PSU_Redhead

21 hours ago, Eastern flygirl said:

I am sailing on the Mariner on Sat,  and was looking forward to his energy and entertainment.  

Same here! I was wondering the same thing since his Facebook page disappeared! I really hope he’s there for our sailing on Saturday!

3 minutes ago, latebuyer said:

If you are on pacific time, my shore excursions are now a lot cheaper! Sale has definitely changed, although not for dining.

Interesting,  because none of the prices have changed in the cruise planner for any of my three booked sailings. I’m so bummed!

I believe they send this email to anyone who has a child traveling with them. I got an email for each of my boys, and they are also both fully vaxxed. I ignored the email. 

Okay, I *know* I’m beating a dead horse here so please don’t come after me! 🤪 I’m on my phone and the CC search function doesn’t work properly on my phone’s browser. 

I sail tomorrow and for the first time ever, bought the deluxe beverage package. The gratuity that I paid when purchasing…does all of that go straight to bar and/or wait staff? Or is it split into a larger pool like the per person/per room gratuities? I plan to tip extra when ordering my drinks..but I’m trying to figure out how much extra I want to tip.
 

What do you typically do?

41 minutes ago, motheroftwocats814 said:

I know EmeD is accepted but all these others you speak of are accepted by the cruise line?

Yes

Just now, davekathy said:

So all three of you were able to use the same email address and test one after the other with the same proctor?  

Yes - I registered all 3 of us with the same email address and picked one appointment time, indicating that the appointment was for 3 people. We all swabbed at the beginning of the testing window, and at the end he looked at all 3 results. Fifteen minutes and we were done!

We just did ours this morning with OnPoint. We had a very positive experience. As soon as I purchased the test last week ($17pp), I selected my time slot (9:45 this morning), and then received an email to register for HealthTrackRX. As soon as I did that, I received the link to my zoom call for use at my scheduled time.I clicked the link at 9:40 this morning, and our proctor joined the call and started the meeting right on time. All three of us were complete in the fifteen minute window, and I had my official results in my email within the hour. 

So, of course we are sailing on the 14th. Is our testing window still only 2 days? Or 3?

2 hours ago, topnole said:

 

As far as already testing positive, you would need to either lie on the survey or report the situation and you will most likely be denied boarding. I myself would not lie on a survey to board a public carrier and possibly infect anyone vulnerable.  

May I ask what questions are on the survey? We sail in 11 days and I'm starting to feel SUPER stressed about the testing and possibility of being denied boarding! My kid came down with cold-like symptoms yesterday, but has tested negative twice now - so I know it's not COVID. But I'm terrified they're going to ask about symptoms and possibly deny boarding! This is so stressful.

Did you check your spam folder? Perhaps it found its way into there?

2008. Splendour of the Seas out of Venice. I fell in love with cruising instantaneously! 😍

3 minutes ago, rrraydon said:

A friend recommended her TA that she uses to book all of her cruises. In the last 3 weeks I booked 4 cruises. 2 on RC website and 2 with this TA. My price was the same as the website for the 2 bookings with this TA…no perks…no OBC.. nothing. 
I’m wondering why she uses a TA at all and thinking this is the last time I will. I see no benefit. 

Have you ever encountered an issue that required you calling Royal to try to fix it? If so, then you might understand the value in a TA! They make all the calls for you and handle all the issues for you so that you don’t have to worry about a thing! Sometimes certain agents run specials, as well, that might offer you OBC or some other small perks. But at the very least, it doesn’t cost you *more* to book with a TA - so why not give someone the business? 🙂

3 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Agree! Then as Birthdays go, think celebrated 4 in last 45yrs.

I literally never celebrate my birthday.  Nobody has ever done anything for it. But this year I turned 40, and he arranged a huge surprise for me. It’s provably only the 4th or 5th birthday I can remember actually celebrating in any way.  
 

He, on the other hand, practically celebrates an entire birthday month every single year. Everyone in his family makes a huge deal out of birthdays. He would be bummed for sure if I didn’t do something big for his milestone birthday. 
 

Sorry you haven’t had the chance to celebrate more birthdays.

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

As a general rule of thumb, guys hate surprises 😒 

Well, I think I know my husband pretty well after being married to him for 15 years. He loves surprises and would likely be sorely disappointed if I *didn’t* do something to honor this milestone birthday. But thank you for your input. 

5 minutes ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

Hmmm, that is odd--you should find a couple of options under "Gifts & Gear." Maybe try back later?  Unfortunately the website is notoriously glitchy. 😕

All I see there are chocolate covered strawberries (with or without champagne) to be delivered on day one, or a cheese tray (with or without wine), or the soft octopus travel set. 😩

Does RC do anything special for a birthday celebration if requested? I can’t find anything available for purchase in the cruise planner, so I’m not sure.

I currently have a surprise cruise booked for my husband’s 40th in January for us and two of his best friends. We will be in port on his actual birthday, and I’d love to have something fun planned for him for when we return to the ship!

