jticarruthers

Generally cruise in a mixed group so it doesnt really make any sense to go sit in the lounge without the group. On a couple of occasions that is has just been us we have "stuck our heads in" but it doesnt do much for us and seems generally "very quiet". Having cruised so much I dont really have anything I need the concierge for so there just doesnt seem to be a huge point to "going to the lounge" ... actually i think the time i used it most was when i was "Working from cruise" last Thanksgiving and used it as my office

Onboard Mariner next week for the double island .... Canaveral, sea day, Labadee, sea day, Cococay

My experience since the restart has been that no one ever "asks" about my travel plans and desired disembarking options, i just get a random set of tags dropped on my bed. Last time my GF and I had a "check luggage" tag and the couple we were travelling with (linked reservations) had a walk off ... no idea why. Consequently, we just do our own thing and walk off when we are ready, knowing we have our luggage with us and arent in a rush to be anywhere. Seemed to work fine when ships were at low capacity, probably going to become an issue now that we are back at capacity but the process does not seem to be catching up with the changes in numbers.

Saw lots of little ones on our last couple of cruises (July/Sept Bahamas) but didn't see/hear about any stings.

Very hard to predict what will/wont be available in Playmakers. Just did Independence over the weekend and there was a lot of grumbling with the Florida game not being shown on Saturday night (despite being the ESPN game) and then the FSU/LSU game not being planned to show on Sunday night. Weekend cruises from Florida have a high % of Florida residents so there were a fair number of people expecting to see their team. They seem to be sticking with the ESPN Caribbean feed more at the moment.

We just bring a wheeled cooler (no ice though, the xray machine techs freak out) keeps it simple

Booked when testing was the norm, that's no longer the case and with my last couple of testing "runs" being frustrating as the pharmacies wind down, etc. trying to decide whether i want the hassle or just cancel it and do something else that doesn't require that extra step any longer. Being the last option to require something is good if there is demand, bad if there isnt.

Although I have had success carrying on some of the high end beers that are bottled in what look like wine bottles

Its hard to argue "the total population" based on small samples, but I have stopped booking new cruises and wont book another one that requires testing (At least for now based on my comfort level of society today, sure my attitude might change again in the future). Debating whether to cancel my Disney cruise next month or not since they seem to be insisting on testing.

We just started bringing a combination of Coke Zero and sparkling water, so far in the 4 times we have boarded they havent asked to open the cooler ... never mind count what is in it ... (for convenience we just throw them in a cooler with no ice (Ice melts and hurts the scanners) and wheel it on board). Typically we have been brining a 6 pack of coke and and a 12 pack of sparkling water, worst case we toss some out if they make a big deal.

The very end of the NCL announcement mentions Bahamas does not require vaccination but does require testing. I find that interesting in light of Carnival talking about Bahamas requiring testing and then dropping that language while Royal never brought it up at all. Very curious to see what happens over the next couple of weeks as "untested" passengers head to the Bahamas ... my next visit isnt until end of month so there is time to see what happens.

Miami was better, Canaveral was the same process you described.

Moving to the honor system to cut down on paperwork?

Boarding on 9/3 .. would be awesome to see if the timing works.

Testing is mentioned for Bermuda/Canada but not Bahamas ... i thought we were just arguing about the Bahamas requiring testing still ?

I think of Freedom/Voyager as one and the same since the differences are so marginal (differences have more to do with most recent Refurb than which class each ship belongs to). Has pretty much all the bells and whistles that O class does. Both of my O class experiences have been underwhelming so far which is why it doesnt get my vote.

I was excited to start booking again but since the vast majority of my cruises touch the Bahamas ... I am back to being uninterested again. Tired of wasting time and money testing, etc. when I can do other things with other people without having to worry about it.

I dont love it but as long as its disclosed (which it is as far as i know) I don't really have a problem with it. Cancelling for a reason is where trip insurance comes into play.

Once upon a time the C&A discount was a good deal because discounts were rarely offered to the general population. Then the never ending sale began and essentially the sale offered to everyone is better than the discount offered to C&A, since you can only have one or the other, you should usually take the rate offered to everyone since its a better deal. On rare occasions there is no sale running so C&A is a better deal.

Saw a different spin on this on one of the "lesser" cruise sites (didnt catch which), that the expansion is to unvaccinated over 12 WITH a certificate of recovery from within the last 90 days, which would be a much lesser expansion. Curious to see the actual policy this week to clarify.

I read it that they are going in that direction but havent figured out the mechanics of how, so they are announcing the change without really announcing the change.

It has gotten better but my first couple of times out of Canaveral were easily 10+ times. Felt like you had to keep showing your results just to stay in the line.

Its a start, one less thing to have to deal with pre-cruise and should really speed up the check-in process since we wont have to show and check the results over and over ...

No "calling out" of those wearing masks but definitely in the minority. If you are more comfortable that's what matters.

If I were to do the trip I would do it for a Disney Springs run, go some shopping, get something to eat, etc. but honestly unless there is a shop/restaurant there that really floats your boat I would stay on the boat and do a specialty restaurant for less money for dinner instead.