rudeney

The definition of a recession is two contiguous quarters of a decline in GDP. Any exceptions or conditions anyone tries to put on that is just an attempt to redefine the term, although other economic factors could help (or hurt) how a recession affects us. Low unemployment was not the result of newly-created jobs (which would be good for the economy), but is the result of pandemic lockdowns and "relief money", which is bad for the economy. Consumer debt dropped some during the pandemic, but it is quickly on its way back to record highs, and higher interest rates are going to hurt - badly. Unfortunately, The Fed has no choice but to raise interest rates. It's the only way to make money more valuable, and right now, inflation nearing double-digit rates is our biggest economic challenge. Yes, it's like turning a water hose on in your house to put out a fire - it's going to make a mess that will take time and effort to clean up, but it's better than letting the whole house burn down. In terms of cruise fares, I believe that for the next year, not much will change since they are still riding the wave of pent-up demand with the slow return to "normalcy". I expect that demand for the most and least expensive cabins will remain high, but the "middle" will suffer - i.e. balcony rooms, JS, etc. As is usual, most people who can afford suites and other expensive vacations tend to be less affected by economic changes, whereas the people booking mid-class cabins will downgrade to the cheapest options just to have the opportunity to sail. I can see demand for the UDP , The Key, and some ShorEx waning. Liquor sales and the DBP will likely not change much - people gotta have their booze. We'll see more last-minute bookings, which may result in more sales to fill cabins. Basically, RCCL better enjoy what they have now because it's probably going to get worse, but still not as bad as the shutdowns.

And that's why I used "10" (besides being easier to do the math in my head).

No worries! I was just saying that when I travel, I find paper more convenient. I do have my airline board pass on my phone and let it get scanned that way by the TSA and the gate agent, but I also know that if something goes wrong with that, I can get a replacement paper boarding card. I remember back in the "good old days" when all we had was paper, and if you lost your airline ticket, it was like losing hundreds (or thousands) of dollars in cash. Same with cruises tickets. What I usually do these days is keep all of my receipt and planning docs save in a OneNote notebook. I'll copy all emails, screen-captures, and other documents there. I also keep my planning spreadsheets there (yes I am an obsessive planner!). When we get ready to go, I just print out the things I know need to be scanned/viewed at various check-ins. I buy a plastic folder to keep it all in, and that goes in my carry-on. I then put any receipts and other paperwork (Cruise Planners) collected along the trip in that folder. When I get home, all the stuff that stuff I printed goes in the trash, and the things I collected get scanned and trashed. I have a set of folders on my computer full of vacation memorabilia. Sometimes it's fun to go back and look at that stuff.

You keep saying that, but I don't think you are expressing the opinion that you intend. For Omicron, it's as high as 18. Even at 10, by day 5, it's 10,000 possible infections based on "close contact" rules. Cruise ships with crowded terminals, elevators, dining rooms, bars and show certainly qualify as close contact. Yet we aren't seeing huge numbers of infections on cruise ships. That is likely due to a combination of natural immunity, immunity through vaccinations, and symptoms that are so mild, people don't notice them. I am not a doctor or epidemiologist, but I understand more about it than some people might. I have a degree in E&S and years ago I was contracted to write a custom analytical software tool for one of Dr. AF's research docs when he was trying to find a cure for AIDS (now known as HIV). What I learned in working with these government health agencies and grant organizations is that there is much more politics and media fodder than science.

True, but I have both - it's on my phone and on paper. Belt and suspenders! 😁

I understand what you are saying, and I agree that those of us who booked knowing that testing was required shouldn't expect anything different. The issue is that we know this is a political/marketing ploy and it's aggravating. There is zero scientific evidence that sailing without testing on a 5-day cruise is any safer than on a longer cruise. It's a two-fold tactic for for RCCL. First, they can appear to be responding positively to the CDC changes and maybe get some extra business from those who refuse to sail with testing. Second, they are looking at the number of required quarantines and find that there are fewer on the 5-night and less cruises. Just remember, this is never about passenger comfort and convenience - it is always about money.

It may seem surprising, but it's simple math. During a given week, a single ship can make 2 cruises that are 3-4 days but only one 7-day cruise.

You need proof of citizenship and ID. A passport is both of these so it is the best option. But, for US citizens on closed-loop cruises from the US visiting most other countries, a certified birth certificate with a raised seal issued by a government agency can be used for proof of citizenship along with a government-issued photo ID (such as a driver's license).

