Gears

Ummmm...did you edit out the 'twangster' watermark from that picture? ? 

The CDC advice is left over from March as already noted.  It is aimed at the public but it is not law.  Before the virus was a pandemic and while the CDC was just beginning what would become a long streak of failures stating before February and March this was their attempt to dissuade U.S. citizens from getting on a cruise ship way back then. 
How this verbiage which has always been there is breaking news now in October is an oddity.  
 

Took a minute to click on that one...LOL!! ? ? 

Quick interruption, sorry. 
@Lovetocruise2002 you have great hair!

Ummmm...did you edit out the 'twangster' watermark from that picture? ? 

She’s been on 2 so far. Here’s her take: 
Originally posted here
Hello. I am a cruise addict (with 150 cruise nights onboard Royal Caribbean ships). Unfortunately they canceled our 4 cruises this year, 2 of them would have been in the Mediterranean Sea. When TUI Cruises released their „Greek Isles“ cruises we booked two cruises (with a break of one week between - no B2Bs possible yet) with them and came back home on Sunday.
I thought I might share my personal conclusions about cruising during a global pandemic and how it is possible to go on shore excursions in ports (and I hope it won’t be considered as „off-topic“): 
Both stays onboard were associated with a lot of emotional impressions for me, like the step from the gangway to the ship, which I experienced very consciously, because at these times, I did not believe I would board a cruise ship in 2020. However, a moving moment had brought tears to my eyes, when the ship set sail and the wake became visible!?? 
A ship with a capacity of 2534 passengers with a 60% pandemic-owed maximum occupancy still offers space for 1500 cruise enthusiasts. We were 922 on our first and 702  passengers on our second cruise onboard Mein Schiff 6! Whether this difference might be thought by one or the other: “Great, more space for me” for me, it reveals a problem that I didn't expect - Apparently not (enough) is booked. The cruise fans ashore are responsible for the difference between what is maximally possible and what is currently done. Of course everyone has the right to have reservations against a cruise during this time. A wait for "afterwards the pandemic" is here in my opinion just as little senseless as waiting for a vaccine. Nobody knows how long we will have to deal with the new reality. Since we were onboard, I hope I can dispel many concerns. We felt at least as safe onboard as on land - NO, I personally felt safer in this „bubble“. We watched, how with unbelievable commitment, from morning to evening, crew was sanitizing, cleaning and paying attention to safety and health measures with „eagle eyes“. We as passengers have the duty, in my opinion not very restrictive in our freedom, to add our parts to these measures by wearing masks, practice social distancing, wash and sanitize our hands frequently. And it worked fine onboard! Why? 1. Out of respect for the crew members and their jobs! 2. Out of respect for my fellow passengers onboard and on land - those on land, I would like to give the opportunity to cruise again soon! 3. Out of respect for the cruise company, which restarted as first cruise line in the world with cruising end of July (from Hamburg, Germany) and took a high risk to the cruise economic and also a political risk. 4. Ultimately out of respect for the entire industry and the companies involved!
What are the “restrictions” onboard?  
For example: Wearing a mask indoors, wearing a mask outdoors if you can’t practice social distance, wearing a mask whenever talking to crew members. Once a day temperature checks. Events at the theater must be reserved via the app in advance! Getting served in the Buffet Restaurant! No drinks at the Bars - drinks are  served at the tables.
How can you go on shore excursions?
On both of our cruises we had the same port of calls: Piraeus/Athens and Corfu, Greece.
We could reserve in advance though the App shore excursions. There were plenty of different shore excursions on offer, we decided to go to the beach in Piraeus/Athens and stay onboard in Corfu. 
The shore excursion to the beach was to the Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso in Vouliagmeni. We were a small group of less than 50 people. The bus ride was about 45mins to the beach. At the beach a whole area was reserved for TUI Cruises guests (including toilets) and the tour guide was watching that nobody left the beach area due to COVID-19 measures. It was a clean and nice beach with comfortable sun loungers and nice umbrellas.
In my opinion, this gives a feeling of security, which of course is never one hundred percent, but which feels higher than in some places and in some situations on land. For me, both the COVID-19 swab test before and the measures onboard are therefore an added value! 
All arguments: “I don't want to ...”, “I'm not doing ...”, “For me it's not ....  ", „Without it is not ..." aren’t understandable for me. But if you are unsure about going back onboard to enjoy this indescribable feeling at the sea, let me say: Yes! For sure! Yes! Do it and it will be fun!
I am neither a representative of a cruise company nor a travel agency. I am a cruise addict, who wants to cruise again in 2021. ????
Attached you will find my favorite pictures, for more pictures of both cruises:
https://instagram.com/mrs.tietzlein?igshid=a7hlzo5xu5xg

I'll try to ignore the assumption that only women seem to hog the sink, but what bothers me is that someone getting up in the middle of the night is going to wake the other person up having to turn on the light to wash their hands. Dumbest. Thing. Ever.

