MaddyandMax

On 10/10/2022 at 1:57 PM, BennyBrun said:

That line at guest services!  WOW

Was on the boat with you the week of October 9.  Found myself in this picture! LOL

Just got off the Oasis on Sunday.   My entire family is mixed vaccinated.  There was no problem.  This is my second cruise since covid.  A lot of countries (Canada for example) have mixed vaccines.

17 hours ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

They had Laser tag but not sure about Quest. You need reservations for Laser tag.

Thank you!

Thank you for the review.  We are on Oasis on the 9th.  Hopefully going to Bahamas and not back to Canada LOL

Did you see Laser Tag or the Quest taking place?

Oh man,  starting to get slightly nervous over here. We are sailing October 9 on Oasis out of NJ.  As a Canadian I really don't want to end up cruising back to Canada! LOL LOL

The Key for my sailing - Oasis Oct 9.22) is 40% off at for $24.99.  Regular price is $41.99! I just personally do not understand the value.  To each their own 🙂

11 hours ago, sailor05 said:

Since the return from covid they've jacked up the prices. My sailing for Oasis in October is "on sale" for $78. That takes 6 drinks to break even. Since I get 4 free diamond drinks that means I'd have to drink 10 a day EVERY day to break even. There is definitely days I hit that but certainly not every single day.

We are going on the same cruise! I wonder if the ships have anything to do with this.  This is my first time on Oasis class and everything is more expensive.   I was on Anthem just this March and got the drink package for $56.  This time the cheapest price I have seen is $72.99.

On 8/26/2022 at 12:03 PM, Travel Bear said:

Thank you all for the replies.  We sail 10.9.

We will be on the same sailing as you.

See you aboard!

I could be wrong but this is what I saw under cruise passengers on Bahama's website.  I have zero interest in fighting with anyone.  I gave disclaimers on my posts that this is my understanding of current procedures based on what I have read online.  I could very well be wrong.  The key phase I was referring to is "enter a port".  I think there is a lot of miss information happening across the board as everyone changes their protocols.  Hopefully in the coming weeks things will get clearer.

We use a US agent and always book in USD.  We do this because the US pay less taxes.  I just use my US TD Visa and have a USD account so I don't have to pay the 2.5% exchange rate.

Just now, papaflamingo said:

You make an excellent point, but it could be that unvaccinated people will simply have to stay on board when the ship is in any port requiring the vaccine.   

All the cruise lines are starting to follow suit.  It seems we are starting to learn to live with Covid and return to a more normal life.

I agree.  It's time.  I'm vaccinated, boosted and wear my mask.  But I still believe it's time.

I think the biggest problem, based on my understanding, is some ports like Bahamas do not allow ships to come into port with unvaccinated passengers over the age of 12 (excluding approved exemptions).  So I think just having them stay on the ship at certain ports is not currently an option.  Maybe that is something that will change soon.

My thoughts and I'm no expert... I understand that Carnival and others who have dropped all vaccine requirements have put it the onus on the passenger that they need to know what the ports require.  What is going to happen when people start showing up and are denied boarding because one of the ports doesn't allow unvaccinated passengers (and I'm not debating the need or not of the vaccine)?  When the press gets a hold of people being denied boarding and not getting a refund because Carnival has put the liability on the passenger they are going to have a field day. 

In this regard I totally get why Royal is doing what they are doing.  This way passengers ahead of time knows 100% if they can sail. No one is going to show up at the port and say they didn't  know.  They are stopping any bed press before it starts.  I'm sure the requirements for other ports will drop as soon as they are able.

Right or wrong I am only speculating on the business decision of Royal.  I understand that financially Carnival is in trouble.  Perhaps they did this to boost reservations in the short term and get some cash flow.  I guess we'll have to see if it pays off for them.  If ports quickly drop vaccine mandates it may pay off. 

35 minutes ago, mom2miracles said:

I’m Canadian and we have only used Switch Health. We can test multiple people at a time. They will focus on one person at a time for their test and then move along to the next person. Easy peasy.

I'm Canadian and for the life of me I can't find anything regarding a video test with Switch Health.  Do you have a link?  Thanks!

14 hours ago, KATHYMAC68 said:

How far in advance can you fill this out? My cruise is 60 days away.

Canadian here.

ArriveCan is needed.  It's super easy and takes minutes as you can scan you passport.

