jticarruthers

Definitely can see both sides. For me I am starting to get past my "I miss cruising" phase and headed into my "I miss hanging out with my group of friend's while on a cruise" phase ... since a good number of them cant cruise because of the restrictions that has me looking at "where can we go as a group without boarding a cruise ship" which reveals lots of other destinations .... and ultimately is going to cost the cruise lines business if they are the only vacation destination that doesn't allow the unvaccinated to participate.

Still not open but i did see something saying the lazer tag was open this past weekend (didnt get down there to confirm it but it was listed) which is a change from two weeks ago,

We can hope for sooner

I herd/saw both articles/rumors. The Carnival one sounded like basically "medical exemptions are on the honor system". I dont recall how Carnival is setup vis a vis the whole %of unvax/allowing exemptions deal. It might basically be meaningless since they can only take a very small # of unvax individuals anyway. I know the common wisdom is that it is going to be a while yet, i just dont see how much longer one tiny segment is going to be enforcing rules that no one else is even thinking about.

It was not two weeks ago, they thought "soon" ... I can let you know later on today if that has changed.

Just sailed Equinox in May. Generally happy, very different experience from an Oasis class though. Ship was in great ship, food was good, they were having staffing issues so service was willing but limited. The target audience was a little older than us though which was fine since we were looking for the ABC islands and some pool days - mission accomplished.

i think you hsve your answer already but yes, all the uploading is basically worthless as i have to show my passport and vax card every time even though they have digital copies already ... makes no sense but it is what it is.

Mariner is basically back to pre-pandemic standards for crowding and precautions.

We did it on Mariner back in October and it was book on board only. Guest Services was who we were directed to but then they called the activity manager and put us on the phone with him directly since we were looking to book a large group. I was just on Indy 2 weeks ago though and their escape room is currently not running, not sure about the rest of the fleet status.

I think D is one day free and D+ is two days (or equivalent $ off a package) but only when purchased on board so you cant take advantage of any of the cruise planner discounts. Not sure if the # of days free varies based on length of cruise or is fixed but I do know I had one day as a D and 2 days as a D+ on my most recent cruises. I think it was based on Surf and Stream, one device pricing but could be wrong.

Boarding today as well, nothing you can really do but sit back, relax and make the best of it.

Gotta keep that "record on board spending" going somehow ... for me its having the opposite effect, with prices going nuts I am doing more "booking with third parties for excursions" and "carrying on 2 bottles" again.

Consensus seems to be sometime next year, my personal opinion, the sooner the better.

Garage is an easy walk across the street, about as convenient as it gets. Not sure where the secondary lots are located these days but knowing the area they probably aren't far but for a few $ I would just go with the garage.