mathbees

I thought of an interesting twist to this... They could start with a video in your room that displays a QR code for the app (everyone in the cabin would have to scan saying they watched the video). Then you have to go to your muster station and scan a QR code there, too (again, all would have to be present and scan... they could even have it set up so that staff checked that the face matches for security purposes). This completes the eMuster drill... But it launches a shipwide scavenger hunt. Each QR code gives you new clues to another location (also with QR codes). A couple of points, at least from my point of view... 1) I would be able to hear and understand the video. I often have trouble hearing the shipwide announcements, especially in open areas. 2) This would make the eMuster fun for people. 3) It would give them validation that people are completing the eMuster But, as @twangster mentioned, it would need to be approved through the powers that be. One can hope. Especially that the prize at the end was a drink of the day... ?

Is that Groot over his shoulder?

Step 1: Trademark "emuster" Step 2: ?? https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/05/19/royal-caribbean-ends-option-travel-agents-complete-online-check-guests

When I married my wife 10 years ago, I took her on her first cruise (my 5th). She only saw the upfront cost and didn't believe it. Then we did a trip to Universal Studio... She was sold on the cruises after that. Especially with dinner every night... Where do we want to eat tonight? Same restaurants, same food... On the ship... same dining room, new food! And we didn't have to deal with "the food was really good at that restaurant, but the prices were so high!" I just want to relax and enjoy the vacation. I have every confidence the cruise industry as a whole will be OK in the long run. But I am anxious to get it moving again.

You're definitely right in the log term, but I think for the short term it would make sense, even if they lose money. For one thing 50% is better than the 0% they are currently bringing in, so it could slow the burn a little. But, as some others have pointed out, the cruise industry needs some "burn in" time... a chance to try their new procedures to verify the effectiveness, and to prove to the CDC, cruising public, et al, that they are on top of this. I suspect many die hard cruisers would jump at a chance for a half empty ship (half-empty Oasis class - Sign me up!), which is what I am inferring from the number of Casino offerings, especially free cruises. I suspect RCI is trying to keep the regulars on the hook because it'll be harder for them to attract new cruisers for a while. I also think this is a stronger argument for them starting to sail with the smaller ships, but some bean counters somewhere probably know exactly what number of passengers make each ship profitable.

I just hope this isn't a sign that they are about to push the return to cruising start date again... even though it seems most of us are already skeptical that June 12 is realistic.

I've never done a B2B, but I have one scheduled (June 12, no less!). I worked through a TA (Thanks @michelle!) and I highly recommend them. I booked the same cabin for both, explicitly so we wouldn't have to pack and change cabins. I'm not sure what happens in the situations where you switch cabins, but I have known people to do this. I would think non-suite moving to a suite (or suite to suite) would work best (I believe the suites tend to be ready earlier so the change would be easier). You do need to leave the ship between, as the regulations are that the ship must be completely empty of passengers before embarkation starts, as I understand it. But, I believe you are the first to get back on board. I hope I have my facts correct. I know @WAAAYTOOO, @Matt and quite a few others have done B2Bs, so hopefully they'll correct any details I've gotten wrong...

Can't say enough good things about Michelle. She has done us great with price reductions, upgrades, etc. I never liked Travel Agents until we met her... although I'm sure any from MEI would be good.

It's still better than the days you had to go back to your cabin and grab your life jackets ? for the muster drills.... Like that is what would happen in a real emergency... ?

I'm still hopeful that RCL will stick with June 12 (Of course, my next cruise is June 12). I'm thinking these two announcements were just that they're not ready for the next couple of weeks and it makes more sense to push it out to ensure they are ready. Since RCL had already pushed to June, maybe they'll stick with it. Or maybe I'll join the growing ranks of those disappointed souls that have to push their much anticipated vacations out to a future date.

That's exactly what I thought of first. I could see this being a two step process: 1. Either a document to be read or a video that needed to be watched prior to boarding (could even be part on the online check-in? or just at the physical check-in) 2. Process is complete when all members of the party check in at the muster station between, say 3 hours before sailing and 1 hour before sailing. This part could be using your wrist band/room key badge. If I recall from my last sailing, they already were scanning badges (or am I confusing this with the last conference I went to... Man I need a vacation!). I would certainly favor this. My frustration with my last trip on the Oasis was that muster happened just before launch. We had one party member in a wheel chair and we could not get from the muster by the aft pool back to our room where we wanted to watch the sail-away from (we were in an aquatheater and we we really looking forward to that!).

Thank you for explaining all of that. I'm glad that you understood my point that all US Citizens could freely move between the US and Puerto Rico without the need for a passport (since it is not a foreign country), just like they could between mainland States, Alaska and Hawaii (and some other territories). Thus the borders between Puerto Rico and the rest of the US were completely open prior to being shut and does appear to have been a successful method of minimizing the outbreak there. However, like so much of the current data, we are still in the middle of the situation and there is a lot of analysis that needs to be done before we can come to any definitive conclusions. Since it appears that their first case on the island was from a cruise passenger, I wonder how quickly they will want to open the port to cruise lines. Further, since the current CDC recommendation is no cruising in US Waters, that would include Puerto Rico, if I'm not mistaken. https://www.vox.com/2020/4/9/21213212/puerto-rico-coronavirus-covid-19

Since Puerto Rico is a US Territory, and the people there are US Citizens who can freely move back and forth to the mainland, they do act like a state, in most ways (except voting). I think their response should be taken into comparisons. They were more easily able to accomplish what many other states attempted to accomplish - total isolation, but with a more natural border (like Hawaii) they were more successful. Look at the battle going on between Kentucky and Tennessee, another place where some useful data comes from in understanding whether isolating movements is a good response or not. I think there will be a lot to learn from this pandemic outbreak that will drive future responses. Jonesing is slang for a drug addict deeply wanting their next "fix" of whatever drug they use. In this case, the "drug" of choice is cruising... and I think a lot of us are "jonesing" right now...

