NthernLgts

Does anyone know which dining room(s) are for anytime dining on the Sky & which are for assigned? Thanks.

How so? I'm not really sure where youre going with that, but I'm less concerned about bridge personnel somehow checking in on us than I am having another couple 5 feet above our heads staring down at us on our balcony.

I remember having a cigar in Churchills on my last trip on the Caribbean Princess years ago. Out of the blue the Captain comes in to have a smoke & and a bump at the end of the day. He took about15 minutes just to shoot the breeze and unwind with me & the DW. A very cool experience indeed.

I should know the answer to this because Ive sailed on the CB twice already, but its been awhile and we are thinking about booking her for next November. What decks have the balconies where others can look down into your balcony from above? I think its the Caribe & Dolphin decks but not entirely sure. Other thoughts on those balconies are welcomed too. Thanks.

Yes. My (very) cynical side is thinking what part of "cannot sail or offer to sail" escaped them? The part that annoys me is them taking deposits on cruises they aren't even supposed to be offering yet, especially when so many of us were recently jacked around with making final payments on cruises that everyone with air in their lungs knew would never set sail.

The other thing about this is that the latest CDC order specifically states cruise lines cannot sail OR "offer" to sail on voyages longer than 7 days prior to November of next year. That seems pretty clear.

Well, yes they are selling cruises 2 years out, and we are getting ready to purchase one for next November ourselves. My reference was to 8 day or longer cruises prior to then. How is it overboard when what we know today is that there will be no 8 day or longer sailings until November 2021? I get that it can and may change depending on a vaccine (that has no approval yet). But for them to sell and take deposits on cruises that have a current no sail order against them seems to open quite a few ethical questions, even for cruise lines.

All of your reasons listed are legitimate, but have nothing to do with Covid. If that is your belief, and you are certainly entitled to it, why are you on a cruising board that is the epitome of what you're against?

I’ll pass for awhile. It’s not just about whether we get sick. It’s also about all the people we are in contact with afterwards.

I’m surprised they were still selling these cruises to begin with. It seemed contrary to the intent of the latest no-sail order to allow 8 day or longer cruises to stop at US ports, but not originate from them.

You are correct, but we still would have rolled the dice that next December would have been ok...... but then they cancelled the 9 day Explorer out of Miami to boot. We may look at the new ship, but will likely just move on with life and find something elsewhere. We're Ruby on Princess & may go back there.

Here’s how this all shook out. This week the Dec 2020 cruise was officially cancelled by RCI. We got official notification today. Had RCI not also cancelled our Dec 2021 cruise we would have taken the 125% FCC and used it to basically pay off the 2021 cruise. Now we will take the refund. Either way, I’m glad we waited RCI out. It just didn’t make sense that ships were going to sail this year.

Our TA just confirmed as well.

Making the assumption we actually get a vaccine approved & we begin to see rollouts in early spring. When do you think we might see cruises longer than 7 days begin? (I know its speculation & hypothetical, but play along).

Yes, its on pg 32. Here is the exact wording: (2) The cruise ship operator must not sail or offer to sail on an itinerary longer than 7 days. CDC may shorten or lengthen the number of days permitted to sail based on public health considerations and as set forth in technical instructions or orders.

Cheated? Sure, especially having the December 2021 cruise canceled while the one for December 2020 is technically still a “go”, with no vaccine available and covid cases rising significantly. Its absurd.

I really like what Royal is doing with their air filtration/air exchange efforts. Beyond that, if a mask is a requirement unless you are in your cabin or eating/swimming/exercising I will take a pass until that requirement is gone. That likely will require a vaccine. I understand their reasoning, but no for me. The elevator restrictions will be ignored unless someone enforces them. In addition, these cruise lines lose half their reason for even stopping at a port if you cant get off the ship unless youre on a ship sponsored excursion.

I would have fallen solidly into the ‘take the 125% credit’ camp had RCI not changed the ship AND itinerary on the 2021 cruise we intended to use It on. Now we’ll just hope this December’s cruise is cancelled and take the refund.

Royal did confirm today that the above pdf is correct for our 12/10/21 sailing from Miami. Ugh. New destinations are: Sea day Labadee, Haiti (the only original destination they kept) San Juan, PR Phillipsburg, St.Maarten Basseterre, St.Kitts & Nevis St.Croix, USVI Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic Sea day Miami

Technically yes, but I'd take that bet all day long. My way of thinking is that a cruise line's liability will rise significantly the longer they defer from requiring proof of vaccine as a prerequisite, especially if there is a measurable difference in infection rates between lines that required vaccination vs those that didn't.

There also IS no vaccine.

The parts that stuck with me are: 1) Limiting the elevators to a max of 4 people. That's going to be a Royal (pun intended) mess. 2) I'm not sure I'm willing to have a mask on for the entire cruise unless we are in our stateroom or having something to eat (or swimming/exercising). I get the reasoning, but for an entire week or longer I'd have to take a pass. 3) On the good side, I really like what they are doing with the air filtration/exchange systems. Cleaning protocols too, if they stick with it.

Technically we were never notified by RCI when our 2021 Explorer trip next December was cancelled/shifted to the Radiance. RCI told our TA, and the TA notified us.

I talked to my TA this evening. Royal is telling her (earlier today) that the reassignments will not be completed till near the end of next week, and that they expect an extension on the 30th decision date to cancel. She also said that Royal could not confirm the new itinerary either.

I’m pretty sure that the schedule on that link will be tossed out the window. My letter said that the new Radiance cruise would be sailing on the exact same date from Miami, December 10th 2021. There’s nothing on the link for that date. There’s more questions than answers right now.