Who's going next year?
Who's going next year?
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I saw it.Originally Posted by SteveSly
I walked into the Progject show right as they were coming onstage. That room was like an oven/incubator. I lasted all of 5 minutes before going out into the side hallway then left 20 minutes later. I was masked but didn't feel good about being there.
We also did a short cruise back in January and had no problems at all, so I would not worry too much about it assuming you are vaccinated and boosted.
Last edited by SteveSly; 05-11-2022 at 06:53 PM.
I am not making a definite commitment yet, but will very seriously consider it if dates work out for me. It was an incredible musical experience.
I suspect the Progject show is where it started. As you mention, back where I was located was standing room only and pretty packed. The whole room was full. I remember talking with quite a few people up close and personal and some of those folks have since tested positive. I suspect that show got the whole ball rolling. I stayed for the whole show and was not wearing a mask, nor were most of the people in the room. I had tested negative the previous day in the afternoon. Anyway.....just a guess.
It would be interesting to know how many cases of covid among the CREW the ships get, for comparison.
On another cruise subject entirely, I always laugh at the TINY shower stalls in the interior cabins (I assume when you pay more for a cabin you get a slightly bigger shower stall). That was a tight fit in that stall! Although thankfully it would be a much easier fit for me now than it was a few years ago. But probably still pretty tight just because they're so small. I'd like to see one of those cabins when four people are staying in it!
BTW, when I went on the first CTTE that I attended, I prepared by reading a lot of threads on the cruise forums. One thing that really cracked me up was people talking about their "butler." I guess they call the people who bring you room service, towels, etc. and do the turndown service "butlers" instead of something else, and a lot of people really seem to consider them their servants for the duration of the cruise, and talk about whether their butler was good or bad, etc. This is on friggin' Carnival Cruise Lines and such, not the QE2 or fancier ships! The people who work on the cruises seem to work very hard, and I have a lot of sympathy for them - it's not easy I'm sure.
No clue on the crew question. As mentioned before, they were all wearing masks, and I have been told that they get tested on a regular basis, so my guess would be that crew cases are low.
Regarding the showers, I think they are the same size no matter what room you have. It might be different for a suite, but we have done interior and exterior rooms and the shower size was the same.
Possibly. Will depend on the lineup, all else being equal.
Moderna x 4 for me, J&J plus Moderna x 2 for wifey.
Not entirely relevant, but it is in the neighborhood.
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/c...y-9/index.html
Interesting. The Bahamas are on the list at level 2 as well, which was one of the stops on the cruise.
That's lower risk than the US, according to the article. It says the CDC had the US at level 3 on their color coded map, even if they haven't issued a travel advisory.
Yikes, that's scary. Was the diabetes a factor in what the Drs said?
If you think of it as a cruise, it probably never will appeal to you (which is fine). It didn't when I first heard of the 2013 version. But, I think of it as a floating music festival where all the guests and artists are at the same hotel. It is a blast for a number of reasons, including catching over 30 concerts and hanging out with friends for a week. This was our fifth and, to JKL's question, the venues were the best of all the boats I've been on in the past. The pool stage is the least successful pool stage due to the setup of the deck, but it is still plenty big. The theater was excellent as was Studio B. While it is an ice rink on regular cruises, it is set up for viewing with decent theater seating for what I presume are ice shows and adding the floor seating in it had a capacity around 700 which meant having the flexibility of two large indoor venues which was good. Had there been inclement weather, it would have added flexibility in fixing schedule changes to bands large enough to play the pool stage. Additionally, it allowed for bands like Protocol to play their second set in an appropriately sized venue instead of the smaller lounge. The lounge, BTW, was about the same size as the lounge on the last RCL ship - but this time it was the smallest venue. I really liked this ship and would be happy to have it again. I know they used it on a Moodies cruise awhile ago and some folks didn't like the pool stage, but thought it worked really well.A cruise has never appealed to me. A prog cruise sounds like a week in the brig. Steve Sly, you've made reading about this cruise very enjoyable! Glad you had a great time!
RCL has in fact asked for people to share if they got Covid. The people blaming their time in Haiti (on a private island) are just looking for reasons to not blame them/us for going maskless indoors for a week and getting Covid. RCL makes the protocols and I thought they did the best they can under current conditions, and OTB also did what they could. So far I'm negative, but I'm 3x shot and had it over Christmas (hooray!) so maybe my body just said we'll pass this time around.I carried a mask for a couple days and even wore it some the first day, but will admit I stopped doing so on Wednesday when we had our first port day. I've seen people say their posts were removed on the cruise FB page, but there have been a lot of posts about covid so I don't think that has been an ongoing thing. I'm sure any business would generally prefer not to discuss it much, but such is life right now. I actually like seeing people sharing info about it as it kind of kicked me in the butt to test myself when I got home instead of going straight to bed which is what I really wanted to do. Of course, there are people screeching at others that Covid is just a little flu and stop sharing and...blah, blah, blah. I was on a shuttle to the airport with a loud man from Oregon who explained quite loudly that the vaccines were a gimmick that would get you hooked on them (really) and that he only got his a few weeks before to get on the boat - otherwise he would have stayed unvaxxed. Of course, he also explained how he could afford to retire comfortably and how he was a star running back on his high school football team 50 years ago. He explained everything. lol Thankfully, that was the only time I got to listen to him.
Protocol, FAT (Alex Machacek's trio), Zappa Band, Flower Kings, Lifesigns and Marillion were highlights. I caught at least part of a second show for all of those except the Flower Kings. The last show of the cruise was Stardust We Are in Studio B and it was a fantastic way to go out.
Edit to add - the McStine/Minneman set I caught was also a huge highlight.
Last edited by Mstove; 05-12-2022 at 09:10 AM.
