SargassoPirate

I like to "eyeball" the respective "priority" lines/waiting areas and have had success on occasion with heading for the line for the steerage passengers and getting processed more quickly - not that it's a big race to board anyway. Sometimes "priority" is not really priority, just like an upgrade is not necessarily an upgrade.

Thanks, Don. I'm gonna print that out and stick it in my planning folder. East coast is home, in the mountains. That's all I'll say on social media.

Don, I'll take you up on that beer someday. I've still got two Alaska-related items on my bucket list - and yes, I keep an actual list and I'm still adding to it. The first is to ride the Harley to Bellingham, catch the ferry to Anchorage, and stop at every little port and get off for a day or two in some of the larger ones. The ride to Bellingham is a long way from where I live, so that in itself would be an adventure. The second is to drive the Alaska highway from the lower 48 to Fairbanks and maybe on up to Coldfoot. The Pirate

It happens when someone lets the IT kids sit at the big table and justify their jobs by constantly "improving" the system. Saw it time and again before I retired. Amazon doesn't seem to have these problems, so I looked into it. Their IT department consists of a man and a dog. The man is there to feed the dog. The dog is there to bite the man if he touches anything.

Basic virology stays the same. For a virus to survive and spread it needs a living host. If it quickly kills the host, it cannot spread very far. As viruses spread, they tend to become less lethal and more easily spread, which is what we are seeing with Covid. It is mutating into a more easily spread and less lethal form. And with the vaccines and therapeutics available the biggest problem/fear right now seems to be testing people who are not sick and then quarantining them because of a positive test when they are asymptomatic. Sooner or later the CDC and the cruise lines will realize that wholesale testing is an overkill and a huge drain on their resources as well as an expense and angst to their customers. The recent ruling by the CDC regarding title 42 is a step in the right direction, the bolding is mine: "After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary."

Agree with you. When we take first timers - whether it be their first cruise ever or first cruise on Princess - we stick with them for boarding and exploring the ship on boarding day. Since they can't use the Elite lounge, we just arrange to meet up later or depending on how they feel about it we just meet up in one of the other venues.

After a couple of Alaska cruises, we figured out we were seeing very little of Alaska. One year we decided to see more of it, so we flew to Anchorage, rented a car, and drove just about every paved and a few unpaved roads. At the end of the tour, we hopped on the Coral Princess and sailed southbound to Vancouver. Don't limit yourself to just a cruise - see the interior too.

There are also itineraries and cruise lines that tend not to attract or even allow kids. There's something for everyone.

With all due respect, would you care to explain what about my post is "pure nonsense". For your convenience, I'll repost it below: "Then the next person should have worn an N95 to protect themselves. Some people have built themselves a Covid Prison and are two years into their sentence. I prefer to get vaxxed and boosted and get back to living. If you are truly worried about catching covid wear an N95 all of the time. Otherwise you are going to get covid sooner or later since the virus is here to stay. The good news is the vaccines and the therapeutics are working."

The old saw of equating cruise ships with petri dishes. Ask your son how many of his patients have been vaxxed and boosted, and if vaxxed and boosted what comorbidities they have. I have a relative who is an ICU nurse, and she shares that the vast majority of her patients are not vaxxed. Those who are not vaxxed don't need the ICU unless they have underlying conditions - obesity being one of the leaders. Can anyone name any other activity or social setting where every participant is vaxxed and tested before participating? Airplanes? Trains? Subways? Buses? Restaurants? Stadium? Concerts? Some folks have built themselves a Covid Prison of Fear, are two years into their self-imposed sentence, and are afraid to try a breakout. Anyone ever see someone walking outdoors wearing a mask?

BINGO! You hit the nail on the head. That's why I choose not to eat dinners in the MDR - I don't enjoy it. It's why I avoid the Melanoma Deck when the Caribbean band or the movie soundtrack is blasting - I don't enjoy it. It's why I avoid over- amplified production shows with screeching singers - I don't enjoy them. But, there are so many things about cruising that I do enjoy that I continue. A cup of coffee in hand watching the sun rise. A good book on the shady side of the promenade. Live string musicians with a wee dram. And many more. I often wonder how many things people "endure" because they feel obligated by social norms?

I wear hearing aids and when encountering strangers may let them know and ask them to speak up. Most do. We stopped sitting at anything more than a two top because as karma would have it, we would get seated with a low talker. Add a noisy MDR to that and even She Who Must Be Obeyed, who can hear a mouse fart, admits it's too much of a challenge. One nice feature of hearing aids is to be able to turn them off in noisy venues, and when things are over- amplified and turning them off doesn't work, I carry earplugs in case SWMBO drags me to a loud production show.

