gammite

I am a for real foodie.

IMO the commentary about the quality of food is grossly overexaggerated.  My most recent sailing was on Allure the week of 10/1.  I was expecting the worst.

The majority of my meals were quite good.  We ate at the MDR 4 our of the 7 nights and Specialty the remaining nights.  I honestly was surprised that the food was as good as it was given the sentiment on this board.  We had MTD and we asked for the same server each night.  We also tipped our server team each night.  I am not sure if that had anything to do with our good experience.  But we never had any awful or cold food.

We had a great cruise in regards to the food.  The demographic onboard was a totally different experience, however.  But that is a topic for a different thread.

I just got off the 10/1 Allure sailing.

Omg, so many kids and so many ill behaved kids with parents that didn't care what they were doing as long as they were not bothering them.

Parents had to be reminded daily that children in many cases crying infants were not supposed to be in the Solarium.  I spent a fair amount of time in the Solarium and had to point a few out.  For some reason crew members literally were fearful of speaking to the offenders.

I generally time my cruises when there should be a minimum of kids sailing.  I have no idea why so many school aged children were out of school for a week the first week of October.  And that is on top of the infants and toddlers.

Since Covid I have been doing all inclusive land based based vacations at adult only resorts.  I have clearly become spoiled.  Not only due to no kids but also due to a sophistication of demographic.   The drunk idiots were out of control as well.  

While I enjoyed my vacation I have never had such a poor experience when it came to other passengers.  Something dramatic has changed since I last cruised in 2019.

I will give RC another chance either late this year or early next year.  Carnival is not an option.  That was a one and done experience.  I am not inclined to try Virgin.  I will likely need to be looking at SilverSea or Azamara moving forward.  I like the big ship experience.  But if the demographic I experienced last week is what RC is aiming for it is time for me to move on.

1 hour ago, Billy Baltic said:

And at one time smoking was considered harmless and women weren’t allowed to vote but thankfully the world has moved on from that era. 

C'mon man.  LOL!

I wish Royal didn't allow smoking at all.  But that is another thread/topic.

And I have no idea how women's suffrage was brought into this discussion.  Totally off topic.

I remember when we had kids tables where kids ate and adults ate at the main table.

I also remember when kids were to be seen and not heard and it was unheard of for adults to be "partying" around minor children.

Clearly things have changed.

8 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

Royal Caribbean is a cruise line geared to families and so are their ships.  They will never have any adult only ships under the RC brand. You are cruising on the the wrong cruise line if you expect more than the adults only Solarium. 

Stranger things have happened.  *shrugs*

I would definitely appreciate if it happened.

If RC were smart they would make at least a couple of ships adult only. They would stay sold out. 

This is excellent news!

nothing for us lowly gold members.

will be platinum after this next cruise.  nothing there either. lol

14 minutes ago, rimmit said:

The chance of any cruises cruising out of the US until there is a vaccine is pretty much zero.  The chance of a cruise over the summer is zero.

 

From a scientific standpoint, can you explain to me how you believe that COVID will be contained enough In 3 months so that the CDC can confidently allow people onto a cruise ship.  What scenario other than COVID miraculously disappearing would allow the CDC to overlook the Diamond princess, grand princess, zaandam, coral princess, ruby princess, celebrity eclipse, Oasis of the seas, Celebrity infinity, Disney wonder and all the other ships that have outbreaks.  The US govt is tired of dealing with this as are other foreign nations.   
 

Cruising is done until COVID is not a threat.  That is the sad reality.

 

As someone working in an EOC how would you formulate your argument to convince the CDC that cruising does not pose an unnecessary And unneeded threat to those that board the cruise ship?

 

I would love to cruise, but I just don’t think sticking our heads in the sand is going to make this go away.

Thank you for saving me from having to type this out. 

I would put money on it that there will be no cruising till next year at the earliest. I would love to book my week long birthday cruise but anyone paying attention knows it's not scientifically possible that cruises out of the United States (or most other places) are happening this year. 

I remember a couple of months ago people saying that this was no big deal we would be cruising in a couple of weeks.   Then it was Royal would be back in operation within 30 days. Then it was other ridiculous fantasies that people thought they would be cruising. 

Get real folks. It is a wrap until next year at a minimum.  You can book a cruise and give RCI an interest free loan, at best, if you choose.  I wouldn't tho.   Under bankruptcy you wouldn't get anything back. 

22 minutes ago, flyguyjake said:

 

wow.  i wonder how many other lines will follow suit.

double post.

