LizzieandLuke

37 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 The Order shall continue in operation until the earliest of the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services' declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency; the CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations; or 100 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

 

Not likely that Health and Human Services will drop the emergency.  The governent is going to keep extending 2-3 weeks at a time until the fall.

Everything I read says not to count on life getting back to normal until fall of 2021.  Major sporting events, parades, etc. will not happen until there is a vaccine or most of the country is immune.  I don't know what will happen to the cruise industry, but 5,000 people on cruise will create unnecessary health issues.  They are already, even if unjustly, being blamed for part of the problem.  

I have a cruise booked in August - haven't cancelled yet. 

I have cancelled my drink packages,  soda packages and internet packages - I didn't get great deals and figure they can easily be rebooked.  That was 3 weeks ago and nothing yet. 

5 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

I've got a cruise in August and the final payment date is in May, but I don't want to have to pay it if I'm uncertain the cruise is going to happen

I have a cruise in August too - booked last spring. I am waiting until the very last possible minute to pay - if it is not 100% safe in May I will definitely cancel.  I know a lot can happen from May until August but I won't take the chance.  

17 minutes ago, BND said:

Everyone who had any level of illness lost 20%.  I find that hard to believe.  Where did you read it?

 

ETA, I found a story from Hong Kong stating "SOME" patients "MAY" have reduced lung capacity.  Please be careful what you post.  That's how rumors get started.

I apologize - my article says 30%.  So 10 % die and 30% are left with lung issues which we don't know if they can recover from  - but we should all still go on a cruise because me first.    

https://www.yahoo.com/news/people-fully-recover-coronavirus-left-103917303.html

I just read a report that those who have recovered from the virus have lost 20% of their lung capacity.  I think cruises are a hot bed and think RC should cancel and to prevent those who are selfishly willing to still go.  You may be young and healthy but that doesn't mean you won't pass it to someone who isn't.  It is a vacation.   

I think there are a lot of variables - your age, your health, your job stability, if you need to take care of elderly parents, your anxiety level.  There is not right or wrong answer.  

Good luck.  

12 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Do you stay in your house all winter long to avoid influenza or norovirus?  Do you never to go the grocery store, the cinema, sporting events, concerts, etc.?  

 

 

No - but everyone in my family gets the flu shot and novirus, although horrible, is almost never fatal.  The Coronavirus is very new - the CDC doesn't really know everything yet.  I'm 50 - no that is not old, but I'm not a spring chicken either.  And if the CDC suggests that I not go to the grocery store or sporting event - I won't.  I haven't cancelled my cruise, but as it gets closer to payoff I might.  

46 minutes ago, 20165 said:

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out over the next couple of weeks because although it may not turn out to be the plague of the century, i dont think its going to get better in the near future meaning people, like myself, are rethinking being on a boat with 6k other people from across the country and elsewhere.  

I agree with this.  I have cruise I have been really looking forward too in August.  However,  it seems crazy to put my family in harms way for the sake of a vacation.  My husband disagrees with me, but what if he is wrong.  

After all of the depressing coronavirus talk - I am very grateful for a What Not to Wear thread.  

1 hour ago, TYMAN said:

Besides going to GS and having the gratuities removed, has any of the "removers" actually looked their cabin steward or dining room server in the face and told them that a tip is not coming? I would guess not....

That is why they wait until the last day to remove them and then don't show up for dinner.  

4 hours ago, Tulsacoker said:

This was made me laugh.  

We stayed at the Radisson and left our car there for the week and took the shuttle to and from the ship.  I would highly recommend it.  

We had a Disney cruise cancelled 5 years ago - it was the last week of August and I had booked the cruise 6 months earlier.  They would only honor the price we booked for in September as the earlier weeks in August were 'high season.'  If I booked the August dates I had to pay at least an additional $1,000.  I was furious.  It was a 4 day cruise and we were going to do 4 days on the ship and 4 days in Disney.  Instead, we booked a balcony cabin on the Freedom for a week for the same price as my inside cabin originally was on Disney for 4 days.   My family has since cruised 2 more times with Royal and I haven't been to the house of mouse since.  

Thank you Royal Caribbean.

We choose RC because it is family friendly and family friendly ships should have lifeguards. I watch my children but the pools are hectic especially on sea days and anything can happen.

We did Freedom when my Special guy was 9. He is verbal, but definitively can be difficult to understand. We all had a great time - especially him.

We too called Royal ahead of time to let them know. We did special needs boarding as well. I did have to mention it at the gate - no biggie. They bumped him down to the 6- 8 year group at the kids club at my request which was great. This allowed him to be with kids more like him and allowed his big sister a chance to enjoy herself with the 9 - 11 year olds. They let him do his own thing at the kids club - computer, wii etc. which was perfect. He did not want to the pirate parade so he hung out with us that night.

