basil's mom

If you adjust the automatic tip downward the supervisor assumes the passenger was unhappy with the service and the crew members are called on the carpet.

Two passengers on celebrities ship tested positive for COVID-19. Both were vaccinated.  The infected passengers were quarantined and the cruise continued.

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

I guess we should have thrown out the Constitution way back in 1905, when SCOTUS ruled in Jacobson v Massachusetts that:

 

Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the authority of states to enforce compulsory vaccination laws. The Court's decision articulated the view that individual liberty is not absolute and is subject to the police power of the state.  (bolding of text is mine)

The federal government has already said that they are not going to make vaccinations compulsory therefore this does not apply since it is a cruise line and not the state that is making it compulsory.

As much as some members would like the unvaccinated to be burdened with testing at the pier ( and perhaps have their foreheads stamped with a big scarlet “C”), I don’t think that’s going to happen because (1) there are too many false negatives with the speed test and (2) even if you had the vaccine you can still get the virus.  The more effective test takes days to get results and the cruise line is not going to insist every single passenger get tested at the pier that far in advance.  
 

i am sure there are many attorneys who would be willing to represent the passengers who were denied boarding or treated differently.

4 hours ago, LeeRB said:

The CDC has been getting a lot of backlash lately over the rule changes they made in May; which makes me wonder how much that or the science played into the CDC putting out new, less restrictive rules, for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated cruisers as quickly as they have. I imagine like many government organizations, some there are checking which way the wind is currently blowing.

 

The CDC is not a government organization.  The CDC is quasi-government under the Department of Health and Human Services which has sources of funding that are predicated on the fact that it also has a private 501(c)3 public charity. The CDC Foundation receives charitable contributions and philanthropic grants from individuals, foundations, corporations, universities, NGOs and other organizations to advance the work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  This is not a government funded organization.

4 hours ago, WhaleTailFlCruiser said:

 

No Doctor I know has ever once said not to get vaccinated, My dad has a multitude of health issues including Parkinson's and all of his Doctors highly encouraged getting said vaccine. 

 

Perhaps you don’t know my doctors. My internist has not gotten the vaccine and no one in his family has. Several of my friends have been told by their doctors not to get the vaccine. I know many doctors and other medical professionals  who are against the vaccine.

Getting the vaccine may have been the best thing for your father but it is not for everyone.  I am not willing to risk my life on a vaccine for a disease which has an over 99% recovery rate.  By the way, I am one of those who had the virus and recovered with no ill affects.

4 hours ago, songbird1329 said:

 You misunderstood.

 

The vaccine isn’t designed to keep you from contracting the virus.  It’s designed to keep you out of the hospital, off a vent and out of the morgue,

 

Fully vaccinated people have been known to test positive for the virus and have been known to have mild symptoms if they have a breakthrough infection.

Per the CDC:

” COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune system‘s how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. The symptoms are normal and I signs at the body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19.

it typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity (protection against the virus that causes COVID-19) after vaccination.”

if someone has had the virus their body develops natural immunity against the virus.  Therefore, if someone has had COVID-19 and decides not to get the vaccine what is the big deal?

7 minutes ago, dandeck said:

Cruise ships are not the place for unvaccinated people.  For everyone's sake.  Anyone who has ever been on one realizes why.  No one is forced to cruise.  Don't want the vaccine?  No problem.  The beach has lots of space for distancing and would be the better choice for all of us.  Again, no one is forced to get on a ship or be vaccinated.  Your decision.  

You are absolutely right, no one is forced to cruise. If it bothers you that people might be on the cruise that are unvaccinated the solution is very simple. Don’t go on that cruise.

it was my understanding that vaccination was supposed to keep you from getting the COVID-19 virus. If you were vaccinated why are you worried about the people who are not vaccinated?

I have several health problems and was told not to get vaccinated by my doctor. Why should I be kept from an activity I enjoy, along with other people who choose not to be vaccinated, when those who believe in vaccinations are already protected?

On 6/2/2021 at 3:22 PM, BoozinCroozin said:

After losing the opportunity for judgement and forced to mediation, DeSantis had no choice but to compromise. I like the guy and agree with what he is trying to do. Once the CDC started to come to the plate, he needs to as well. He has to start pitching the ball. Because cruise lines are so much more unique, they can make an amendment for a win/win situation.

 

If he does agree to it, I think we see the cruise lines make a quick change to possibly require vaccination. Or, vaccinated passengers that have proof can board without testing between 11AM and 2PM. Passengers without vaccination must report to offsite testing facility, wait for results, wait for those to be sent to the cruise line, then given a boarding time between 2-3:30PM. If anyone tests positive in your group or anyone you are stuck waiting with in the testing facility, you will not be permitted to board. 

