twprincessfirsties

On 2/6/2024 at 10:15 PM, drowelf said:

 

 

I actually miss the daily papers. As soon as we boarded I would go to the front desk and ask that all the English Language versions be delivered to my cabin each day. Then I would have some reading for trips to the facilities. I remember one cruise when it was a bumper crop of papers as I would get US, UK, Canadian and Australian versions. The first 3 would come in the morning and the Australian would be with the nightly delivery of the of the daily program on the bed. 

You can still read the NYT and the LA times and the financial post for free from Navigator. What was cool was that I could use the NYT app on my tablet and get all of the daily news in a very readable format for free, and portable as well. 

1 hour ago, Menocchio said:

According to FBI data from 2019, the worst city rate for "Murders and Non-Negligent Homicide" in the USA (among the top 100 cities by population) was St. Louis with 66.07 deaths per 100,000 people annually. Which is indeed worse than Jamaica (as a whole). Baltimore basically tied with Jamaica. Third place was Detroit at 39.8, a significant drop-off. The USA as a whole was 6.1 deaths per 100,000 annually. 

 

So while there are some pretty dangerous pockets of the US, Jamaica still does pretty poorly in comparison.

Remember too that Jamaica is bigger than a city and parts of the country, like Mexico, are quite safer. I felt safe doing outings from  Ocho Rios (no travel warning) but not in Montego Bay. 

13 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Somehow I doubt the State Department will issue a travel warning for the USA.

 

Since you are from Canada, has your government issued any travel warnings for any part of the USA?

Yes, the Canadian government does issue travel warnings to the USA from time-to-time. For example, it issued a travel advisory for LGBTQ etc travellers to avoid certain states due to discrimination last fall. That has since been removed. And during COVID as well.

HAL, like everyone else, will charge for what the "market" will bear, and I am sure there are analysts looking at all of the cruises and all of the numbers to figure out what the best mix would be to maximize revenue and not upset passengers. And really, when most cruisers are travelling under one of two corporate umbrellas (kind of what MGM and Caesars do in Vegas) Carnivore (like that!) and Royal Caribbean can pretty much mix and match according to their clientele and the line they are travelling in.

Yet, it is totally a misnomer that HIA really doesn't mean that, all all. I guess you can drink all of the beer you want. I still think that if you lower the limit from 15 to 12 and up the dollars from $11 to $13 you would attract all of the drinkers complaining that HAL is catering to the upper end drinkers!

Sigh.

Jamaica's travel warning was for particular areas of the country. For example, most of Montego Bay was mentioned, but Ocho Rios was not. That said, when NS diverted from Ocho Rios to Montego Bay last week, we went as far as the cruise terminal and that was it. The town, we heard, was pretty much shut down because no cruise ships were expected that day. Beaches were closed as were much of the tourist stops. Reading further down in the warning, it states that certain government staff have a do not travel warning. 

St. James Parish/Montego Bay—Do Not Travel

All of Montego Bay on the inland side of the A1 highway and The Queen’s Drive from San San to Harmony Beach Park

We pay attention to the Canada travel site as well which advised us to avoid parts of Montego Bay. 

We had booked an excursion in Ocho Rios that I think we would have felt safe going to.

On NS last week where a port was changed and one cancelled we received refunds or differences of the port fees.

In my recent experience things did not update in the Navigator until a day or two before cruising and it still was not accurate until you boarded the ship. For example, yes, there are two dressy nights so bring nice clothes. And the movie names and nights were switched out. So, don't rely on the Navigator app until on board.

On 2/5/2024 at 10:32 AM, montythecat said:

Well, what a sad picture that was. The one with a 

single piano on Rotterdam. I genuinely do hope

HAL have a re-think. This isn’t just a musical issue

but an entertainment one deriving from the 

interaction between the two pianists. I really

can’t believe that HAL’s finances are such that 

this type of penny pinching is necessary.

I think that one piano vs two doesn't matter. It's the talent behind the piano(s) and their ability to attract people that matter. 

I feel that Billboard Onboard and Rolling Stone is a weird concept together in one space. You have piano players playing cheesy oldies and a rock and roll band playing hard classic rock. Last week on NS we would stay in our seat for the entire 4.5 hours and talk through the Rolling Stone performance and listen/participate in the Billboard performance.

The audience does really influence the performance in Billboard. A very old crowd can fill the all request night with ballads, like it did last Friday, where as a few younger people in the audience can make the set completely different and feature songs that only they know. 

Something tells me that the BO space will be reconfigured and they will turn the Ocean Bar into a piano bar, move BB Kings to the BO and make the current BB kings into a permanent space for non-musical acts. But what do I know? Nothing!

