In this episode: The CDC advising some against cruising, the Federal Maritime Commissioner weighs in. Plus, why mask requirements may soon be coming to more cruise lines. First, one cruise line has such overwhelming demand they're doubling down...

MSC Meraviglia is a 172,000 gross ton cruise ship with a wide variety of bars, restaurants, lounges, and as we show here, pools.  In fact, there are so many pools and hot tubs we made this video just to show them off.  This was filmed during our August 2021 cruise to MSC's Ocean Cay in The Bahamas...

The best thing about today is that it was a sea day, and I love being able to just relax and explore the ship if I want.  The worst part is that it was the last day of our Meraviglia cruise, but I tried not to let that weigh on me as I lounged, while also finding some places on the ship I'd not yet noticed

Our one and only port of call on this three night cruise is to MSC's private island in The Bahamas.  The major cruise lines all have these types of destinations, but because this property was only recently developed, I was excited to see how it compares to others.

Today we boarded MSC Meraviglia for a three night cruise to their private destination, Ocean Cay.  It's a trip of firsts, which we'll discuss, and we're excited to experience and share it all.  Because this is a three night cruise though, I'm going to keep the live blog short, but will cover more details in the days after our cruise.

In an announcement leading to changes at many cruise lines, the Bahamian Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis signed an emergency powers order that prohibits cruise ships from entering Bahamian ports unless all persons 12 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

In This Episode: Embarkation delays for some cruisers, multiple COVID cases on Carnival Vista, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings granted injunction to sail 100% vaccinated, surprising stats about new ships in 2021...

The first (and only) full day of our cruise started with docking at Coco Cay.  Because this was my first visit to Royal Caribbean's private destination, I wanted to see it all.  Starting with complimentary in-room breakfast was a good way to save time and not oversleep so we could have a perfect day.  Of course we had plenty to do both on and off the island...

Today we boarded Mariner of the Seas for a two night simulated voyage from Port Canaveral.  We were fortunate to be one of the few invited, and we mean few.  With only around 515 guests on the 4,000 passenger ship it's wonderful to be onboard, and a bit like having the ship to ourselves.