Itchy&Scratchy

Our Nov Enchanted Princess cruise price has been climbing steadily. I booked several months ago at $2,500 for 3 of us in an inside, and now it's $3,350. It may drop a little after the final payment. All the inside cabins were sold out, but now they are back on the market.

that's not what he drinks at home. These two are what he considers a more or less suitable "bang for my buck" on a cruise.

We've been on the Allure and Harmony recently, and Fosters comes in a huge can, while Heineken is in a bottle. These are the only ones my DH will usually drink on a cruise, so they are the only ones I can comment on.

since we fly to the port, we always pack these into the carry-on luggage (aka, a backpack per person) and then carry it on: 1) passports, money, electronics 2) all the meds 3) One swim suit or trunks, one pair of shorts, one pair of flip flops per person. Toothbrushes. 4) lysol wipes - we use them on the plane and to wipe down everything in the cabin before suitcases arrive

we didn't bother until we started cruising with a kid. Nothing ruins the vacation faster than a kid or a whole family with diarrhea.* We now use Lysol/Clorox/generic brand wipes to wipe down all the wipe-able surfaces. * I personally ruined a few family vacations as a child. 🙂

probably not on a TA sailing.

do you remember the cabin numbers? Sounds like our upcoming Enchanted cruise is going to be far removed from what we have become accustomed to on Princess cruises. Ours isn't cheap by any means, and we are in an inside cabin... But we still have about 10 days to back out before final payment.

We love newer RCI ships and the Caribbean. Food is ok, activities and entertainment are great. We love Princess for food. Royal Princess and newer. Entertainment is ok. Nothing to do for kid, other than kid's club. NCL had horrible food (save the crepes) and top notch entertainment (Getaway). Newer ships have some family activities. Getaway and Jade had horrible smoke smell. Jade broke down on day 3 and we had to go home.

my kid does well on children's dramamine, but he has no problem with either chewables or regular pills.

I know. That's exactly what I said - why did he expect to have any trouble while BOOKING a cruise?

my parents aren't like that. They go to the senior center, the swimming pool, do the senior aerobics and yoga classes, go shopping, go on field trips with the senior center, join festivities at their senior living apartments, etc. They are not cooped up at all, but they are careful. It's hard to be this careful on a cruise, though. We were and still got covid. Being on a cruise in very close proximity to 5K strangers who aren't even covering when they are sneezing and coughing - yeap, not the same as doing laps in a swimming pool.

I agree. DH's company held an in-person conference two weeks. People from all of the US flew in and had a 3 day maskless workshop marathon. Now everyone at my DH's work has Covid. Coworkers got it a the conference and brought it into the office to employees who weren't even at the conference, like one older employee with stage 4 cancer. They passed it on to their families. Their families will pass it on to everyone at school which started this week. It spread like wildfire. Covid for everyone! You get covid, and you get covid, everybody gets it! A couple of weeks ago the company I work for, in stark contrast to the company my DH works for, reinstituted mask mandate and asked everyone who can to work from home. That's because they looked at the county's covid cases and realized how bad it was. But half the people on CC are yelling: let's get back to normal!!! No tests, no masks, just like the good old times! I'll tell you what it's like: my DH and I are relatively healthy people under 50, vaxxed and boosted, and when we got covid on our June cruise - it was tough. DH doesn't even want to go on a Princess cruise in November, because he thinks we'll get sick again. My BIL is still sick as a dog after picking it up at the same work conference - a healthy 40 yo dude. He then infected my MIL who is now very sick. Both of them went shopping after testing positive and to the doctors - no masks. MIL wasn't even going to quarantine, she was going back to work - my DH told her she had to stay home. And that's exactly how it's going to be on a cruise, except for - we are not home, trying to get comfortable, while coughing our lungs out and feeling horrible. Sure, for some people it's no more than a cold. I have yet to actually meet such people. I am glad we didn't bring my parents on a June cruise with us. Mom still hasn't gotten her sense of smell back after the original covid and has a very foggy brain. Don't want them to get it again.

not sure why you would. I booked Oasis for next April about a month ago, and not once during the booking process the system asked me about our vaccination status. We are vaxxed and boostered, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Who are these adults? Are they in Canada? In my state only about 50% of the adult population is vaxxed. In many counties this number is way less (~33%).

exactly. well, I am 100% sure that neither my DH, nor my father would think of it.

that's exactly what we do when we fly to the port. I pack a swimsuit/trunks, flip flops, tooth brushes, shorts, medications, sun hats and electronics into our carry-ons. Even if our main suitcases get lost, we'll be fine.

do you just want a beach break? Simply get a taxi to one of the beaches. No reason to book an excursion through RCI for that.

We sailed on the Getaway. VERY disappointed with food and MDR service, but entertainment was top notch. Teen and kid friendly activities like rock climbing, trampoline (weight limit is 80#) and ropes course were good. Smoke smell everywhere - not good. You can click on the link in my signature to see my full review. We had our then 8 yo with us. Never sailed on Carnival, though. DH refuses to step foot on any of their ships. Had friends on it - they were happy.

she could have gotten a PCR test 3 days before the cruise. There is no 48 hour requirement.

I am not sure the kids are actually traveling with OP. OP stated that they were stressed because they didn't have time to test because they keep their grandkids on Thursdays and Fridays.... UNvaxxed kids get tested before the cruise and at the terminal, and then one more time before the cruise end.

for unvaxxed kids? Before arriving on boarding day, you'll need to take a COVID-19 test on your own, at your own expense. Vaccinated guests must show a negative test result for a PCR or antigen test taken no more than 2 days before boarding day. NOTE: Kids age 11 and younger who have been vaccinated may present proof of full vaccination and follow the testing protocols for vaccinated guests. Unvaccinated kids age 2 to 11 must show a negative test result for a PCR test (not antigen) taken no more than 3 days before boarding day.

yes, we tested at Walgreens and then at the terminal. If in doubt, test them with the home antigen test starting 4 days out... Chances of a neg PCR test 2-3 days before the cruise and a positive antigen test at the terminal are low.

not sure what the problem is. Pack on days other than Thursdays and Fridays, and do your tests while the kids are in preschool. A lot of us have kids... and not just on Thursdays and Fridays.

I simply recommend sailing on a newer Princess ship. Royal and above. I mean - if you like what Princess has to offer in general, of course. But trying out other lines is also nice. Just make sure to book newer ships.

what's left of the protocols is no longer stringent, and more and more of them are getting cancelled every day. When we sailed on the Allure last month, there were a couple of Covid protocols in place (vaccinations for 12 and up, pre-cruise testing, and masks for crew). Nothing else, though - it was like the pandemic never happened. Sure enough, we got covid on this cruise. RCI has just announced that tests are no longer required for cruises under 6 days, despite the fact that many passengers and crew have been getting covid on each sailing. But they don't count because many passengers develop symptoms on disembarkation day or the day after which doesn't get reported to the cruise line. Looks like things are looking up for those who are very adamantly opposed to any covid protocols, are eager to ignore the ongoing pandemic and want to pretend that things are completely back to normal.