Nor did I answer your riddle. I merely stated another fact... (and a question mark at the end of a statement usually indicates a question, if we're being pedantic).

It only has two letters.

I've had a lot of friends over the years question cruises because of the norovirus outbreaks. I always point out to them that norovirus outbreaks happen often in a lot of different places. The difference is that WHEN a major outbreak occurs out on a cruise ship, you hear about it because people connect the dots. When a major outbreak happens at Disney or a sporting event or any number of social gathering places, you don't hear about it because the people disperse before the symptoms manifest and often to very diverse regions (hence no connecting the dots). The only reason the cruise industry got associated with COVID-19, in particular, is because of the high-profile nature of one of the early hot spots being on a cruise ship. In reality, very few cruise ships were a problem initially, and even the ones that had some reported problems it was often handled quickly and efficiently (isolating sick passengers, additional safeguards like sanitation stations, no more self-serve buffets, etc.) - lessons from handling norovirus over the years! Check out sites like https://www.ship-technology.com/features/coronavirus-outbreak-2019-ncov-impact-cruise-operators-measures-tourism/ which show only a handful of ships with known or suspected outbreaks of coronavirus. Yes, as expected, there were also some deaths and some even after the cruisers were back home. That's the nature of this virus. I still feel the value of a cruise compared to other vacations makes it the best choice, at least for me. If others choose not to cruise, well, more likely an upgrade for me! My only hope is that enough people will still cruise to get the cruise lines back into the black ink. I'd gladly give up an opportunity for an upgrade if it means the industry is back to full-swing.

Yeah, I'm in a similar situation. I have a back-to-back scheduled June 12 and 15. I went ahead and paid them off. If they keep to the current schedule and things are returning to normal, then great! If the cruise lines push another 30 days, that should be June 11... so maybe? If they push another 60 days, I'm hoping for the 125% FCC to still be in effect. I weighed all of that against wanting to be one of the first to cruise again (if they push to June 11). I figured the ships are going to sparkle with all the cleaning and sanitizing. I am so looking forward to the cruise, that I'm heartbroken at the thought of it cancelling. So much so that I jumped at the Lava Flows on the blog yesterday... Oh, yummy (and thanks for the suggestion!).

I don't understand how we've still got cruise ships with passengers at sea (no RC ships, I believe - some of the RC's are at sea with crew only). It seems to me that the port fees that get paid should mandate that the ship be able to pull back into port - at least their original disembarkation port. They can quarantine and such there, but to keep them at sea should be a breach of contract with the cruise port. I'm no lawyer, so I may be completely in the wrong, but I just don't understand how they can do that. Imagine if all airports were allowed to refuse a single plane while it was in the air? I realize that the cruise line isn't paying these fees if they are not docking (like when a ship misses a port due to heavy seas), but we pay these up front with the expectations associated with that.

What do you call a buck with no eyeballs, no legs and no testicles? Still no f'ing eye deer?

What do you call a doe with no eyeballs and no legs? Still no eye deer?

What do you call a doe with no eyeballs? No eye deer?

Right. The 125% FCC would be for those whose cruise was involuntarily cancelled, not those choosing to cancel on their own. RCL would go bankrupt if we could voluntarily cancel and get 125% FCC...

Total speculation on my part, but the positive for the people whose cruises were cancelled is they feel like they are getting a better deal (125% FCC), but then the increased prices on the more popular cruises means the value of that FCC isn't worth as much on those cruises. The FCCs may also mean those cruises are likely to fill, driving up the cost for people without FCCs. This maybe this will drive some of them to book into the emptier cruises where they can get better value on that FCC and spread out the load. Regardless, I give RCL a lot of kudos for how they are handling this. I have a June B2B on Mariner and I was hoping for a decent priced upgrade, but now I expect the cruise will be full. I'd actually be OK if the cruise is full, because it means people are still willing to cruise and that the restrictive policies (like the denied boarding for diabetics and such) will have been lifted. It is also the path back to full profitability for RCL and hopefully won't delay some of their expansion plans. Just a thought.

93 days. #stillgoing

We had six people on the Oasis in June 2018. We had two sets of matching shirts for all of us, one orange and one yellow. We loved it. We wore the orange on embarkation day and we never once lost one of us in the crowd. What we didn't realize is that the bright shirts were actually a bit reflective. At one of the shows, the entertainer took a picture of the audience and we were in the front row. The flash reflected and all you could see in that picture was the six of us - as bright objects in a darkened theater. I meant to go back and get a copy of it, but with the excite ment (often in liquid form), I forgot to get it.