Christine Frances

On 5/15/2021 at 5:41 PM, fweegy said:

So I just read in various articles online that Australia is expected to stay closed to travel until mid to late 2022. That will be twice my B2B has been cancelled. If it happens I'm done with them and NZ. I'll get my money back and move on to other countries willing to rejoin the world.

just moved my Jan 2022 South Pacific cruise to Dec 2022.   Same itinerary, slightly better  pricing   and better weather for our 4 week Darwin and Red Centre land tour pre cruise.   I’m disappointed  we are not going in Jan but still super excited. 

26 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

This was just posted on a few news websites:

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday will ease indoor mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, allowing them to safely stop wearing masks inside in most places, according to a person briefed on the announcement.

 

The new guidance will still call for wearing masks in crowded indoor settings like buses, planes, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters, but could ease restrictions for reopening workplaces and schools.

 

It will also no longer recommend that fully vaccinated people wear masks outdoors in crowds. The announcement comes as the CDC and the Biden administration have faced pressure to ease restrictions on fully vaccinated people — people who are two weeks past their last required COVID-19 vaccine dose — in part to highlight the benefits of getting the shot.

 

Since there are probably 128 threads that this could be added to, I’ll just add it here.

 

Den

How are they going to monitor this for indoor dining?   Everyone is just going to take off their masks unless there is a way to verify they have been vaccinated. 

Does anyone in the UK know if this is going forward?

NHS app ready to become vaccine passport next week https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-57070185

On 5/8/2021 at 11:55 AM, CI66774 said:

No, argument precedes established law. There is no argument the ADA 

governs foreign-flagged vessels while at US ports. Now, there will be argument as to whether mask wearing, etc. is a reasonable accommodation for those who have a disability and can’t be vaccinated, or whether it’s an undue burden....

what kind of disability would prevent you from being vaccinated?   What is the ADAs definition of a disability?

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

The "freedumb" comment was so not necessary.  Well obviously the current situation in the US is much different than in Canada.  Where did you get Miami from in my post, never said where I am sailing from in MAY 2022!  Hint, it is not Miami.  You can be happy in Canada where you cannot sail, based on your comments.  I am ready to start living again, been the good boy and been 💯 in the bubble for 14 months, time to get on with my 2 Vax life.

 I used Miami as an example    The “eg” was not that obvious sorry.   I defiantly can cruise (have 2 booked) but Canada will not allow cruises until 2022 so Alaska is out for everyone.  
You don’t like my words but you should not be proud of your sarcastic comment either.    Truce

21 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Perhaps for the folks wanting to wear their mask 24/7 and between each bite and while chewing they can just request the liquified and puréed versions of their meal and use a specially designed mask with a straw.

So if an outbreak happens because people want “freedumb” you are 💯 sure that the ship will be allowed to return to Miami?    Eg.    You will be happy sailing in circles while confined to your cabin?

The UK has just announced how UK citizens can access their vaccine certificate for travelling.  It will be accessible on an NHS app. A paper certificate can also be ordered.  
 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad

From the P&O (England) board 

If it were me, I would wait out the original 14 day quarantine and then disembark and spend a relaxing week in Japan touring around. My insurance would cover my flight home.   Making lemonade 🙂

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Seems crazy that under the circumstances the US government would put a luggage restriction on these folks.  They have been through enough and now they can't even bring all of their belongings home?  I understand that there are weight limits on these aircraft but it just seems like an unnecessary bureaucratic restriction.

2 pieces of luggage  = 1 person that could;d board. 

I bought an iPad Pro (early 2016) and just topped up the difference. Still using it:)

We are excited about the ship and look forward to sailing on her in the future. The IV will work well for us. I am the early riser and I’ll be darned if I’m going to sit on a veranda by myself for an hour or so while DH sleeps in. I dress,  grab my iPad and head for Cafe el Bacio for my caffeine fix and join the test of the early risers on the ship!  There are lots of us!,  we congregate in the Cafe, ocean view etc and within a couple of days you recognize the same people. 

No way I would sit on the balcony by myself for any reason for that long lol

so I am sure there are lots of people who will be thrilled with the IV design:)

Thank you so much for the time you took to pass on all this valuable information to those of us interested or actually on this itinerary. Would you happen to know the name of the tour company you used in Petra? Safe travels home!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Hey, syrup coffee is better than Starbucks, at least!

 

Agree with 2 and 3. 4 is simply wrong. Haven't seen 6, but we've only been on 11 ships.

 

We love the decor. Looks like ships at sea, definitely not Florida condo.

X has Lavazza coffee (I think lol) not sure about the spelling but is is very good and in the buffet is is from whole beans.

I will try and load a picture. https://goo.gl/images/xNl9CU

Have not sailed Princess but really don't want to because:

1) Syrup coffee in the Buffet!!! really? Mgmt decision to force everyone to buy a coffee card.

2) Smoking in the Casino:( But I guess they make the stnch stay in the Casino.

