critterchick

I’ve been on cruises pre-Covid where coughing progressed throughout the voyage and ended up getting sick. Covid has just further highlighted the perils of being in enclosed spaces (including planes, buses, theaters) with sick people. Masks are going to be part of my wardrobe for some kind to come. I’m glad that I made a bunch of fun patterned ones to wear over the KN95.

I do not have first hand knowledge of the incident, but somebody in one of my Princess FB groups mentioned that she was at the guest services desk next to a gentleman who had been moved to another cabin because his original one was in the Dolphin Deck quarantine area. Apparently he wasn’t notified of the change until he was onboard and couldn’t go past the locked and curtained door that led to his cabin. So, although we all know that Princess isolate on Dolphin Deck, apparently some passengers who booked before they (presumably) blocked the cabins as occupied did not and had a nasty surprise.

If they can bombard me with emails for my specific sailing to purchase shore excursions and specialty dining at a “discount,” they can formulate a mass mailing advising people of complete Covid protocols onboard the ships. It doesn’t have to be any more personalized than the email field. They’ve had two years of thinking that this is going to be over any day now and right night are being caught flat-footed by reality. For sailings through the end of September that were booked by March 31, the Cruise With Confidence program allows people to cancel for a full FCC “refund” up to 48 hours. If one tests positive for Covid, a full refund of cash is available (I think X do that; I know that their sister company Royal Caribbean do). We are leaning toward cancelling our June 26 cruise on Eclipse because we don’t have the time to stay in isolation in Canada for 10-14 days post-cruise if we test positive for the return flight . We will lose $1000 of an accommodation FCC, but at least it wasn’t money out of our pockets.

And Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas has 7, one for each of the neighborhoods onboard. And then, in a classic case of from the sublime to the ridiculous, their next godmother (Allure of the Seas) was Princess Fiona from the Shrek movies. Nothing says class like a green ogre.

I feel the same way. I don’t know how many nights at sea we have but it’s substantial. We’ve been sailing on Navigator from our home port and it’s been a great experience. However, the ship has had as few as 650 and not more than 1800 on any of our sailings. Now that the crowds are coming back, “” be reminded of why I hate the big shops. Celebrity would be my oreference, but if Barnaclegate causes our June Alaska cruise on Eclipse to be as radically altered as the May 15 sailing (cutting port times from all day to 3-4 hours to save fuel resulting from the buildup of barnacles on the hull), we’ll be reconsidering. An onboard experience can only do so much to make up for corporate missteps.