mnocket

Excellent post! People associate bed bugs with low-end establishments, but bed bugs don't really care how much you paid for the room - they can, and will, show up in the best establishments. Also, they are rarely seen. Infestations are usually detected by getting bitten or by traces left behind by the bed bugs (often called "dirt"). It is actually pretty difficult to identify a bed bug problem on a freshly made bed.

My bet is that they will treat it like the flu and you will be asked to stay in your cabin - no more formal quarantine in inside cabins on a segregated deck. Of course, I often lose my bets.

I just read that San Diego Schools are going to require masks again. UNBELIEVEABLE!

The most likely change will be that the world accepts that Covid is here to stay and becomes treated like the flu - annual vaccinations recommended & no rigorous testing/quarantine regiments. If you get sick you stay in your cabin and are not treated like a leper.

I didn't say their calculus wasn't 🙂

Yeah and unfortunately there isn't a vaccine or any therapeutics available for it😷 There's Long Covid and Long Wait Times. Coincidence? I think not.

Again I agree. It's a business decision. Is Customer Service where they want to invest their available budget. I'm not saying I wouldn't make the same decision if I were them. In the larger scheme of things, it may be understandable that Customer Service isn't a top priority to them when they allocate budget. It's just more than a bit annoying to hear how valuable they consider me while I sit on hold for extended periods. Just say, as other do, "We are experiencing a high level of calls and apologize for the long wait times". Or even better... "We are experiencing a high level of calls and apologize for the long wait times. Estimated wait time is XX minutes. If you prefer please press 1 and we will return you call". Just, please, don't keep telling me how much you value me - my time is worth money too.

Oh I agree. Poor customer service seems to have become a pandemic of it's own.

Agree 100%. Unfortunately it seems their current calculus is that poor customer service is not costing them business.😕

Does anyone really think that long hold times are a surprise to the executives? I mean every call center has robust statistics (in real time) concerning things like wait time. It's purely a business decision.... "how much are willing to pay to reduce wait times?". The answer..... not enough to actually do it.

Starlink is intended to those who have no other option for high speed internet (I'm one & I have Starlink). As someone who previously had no other option than slow internet (avg 1Mbps), paying more for Starlink was an easy sell. For those who have broadband available (e.g. cable, fiber, etc.) Starlink doesn't make sense. As you point out it's more expensive and probably much slower than what you already have. A cruise ship in the middle of the ocean is a perfect fit for Starlink. They already offer several tiers of service at different prices (i.e. Residential, Business & RV). I expect there will be unique pricing for cruise ships. It makes perfect sense. There's surely a need and Starlink satellites orbit over both land and sea - while over the ocean they are sitting idle.

I'm curious why so many feel poor customer service is not the company's fault. Sure it's hard to find new employees, but if it's something that is truly very important to the business (i.e. "your call is very important to us") - you pay up to attract the number of employees you need. The issue is rarely that there aren't any job seekers available - the issue is there aren't any job seekers who are willing to work for your company (pay and perks). If staffing customer service was really a top priority - it would be done.

One time a friend of ours bought a sail-away gift (chocolate strawberries, sparkling wine) to be delivered to our cabin. We found out about this after we returned home and she asked if we enjoyed her gift (probably a bit ticked off that we hadn't thanked her). Nothing ever showed up in the cabin and we never would have known about it if she hadn't said something.

I've got no problem with the forking fee - it's the spoon fee that always gets to me😁

Yeah I really mucked things up by not being precise in my wording. By "departing" I meant leaving the ship at the end of the cruise.

As I said, they were anecdotal reports from recent cruisers. Reports I doubt - hence my asking if anyone knew of any published data on the topic. Until recently cruisers were required to test at the end of the cruise, so the cruise lines (and the CDC?) have such data. While I doubt the 20% number, it got me thinking..... I really don't know how many people test positive at the end of their cruises - i.e. what is the actual risk of contracting Covid on a cruise? it would be nice to know this. It would help us all to make informed decisions.

Exactly, and the first led to the second. fyi Both were accurate statements (unless you still question that I've read several reports).

@Hlitner Kinda surprised at the tone of your response Hank. I've always found you to be pretty even in temperament. I was asking the question because I too doubted the reports I'd read and wondered if there were any statistics available. Since pre-departure testing was previously required, until recently this data was being gathered - so not unreasonable to ask if it's available anywhere. @CruiserBruce & @klfrodo The reason I asked is because I'd read it a couple of times and doubted it was accurate. The most recent was I'm not going to take the time to search for the other reports. Yes they are anecdotal, that's why I asked if there were published statistics.

I've seen several such reports and I'm having trouble believing them. Are there any reliable statistics on this?

You may very well be right.

Yeah, I guess if they don't do much testing on board there may not be an increase in quarantines. That said...... 20% positive at the end of 25 days is kinda frightening for me. I would venture to say that if there was no pre-cruise testing this number would be even higher. Cruising in today's world is an interesting proposition with no right of wrong answers. Each person must make their own decision and it's no surprise that the elimination of pre-cruise testing will be met with both cheers and jeers.

This is the important question! If they are still testing on board and isolating positives and close contacts, this change will likely result in more people being quarantined on ship. Not a good thing in my view.

I can't imagine any way having a film crew onboard would interfere with paying customers🥴

Some pros say the time to buy speculative stocks is when it's all doom and gloom, and everyone is running for the door. On the other hand, never put money into speculative stocks that you can't afford to lose.

OK, so I took a look at the TripAdvisor reviews. You're not alone. Most of the reviewers seemed to be thrilled by the experience. Once again, I find myself odd man out😕