With apologies to Good Ol' Bill,
To Sail or Not to Sail, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the restrictions and frustrations of outrageous policies.
Or to arms against the troubles on the seas
and by opposing end them.
 |
| Our Ship "Liberty of the Seas" Source |
So...There I was ...* (and by I, I mean We but mostly Mrs. J) scrambling to figure out what the latest CDC edict would mean for the upcoming Wine Cruise she's been organizing for the last year. The first bullet in that edict is "Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status."
Final payments had been made by the people signed up for the cruise and had been processed by Mrs. J. The myriad logistics/bureaucratic issues involved in transporting wine to the ship and getting it aboard had been handled.
Just to let you know it wasn't the logistics that were the primary issues.
In short, everything has been done that can be done prior to the cruise.
You know where this is going don't you?
 |
| Source |
Day before yesterday, Mrs. J is doing the washer/dryer mamba and is away from her phone. It starts ringing, I look at it and it's the winemaker. I answer and ask them to hold on while I bring it to Mrs. J.
Due to an "abundance of caution..."** they want to cancel the wine cruise. In his defense, he does have ongoing health issues, so getting Covid could be very problematic for him. Mrs. J asks him to hold that announcement until she can get with the cruise line and find out what options are available. She also offered to email the cancellation notice and options to the group. He agrees.
After an informative phone call, our guests have 4 options.
1. They can still sail, there just won't be any of the scheduled wine tastings/talks.
2. They can reschedule for a future voyage with no additional cost.
3. They can cancel and get a full refund, but with the recent ship cancellations the refund will take a while to be received. It's supposed to be received within 30 days, but Royal Caribbean has cancelled sailings for 4 ships, at 2-5K passengers per ship...(Beans, I know what you're thinking, "about $2K per...that's...a lot of money the cruise line is potentially losing).
4. They can wait to make a Go/No Go decision until NLT 48 hours prior to sailing. If Royal Caribbean cancels the cruise at any point prior to the sailing, they will issue a credit of 125% of the current ticket for a future booking. If Royal Caribbean hasn't cancelled, the guest can still cancel and get 100% of their cruise fare as a Future Cruise Credit good for use up to 12 months after the original sailing.
However, if the passenger hasn't canceled by that 48 hour point, their options are: 1) sail, or 2) cancel and lose their money.
Since Little J and DIL are here for their first R&R in a couple of years, and Covid requirements are much stricter in HK than TX, they want to go on the cruise. Mrs. J does also. I'm ambivalent, but will go with the flow.
We had 56 people signed up for the cruise. Of them, we've got 12 that have confirmed they're still going. About the same have cancelled and want refunds. The rest haven't decided or are taking option 4 hoping the Cruise Line cancels.
 |
| Source |
Lest you think the cruise lines and travel agents are taking this lying down, the President of the American Society of Travel Advisor recently issued a statement. Here's the money quote:
“If the average cruise ship were a U.S. state, it would be the safest in the country – by far. According to Royal Caribbean Group, since cruising restarted in the U.S. in June 2021, its ships have carried 1.1 million guests with 1,745 people testing positive – a positivity rate of 0.02 percent. Among U.S. states as of January 4, Alaska’s positivity rate is the lowest at 9.4 percent, with Georgia’s the highest at 38.7 percent.“Cruising is no more responsible for the spread of the Omicron*** variant than travelers from southern Africa were at the outset of the current crisis. But we continue to see knee-jerk reactions singling out travel for discriminatory treatment. Because the travel industry is regulated more heavily than other activities, when COVID caseloads rise or new variants emerge, travel takes the hit. It brings to mind the old saying, ‘if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’ This pattern needs to stop...."
Amen! Update Been looking at that percentage above and thinking something's not right. It, the percentage, is higher than it should be. 1745/1,100,000=0.00158 or 0.002 percent.
So, this time next Monday, I'll be heading to Belize, Roatan and Costa Maya. Yes, Beans, it is possible to sail in the Gulf and avoid Cozumel.
"Let's go Brandon" and by that I mean what they were really saying in the original version.
*SJC
**Damn I hate that statement!
** An anagram of Omicron is Moronic. Just sayin'
Added Bonus Picture and apropos of nothing whatsoever! Nope! Nothing!
 |
| Source |
Updated for Suz!
Gotta say I am really tired of this virus, and its many mandates which seemly change day to day, or hour to hour...it's a virus folks...It does whatever it wants...and our ability to manage, eradicate, direct, duck or dodge it is much overblown in our minds and on the MSM. The CDC keeps coming out with pronouncements that the rest of the country, or at least folks in healthcare, are thinking "No s**t Sherlock!!" Who'd thunk that bandanas and other pretty pieces of fabric were not adequate to block teeny-tiny virus particles...which would be why when your doctor is garbing up to do your surgery, he puts on a procedure mask, not a bandana...cause it will help to keep his germs out of your open wound...duh!!
