Cruising With JT

that's like the Hail Mary of last-second cruise rebookings.  good work! 

Hopefully we avoid another shutdown as that won't do anyone good and it will just leave people more frustrated and angry that we can't seem to get a handle on this thing and we'll be spinning in circles forever as new variants come out every year. Personally, I am going on Navigator of the Seas in 18 days. Am I cancelling? No. Am I aware that my cruise experience may be impacted? Yes. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless if no ports or shows are there? Yes. As much as I love to visit ports and watch shows, the main draw for me about a cruise is the ship itself and the ocean views. I can walk around the ship and watch the ocean for days without knowing anything else is going on. Just get me out to sea and I am a happy camper. I will continue to mask up and protect myself and those around me. I wore my mask in vaccinated areas during my 4 cruises in 2 months and returned home healthy each time. 

Worst case scenario happened to us on Friday. Our family of 5 travelled from AZ to CA last week to go on Navigator out of LA. 2 vaxxed adults, 2 vaxxed kids and 1 unvaxxed 3 year old. We all tested negative 2 days before sailing including 3 year old who tested negative 2x including PCR the night before sailing. Upon check-in and another test for him at the port....he tested positive. At the time, we thought there was a good chance of false positive since he tested negative the night before....however RC would not retest.  After explanation that they won't retest because how would they know which test would be accurate....it makes sense.  A real unfortunate gut punch for the kids as it was a surprise that morning.  Luggage was already on board and had to be pulled.  That said, the protocols worked as we did an at-home test that evening which was positive and gave us piece of mind that everything happens for a reason.  New Year's Eve driving home for 7 hours wasn't what we had in mind but what can you do. All part of the risk of cruising at this point...even if you do everything "right". Be prepared for everything. 

I didn't read this as an anti-cruising news report.  The opposite really.  Thousands are ignoring the CDC.  That's a good thing.  
Most Florida TV media is pro-cruising because of the jobs impact.  There is a rag in Miami that has an anti-cruise thing going on but the news media in Orlando tend to be celebratory when something goes the industry way.  When the state effectively won their case against the CDC they were upbeat and positive about it.  
If they wanted to paint the cruise industry in a negative light they would not have quoted Fain proving how well Royal is doing.  

On the Allure at the moment, all protocols in place. We feel safe and the crew goes above and beyond. So we just booked a New England Cruise the Fall 2022. 

Alternate title: Thousands do exactly as millions do every day on airplanes and travel, albeit with better protocols

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/12/31/thousands-reject-cdc-advice-board-cruise-ships-for-vacations-amid-rise-in-covid-cases/
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Cruising into the new year, thousands of passengers are rejecting the CDC’s advice not to sail as COVID-19 cases reach record numbers. The CDC issued this guidance despite every passenger 12 and older being required to be vaccinated.
“We don’t like to see even one case, but our experience is a fraction of the comparable statistics of virtually any other comparable location or industry,” Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain wrote in a statement Thursday.
Royal Caribbean said since restarting in the summer, 1,700 of its 1.1 million guests have tested positive with 41 of those passengers going to the hospital and none of those 41 with the new variant.

As long as RC can provide food and drink (mainly alcohol), that's all the satisfactory service we need.🤣

Hopefully we avoid another shutdown as that won't do anyone good and it will just leave people more frustrated and angry that we can't seem to get a handle on this thing and we'll be spinning in circles forever as new variants come out every year. Personally, I am going on Navigator of the Seas in 18 days. Am I cancelling? No. Am I aware that my cruise experience may be impacted? Yes. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless if no ports or shows are there? Yes. As much as I love to visit ports and watch shows, the main draw for me about a cruise is the ship itself and the ocean views. I can walk around the ship and watch the ocean for days without knowing anything else is going on. Just get me out to sea and I am a happy camper. I will continue to mask up and protect myself and those around me. I wore my mask in vaccinated areas during my 4 cruises in 2 months and returned home healthy each time. 

