RCVoyager

56 minutes ago, twangster said:

The more I look at it, the more ridiculous the CDC ban is.

Consider allowing each of the big three cruise lines to sail with two ships right now at 50% capacity.  Use 3,000 per ship as a high number (not all ships are Oasis class).  That is 18,000 guests per week.  Double it to account for secondary brands also sailing with two ships.  That's 36,000 guests per week.

The US population is ~328M.

Those 36k guests equal 0.01% of the US population.  

The CDC is banning a restart that involves 0.01% of the population.  

If allowed to sail and using CDC protocols those 36,000 guests each week would require a PCR test to reach the port and an antigen test to board the ship.  On board they would be subject to protocols established by the CDC as best practices.  Daily temperature check.  More antigen testing.  Masks.  Distancing.  VACCINES!  To debark the ship they need an antigen test.  All of the things that aren't taking place on land in communities around America.

Instead the CDC has decided that it is much better to prevent 36,000 Americans from using CDC best practice protocols each week.

Instead the CDC wants Americans running loose in their home states were the CDC has no jurisdiction and can't control what state or local governments set as requirements.  Many states are opening up.  Many states are letting protocols go.  Yet the CDC thinks this is better for Americans over the CDC's own best practice protocols.

The CDC doesn't want people using their own protocols.

The CDC doesn't want people to be tested.

Given the options facing the CDC, the CDC chooses an option to ban cruise ships and prevent Americans from being tested frequently and using CDC best practice protocols.

How many Americans are we talking about?  Just 0.01% of the population.

All of this for just 0.01% of the population.

Somehow the CDC has determined that stopping 0.01% of the American population from using CDC best practices on a weekly basis will somehow save America.  

The logic and reasoning being used by the CDC defies science and data.  

The logic and reasoning used by the entire country defies science and data for an illness that has taken .1% of the population, the vast majority of which were in bad health anyway.  Wash you hands, don't touch you face, and when the shot is available, get it.  Let us live our lives.

5 hours ago, mook1525 said:

I agree.

I just don’t understand their hatred/ignorance/inaction against cruise industry.

I've thought a great deal about the hatred/ignorance of the cruise industry.  I think the answer may be in Twangster's post about the CDC.  Only 15% of Americans have ever taken a cruise.  That means 85% have not.  While many claim they don't want to vacation on a floating petry dish, I think it's something different.

I would be willing to bet that most either can't afford to cruise, think they can't afford to cruise, or just never taken the time to book a cruise.  All of their excuses(hatred and jealousy) serve to blame someone or something other than themselves.

7 minutes ago, RCVoyager said:

Thanks for the response Matt.  I hope you're right.  It just feels like SJU is becoming less important to the cruise lines.  It probably all comes down to money, and it seems to me that most of the time cruise fares out of San Juan are a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than anywhere in FL.  Add in the extra revenue generated by the private island experience (in which we don't have too much interest), and the dollar difference is even more in FL's favor.

Now rather than two ships year round, RCCL looks to have one ship for part of the year.  Carnival looks to be in the same situation... although I think much of what they will do is still to be determined with so many ships leaving their fleet, and probably more to go.  If the Mardi Gras goes to Port Canaveral, maybe the Magic or Breeze to Puerto Rico.  That would be awesome.  We really like those ships.

To add on to that, we would also be thrilled for RCCL to leave an updated Voyager or Freedom class ship for the next 10 years... not just the Breeze or Magic.

On 3/6/2021 at 9:45 AM, Matt said:

Hmm, I thought about this for a few minutes.

I can see what you mean, but then again, cruises longer than 7 nights from Miami have really been cut down.

San Juan is the gateway to the Southern Caribbean, and that's not a market I see Royal Caribbean moving away from.

Sure, Barbados, might offer an alternative, but San Juan is closer and easier to get to for most Americans.

Now that I've jinxed things, cue the news post that they are going to stop sailing from San Juan 

Thanks for the response Matt.  I hope you're right.  It just feels like SJU is becoming less important to the cruise lines.  It probably all comes down to money, and it seems to me that most of the time cruise fares out of San Juan are a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than anywhere in FL.  Add in the extra revenue generated by the private island experience (in which we don't have too much interest), and the dollar difference is even more in FL's favor.

Now rather than two ships year round, RCCL looks to have one ship for part of the year.  Carnival looks to be in the same situation... although I think much of what they will do is still to be determined with so many ships leaving their fleet, and probably more to go.  If the Mardi Gras goes to Port Canaveral, maybe the Magic or Breeze to Puerto Rico.  That would be awesome.  We really like those ships.

On 3/4/2021 at 3:19 PM, Matt said:

Voyager of the Seas was announced https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/03/03/royal-caribbean-announces-its-7-night-caribbean-winter-2022-2023-cruises

Thank goodness for this.  It just feels like San Juan is teetering on the edge of the chopping block.  That would be a real casualty to me.

I can say without reservation of any kind, I WILL NEVER SAIL THE REGENT SUN AGAIN.  

I was on her in 1995.  She sunk in 2001.

