foxgoodrich

Of course there are wake-up calls on ships, or you can use your phone alarm, or you can hang your door tag out at night and room service will call before they deliver your morning coffee. (That's what we do.) I believe the OP was not asking how to get a wake up call or how to know the time of sunrise, but was asking about a special kind of alarm clock that gradually lights up the room with light of graduated kelvin ratings (like sunrise.) I have no experience with them, but just now I googled "sunrise alarm clock" and found this article comparing several of them. https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-sunrise-alarm-clocks/

We had fun dressing up! Took this pic on our way to the Jazz Club for the Prohibition Party. Even if you don't have the party on your cruise, be sure to get a photo op in your 20's attire!!

Yes, that's right! I was trying to remember why Allure was the only ship that had a Prohibition Party back then, and you nailed it. It's because Chicago was the show on Allure. And Chicago on Allure was fantastic when we saw it.

It was a lot of fun! If I remember right, it cost about $35pp and it started late...like at 10pm? The door guard (at the Jazz Club) was dressed like a 20's gangster, complete with fedora. We had to show him our pins and whisper the password to him. The drinks were served (speakeasy style) in teacups. The live music was 20's jazz, and there were a few dancers present doing the Charleston, Black Bottom, etc. They would teach you the steps if you didn't know the dances.

We are in the pearl business, so I always make them with pearls, and always took a pair for an M&M door prize back in the old days. I also used them to tip the bar staff (with wives/girlfriends) in the DL, thus guaranteeing me a good supply of swizzle sticks - haha!

I'm sorry - it was pre Covid!

We went to a Prohibition Party on Allure, and it was great fun! Most people dressed for it, and the staff were all dressed in 20's finery. When we got our invitation in our cabin, there were 2 lapel pins. We were also given a password. We were instructed to wear the pins and use the password to get into the Speakeasy. There were nibbles, live music, fake horse racing, and lots of gin drinks from the 20's. Fun! I think Allure was the only ship that did them, but I could be wrong about that. Possibly other ships had Prohibition Parties after the success on Allure.

The straws are no big deal to me. What I do miss are the plastic swizzle sticks! It's a good thing I still have a bunch of them...I can still make more earrings...

We've never had a problem! We both routinely order fresh squeezed OJ for breakfast and ask that they charge it to our sea passes. No way am I wasting a voucher worth $13 on a $4 beverage!

That's great! You do have plenty of other vacation options, and it's all good that they meet your needs.

Global pandemic? Tremendous adverse economic impact worldwide? Higher degree of contagiousness? Just my thoughts...

Since prisons don't physically travel to different cities and countries, I would expect the regulations affecting them would be different than those pertaining to cruise ships. I think there might be some consideration as to the speed with which infected passengers/crew on a ship, visiting multiple ports in multiple countries, can spread the disease. And different countries (ports) have different requirements that must be observed for ships to port. Testing has been used as a tool for prevention. Clearly it has been used effectively by the cruise lines since the CDC dropped all the cruise ship requirements last month.

The CDC treats cruise ships sailing in US waters differently than other potential infectious indoor environments in the country. That's always been the case - think about norovirus. Even though schools, daycares, and nursing homes have historically had higher incidences of noro, their info was not collected by the CDC but rather by local and state health agencies. Cruise ships are required to report noro cases to the CDC. The numbers of Covid cases identified on cruise ships have been available to the public on a color coded easy-to-read CDC chart/spreadsheet online throughout the pandemic. I'm not sure if the chart is still accessible now, though, since all the cruise ship Covid reporting requirements were dropped by the CDC on July 18. The requirements are now recommendations.

The CDC treats cruise ships sailing in US waters differently than other potential infectious indoor environments in the country. That's always been the case - think about norovirus. Even though schools, daycares, and nursing homes have historically had higher incidences of noro, their info was not collected by the CDC but rather by local and state health agencies. Cruise ships are required to report noro cases to the CDC rather than those local/state agencies for US ports. The numbers of Covid cases identified on cruise ships have been available to the public on a color coded easy-to-read CDC chart/spreadsheet online throughout the restart. I've looked at it several times, but not since May. I'm not sure if the chart is still accessible now, though, since all the cruise ship Covid reporting requirements were dropped by the CDC on July 18. The requirements are now recommendations.

