gatour

I would wear a mask on a cruise.

As to enforcement,  Walt Disney World has pretty strict in enforcing masks in their parks and Disney Springs.  In fact they strengthened the policy when people used the loophole of eating and drinking.  They added you have to be stopped to eat/drink.

If Disney can handle/enforce this, I am sure the cruise lines can also handle/enforce this.  Plus they have a extra stick.  They can do what the airlines do and put a person on a no fly list or in this case a sail list.

You need to look at the certificate.  When I have received similar type of certificate for things other than cruises, many times there are words to the effect that "there is no inherent value for this certificate".  I.E. you can't turn it to cash.  Sometimes there is a nominal value assigned to it like one cent I imagine because state laws require it. 

20 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

We have a island of Queensland called Willis island and ships used to go there drop the anchor and it was classed as leaving the country.

But they don’t to drop the anchor anymore,just a sail by.

 

In this day and age of free trade the PVSA seems out of place.

To further what twangster said.  It is just not the PVSA it is also the Jones Act.  While the PVSA is for passenger ship and the Jones Act is for cargo ships they are entwined.

One of the biggest defenders of the PVSA while he was alive was a Senator from Hawaii.  His local residents would be a very big benefactor of the repeal of the PVSA to allow more cruise lines to do Hawaii cruise with out having to from the West coast and back to the West coast or using a Canada port as an embarkation or disembarkation port.. 

Lets just say there was a certain cruise line that his campaigns were well funded.

I appreciate the OP posting this review.

I think of the Singapore cruises as a baby steps. Well not completely representative of the US, there are things that are transferable to US operations.

1.  How to enforce assigned boarding times.

2.  How to serve food in the Windjammer and other areas.

3.  Appropriate staffing levels for the various dining areas (Windjammer, MDR, specialty, etc

4.  General cleaning protocals around the ship.

With a bit more time, I can probably come up with a couple more things that RCCL has already learned and will learn from future Singapore cruises that are transferable to US operations

A couple of things that the OP didn't talk about was the Flowrider and the rock climbing wall, through no fault of his own.  I think it wasn't high on his priority list.  But what RCCL learns from these Singapore trial cruises would be useful for US operations

So saying carte blanch these Singapore cruises are transferrable to US operations is a bit much.

23 hours ago, MJSailors said:

IMO, these experimental cruises do not reflect the familiar situations of main stream cruises leaving ports located in Florida, Seattle, LA, NYC or any other US port. If and when cruise ships return to these ports, the cruise experience will be very different. As seen in these Singapore cruises, there will be certain procedures 

1 hour ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

I did Uber airport runs a few years back... and when I would see my rider approach the car w/ a dog and he/she wasn't blind, I'd just keep rolling. It's a scary world out there and if one was so emotionally unstable they needed a dog to get or off a jet, they were not about to get in my car for a long drive into or from the city. I don't deal w/ crazies. 

42 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

First I appreciate your feedback and my thanks to your son for serving. My son served in combat duty as well. Having said that, as a former Uber driver, it didn't happen in my car. I simply could not allow a dog in my car unless it was an eye seeing dog. 

Why not?  If it is a properly certified service dog, doesn't matter if it is is for a blind person vs it is for serving a PTSD person vs a service dog trained to detect and upcoming medical condition (diabetes etc).

I definitely agree with people abusing the emotional sport animal which should be curtailed.

23 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Besides the Southern Hemisphere jaunt, another bucket lister is to take a Eastbound TA, stay for a few days or a week and then come back on a Westbound TA.  Don't know if it's doable, but something I would like to attempt within the next 8 years or so.

Queen Mary 2, TA each during the summer between New York to Southampton.  I haven't looked at the schedule recently but you should be able to take it east bound spend two weeks in England and then take it back westbound.

If the prices drop on the packages you can cancel and book at the new price.  I have done that several times.

18 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

If I get a covid vaccine I'm done w/ masks. From that point on, everyone is on their own risk once a vaccine is out there. 

The problem is that not everyone will be able to get it day one.  It will probably take months.  Just because you got the shot, doesn't mean another person was able to get the shot at the same due to lack of supplies.  This is no fault of their own, so there will need to be some overlap, since they are not sure that once you have a shot you can't spread it to others.

I have read the entire thread.

After a cruise stop at Key West, a year or two later we drove down for a week long stay.

Here are my thoughts.

