jticarruthers

And you are welcome to do that.  👍

While on our daily morning walk routine (about 0730hrs almost every morning) my hubby & I were walking outside on a walking path near our home. We were mask less not thinking anything of it. Another couple walking the wrong way on the path came towards us wearing masks & I smiled & said good morning. They jumped off the path and the lady screamed at me "we're immune compromised" are you trying to kill us? 
So many emotions in a matter of seconds.... OMG no, why would you infer this? (silently in my mind thoughts not spoken) Then again me in my mind; are they not realizing they are on a public trail? But ultimately sadness because a pleasant morning turned ugly quickly for both of us for different reasons. 
I'm at a loss, how disturbing and sad the level of fear was real, I saw it in her eye's and I thought, that is some ones relatives who are experiencing un due true stress, my heart breaks for humanity right now. While I refuse to lock myself away I am so tired of what is being done to us as mostly loving and kind human beings.
*We sailed the first cruise out of the Bahamas, sailed Thanksgiving, Christmas & Spring Break (Adventure, Oasis, Odyssey, Oasis) & have been able to disembark just as healthy as when we stepped on the ship. We have two more sailings scheduled finishing out our FCC's and are taking a break for a bit. Getting slightly tired of everything tethered to be able to sail. Exploring some new  experiences for a bit.
Everyone have a lovely day, happy cruising 🙂
 
Rant over.

CP purchases finally available for our Oct. 2023 cruise. Sadly, all prices are crazy high!!!! 😳 Thankfully, I have time on my side and will monitor prices. Hopefully this coming black Friday will have better prices than they are right now. If not? this could be the first time ever we do not buy anything and will just have to be careful on our spending.
 
I hope things get to normal soon, otherwise cruising will no longer be a viable option for us 😧

On our August Explorer 6 day that we just added on to our 8 day the surf only internet package for 2 is over $30/day and the over-water cabanas were $3500 (or also called “not in this lifetime” 😹). All I can say is that I am thankful for those drink vouchers and the fact that we drink very little.

Ditto for us.

We had the DBP so we all tried it.  Worst drink I’ve ever had and ordering & figuring out which drink is yours 🙄.  Definitely one and done.  I took one dip & was done with the drink, tossed it in the trash.

Bionic bar at first seems like a good and fun idea, but do it once and there is really no reason to go back to it.  Between people not knowing how to work the touch screens, to the mess it creates, it's not worth it.  I like the interaction with a human bartender, and a human bartender can make multiple drinks in the same amount of time the bionic bar takes to make one, especially when factoring in how long it takes people to enter their orders.  I am surprised they are still adding them to new ships.  

Bionic bar excels at making bad drinks. Bad drinks are harder to find with human bar tenders. 

They do not work at Bionic Bar or Starbucks.

Flying this weekend so looking forward to being able to not suck air through a mask.

So now the CDC wants the DoJ to appeal.  If successful it won't be pretty putting the genie back in bottle.

The app now has a spot for booster vax card, albeit optional. I assume this is to support European cruises which have port-specific booster requirements, but I'm surprised to see it on a ship that isn't in Europe.

I think the judge's order will stand.  The CDC's argument that this specific ruling could impact it ability to oversee public health should there be another pandemic is nothing more than a scare tactic.  And their argument that they still need to protect immune compromised individuals on traveling on mass transit doesn't hold water because at this point it is every persons individual responsibility to protect themselves whether they are immune compromised or not.  My dad who is immune compromised continues to double mask he wears a 3 ply surgical mask and an N95 mask on top of the surgical mask. He and my mom are getting on an airplane in couple of weeks heading to Hawaii. Both have been vaccinated and because of their age and my dads condition they've been double boosted my mother said she is not wearing a mask on the 9+ hour nonstop flight from Chicago to Maui, they will not cancel their vacation after more than 2 years of not taking one and my dad is good with that.  At this point in the pandemic I think any reasonable judge will see that we don't need the CDC to hold our hand any longer with mandates.  It is past time that people take personal responsibility for their own safety and if you think the risk is to high then stay home and let the rest of us get on with our lives.  

Well, the DOJ has decided to appeal the Florida's judge's ruling.
Wish I could say what I want to say.  But, I'd get kicked out of here.
On the bright side, I think this is just white wash.  It may not be an honest attempt at overthrowing anything. 
We'll see!

Truthfully....yes.  Never EVER go by the % off sham.  Just look at the bottom line....is the new price saving you money over what you paid previously or have been seeing for previous prices ?  If yes, it's a sale.  If not, it's just Royal math.

“As a result of a court order, effective immediately and as of April 18, 2022, CDC’s January 29, 2021 Order requiring masks on public transportation conveyances and at transportation hubs is no longer in effect. Therefore, CDC will not enforce the Order. CDC continues to recommend that people wear masks in indoor public transportation settings at this time.”
– CDC.gov

No masks required at DFW airport this morning, nor on my AA flight to Phoenix (no masks in Sky Harbor either), no masks in my Uber.

The current sale is for sailings up to the end of 2022.  My 2023 sailing Cruise planner is just starting to have items appear.
Deluxe Beverage package at $98.00. Way too high. I believe it's just a "throw it against the wall and see if it will stick "starting point.
 

Just judging by the relaxation of mask mandates at port-related airports, Seattle, LA, Galveston, FL ports and Bayonne seem likely not to keep mask mandates at cruise terminals

It is "normal" or the new normal. I believe those options were just released and the further away the sailing, the more things cost. They are trying to gauge what people are willing to pay.
The real issue is that 2022 sailings have higher prices. My Odyssey sailing was averaging $62-68. It is now $73 with the current sale. 

I would bet Matt is working on getting the information about terminal requirements with confirmation from all the parties. There are probably several sources he has to check. I tried googling it for cruise terminals and nothing came up yet.

Awesome news! And as to the person saying OP should basically be kinder to those who want to mask, they were kind, exceedingly so. Wear a mask if you want to. Those of us who have been against violating people's rights for two years (because 0.0% of these mandates have ever been voted on) have had to develop very thick skin. We don't get to make posts like this, we don't get to point out basic science that's been proven time and again over the last decade, we get to remain silent or get cancelled. So, our skin is thick. And yet we're still absolutely happy to let you wear a mask, it's your right, remember that, remember that we're not the ones trying to force things on you. Try to be kind enough to do the same.

I'm wondering if this means that masks are no longer needed at the port terminal when getting ready to board...

True true true.  You do what's a best fit for you.