strathcona

3 minutes ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Sadly, same here.... I have a cruise moved to September 2021, and not making any plans yet and not buying any flight tickets.

that is exactly why i cannot book the far east or australia right now, cruise price is great but still big investment in airfare from US with this amount of uncertainty in the schedule. 

yes, i ve been watching the same, radiance out of Brisbane. The price was good but was waiting to see how they would start moving ships around and they did. Still not sure if this is the final schedule since no ships are sailing out of Australia for the next little bit. 

It has been a couple of years that Royal has started to use dynamic pricing, the higher the demand, the higher the price. Maybe because Harmony has Wonderland, there is more demand for specialty restaurant. A lot of long time cruiser would question why since Wonderland is probably an one time thing. Appeal to first time cruisers which is what Royal targets now. Just trying to make sense of the varied pricing across the line. 

It use to be BOGO at around $50 so you can choose Chops as one of the restaurant. Current booking on multiple OASIS class has been Chops plus one at $75. Depending on the combination, not much of a bargain. 

In Canada, a motel is a basic accommodation lodging minimum service connected with driving yourself to the place. If you are flying in, most people will pick/stay at a hotel. 

Lot of time to research since the port will be closed for this year. Do not take the current hotel pricing to be normal. Downtown brand name hotel are very expensive during the normal summer holiday season. Anything walking distance to the port is premium expensive. 

now is a good time to do research on your trip. you have the luxury of time before sail starts again.   If Royal is your Brand, look at one way to Seward or from Seward, sailing out of Seattle (round trips) or Vancouver. Looking at the size of the ship. Glacier Bay or not, and cost of the excursion. NPS allocates slots for Cruise line into Glacier Bay. If you have time on a one way trip, time before in Alaska or afterward, many opinion on here. Alaska Air usually has discounts if you book early for one way flight. If this is your once in lifetime trip, do Denali NP. Once the dates for 22 are online, check the pricing as well, the edge season is a bit cheaper but with warming who knows if there is any difference in weather.  When we went in 2019, it was warmer in Alaska than in Virginia. The Alaska board had tons of info on excursions or DIY. 

Try to do it sooner, every other year we have been back, it seems more and more ships and tourist everytime. The last frontier is lost when there is 4-5 ships in port. 

Good luck in your research.

the discount depends on the length of the cruise. Balc Suite NRD is how it shows up, it has not been shown as C&A in a long time. But if you get the "C&A" discount, they usually do not apply the on board credit. 

It is situated by the fort so easier access to the town than amber cove. I am sure this will generate a lot of tourist dollar for the town. Not sure how the construction is going due to covid. 

On 7/4/2020 at 9:03 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

Not even close.  Just for reference of the 20+ J3 category not one has been sold.

I just did a L&S to the Symphony 18 Dec 21. It was the highest price cruise fare for all the 5 day option that was available. I assume it is almost full.  Am I missing something about that sailing if everything else is the same price as 2020. I am going to hear about this from the wife since I choose this L&S for the best deal. looking for your comments

That is why CDC initial guidance called for quarantine ships and hospital ship. If there is an infection on a ship, passenger who are exposed will be quarantine on a docked ship for 14 days prior to flying home. The hospital ship which is also docked, take care of the patient at the cruise line expense, which would not burden the health system of the port city. Which is why the initial opening would be from cruiser who are within driving distance and control ports like labadee or coco cay. We will have to see what the cruise line produce and whether CDC accepts it. CDC only has authority over cruises out of USA so other parts of the world may have less strict policy. None of the cruise line have a plan that meets CDC requirements. Lets hope they do so we can get back on board. 

RCI announced that it will update on 2 June for all Canadian Cruises. In other word cancelled. I feel for the ones with payment coming due and airline tickets that need to be cancelled. 

ferry traffic for non tourist traffic such as commercial goods will be allowed. Similar to the closure of the border, commercial traffic both ways. 

This applies to both east and west coast. 

I would like some opinion on tipping the Diamond Lounge staff. Do not like the idea of cash tipping per drink.  The drinks are complimentary and therefore no 18%. They work hard. They probably get a higher percentage of the crew service gratuities. 

