coffeebean

1 hour ago, roxy2003 said:

I can definitively say as of today, I have NEVER had Covid.  I have been "highly exposed but seronegative” pre & post vaccine at events where many, if not all other people tested positive except me.   Prior to vaccinations, which I only received this year to be able to travel/cruise, I was enrolled in the McGill University clinical study as one of the lucky 1% "Covid Resistors".   I was enrolled courtesy of my MD daughter (clinical pathologist) who picked up on me never testing positive after two high exposure events.  For over a year, I had to spit in a test tube and get a blood draw every month and always tested as seronegative.   I lived my life pretty much like I did before Covid, although did mask during mandates but continually traveled for work during the shutdown.  In my first high exposure event, I was in NYC in March of 2020 working in a very crowded office conference room for a week with 10 colleagues who with the exception of myself all got sick with Alpha Covid.  Two of which ended up on a ventilator (both survived).    Daughter kept testing me for two weeks after exposure and I never tested positive for Covid or antibodies after.  After the second high exposure event, she had me enroll in McGill study through the hospital she works at in the Texas Medical center in Houston.  Lucky me!

You are very lucky. 99% of the population are not that lucky.

There has been a long pause for me following cruise information regarding vaccination status on RCCL cruises out of the US. I was speaking with a friend today who recently was on a RCCL cruise out of Miami and I was told that all adults had to be fully vaccinated to board the ship. I went on RCCL's website today and I see that all people 12 and over must be fully vaccinated.

When did that occur? Last I knew, RCCL conducted test cruises so there could be a percentage of non vaccinated children and adults on their ships. Guess I'm out of the loop.

3 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

Given the stupidity I have personally witnessed, I think it’s entirely possible they didn’t realize they were at a private event.  There are some mighty self-absorbed people in this world. 

The bride cuts the cake. The groom feeds the bride. The  bride feeds the groom. Don't they do that sort of stuff at a wedding on a cruise ship? They HAD to know.

Just off Divina July 7th. DVR is set. Thanks for the information.

On 7/2/2022 at 5:19 PM, Marie51 said:

OK. My son and daughter-in-law say she cannot get vaccinated according to her doctors who care for her various conditions. I can’t contradict that so I have to just go with the flow of what they say. Like I said it’s out of my hands.

OK then.

58 minutes ago, JAGR said:

YC pool is the One Pool on deck 18.

Yes, I see that one too. Thanks for the information.

15 minutes ago, JAGR said:

On the MSC Divina, the adult pool is the Garden Pool on deck 15, or at least it was.

Thank you for your quick reply. I saw that pool also on the deck plans but thought it might be for the Yacht Club members only.

Our up coming cruise will be  hubby and my first time on an MSC ship. Looking at the deck plans for Davina, on deck 14, I see a pool called Le Sirene Covered Pool. Is this an adults only area and pool? Thanks.

10 hours ago, CrazyTrain2 said:

............As Covid progresses and evolves, expect even more virulent mutations to emerge making testing even less useful and less accurate.  

The usual course of viruses such as Covid is it mutates to be less virulent and more transmissible. That is exactly how Covid has evolved.

6 hours ago, broadwaybaby123 said:

We had a similar experience on NCL Bliss. The way Norwegian has things set up includes NOBODY having the option to sign up for Traditional Dining. We had to make reservations the day before.

 

We had my niece with us, who was then 7. One day, we went on a tour to Kennedy Space Center and opted to take the later dining time (around 8PM) as we weren't sure our tour would be back in time for early dining. We got back around 6 and she was starving. So we called the MDR and asked if we could move our reservation up. We were told no, since the dining rooms were already open, however we were advised to visit several dining rooms and WAIT IN LINE on the off-chance one of them could take us. Try telling that to a starving 7 year old! Ultimately, we went to the buffet. 

 

On the nights we were in the MDR, we had to wait NO LESS THAN 2 hours for our food because of staff shortages and the MTD people!

 

Since then, we've never gone on NCL and don't plan to. They were so disorganized it was ridiculous. We also won't be signing up for MTD.

Oh my goodness. Sounds like NCL is a victim of not enough staffing. This is not what we have ever experienced on them but it has been months since we cruised on NCL. I just told my husband, this is not a good time to cruise. We will not wait on long lines and it seems that is inevitable during these trying times.

8 hours ago, HelenaCruiser2012 said:

I thought MTD was so we could have dinner whenever we wanted to without being locked into a time?  That's how we've been looking at it, like going to any restaurant.  I saw online that we could make MTD reservations but we didn't really understand why people would do that.  We were so happy they had the MTD option this time around, it worked well for us on our last two cruises on Norwegian.  Are we wrong thinking that we can be this flexible with dinner?  Thanks.

NCL started this "My Time Dining" concept with their "Freestyle Dining". NCL does not have traditional dining on any of their ships and their execution of their  concept works very well on their ships. We have never had to wait more than five minutes to be seated in any of their main restaurants but we usually eat late, after the first main theater show. We have done MTD on Royal ships but because we dine late, never have a wait for a table.

