Honolulu Blue

Hi. Michigan again. Cases are starting to increase after several weeks of being stable or declining. In other news, Pfizer is investing $120 million in their Kalamazoo plant so they can make more of the active ingredients in Paxlovid. You can read the press release at https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-invest-120-million-produce-covid-19-oral-treatment . On a personal note, the cruise on Carnival I was supposed to go on last month went... but I wasn't on it. Long story, made a post about it. I'll eventually get back to Carnival, but it might be a while.

UPDATE: Another poster announced being offered Paxlovid onboard another Princess Ship (Majestic Princess). NOT for free, and they didn't end up getting it there. Here's the thread:

UPDATE: Another poster announced that they were offered Paxlovid onboard another Princess ship (Majestic this time). Here's the thread:

Very helpful, thanks. 👍

I'm a little surprised that the Optum Store is showing as out of stock. Oh well, there's always eMed. When I checked just now, not only did they have the 6-packs, they also have 2-packs for $70 (plus shipping). Here's the link to their tests: https://store.emed.com/s/category/covid19-athome-test-with-verified-lab-report-emed/0ZG8c000000LZXk?c__results_layout_state={}

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm sorry you got infected and I'm sorry for the mess that followed. Get well soon. One question, if you're feeling up to it... did either you or your wife get the Paxlovid that was offered by Princess? I'm most curious about this because there have been some discussions here about whether this medication is available on cruise ships.

You don't sound pathetic at all. You sound like a normal person trying to connect to other people. There's nothing wrong with that. You've been given great advice by others about how to socialize. Here are a few of my suggestions from someone who's done more than a few solo cruises: Cruisers are generally a friendly lot. Go ahead and say hi to as many of them as you like. It doesn't matter whether they're alone, a couple, or in a big group. Some of them won't want to talk for whatever reason, and that's fine. Don't blame yourself. Keep going until you find someone that will talk and keep talking until one of you has to go. Concerts on music themed cruises are great places to start conversations (while in line or before the show - obviously don't talk during the show 😬 . Clearly you both like the act enough to see them live, so start with something like, "I think (biggest hit) is their best song. What do you think?" Trivia sessions are good for finding people to talk to, especially if you're fond of the theme. There can be opportunities for solos to join groups as a third/fifth wheel. You can also go talk to the winner(s) about the questions you missed. I like saying a lot without saying anything. One of my favorite T-shirts during the pandemic was one that said "Don't Stand So Close To Me". There was a double meaning there - it's one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands, and it's what we were all reminded to do during the pandemic. Sometimes people wanted to talk about this message with either of its meanings - great. And some people took the advice on my shirt to heart and stayed far away - and that's fine too. 😁 Compliments are always appreciated. If you see someone with an interesting T-shirt (as I explained above), go ahead and say "nice shirt". Maybe they want to talk about it. If on formal night you see something that appeals to you, go ahead and mention it to them. Be careful about complimenting specific body parts unless you're in serious flirt mode, but you probably know that.

Good for you! Have fun! I actually got a similar offer a couple of weeks ago for an interior guarantee. I couldn't fit it into my schedule, so I had to decline. Here's the thread and posts I did on it:

I didn't get this survey. ☹️ Carnival's TV offerings, IMHO, seem to have taken a turn for the worse in about 2018. Before then, they had some local stations and a few cable networks of more interest to me. I think this was about the time they got rid of the channel that read off (literally) the Fun Times.

A couple of months ago, a person on a Carnival Corporation (Princess) ship was offered a Paxlovid treatment onboard. Here's their story: I haven't heard of anyone else posting about receiving such an option before or after this, so take from that what you will.

Thanks for sharing. Good to hear about the embarkation process and the Cucina MDR options, bad to hear about the sea day brunch and Cucina's opening hours. I had heard Cucina was supposed to be open for every lunch.

I've heard of Matt. I read his blog and sometimes watch his vlogs. He is NOT a Royal Caribbean employee, merely a satisfied customer. He rarely talks about any cruise line other than Royal, and can come across as sounding like a fanboy at times. But mostly he's on point, and many of the tips he supplies can be applied to other cruise lines.

I don't think any others do, though it might not be a bad idea for some. Mr. Heald answers those complaints because someone has to. The complainers can either scream at him or one of thousands of service reps on the ships and on land. He often says, after Carnival or one of its employees does something that a passenger doesn't agree with, to blame him. That can be a useful deflection at times.

