Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[davekathy]

37 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Anyone need more sadness?  😢
 

Today we spent a few hours going through emails and paper copies of trips not happening in 2020/21.  Folders recycled and papers shredded. We also organized a list of flight credits/vouchers as well as RC FFCs.
 

They are listed in order of expiry, and I have a feeling those dates will also change. 
 

Edit: thankfully we do not have it as bad as some of the others here. That paper pile could have kill a few trees. 😉

I know what you mean. I've built a electronic spread sheet for all cruises booked, dates  and amounts for cruises that haven't been canceled yet. Plus cash refunds paid, waiting for and cash refunds owed to us. Including all airline vouchers with dollar amounts for all canceled airfares for cruises and land trips.  Unfortunately it's a living document that won't die. Deleting electronic folders for cancelled cruises, land trips, hotels and airfares and shredding any hardcopies. ☹️

[DaniDanielle]

We had to make room in our freezer so the vanilla ice cream had to go, not much left.  Sadly, I forced myself to make a frozen Brandy Alexander and I had to drink it.  Best use of leftovers ever!

[Sunshine3601]

Here in PA our Governor set a 3 week pause effective yesterday thru Jan. 4th.   No indoor dining, no indoor gyms, casinos, movie theaters - only 1 I know of was open anyway, no sport activities for elementary thru high school students,  schools still remain open for the most part - some school districts have been back and forth with opening and other doing solely virtual learning.   The schools is my county remain open with the option for families to do virtual learning, if they prefer.     We can do outdoor dining or take out only for the next 3 weeks and limited capacity of 50% at all retail stores.

college and professional sports still allowed but no spectators allowed.   

Thank god Salons remain open.   I got my hair done on Friday and have to go for mani/pedi in coming week or so.      I have only been going there every 3 or 4 weeks instead of my usual every 2 weeks.   

We are having some beautiful 60 degree weather this weekend which will help the restaurants but that isn't going to last.     We may get snow later this week.   

[mo&fran]

Just for grins,  I looked up our 2019 cruises, and we had 49 days, including a 15 day TA, Tampa to Amsterdam.  We hit the  sea running with 21 days on Serenade this year January into February.  Had 4 more cruises booked this year that got canceled, and 3 next year on Odyssey. 

Not planning any more till this mess settles down. DW is binge watching the Below Deck series on Bravo. 

[vettprincess]

We are in a semi? lockdown. No bars, restaurants, no gyms and hair salons at 50%. Some stores open but will limit the number of people inside. Gov. will make an announcement on Wed about further lockdowns. Now the issue is people from here are driving across the border to Wisconsin and causing issues there with drinking and crime so they had to close everything at 10 pm.

Who even knows what will happen this week. I just go with the flow.

[vettprincess]

Forgot to mention we now have 4 cruises booked 2 at end of 2021 and 2 in 2022.

The one we are to do 4/3/21 probably will be canceled.

[Sunshine3601]

24 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Just for grins,  I looked up our 2019 cruises, and we had 49 days, including a 15 day TA, Tampa to Amsterdam.  We hit the  sea running with 21 days on Serenade this year January into February.  Had 4 more cruises booked this year that got canceled, and 3 next year on Odyssey. 

Not planning any more till this mess settles down. DW is binge watching the Below Deck series on Bravo. 

We probably met earlier this year as we had 3 weeks on serenade Jan into Feb too.    Were you on the sailing with the gentlemen that had medical issues and was dropped off at panama?    I was on my way to the casino after dinner as he was walking out and collapsed onto the marble floor.   I was stuck in the area as medics arrived and they closed off the corridor.   It was horrible to watch.    I wonder how he is doing now?

[mo&fran]

1 minute ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We probably met earlier this year as we had 3 weeks on serenade Jan into Feb too.    Were you on the sailing with the gentlemen that had medical issues and was dropped off at panama?    I was on my way to the casino after dinner as he was walking out and collapsed onto the marble floor.   I was stuck in the area as medics arrived and they closed off the corridor.   It was horrible to watch.    I wonder how he is doing now?

Yes we were.  