14 minutes ago, CavePearl said:

Are you an infectious disease specialist Gammite? You sound like you have information other than what we read in the media. We would all appreciate it if will provide us with actual data rather than speculation. 

i have offered no speculation.

everything i have stated is available in accredited news outlets.

countries have literally quarantined entire cities or population centers.  education is not panic.

the state department literally stated to avoid cruising, especially people with underlying health issues.  this is not my opinion or speculation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/03/08/state-department-cruise-ship-travel/

15 minutes ago, whirledpeas said:

It IS in my neighborhood and i still agree with the doctor. I do think we need to safeguard those with impaired immunity but there is a healthy middle ground here. The attitude is not cavalier. It's one of common sense. Wash your hands, take precautions as you would the flu. By the way, the deaths in Kirkland were all in one facility, who had been sited for poor health practices. They literally had a huge party that infected all of them. There are only a few cases otherwise in all of Washington state. Take a closer look at your numbers. The higher counts of infected are due to more available test results. Look at the recovery numbers. If you continue to be freaked out, self quarantine. But the virus is out there now. You, or someone you know is going to get it. We all may get it. But the death rate is very low for a virus. Please do not jump on the media panic wagon. 

i am definitely not on the media panic wagon.

i am observing countries that have literally quarantined entire cities and u.s. health officials stating that there is a possibility of that happening here in the states.

if this thread is indicative of people's response to this situation then we may be on our way there.

8 hours ago, L454S said:

 

Here, I will post this again in case you missed it

 

Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy................

I'm a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I've been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria...there is little I haven't been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.

I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.

What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they " probably don't have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know..." and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.

I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games...that could be kyboshed too. Can you even imagine?

I'm scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.

But mostly, I'm scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.

Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and "fight for yourself above all else" attitude could prove disastrous.

I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let's meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.

Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts. Our children will thank us for it. 

This doctors opinion is very inadequate and uninformed in light of the facts that have been presented by what is actually going on right now that we can literally see with our own eyes around the world.  

I can appreciate the doctor's attempt to be optimistic in light of this current situation.  But we can literally see what is happening around the world.  His educated "opinion" does not coincide with the facts that we can see.

Covid-19 is very infectious and it is irresponsible to pretend that everything should proceed as normal.

Do you want someone that has been exposed to Covid-19 to come in contact with your elderly parents or loved ones considering that the elderly population is more susceptible to complications from the virus?  Even doctors of young age have succumbed from Covid-19

There should be no run on masks, hand sanitizer, bleach, bath tissue, etc.  That is ridiculous.  But to pretend that this is business as usual is purely irresponsible. 

It will be interesting to see how people who have a cavalier attitude regarding this pandemic will respond once it hits their neighborhood.

the misinformation and cavalier attitude about this situation is mind boggling here.

there are countries that have literally quarantined entire cities and people  on this forum are saying this is not a big deal.  

there have been multiple cruise ships with breakouts of the virus and people suffering through quarantines.

i can't believe some of these comments.

on my cruise last year we had a room of college aged girls next door.  it was the worst.  they thought that they were the cast of glee.  they sang all day and all night in their room and on the balcony.  i was at my wits end.

they also had a bluetooth speaker playing songs from the frozen sound track when they were not singing.  RCI security didn't do anything about it.  i cant be the only one that was disturbed by this rude behavior. 

on a side note, this thread really exposed some people's technology skills.  lol

we bring uno and a deck of playing cards for every cruise.

i cruised the carnival dream out of new orleans in 2017.  we always book last minute and i could not argue with the price and the fact that would not have to fly to a port.  i had previously only cruised RCI with majesty as my first ship and nothing but freedom class ships after that.

we were warned not to do a carnival cruise.  we gambled and lost.  we should have listened.  

we made the best of it considering that we were on vacation.  but anyone saying that carnival and RCI are similar is not being truthful.  yes, both are floating hotels that serve food and entertainment but carnival literally does not have any wow factor.  (no pun intended)

everything was a step down.  ship, food, entertainment.  it was really sad.  and the dream is supposed to be one of their better ships.

we will never cruise carnival again short of some extenuating circumstances.

you have been warned.

i prefer to cruise this time of year specifically because most kids have just started school and are unlikely to have parents take them out of school for another vacation after just finishing summer vacation.

Can anyone offer and information about RIU?

Is it nice?  Is it worth the money?   Is Melia better?

The all adult club at RIU interests me alot.  That is why I am leaning that way.

how did you the flowers on board without them getting damaged.  there is a alot of hustle and bustle before actually getting to the state room.

hilarious thread.

i gained 18 pounds last year's cruise.

it came off relatively quickly.  i hope not to repeat that this cruise.  i am down 20 in preparation for this cruise.  i hope to get another 15.

On 9/11/2019 at 10:43 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

The filet has been gone for quite some time now as well as the “good lobster” (both are on the added charge part of the menu)

what do you mean by "good lobster?"

6 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

gammite, your posts have been some of the most angry on this thread, yet you accuse the others of being uncivil and attacking.  If you can't see the hypocrisy, it's probably best if you see your way out of this thread.  

i am not angry and have not conveyed any anger at all. 

and i have not leveled any personal attack against anyone.  also i was not the only person in this thread attacked for stating common sense.