BrianAlt

18 hours ago, Kathleen said:

@BrianAltwe are doing the reverse 10 day cruise in October from Vancouver back to Hawaii on Quantum!! Sounds like a great time. Can't wait to hear about your experience in May 2023.

Can't wait to hear about yours as well!

Just off of Anthem of the Seas and it's depressing to think that my next Royal cruise is 484 days.  

But I do have two Celebrity cruises coming up!  One in 90 days as of tomorrow!  All is not lost.  Whew. 

4 hours ago, karl_nj said:

I'm glad the cruise lines are sailing again, but I do have to say trying to get all of these covid tests completed isn't exactly stress-free...

 

Quite the opposite. Plus, the chance that you’ll test positive. 

I don't think the cruise lines will shut down, either.  But anything is possible.

I love specialty dining, but I'd have to say that I don't think it's worth it for you.  These aren't small meals and they encourage you to eat more rather than less.  If you want to go for it, that's fine.  Just realize that you'll be over your limit in short order.

Less than 1%.  15% of my town has tested positive in the past month.

20 hours ago, mworkman said:

I had to darken in the word that what was before then.

Could have left one letter.  

3 minutes ago, KLA said:

I don't necessarily foresee that happening, either. I think that Royal would be happy to keep sailing even at reduced capacity. 

I agree.  I think it's unlikely.  Just saying what is possible.

I would be very surprised to see wholesale cancelations.  However, I think cancelations of particular sailings is possible for consolidation purposes if the demand dips.

Funny @WAAAYTOOO .  

1900 people in my town have tested positive over the past few weeks. I live in a town of 12,000.  That’s a significantly higher percent of the population than on any cruise ship since the restart. Meanwhile, where’s the article about my town?  These announcements need to be taken with a grain of salt.  

Also, with omicron’s transmissibility I think what we will be seeing is everyone is going to get COVID eventually. It’s just a question of, is it so slight that you don’t even notice?  Or is it so bad that you have to go to a hospital (or worse!). And everything in between.  

On 12/17/2021 at 5:36 PM, jeffmw said:

I get it, Matt. But it's very disrespectful that I type a sincere response to a post and for multiple people to laugh at it due to idiotic political rhetoric. That's antagonistic. If you're trying to maintain the standards of this forum, you should start there. 

I agree with this. It’s not very funny how people on this board will passive aggressively laugh at a post as a sign of disagreement. It’s annoying already. 

On 12/17/2021 at 5:16 PM, dodgestang said:

They keep doing this bait and switch crap....

Bait and switch?  They want maskless. But even more they want safe cruising. Another event like early 2020 could lead to their bankruptcy. It’s not personal. 

On 12/17/2021 at 4:34 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

Ugh.  Frankly I’m surprised that they are only mandating this through 1-5-22.  What a PITA

They will definitely extend it beyond that. Just the initial announcement. 

On 12/18/2021 at 10:05 AM, Baked Alaska said:

Thank you for posting that excellent review!

Thanks so much. 
 

12 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Great summaries!

Thank you!  

This is a bit dated by now, but I still like it...

The Almost Complete Food Lovers Guide to the Oasis of the Seas

Edit:

We were on Oasis in October.  Portside BBQ was very good!  Worth the small upcharge.

No worries!  

On 12/14/2021 at 2:33 PM, TBruce77 said:

Hi Brian,

My son has Anthem - Empire BC BS through CHP
Me and my wife are on self paid through my employer: Health First Gold Pro EPO

No, Anthem of the Seas.  

19 hours ago, D Alt said:

Hey Brian, your next cruise is on Anthem out of Bayonne, right?  Are you parking in the cruise lot or another cheaper lot maybe? 

I always park in the lot.  It's not cheap, but also not ridiculous.  The biggest factor is that the convenience is absolutely worth it.

19 hours ago, D Alt said:

P.S. how weird we have the same Alt in our username. LOL

Our last names perhaps?  Part of mine at least.

____________________________________________

@Ampurp85& @JLMoran - another big D&D player from back in the day.

@TBruce77 are you on the Anthem 12/24?

1 hour ago, TBruce77 said:

When are you planning to go to ClearMD?

My appointment at ClearMD is 2 days before my cruise.  I believe for a little more $$$ they will do a rapid PCR test. Looked it up: Express PCR - 2 PM the next day $95 or Priority RT-PCR in 2 hours $389.  The former would seem to fit your needs.

We have Chef's Table booked for Christmas Day.  Price was normal.

On 12/5/2021 at 6:01 PM, D Alt said:

How do you guys deal with these in-between days, weeks, months?  

Plan my next cruise(s)!

I work in LIC.  I am going here for my test: https://www.clearmdhealth.com/astoria  I also thought about going here: https://www.citymd.com/urgent-care-locations/ny/queens/long-island-city/252, but I hear the lines can be very long.  There are also several CVSes in the area where you can schedule a test.

Plus the at-home option is a good one as @Mattsaid.

Coco Beach Club cabana. Just two of us. We tipped $100. Could have given more. They were worth it.