The Nieuw Statendam was diverted to Montego Bay today as the Carnival Dream had an incident with the pier at Ocho Rios yesterday, which made the pier unavailable. The rest of the itinerary is unchanged. Interestingly, with the town not expecting a ship today (we are the only ones here), people are coming back with reports of shops and beaches closed. 

With respect to the Rolling Stone, I must say that they are quite talented, but that adding extra dozens of bars of solos are were not necessary to understand the fact that they are talented. I enjoy hearing the songs, but not with the extra repeated various solos. We get it — you’re good. 

Hi from Jamaica. We’ve been enjoying Gabriel and Matt’s playing onboard. He does have excellent pitch! And plays and entertains quite well! He matches up well with his partner. Our favorite entertainers on the ship, so far! He seemed nervous night 1, but seems much more comfortable gelling with his new partner. 

On 1/24/2024 at 10:43 PM, Ruthenium said:

Not to worry about your experience in  NS Billboard Onboard — my son Gabriel will be in the Nieuw Statendam’s Billboard Onboard starting at the beginning of Feb and he has perfect pitch LOL — there was a recent nice comment about his singing in BO on the Eurodam in this forum. (He doesn’t yet know who his partner will be though.)

Cool! We will be on the NS next week and look forward to hearing him and his partner!

22 hours ago, peachykiehn said:

We just got off the Royal on the 17th. Even with announcements by the captain, signs and letters in the room many still not wearing masks. Ironically it seemed to us that those who were coughing and sneezing were the ones not wearing masks. After several trips in crowded elevators with individuals not wearing masks coughing and sneezing we avoided elevators when possible. (We had an 83 yr old with us so not always possible)

We were on the same cruise, and yes, very little (I would say < 20%) in the way of passengers wearing masks onboard even though notifications were clear. Crew, for the most part, wore masks diligently, but there was no effort to mask. The only effort was the insistence on washing hands or using hand sanitizer entering the buffet area.

Given the Canada arrival and the requirement for positive cases to quarantine and your relegation to Dolphin Deck (both sides were closed off for that journey) if positive, I would want to mitigate the risk as much as possible. We wore masks and were diligent.

For those in the know, because there was no testing required on board and understanding the penalties, I would guess that if you thought you had COVID but were not feeling ill enough to require medical attention, you would keep it to yourself and avoid that penalty.

Chances are that even if you contracted COVID on the ship you probably wouldn't start feeling its effects until you were at home. Omicron is a bugger that way - you've spread it before you even know you've had it, which is why masks are important, if not to protect yourself, then to protect the older passengers on the ship who don't know better (in my opinion).

The Royal Princess Alaskan sailings beginning / ending in Vancouver had a masks required letter in the stateroom as well as a daily announcement from the captain or officer. Masks were required everywhere on the ship except when eating and drinking and in your stateroom. Masks were also required on Princess shore excursions while in transport. Crew did not attempt to enforce. 

I would say the compliance rate was close to 10% on this particular voyage.

The US CDC stopped requiring cruise ships to disclose COVID cases as of mid-July, so there are no late statistics. Still, for the industry, the COVID incidence rate (up until the end of reporting) is consistently about 1% for passengers and a similar rate for crew with isolated breakouts happening all of the time.

With that risk of (1) ruining your vacation by quarantining down on Dolphin Deck (on Royal class ships) and (2) facing quarantine in a Vancouver hotel at the end of the trip, even with the low incidence rate, IMO, you are playing roulette. 

8 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I am surprised that the Royal mini does not have lamps with USB ports.  If I am not mistaken, the tv is "glued" to the wall.  Usually you can find a hidden outlet there.  Did you bring any adapters/batteries/power strips?  All Apple devices are dual voltage.  You may have to resort to pulling straws for charging rights.  There are outlets around the ship that the crew uses to plug in vacuum cleaners.  

I guess you should find a power strip or at least a couple of adaptors in Ketchikan - make sure that they don't have a surge protector on them - they are not allowed in rooms. 

6 hours ago, jameswalken said:

Yes, this is weird that it says Canadian citizens getting on a ship in Canada, heading to the U.S., have to complete ArriveCAN before embarkation since ArriveCAN is only required for those who are entering Canada. This is either a mistake on the part of Princess or some weird rule that applies to cruise ships. Regardless, the second part of that blurb states that you have to complete ArriveCAN within 72 hours of returning to Canada (if you get off the ship in Alaska. Except in rare cases, I can't imagine many people would go on a cruise to Alaska and not get off the ship). It is this part that I was referring to in answer to your original post on this subject.

