Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How are things where YOU are?

[vacationlover_mn]

We have had a great 11 day vacation at the cabin “up north” 🙂. So relaxing!

[Coralc]

30 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We have had a great 11 day vacation at the cabin “up north” 🙂. So relaxing!

 

 

 

 

Great photos! It looks like fun.  Is that a walleye or a muskie maybe? Or a northern pike? I am curious, because we don't have them in California. And I can't quite tell from Google. It is a nice size fish for 2 people. 

Edited July 10, 2021 by Coralc

[vacationlover_mn]

21 hours ago, Coralc said:

Great photos! It looks like fun.  Is that a walleye or a muskie maybe? Or a northern pike? I am curious, because we don't have them in California. And I can't quite tell from Google. It is a nice size fish for 2 people. 

It’s a northern pike 🙂

[OnTheJourney]

On 7/10/2021 at 6:59 PM, vacationlover_mn said:

We have had a great 11 day vacation at the cabin “up north” 🙂. So relaxing!

Looks nice. What part of "up north" did you visit? 

[John&LaLa]

On 6/21/2021 at 10:28 AM, Keksie said:

Where I live there isn't any place that I go that requires masks.  You will see a few people still wearing them but not that many.  It doesn't really seem that strange since we have never had a mask mandate and we have never had to wear them outside or in restaurants just in some businesses.  All the businesses are very busy and all are hiring.  Service can be slow because of that.  The weather is now the biggest news maker on the nightly news.  

 

Medical offices are still requiring them up here and at the beach

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Medical offices are still requiring them up here and at the beach

They are here too. But it seems kind of silly when you visit the dentist.  Mask in. Remove mask so he can work in your mouth. Swish/spit. Replace mask and make 6 month appointment at nearby reception desk. 

[Cruise a holic]

On 4/30/2021 at 9:55 AM, Keksie said:

Things are looking up.  Mississippi casinos will lift the mask mandate and other covid restrictions as of tonight.  My son and I go ever once in awhile and this will make it so much nicer.  The Florida Surgeon General has signed a resolution stating that fully vaccinated individuals should no longer be advised to wear face coverings or avoid social or recreational gatherings except in limited circumstances.

And the rate of covid at disney is 18%.  Trust the facts.

[Keksie]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Medical offices are still requiring them up here and at the beach

My Dr.'s office does not require them of fully vaccinated people.  Other then the flight to and from Rapid City I haven't had to wear a mask for months.  Now that we have used our plane voucher it will be a long time before we fly again.

[Cruise a holic]

Just now, Keksie said:

My Dr.'s office does not require them of fully vaccinated people.  Other then the flight to and from Rapid City I haven't had to wear a mask for months.  Now that we have used our plane voucher it will be a long time before we fly again.

what are the current covid stats in your community?  That is important.

[Keksie]

Just now, Cruise a holic said:

what are the current covid stats in your community?  That is important.

I have no idea.  The local covid numbers are not the headline on the news anymore.  I am vaccinated so it doesn't really matter to me since the chances of contracting covid and becoming seriously ill are very low which puts them in my worry category in the same place as other communicable diseases.  

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, Coralc said:

They are here too. But it seems kind of silly when you visit the dentist.  Mask in. Remove mask so he can work in your mouth. Swish/spit. Replace mask and make 6 month appointment at nearby reception desk. 

I had one of the first appointments when my dentist opened up after the first lockdown because she was half way through an implant series of appointments when the first lockdown happened.

Only her and her dentist husband assisting in the surgery.  No other staff.  They both had a ton of PPE  on and loads of other precautions.  I actually felt quite safe 

Edited July 25, 2021 by sgmn

[Cruise a holic]

On 7/25/2021 at 8:25 AM, Keksie said:

I have no idea.  The local covid numbers are not the headline on the news anymore.  I am vaccinated so it doesn't really matter to me since the chances of contracting covid and becoming seriously ill are very low which puts them in my worry category in the same place as other communicable diseases.  

The news is bad in the state of Florida- you should definately follow the stat.  

[Keksie]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

The news is bad in the state of Florida- you should definately follow the stat.  

Still vaccinated and the stat says that it is the unvaccinated who are experiencing serious illness.

[vacationlover_mn]

On 7/23/2021 at 8:32 AM, OnTheJourney said:

Looks nice. What part of "up north" did you visit? 

We have a cabin near Crosslake MN 🙂. On the whitefish chain

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Crosslake MN

One state I don't recall we've ever visited. Scheduled to fly into St. Paul in October as part of a Delta connection to Tucson. And then we're booked on one of Viking's Mississippi cruises from St. Paul to New Orleans.

 

Great time to have a cabin just about anywhere, since I don't think we're anywhere near done with covid. I'm not sure about our fall trip - might wind up canceling (again). 

Edited August 2, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[vacationlover_mn]

57 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

One state I don't recall we've ever visited. Scheduled to fly into St. Paul in October as part of a Delta connection to Tucson. And then we're booked on one of Viking's Mississippi cruises from St. Paul to New Orleans.

 

Great time to have a cabin just about anywhere, since I don't think we're anywhere near done with covid. I'm not sure about our fall trip - might wind up canceling (again). 

