coldflame

23 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

I would  have preferred that they required 5-12 to be fully vaxed to cruise.  

How does this make any sense? Did you bother to listen on the FDA panel approval process for children? It's on youtube (about 4h long). Pfizer did not provide enough data, but was approved anyway because of data on young adults. And is the reson vaccinations aren't required for children 2-11 anywhere in the US.

On 11/4/2021 at 12:34 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

Last week Antigua required ship excursions for all people. We are sailing this month, and our previously booked ship excursion got cancelled. We had to book a 2x as expensive one. 

I see Antigua is no longer on the list:

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

The removed Antigua from December itineraries altogether due to, supposedly, pier construction.

On 10/28/2021 at 7:10 PM, Zingy2 said:

I am curious to know how "precisely" RCCL "Validates" an individuals submitted Vaccination card information, especially if the information is not uploaded into any local city, county, state, federal or international database, where it can then be accessed by authorized entities for validation.  This could prove to be problematic down the road for folks (Anton's situation being a prime example), where individuals are updating their vaccination cards with booster information, or having their cards replicated/replaced for bona fide reasons.  There are also locales around the country/world which do not have organized registry's that track an individual's vaccination status.  The only "official record" a person would have is their CDC COVID vaccination card. How, precisely, would RCCL validate that as well.

 

I believe while there is NOT, at least to the Public's knowledge a vaccination database, there certainly is a centralized vaccine serial number database. So it's possible/likely, they are checking whether that serial number exists first and then that it hasn't already been claimed by someone else in their system.

1 hour ago, LooneyCruzer said:

Nope

Not entirely accurate. It does depend on which islands or nations they're visiting. There are 5 destinations presently requiring cruise line SHOREX *regardless* of vaccination status. If you want to get off the ship, you must use cruise line shore excursion.

Some destination allow fully vaxxed folsk to their thing, some do not.

5 hours ago, Cruiser1862 said:

On prior cruises we only carry a copy of our passport off the ship and keep original in the safe. What do you do?  We’re worried when we go to beaches and want to swim that our Passports could get stolen. We are going on western Caribbean cruise to Mexico. Thank you

We keep our passports in safe. Only bring to shore cruise card, credit card and license.

5 minutes ago, ROYAL CARIBBEAN DUDE said:

Have any of you done this on your Royal Caribbean cruise?

 

I was very lucky to test out the sky-dive simulator onboard Odyssey Of The Seas!

 

Times like this why I love my job!

 

 

Hey Chris, good too see you're doing well. It's been a while since your last video so I'm assuming things are very busy in the Oddyssey

1 hour ago, SWACruising said:

After a 20 year hiatus, we are back on RCCL. Spent the last 20 years sailing mainly Celebrity (20+ cruises). My family and I are booked in 2 adjoining balcony cabins for the March 27th Eastern on the Oasis of the Seas. 2 kids ages 13 and 16.

 

The dining choices on Oasis compared to most of the Celebrity ships we've been on are overwhelming to say the least. We enjoy traditional dining where the servers get to know you but also enjoy the variety of specialty restaurants. Any thoughts on how you guys attack the dining plan would be appreciated including places you enjoyed and avoid.

 

Thanks!

150 Park, Izumi are the best of the premiums ones, IMO. Chops has been consistently undewhelming. Giovanni's is ok for lunch, but not worth it for dinner. The MDR at dinner time are probably one of the worst in this tier of cruising, service is terrible and food is even worse. Breakfast and lunch at MDRs is actually not too bad (better than the dealing with Windjammeer zoo, that's for sure).

Just now, jtappend said:

I'm really nervous about this as I just got my booster, and it is 12 days before my cruise. I have been fully vaccinated since March, and Royal's own website says you are fully vaccinated after your one shot J&J, so it shouldn't be an issue at all.  But I worried about this very issue - somebody misunderstanding what the rules mean. On the other hand, wouldnt it make more sense for them to have cruisers get the booster anyway - it can only help if their cruisers are more protected. I really hope this isn't an issue but I'll know in a week and a half. 

The only reason RCL is requiring the vaccine at all, in spite of state mandates against it, is because most destination islands, including the Bahamas, require it. I don't see any of the islands requiring boosters any time soon.

50 minutes ago, