NownZen

The third ship Princess had was the Royal Princess. We sailed on all three and were unhappy that shortly after each cruise they got rid of the ships. I do not think it was because of us.

Interesting. It looks like Princess is quietly taking the new outbreaks seriously. This is the same procedure we had in January.

The R class ships (Insignia, Nautica, Sirena and one I forget) are around 20 years old and came from the bankrupt Renaissance cruise line. Three of the ships were on Princess later. The Sirena was a Princess ship as well. The bathroom showers are always an adventure but the rest of the ship is a delight. The library is particularly nice as is the outside seating in the buffet. We go on Oceania for the itinerary and other lines for relaxation. Since we are looking to excursions, we are also sensitive to the costs that Oceania charges. They have very good bean counters who work out various options that all cost you about the same even though they look attractive. People have made up spread sheets to try to optimize excursions but in the end all the options cost about the same. If you want any discount you need to buy a lot of excursions and, with their markup, they make lots of money anyway. The organization of the dispatch for the excursions was uniformly poor. Private excursions are a good idea.

We are leaving on 12/2. Today, 11/16 i got an email saying that the shipping info was passed to USPS on 11/12 and that the package had arrived at their shipping partner in Carson, CA on 11/14. The last thing that I had that went to that facility took 10 days to leave it. We will see.

The turtle probably got tired. Weight limit meant only one medallion.

You just put it on the blue circle of the reader. The wrist holder is nice as that way it does not get left behind in your room or in the pocket of another set of clothes.

All that there is in the medallion is a serial number. That links to the ship's computer when you are on board.

What I meant was that the OP clearly had not done much in the way of doing the planning for a cruise. You can go on a lot of cruises that someone else plans and not be aware of some of the basics. Passport requirements are not new and are part of planning for any travel out of the country. I also always read the Terms & Conditions to avoid surprises. You are very right that it is good to know what you signed up for or are getting.

The info on the Irish group said that all the entertainment was for their group only. For this it would make complete sense to have an entire dining room so there could be entertainment with dinner. I suspect the OP was the organizer and is getting the info together.

If O feels it is an issue then it is an issue. The OP is pretty clearly not an experienced traveler since she said that she had problems with expediters in the past. This shows she was not paying attention in the past and has continued that now.

We are good up to the "nice shoes" part. That means bringing two pairs of shoes. I do wear my dress running shoes. Traveling with a carry on limits puts strict requirements on what you bring.

Just a guess but we are outside of working hours so there may not be anybody there. Try in the morning.

Very clearly you are not a "very savvy" global world traveler or this would be second nature for you to check your passport. It is not a "loophole", it is a requirement. You think you are special and the rules do not apply to you. They think otherwise.

I would expect that as time goes on, covid and norovirus will be treated the same. If you have it, stay in your cabin. Of course, noro takes care of that for you.

I know exactly when mine expires because I would have been in the same situation if I had been careless and not renewed it recently. It is all part of travel planning.

I have the same problem with my bank. If I write a check for more than I have, they will not cash it. They have lots of money and there is no law stopping them from putting some in my account (without my being billed). Should I change my bank? Yes, you made a mistake. Now it is costing you money. That is life.

Before they took away the full list of enhanced cruises a couple of weeks ago, those Sapphire cruises were the only ones left on the list. The issue there is Chile. No one seems to know if the people getting on in LA and continuing to Antarctica will need a test before, during or after the stops in Chile.

No. The goal is to make it easier at the pier for Princess. Having done, and still doing a lot of programming, it is clear that they chose very inexperienced programmers who had never been on a ship. They now seem more interested in changing the graphics than the usability.

That should be where we are all headed.

Except that, in practice, the "except when eating or drinking" means most passengers spend several hours a day in crowded places with no mask.

There are two circuits in the medallion. The bluetooth opens the door lock and is used for the location function. The metal on the back will lower the range but is not too bad (in general). The other function is when you put the medallion on the blue circle. That is an NFC reader which is only good to an inch or so. If you are lucky, it may still work but it is not guaranteed.

You made an assumption and figured you would save some money by not buying insurance. You have nothing to complain about. You need to read the terms and conditions of your booking.

So basically none of us know. Is it the longer trips? The four day booze cruises will not show up much as people will test positive after they get home. Maybe the longer cruises give enough time to get the full effect of the R value. It would be nice if there was a comparison available. I think that the cruise lines still report their covid numbers to the CDC but those numbers are not public.

Are the passengers on the other cruise lines wearing masks? The other boards do not seem to think so.

DMW in the app.