Abandon hope all ye who enter here:

[drakes2]

10 minutes ago, cluso said:

Yep, the "R" ships.  We really enjoyed them.  No babies and no smoking on the ships (their advertising).  A little over 600 PAX.  Luckily, we were not caught in the end game.  The last time we were on one of the R ships was Azamara to the Baltic.  Three nights in St Petersburg, it was great!

Loved St. Petersburg.  Stayed 2 nights on  12 night Scandinavian cruise in 2016

 

[ECCruise]

10 minutes ago, cluso said:

Yep, the "R" ships.  We really enjoyed them.  No babies and no smoking on the ships (their advertising).  A little over 600 PAX.  Luckily, we were not caught in the end game.  The last time we were on one of the R ships was Azamara to the Baltic.  Three nights in St Petersburg, it was great!

Truly hope Azamara survives.  Just got off the Quest on a cruise almost to nowhere (6 ports cancelled in 23 days) that for a while looked like we would be floating with nowhere who would accept us.  Thankfully, Oman allowed us to disembark...forever grateful.

Have more AZ sailings booked so we shall see....

[Covepointcruiser]

I still enjoy the “R” ships on Azamara and Oceania.   Great size and they don’t appeal to families.   We will be sticking to small ships.   We were disappointed in our last Celebrity Cruise in a RS. Both Michaels and Luminae were much too crowded and that was before they allowed folks to buy into the Suite experience.   For the same or a lesser cost we can enjoy Azamara in a suite or Seabourn in a Penthouse (they have many as they are the SS of Seabourn).

[Gracie115]

18 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

 We were disappointed in our last Celebrity Cruise in a RS. Both Michaels and Luminae were much too crowded and that was before they allowed folks to buy into the Suite experience.   

 

 

Huh?  We were on Silhouette last year and you certainly couldn't buy yourself into Luminae, so what do you mean by this?

Edited April 9, 2020 by Gracie115

[wrk2cruise]

11 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 

Huh?  We were on Silhouette last year and you certainly couldn't buy yourself into Luminae, so what do you mean by this?

Recently they have been offering selected top suites the ability to purchase the suite amenities for traveling companions not in suites for I think $59 pp/pd

[drakes2]

CDC announced extensions and modifications of no sail order for another 100 days bringing it to July 19th.  Stay safe everyone. 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

CDC announced extensions and modifications of no sail order for another 100 days bringing it to July 19th.  Stay safe everyone. 

 

No problem.  Cruise ships don't have sails!  Just a little corona humor.  Sigh.

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

CDC announced extensions and modifications of no sail order for another 100 days bringing it to July 19th.  Stay safe everyone. 

Where is this information?  Do you have a link or a source?  The latest CDC update was April 4th for cruise travel.  The link to the page is below.  No mention that I can see about July 19.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-ship/what-cdc-is-doing.html

[TeeRick]

Sorry drakes2.  I just found it!

 

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/s0409-modifications-extension-no-sail-ships.html

 

But here is the detail.  It could be less than 100 days if one of these conditions is met.

 

This Order shall continue in operation until the earliest of three situations. First, the expiration of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that COVID-19 constitutes a public health emergency.  Second, the CDC Director rescinds or modifies the order based on specific public health or other considerations.  Or third, 100 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.

 

Then again it seems that this CDC order has been withdrawn according to the Federal Register so possibly another revision in the works.

 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/10/2020-07677/no-sail-order-and-suspension-of-further-embarkation-notice-of-modification-and-extension-and-other

Edited April 10, 2020 by TeeRick

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 4/8/2020 at 9:59 AM, zitsky said:

How do we explain people who have recovered and become ill again?

Mutation.  A new/different strain.

[TeeRick]

On 4/8/2020 at 9:59 AM, zitsky said:

How do we explain people who have recovered and become ill again?

Zitsky,

There is not enough information yet to understand or explain.  But the answer is critically important.  Everybody is hoping that previous infection gives natural immunity at least for some period of time.  It is just not known yet. It is evident that there are slightly different viruses (from their genome analysis from infected patients) circulating in different parts of the world.  It has been recently published that the virus hitting the NYC metro area originated in Europe by travelers. The speculation (still unproven) is that the persons becoming ill again have not been re-infected.  But rather they never completely recovered and had their original infection re-emerge.  Or their levels of protective anti-bodies were too low. Maybe viral genome sequencing  from these patients and anti-body tests will give clues here.  Unfortunately there are other respiratory viruses like RSV where vaccine attempts have been unsuccessful and where natural immunity is not long-lasting after a first infection.  And of course inluenza virus ....

Edited April 10, 2020 by TeeRick

[Gracie115]

18 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Recently they have been offering selected top suites the ability to purchase the suite amenities for traveling companions not in suites for I think $59 pp/pd

 

I had not heard of this and hope it doesn't continue once X is sailing again.  We really like the peacefulness in Luminae…..but actually there are so few "top suites" I don't see how it can have that much impact unless the Penthouse is bringing a large group in or something.

 

[downsmead]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Zitsky,

There is not enough information yet to understand or explain.  But the answer is critically important.  Everybody is hoping that previous infection gives natural immunity at least for some period of time.  It is just not known yet. It is evident that there are slightly different viruses (from their genome analysis from infected patients) circulating in different parts of the world.  It has been recently published that the virus hitting the NYC metro area originated in Europe by travelers. The speculation (still unproven) is that the persons becoming ill again have not been re-infected.  But rather they never completely recovered and had their original infection re-emerge.  Or their levels of protective anti-bodies were too low. Maybe viral genome sequencing  from these patients and anti-body tests will give clues here.  Unfortunately there are other respiratory viruses like RSV where vaccine attempts have been unsuccessful and where natural immunity is not long-lasting after a first infection.  And of course inluenza virus ....

