evandbob

Hopefully, universal vaccinations will resolve the virus, and who knows, maybe there will even be a cure in a few years.

Many countries are requiring COVID insurance for entry. Also, a land traveler from the US is more likely to bring COVID into a Caribbean country than to get infected by COVID while on the island. A cruiser will be more likely to catch COVID from someone on the ship than from a local in port. Amazing how these countries have done a way better job of mitigating the virus than we have here in the States.

If you ask a young person to buy you a postcard, you might get a blank stare, followed by "what's that?"

Thanks, everyone. I thought it was an "iffy" notice, and you all have confirmed my initial skepticism. Would be nice though......if not for COVID. Maybe vaccinations will have progressed to a majority of cruisers by June? I'm all for cruising re-start if everyone on board, crew and cruisers, are vaxxed.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24451-carnival-cruise-line-latest-restart-dates-by-ship.html Is this accurate? Supposedly from CLIA

Remember that the port restrictions are there as protection for the local population. When we Americans visit a foreign port, we are seen as potentially dangerous to them. Most Caribbean ports (and frankly, most of the rest of the world) have done a much better job of mitigation and prevention than we have in the States, and with less animosity and push back from their people. So will the cruise lines pervert this to enhance their bottom line? Of course. Vaccinations and attaining herd immunity may lessen the threat visitors pose to a port, but that may not be likel

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/12/12/iceland-blizzard-brings-mph-winds-up-feet-mountain-snow/ https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/nanna/a-massive-storm-hits-iceland-see-the-devastation https://www.icelandreview.com/travel/winter-storm-hits-iceland/

I used to wear a tee shirt that had "cruisecritic" on the front, and would often wear it on sea days. I can't tell you how many times I was asked "What's that?" or if I was cruising for free, or if I was working for the cruise line. Hardly anyone recognized it as the forum we're all posting on. In addition, whenever we had an "informal" M&G on board, say at an aft pool bar, with maybe 20 CCers showing up, we usually got asked by other cruisers how they could join our club. Just re-inforcing how small a % of the cruising public we really are.

For us, our future cruising will only be on ships where mandatory vax for everyone on board is verified, the lifeboats are functioning, and there are enough life preservers for us in the stateroom.

As of Feb. 20, 2021, Florida has had 30,000 deaths due to COVID, or 1% of its 30 MIL population. There have been over 4 MIL COVID vaccinations administered. Positivity rates have dropped to 6.82% from double digits. So good and bad news.......

I realize the OP is asking about Northern Lights Cruising, but perhaps a land vacay to Iceland, Norway, Fairbanks Alaska, or Finland could afford more possibilities to witness the solar phenomenon? We had a 10 day Norway fjords cruise booked for last June that had no chance of seeing the aura, so we also booked a 10 day "In Quest of the Northern Lights" land tour that included a few nights in northern Iceland town of Akureyri for October. Again, no guarantee but much better odds. We chose not to book for the winter months, as they can be brutally cold and snow bound, a

Pre COVID, I would book an inside if solo, a balcony otherwise. Post COVID, I would only book balconies, as insurance against a lockdown in a windowless, tiny room. And if booking a balcony, I would want an unobstructed view. JMO, YMMV.

We moved from Westchester, NY to Ft Myers in southwest Florida about 3 years. It's mostly tropical weather, e.g. last February we had 85 to 95 degree temps and this month it's been mainly 80 -85. You would think we found a permanent "vacation" year round home I had planned to sit on some beautiful beaches like Lovers Key or Barefoot and wallow in sunshine and fishing opportunities. However, red tide has poisoned many of the beaches here with an 18 month spell right after we moved here. Manatees, sea turtles, dolphins, and even a whale shark, not to mention TONS of dead fish was

The waters bordering the Cancun shoreline are fairly shallow and are noted for its reefs. It might not be possible to build a pier that could accommodate today's large cruise ships in such shallow water, and tendering may be the only option. We all know how many cruisers are averse to tendering, or using water shuttles. Many cruisers who presently dock at Cozumel are reluctant to use the 1/2 hour ferry to PDC. If it were feasible to safely construct the docking infrastructure somewhere along the Cancun mainland corridor, Mexico would probably have done it already.

Perhaps the cat can lead us from medical debates to a series of quantum discussions. Perhaps we'll get to string theory and someone can apply it to boarding time delays or some other aspect of cruising.