ReplyDeleteNo one talks about the other, extremely effective methods of infection prevention including washing your hands frequently--like after going to the bathroom, before you eat anything, when you have been elbow-deep in something yucky, or before you touch another patient, and staying the hell home if you are feeling sick.
For crying out loud, we haven't been able to cure the common cold...why do we think we can stop or control a brand new virus?!?! Talk about hubris!!!!!
I am just sooooo tired of this stupid virus!!!!
Suz,
DeleteCouldn't agree more. And your comment reminded me of something I saw on Powerline this weekend. See Update above.
Lets not waste a crisis and the goal is to extend the crisis as long as possible. That's quite the ship there juvat, can just see you using that slide thing-a-ma-jiggy up top...........:) Good luck and have some fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nylon,
DeleteOn our "Practice" cruise a few weeks ago, they had to dismantle a portion of the slide to extricate a guy who'd gotten stuck. While I'm slightly more slender than he, I think I'll pass, JIC.
As to your first sentence, I hope there's a special place in Hell for those people.
I’m sure you’ll weight it all up and do what you feel is best for you, as we do, taking responsibility for our own decisions to ensure our safety and that of our wider community. I have lost several acquaintances and former colleagues to this stupid virus.
ReplyDeleteHDA,
DeleteExactly! My body, My choice! Oh wait....that only applies to killing the unborn. As I said above, special place in hell.
It is what it is, no matter how many faux scientists, bureaucrats, and politicians you throw at this problem, it ain't going away.
ReplyDeleteBut they will milk it for all it's worth.
Sarge,
DeleteI can think of a lot of things I'd like to throw at the "faux scientists, bureaucrats, and politicians". Most would be unpleasant.
I think they passed the point of Milking for all it's worth about a year ago.
Can we set the La Brea tar pits on fire and throw the faux scientists, bureaucrats and politicians at/in it in an attempt to extinguish and cover up said tar pits?
DeletePlease?
Well, that would be ONE good reason to visit California (other than Tuna Shaming I mean)
DeleteBeans - Capital idea.
Deletejuvat - Heh.
DeleteJuvat, similar to what The Ravishing Mrs. TB is going through with her vacations - besides our 2020 Italy which was called off (and we have credit which has to be used by this year; the other thing to bear in mind about credit is it will expire), her September trip halfway around the world was also called off and she is looking for a backup option there as well.
ReplyDeleteThe good news (if there is good news to be had) is this is happening to a lot of different companies right now, so it should not at all reflect poorly on Mrs. J or the Winemaker. I would guess that at least some folks were already expecting this.
Someday the full total of this mess is going to be figured out, and how much was overdone and how much money was lost and lives were disrupted. Hopefully, at that point, accountability will be called for.
Thanks for the last picture. I will never not unsee that now when I am driving.
TB,
ReplyDeleteMost of the folks on the cruise said they were expecting something like this, so I don't think it will reflect poorly either. I've had a feeling the Winemaker was going to bail for a couple of months now, so not really a surprise.
Someday? How about this November? Remember the Juvat Voting Rubric.
1. No democrat ever
2. No incumbent¹ (in the primaries)
3. No unopposed ever
That would be a good start.
Ah, the Rubric, which may or may not apply to your local area. Basically, if you really need application, it doesn't apply, as your vote is already counted...
DeleteI'm thinking of a Beatles song here.
DeleteI'm glad you're not living in fear. Yes it's a thing, but we can't live our lives in a protective bubble. It would be inconvenient if you did contract it while onboard, but that's not a reason to canx. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteTuna-shaming! 😄
Concern? Yes. Fear? No. I will take precautions I deem necessary. Falsie and his gang can Kiss my....
DeleteThanks, thought of you right away on seeing that picture. I wonder why? ;-)
Ah, yes, the dreaded Omnicron variant which acts like a really bad cold is... wait, how many people have died directly of the Omnicron? (crickets.... lots of crickets... lots and lots of crickets....)
ReplyDeleteThen there's the UN which is panicking, while all the kleptocrats within the UN are rubbing their hands at all the US money Fumbles McPudding-Brain's administration is slipping them.
Yeah, no.
There's no reason for any of this. The first Flu Cruise, with, what, 1 death with 'original' Covid, not a death because Covid, should have told everyone cruises are about as safe as they were before the Covidiocracy, more deadly due to food poisonings and food-borne illnesses than Der Flu.
Stupid world, stupid stupid world.
I hope you and yours enjoy sailing the Caribbean, missing totally (not) the wonderful exciting cartel-controlled Cozumel...