1 hour ago, stevendom57 said:

My wife and I like a little snorkeling, especially when we go to places like Cococay. We are trying to learn to travel light. What suggestions do y'all have for relatively small, packable travel fins? Using borrowed stuff, especially with the virus, is pretty nasty and I would like to bring my own.

Steven

I used to think the same way about fins.  My brother said, you're in the Caribbean.  There's no current to speak of.  Just bring your mask and snorkel.  You don't need fins.  He was right.  I haven't traveled with fins for 20 years.

Do you ever watch TV commercials for the content?  Almost none of it is true.  My dog isn't happier because I feed him XX pet food.  My weight doesn't drop because I take this vitamin.  The food never looks like the food in the restaurant advertisement.  Cars don't look beautiful and starkly colorful when driving on fresh fallen snow (living in IN, I can tell you they look dirty and nasty).

Most advertisement is embellished to the max... in my opinion.  RCCL and the other cruise lines aren't any different, I guess.

A couple of things come to mind.  All those ports that aren't usually available on RCCL will be awesome... to me especially Grenada.  Second, I don't know there is much hotel availability on that island.  I guess VRBO will pick up the slack.

On a side note, and this is true, my GGGGGGG Grandmother was a servant from Barbados (indentured servant).  To the best of my knowledge, she was born then in about 1630 (the island was settled in 1627 and was uninhabited for a period before then).  I wonder if I can get a hometown discount.

My thought has been, if staying for 1 night, the Sheraton OSJ is great.  If for 2 or more, one of the resort hotels.  They are pretty cheap right now.

Here is my hint.  When walking into Old San Juan for the first time, it will make sense to enter through the old city gate on the West side of OSJ.  Follow the wall around to the gate.  The layout of the entire area will make a lot more sense than just walking in from the East or South.

31 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

I don't feel that this would be fair because some age groups and professions are being prioritised. Being in the 18-34 age demographic and not having underlying conditions, I wouldn't be front of the queue for the vaccine and don't expect to be for quite some time so the idea that I shouldn't be allowed to access services for not being vaccinated is purely age discrimination IMO.

When you consider that cruises won't be starting until the 2nd quarter of next year in all likelihood, the vaccine should be widely available.  If the cruise lines want to keep Covid out of the ships, or if the CDC wants to keep it out of the ships, this makes sense.  As someone mentioned above, maybe the flu shot too.

1 hour ago, Matt said:

To be clear, there's been no hint or talk by anyone in RC of a vaccine being needed, so it's purely speculation right now if it would become a policy later.

Thanks Matt.  I didn't think the requirement had been issued, but I wanted to see what thoughts were.  I have in-laws who are anti vaccers (SP?) but absoutely love cruising.  They have invited us on a cruise with them, and I think there is a chance they will have to make that choice before we can go.

Maybe it's been talked about.  I looked back a couple of pages and found related topics, but not one that asked the question:

Is it likely the vaccination will be required in order to board a cruise ship on any line or to and from any country?

For all of those who responded to keep the escargot, there is a snail song.  It's funny.  It's clean.  It's a great band.

8 minutes ago, krhardy said:

So I *may* have overreacted and flown off the handle at my mother in law today. First, let me say that I love my in laws. They are wonderful people, and have always treated me as well as if she had given birth to me. 
But, they fall under what I consider "COVID paranoia". I understand people who are "COVID cautious", but they are beyond that. Plus, they are not general fans of the cruise industry anyway, and I think would be happy if this were the catalyst to cause the demise of the industry.
We are vacationing with them in the North Georgia mountains this weekend (annual family trip we've taken for 20+ years), and at breakfast my mother in law says "I suppose you heard about the cruise ship quarantined in the Caribbean full of COVID...this is why no ships should be sailing".
First of all...it was a luxury yacht, not a cruise ship, which is why it could sail at all. Second, there are currently 5 cases onboard...not a "ship full of COVID+ cases"...and I went on and on. I feel like I should apologize, because I really do love her, but I'm so emotionally spent right now that her comment just sent me over the edge. <sigh>...why are families so complicated?

Not a bad time to to both correct your m-i-l and apologize for your reaction.  It ****COULD**** be an opportunity to explain how cruise ships are not a petri dish.  Maybe she will rethink things a bit.  Good luck.

17 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

Maybe not entirely without benefit. I usually get a nice warm fuzzy feeling whenever I'm able to provide someone with a helpful answer to their question. I'd say that's a pretty decent benefit. 

I guess you're right.  Warm fuzzy feelings being the only benefit most of the time.

1 hour ago, GlowTheWeird said:

Thanks everyone. I read all the cruise with confidence options but wanted clarity and you are all the best of the best    I think it may be in our best interest to wait a bit to see if we get cancelled by royal and just make that separate May booking. 

We were hesitant to do the lift and shift as it’s a few families that booked separately, with the lift and shift it appears you pick preference sailings, and I was worried we would all put the same preferences but get different sailings. Not sure if that could occur. Didn’t want to chance it. We also didn’t want to wait that long to see one another.  The May cruise is the same pricing as our original December cruise. 
 