A true service dog is highly trained. That dog that wanders off, tries to play with another dog or person, is pet or people aggressive, grabs food from the table, is not housebroken, or doesn't obey, is not a service dog. It isn't even a well behaved pet. Retired service dogs are no longer service dogs, they are pets.

So many people were abusing the system it is a crime in California to pass a dog off as a service dog.

I have never been successful in asking for that. At best, I was able to order without sides, but not smaller portions.

Did the waiter give you a hard time? Several waiters have suggested it to us on previous cruises. If that happens again, speak to the matre'd.

I wonder if it is possible to order an entree with two fish/meat parts from two entrees and no sides. I never eat sides. This way there won't be any leftovers.

It is possible to order an entrée in appetizer size. That way you get to taste more than one entrée.

We were on a cruise in November that disembarked in Miami. It took much longer than usual for the ship to clear customs and allow passengers to get off. A car service was supposed to meet us but the driver wasn't there when we got off the ship so we had to wait for him.

Miami airport is just as crowded as LAX. There will be a lot of people getting off the ship and it may take time to find a cab to get you to the airport and then traffic to get out of the pier area. You won't know ahead of time what the security lines are like and it may take a long time to go through the line.

Fort. Lauderdale is about 30 miles from the port. Travel agents advise not making flights before 11:00 a.m. and you have to factor in the driving time.

You will be stressed out about whether you will miss your flight or not, which is a terrible way to end a vacation or you can spend the night in Miami and leave the next day. Do yourself a favor and either book the Miami flight after 11:00 a.m. or a Fort Lauderdale flight after noon. It just isn't worth an ulcer.

I have a therapy dog and I can't count the times people have not understood the difference between a service dog and a therapy dog. They think just because he is a therapy dog he can go everywhere. I have worked very hard to make him a therapy dog and it really irks me when people have gone on-line to get fake certificates that say their animal is either a service dog, therapy dog, or emotional support dog.

Have you noticed that most of the emotional support dogs are small lap dogs?

There are three categories for the dogs: service animal, therapy animal, and emotional support animal. A true service or therapy animal is very well trained and does not sit on furniture.

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability. The ADA grants individuals with disabilities accompanied by service dogs the right to access almost all places of public accommodation where the general public is permitted. Persons with service dogs are not required to pay any additional fees on account of the service dog, though the owner is responsible for any damages caused by the dog.

Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with autism. A therapy animal (usually a dog but sometimes a cat) is a well trained dog that has passed a rigorous test for obedience and temperament.

An emotional support animal is a companion animal which provides therapeutic benefit, such as alleviating or mitigating some symptoms of the disability, to an individual with a mental or psychiatric disability. A doctor's prescription is required to get a legitimate certificate. These animals may or may not be well trained and are usually the ones found sitting on the furniture and eating from buffets. They are not required to be caged, nor are people charged for flying with an emotional support animal.

They usually are on a sea day.

Thank you for taking the time to write all your great entries. We will be on the Reflection next week and I feel like I already know the ship.

The cruise line will allow you to take as many suitcases as you want but remember there is limited space to store them. If you are flying to meet the ship the airlines limit the number of items you can take.

You can choose whether your first dinner in a specialty restaurant is the first or second night; the cruiseline picks where you eat that night.

You will find tee shirts with the names of your ports in the stalls and shops rby the docks. Shops on the ship have the name of the cruiseline and sometimes ones with the ship's name.

We are booked in 2119 in November. Please let us know how you like the location.

Also check out Trip Advisor.

I book my flights far in advance so there is always a good chance the flights will be changed (it happens almost every time). We are Advantage members and I call the Advantage desk, explain that they changed my flight to one I do not want, and need to change it to something more convenient for me. Since I am a night owl, I always call late at night or before the crack of dawn. It seems that the representatives are more willing to help and spend time searching for flights. If you aren't an Advantage member yet, sign up before you call them.

Buy lots of photos or have a special photo session.

We received the $600.00 OBC and the same perks as you. I have prepaid for the excursions we want (both ship and private tours) and we like to give additional tips in cash. Murano is our favorite restaurant so we will eat there at least once, go to the high tea, and I want to try Lawn Club Grill. Usually we buy a photo or two. $600.00 sounds like a lot of money but I have a feeling it will be used up with no problem.

Wikipedia has this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_white_cookie