Based on what I saw when the cruise ship left for the day, the bars and restaurants were still full.  So while there will be an economic impact, Key West will not dry up and blow away.

People several times people mention dollar figures in regards to the port.  Remember, it is not just cruises ships that use the port, freight traffic will still be there generating revenue

St Augustine and Fernandia Beach survives just fine without large cruise ships, no reason Key West can't.

Key West is just not Duval street.  There is the Hemmingway house, Truman's little White House (very interesting tour),  the butterfly convertory (I actually went there twice, once with my wife, the next day with my good camera and tripod).  There is even a little beach you 

17 hours ago, Sail2soon said:

Suggest revisit the cdc rules source document and please quit referring to second hand Non RC interpretations including RC blog. The cdc document says “may” restrict length of cruise to 7 days. Not “will” restrict. 

In federal gov't legalise there is no difference between "may" and "will".  If it is a must do they use the world "shall".

For a period of time, I was a GS'er with the Air Forcee,.  While I never had fully review contracts,  I had contractors working for me where I worked with people who wrote and reviewed contracts.  I told them what were the required deliverables for the years and they ensured the word "shall" was used.

16 hours ago, tidecat said:

I believe you're referring to the Friends of the Earth scorecard, which carries no legal weight. I'm sure other lines are probably taking notice of Carnival's situation, though.

 

Disney, at least in Florida, would have capacity to manage some of their waste streams through the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which provides many "municipal" services to the parks.

Disney Cruise Lines would have to transfer wastes through at least two counties and perhaps a third (Volusia, Orange and Osceola) just to get to Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID.   The RCID doesn't have any garbage landfills etc.  They rely on other entities to handle their waste streams.

Doesn't make sense to ship garbage/waste, just to have to deal with Orange/Osceola county requirements, when you just have to deal will Volusia county.

On 10/16/2020 at 12:17 PM, Biker19 said:

Why, you are your own Hibachi chef - what's the diff?

For me it is not an ew factor.

During the week and weekend, I cook fresh dinners for me and my wife for dinner with some leftovers that we eat in mid-weekend.  On Friday's I like to go out for dinner that someone else to cook.

We have a Korean restaurant that we we enjoy.  Originally I tried it out on my own, ordering items from the kitchen.  Excellent food.

However, they have this metal grill thing, similiar to hot rocks.  The owner would prep the marinade and do the first batch.  Great.  After that you were on your own in regards to the remaining two batches.

Let's just say my wife realized, that I wasn't happy going out for dinner and having to cook my own meal.

If the hot rocks people actually cook your meal for you, as a cook in the family, great.

However if they don't...

If your spouse does the cooking at home, I would recommend you discuss who will be doing the cooking on the hot rocks.

10 minutes ago, molly361 said:

No this is a unique situation and should not count.  But I don't think someone who earns whatever status should keep it if they don't maintain some sort of regular cruise schedule same as the airlines do

Short answer, if I lose my status with RCCL, I will go back to jumping between cruise lines.

I have been cruising since 1981.  I jumped between cruise lines.  First Carnival,  a few RCCL, then Princess, mixing in a few Disney Cruises, a Holland America cruise then the last few years doing RCCL, where we finally reached Diamond.

With what RCCL charges for drinks vs Carnival, reaching Diamond was a nice perk.  If I lose Diamond status if I don't cruise for a year or two.  RCCL will LOSE my loyalty as drink prices on Carnival ships are cheaper than RCCL.

On 9/29/2020 at 6:06 PM, Iamcruzin said:

To my surprise they were just as soggy and exactly like Windjammer burgers. I figured they would have  been better on a BBQ. 

You don't BBQ a hamburger, you put it on grill, or a flat-top.  You use a BBQ to SMOKE pork, briskets, chicken, sausages etc.

I remember back in the day when RCCL would put up a wood or charcoal grille on the lido deck and freshly cook hamburgers etc.

On 10/8/2020 at 9:24 AM, Wannacruise81 said:

After hearing the good news that cruises will start on Quantum of the Seas out of Singapore for locals in December, I am wondering if RCL could have started earlier in other countries? 

Like sending a RCL ship to Germany and doing cruises to nowhere for locals like TUI did. 

In some places like Bermuda, there are not many covid cases there. Should the cruise lines set a ship out of Bermuda for their local people to cruise? 

Some say the ship is a Destination itself, so this would be sort of a vacation for the locals to enjoy being out at sea and experiencing a cruise. 