Other than required hard copies like DL, passport and proof of car insurance, and I'm a "paperless" person. Everything I do is either electronic, or if it originates on paper, I scan it. And everything is stored in "the cloud" via OneDrive so I can access it from anywhere with an Internet connection. Having said that, when I travel, I always carry paper documents - boarding passes, set-sail passes, etc. It's not really about the time it can take to pull up a document on my phone, but a contingency in case my phone dies, or gets lost, stolen or broken. I am not one to lose or break things, but you know, "stuff happens". A lost/broken phone might make my vacation a bit more difficult, but without paper docs, it might make my vacation not happen.

Yeah, I'd prefer not to go to Canada, but my wife and I are tired of Caribbean cruises, so we thought we'd try a New England cruise to enjoy the fall foliage. It just happens to go to Canada (St. Johns, NB and Sydney, NS). We probably won't get off in Sydney, but I did book a tour in St. John's. I'd prefer not to jump through the hoops of COVID Theater, but we need a cruise!

And Canada. I've not been too excited about this change since no matter what they did, it probably would not affect our October Canada cruise.

Sort of like how 3oz of liquid can't hurt a plane (remember than SNL skit?) 🤣

I remember cruising out of galveston years ago. There was a medical emergency inside the terminal, so they closed it down for 30-45 minutes to handle that. Shortly after it reopened, the computers crashed. We were lucky to be in a suite and got ahead of all the crowds and completed checked-in right as the computer crash happened. I think it was down for 30 minutes or so.

Yeah, amping seems to be more about adding cabins than anything. Our next cruise is on Voyager where it's amping removed Johnny Rockets and to add extra cabins. But the hull did get painted that hideous baby blue color, so we have that to look forward to!

It depends on the surprise.

Yeah, the word "discontinued" seems a bit more permanent than "suspended". My guess is that RCCL never really liked these as they made no money on them and it took up some time from the crew to host them. With crew shortages, it makes sense that this is something that would be on the chopping block.

It seems you should have booked this when you had a chance at $21,348. The price has gone up by over $1,800!!!

I hope you have a good flight! I will be interested to read your posts as my wife and I will be on VotS for a CAN/NE itinerary once it gets back to the USA.

I don't see anything about a number of days since being vaccinated for travel to Canada via cruise ship: https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise Vaccination requirements To embark on a cruise ship that will start, dock or end in Canada, if you’re 12 years of age or older, you must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with very few exceptions. Note: many cruise lines require vaccination for children 5 years and older. https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/covid-vaccinated-travellers-entering-canada#determine-fully To qualify as a fully vaccinated traveller to Canada, you must: have received at least 2 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine accepted for travel, a mix of 2 accepted vaccines or at least 1 dose of the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine have received your second dose at least 14 calendar days before you enter Canada Example: if your second dose was anytime on Thursday, July 1, then Thursday, July 15 would be the first day that you meet the 14 day condition this timing is only required for your second dose, not for third or fourth doses

Or, if you were considering trying a specialty restaurant, do it that night and choose a later time.

If you can get to your doc, why can't you do an online proctored test with eMed, OnPoint, or RapidTestAndTrace?

They do offer "limited" testing at the port, but given that they are testing all the unvaccinated kids, they may not have capacity, so I would not rely on that. And I think it costs $100+. I guess as a last-ditch option, that offers a small chance of getting you on the ship.

So you are worried that you won't be able to get a proctored test at all? Most, if not all, of the proctor services work on a smartphone. Are you not going to be anywhere in the two days prior to boarding (remember, it's not 48 hours but two calendar days) where you can do a proctored session?

I don't believe the OP @Project-College is worried about a positive test. I believe the issues is what if RCCL will not accept the chosen proctored test, i.e. you show up to board with a negative test, but they decline to accept that test because it lacks something the require (CLIA#, ambiguous working, too much hand-written info, etc.)

I'm with you on that. Verbal complaints, negative survey responses and even strongly-worded letters rarely get the attention of anyone who can change things. Revenue losses will. I know it may not be RCCL's fault that they can't get a decent selection of booze, but if they know that if they can't backup the high prices of the DBP with proper brands, many customers will be disappointed. Then again, maybe those of us looking for specific brands are in the minority. I am sure there are plenty of people sucking down "Jack and Cokes" or frozen cocktails who could not care less about what brand of liquor is in their drinks.