EllaDuChien

30 minutes ago, tampadee said:

I'm sorry but I just don't understand.  I'm currently Platinum when we go to Vegas.  I am diamond plus with Royal Caribbean.  

 

Are my benefits increasing or decreasing?

It depends on whether you are Platinum through match or through actual play/spend in Vegas.  If only match, they are going down, if earned they are changing based on the new MGM Rewards program and it is debatable as to up or down.

1 hour ago, aubreyc1988 said:

Can you status match RCI status to Mlife status more than once? I status matched last year but expired 2/1 of this year 

Yep, you must rematch every year.  I usually don't bother unless I am travelling to Vegas for some reason, but then I just email them my C&A status and they update my MGM status before I get there.  Pick up a new card at the cage and done.  In 2021 I made several trips to Vegas so I earned Gold on my own but this is the first year that has happened...and probably the last now that cruising is back.

While it is totally true that there is no rhyme or reason, ours was applied for in August for a November cruise and we were approved exactly 60 days before sail date.  However, on our FB group, some people that applied the same week got denied and some didn't hear until 30 days prior.  

33 minutes ago, tytanbri said:

How were those refunded? Original credit card or as OBC?

Mine were refunded to the original form of payment.  Just a note, with the current protocols I would probably not say my companion was ill and could not make the trip.  I have the situation coming up and my plan is to say he missed the flight or say nothing at all and just check in by myself.

You can do this.  Either go to the spa with your sister to schedule her massage or both of you go to guest services after she has put it on her account and they can switch it to yours.  

2 hours ago, wendrfl63 said:

I guess I have been lucky.  I have had massages on every cruise I have been on and only remember getting a hard sell on one about 15 years ago.  My therapists have always been quiet and accommodating with my requests.  I won't go on a cruise without getting a massage.   That's actually the first place I go after visiting our room is to the Spa to sign up for the drawings.  I also got a free facial once as a "model" and it was an amazing experience.  I wish all of you had the same type of experience I have had.  In my opinion it is definitely worth it!

I've only had massages on my last two, but this has been my experience as well.  They will of course try to sell me products, but a polite no thank you has always been enough to drop the subject.

35 minutes ago, karriec said:

Make sure to let them know ahead of time if you are not interested in buying additional products.  My husband had a massage on our Dec. Pride cruise and they spent half the time trying to sell him product.   He was very annoyed.  

This does happen, no question.  On the Sunshine last week, I did get the product sales pitch, but she did give me my full 50 minute massage, the sales pitch was after that.  Hopefully your hubs did as well...otherwise I would certainly have said something. 

48 minutes ago, elklemi said:

I am not sailing on Mardi Gras but have a trip to Guatemala in February and loaded the VeriFLY app and it has worked great and I am 74 and have struggles with apps and all that stuff.  I would say they are having glitches getting it started and be patient as Ican see this will be a great time saver at airports or cruises with not having to fumble to find this paper or that one.  Once the bugs get worked out I think you all will love it as I have since it will make our lives easier.  You all enjoy your cruises.

Agree totally!  I have verifly for airline international travel and love it.  I am sailing Mardi Gras so I assume, as you say, that it is just not quite up and running yet.  I am so happy that they are using this though, hopefully they roll it out to other ships after the pilot program with Mardi Gras.

They will sit and talk with you before hand about where your tension spots are.  Let her know that this is your first massage, she will explain everything before she does it.  I am not sure about access to the rest of the spa on the Mardi Gras. 

49 minutes ago, hkbragg said:

We have a cruise coming up on the Mardi Gras in February. Verifly says our booking can't be found. Has anyone had success registering with Verifly after today's email about using it for Mardi Gras cruises.

I tried with my March Mardi Gras cruise and got the same message.

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival only recently extended the port testing from through January to through February.

 

For sailings departing through February 28, 2022, a limited number of antigen tests for vaccinated guests only will be available at the cruise terminal on the day of sailing. Advance reservations are required, and availability is on a capacity-controlled basis. A non-refundable payment of US$100 per person will be collected by the testing provider at the time the reservation is made (major credit cards and debit cards accepted). Guests who schedule their test for the day of sailing must still arrive at their arrival appointment. To make a reservation, please use the link designated below for your departure port.

Pretty sure you meant to quote someone else as my comment was about verifly, not testing.  But the answer is probably the same for both...its new so things may not be updated everywhere its suppose to be yet.

2 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I just went into my booking and order details and clicked on edit order. A page then comes up with a cancel order button. I am not going to do that, but it does look like it can be done (I have 4 items in that order and it does not appear that I can isolate only one item, I have to cancel them all.)

This is exactly how you do it.  But be aware, you cannot only cancel one item if you ordered multiple items at the same time, you must cancel the whole order.  Normally not a big deal unless you have dining reservations in the order as well, it will cancel those and your original time may not be available immediately to rebook.

1 hour ago, firedisney97 said:

I just wish the Verifly was available for all the ships.  Nice to have all our docs in 1 spot and I don't have to worry about my 15yo losing something from the line to the check in counter as it would all be on his phone.  We leave on the Horizon in 2 weeks

Heck its not even working for my Mardi Gras cruise.  I have Verifly for international travel and I have a Mardi Gras booking for March, but I can't connect the two even following the steps outlined to do so.  My cruise must not be one of the "select" Mardi Gras cruises...hopefully soon!

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

I'm so glad you had the tram for your dad.  Did you ask for the tram when you pulled into the parking lot or did it show up serendipitously? 