My husband and I took turns at the pool.

He did great at dinner in the main dining room and the servers were wonderful making sure he had everything he needed. By night three I needed to ask for nothing for him - he was the king. I did request our own table - no need to stress about table manners.

I've never done Autism of the Seas either have thinking about for our next cruise especially since he will age out of the kids clubs by then :(

Welcome to Cruise Critic. This is Gambee's Blog. He has been a member here for quite a while and supplies tons of information....reviews, menu's, kids clubs, tips, etc. etc. I am sure you will find it useful.

 

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/

 

Good Luck!!!!:):):)

I just spent my entire morning reading his blog. No laundry, no cleaning, no errands got done, but I loved every minute!!!

It took a while just to read through this thread. I like the auto gratuity as it covers the many staff that work hard to make sure I have a great cruise experience. My kids must eat 50 slices of pizza and no tip there. I only interact with a very few staff, yet there are so many on board. We give extra to the conciege, the cabin steward, lounge staff (either in the CL or DL; we go to both) and wait staff. If you think about all of the staff that ensures you have a great cruise, we only interact with a very few of them. For the other one off encounters like bartenders or specialty restaurant staff, they also get a little extra. My father's best advice to me was never take a job where you have to interact with the general public (point made on this thread). Second was to be generous to those people work hard to make your life better.

Your Father was a wise man.

Here's a suggestion: Look for a cruise in which you are interested. Price it out. I don't care if they call it a gratuity, a service charge or just a cheapskate recovery fee. If the total cost is worth it to you, book it and enjoy your vacation. If it's not, shut up, stop crying like a child and move on.

I am enjoying your review. Your Jelly is adorable - I love a girl who knows how to have fun!!!

Sorry not does not include gratuities, they are not required under the cruise contract. The companies may try to shame the sheep into paying these auto stealing fees but not required. I will remove the auto gratuities and have always done so-AND IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU CAN STAY OFF THE SHIP IN PROTEST IT WILL NOT EFFECT ME. Yes I to can use all caps....

You sound like a wonderful person. Best of luck to you.

It has nothing to do with how much people can afford. How much money I have has no bearing on this subject. It is about Royal employees these workers and should pay them. Tipping is not to pay workers for doing a job, it is about rewarding sometime for doing something extra.

 

In many places around the World it is not even allowed. You would think Taxi Drivers should be tipped right? Do you know that in Singapore the Airport has a ban on tipping of Taxi drivers because they seen the visitors are not responsible to make subjective payments so the drivers earn a wage.

 

Several cruise lines have already gone to no tipping policies, many other all inclusive vacations have no tipping policies. Studies have been done that show tipping does not improve the quality of service. Royal needs to pay the workers a fair wage.

I don't disagree with this - I would love to see the employees paid an honest wage. However, the vacation you signed up for includes gratuities. If you don't want to pay gratuities - GO ON A DIFFERENT VACATION. Don't take it out on the employee.

we find Filipinos to be the NICEST workers on every cruise ship we have been on.

I agree with this - they seem to understand guest service better than everyone else.

On the other hand, the empty dining rooms on the last evening, it is very apparent that those people are stiffing the waitstaff...BUT....now, the way it is set up, they are also the people that are standing on line at guest services having the auto tips removed.

We leave our auto tips on and tip extra if they earned it. If you are removing the tips are you tipping the required amount? If not you are STEALING.

I think Royal should make it extremely difficult to remove the auto-tips. It is in the cruise documents what you should be tipping - any less that you are stealing directly from the person who needs it the most - not Royal Caribbean. If you can't afford to tip - don't go on a cruise.

My son was in nice shorts and nice shirts on non-formal nights. No one cared.

Downy Wrinkle Re-leaser does work and is available in travel sizes.

At one point I was briefly stuck in one of the glass elevators when the doors decided to take lunch hour. I felt like the bass player in Spinal Tap trying to get out of the Stonehenge cocoon. If someone had put a “Do not feed or annoy” sign on the glass I would have been an exhibit.

Even someone with a BA in English Lit can appreciate a Spinal Tap reference!:D:D

Thanks for the great review.

Welcome to Philadelphia - the City of Brotherly Love. We have great food, art, and culture.

The best kept secret is SPIRIT Airlines which flies out of Atlantic City NJ to Orlando. I am flying my family of four for under $700 round trip for our Freedom cruise in August. Atlantic City is roughly an hour from Philly - no traffic. Good Luck.