DunwoodyDad

Makes sense. Thanks Twangster

I wonder how realistic this is for Royal? It certainly seems like something to explore. I could see the Bahamas as an origination point if they were open to it considering how many ships visit there already. It would certainly bring in lots of $ for hotel nights before/after plus the food/merchant spending that would normally follow. The cruise line wouldn’t have to bend to CDC whims.

This also implies if someone is sick onboard they get quarantined (standard protocol for many other illnesses) and others in “close contact”. What it doesn’t say is if someone is tested positive for COVID, the whole ship goes into quarantine which is what many fear.

Totally agree. They are doing their job. It just shouldn’t be their call whether the cruise lines resume or not just like it isn’t for every other industry.

I would absolutely go on a Royal cruise this weekend. But I would also not be stupid about it....just like when I went to the beach Memorial Day week. I would wear a mask when I am inside in crowded situations like boarding, going to the shops in the promenade, regularly use hand sanitizer after touching something other people touch, and of course wouldn’t shake hands and generally keep my distance from others. But I would still go to the pool, eat in the restaurants, and have a good time. My 4 teens would do what they are going to do and hang out with friends just like they do now when I’m home and when we were at the beach. I would tell them to be careful but realize they will only do so much. in terms of RCL, they haven’t said what they will / won’t do when allowed to sail again, but I’m sure we will be getting served in the Windjammer for a while. But it’s silly to think it won’t be modified once they do sail. Again, my key point here is that all other US travel businesses have opened or are opening...why can’t they? I do agree with some of the posts above that it’s rooted in taxes, number of jobs of US citizens Impacted vs non citizens, bad lobbying, etc. Plus all the negative press from the Princess ships.

I liked this and frankly could not agree more that it’s this simple. I don’t think at all they(CDC) mean to disrupt the industry. It’s just a position that is completely coming from a medical perspective. Just like if you work for a big company and the legal team is asked what to do and they give a very conservative opinion based on limiting liability....or the security officer gives an opinion based on protecting the company from hackers. But those folks are usually not the ones calling the shots and instead it’s someone who weighs the advice and ultimately makes a business decision that sometimes doesn’t follow the advice. The point here back to my original post is that if I can choose to take a vacation with my family to the beach and pool and restaurants While staying in a hotel in Florida, why not do the same things on a cruise ship pulling out of a Florida port? Its really the same thing from an exposure perspective and is a decision I am making

Also please look past the headlines that say states opened too early. Look at the underlying data... not infections which is what the lazy news outlets are quoting, but of hospitalizations and deaths. Infection numbers can and are rising with more testing. If the infections keep going up, but the amount of people going into hospitals isn’t rising, then the states opening hasn’t created a problem.

Just posted something very similar a few minutes ago.

Just read Matt’s latest blogs and it’s so unfortunate (My opinion) that the CDC is making the call on when it’s safe to cruise unlike all these other travel / vacation industries. I’m afraid it’s going to be a really long time before the CDC says it’s safe. I was at a beach resort in Florida for Memorial Day week with a large group and we are fine. There was some capacity reduction indoor of restaurants and masks were worn in retail stores. Outside bars and restaurants ran at regular levels. Other than indoor stuff everything was basically normal especially the pools and beach. it was in Walton county on the pan handle and there has been no change in the local numbers. It’s just too bad that cruising has been targeted here. It would be interesting if it was the call of the originating port governor.....

They are definitely going in an odd order. Already got back full refunds for 2 of our 3 cabins on a June 6th sailing. I don’t think it’s even been 10 days since I filled out the forms. While this was great after seeing it would be up to 45 days, they have only refunded my kids interiors. The JS we were in is still outstanding and was significantly more $. Again, it felt great to see some of it back already.

I received the notice late yesterday that our cruise has the change as well. Does anyone know why they do this?

We are on the exact same itinerary but sailing June 7th. I haven’t received anything about a change but was actually already kind of thinking I wish we had one more sea day. To be clear, we love all the ports and we’re thinking we would stay onboard for at least one. But in my experience, it seems like some of the bigger onboard activities don’t happen on port days. I’m talking things like ice skating, the new laser tag, etc. And other entertainment and casino hours are significantly pared back on port days. My personal concern with the itinerary you have now is that they won’t even do some of these things. We love St Martin but we’ve also been there plenty of times and we really want to experience the upgrades on the ship. I may be off on the assumption that they wont offer those things....it’s just an observation from past cruises. This is just nit picking. We can’t wait to see those islands. My wife and oldest have always wanted to see St Lucia in particular.

Sailing on Freedom in June. I seem to recall Matt saying he arrived at 1030 but I’ve seen other places that it doesn’t even open until 11. What’s the best time to arrive? We like to be on early but don’t want to get caught up in a mess / lines.

Definite rule of thumb is have them go to the teen club for the first night mixer. Usually 8 or 830. I’ve got 4 kids aged 13-19 now that all say to go that first night to make friends. Sometimes they meet people and sometimes not, but it’s the best way for sure.

Does anyone know if the addition of Izumi means Jade in the Windjammer will go away?