Yes  most of the information can't be filled out until 72 hours before but you can download the app and get your info prefilled any time.  I did mine months before the cruise because I did it for my entire family.  Then when you go to fill it out when you are entering Canada it's super easy and fast because everything is all ready to go.

4 hours ago, nelblu said:

My August 20th Oasis sail CP balcony for 3 is almost $1k more.  It pays to book early.

My cruise June 30 is also way up.  3x what we paid almost.  But our TA's company had pre-bought a ton of rooms and we booked at the right time.  Best deal we have ever gotten on a cruise.

My understanding is there is a nursery on all ships for the under 3's but it is not a drop and leave. It's more of a play area.  But I've never cruise when my children were under 3 so that's just what I've been told by other passengers.  They used to have babysitting for that age but not all ships have it.  On the Anthem in March I remember talking to a parent saying it wasn't offered because they didn't have enough staff.  I'm pretty sure the in-room babysitting is completely gone now but maybe someone else will know 100%.

The 4 year would not be with the 2 year old as the 4 year old would be in Adventure Ocean.  Which is free until 10pm and then around $10 a hour until midnight.

Both my Oasis cruises (October 2022 and June 2023) the drink package is $98.  It's almost always on sale for $77.99.  Much higher than the $58 I paid for it on Anthem this past March.  It would be nice for some consistency across ships but alas, understanding business, I know that will NEVER happen as long as people are still buying it.

I'm booked to cruise on Oasis June 30.  Just did a quick search and I'm still seeing it on the site when I search for it and it's still showing on the cruise planner.  We got a steal of a price on that cruise.  I won't be happy if it's cancelled LOL

When we were on the Anthem in March my husband was able to book our entire family that was split into two rooms.  Our reservations was linked - I think that's the key.

In March was also not tested.

So from the responses it appears at least in 2022 this was not something that was done.

36 minutes ago, jerseygirl3 said:

I didn't realize testing for unvaccinated was always 3 days prior to embarkation.  That doesn't even make sense.  It would be more prudent to have the unvaccinated test closer to embarkation, not later than those vaccinated, as the unvaccinated have a higher risk of contracting the virus and getting sicker (that statement is not up for debate; I'm a nurse and I get the daily totals of hospitalizations and deaths broken down by vaccinated vs unvaccinated).   I don't get that rationale;  as a vaccinated passenger I can't be tested any sooner than 48 hours, which makes things more complicated when traveling overseas. 

Unvaccinated passengers have to get a PCR test.  The turnaround for that is much longer.  Here in Canada it could go past 3 days.

Sorry - for clarification - I was referring to the comment from someone about how its possible that Royal may get rid of testing but require you to have had a vaccine/booster within 270 days. The reference to Canada was not because I'm cruising there but because I live in Canada and boosters haven't been approved for my youngest.

Apologies for the confusion.

2 hours ago, hal2008 said:

 

Coming back to Cruise related policies, expectations are that testing requirement will be removed pretty soon while vaccination requirement might tighten (shot within 270 days)

This concerns me a bit.  My youngest (10) is vaccinated.  His last shot was December 29. 

Canada has not approved boosters for this age group and I doubt they will before our cruise in 2 months.  He will be 285 days from his last shot.  I'm assuming then he'll be classed as unvaxxed and have to go through all the extra testing.  Which he will gladly do but the extra expensive of a PCR test at $150 plus and the pier testing, makes me anxious and sad for him.

We took both with us to be safe.  They only looked at the QR code.  But if you have both I'd bring both.

22 hours ago, OnceAMarineAlwaysAMarine said:

To clarify, it did not say the arrival time was 12:00, it said my excursion which was originally at 8:15 was changed to 12:00.

This is probably to accommodate other boats.  When we were there in March there was 5 other boats so Blue Lagoon had to change all the times so everyone could go.  They only have so many ferries and room on the island.  When you are there you will hear announcements for other cruise lines to leave the island. Looks like you'll be one of the last which was nice when we were there.  Once the last carnival ship left it was empty and quiet.

We also originally booked and it was 8 or 9 am.  We thought we could spend the whole day there.  It wasn't until we got the time change on the boat that we learned that the tour is actually only 4 or 5 hours long (including 2 20 min ferry rides).  All the other private islands are the same, in case you want to cancel and book another one.