Sounds like fun as long as you don't have to pay your bar bill. To me, that ship is just a gigantic floating all-you-can-eat buffet. Which would be very bad. It is all-you-can-eat in some places, right?
Last first. Yes and a lot of people take advantage of that, those venues tend to be more like cafeterias. Mrs. J and I tend to go to the more restaurant like venues. You can still as many courses as you want, or as many of the same courses as you want. While we have done that a time or two, Steak and Lobster comes to mind, we don't generally.
DeleteWe also get the recreational drink package (Sodas, bottled water etc.) and not the Liquor package because it's way more expensive than we could drink to make it worthwhile (Since you asked $59/day/person). But a Scotch is a Scotch regardless of the Name on the bottle, so I do tend to ask for the stuff I know I can't afford at home.
Yep, the with/from accounting is particularly convenient for stoking hysteria, ain't it?
Kleptocrats a particularly apt word to describe the talking heads nowadays.
Kleptocrats, found in a kleptocracy, government by thieves for thieves and thieving from the peasants.
DeleteZackly!
DeleteNo wine? bring bourbon. It's: 1. a good anesthetic, 2. a good disinfectant, 3. found iced with sugan and crushed mint leaves (at sunset only).
ReplyDeleteOh, There WILL be wine. Every passenger over 21 is authorized to bring 1 bottle of wine on board with them. We will be taking advantage of that offer.
DeleteMedicinal Bourbon. I wonder if I've got enough time to get my Doctor to write a prescription.
We (wife, daughter and 2 granddaughters) have been contemplating a late spring cruise from Galveston much the same as the one you describe. I'm on the fence now but am leaning toward going anyway. Wife and I have never cruised (unless you count my cruises to and from Germany aboard USNS vessels) and want to try a short trip first. I agree that we as a populace are being scammed and although we took the first 2 jabs early last year we don't intend to fall for the "MUST BE BOOSTED" rhetoric. Ah well, time will tell...
ReplyDeleteWe've been cruising out of Galveston for several years now and haven't had many problems. Right now the biggest threat is fog, it can get pretty thick so getting in and out of port is affected. Late Spring that shouldn't be a problem. You might want to look into Express parking. It costs a little bit more, but the last cruise we parked literally right up against the terminal building. With roll off luggage, we were on the road 15 minutes after getting off the ship. The only drawback to Galveston is it's a Day's Sail to/from the next closest port. That pretty much forces you into a 5 day sail.
DeleteScammed is a good word.
Re the last picture: That is soooo very true!!! And kinda scary when I think back to how much alcohol I drank when in college...let me just say the college I went to, which shall remain nameless, was in a 2 college town...one big state university college on one hillside, and the little private college I went to on another...in the valley is the town. When I was there, back in the almost Dark Ages, there were churches on every street corner, and bars side-by-side down the main street. There was also a Newberry's about half way down the main street...but the rest were bars...bars for the college I went to, bars that were "Townie" bars, and bars which were patronized by folks from the other college. Tom Collins was a very good friend until I was introduced to Maker's Mark, and of course Mr Daniels was also popular. These days if I have 2 glasses of wine and 2 bourbons in a year, that's about the most I drink in a year.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my hands certainly have had A LOT of alcohol over the last almost 2 years for sure...and it has been a joke that us old nurses are going to die of liver damage even though we don't drink anything besides iced tea or water...on days that I see 6 patients a day, I'm using about 2-3oz of hand sanitizer daily. So I should not only buy stock in Purell, but also in Neutrogena as their hand cream is WONDERFUL as it doesn't have any heavy perfumes, absorbs in quickly, and my hands aren't greasy afterwords.
Maker's Mark is Mrs. J's (to quote Boron's comment above) antiseptic/disinfectant of choice. I'm pretty much a Scotch (Islay prefferably, but Highlands will do in a pinch) guy. A shot of Capt. Morgans Spiced Rum is my night light.
DeleteYour college town and career sounds quite a bit like mine. The way things turned out, I'm not sure I'd change much as it made me and got me to what I am. I'd do a little tweaking here and there, but nothing major.
I would agree on the tweaking--just a little but nothing major for sure. However, I promise your Capt Morgan's is safe from me...the one and only time I got sick there was a rum involved...to this day--40+ years later just a whiff makes me queasy!!
DeleteThat's me and tequila.
DeleteMB and I have had two sailings canceled since 2020.
ReplyDeleteOur next due date is in August.
The upside of the cancelations is that we're in really sweet cabins and still have additional bucks to spend on extras, thanks to that 125%.
Skip,
DeleteGood to hear that what they say they'll do and what they actually do coincide.
Upgrades ARE good, aren't they?
Hope August works out for you.
Hope y'all can pull it off!
ReplyDeleteWell, Mrs J and I will either be sailing or getting 125% this Sunday.
Delete