Abandon Ship?

[3dog2kidmom]

1. One way halls/stairs on the ships - Sure
2. Designated hours that you can use your balcony - Nope. I am going to use my balcony every minute I can/want to
3. Mandatory vitamin D/zinc supplements - I already take vitamin D but ok
4. BMI limits - absolutely not
5. Elevator use by exception only, with sign up times, etc. - no way
6. Quarantine times before and after embarkation - won't bother me, but after should be individuals' choice
7. No daily cabin cleaning/turn down service - no way; would be ok with reduced service at least daily but not eliminated
8. Sign-up times for shuffleboard, miniature golf, ping pong, or basketballs - we don't use any of these things so sure
9. No one on upper decks during breezy conditions, since germs could carry further, faster - NO
10. Confinement to quarters during certain times of day - heck no
11. No childrens' clubs - no. we don't have small children but sail Disney because the kids are otherwise occupied for the most part
12. Two meals per day, to accommodate more distanced dining with an option for an additional charge room service for a third meal - no way, but would be in favor of utilizing cabanas and room service to decrease number in main dining rooms. Possibly open up more Palo and Remy reservations (distanced) as well.
13. Lottery system for shows and movies with a guarantee of one show per passenger - no. I've seen most of the shows, so what if we get drawn for one we've already seen and not for a new one we have not? Perhaps let guests pick two and lottery the rest on a 7-night as an idea? Movies could be 1st come 1st served and distanced. Close when to capacity. Tickets required, and to be requested in advance.

 

[brentm77]

I am a "no" to most of these. At the beginning of the pandemic, I would have been more willing to do many of them. I just needed to get on a cruise ship. I missed it so darn much. I still do. But, since then, we have had a safe and fantastic trip to WDW, and have a condo at the beach booked for March. I realized that while cruising DCL is my all-time favorite vacation, I don't want to cruise until I can have a mostly normal experience.

Beyond no more self-service at the buffets (hopefully a permanent change) and maybe extra sanitation and rapid screening, I don't think I would tolerate many more restrictions of any kind. I am not particularly bothered by masks in many circumstances (we wore them for four days at WDW without much bother). But the unique activities of a cruise would probably make masks a no-go for me. Essentially, they would be pointless unless strictly enforced in all areas. And let's face it, a big part of cruising is about eating often and in many places on the ship, sunbathing, and swimming. So you would either need to take away the joy of many experiences, or have them in so few places and times that you don't get any benefit.

My wife is recovering from a long-term illness. So things like elevator restrictions would be a problem. And since she isn't confined to a wheelchair, it wouldn't be obvious that she should be excluded.

In short, just about any intrusive restrictions would keep me for sailing for now. Since there are plenty of other options, I can wait, and keep my sailing experience nearly perfect.

 

[Cheburashka]

Since we haven't been able to cruise, I've discovered the pleasure of beach vacations. We really enjoyed Disney's Vero Beach Resort last month, and are going to return there in November. We're adding a few days in Miami to that trip, as well.

We also have Disney's Hilton Head Resort booked for July. In addition to our days at Hilton Head, we've booked a few nights before and after in Charleston and Savannah, respectively.

In a way, for us it's nice that DCL is down for the count right now. It's making us branch out and explore other vacation options we haven't tried before. There is a lot out there, even now, to explore that we haven't yet seen. Our 7th Disney cruise would have been fun, but it also would have been just more of the same.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

thank, I work from home but I'm near burn out stage and would give anything to be somewhere different for a few days. I live in a suburb of Dublin and had booked a hotel in Dublin city centre, about 10km from where I live for a few days this week, but my country has just gone back into a full lockdown again so the hotel cancelled my stay.

I have never been on a cruise and had booked my first DCL cruise on The Magic in July 2019 for September 2020. That was cancelled. I am now re booked for the September 201 Norwegian Fjords cruise and really I don't care what restrictions or new policies DCL implement, I just want to be on the ship.