I'll answer the question you posed in a little bit, but let me first touch on your first sentence. I'm surprised that you're surprised that some cruisers have cruises that are hundreds of days away. After all, 200 days is less than 7 months. It used to be standard, pre-pandemic, to book cruises a year or more in advance. That's less true these days, but I wouldn't be the least surprised to have cruisers who have booked 1000+ days (a bit under 3 years) in advance. But anyway, your question. I found a nice air miles calculator online, which I needed because three of my embarkations involved trips of between 1800 and 2000 miles - to Vancouver, Los Angeles, and San Juan. San Juan turned out to be the farthest of the bunch (though not by a lot), so that's my answer for now. This may change in the future. The disembarkation port that's farthest away from me... well, that cruise from Vancouver ended up in Honolulu - 4400 miles away. Those flights weren't much fun. ☹️

He apparently likes to cruise and he admires the ship. And his current position as Brand Ambassador doesn't take him on cruises very often these days, just a few weeks a year.

I don't know either, but that's the person Mr. Heald has been since I've known him. Being on a P&O ship will help. I wish him the best.

Yes, it's October 10. Also, Mr. Heald's cruise on the P&O Iona is a NON working vacation. He won't be doing any of his regular Brand Ambassador duties for Carnival that week. And thanks, Carolyn, for the post.

Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, and Norwegian (all part of NCLH) got rid of the testing requirement at the same time. The gotcha is that it DOES NOT YET apply to embarking cruises from the U.S., Canada, or Greece.

I'm sorry that all of you caught the virus on this cruise. And I'm sorry the experience soured you on future cruising. I hope you all get well soon.

The proctored tests from eMed do include remote monitoring, but don't include shipping - which adds $15 to $30 per 6 pack.

I think you put the Carnival vibe into words quite well, better than I could. I like it too, though I'm not necessarily one that partakes in a lot of the activities. And back to you, our OP. There are theme cruises on Celebrity and Holland, and Princess has been developing their own themes on certain cruises. I did a couple of music theme cruises, back to back, a few months ago. They were amazing experiences, but also expensive by mainstream cruise standards. It's just a matter of picking a genre, era, or even specific band you like. If there are enough there that tickle your fancy, you'll find a way to make it work.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing. I'll have to pay special attention to those ports that have been mentioned multiple times here. And special thanks for the additional love shown to sunny San Juan. 🙂

Princess has announced its lineup for their 80s cruise for this year. They have two tribute bands (Wanted and DSB, representing Bon Jovi and Journey respectively), plus comedian Carlos Oscar and former tour manager and author Leo Rossi. I had a different Bon Jovi tribute band last year, and Mr. Oscar was also there. Not a bad lineup. I'll be sorry to miss it.

Hi guys. Happy 4th of July for those of us in the U.S. I have a simple question today - considering all the factors that are important to you, what is your favorite location to embark a cruise ship? I didn't want to put in a poll because it would be unwieldy with all the possible choices. My choice is San Juan, Puerto Rico. Yours probably is not. Tell us all about it! Thanks.

WARNING: Long post. Lots of numbers. May be dry at times. There's a TL,DR at the end. I won't be offended if you move on to the post about dress codes. All right, for the other person that's actually reading, I saw an insane price for one of my cruises listed under my VIFP number. I'm not a gambler at all, so it's not related to that. Let's list the details: Carnival Splendor (I've been on her twice before, nice ship, missed Guy's though) All sailings from July 12 through August 30 Interior guarantee cabin All sailings round trip from Seattle Sailing to Alaska and Victoria, BC Port fees about $255 per week Gratuities about $100 per week Normal stuff so far, right? Now let me get to the insane parts: The cabin price for me, single occupancy, is between $70 and $100 PER WEEK. Not per day, and certainly not PPDO. $100 or less for the cruise fare FOR THE WHOLE WEEK! I don't even think I could stay in a hostel for under $15 a night. In addition, the offer gives me $200 per cabin per week And I also have some CCL shares that would provide $100 per week in OBC So, if I wanted to do a B2B2B2B2B2B2B2B, the net cost would be... about $1150. That's insane to me, the best offer I've ever seen from Carnival. Yes, there are some extra costs (any excursions, COVID-19 tests, airfare, various shuttles) And I'm going to have to turn it down because I have a job I enjoy too much to go on an adventure like this. 🙁 This particular rate and offer expires tomorrow, and I don't expect to see it repeated unless I go completely degenerate in the casino. This would be really fun to watch some vlogger do this and watch them slowly go insane. Story of my life. Thanks for reading. TL,DR: I could take any or all of a string of cruises in Alaska this summer for under $150 per week. No thanks.