Thank you for the advice. Avid lurker on the boards and always hop on those live streams on Facebook/Twitter when Matt does them.  I feel some of you all are famous!  

As you mention, the group here is awesome.  There is an incredible amount of experience and knowledge that is shared freely but at the same time graciously and without benefit to the person sharing.  It is remarkable.

9 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

We sailed on Epic a few years ago and I HATED that bathroom setup.  Water splashed all over in the room.  It was just too bizarre.  I liked the ship although I think it’s ugly from the outside....but the rooms were small, the balconies were small and that sink out in the middle of the room was just too weird.

This thread has been really helpful to me.  We are looking at a group cruise in Jan of 2022.  I've allowed myself to drift toward NCL despite the poor Main Dining Room experience when I was last on NCL (2007).  I really like their ABC itinerary with Grenada.  However, the discussion of the bathroom situation (Speed Noodles) and the small rooms/balconies (Waaaytooo) has me reconsidering my reconsidered position on NCL.

There is pressure when you are the person at the point of decisions for a group of friends.  I don't want to mess this up.

Thanks for the input, and any additional would be appreciated.

29 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I'll try to ignore the assumption that only women seem to hog the sink, but what bothers me is that someone getting up in the middle of the night is going to wake the other person up having to turn on the light to wash their hands. Dumbest. Thing. Ever.

I just did it to see if you would notice.  You did.  No offense intended.

3 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

It's....weird.

I guess the idea is that one person can be in the shower while the other does her hair.  That makes sense, but as you said, it looks weird.  That probably won't turn us away as it would come in handy for getting ready, but we would not want that in our house.

7 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Isn't the Epic the freaky ship with the sink outside of the bathroom, in the living/bedroom area?  That alone makes it look not so good to me, lol.

Didn't know about that.

37 minutes ago, twangster said:

Freedom class is a stretched version of Voyager class.  Voyager Ultra class.  Other than the extra 90' feet in the middle, the ships are basically the same.  They literally took the Voyager class design and added 90' in the middle.  This new space afforded a dedicated Sorrento's pizza venue and a Ben & Jerry's ice Cream shop in the promenade instead of pizza being offered in cafe Promenade.

Personally Voyager class is a real sweet spot for me.  I have always found them to be the perfect blend between being a large ship but also being easy to get around.  Voyager class is still larger than anything in the current Carnival whale tail fleet so they are large ships, make no mistake.

Explorer's cancelled amplification is definitely unfortunate.  Much like Allure's cancelled amplification is also a disappointment.  These are extraordinary times without a doubt. 

When I sailed Explorer in 2018 for a Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise I was surprised my cabin was already refreshed.  Many areas of the the ship had been refreshed without calling it an amplification because Royal did that back then without all the marketing hype.  The Tavern for example with a large screen TV for watching sports.  

Here is the 2018 trip report from that group cruise with Explorer pictures.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6634-explorer-alaska-62218-7-nights-rclblog-group-cruise/

The big thing lost from the missed amplification is water slides.  If water slides are important to your family that is probably the biggest consideration.  The pool deck area may have been updated with new furniture and decor but that is largely cosmetic.

I understand change is always unwelcome at first.  It represents an unknown.  Take a second to look at Explorer with fresh eyes as if you weren't already booked.  I'd have no issue booking Explorer tomorrow absent of the history of how you got here.  With that fresh perspective made an informed decision.   

Good call Twangster as usual for you.  However, for RCCL to call Explorer a sister ship is dishonest.  They are the one's who named the ships and put them in classes to begin with.

26 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

Your comment was absolutely fine ... no problem with it.

However, Royal's notification to me about the changes were another matter --- here's the excerpt from the notification I was referring to ... in Royal's words:

"The good news is, our sister ship, Explorer of the Seas, is heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico! The even better news? She'll sail on the exact same day as your original cruise and will visit similar destinations!"

That is dishonesty on RCCL's part.  The Explorer is clearly not a sister ship to the Freedom.  I find it hard to believe they thought nobody would call them out on this.  RCCL needs to clarify and correct this notification.  This is sad if Royal has come to this.

42 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

I'm aware of this.  I'm really trying to stay positive about all this.  I decided to sleep on it to see how I felt this morning. 

Given that our B2B on Freedom for January 2022 was the result of two "lifts and shifts" of cruises scheduled in 2021.  Considering the time spent to make it so we could stay in the same stateroom.  Then factoring in that we upgraded our rooms because the price guarantee that carried over to the cruises in 2022 seemed attractive.  Finally given that we were very pleased with the net result and this was all done about one month ago ...

I have slept on it and have concluded that L&S is nothing more than Bait and Switch!

Didn't mean to come off to forward.  I just wanted to be sure you knew the facts.  Good luck with your choice(s) here.

29 minutes ago, Mike.s said:

Think RCCL are missing a trick here, not everyone wants to their private islands, or visit the same ports year after year, it certainly makes you look at other alternatives to RCCL

Agree here.  To me, St. Martin is a little tired.  I wouldn't avoid it, but again choosing between it and Grenada is easy for me.