[island lady]

55 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I know what you mean. I've built a electronic spread sheet for all cruises booked, dates  and amounts for cruises that haven't been canceled yet. Plus cash refunds paid, waiting for and cash refunds owed to us. Including all airline vouchers with dollar amounts for all canceled airfares for cruises and land trips.  Unfortunately it's a living document that won't die. Deleting electronic folders for cancelled cruises, land trips, hotels and airfares and shredding any hardcopies. ☹️

 

That is what I felt like up until a few days ago.  Piles of notes and paperwork.  Almost all settling out now, just waiting on six FCC voucher credits that were deposits on the Aussie cruises.  Cancelled flights refunded, hotel refunded...wow...both credit cards had big credit balances for awhile....but I took care of that pretty quick.  😉 

 

Paid off the rental houses we are going to stay at this summer, and put half down on over priced Viking river cruise in 2023.  

 

I still have a Delta voucher...but should find a home for that somewhere.  🙂

 

 

 

[Sunshine3601]

8 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

Yes we were.  

That was a strange sailing with the change of itinerary that happened to get the person the medical care he needed.   I was very happy to hear he had survived as what I saw happen to him I didn't think he was going to make it through the night.    Very impressed with medics that assisted him and so quick too.

We love the Serenade and her sister ship the Jewel.    We usually do 3 or 4 weeks on Serenade every January.    This past January we sailed on the Allure for 7 night cruise then switched over to the Serenade for 3 weeks.    We always feel at home when we board her.    We love the waitress Grace and her husband Diego that have worked on the ship for a couple of years.      I am so happy we got those sailings in 2020.    

 

We, too, have had 10 cruises cancelled so far.    Frustrating but I am confident we will all sail again and have a wonderful time.    

 

I have been watching below deck series for several years.      The most recent season has them sailing out of Antigua and last weeks episode was filmed on or about February 20th and they just started to hear about Covid.   I wonder what will happen next......

[island lady]

1 minute ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That was a strange sailing with the change of itinerary that happened to get the person the medical care he needed.   I was very happy to hear he had survived as what I saw happen to him I didn't think he was going to make it through the night.    Very impressed with medics that assisted him and so quick too.

We love the Serenade and her sister ship the Jewel.    We usually do 3 or 4 weeks on Serenade every January.    This past January we sailed on the Allure for 7 night cruise then switched over to the Serenade for 3 weeks.    We always feel at home when we board her.    We love the waitress Grace and her husband Diego that have worked on the ship for a couple of years.      I am so happy we got those sailings in 2020.    

 

We, too, have had 10 cruises cancelled so far.    Frustrating but I am confident we will all sail again and have a wonderful time.    

 

I have been watching below deck series for several years.      The most recent season has them sailing out of Antigua and last weeks episode was filmed on or about February 20th and they just started to hear about Covid.   I wonder what will happen next......

 

 

Sigh...Serenade was supposed to be my home from 2/10 to 5/16/21.   😪

[mo&fran]

7 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That was a strange sailing with the change of itinerary that happened to get the person the medical care he needed.   I was very happy to hear he had survived as what I saw happen to him I didn't think he was going to make it through the night.    Very impressed with medics that assisted him and so quick too.

We love the Serenade and her sister ship the Jewel.    We usually do 3 or 4 weeks on Serenade every January.    This past January we sailed on the Allure for 7 night cruise then switched over to the Serenade for 3 weeks.    We always feel at home when we board her.    We love the waitress Grace and her husband Diego that have worked on the ship for a couple of years.      I am so happy we got those sailings in 2020.    

 

We, too, have had 10 cruises cancelled so far.    Frustrating but I am confident we will all sail again and have a wonderful time.    

 

I have been watching below deck series for several years.      The most recent season has them sailing out of Antigua and last weeks episode was filmed on or about February 20th and they just started to hear about Covid.   I wonder what will happen next......

I understand they shut down production early. I found a website that described all of the ships and their locations for all of the seasons. The site is a Yacht Charter outfit.

Edited December 13, 2020 by mo&fran

[A&L_Ont]

13 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

  I have been watching below deck series for several years.      The most recent season has them sailing out of Antigua and last weeks episode was filmed on or about February 20th and they just started to hear about Covid.   I wonder what will happen next......

 

We have been watching for years as well. The sailing one was even good. I think in the next episode or two we should find out. 
 

One guarantee, you’d never see me on this show.  We are not problem guests. 🙂

[mo&fran]

3 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

We have been watching for years as well. The sailing one was even good. I think in the next episode or two we should find out. 
 