5 minutes ago, CruiszBug said:

I'm using OnPoint for my Mariner cruise in two weeks. I was able to select a date and time for testing. I think I had it in my cart with my payment information? I think if you are using a credit card you can turn around and cancel if you don't see dates and times. There was tons of availability on the date I wanted. In fact, it does say you can change your mind and select another date/time (which I did) with no problem.

Thank you!!

Hey everyone. We sail in just over 2 weeks, so I need to figure out what we're doing for our pre-cruise testing.

Has anyone here successfully used OnPoint for a proctored home test to board a RC ship?

Also, if I am wanting to do a virtual test through them - is there any guarantee I'll get an appointment on the date/time I want? It seems to not show me appointment options until after you actually check out and pay for tests. I'm hesitant to pay for the tests until I know for sure we will be able to use them on the appropriate day!

Any insight? Thank you!

11 hours ago, robmtx said:

Love how this was the first reply! My GF lives off Strawberry Blonds when onboard.. and I even make it at home. She hasn't tried customizing it. I will say there's some inconsistencies in the bartenders when it comes to this drink. I've seen it delivered without mint, with a lemon wedge, etc.

 

On our last cruise I think I introduced the drink to 3-4 people. One guy (with Bev pack) kept ordering different drinks at Schooner bar. I asked why, and he was just trying them out. I told him to order a strawberry blond, and after that, it's the only drink I saw in his hands the rest of the week!

I’ve now added it to my list! I’m a strawberry blond and I’ve never had a strawberry blond drink - how is this possible?!? Lol

Hi everyone - 

We will be flying into HOU and staying near the NASA center for 2 days, then heading to Galveston for a couple of days pre-cruise. I'm planning to Uber/Lyft from HOU to our hotel near NASA, then do the same from our first hotel near NASA to our VRBO in Galveston. For those of you more familiar with the area, does this option make the most sense? Any better suggestions (I'm going with the assumption that renting a car will cost more than any other option)?

Post cruise, we are flying out of HOU later in the evening of disembarkation. I used Uber's estimator to get an idea of pricing for that trip, and it was over $150 (even though the ride in the opposite direction was closer to $40). Does anyone know why this is the case? Any recommendations for something that may not be as pricey?

Thanks so much in advance for any input you may have! ❤️ 

Hi everyone -

I'm seeing a ton of different tour companies that take you to Daniel Johnson's monkey and sloth hangout - many of which seem to come very highly recommended. But I don't really see much (if anything) about people who book directly with Daniel Johnson's. I initially booked directly with them (booking the Island Tour and adding on the zipline). However, I'm starting to second guess that choice since I see so many other highly-recommended companies. 

Does anyone have experience booking directly that you can share with me?

Thanks!

3 hours ago, FPP777 said:

Our liquor laws are so outdated 😐

Same with ours here in Pennsylvania!

2 hours ago, Meem47 said:

I sail on Liberty out of Galveston on 8/14 and pre-cruise testing still shows up in the set sail pass pop up box.

I’ll be on that sailing, too, and have been obsessively checking the set sail pass, too! Lol

On 7/24/2022 at 4:31 PM, Sea Dog said:

Cucumber Martini from 150 CP and Champagne Bar

Bellini (Trellis)

BBC Bailey’s Banana Colada

Kraken Lava Flow (Pina Colada with flavoring swirled in like strawberry or mango topped off with Kraken dark spiced rum)

Mojito from Boleros

Labadoozie same as Coco Loco

Coconut Mojito from Boleros Bar

Avacado Margarita from Sabor

Mango Tango

Frozen Mojito

Key Lime Martini

Citrus Margarita

Cold White Satin (on ice)

Miami Vice

Kiss on the Lips

Mudslide

Aztec Chocolate Martini from Sabor

Coconut Mango Daiquiri

Mango Daiquiri

Woo Woo

Orange Creamsicle

Lava Flow

Mai Tai

Lavendar Daiquiri

Caribbean Cooler

Coco Loco

Baton Rouge from Schooner Bar

French 75 from Schooner bar

Just took a screenshot of this so I can reference it on my cruise coming up in 19 short days! Thanks for the ideas!

My first drink on the ship is always a lava flow! Going out of Galveston this time, and it’s my understanding that we will have a limited drink menu until we sail a certain distance. Maybe one of your go to drinks will be on that limited menu since I believe the lava flow is not!

10 minutes ago, la_croisiere_s'amuse said:

They do offer specials onboard, but in my experience they are seldom as good as a decent sale ahead of time. Come to think of it ... I don't think I've ever seen anything that would compare. 

 

Unfortunately, prices for photo packages for my upcoming cruises are a LOT higher than I've paid in the past, but that's probably true across the board. 🙁 If you see a sale of 30-35% off, that's probably the best you will get so I would pull the trigger. 

Thanks for your input! The photos are definitely more expensive than I remember them being in the past. And in the past, I was able to purchase all photos...not just "Up to xxx" photos. But I'm a nut about having pictures, so I think I'll probably bite the bullet and buy them now during this "sale" they're having. 🙂