15 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Have you ever gone to a land-based restaurant? Just saying. 

Hubby and I do not wait longer than 15 minutes for a table. We head out to another restaurant. Same on a cruise ship for us.

22 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

That was when ships were sailing at 50% or less. Now kids are out of school and cruising is picking up faster than they can hire crew. Add to that the effect of most MTD wanting to eat as early as possible , MTD room is pretty empty at 8:30..

 

This post just answered my concern.

On 6/18/2022 at 3:09 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

We had the same experience on a Princess ship - long lines for MTD both with and without reservations, being told that a table was reserved for us at a certain time, then the next night being told rudely that tables are never reserved in MTD.  The fix seemed to be to eat very early, as soon as the dining room opened.  
 

We used to enjoy MTD, but when the earliest time changed to 6:45 p.m., we changed all our cruises to early seating.  I am sure a lot of other people did the same and this is the result.  If they would change MTD back to earlier availability, the problem might ease.

Is there also a problem with MTD for a later time to dine, such as 8:30 PM or is it just the earlier times?

On 5/9/2022 at 4:21 PM, oteixeira said:

I just want to point out that the 3 main lines all do ship within a ship, the beauty is you don't HAVE to like it to sail any of the lines, it is a very small portion of the sailing capacity.

RCL - "The Suite Neighborhood"
Carnival - "Havana"
NCL - "The Haven"

and if you want to throw in a few others:

Celebrity - "The Retreat"

MSC - "The Yacht Club"

So, you really can't ding NCL for it unless you are dinging almost every option you have to sail in the US.

Oh, now I understand the "ship within a ship concept". Seems all the mainstream cruise lines have this concept.

On 5/9/2022 at 3:01 PM, cruisemom42 said:

NCL doesn't work for me. The ship-within-a-ship concept is the opposite of what I look for onboard a cruise ship. And the very active (one could say aggressive) dislike of dining with others is extremely offputting for this solo traveler.

What do you mean by "ship within a ship concept"?

2 hours ago, Sam Ting said:

It’s disgusting.  After using the toilet, I would hope one would go directly to the sink to wash your hands, but there is no sink near the toilet.  You have to leave the toilet booth touching the door along the way.  Gross.  Unless you say you will use a piece of toilet paper to open the door.  Clearly the setup was dumb and therefore never repeated.

Same goes for a public bathroom in regular stalls (not accessible stalls). You open the door with contaminated hands then walk to the sink to wash your hands. No difference.

Where did Escape have the repairs done? Hubby watches the cruise cams and says that Escape has not left Port Canaveral. Is that correct?

On 3/24/2022 at 2:55 PM, JGmf said:

Crew were still wearing masks OUTSIDE at Great Stirrup Cay.  Even the staffer (lifeguard? security?) rowing around in a kayak, alone on the water.

I was a huge proponent of masking when it was truly necessary for those of us with normal immune systems (before vaccines). Now this is the silliest thing I ever heard......someone wearing a mask while "rowing around in a kayak, alone on the water". Who does that?????? If it is a protocol by the cruise line, then someone does not have their thinking cap on.

A Broadway show these days cost $150 to $200. Crazy, I know but that is what it is. I've seen "Hairspray" on a Royal ship pre-pandemic and IMHO, the quality of the talent and the sets were just as good as a Broadway show. I enjoyed the show immensely on the Royal ship and I've seen the show on Broadway too.

What I'm getting at is this.......Royal does not seem to be discounting cruises that do not include their Broadway type shows for what ever reason they are not running. It doesn't seem fair to me that one week the show is not on and the next week the show is on but people pay the same rate for the same cabin category whether the Broadway type show is offered or not. I wonder why this is?
 

9 hours ago, Aboat1 said:

No refund.  

No offer of a refund!

Your original post says RCCL offered you your money back. No?

On 3/23/2022 at 2:53 PM, BillHoo said:

Just lean over to the table next to you and ask the other patrons "Anyone want some of this Waldorf Salad?  I didn't touch it.  I just want a spoonful or two..."
 

Break the ice and make friends!  😄

 

I don't think so.

It has been reported on the Royal Forum that Odyssey of the Seas was giving passengers 100% biodegradable plastic straws. The straws are made by Strawfish. Let's hope NCL follows suit and starts using these biodegradable plastic straws. TPTB must know those paper straws are worthless, especially when attempting to stir a fresh frozen drink. 

11 hours ago, little britain said:

I am not four. I do not need a straw. 

Frozen drinks, such as a Pina Colada, MUST be drank through a straw. I always thought that was the law of frozen drinks. No????

18 hours ago, EZ1 said:

So excited, these are bendable 100% biodegradable plastic straws. Hated the paper ones, would go to Starbucks to get the plastic green ones on Royal, or bring my own. Got them on Allure 2 weeks ago, they are made by strawfish.

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!! Now I don't have to bring my own plastic straws. Thank you for the advisement.