I guess I'm having a hard time figuring out why a simple test would cause outrage and stop people from cruising. It's just not a big deal to me and certainly won't make me cancel my cruises or change to Carnival. The whole purpose of testing is to identify people with active virus and prevent them from boarding and spreading it, and I don't see that protocol as such a terrible thing. Of course there will be a few people so early in the process of developing active virus that they won't test positive yet and are allowed to board, but to me, testing is just a tool used to prevent or reduce the size of outbreaks on ships. I don't mind it.

I know I'm interrupting the covid stories here, but I'd like to focus on the OP's post...and remind everybody that Royal said they will be making an additional announcement on August 14. What do you think? I think they'll do what the other lines are doing.

Yes, this is exactly what I was referring to in my post above. All the MDRs seem to have reallocated table space and how it is used. There is more space allocated for early traditional dining now, which is popular. The result seems to be that it's very hard to get early MTD times because most of MTD will happen after early traditional is done.

On the wine question...we are usually red wine drinkers, but we order the Caliterra Sauvignon Blanc for our D+ wine. In no way are we connoisseurs of white wine, but that one is tasty and light, and we both enjoy it. I think it tastes like flowers smell (light, fresh, pleasant) and It doesn't bite my tonsils! Be cautious about leaving your carry-ons standing around unguarded since there's really no secure place. Ours have all our essential and valuable stuff - medicines, all our electronics, charging cords, jewelry, passports, cruise related receipts, my expensive cosmetics, etc., plus the wine we bring aboard. I would not want to take a chance on losing mine! If you carry electronics and valuables in yours, you may want to keep it with you.

I agree that traditional early dining would work better with a little one. A few years ago, we tried to get consistent MTD early times for our family group with a little one, but could not get a consistent early time each night. I think that issue may be even worse now, since they've changed how MDR table space is allocated between the traditional times and MTD. Anyway, we were able to change to early traditional dining and it was perfect. Our wait team paid special attention to our granddaughter. The high chair was always there. Each night they brought her a special little kid hors d'oeuvres plate - fruit, cheese, crackers, veggies - as soon as we sat down. She was thrilled! Your TA should be able to make the change for you. Hope your little one has a great time!

Yes, on Radiance the aft on Deck 11 is the Windjammer outdoor dining patio, a different configuration than Vision class ships. It probably won't get a lot of use in the early mornings, but you may hear an occasional chair moving. There won't be any noise at night after the WJ closes. That outdoor seating is unique, so many people don't even know about it.

We are excited to have an aft balcony on Radiance in January. The river is so interesting, the variety of river traffic is fascinating, and we've had fun waving to people...lots of folks on smaller boats, occasionally sailors on a bigger vessel, and (most interesting!) people driving on a road next to the river! A 7-8 hour sailaway down the Mississippi is just unique! In our past experience with port side balconies, there are 3 different river pilots who board to assist with the river navigation on the way to the Gulf. One is aboard when you leave NOLA. Then a couple of hours down the river, a pilot boat comes up, the original guy gets off and the next pilot gets on. According to my recollection of what an officer told us on a bridge tour we had once on a cruise out of NOLA, the Mississippi is always changing, the navigation can be challenging, and apparently each of the pilots is an expert on one particular stretch of the river. Since we'll be in an aft balcony in January, we won't be able to see the pilot boat coming along the side of the ship to make the transfer and the pilots coming and going.....but....it's AFT on Radiance with a great view of the river!!!!! Woo Hoo!

Does anyone else enjoy cruising down the Mississippi to get the the Gulf as much as I do? We like to sit on the balcony or pool deck and watch the river traffic after leaving NOLA. Gonna get to do that again in January!!

OOPS...forgot! Yes, wine is served with each course at Chef's Table. An 18% gratuity is added when you book it. Here's a review of the meal that includes the menu and the wine selections with each course. https://www.2bearbear.com/chefs-table-review-royal-caribbean-cruises-michelin-styled-dining-with-wine-pairing/ I just put CT in my cart on my cruise planner for our next cruise, and the 18% grat is added before payment.

Hope this helps...Sorry, I don't know the answers to your last two questions!

Hey - that's a great way to use it and the panhandle makes sense for that purpose! (And since you are from Texas, you can tell your guests it's your way to acknowledge that you live in Baha Oklahoma............bahabahabaha....)