Essentially, since this cruise ship disembarks in Canada and visits US ports, all passengers (no matter where they are resident) will need to complete ArriveCan for the cruise as they are arriving in Canada at the end of the cruise after having visited the United States. ArriveCan becomes available 72 hours before the cruise leaves port (for this cruise, September 14th). You will find that your will get a notice in your cabin that your steward will collect the ArriveCan QR code from you to ensure that all passengers have completed it.

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

These have been mentioned on other threads.

 

Supposedly they were installed as a safety measure so people would not trip walking around the cabin in the dark.

 

So far I have not seen a single post saying someone likes this feature.

 

Most posts say the cabin attendant can tape over the sensor on the ceiling near the bathroom and a towel can block the sensor by the bed.

We *loved* the feature by the bed. The light by the bathroom was very bright and we would have preferred a lower level of light there but we appreciated the safety concern.

18 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Could be his day off and you will hear from him tomorrow (unless is is not around due to Covid).

There was no cruise director on the way down from Whittier either. Ruth did all of the entertainment announcements. 

On the Royal's COVID mask mandate.

We were on the Royal southbound voyage that arrived in Vancouver yesterday. I was somewhat dismayed that about 90% of passengers never donned masks (except on disembarkation) and the sip and cover policy was definitely not followed. This despite the same letter received and daily announcements from the captain. 

Despite these warnings, no crew member ever asked anyone to wear a mask anywhere on board (including the theater, Princess Live!, etc). There was always a request to either wash your hands or use a sanitizer when entering Horizon Court.

I would really hate to be onboard during an outbreak. Given the horror story of a previous cruiser and being confined to Dolphin Desk, I didn't feel that the request to wear a mask was onerous.

11 hours ago, The Mikado said:

 

As far as I know, until recently, it was 10% of ALL pax, including kids who were not required to be vaccinated in the first place, who could put in for an exception letter. Then it went to 25%. And while all that was being sorted out, it became what we have today. I'm not sure exactly WHEN we, as the unclean, could have put in like your "two friends". Of course, we won't travel to the east coast until we've run out of places to go out west so we'll probably hit your neck of the woods around April next or thereabouts. In case you want to leave.

 

Anyway, I don't want to wear a mask and you do and make everyone else do the same. And never the twain shall meet.

Any Alaska cruise that departs, stops, or arrives in Canada would require the vaccination to cross border. Even with that, it appears that the Whittier departure a few weeks ago was very problematical.

The September 10th Royal departure from Whittier still doesn't allow you to pick and we are three days out.

The land part closing was likely beyond Princess' control with a lack of staff that is plaguing the entire travel and hospitality industry. I wouldn't get too upset at that - you were able to enjoy Anchorage instead and I am sure the local economy there enjoyed getting your dollars far more than Princess would.

As for your missed transit, I don't think you should cancel a cruise line because of bad advice. it is interesting how one person (the person who told you to show up at 11) can ruin an entire experience.

I hope you recover and enjoy the rest of your journey.

On 9/6/2022 at 2:02 PM, PrincessLuver said:

 

Because you are not in those venues for a week or weeks at a time and you have the option to leave at any time to lessen your exposure which is not true on a ship.

True, but what choices do cruise ships have? As cruisers, know that you are going to accept risks of being on a ship where the risk of exposure is high. You accept personal responsibility for knowing that. If you want to cruise yet avoid COVID, then do everything you did in 2020 and 2021 - mask up, wash your hands frequently and make sure you are fully vaxxed. And, avoid places and events where spread is very likely: enclosed spaces, theatres, and common spaces. If this means hanging out outside and enjoying your food up on Lido, getting room service, and not being able to take in shows etc, then by all means.

I don't blame Princess for following the rules. At some point, you have to make a choice to accept the risks and protect yourself. 

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

From the new FAQ’s on Princess website today it looks like no more required masking on Vancouver/Whittier routes. I pity anyone sailing this coming Saturday from Whittier. Last week we were 2 of hundreds testing positive and sent to Covid hell

That would be us.

It is now a personal choice as to how much you comply. We are on the Royal leaving Whittier on the 10th and you are right, the negative PCR/Antigen test required to board that ship doesn't really do much. I've had COVID and didn't test positive until 2 days after I had symptoms and likely contracted the disease from a friend 3 days before that. With our acceptance of COVID being in our daily lives and to resume normal lives, we can't really scapegoat Princess or any other cruise line. They are legally doing business and following safety protocols. If you are afraid of COVID, don't put yourself in an MDR with hundreds of other guests or in a theatre with 1,000 people. Mask up, avoid people, sanitize, and ensure that you protect yourself as much as you can. Part of that choice can be choosing not to cruise until you feel it's safe to do so. AT this point in time, you can attend indoor live sporting events and concerts (without a mask), walk around in malls, watch movies, and eat, all mask-free and without a vaccination status. 

Why do we force Princess or any other cruise to behave differently?