 

Total population of Bermuda of is a bit more than 62,000.  Doesn't seem like a large market to even sustain RCCL's smallest ship for more than a few weeks.  And I am being generous in regards to a few weeks.

4 hours ago, Keksie said:

How many rules are you willing to live with?  Wear a mask, socially distance, close down your business, go on unemployment, take out your pool and hot tub, don't swim in a lake or a pool, get rid of your boat, take out all the trees around your home, take public transportation, only eat healthy foods in healthy portions, don't smoke anything, don't drink alcohol over a certain amount etc.  These are all safety measures which ones do you want a rule for?

So how do you feel about restaurants posting sign reading "No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service"?  To me requiring face masks are no different.  Help protects me and others.

In regards to don't swim in a lake.  In Florida there are many retention ponds and even lakes with do not swim in.  In fact Disney used to allow you to swim in two lakes, but many years ago they banned swimming in the lakes (even before the boy was killed by an alligator a few years ago.)  All for safety reasons.

In regards to "don't drink alchohol over a certain amount"  There are already public intoxication laws to that effect beyond the DUI/BUI laws.

On 9/18/2020 at 7:39 PM, Chiliburn said:

If Royal and Norwegian aren’t going to merge,how come there’s a video of Royal and Norwegian ships together on the RCG press site.

Can't find the video you are referencing, however it could be related to how they are partnering in regards covid protocols to resume cruising.  

6 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

unless I am reading their metrics wrong, they will take a year to work off the 1M backlogged applications at their current rate. 

Since offices are operating at different phases, the throughput rate will increase as the offices move up in the phases.

If you miss it.  Visit a Miller's Ale house.  They show Chive TV

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Looks like they are scrapping them in sort of the order they arrived on the beach.

By "order", I meant how they dismantled each individual ship.  I.E. Front to Back vs Top to Bottom.  🙂

Thanks Biker19.  I was curious about the "order" they do when scrapping a ship.

On 9/3/2020 at 12:39 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

It might depend on how they wish to market it.

 

If they can establish that all crew and passengers are vaccinated, that may aleve the concerns of people who are undecided.

 

As far as the legality of that, I have no idea

My guess cruise lines denying boarding to people not having vaccination proof would be legal as long as it doesn't violate Civil Right laws (sex, race, etc).  This is private company so they can set the rules.

An example of this is that for cruises departing from US ports, the cruise lines will not serve drinks (or even allow them to buy the drink packages) to people under the age of 21 even in international waters.  There are no international treaties/agreements that require RCCL, Carnival to do this.

Certain bars require people to be above a certain age before entering.  Refusal to show a valid ID to prove your age, is grounds to deny entry.  Even if state laws don't require this (of course many state laws require that bars verify the age of someone attempting to actually purchase an alcoholic drink, but not to actually enter the establishment)

23 hours ago, MommaBear55 said:

Great explanation. The other part of how the flu vaccine is developed is that every year is a panel of scientists looks at the flu strains that develop in Asia during their next flu wave that generally starts after the first of he year, and the panel modeld the virus cocktail on those strain. A few years ago a novel flu strain that was totally unanticipated came out of Australia, so was not in the flu mix that year, leading to a high number of flu cases and fatalities that  year. 

From my understanding, there are three basic strains and as you said their parts of the world that get the first (through no fault of their health care system).  Based on these early reports the scientists decide which one will most prevalent, so vaccine doses can be produced in a timely manner for the US market.  From my understanding the three basic strains may mutate but not by drastic amount so if even the correct vaccine was picked for that year it will be at least partially effective.

I thought I remembered that there was a fourth strain that emerged, that caught the scientist by surprised. 

I can seeing Royal sending a ship or two that normally do 3/4 day cruise to test any new procedures.  Then a very short time later the rest will start to move.  The plus for the short cruises is besides the CDC they only have to deal with one other gov't entity.

For those that want to participate, feel free to come to my house.  I will be happy to provide all of the ingredients for everyone to make their own version for about $10/person and the necessary instruction.

In all seriousness making quac is relatively simple and the ingredient list is relatively short.

Most important is making sure the the avocados are properly ripe.  I.E. not too hard but not too soft.

After that you would need a lime for the juice, a bit of chopped fresh jalapeno, a bit of chopped white onion, some chopped plum tomatoes.   And cilantro.  And then a bit of salt.

Instead of the jalapeno, I sometimes substitute several dashes of hot sauce.

It is all about balance and the flavor profile you enjoy.