It just showed up. We did have to ask for a wheelchair to get through Bldg 324 and again to get from the bus to where the scooter pickup was, but both times the wheelchairs were there quickly.

6 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Where we parked is at the top of the photo, outside of the red circle.  Good thing I was wearing my sneakers!😜

No Kidding!!!  It looks way closer on the map.  We were right at the bottom of the red K.  A mini tram pulled right up to pick up my handicap father and they let me drive right up to the Union pier building to pick him up. 

37 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Hmmm, I don't know about Uber or private car.  Good question.  Anyone?

There is a specific Uber/Private Car drop off area.  It is in the parking lot directly in front of the terminal.  It is a *closer* walk, but still a walk.  I tried to snip it out and label it...Please excuse my handwriting!!  If you are parking, luggage pickup will  be in the Union Pier building.  Shuttle busses will take you from the parking lot to Bldg 324, then from Bldg 324 to the yellow building where you board.  Keep in mind that there is also a ton of road construction going on right now so not all of the roads around the port are open all the time.

1 hour ago, ninjacat123 said:

Hey I think I saw your room!  Was it above the bridge?  I saw people gathering on a deck (looked like deck 9) and we were looking slightly down at that and the bridge from deck 10.  Looked like an awesome room!  And happy bday!!

Yep, that was us!!  It was an amazing room and the balcony was awesome.  I wish the weather had been a bit better, but still we enjoyed hanging out there the first two days.

4 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

Yikes!  The last time we were on Sunshine was Nov 2016 so my memory is a bit rusty.  My DH thought the Liquid Lounge looked different but I thought it looked the same. @EllaDuChien any thoughts on inside refurbishments?

The interior refurbishments that I noticed were the stairwell and hallways mostly.  All of that copper sheeting is new and all of the artwork and carpeting in the stairwells is new.  The aft dining room has been updated (carpeting, décor, and furniture). I didn't really notice much else, but its been since July of 2018 for me so my memory is spotty.  

42 minutes ago, ninjacat123 said:

I thought the MDR was so pretty!

We sat at that big table right in front of the green disk, such a pretty room!  Totally agree on JiJi's and Cuchina.  We did not eat at the steakhouse this time as we had 10ppl and that was a bit hard to organize.  The rest of the nights we did eat in the MDR which was okay foodwise, our service was great!

5 minutes ago, dololie said:

Do you happen to know where handicap  parking is? How far is it from the shuttle to the ship? Do you have to take your life jacket to the muster drill. I had a spa room last time we went on the Sunshine I was disappointed they did not have a aroma pool. 

There was no specific handicap parking.  My father was with us and cannot walk more than 10-20 feet and have the handicap placard but were waived to regular parking.  HOWEVER, there was a golf cart type thing that pulled right up to our car and took us to building 324 for check in.  Then there were shuttles to take us from that building to the port for embarkation.  Our scooter pickup was in that building and my dad was able to ride the scooter up the ramp onto the ship.  Not the most efficient process, but it did work at least.

Like @ninjacat123, we also got a call two days before with an upgrade offer, mine for the Captain's Suite.  It was quite a room, and if you are ever offered it as a low cost upgrade...take it!  Not something I need everyday, and probably a waste as cold as the ride back to Charleston was since the giant balcony was wasted but still a great splurge for my birthday and a good place for all 10 of us to gather.  

3 hours ago, little britain said:

Have Walgreens pulled all appointments after 1/15??? Nothing showing up to book anywhere? 

The Walgreens in my area (Charlotte) only open appointments 3 days ahead.  CVS is 2 weeks out but Walgreens has always been much shorter in my area.

"I see in another thread, "Sunshine is Back in Charleston," @EllaDuChien is booked in a Captain's Suite for tomorrow."

You are correct...In my case, I booked a balcony and got a call on Monday that there had been a cancellation and did I want to upgrade for a stupid low price.  I am sure that this is a sign of the times right now, but there is no way I would pay for that suite otherwise so I jumped at the upgrade, even if it is only for four days!

9 hours ago, Ashland said:

Why can't they just email it to you...is that an option with CVS?

If you have a MyChart account, they will email you as well as text you.  If you don't have one, you only get a text.

9 hours ago, Lorey2007 said:

Do you wait for the results & do  they give you any paperwork or do they just text you & you print yourself?

I did not wait for results.  Took a test at CVS last night at 6:20 and had the Negative test result text by 7:30.  

13 minutes ago, gg255210 said:

do you have to have a cvs My Chart or can they just send an email to print?

They text you a link, once you open that link you can email it to yourself.  You do not need to have a myCVS My Chart account.

7 minutes ago, chrisby said:

I did look there, I can change my bid but that’s it. I did up my bid thinking that may trigger a next page asking for the card but it didn’t. I’m leery of canceling my bid and then not being able to enter one again. 

If you win your bid and your cc does not go through, Royal will contact you and give you an opportunity to fix it.  Make sure your email address is correct in your profile.

56 minutes ago, Lorey2007 said:

Rapid test (antigen) it says "not accepted for most travel"  Is this ok?

I have used this test for cruising 5 times so far.  It is accepted by the cruise lines.  It is NOT accepted for international air travel or entrance to Hawaii.  Other than that you are fine.  Just took one today at CVS for my cruise on Thursday, had my negative PDF results in exactly one hour.

Boarding on Thursday for my 50th Birthday celebration in the Captain's Suite!!!  Sailing with a total of 10 family/friends.  Working our way through our Covid tests...3 down 7 to go tomorrow. Super excited!!