I really hope you get to sail on your cruise. Even if we love our job, we all need a break. Are you allowed to go out for a drive? We visited Ireland for our honeymoon. (Oct was 25th anniversary.) If you have to be trapped somewhere, it's a gorgeous place to be trapped. Not really funny but maybe a nice day trip with some fresh air will help.
Back in September, when I realized I hadn't been to the ocean all summer (1 hr drive for us) and fall temps were approaching soon, we decided to meet our closest friends at the beach. We took separate cars, didn't hug and kept our chairs away from each other. By the time we were ready to leave, we realized we never even went in the water! It was so nice to just see and talk to people we love at a distance. You don't have to be taking risks to see friends.

 

[jane01jp]

Since we haven't been able to cruise, I've discovered the pleasure of beach vacations. We really enjoyed Disney's Vero Beach Resort last month, and are going to return there in November. We're adding a few days in Miami to that trip, as well.

We also have Disney's Hilton Head Resort booked for July. In addition to our days at Hilton Head, we've booked a few nights before and after in Charleston and Savannah, respectively.

In a way, for us it's nice that DCL is down for the count right now. It's making us branch out and explore other vacation options we haven't tried before. There is a lot out there, even now, to explore that we haven't yet seen. Our 7th Disney cruise would have been fun, but it also would have been just more of the same.

Same. We spent 8 weeks at Isle of Palms, SC over the summer. Getting ready to head back.

 

[jtntx34]

The absolute devotion by Disney fans sometimes baffles me—especially as they continue to cut services and raise prices. Do not be fooled. This was all happening long before the pandemic.

I heard someone say last year just after the pandemic began something I found extremely enlightening and have contemplated many times since. He was talking about how everyone just wanted to “get back to normal.” And he posed this thought, “What if what we accepted as normal was never supposed to be normal in the first place?”

 

[sethschroeder]

“What if what we accepted as normal was never supposed to be normal in the first place?”

It's all a moving spectrum through time.

Things are not normal until they are. Go back far enough and someone would say cooking food on a fire would never catch on.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I really hope you get to sail on your cruise. Even if we love our job, we all need a break. Are you allowed to go out for a drive? We visited Ireland for our honeymoon. (Oct was 25th anniversary.) If you have to be trapped somewhere, it's a gorgeous place to be trapped. Not really funny but maybe a nice day trip with some fresh air will help.
Back in September, when I realized I hadn't been to the ocean all summer (1 hr drive for us) and fall temps were approaching soon, we decided to meet our closest friends at the beach. We took separate cars, didn't hug and kept our chairs away from each other. By the time we were ready to leave, we realized we never even went in the water! It was so nice to just see and talk to people we love at a distance. You don't have to be taking risks to see friends.

thanks no I can't go for a drive. I don't drive and we are not allowed further than 5km from our home for non essential reasons, so I can't go on a day trip somewhere. Where I live is not a tourist area, its a suburb, and there are no forests, parks or the beach within my 5km. Where did you visit, as I doubt you would say where I live is gorgeous. This is what I can see in all directions from my house. The neighbourhood I live in, Americans would call the ghetto or the projects, low income, high unemployment, high density multi generational families.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

thanks no I can't go for a drive. I don't drive and we are not allowed further than 5km from our home for non essential reasons, so I can't go on a day trip somewhere. Where I live is not a tourist area, its a suburb, and there are no forests, parks or the beach within my 5km. Where did you visit, as I doubt you would say where I live is gorgeous. This is what I can see in all directions from my house. The neighbourhood I live in, Americans would call the ghetto or the projects, low income, high unemployment, high density multi generational families.