Hopefully we avoid another shutdown as that won't do anyone good and it will just leave people more frustrated and angry that we can't seem to get a handle on this thing and we'll be spinning in circles forever as new variants come out every year. Personally, I am going on Navigator of the Seas in 18 days. Am I cancelling? No. Am I aware that my cruise experience may be impacted? Yes. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless if no ports or shows are there? Yes. As much as I love to visit ports and watch shows, the main draw for me about a cruise is the ship itself and the ocean views. I can walk around the ship and watch the ocean for days without knowing anything else is going on. Just get me out to sea and I am a happy camper. I will continue to mask up and protect myself and those around me. I wore my mask in vaccinated areas during my 4 cruises in 2 months and returned home healthy each time. 

Hopefully we avoid another shutdown as that won't do anyone good and it will just leave people more frustrated and angry that we can't seem to get a handle on this thing and we'll be spinning in circles forever as new variants come out every year. Personally, I am going on Navigator of the Seas in 18 days. Am I cancelling? No. Am I aware that my cruise experience may be impacted? Yes. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless if no ports or shows are there? Yes. As much as I love to visit ports and watch shows, the main draw for me about a cruise is the ship itself and the ocean views. I can walk around the ship and watch the ocean for days without knowing anything else is going on. Just get me out to sea and I am a happy camper. I will continue to mask up and protect myself and those around me. I wore my mask in vaccinated areas during my 4 cruises in 2 months and returned home healthy each time. 

Hopefully we avoid another shutdown as that won't do anyone good and it will just leave people more frustrated and angry that we can't seem to get a handle on this thing and we'll be spinning in circles forever as new variants come out every year. Personally, I am going on Navigator of the Seas in 18 days. Am I cancelling? No. Am I aware that my cruise experience may be impacted? Yes. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless if no ports or shows are there? Yes. As much as I love to visit ports and watch shows, the main draw for me about a cruise is the ship itself and the ocean views. I can walk around the ship and watch the ocean for days without knowing anything else is going on. Just get me out to sea and I am a happy camper. I will continue to mask up and protect myself and those around me. I wore my mask in vaccinated areas during my 4 cruises in 2 months and returned home healthy each time. 

We have a cruise scheduled 01/09 and barring cancellation by the cruise industry we are going cruising. As of a few minutes ago the Bahamas cleared Freedom OTS to disembark on CoCo Cay so that conspiracy is now defunct. We will test as always, be careful in our events onboard and enjoy yet another cruise as we have since August. Flexibility and care is the name of the game now, onboard ship and at home. Even with additional protocols the cruises have been enjoyable and we cannot wait for the next ones.

If the industry does shut down it will be cruise lines making that call. 
The Florida lawsuit resulted in the ruling that the CDC does not have the direct legal authority to shutdown the industry.  That resulted in the cruise lines voluntarily playing nice with the CDC.  
The CDC has done today what it has also done with air travel throughout the pandemic.  Today they issued "recommendations" against travel.  The CDC knows it has no authority to issue a shutdown.
The wild card are the ports of call.  
With no ports to visit the cruise lines will have little recourse.  
The Bahamas potentially closing private destinations within the Bahamas is a pretty significant factor.

So happy Wonder is staying in the US area!

Finally visiting CocoCay after nearly 2 years of waiting was the best part! I was really happy and fortunate to go on 4 cruises in 2 months between August and October, and one of my favorite things about being back onboard was seeing all the smiles on the faces of crew members excited to see us back doing what we love, and vice versa. It had been a rough 15+ months for everyone and simply having the chance to go back out to sea and enjoy what we love most was truly the best part. And of course I love love loved the limited capacity, the amazing shows, the late night Sorrento's pizza and the drinks flowing nonstop. Cruising is back and I am so glad to be part of the comeback like everyone else! Here's to 2022!

Finally visiting CocoCay after nearly 2 years of waiting was the best part! I was really happy and fortunate to go on 4 cruises in 2 months between August and October, and one of my favorite things about being back onboard was seeing all the smiles on the faces of crew members excited to see us back doing what we love, and vice versa. It had been a rough 15+ months for everyone and simply having the chance to go back out to sea and enjoy what we love most was truly the best part. And of course I love love loved the limited capacity, the amazing shows, the late night Sorrento's pizza and the drinks flowing nonstop. Cruising is back and I am so glad to be part of the comeback like everyone else! Here's to 2022!

WOW.. sounds fun! 😉
 

Hi @MaryS! I am so happy that I met you at Thrill Waterpark and we got to go on the Slingshot together, that was so much fun 🙂 I miss it and can't believe it's been over a month now! How have you been? I just wrapped up my 4th and final solo cruise of 2021 last week (on the Norwegian Encore, last ship to go to Alaska in 2021 and it was epic!). I shared a bunch of pics, reels and videos on my Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages, more coming soon. Hope you enjoy and get to relive some of the memories that I posted from our Oasis cruise 🙂 

Hi @MaryS! I am so happy that I met you at Thrill Waterpark and we got to go on the Slingshot together, that was so much fun 🙂 I miss it and can't believe it's been over a month now! How have you been? I just wrapped up my 4th and final solo cruise of 2021 last week (on the Norwegian Encore, last ship to go to Alaska in 2021 and it was epic!). I shared a bunch of pics, reels and videos on my Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages, more coming soon. Hope you enjoy and get to relive some of the memories that I posted from our Oasis cruise 🙂 

Hi @MaryS! I am so happy that I met you at Thrill Waterpark and we got to go on the Slingshot together, that was so much fun 🙂 I miss it and can't believe it's been over a month now! How have you been? I just wrapped up my 4th and final solo cruise of 2021 last week (on the Norwegian Encore, last ship to go to Alaska in 2021 and it was epic!). I shared a bunch of pics, reels and videos on my Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages, more coming soon. Hope you enjoy and get to relive some of the memories that I posted from our Oasis cruise 🙂 

Hi @MaryS! I am so happy that I met you at Thrill Waterpark and we got to go on the Slingshot together, that was so much fun 🙂 I miss it and can't believe it's been over a month now! How have you been? I just wrapped up my 4th and final solo cruise of 2021 last week (on the Norwegian Encore, last ship to go to Alaska in 2021 and it was epic!). I shared a bunch of pics, reels and videos on my Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages, more coming soon. Hope you enjoy and get to relive some of the memories that I posted from our Oasis cruise 🙂 

Hi @MaryS! I am so happy that I met you at Thrill Waterpark and we got to go on the Slingshot together, that was so much fun 🙂 I miss it and can't believe it's been over a month now! How have you been? I just wrapped up my 4th and final solo cruise of 2021 last week (on the Norwegian Encore, last ship to go to Alaska in 2021 and it was epic!). I shared a bunch of pics, reels and videos on my Instagram, Facebook and YouTube pages, more coming soon. Hope you enjoy and get to relive some of the memories that I posted from our Oasis cruise 🙂 

I have only started cruising solo about 4 years ago and I LOVE it.  I have done 3 solo cruises on RCCL, 1 on Celebrity and 2 resort vacations.  My last was on Oasis this past September and I am thinking about Anthem for this Christmas. What I like about solo vacations is that you can do whatever you want when you want and no arguments (unless you argue with yourself) .  The first night in the MDR can feel a little awkward but with the right waitstaff you will do fine.   I enjoyed eating in the MDR solo because the waitstaff seem to pay special attention to us solo cruisers (at least I feel that way).  Also there is no one at my table to judge me or comment if I want 2 desserts every night.  I did have a few invites to join others at dinner because they felt sad that I was eating alone.  I thanked them and told them that I enjoy my own company.    I am also one that always carries my e-reader with me when I eat (I do it at home too).  As @Ampurp85 said when people hear you're cruising solo they tell you how brave your are and they wish they could do it.  I only had 1 little problem travelling by myself & that was at Thrill Waterpark and I wanted to go on the Slingshot and had to have 2 people but I managed to find @Cruising With JTand he went on it with me (he was cruising solo too).