Cruise Raider

I am learning that … especially with the PCR test. I just have a couple of symptoms left and am being extra careful until my DH gets his results back. I’m thinking I will definitely get a letter of recovery … once the rapid antigen test turns negative. We just got a new batch in the mail. We are supposed to have a cruise coming up in a couple of weeks. We were supposed to be on one this week as well, but we all know how that turned out.

Thank you for that … I was just reading that yesterday. I’m still testing positive so at least another few days of quarantine. I’m coping unite well and will be on the lookout for rebound.

We’ve cruising across many of the major cruiselines (Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, NCL, HAL, Carnival) with nearly 70 cruises to date, most of them on Princess. While I used to claim Celebrity has been my favorite, we sure have felt spoiled by Princess since the restart last year. In the last several months, we’ve cruised on the Ruby several times, the Grand Princess 3 times, the Discovery twice and the Majestic once. The lower capacity has really had us spoiled …. I can’t judge any of the other cruiselines since last July but feel like Princess has really stepped up to the plate since then and they may very well have become our absolute favorite! I think the wonderful crew / staff is where they shine! There food has been good to excellent! The entertainment has been fantastic … not just the headliners and production shows but also, the activity staff with all the new and creative events they’ve added to the schedule on the fly. The beds are the most comfortable on any cruiseline. The deluxe balcony option on the newer ships is a wonderful option. I am actually a pretty big fan of the medallion, even though we’ve been on a couple of sailings when it didn’t work for one or the other of us. I could live without smoking in the casino but don’t really want to make this negative because, overall, our experiences have been stellar! A huge plus is that Princess cruises out of our home port of San Francisco. I’m excited that the Royal Princess will be joining us full time starting at the end of the summer. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve loved the Ruby being here but I do love the Royal class ships.

Well said on all counts!

It’s not too bad closer to the water. We don’t have any AC so, open windows are all we have.

Me, too!

Thank you for that! I am feeling so much better today. My doctor prescribed Paxlovid and it really seems to be helping. In fact, I think I may have turned a corner as I feel almost completely recovered. I’m just trying to make sure my DH doesn’t get it now. We haven’t been within 15 ft of each other for days, there are Lysol wipes and spray placed strategically around the house, we even set up a little transfer table for right outside the door to the CoVid ward (our bedroom), much like the cruiseships do. I just order what I want on my iPad and I get a knock on the door when it is on the table outside. 😂 I’m actually spending a little time outside today with my DH 15 ft away and upwind from me, we are masked (in case I’m still infectious) and listening to some uplifting music. Life is good … We had our Alaska cruise on the Discovery canceled. Everyone we know onboarding is sending us videos and photos so we still feel like part of all the fun! We obviously have very wonderful friends! They’ve made this so much easier for us.

Awe ... thank you!! BTW, I just had to cancel a really awesome cruise that set sail yesterday with a group of friends because, yes, I contracted CoVid and have it as I type this message. After 10 infection free cruises since the restart, I got this at home ... not from or on a ship. I am grateful it hit me when it did, even though I am heartbroken about missing this sailing. I would have felt horrible if I brought it onto a cruiseship and share it with anybody else. The last few days have been rough for me, too but today, I woke up feeling much better. I'm headed down to get retested today and if negative, I'm sanitizing this entire CoVid ward today (our bedroom) as I am starting to get my sense of smell back and it isn't pleasant in here at all. LOL

They haven't been testing between B2B cruises, however, I would not be surprised if any protocols that are currently in place could change at any time. I am not sure where the smoking area is. I do know it was alive and well in the casino.

Great idea on the herbal tea bags. I will have to remember that one.

Great idea, thank you. I thought I had everything covered in my little medicine kit but was obviously missing that one.

As others have noted, they will definitely adjust the time of your excursion. You don't want to cancel and rebook it. You will probably not be able to get it again. From what I've seen at Icy Strait Point, there is only that one excursion that is sold through the cruiselines and doubt if you will be able to locate a similar one on your own. BTW, I've been on that tour before and it's a great one. You will see whales, guaranteed and we even saw a grizzly on the shoreline.

Yes, any onboard credit that you purchase is generally refundable. Also, most OBC provided by a third party travel agency is also refundable.

I've started packing a quarantine kit and have expanded on it as I've learned from others. My kit includes the following, some things I've always taken, some are new: Two-three weeks of extra prescription medication Prepackaged trail mix, dried fruit, nuts, granola bars, etc Over the counter cold medicines and fever reducers Extra clean underwear (in case of quarantine on land) Zip lock baggies -- to store non perishable snacks I pick up on the ship Lots of books downloaded on my iPad Small container of dish soap Lysol wipes and lots of masks and plenty of hand sanitizer Wine opener / beer opener CoVid tests Separate travel sized toiletries for each person in the cabin (toothpaste, deodorant, mouthwash, dental floss, etc) -- comes in handy if one person gets quarantined in a different cabin Things I get for my room while on the ship: Milk for the fridge Bowl of fruit for the room Two sets of silverware and two wine glasses Two extra towels and boxes of tissues for the room Ever since 9/11, we've taken many of these items with us anyway. We also try to have a back up plan in place in case we need to get home while keeping others safe in case we do contract CoVid or are simply stuck elsewhere due to flight delays, etc. Thus, since CoVid, we haven't even been tempted to cruise to or from anywhere we couldn't easily drive back home. No overseas travel for us during the pandemic. It just doesn't even sound desirable for us at this stage of our lives. Fortunately, we live near a port and can drive to a few other ports in case we aren't able to board a plane. With that being said, we've been on several cruises since the restart and think cruising is one of the safest activities we could engage in. We are just planners ... oddly enough, we do pack pretty light.

