notscb

Do you need data on that? It's in the value systems. Do you remember when SARS was a huge thing and even major cities like Toronto had a people wearing masks? But here's an article about it, And a study about mask usage And another about attitudes about mask usage in Germany

"Back to normal" wasn't good, do you not remember? Pre-Covid life didn't allow for people to be sick or stay home when sick without the consequence of loss (financial, social, vocational). We need to be better about preventing what we can, otherwise this weird value of American individualism is going to be the downfall of what we have left of a society.

I'm surprised this thread had to get up to 8 pages without considering the crew. The crew don't really have a choice but to fulfill their contracts. As cruisers, shouldn't we want to protect others onboard who also have families and live in even closer quarters than guests do?

Yikes. We've lost a million americans to covid. Did I say that? No. Pre-Covid, peolpe went to work sick, people got on airplanes sick, and our culture in the U.S. was way, way too accepting of sick people roaming around spreading things. In other countries, when you're sick you stay home or wear a mask. Do I think sick people should be spreading any of what they're carrying? Ideally, no. But we don't live in a world where people have that luxury.

The data indicates you're wrong about this.

...because it was a brand new disease that we had very little knowledge about that easily over-ran our healthcare system? I'm confused about what you're trying to say. Should sick people (with any sickness) be allowed to occupy confined spaces (like cruise ships) and spread it to others?

It means that a lot of grown adults are going to be throwing temper tantrums when some cruises still require pre-cruise testing depending on the regulations of the countries they are visiting.

Not a fan of Carnival "Classic," eh?

I think number of people ultimately determines the value of the key versus just getting S+S for X number of devices by itself. For solo or duo cruisers, they Key holds more value than for families or groups for sure.

Please for the love of all that is holy DO NOT DO THIS. Cruise ship plumbing is NOT like your household plumbing and will back up really easily with the wrong things going down it- including heavier toilet paper. Most cruise lines have warnings all over the bathroom now that you'll get fined if your room is found to have caused the backup by breaking these rules.

According to their FAQ it still is, but not for Singapore sailings. I think the value of the key lies in what kind of discount you can find on it and what your travel situation is.

I think when I got it on sale it was $23/day for the Key, which brings that discrepancy down and might make it worth it depending on how many folks are sailing with you and how much you value a Chops lunch at.

That's a great question. Ultimately it will be a financially motivated one. They seem to be going all in on this design and I've seen some really cool dining/bar/tender setup photos from it and it seems really neat. You could ask the same quesiton about the North Star on RCL as well.

From my experience, if I'm trying to go solo on RCL I always go through a third party or TA. For some reason, they have always had the better rates for my solo trips versus booking direct through RCL.

It's been over 10 years and I know it's nothing super special, but I remember as an older teen having a table at the very aft of the ship while eating breakfast on a sea day on Triumph. It became my favorite place to be on the ship. Those views were always incredible.

Thanks for starting this thread! I checked my expired Chase offers (Freedom Card) and this offer was available to me in April and I missed it. Definitely want to keep this thread bumped up so others check! I also checked my other card offers with Citi and BarclayCards- Citi had this as expired as well, so BOLO!

I think the only situation where this would be a "no" for me is if I were sailing during a time of year known for rougher seas. As someone who got moved from Deck 6 to Deck 10 on my last cruise due to a maintenance issue, I could feel the rocking of the ship significantly more during our sea days from Deck 10 v Deck 6. I can't imagine the difference you might feel between Deck 1 and Deck 10.

Lol. I've seen this so many times on this forum specifically and I'm always so very very confused. RCL has their 16+ area with plenty of areas that include kids, and it always feels like a nice balance. I'm genuinely surprised that any modern cruise line would omit an adults only area- with the exception of Cunard or HAL which often have less kids on board to begin with.

Sorry i must have misread it. It read like the S+S for your family of 4 for 7 days was 900, versus the key being 1155 (which includes S+S). That being said, keep an eye out for it, oftentimes their sales have the key very competitively priced with S+S.

That bow design is also helpful at reducing emissions, improving speed, and reducing passenger experience of seasickness. In all honesty, it was about time we saw an improvement in this area, and we should all expect cruise lines to choose the design that will be most efficient going into a future where we need to be thinking about emissions and footprint.

In all fairness, the "orange stick of Butter" helps these ships stand out and have been a huge marketing tool for Celebrity. The fact that it's multi-function and makes tendering a better experience for those onboard is also a huge +.

That's a nice perk if you're doing a lot of tender ports. I'd say for $250 you get early access to the ship, a calm and delicious lunch on embarkation, your carry on luggage delivered to your room and some peace of mind on debarkation day when your luggage also gets priority off of the ship while you enjoy a nice final breakfast in the MDR, too. But that's just me.

Money is going to be the downfall of every industry, and we're starting to see the cracks at every turn (well, trying to make up for money lost during the pandemic, anyway). Just because these [fill in the blank: ships, flights, restaurants, rental car counters, etc.] CAN hold X number of people doesn't mean they SHOULD be holding X number of people until after we can get through this surge of post-pandemic demand and things even out again.

Yup. If you can hold off long enough, airfares usually go back down right after Labor Day. I would take day trips to Miami for less than $125/RT from the Northeast that were priced for double a month earlier. Keep an eye, set a google price alert on google flights and wait it out if you can.

As others have mentioned, the Key is often on sale for only a couple of bucks more per day (I paid $3 more/day and includes Surf+Stream (plus I was one of the first three on the ship). If it works for you and your situation, I'd keep an eye on it.