BND

Nowhere in that document does it exclude testing for travel.

What are you talking about? What you highlighted is talking about employment purposes. So, let's post the question and answer which has nothing to do with the reimbursement requirement for other purposes. My employer requires that I test myself multiple times per week and send them the results as a condition of employment. Can I get these tests reimbursed by insurance? Plans are not required to provide coverage of testing (including an at-home over-the-counter COVID-19 test) that is for employment purposes.

The gold card benefits/amenities caused a lot of confusion for "gold" level cruisers who didn't understand the difference. Although I never understood how someone on their second cruise could possibly think they got all the amenities that suite cruisers did.

Loyalty status is printed on the card. For our last 2 b2b's one on HOTS and one on EN, we had blue cards with Diamond+ printed on them. But, they do change cards on a pretty regular basis, so who knows what it will be next.

Specialty restaurants also aren't as good as they used to be. Menus have shrunk and changed with fewer offerings. But, we would always leave them so stuffed because you felt you had to eat your money's worth, as in every course.

Bermuda has always been a more expensive cruise than others. They could have just billed the cruise line and Royal could have just added it to the cost of the cruise and people still would have booked and paid it. If $40/person breaks the bank, then I think there's other issues here. This complaint has displaced the whining about passport costs. I don't know why anyone would think the change was dropping the fee.

I've seen several posts on FB about people receiving theirs. I think this change will improve the bottleneck that was caused by the testing upload requirement.

Your being offended doesn't change the fact it's a marketing ploy and that Royal makes a lot of money off it or they wouldn't offer it. I have taken a couple of marketing courses as a business major and I remember vividly what marketing actually is and Royal is doing it well. Most who are complaining about the cost are still buying it so I'd say Royal has figured out that it's not really about the price. It's about the psychology.

So, there? LOL. That sounds like an adult haha. Just as your free stuff in the future is paid for by others. Whether it was a joke or not, I was just making a rebuttal point to your post. Talk about taking this too seriously. And, being condescending isn't attractive on anyone. So, how does a "cold joke" differ from other types of jokes? Is that even a term?

I did say "my viewpoint". People get so defensive lol. As I've said before, Royal only offers this because it overall, benefits them. Ever take a marketing class? There's a whole psychology behind this.

The mods deleted the post I responded to and I know why. I figured it would disappear when I read what that posted had written, but I wouldn't know about the AA meetings.

If someone wants to buy a drink package then that's on them. It's their option. It's not a subsidy if it's not required, but the reality is, we all spent a lot of money along the way to get to D and above. Drinkers do have a choice, so no thank you's are required. My viewpoint is people who buy the drink package for the most part are being very gullible. It's a marketing ploy that works on some, just enough to make it worthwhile to RCI to offer it. I order what I want on a cruise and we have never ever come close to the cost of a package. And, now, as D+, 5 drinks is more than enough. We also get 6 "free" bottles of water in our cabin when we board. But, be aware we spent a lot of money to get to this point.

We got the RoyalUp offer a couple of weeks ago and our cruise is 22 July so we're still 60 days away. Which means we got the email at about the 75 day mark.

It had an intermission when we saw it Oasis a few years ago. That's when we left.

We were on Oasis on a b2b. The first week, we had reservations and went hoping for the best. We left at intermission. We just couldn't sit through any more that day. The following week we went back at intermission to watch the rest and afterwards wished we hadn't. A lot of people left at intermission both weeks and others left during the show. People who love it try to convince others to also, but we just can't.

We saw that in NY in 2018 as a 1/2 price show after we'd seen one Broadway show and one off-Broadway show. It was hysterical. But, honestly, the funniest show we've seen was off Broadway also and that was "The Play that Goes Wrong". Everyone laughed nonstop. It has one set so could easily be done on a ship (It all takes place in one room). BTW, we hated Cats. And, we've seen a lot of Broadway musicals and a couple of plays. We used to go to NYC about every 18-24 months. Last time was Fall 2019.

Title says 6 nights.

We have been D+ for several years. We have done 4 cruises since restart. All were double points in a JS. First b2b on HOTS we got 56 points and on EN b2b in April we got 80 points. Our July cruise was booked outside the double points timeframe, but our Jewel b2b (13 days) is included so by the end of the year we'll have 543 pts. We always stay in JS. It's probably not too far off from what we would have had if there was no Covid and we had to cancel a b2b in late 2019 when I got hurt and had surgery for a broken ankle. At the rate we cruise, we could make Pinn in 3 or so years unless they move the ball, which of course is entirely possible with how double points have created a lot of top tier cruisers.

They couldn't have read the thread. Probably just decided it had gone that way lol.

Most women I saw in formal long dresses had flat or near flat shoes. Heels are never a good idea on a cruise. Too easy to slip on some of the floors (marble) or fall when there are rough seas. Highest heel I have ever worn on a cruise is about 2 inches and not a skinny one and maybe 3 inches on land. I wear only flats now everywhere (mainly due to knee injury that's still not 100%) but on cruises, I've always worn mostly flats. It makes me laugh to watch most women try to walk in high heels, especially really skinny heels.

If people quit buying it, they'll rethink their pricing. But, that won't happen. We've never bought it because in any type of calculation I can think of, it's never a good or even mediocre deal and we're in the US. BTW, as of today, that's $85 in US dollars and is similar to what I've seen posted. Royal offers the pkg because it makes them money, not to save you money.

I have no issue with people posting their own opinion, but they don't need to go after me because they don't like what Bermuda is doing. And since my original post was just there was a change, someone stating that people "thought" it was about dropping the fee was a problem with reading comprehension. And, really was meant to just stir the pot. For all of you that saw the title and post for what it was, You're welcome.

I've seen people wearing them.

I never, ever said it wasn't. But, it is what it is. Either pay it and go, or don't. It's a choice and we choose to pay it to cruise there. But, my original post was to just post the change to the authorization. I never said a word about the fee in the title or original post. I just posted the update. Others took off with cost, etc.

I missed "Bahamas". I thought they meant for the itinerary. Oops