Charles4515

You don't need water shoes in the water at Horseshoe Bay.

I think it is an exageration too. I don't know about Carnival but on Casino workers are usually on contract with a casino company not working for the cruise line. Same with the workers in shops. Other workers like servers are on contract for that. I think the workers for childrens activities would be hired for that.

I don't think it is a ruse. It is part of their brand. I am not against Carnival doing it. I am skeptical they will do it on any ship that has the Carnival brand. And the Costa brand is not adults only so why does that present and opportunity?

The TA and $40 fee is required of everyone coming to Bermuda by any means not just on cruise ships. That includes returning residents.

The one that is almost completed they are still trying to sell. The sister ship that is being scrapped is a half finished hull. The problem with another line buying the almost completed ship is the design is for the Asian market and would not fit into RCL, NCLs or Carnivals fleet etc without a lot of modification. So the liquidators have not yet. found a buyer. So it may end up being scrapped too. I don’t think RCL would have bought it pre pandemic because it would not have fit in with their fleet without expensive modification. They would rather build from scratch.

If they have that concern they should cancel. I don't see anyway of knowing now. Celebrity changed the port order of several Bermuda itineraries on short notice to avoid testing onboard. That indicates they don't want to test onboard. They have a habit though of waiting to the last minute. If I were in charge of Celebrity since the cruises are TA cruises not Bermuda cruises I would skip that short port stop but I am not in charge.

Through March 2023. They might let it drop after March 2023. If there are changes more likely the vaccination requirement will remain and the testing requirement will be changed. Nothing is for sure though.

There really should not be a concern. If the rule does not change either Celebrity will do testing onboard or Celebrity will skip Bermuda.

Bermuda requires the $40 from every passenger if the ship is in Bermuda waters. You won't have that option of staying on the ship and not paying the $40. .

Carnival is a family brand. A mass market cruise line. They are not going to have adult only ships. For sure not on large ships. Virgin is a boutique cruise line than can brand as adults only. As for Costa by Carnival brand the simplest reason and probable one is that is that gives them the easiest option for transferring them back to Costa if/ when the situation warrants.

In the past around 11:30 was around when they started running out. Then the morning people started leaving. A lot of cruisers want lunch on the ship and chairs again become available as you noted. The previous concession had that solved for a couple of years by ordering more chairs. He made a big deal about doing that. The new business needs to order more chairs. They should be making enough from the rentals to do that.

You won't be able to do the TA or send in the $40 until 30 days before your sailing in September. They might change the requirements before then, I actually expect there probably will be changes, but if the $40 fee is still in effect at 30 days before your sailing, no doubt once they start collecting the $40 fee for a sailing they are not going to change that.

Something else to consider is that even if Royal grants an exemption some ports do not. Even if the the person would not get off the ship they would not be allowed on a cruise that stops in Bermuda or Canada. There may be other ports like that.

The facilities at Clearwater are decent. The concession has recently changed hands but they are in operation. The restrooms have plumbing. The details so far this season are sketchy as far a report backs. The beach has lifeguards. Next to Clearwater is Turtle Bay. Good place to see turtles. Then next to that is the Coopers Island Reserve. You will have to walk that but there are several isolated beautiful beaches inside the preserve. Turtle Bay and Coopers Preserve are the gems. Clearwater itself I would call okay. I would not rent sccoters myself but with those or one of the electric minicars which I think are a lot safer I don't see that area as too far. I took a taxi from St. George the last time I was there and noticed there are chargers for the electric mini cars in the parking lot.

The Dockyard is a touristy area with shops and restaurants that cater to cruise passengers. There is also a good maritime museum. If not going to the beaches there are ferries to Hamilton and St. George. The St. George ferries don't run on the weekend. St.George is a World Heritage Site. I recommend the tourism website as an introduction. https://www.gotobermuda.com

The chairs at Tobacco I presume are still the ones that have built in sun cover?

The two day pass is $31.50.

The port could probably handle any size. Might need a different terminal. They are going to build a new Bay Bridge and possibly tear down the old one but that would leave the Key Bridge as an impediment.

Baltimore does not get new ships because of the height of the Bay Bridge.

Possibly only means they are keeping the Costa livery so they can easily send them back to Costa if the global situation changes.

She could leave the fleet before the scheduled dry dock. I don’t think though if they have the dry dock in 2023 it necessarily means she will stay until 2026.

Having a dry dock schedualed in 2023 does not mean anything more than complying with minimium SOLAS requirements. You can't infer from that whether they will or will not keep it in the fleet until 2026.

Carnival already has something nicer. Holland America and Princess...... When Costa sailed out of the US it seemed to be a budget brand. Got terrible reviews too. I don't see it being made over into a upscale brand.

There are signs. Easy to find them when you get off the ship and when you are ready to return from Horseshoe. They take cash.

One Genting to be sold the 1/2 is being scrapped. https://eturbonews.com/genting-hong-kongs-unfinished-mega-cruise-ship-to-be-sold-for-scrap/