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The Latest From The CDC on U.S. Cruising 5-13-21
May of 2021: CDC Issues Phases 2B and 3 of the Conditional Sailing Order
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released guidance for cruise ships to undertake simulated voyages with volunteer passengers as part of its COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate application. With the issuance of these documents, cruise ship operators now have all the necessary requirements and recommendations they need to start simulated voyages before resuming restricted passenger voyages. In addition, this release includes the COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate application, which is the final step before restricted passenger voyages.
In the final phase of the CSO, cruise ships operators with an approved COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate application will be permitted to sail with passengers following the requirements of the CSO. CDC does not anticipate releasing any additional documents for Phase 4. Instead, CDC will be updating online documents to incorporate changes to quarantine, testing, color status, and lessons learned from simulated voyages.
CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising following the phased approach outlined in the CSO. This goal aligns with the prospective resumption of passenger operations in the United States by mid-summer, expressed by many major cruise ship operators and travelers.
THEREFORE,
Cruises could resume operations in the U.S. starting from mid-July without restrictions if they can ensure nearly all passengers and crew members have been vaccinated.
With this latest guidelines from the CDC: "Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings."
"Cruise operators may also allow fully vaccinated passengers and crew members to "engage in self-guided or independent exploration during port stops, if they wear a mask while indoors."
Other Cruise Info on Specific Cruises for Americans:
On May 1, 2021 Carnival's Costa Cruises resumed cruise operations with its first sailing from Italy, kicking off its summer season, which includes voyages to parts of France, Spain and Greece.
On May 7, 2021 Carnivals' AIDA Cruises announced the company is extending its Canary Islands season through July for cruises aboard its AIDAperla vessel. Its new voyages depart from Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria on June 12, 19 and 26 this year.
Carnival's Holland America Line said on May 5, 2021 that it "has received approval to restart cruising from Piraeus (Athens) in August with four departures aboard Eurodam." Bookings for those cruises have been available since May 6.
In early April,2021 Norwegian Cruise Line announced its return to service, with new sailings through Europe and the Caribbean starting on July 25, 2021 The company said it will begin operations at a reduced capacity aboard its Norwegian Jade, Joy and Gem vessels.
Passengers can book seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles aboard the Norwegian Jade from Athens (Piraeus) beginning July 25, 2021.
Week-long Caribbean voyages are also available from Montego Bay in Jamaica "as of Aug. 7, 2021 on Norwegian Joy or from Punta Cana (La Romana), Dominican Republic on Norwegian Gem beginning Aug. 15, 2021," the company said.
In March,2021 Royal Caribbean announced new seven-night cruises aboard the Adventure of the Seas cruise ship that will depart from Nassau in the Bahamas starting in July,2021 The cruise line said its new sailings will require adult guests to be "fully vaccinated against COVID-19."
Mexican Resort Review
May 11, 2021
MEXICO VACATION & MEXICAN RESORT REVIEW: by Neil, of NeilsTravel.com
I just returned from an invitation to visit a Mexican Resort that is primarily a Fractional Vacation Ownership, Timeshare Resort, The Vidanta Resort in Nuevo Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta).
The Vidanta Resorts primary focus is for vacationers to have an unbelievably luxurious time, and if you are not a Vidanta Owner, sell you a fractional ownership opportunity, if they can.
(I did not evaluate the ownership/timeshare opportunity. I did NOT take a timeshare resort tour as I have a private negative opinion on timeshare purchases. Frankly, I believe timeshare purchases are more expensive and more prohibitive than simply going on a vacation to any resort. Why? Because you pay an initial purchase price of Thousands and then you pay annual maintenance fees, which is usually about what a week at any normal resort would cost you anyway, without paying the thousands upfront. Plus you have to join a third-party exchange site in order to book & exchange, more additional fees. I know there are lots and lots of travelers who have purchased timeshares who love them, so good for them if that is what they wanted to do. I also know there are lots and lots of travelers who wish they had never purchased a timeshare. So, the beauty of our freedom is we all get to choose for ourselves. Timeshares might be right for you and your travel needs; they are just not for me!)
Vidanta Resort in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico.
A little background about Vidanta. Vidanta boasts an impressive portfolio of entertainment and destination resorts along the most coveted beaches in Mexico, including Nuevo Vallarta, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos, Acapulco, Puerto Peñasco, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta. Luxury resort hotel brands, include The Estates, Grand Luxxe, The Grand Bliss, The Grand Mayan, The Bliss, Mayan Palace, Sea Garden, and Ocean Breeze, with more under development. Vidanta’s real estate division has built and sold more than 2,000 vacation homes in Mexico. In addition, Vidanta Golf, the largest golf course operator in Mexico, offers the finest selection of courses in Latin America, including two Nicklaus Design Golf Courses and the Norman Signature Golf Course in Nuevo, Vallarta, available while staying in Nuevo, Vallarta.