And that's one reason we try to avoid cruising certain times of the year or choose a more adult oriented cruise line. She Who Must Be Obeyed retired from 30 years of elementary teaching. She can attest to the deterioration of children's behavior and parents lack of boundaries for the little nose miners.

But Anne, parenting and the lack thereof has changed over the years. Surely the fact that there are more feral children on cruises nowadays has changed cruising. We avoid cruising at holiday times or when school is out for seasonal breaks. Add feral children to an alcohol fueled floating country fair with rides and go karts, but no promenade, and one may as well stay home. Face it, cruising ain't what it used to be, but we can also adapt to lines that cater more to the traditional cruiser. We have yet to encounter feral children on Cunard and Viking is adults only.

Does anyot want to hazard a guess as to when common sense will prevail and testing and quarantining people who are not sick will cease? Here's a new twist. A close relative who is a nurse reported to me that the current tests do not detect the newest BA variants. Covid has mutated to the point where it has joined the ranks of the annual flu in morbitity - or at least close to it for people who are vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated are on their own.

I got the same message a few days ago. I just backed out and logged back in and everything looked to be OK. But a couple of days later two Princess cruises with my big box store travel agency were screwed up and showed by birthday as the same month and date of the cruises - plus a completely wrong birth year. They had been fine last month. It took big box about thirty minutes on the phone with Princess to get it fixed. After that, one of my cruises disappeared from my upcoming cruises list on my account. I called Princess on that one and the excuse was that big box didn't include my CC number. I told the rep that was strange because it was a direct booking from my Princess account that I later transferred to big box. Must be IT fiddling with something again.

Cabin locations on cruise ships you should definitely avoid (thepointsguy.com)

Passengers above, below, and across the corridor is my booking standard. Also keep in mind that the cruise line's idea of an upgrade may not be a real upgrade if you wind up above a night club venue or below the pool deck. There's a reason those cabins are vacant and ready for an "upgrade" victim.

Hank I gave up on the evening MDR for many reasons, the leading one being ambient noise from people shouting their conversations across six and eight tops to the point that She Who Must Be Obeyed and I couldn't have a dinner conversation across a two top. When SWMBO cruises with me, she still insists on the MDR for dinner, but when I cruise solo I eat evening meal in the buffet. I still enjoy the MDR for breakfasts and lunch. I am not anti-social, just anti loud crowds/venues - whether it be in an over amplified production show or the over amplified Caribbean band on the Melanoma Deck. That being said, I love cruising and there are plenty of areas on any ship where I can find a cup of coffee to watch the sunrise, some food to keep body and soul together, an open shady spot to relax and read a good book, and someplace to find a wee dram or three and some live music in the evening. And a raised glass and a greeting has sparked many a conversation with other passengers.

Then the next person should have worn an N95 to protect themselves. Some people have built themselves a Covid Prison and are two years into their sentence. I prefer to get vaxxed and boosted and get back to living. If you are truly worried about catching covid wear an N95 all of the time. Otherwise you are going to get covid sooner or later since the virus is here to stay. The good news is the vaccines and the therapeutics are working.

Are the folks reporting catching covid actually sick or just testing positive? The vaccines do not prevent one from catching covid, they greatly lessen the severity. With today's vaccines and therapeutics, it's time for the cruise lines to stop wholesale testing of people who are not sick and focus on those who are. For those who want to take extra precautions, wear an N95 all the time.

The OP stated he had only mild symptoms and yet was treated like Typhoid Mary. With the vaccines and therapeutics available, it's high time for the cruise lines to focus on actual illnesses and not positive tests of people who are not sick.

You are quite welcome. I'm still working on my world cruise - I was all set once and covid put a wrench into the works. I'm back to working on it again and have a deposit on 2024.

Was Bill thrown from the vehicle?

As part of a public health course several years ago, we cultured several surfaces in a food prep and service operation. The rubber gloves worn by the staff grew some of the nastiest cultures in petrie dishes that I've ever seen. Sometime when you have some time, sit and watch people wearing rubber gloves in a food establishment as see how many surfaces they touch and then see if they handle any food or utensils where cross contamination can occur. Just this past week at a nice restaurant I watched one of the workers bus a table, sweep up some crumbs with a broom and dustpan, and then pour four glasses of iced tea and insert four unwrapped straws into the glasses by touching the same surface that would be going into someone's mouth. I asked the manager why the workers were all wearing gloves. She replied, "for sanitation". I explained that the gloves don't sanitize anything and by wearing them while touching multiple surfaces does nothing towards sanitation. Think about this the next time you see food workers wearing rubber gloves.