One guarantee, you’d never see me on this show.  We are not problem guests. 🙂

A recent news article about a football quarterback at UNLV who appeared in a scene involving a naked body and eating sushi on the show. He posted an apology , saying the producers asked him to do it, and he said probably shouldn't have done it. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of scenes are scripted.

[bobmacliberty]

We sailed Serenade once a couple of years ago.  It was a 5 day cruise that was followed by the annual Buckeye Cruise for Cancer charter cruise.  If I remember correctly, Serenade would have normally had a 9 day sailing at that time, but the 4 day charter left a 5 day cruise that fit perfectly with my business trip to Orlando.  Many of the Serenade regulars that we met in the CL were not pleased as it interrupted their normal B2B which was 9 days/11 days??  You Serenade regulars can confirm the duration of that typical B2B.

[bobmacliberty]

Today is a perfect example of why we decided to move to Northeast Florida.  15 minute walk to the beach in shorts and t-shirts, 30 minute walk on the beach, 15 minutes home.  About 2.5 miles in an hour.  69 degrees F and sunny.  Perfect December weather, although the fog hadn't completely lifted yet.

[A&L_Ont]

5 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

A recent news article about a football quarterback at UNLV who appeared in a scene involving a naked body and eating sushi on the show. He posted an apology , saying the producers asked him to do it, and he said probably shouldn't have done it. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of scenes are scripted.

You can spot the TV drama as far as the crew and Captain. I think with the guests, the producers pick the ones that are dramatic enough to feature on the show. 
 

I wonder if how they are compensated for being on the show?  Free charter, discounted charter etc...  If I was paying the full price I sure would not want the cameras on board. 

[mo&fran]

check this out

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/yachts/article/below-deck-yacht-names-revealed-and-how-much-it-costs-to-rent-the-celebrity-superyachts-15466.htm

[bobmacliberty]

2 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

I wonder if how they are compensated for being on the show?

I've wondered that about many reality shows...especially the shows that make people look like inconsiderate, ignorant fools.  Not sure you could pay me enough to look like some of these people (OK, that's not true).  I guess these people not only don't care how they look, but actually enjoy their 15 minutes of fame.  Many probably happily pay full price to build their social media influencer cred.

[mo&fran]

Our B2B was 10 and 11 days. We mostly cruise on whatever is sailing from FLL . It is a 45 minute  drive from here.

[voyager70]

12 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

You can spot the TV drama as far as the crew and Captain. I think with the guests, the producers pick the ones that are dramatic enough to feature on the show. 
 

I wonder if how they are compensated for being on the show?  Free charter, discounted charter etc...  If I was paying the full price I sure would not want the cameras on board. 

 

I love Below Deck but that is my thing as well - if I'm paying 6 figures for a 3 day charter no way would I want a camera crew filming me.  I do think a lot, or at least some, is scripted.  The recent episode where they ate sushi off a naked model was gross.  No way would I eat something that's been sitting on someone's naked body.

 

[dani negreanu]

The light (vaccines) chasing the darkness (C-19)....

 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

That is what I felt like up until a few days ago.  Piles of notes and paperwork.  Almost all settling out now, just waiting on six FCC voucher credits that were deposits on the Aussie cruises.  Cancelled flights refunded, hotel refunded...wow...both credit cards had big credit balances for awhile....but I took care of that pretty quick.  😉 

 

Paid off the rental houses we are going to stay at this summer, and put half down on over priced Viking river cruise in 2023.  

 

I still have a Delta voucher...but should find a home for that somewhere.  🙂

 

 

 

I feel as I should be putting together a point paper for a briefing. Death by power point! 🤢

Edited December 13, 2020 by davekathy

[HBE4]

15 minutes ago, voyager70 said:

 

I love Below Deck but that is my thing as well - if I'm paying 6 figures for a 3 day charter no way would I want a camera crew filming me.  I do think a lot, or at least some, is scripted.  The recent episode where they ate sushi off a naked model was gross.  No way would I eat something that's been sitting on someone's naked body.

 

 

Sounds like a high-class version of doing "body shots" off of some sweaty drunk girl in a night club. While it might at first sound appealing, it's gross and disgusting  in actuality.

 

At least that's what a friend told me. 😜

[DaniDanielle]

I am not enjoying Below Deck this season as much as other seasons.  Just not feeling as interested as I was.  Maybe COVID has impacted it. I won’t even eat sushi from a plate!!!

 

Dani, loved the light chasing the darkness.