See Pictures at bottom of Website
This Nuevo Vallarta Resort is the largest of the Vidanta Groups Resorts. It houses The Estates, The Grand Luxxe, The Grand Bliss, The Grand Mayan, The Bliss, and the Mayan Palace. These six (6) individual luxuries brand hotels/condos all have exceptionally large buildings with 14+ exceptionally large hotel/condo buildings, and more hotel/condo buildings are being built on this incredible resort property, currently.
See Pictures at Bottom of Website
Each resort Hotel/Condo is different and offers individual amenities for their guests & owners. What was interesting was depending on which hotel/condo brand you stayed at, dictated which resort amenities you could use throughout the resort’s massive property. For example, the Grand Luxxe is the resorts most exclusive resort hotel and the recipient of the AAA 5 Diamond Award. When you are a guest or owner at that property you can use all the different hotel/condos outside amenities. If you stay at the next level of resort hotel/condo, the Grand Mayan, which was a 4 Diamond AAA Hotel Award winner, you can use everything at the resort’s property except for the Grand Luxxe’s exclusive amenities. And if you stay at the Grand Bliss, you cannot use the Grand Mayan’s lazy river etc, So, you really need to decide what amenities you would like and choose the right resort hotel/condo to make sure you have the right resort amenities you want. But I have to say, this resort was so large with such an amazing beach that I honestly think it would be hard to go wrong with any brand hotel/condo at this resort. Just decide if you want an exclusive pool or a lazy river or if the awesome beach and local pool at your chosen resort is enough.
See Pictures bottom of Website
The resort property has 40 restaurants and lounges to choose from, including high-end eateries to casual restaurants to an authentic Mexican restaurant along with outside dining options where the ambience and views are mostly pleasing. In addition to the water slide, lazy river, wave pools & kiddie waterpark the BEACH was the draw, and the Vidanta Group did an awesome job of laying out the beach with tons of high-end thick cushioned loungers & covered palapas all over the beach. For those of you that have been to other Mexican Beachfront Resorts, where you were hounded by locals from begging to selling, that will not happen at this owner & guest resort. They have such a large staff they totally police the resort and no one except their staff and guests are on their resort property & beach.
See Pictures Bottom of Website
You will notice I keep saying this is an exceptionally large resort, and you had better like walking as there are wooden and concrete walking pathways to all areas within this resort. You can walk miles and enjoy the resorts lakes, fountains, views, beach areas etc. And this resort is landscaped to the maximum from plants to flowers and groundcovers which are all beautiful.
See Pictures Bottom of Website
The good news for guests who do not want to walk everywhere, the resort has an internal free transportation system. The resort has a fleet of golf carts, from the standard 4 passengers to a ton of 14+ passenger extended golf carts. The resort golf cart transportation has marked specific routes and stops all through the resort. They have 9 + different specific routes that take the resort guests from their hotel/condo building stops to dozens of resort areas and attractions including restaurant areas, shopping areas like their own grocery store, liquor store, candy store & their own bakery. You will experience the resort transportation service upon entering the resort as you are taken by golf cart to your specific hotel/condo building for check-in. As and their transportation center and taxi & uber pick up center, is not exactly close to any of the resort hotel/condos, thus you need their internal transportation to go from one area to another or walk on the wooden & concrete pathways through the resort.
See Pictures Bottom of Website
The Grand Mayan lazy river was great, nice and wide and was approximately 42” deep, it took us 20 minutes of floating to go around the lazy river from our entry point to the same entry point again.
All of the pools were great, none had a deep end, so no diving was allowed as they were all about 4’ deep, we especially liked the pools along the ocean/beach because of the ocean views.
See Pictures Bottom of Website
The beach was large and wonderful with lots of loungers and palapas and staff lifeguards on duty, as the Pacific Ocean can have some large waves from time to time depending on the season & weather.
The restaurants inside the resort had great menus and since you are captive inside the resort the food & drink pricing are higher than outside the resort, but honestly everything we tried was very tasty and while we thought some proportions were small, we still enjoyed the convenience of dining onsite. We spent an average of about $25 per person for the breakfast buffet and an average of $45 per person for dinner. For lunch we usually used the pool cafes and waiter service, and the average snacks and drinks were about $30 per person, of course depending on how many drinks you ordered. We usually stopped at 2 drinks since they were about $9 per drink.
We used taxi service multiple times to see Nuevo Vallarta & Puerto Vallarta and all the Taxis were very reasonable from about 200 pesos (approx. $10 each way) to get to various places in Nuevo Vallarta, to 250 pesos each way to go to various places in Puerto Vallarta, approx. $13.00 each way for 2 adults.
See Pictures Bottom of Website
We dined at the Happy Lobster in an old residential section of Puerto Vallarta, and the area was old and honestly a little depressing which made me wonder what this restaurant would be like. Well it was excellent and from the food tray presentation they show you so you can see what you are going to get, to the drinks, everything was great. We had one of the best fresh seafood meals we have ever had. Fresh lobster, Sea Bass, Scallops, mussels, along with fresh vegetables and several good margaritas.