PCR is a type of NAAT test (Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests) and yes, they are perfectly acceptable not only for cruising but for most all travel where testing is required.

We haven’t noticed that on Princess and have cruised several times since the restart. However, we have heard that during the extreme low capacity cruises, this has happened. Now that there is a crew shortage fir most cruiselines, they are sometimes forced to close certain venues on a rotating basis.

Ever since Princess got the new mattresses, I’ve never heard even one complaint about them, but I would imagine everybody is different. While I don’t have an answer for the mattress, I would say to try it out, he may be surprised. He can request as many pillows as he likes. The standard rooms don’t have couches or anyplace to sit up so, we oftentimes just use the bed as a place to sit and watch movies and such. The backrests on some ships also provide some padding against the wall.

I am most confident that @HaveDogWillTravelwould never try to skirt the rules, which is why she asked the question here. We’ve been told in the past, point blank, that bringing fruit fruit or fresh flowers onboard is absolutely fine! I’m sure it was quite the treat for the staff to get fresh cherries! We are also here in California and our neighbors brought us some cherries from their parent’s tree … they were the best cherries we’ve ever had! So yes, the cherry crop is incredible here in California.

Mine was canceled as well for our cruise this Sunday. In fact, our whole group was canceled … I think it was 10 of us. I haven’t been contacted by Princess as of yet but did check my travel summary and noticed my OBC has been reinstated and my excursion is missing. My PVP confirmed that it is a canceled due to capacity control. I just believe that travel during CoVid requires a lot of flexibility. We’re just going with the flow, just slightly disappointed.

We've taken fresh fruit onboard, you just can't take it off with you.

so true! I usually have a stack of $1 and $5 bills next to my nightstand so I always have tipping money for room service tips on hand along with a container full of individually wrapped chocolates. I’ve never counted the bills but have never even noticed any cash missing … ever! We’ve left our iPads and phones charging and they were also never touched. I’m not reckless with my things but trust the room stewards will never touch anything that doesn’t belong to them.

So true! We’ve been on cruises in which the entire production cast and the cruise director we’re in quarantine … they really had to struggle to fill the entertainment gaps and on a drop of a dime. The same is also probably true for crew members that have been exposed or infected with CoVid. Add that to heavily fluctuating passenger capacity rates and they experience the perfect storm. It wasn’t all that long ago that there were only a couple hundred passengers on these ships and now at full capacity. I’m sure they are struggling with getting an adequate number of staff, keeping them all from contracting CoVid, supply chain issues and the fluctuating passenger capacity. I’m sure they would all be very happy if everything was back to before CoVid, when they were profitable instead of trying to pay off massive debt. We’ve been on an average of a cruise a month since the restart last July and been on these sailings with as few as 800 passengers to well over 3400 passengers … in a few short weeks. I’d hate to be the one that had to plan for those huge swings. But, I can honestly say, even with the cruise that was at capacity, the crew handled things so well. We couldn’t get any specialty dining reservations and oftentimes were unable to find a seat at the shows or events but we realized that cruising as we knew it is making its way back. We knew we were pretty spoiled during those low capacity sailings!

I can tell you I wasn’t pointing you out in particular but you seemed to have taken my original comments very personally. They were intended to help people make some wise and thoughtful decisions. And yes, I agree, you’re terrible experiences have probably helped a lot of people prevent a bad situation, as well. Maybe you would even reconsider cruising overseas again during an outbreak of CoVid. This is not at all different from what I suggested. I’ve been on 10 cruises since the restart and have several more on the books for the upcoming months. I chose all these sailings with a backup plan to get home easily without risking the health of others. Again, before anyone takes that comment personally, it is not directed at anyone else. No worries for me about being unpopular at parties. I don’t really live my life based on the approval of others … never have or never will. Cruise on!

We definitely would except we will be on the Royal Princess out of SF down to Mexico just a week after that. Sure would be fun to cruise with you both again, though. BTW, the Royal is doing a 12 night itinerary down to Mexico ... newly released. So, if you're not married to the Caribbean Princess, check it out.

Well, hopefully my ‘smarty pants’ comment will save someone from an unfortunate experience. Good old fashioned planning, solid decision making and preparation are always in vogue, although my comments may seem lack even a silver of empathy. And if we could all so easily predict the power ball numbers as easily as we could contract CoVid, we would all have more money in our pockets. Travel safe everyone …