The traditional formal wear is a tuxedo, it is very rare to see now, some wear suits, sports jacket but most are now casual on the big ship. Remember the days when they would rent tuxedo and do dry cleaning. Problem is someone dress up and sit beside the couple with t-shirt and rip jeans. That's the mass market now. I don't see the difference between the big ship or small ship except maybe the itinerary. Alaskan, Baltic cruises are repeat cruiser who tend to abide by the dress code. Not complaining, just the fact that Royal now cater to first time cruisers, that is where the growth is prior to this COVID. 

I think it is safe to say that European cruise from Italy, UK, and Northern Europe will likely all be cancel this year. Seem the summer price are high for next year compare to the Caribbean. 

Yes, every country is balancing the risk reward of opening. If you are in the high risk, I would say you are definitely not out of danger. Low risk, lets get back to business. It is a fine line, more elderly, high risk people will die but it will allow the majority a resumption of semi normal life. That is why cruising is an individual choice when it resumes. 

I have been wrong too many time on this COVID19. I thought the first lines to rebound would be the higher end lines. Seabourn and HAL. They have better passenger to space ratio, long time cruiser and season cruiser. These season cruisers are more loyal to cruising. The mass cruise line with mega ships would be harder to make a comeback. Maybe they are taking their buy out package before the chapter 11.

8 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

No surprise. As said WJ will still be used, has to. Years ago Royal WJ had servers during day. Then for Dinner Waiter, Menu and evenTable Cloth's. Was only way eat while wearing Jeans or Shorts even swimwear was not allowed in WJ. I liked the Tea Time, had some the best sweets

Yes, the good old days, WJ had table cloth, cutlery and napkin on the table, almost the same menu as the MDR, waiters. I remember when there was formal nights, people would eat there instead of the MDR if they didn't want to dress up. Now, t-shirt or polo is acceptable dress for some who don't care. This is  the mega ship way.  But mass market now cater to all and price of a cruise remain the same. They needed to cut cost. 

I stand corrected. With all the time on my hand, my wife just show me the electronic invoice from that trip. Yes, 18 year old can order from the bar(s). Confused with the recent trip to Mexico where they would not serve him in the Diamond Lounge. Last trip, they seem to swipe seapass even in the Diamond Lounge. 

1 hour ago, Billy Baltic said:

Travel in Europe. The legal age to drink is 18. If they don’t want to drink they don’t have to but no issue going to the venues. 

Did a Baltic cruise with our 18 year old son, it was his best experience. Copenhagen to St. Pete. There is a drinking age for beer and hard liquor and if they are with parents. The ship still follows US laws, 21. 

thanks for the clarification, we sometime get a different news story on this side of the world. But bottom line, I don't think there will be any international cruise ships docking in Stockholm this summer or this year. Not just Sweden but any Baltic cruises. 

The three months in the Caribbean is extremely hot. But cruise prices are not any lower because school is out. Most Voyager, Oasis class I ve been on in August, had way too many children, mine included. Most of the ships are reposition elsewhere during the summer months as well. This will not be the case this year. One option is booking something else at this summer rate and lift and sail for next year. Even the Christmas rate are very low as well if you have holidays during that time. Don't know about airfare. Some of the seasoned travellers can comment on how low the rates are for this year, and how a lift and sail for next year is almost a bargain. Not commenting on whether sailing will happen this year but16-18 months from now, we should be back to normal. 

Do a search on the internet for self guided walking tour  map of Tallinn. Do it yourself, the cruise port is very close to the gate of the wall city. Once inside, you can stroll around, look at the buildings that you are interested in or not. Caffe are plentiful and you can stop at any shops without being on a structure group. Save your money and spend it on lunch at the former KGB headquarter now a café. 

Sweden has taken a different approach to the COVID19 lockdown. They are on the middle ground, no lockdown but not fully open. They are using the herd method, since the virus impact on a healthy person is average illness but to a high risk person is very dangerous. So isolate your high risk and let everyone else go about their business as much as they can. So yes, everything is open for business but not as many people are going out to them. You will have to make a health decision on travelling to that country or at least the cruise industry will have to make that decision at some point. Bottom line Sweden method is not without controversy.

But if you stop in Stockhold, it is very easy to do on your own. Transit is easy, museum is easy and the old town is beautiful. Since getting ferry or buses, you will need some local currency.