So, eating outside the resort was better than inside and after paying the taxi fare round trip, it was still a little less expensive than inside the resort. Plus, it gave you the opportunity to see the area and meet other people.
THEREFORE, all-in-all I really enjoyed the resort and all its amenities and beauty. However it is a timeshare resort/fractional ownership resort, that occasionally has rooms/condos available for nightly rates and no doubt they will hope you agree to take a timeshare tour, but you are not obligated to do so unless you agree. Most travelers avoid the high-pressure sales tactics of these type of resorts.
The bottom line for me was it was a awesome resort with good entertainment and lots of water from slides to the lazy river and the Pacific Ocean. The resort was not all inclusive and I think I spent more than I would have at other all-inclusive resorts in Nuevo Vallarta & Puerto Vallarta, after buying breakfast, lunch & dinners along with drinks.
The only bad luck or miscommunication I had for my Vidanta visit, occurred at check-in. But before the check-in while I was still in my Travel Agent Office back in Kentucky, I was offered and paid to upgrade for a 1-bedroom suite condo, at the Grand Mayan. I was told the Grand Mayan Resort was the closest resort to the beach & ocean and I would have the most amazing ocean front views. So, I paid their exchange group the upgrade fees, who was the same original group who had invited me to come visit the Vidanta Resort. So, back to check-in at the Grand Mayan Resort, Guess what? Upon check in to the Grand Mayan, I was told no ocean views were available even through they were only at 35% occupancy, and when they had an ocean view 1 bedroom suite condo, they would call me to move. Of course, I checked every day with their front desk about the ocean view change for the first 5 days and finally gave up and spent 8 nights without an ocean view room/condo. My room the 1 bedroom condo looked at other buildings and sky lifts but no ocean view of any kind. And interestingly while traveling on their internal transportation, I ran into others who told me it was normal to not get an ocean view room/condo, as they save those for people who take the timeshare tours and who end up purchasing the timeshare. That they move people from non-ocean view rooms/condo into ocean view rooms/condos when they buy as a closing tool. I do not know if that is true, but multiple people we met told us the same story, and we did not get an ocean view room after we thought we paid for a ocean view room. And I honestly had to wonder if they would do this to a travel agent what would they do to an unsuspecting traveler? I'm guessing the same thing! So, one bad thing but lots of good things!
SO, I loved the Vidanta Resort, Staff & Service, did not like that it was an ownership timeshare resort but had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Nuevo Vallarta & Puerto Vallarta. Would I pay $36,000 and more for a 1-bedroom suite condo along with thousands in annual maintenance fees and special assessments? Absolutely not! Would I like to visit it again & again…without having a long-term commitment or ownership responsibility? YES! And I hope others who love 4- & 5-star resorts will visit Vidanta Resorts too, but only purchase an ownership opportunity, timeshare if they truly are convinced the opportunity and costs are within their budgets and what they genuinely want, as if you google Vidanta Resort Timeshares you will run upon a lot of negative timeshare reviews from people who claim to have had problems and regret their purchase. But like I said, I’m also sure there are others who have purchased a Vidanta Resort timeshare opportunity who love it…. again, freedom of choice!
Happy Traveling and Enjoy! Neil@NeilsTravel.com
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Cruise Line Updates as of 04-19-2021
ARE YOU READY?
June 2021 Cruising to Caribbean to Resume
CALL US NOW to Book your Cabin! The earlier you call the better the cabin!
Please Note: All Passengers over 18 must have been vaccinated for Covid (proof required). Children under 18 are required to provide a negative covid test result within 72 hours of embarkation.
Royal Caribbean, Celebrity & NCL have announced they will resume Caribbean cruises starting in 3 short months, June 2021. What Great News!
Celebrity Announcement:
MIAMI (March 19, 2021) – Celebrity Cruises announced its long-anticipated return to cruising today, as company President and CEO, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo confirmed that the revolutionized Celebrity Millennium, the ship at the forefront of the fleet’s $500 million modernization program and featuring the exclusive open-air hideaway The Retreat®, will homeport in the tropical paradise of St. Maarten beginning June 5.
Beginning March 25, eager travelers can turn their vacation dreams into a dream vacation when booking opens for new seven-night itineraries departing through August to some of the best-loved Caribbean island destinations. The ship will sail with vaccinated crew and will be available to vaccinated adult guests and children under the age of 18 with a negative test result within 72 hours of embarkation.
Guests can take advantage of special air and sea pricing offering exceptional savings on all Summer 2021 St. Maarten sailings starting at $1,999* per person for a veranda stateroom. The offer applies to new bookings and flights must be booked through Flights by Celebrity and prices include airfare and taxes. No promotional code is needed. Just give us a call as soon as possible as the early cruises gets the best cabins.
Celebrity Millennium: Inaugural Date: June 17, 2000 * Revolution Date: February 9, 2019 * Occupancy: 2218 * Tonnage: 90,940 * Length: 965 ft * Beam: 105 ft
Cruising Speed24 kts.
More Vidanta Resort Pictures Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico
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