There is a good article in PNAS, including a phylogenetic tree showing the spread and also detailing the type of mutations (synonomous v non- synonomous). 
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/08/1916054117

[BP99]

23 minutes ago, downsmead said:

There is a good article in PNAS, including a phylogenetic tree showing the spread and also detailing the type of mutations (synonomous v non- synonomous). 
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/04/08/1916054117

Your link is ?

Try https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004999117

[downsmead]

Thank you, my link works ok for me 🤷‍♀️

[BP99]

13 minutes ago, downsmead said:

Thank you, my link works ok for me 🤷‍♀️

Hi,

Sorry. You must have a different type of computer, browser, internet in the UK??

I press it and get an HIV paper.

Did you click my link?

[hcat]

47 minutes ago, BP99 said:

Your link is ?

Try https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004999117

Over my head beyond the first para..but I tried. As they  say nowadays, not my lane.  leave it to the experts

 

So is it  good or bad for reaching a treatment or a vaccine.?

Edited April 10, 2020 by hcat

[downsmead]

57 minutes ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

Sorry. You must have a different type of computer, browser, internet in the UK??

I press it and get an HIV paper.

Did you click my link?

Yes, that worked. Thank you for your link.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, downsmead said:

Thank you, my link works ok for me 🤷‍♀️

Your link works, but takes me to a PNAS research article entitled PSGL-1 restricts HIV-1 infectivity by blocking virus particle attachment to target cells

 

The link provided by @BP99 takes me to a PNAS article entitled Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

 

Given the nature of our discussion, I would judge the latter to be more relevant.

[BP99]

23 minutes ago, hcat said:

Over my head beyond the first para..but I tried. As they  say nowadays, not my lane.  leave it to the experts

 

So is it  good or bad for reaching a treatment or a vaccine.?

Hi,

The paper was important to show the level of mutations and the global migration of

the virus. It also provides more evidence that the virus originated in bats. However

whether these mutations affect vaccine development is too early to tell. I was more

excited about the use of passive immunization (also in PNAS). Preliminary results

in China https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004168117 show promise. Very preliminary studies 

reported in USA (reported in CNN) also show hope.  These preliminary results

indicate that humans can raise antibodies to the virus that can be used in others to eliminate the  virus and cure the patient. This indicates that a vaccine should work.

Other older data indicates that there are less mutations (changes) in coronavirus

than in influenza.

Even if they have a cocktail of COVID-19 types it wouldn't be a problem.

Many newer vaccines are a blend. I am not an expert in virology. However, in a previous life, I was a immunologist, molecular biologist, university full professor and involved

in vaccine development. I also published evolutionary papers including one in PNAS.

 

[downsmead]

45 minutes ago, hcat said:

Over my head beyond the first para..but I tried. As they  say nowadays, not my lane.  leave it to the experts

 

So is it  good or bad for reaching a treatment or a vaccine.?

For the genetic mutation that does not alter the amino acid (synonomous change), then if a effective vaccine is found, the vaccine should work against both strains. For mutations that change an amino acid (non-synonomous change), that may alter the effectiveness of a vaccine, depending on the amino acid change.

Edited April 10, 2020 by downsmead

[downsmead]

11 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Your link works, but takes me to a PNAS research article entitled PSGL-1 restricts HIV-1 infectivity by blocking virus particle attachment to target cells

 

The link provided by @BP99 takes me to a PNAS article entitled Phylogenetic network analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genomes

 

Given the nature of our discussion, I would judge the latter to be more relevant.

Thanks, the link from my browser seems corrupt, but at least the article was found.

Edited April 10, 2020 by downsmead

[kwokpot]

Attached is a great article about the Las Vegas Strip. The writer opines about the future of travel to Las Vegas but it also speaks to the larger point of leisure travel post lockdown. Definitely worth a read!

https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/09/why-re-open-the-las-vegas-strip.aspx

Edited April 10, 2020 by kwokpot
Fixed Link

[hcat]

1 hour ago, BP99 said:

Hi,

The paper was important to show the level of mutations and the global migration of

the virus. It also provides more evidence that the virus originated in bats. However

whether these mutations affect vaccine development is too early to tell. I was more

excited about the use of passive immunization (also in PNAS). Preliminary results

in China https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2004168117 show promise. Very preliminary studies 

reported in USA (reported in CNN) also show hope.  These preliminary results

indicate that humans can raise antibodies to the virus that can be used in others to eliminate the  virus and cure the patient. This indicates that a vaccine should work.

Other older data indicates that there are less mutations (changes) in coronavirus

than in influenza.

Even if they have a cocktail of COVID-19 types it wouldn't be a problem.

Many newer vaccines are a blend. I am not an expert in virology. However, in a previous life, I was a immunologist, molecular biologist, university full professor and involved

in vaccine development. I also published evolutionary papers including one in PNAS.

 

Thank you,...this  I understood!

Edited April 10, 2020 by hcat

[Fouremco]

11 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Attached is a great article about the Las Vegas Strip. The writer opines about the future of travel to Las Vegas but it also speaks to the larger point of leisure travel post lockdown. Definitely worth a read!

http://The Infinite Veranda rooms do in fact have have connecting rooms. Just Google Celebrity Edge Deck Plans and you will see on the plans the connecting Infinite Veranda rooms have a little line/dash connecting two rooms. 

Can you try that again?