BND

I see you don't like the answers you are getting. I didn't realize that you get to control how others feel. Also, if C&Ameans "very little", then why are you so wound up about it?

What do you consider a "family group"? What if someone is bringing their "family" on a cruise for a anniversary celebration and they have 50 people in their group? By your logic they should all get the highest status. I don't get this idea that people would have to hang out "in the hall" as drinks are now loaded on seapasses and can be shared. A lot of people never go in the lounge either. We've traveled with friends who were gold on RCI back about 8 years ago when they gave the 3 coupons in addition to free drinks in the lounge. DH and I would go to the lounge for 1/2 hour or so and grab a drink and snack and then we'd meet our friends for pre-dinner drinks and share our coupons. We have friends who do that with their family members all the time. There has to be a limit. Everyone who says "it's just one more person", well, it's just one more for YOUR group, but it could be a few hundred on the large ships.

DH and I have never really sweated "germs" and we never had Covid. Neither did my parents (85 yr olds). Both our sons and DDIL's did, but very mild cases. One DIL is a nurse and the other has immunity issues (she's had it twice).Both DS worked through the entire pandemic and only caught it in 2022 so well after the worst. DH and I are "baby boomers" and drank from hoses, played in dirt, etc. I've always believed that exposure to "germs" helps build immunity. I'm someone who rarely got sick growing up and even now in my 60's. We don't wipe down our cabins or really worry. We wash our hands as required, press elevator buttons with our knuckles, but outside of that, nothing else. We don't wipe down or spray anything on a cruise ship or in a hotel room. We've cruised 8 times since restart and have stayed in multiple hotel rooms, at the beach and near cruise ports. Never wiped down any surface. I have had one sinus infection and nothing else in the last 4 years. DH has had one cold.

It seems pretty random with times. Some of the people they interviewed for the news story have Europe trips planned for this summer and are all waiting.

That happens a lot.

As I said, we don't have enough time with the trips we have planned. My choice. I really don't care about the time that some will think I'm "losing". I'm not sure why it's an issue for you if it's not for me 😉

Problem is, coming from the Captain, some people think it's not real. We were just on EN in April and when we left Baltimore there was a low forming on the front south of us so RCI decided to hold us off the coast of VA for a day. People were blaming the Captain for all kinds of crap, but once they heard Van Fleet on tv, they believed what he said. It was crazy. I already knew the morning we boarded that we prob weren't going to head straight south and miss our first port, which we did, due to the weather and wave forecasts that I watched. Both easy to find online.

I mailed my passport renewal application on Tuesday and it was received at the Philadelphia P.O. Box yesterday (Thursday, May 17) so my clock starts now. The news just did a story on how passports are taking 10-13 weeks and even expedited ones are taking up to 9 weeks. Last time I renewed, it took 2 weeks. They're currently receiving about 500,000 applications a week which is causing the bottleneck. Our next cruise isn't until Oct 20, so I have time. Anyone mail theirs recently? Even in person appointments are difficult to get. People are being told there are openings but they are all over the country and travel is required, plus they are scattered times. So, anyone who needs their passport renewed this year, might want to go ahead. Mine is good til Aug 2024, but our travel starting this fall makes it hard to have enough time to get it renewed before it needs to be.

Where did OP say or insinuate in any way that they are "special"? SMH

Royal website doesn't even have much of anything about it anymore. It's become such a non-issue with symptoms basically being a bad cold at most. I don't know anyone who has had it for months now. We threw out our tests and don't plan on buying more. We only had the tests for cruising. We just cruised in April and I'm pretty positive the questions had to do with cold like symptoms, not actual diagnosis.

I asked the poster a simple question on THIS thread. You feel like a big man digging up something that isn't even related? That's actually kind of creepy. What should posters be talking about?

Well, what exactly do YOU think people should post about? I'm curious as to who you think should decide? You? 😏

On EN, we ordered from the asst waiter but it was delivered by a bar server who served a lot of tables.

Yeah, the last time we received flowers was on EN in April 2022 from our friends who are our TA's. We were on a 20 night b2b and they lasted about 15 of those days. She's been wanting to order them again for us, but they're never available anymore.

I never said anything different. My point was that if everyone follows the directions, they would have already had it on. Why are you so defensive?

We always apply it before we leave the ship. You are supposed to put it on at least 15 minutes before exposure.

My passport doesn't expire until Aug 2024, but we have multiple cruises starting in Oct without enough time between them to renew it next year. I'm mailing everything off tomorrow so should have it back in more than enough time. DH's doesn't expire for 3 years. Last time I renewed it, it took about 3 weeks total. I am not expediting it, but really have no reason to. I will send it certified mail so I can track it. I just did that with the pay off (check) of our mortgage and tracking worked great. We'll see how long it takes.

We always just fill it out as it is a separate cruise. And, then, just select a later time because there's no reason to take an earlier time from someone else who is actually boarding.

We originally wanted to book 4/4 as the third leg but JS were completely sold out so we backed up a cruise and are doing the three prior. It's been a few years since we've done the ABC's.

We're booked on AD for a 6/8/6 b2b2b starting Mar 15 2025 out of PC. We've never been on her, but have been on EX 4 times when she was in NJ years ago and we loved EX.

Someone needs to learn about how cruise ships are built and compartmentalized as well as why Titanic sunk and never actually should have sailed that voyage.

We've received offers when the entire ship is sold out. I tell people who ask this question that they are just covering themselves in case of cancellations. They can move someone up in category and then sell their original cabin for more than it originally went for. It's never about what's available, but always about what might become available.

Just an FYI, The actual quote is "love of money is the root of all evil".

The aide you talked to was incorrect if he said that.

To DOD? How about the State Dept?