View attachment 549876

In the US that would not be called ghetto at all, just a typical suburban neighborhood. It only becomes ghetto when they're not cared for and maintained.
We were gone 12 nts incl fly time, rented a car and stopped at whatever B&B we could find as the sun went down. From what we saw, your country is beautiful and the people so warm and friendly.
Our trip:
arrive in Shannon
Adare
Killarney
Ring of Kerry
Blarney Castle
Cork
Waterford Crystal Factory Tour
Boyle
Kylemore Abbey/Connemara Natl. Park
Ashford Castle (1 night)
Galway
Cliffs of Moher
Dromoland Castle (1 night)
fly home from Shannon

 

[BadPinkTink]

In the US that would not be called ghetto at all, just a typical suburban neighborhood. It only becomes ghetto when they're not cared for and maintained.

well I didn't post a photo of my actual neighbourhood, but something similar. The not cared for and well maintained version of the above photo is what my neighbourhood is. I got mugged at knife point 2 streets from house

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

well I didn't post a photo of my actual neighbourhood, but something similar. The not cared for and well maintained version of the above photo is what my neighbourhood is. I got mugged at knife point 2 streets from house

I'm sorry. That must be terribly frightening. I hope the police caught the person. We have that kind of crime in most US cities and usually they are not caught.

 

[jane01jp]

I don't drive and we are not allowed further than 5km from our home for non essential reasons, so I can't go on a day trip somewhere.

Is there an exception for exercise? I usually walk in excess of 10 km per day, round trip. I guess a person could go around and around a shorter circuit.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Is there an exception for exercise? I usually walk in excess of 10 km per day, round trip. I guess a person could go around and around a shorter circuit.

no, the only exceptions are for work or medical reasons or other essential reasons like food shopping or court appearance. There are Police checkpoints everywhere and you have to have a letter from your employer or other work related document / ID or medical appointment documents or something to prove why your journey is necessary. At the weekend, the Police checkpoints at the Dublin mountains, hundreds of people were given fines as they were outside their 5km without a valid reason. The CMO has basically said not to leave your house unless you really really have to.

 

[jane01jp]

no, the only exceptions are for work or medical reasons or other essential reasons like food shopping or court appearance. There are Police checkpoints everywhere and you have to have a letter from your employer or other work related document / ID or medical appointment documents or something to prove why your journey is necessary. At the weekend, the Police checkpoints at the Dublin mountains, hundreds of people were given fines as they were outside their 5km without a valid reason. The CMO has basically said not to leave your house unless you really really have to.

I hope you are soon free from all of this.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I heard someone say last year just after the pandemic began something I found extremely enlightening and have contemplated many times since. He was talking about how everyone just wanted to “get back to normal.” And he posed this thought, “What if what we accepted as normal was never supposed to be normal in the first place?”

A year ago this week we were on the Wonder doing a Southern Caribbean cruise. I have the Timehop app and for days it's been showing me last year's vacation pictures and all I keep thinking is that I wish things could go back to normal. When I say normal, I mean being able to go on vacation, be in public and not need a mask, having my kids play in the sand, head to head with a stranger and not needing to give it a second thought. Being able to eat dinner inside a restaurant without fear. These are the things I miss and things I want to have back. Yes, Disney is expensive. And yes, many of us would jump through a lot of hoops to reclaim the magic we've lost. I look at these pictures and want to cry. I want these times back. I want normal back. And I can't conceive that these things I miss weren't supposed to be normal.

 

[jane01jp]

And I can't conceive that these things I miss weren't supposed to be normal.

Amen! Not "new normal." NORMAL!

 

[Neptune's Fork]

I think #4 BMI limits is pretty intrusive. That's akin to having to get on a scale before boarding.

Probably more accurately, extrusive. Also, a scale isn't necessarily the best measure of BMI, A person could be in really good shape and because muscle is heavier than fat, that could throw that off if just measuring weight.

 

[jane01jp]

Probably more accurately, extrusive. Also, a scale isn't necessarily the best measure of BMI, A person could be in really good shape and because muscle is heavier than fat, that could throw that off if just measuring weight.

Agree. Just to keep this on track with cruising, it has been my experience on DCL cruises that the buffets are usually more crowded than the fitness center.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I will say, though, I don't gain weight on cruises and I eat what I want while there. I think we naturally counteract all those calories just walking around on the ship and excursions.

 

[jane01jp]

I will say, though, I don't gain weight on cruises and I eat what I want while there. I think we naturally counteract all those calories just walking around on the ship and excursions.

Same. But, I usually do two workouts a day while on board. I tend to be a very efficient user of calories - kind of a human Prius.