3) Pay to use the "Adult Only" area on the ship What??

4) No live music in the Theatre

5) Small that re, short shows, and you have to get there a half an hour at least to get a seat.

6) Blue plastic on balcony decks. Yuck

7) Except for the Royal class, 1980's Florida condo decor

8) Royal class has istsy bitsy balconies

I know Princess followers don't care so much about these points but they are important to us.

Yes, the cabin assistants have been eliminated but the number of cabins each cabin attendant has to clean has been significantly reduced. On our recent cruise our guy had only 11 cabins. As a result, service has improved.

 

Have people been complaining about this?

Totally agree. Our steward on the Silhouette was really pleased with the change. He could attend to his assigned cabins and make sure they were up to his standards. He did not have to go back and check on the world the ass't did and was able to manage his time better. . Our rooms were perfect every day..

I had expressed a desire to visit additional ports in Cuba (other than Havana).

Perhaps those itineraries will start in October?

Canadians (and American's) have ben doing this crese for quite a few years.

http://yourcubacruise.com/your-cruise/your-trip

OTOH, the unsolicited moderators need something to do!

 

Eventually there may be cruises with one stop in Cuba and maybe eventually a circle Cuba cruise.

There already is one:) The one Canadians (and lots of Americans lol) have been using for years

http://yourcubacruise.com/your-cruise/your-trip

The flu & colds are are primarily air borne illnesses. Someone coughs in an elevator, everyone is sunk. I came down with the cruise cough in Asis and made the worst mistake by trying to self medicate. Nothing worked and I was sick and cabin bound for days. After suffering for days I finally went to the Med Centre where they were I ended up with chest xrays to rule out pneumonia. On this recent Med cruise my DH came down with a cold with rapidly ended up in hes chest. I went to the Med office and they gave me an over the counter "special concoction" which worked miracles. I now take Tylenol and such but from now on, if we get sick we head right to the doctor for proper treatment.

We just returned from 2 weeks on the beautiful Silhouette and our group of 8 had early seating. Fabulous service and food BTW. The lower level was full with only the occasional empty table such as ours when we went elsewhere one night. The long waits reported in Select I think are due to having a reservation system. Select onkly seems to work well if you are very flexible and are not always trying to eat around 7-8 which I think is the busiest time. But as to the topic of this thread, Traditional dining was very popular on our saling and I don't see it going away soon. I also feel that it is easier on the kitchen and waiters.

Love, love the Alcoves. You have an outdoor place away from the bedlam at the pool and do not have to be out at the crack of dawn to reserve 2 loungers. You can have the option of shade (in the alcove) or sun (on the lawn_. The bartender comes by regularly and the buffet and Porch are handy for food. We travel as a group and we share the Alcove cost so all 6-8 of us have a place to go and hang out. The beauty of the Alcoves is that it is sitting there witing for you lol You can go to lectures, the casino etc and it waits for you:) And since you have it from 9 to 0 it is a great place to listen to the jazz events on the lawn.

Anyone who has been on the Infinity recently, could you give any information about the Tuscan Grille menu? After July they were supposed to change the menu. Since it's September now, I was hoping someone could say if the menu stayed the same with up charges for aged beef or if it did in fact change.

 

Thanks for your help and information.

We were on Infinity the end of May and our group of 7 dined one night in Tuscan. What can I say:) The smellier was attentive, the wine was great, we all ordered different entree's and everyone raved. Can't comment on Blu as we never book Aqua and don't normally book specialties but one of our group had a major birthday lol We thought the menu was balanced and everyone found something they enjoyed.

I was hoping that Celebrity had introduced a card like Princess ships use. On Princess you can have filter coffee free in their cafe if you are a card holder or you use one punch of your card for a speciality coffee.

 

Cruise lines often copy other lines offers or enhance them but appears Celebrity are not adopting this one.

Unlike Pricess who uses syrup (ugh) for the free coffee int he buffet etc, Celevrity uses beans (Verazzano lately I think, which I find quite good) So unless you need Double Espressos all day there is really no need for the pkg or the or a card.

I would not expect the MDR waiters to be knowledgeable. However, the menu does list wine pairings with certain entrees.

I am so used to X but I am very sure that I will find wines that I will enjoy:) I just not too confident about them to make my own selections. I do use my App Vivino a lot to take pictures of labels and file/rate the ones I like.

Thanks:) Are the waiters very knowledgeable? I don't normally drink wine at home but when we cruise I like to try good/different wines. I hope they know more than me lol

Taking our first cruise with Royal next Feb and it is a fabulous itinerary. I was wondering if there was a wine list for the dining rooms and do they have sommelier's or does your waiter get your wine? I think I purchased the Ultimate Pkg but if I order a wine over the limit do I just pay the difference?

Re dining. My original booking invoice shows us wait listed for 6pm.but it seems the Cruise Planner is looking for reservations. We are a group of 8 traveling together so how do we do this. Is there still traditional dining on the Radiance?

I think I have a big learning curve lol