Curious since no one uses their real names here, were you one of the guys with Wisconsin gear that I met on the boat?If you think of it as a cruise, it probably never will appeal to you (which is fine). It didn't when I first heard of the 2013 version. But, I think of it as a floating music festival where all the guests and artists are at the same hotel. It is a blast for a number of reasons, including catching over 30 concerts and hanging out with friends for a week. This was our fifth and, to JKL's question, the venues were the best of all the boats I've been on in the past. The pool stage is the least successful pool stage due to the setup of the deck, but it is still plenty big. The theater was excellent as was Studio B. While it is an ice rink on regular cruises, it is set up for viewing with decent theater seating for what I presume are ice shows and adding the floor seating in it had a capacity around 700 which meant having the flexibility of two large indoor venues which was good. Had there been inclement weather, it would have added flexibility in fixing schedule changes to bands large enough to play the pool stage. Additionally, it allowed for bands like Protocol to play their second set in an appropriately sized venue instead of the smaller lounge. The lounge, BTW, was about the same size as the lounge on the last RCL ship - but this time it was the smallest venue. I really liked this ship and would be happy to have it again. I know they used it on a Moodies cruise awhile ago and some folks didn't like the pool stage, but thought it worked really well.
RCL has in fact asked for people to share if they got Covid. The people blaming their time in Haiti (on a private island) are just looking for reasons to not blame them/us for going maskless indoors for a week and getting Covid. RCL makes the protocols and I thought they did the best they can under current conditions, and OTB also did what they could. So far I'm negative, but I'm 3x shot and had it over Christmas (hooray!) so maybe my body just said we'll pass this time around.
Protocol, FAT (Alex Machacek's trio), Zappa Band, Flower Kings, Lifesigns and Marillion were highlights. I caught at least part of a second show for all of those except the Flower Kings. The last show of the cruise was Stardust We Are in Studio B and it was a fantastic way to go out.
Edit to add - the McStine/Minneman set I caught was also a huge highlight.
I pretty much agree with everything you say. CTTE should not be thought of as a "normal" cruise. It is a floating music festival and a completely different animal. I also agree that Haiti is not to blame for the spread. As I have mentioned before, I did not realize it at the time, but looking back I believe my first symptoms appeared while on the island, which meant I have to have contracted it several days earlier. I am still of the opinion that the pre-show was the original spreader event, but that is still speculation.
I also agree McStine / Minneman was a highlight. I only caught the outdoor show, but it was amazingly good. Really happy that Randy has landed the Porcupine Tree gig as he is going to be great in that role.
Do I know you in real life?
I didn't mean to imply you were blaming the Haiti bit, but that has been a weird deflection by some on the FB site which I don't get (beyond wanting to find some excuse beyond spending a week on a boat largely unmasked).
I had a Wisconsin shirt on one day and a Brewers shirt another, so quite likely
I was able to only catch a couple songs of their first set, but that pool stage set was amazing. Funny how the different venues work for different artists (obvious, I suppose, but still interesting). I was looking forward to M/M but it blew out expectations. Also happy to see Randy touring with PT. Simon Phillips' Protocol set on the pool was really good, but the one inside was probably my favorite set of the week, though that is always hard to call.
Did McStine & Minneman do any covers?
Yes, I saw the same thing on the Facebook page of some people blaming Haiti which I disagree with.I didn't mean to imply you were blaming the Haiti bit, but that has been a weird deflection by some on the FB site which I don't get (beyond wanting to find some excuse beyond spending a week on a boat largely unmasked).
I had a Wisconsin shirt on one day and a Brewers shirt another, so quite likely
I was able to only catch a couple songs of their first set, but that pool stage set was amazing. Funny how the different venues work for different artists (obvious, I suppose, but still interesting). I was looking forward to M/M but it blew out expectations. Also happy to see Randy touring with PT. Simon Phillips' Protocol set on the pool was really good, but the one inside was probably my favorite set of the week, though that is always hard to call.
I think I met you guys in an elevator one day. I think there were 3 of you with Wisconsin stuff on and we chatted briefly about my wife also being from Wisconsin.
I did not see the Protocol indoor set unfortunately only the outdoor one. Just too many damn bands to see...........which is a good thing!
Not that I remember, but I only saw one of their shows.
No, Steve, we haven't met. Probably been in the same building a time or two, (Marillion, DeVos Hall, Grand Rapids, 1987) and less likely, Bell's in Kalamazoo, but if we both go on the Cruise, I'd love to meet you.
Last edited by moecurlythanu; 05-12-2022 at 01:17 PM.
Yeah, I am a different one with this scenario. The thought of any cruise has never appealed to me. That pretty much ends the discussion going forward. Add the word "festival" and that seals the deal for me. Festivals are just not my thing. As a concertgoer, I've never been into all-day/weekend events. Those events usually don't have enough interesting features to keep me entertained for the duration.
One of my all-time favorite bands have performed on their own cruise (Kruise) for the past 11 years. Not once has it appealed to me to be stuck on a boat with those fans. I have a nice subset of friends in every genre of music that I can hang out with at shows, but I've never been one to attend concerts with the intent of hanging out to socialize.
I enjoy these threads for the news and marketing points.
Not sure who filmed this, but the show was great:
I seem to recall that...but it is a bit of a blur at times.Yes, I saw the same thing on the Facebook page of some people blaming Haiti which I disagree with.
I think I met you guys in an elevator one day. I think there were 3 of you with Wisconsin stuff on and we chatted briefly about my wife also being from Wisconsin.
I did not see the Protocol indoor set unfortunately only the outdoor one. Just too many damn bands to see...........which is a good thing!
And, yes, it is a good thing for sure! I like the idea of setting your own itinerary, even though it means tough choices at times.
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