but its a bubble

Baked Beans is a must for a British breakfast. I believe it's mandatory under an Act of Parliament passed in 1622, but I could be making that bit up :)

Afraid I agree with Twangster and Eric on this. We like to cruise Celebrity if we can get a Celebrity Suite that includes the Retreat. We moved our March 2021 Summit cruise to March 2022 which has now been cancelled, so maybe Summit is going.
Checking Celebrity Suites for 7 nights on Apex/Edge for March 2022 is between $14k-$16k for us both depending on itinerary. Celebrity needs to look at that price point as I'm now looking at Silverseas for that money.
We'll still cruise RC when we travel with our group of friends but fear Celebrity have lost us for the couple of cruises a year we like to take as just a couple.

Baked Beans is a must for a British breakfast. I believe it's mandatory under an Act of Parliament passed in 1622, but I could be making that bit up :)

Totally agree and now my wife is scouring every port we visit for helicopter tours!!!!
BTW we did the whale watching trip out of Icy Strait Point and had a great trip with lots of humpback whales, sea lions, sea otters, etc.

Thrilled that Celebrity is coming to Tampa, already booked.
Love that we can leave the house and be at the bar in under 30 minutes!!!

Thrilled that Celebrity is coming to Tampa, already booked.
Love that we can leave the house and be at the bar in under 30 minutes!!!

If you have a Grand Suite then the Key really is not worth the extra. We just got off Radiance and all the suite guests got complimentary lunch on embarkation in Chops, nice perk and as others have said you can also avoid the crowds in the Suite Lounge.

If you have a Grand Suite then the Key really is not worth the extra. We just got off Radiance and all the suite guests got complimentary lunch on embarkation in Chops, nice perk and as others have said you can also avoid the crowds in the Suite Lounge.

We've sailed Empress to Cuba twice now and loved it. As others have said, none of the features of the big ships but we enjoy her charm and the staff are great. Long conversations with numerous staff who all told us they preferred the family feel of the smaller ship and the chance to spend time with customers. I'd highly recommend the Cuba overnight trip, great city with wonderful people.

I've booked My Time on Cruise Planner for up to 6 reservations (12 people), only ever had a problem once and a quick phone call resolved the issue.

Gratuities are included, but we always like to tip our servers in cash, that way I know they are getting it.

Monorailmedic has this 100% correct, we regularly cruise from Tampa to Cuba, Take Euros and then very simple, quick and efficient exchange operation inside the Cruise Terminal in Havana. Great tip is exchange your CUCs back into USD at the end of your visit as there is not the 10% penalty when you exchange that way.

US Drivers License counts as Photo ID when getting off in locations where Compass says you need picture ID. However last 5 times we've done this they've never checked it. If I'm going on a private trip we take Passports, otherwise they stay in the safe. 

Sure ?
 

Totally agree, used to enjoy the old "spice-themed" menus but the MDR on our recent Oasis cruise was really poor, so we ended up using the specialty restaurants more than normal. Fairly sure that's the intention.
Been loyal RCL customers for years but we are now seriously looking at other lines.

Totally agree, used to enjoy the old "spice-themed" menus but the MDR on our recent Oasis cruise was really poor, so we ended up using the specialty restaurants more than normal. Fairly sure that's the intention.
Been loyal RCL customers for years but we are now seriously looking at other lines.

"Hey, uh, I know I just got back from vacation.. but can I work remotely from Florida rather than my home office for a week doing testing on my own for another company?" :|

Always lots of food trays lining the corridors after people have had room service delivered and eaten. It's possible that on occasions one of these trays may have mysteriously appeared in our room and allegedly then used to bring food from the WJ to our room for consumption on our balcony. Just saying..............

Mariner was the first RCL ship we ever cruised on so think a reunion with her is in order, looks good.
 

Just had a frustrating call with AAA travel regarding our March cruise on Oasis, obviously I've cruised many more times than her and thanks to these boards and the interweb thingy appear to be considerably more knowledgeable. Evidently according to AAA you can't book My Time Dining!! At this point I gave up and told them not to bother and I'd do reservations myself.
I've always booked onboard and handled all reservations myself in the past, including re-booking when prices dropped, but was persuaded that the free bottle of wine and $100 OBC was worth transferring our booking to to an agent. As others have said, there's good and bad in every profession so would welcome any input on any good TAs.