HUGE NEWS FOR CANADIANS!!!!
 
Just announced they are looking at starting rapid testing at airports in Canada that would result in only a 48 hr quarantine if you test negative with a rapid test....starting Nov 2nd in Calgary International Airport.
 
Fingers crossed this will be successful and rolled out across Canada...it would be a travel game change for Canadians!!!!

Ding! Ding! We don't have any interest to get on a cruise ship as transportation to a land resort. Not our personal interest when it comes to cruising. Other's mileage may vary.

I think in general...reduced capacity (for the foreseeable future) will result in reduced numbers @ CocoCay in comparison to their original plan...unless they start pushing more ships and/or capacity there.

For me, CocoCay or a day in a real port will ALWAYS go the direction of selecting an itinerary that has the port (even if it is a multi-time repeat location).

Ding! Ding! We don't have any interest to get on a cruise ship as transportation to a land resort. Not our personal interest when it comes to cruising. Other's mileage may vary.

I think in general...reduced capacity (for the foreseeable future) will result in reduced numbers @ CocoCay in comparison to their original plan...unless they start pushing more ships and/or capacity there.

I'm not seeing it as less cruising out of SJU as much as RCL trying to jam as many people as possible to CocoCay.

So how did it get out of china? 

OK, I'm just going to wait for you two to post on stuff like this going forward. ?
 

I fully agree however as a committed European I think we need to stop closing borders.
There is frankly no evidence to suggest that me travelling from one location to another helps spread the virus.
The virus is everywhere and people travelling will not make any significant difference.
 

Meanwhile over at the CDC...

That verbiage is likely coming from someone at the CDC.  The CDC has publicly stated that ships should not sail until the virus is completely over.  I've interpreted that to mean the CDC doesn't want ships sailing until well into 2022 or 2023 when the last remnant of the virus has disappeared which is what I believe the CDC's end game really is.  The CDC would be perfectly fine if all cruise ships vanished from the earth.  This is their opportunity to create that outcome.

Norway will be a Radiance class ship. Certainly fewer things for teens to do in comparison to larger ships. And you're getting into 'Arctic Circle' zone. You might also be too close to the bow thrusters...no CK. ?
Teens in July...I would go with the Greek Isles.
No teens...Norway.

Not everything is black or white, hard left or hard right.  Plenty of us live in the middle of the political spectrum.  Being centered means liking some things from one party and liking other things from the other party.  Nothing everything coming from either party is 100% congruent with my thinking.  Not enjoying all the theatrics of some key players doesn't equate to automatically objecting to everything they do for no reason other than they did it.
I want to see cruises start up again in America.  They need to save the industry and to keep all the workers in related industries with food on their family's table.  If cruises restart and there are massive outbreaks that result then we can look to address that situation but we should not assume that outcome is inevitable.   
Florida opened a little too much this past summer and when the numbers went up they scaled back.  They didn't lock down when the numbers spiked, they let off the accelerator and numbers came down.  The cruise industry needs the same opportunity.  With everything we have learned and what treatments work it's time to give the cruise industry an opportunity to display they can operate safely.  If numbers trend up as a result then they can scale back without going full lockdown on the entire cruise industry.  If Carnival has outbreaks don't lock down Royal or NCL, deal with Carnival's failures while learning from the lines that aren't having outbreaks. 

Redfield needs to get on a cruise with the deluxe beverage package, unlimited dining and the most expensive suite. He obviously has never been on a cruise! 

Grateful the CDC isn't in charge of the auto industry.

Marginally.  It is a very sad story with a very unfortunate outcome; but there should be no expectation that this type of illness to be successfully diagnosed and treated on a cruise ship. Sorry, but just sensationalist click bait. 

There is only FUD - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt plus SAR - Speculation and Rumors.  
This is one of many details that we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

There will no doubt be nuances and details to be worked out. This is also a proposal document, not a firm implementation plan yet.
I have a hard time thinking they will discontinue consecutive cruises. After all, they know where you've been.
Personally, I would sit tight and let them tell you different from what you have booked if that ends up being the case. You will in all likelihood get something out of it if that happens.
Full disclosure, we're B2B in Feb/Mar out of San Juan. No intention of changing or cancelling anything by us.

There will no doubt be nuances and details to be worked out. This is also a proposal document, not a firm implementation plan yet.
I have a hard time thinking they will discontinue consecutive cruises. After all, they know where you've been.
Personally, I would sit tight and let them tell you different from what you have booked if that ends up being the case. You will in all likelihood get something out of it if that happens.
Full disclosure, we're B2B in Feb/Mar out of San Juan. No intention of changing or cancelling anything by us.