Having a cabin was a mental life saving thing last year!  It was so nice to go somewhere, and have fun, despite our lockdowns 🙂

[OnTheJourney]

7 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

Having a cabin was a mental life saving thing last year

I can imagine. All we did here was cancel trips and then managed a few days' getaway last October - at a cabin in a reasonably quiet, wooded area of western PA. All was going well till DW broke her arm while we were walking around in the one town - so that was the end of that trip. Went back up to the same area again back in May for a few days and had a great time, but otherwise that was it between March '20 to the present. I've really missed traveling. It's a year of canceled trips that we (and many others) will never get back. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[4774Papa]

We just came back from a wonderful land tour of Iceland (Ring Road).  70% of Icelanders are fully vaccinated and most of our time was in remote areas.  Loved our trip, amazing scenery.

 

Here at home, we are doing our usual few chores around the house and yard and reading a lot.

Looking more at land tours instead of cruises, since cruise prices (although Royal is not as high as others like Celebrity) are way up.   With what is going on regarding cruising and COVID we are looking more at land tours.

[OnTheJourney]

On 8/16/2021 at 12:44 PM, 4774Papa said:

With what is going on regarding cruising and COVID we are looking more at land tours.

Agreed...especially if it's a DIY, for which we have all the arrangements booked later in fall. Thing is, still not sure we want to take the risks. It involves flying for one thing, and also the southwestern states where we're heading aren't exactly doing well with the recent resurgence. For organized, fully escorted tours, we like both Tauck and Collette but nothing booked currently. 

 

Who'd you do the Iceland trip with? Never been yet but would like to. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[4774Papa]

26 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Agreed...especially if it's a DIY, for which we have all the arrangements booked later in fall. Thing is, still not sure we want to take the risks. It involves flying for one thing, and also the southwestern states where we're heading aren't exactly doing well with the recent resurgence. For organized, fully escorted tours, we like both Tauck and Collette but nothing booked currently. 

 

Who'd you do the Iceland trip with? Never been yet but would like to. 

We have a great tour of Israel and Jordan booked for next March, looking forward to it.  It is with Gate 1, which has fantastic prices.

[4774Papa]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Agreed...especially if it's a DIY, for which we have all the arrangements booked later in fall. Thing is, still not sure we want to take the risks. It involves flying for one thing, and also the southwestern states where we're heading aren't exactly doing well with the recent resurgence. For organized, fully escorted tours, we like both Tauck and Collette but nothing booked currently. 

 

Who'd you do the Iceland trip with? Never been yet but would like to. 

We used Nordic Visitor Tours for our Iceland trip.  They were fantastic.

[OnTheJourney]

On 8/20/2021 at 10:22 AM, 4774Papa said:

Gate 1

Good prices, but I've heard of some unhappy experiences with them. Might want to check it out closely.  

 

If the "Cities of Antiquities and the Holy Land" cruise goes with Viking as planned (2023), we'll be seeing portions of that area. Starts in Rome then goes to Naples, Crete, Ashdod and Haifa (Israel...asuming the bombs aren't flying), Cyprus, then 3 ports in Greece. Added a 4-night extension when we disembark in Athens. Our last cruise with Viking ended up by being evacuated via helicopter along with over 400 other passengers off the coast of Norway in the notorious Hustadvika area. (Google Viking Sky March 23, 3019 Northern Lights cruise for an interesting tale if not already familiar). Scariest thing I've ever been involved in. Came too close for comfort. Estimate was that we were within a ship's length of crashing into the rocky lee shore. 

 

We would have been in Rome this past January as part of a complimetary cruise offered by Viking as partial compensation for that '19 situation, but of course that was canceled. They are still promising to do something for us - but I'm not holding my breath. Same for any upcoming trips. I wouldn't be surprised to see '22 cruises canceled yet if we don't get out of this covid thing. 

Edited August 21, 2021 by OnTheJourney

[alexpress48]

Hi everybody. I was already in CC quite a few years ago but seem to have got lost so here I am again.

Here in England things are becoming  somewhat normal. We have had our jabs but there are still restrictions on mask wearing inside buildings and transport etc.  We are now allowed to go on holiday but  Covid checks are in place before, during and after any foreign holiday so we will probably not bother just yet.  Our last cruise was on Oasis in May 2019 followed by a holiday in Madeira in February 2020 before the start of all this.                  

Really missing cruising-particularly the Caribbean and wonder if we will ever get to go again.  Luckily we have done 32 cruises so at least we have the good memories and long lasting relationships with some nice US folk since 2005 who we hope to see again.

[jet228]

I'm in Florida,  and am lucky to live in my own personal 'resort'.

 

I know Florida has a reputation which is sometimes earned,  but as a Canadian now living down here I love it - the people,  the amenities,  and most of the time,  the weather

[Cruise a holic]

On 6/29/2021 at 9:15 PM, PTC DAWG said:

I can’t believe that vaccinated people are still wearing masks…been without here south of Atlanta for a while…actually never wore one unless it was required by they store I was in…we had hardware stores etc in the area that never cared at all…

 

Cases aren’t even mentioned on the news, papers anymore…

Just got back from family visit to Georgia- Covid horrible in that state- Listening to many news channels.  We were very careful and hopefully, will not come down with Covid.  However some people not wearing masks in supermarkets and other indoor venues.  Florida also a mess- lack of hospital beds.

Edited September 7, 2021 by Cruise a holic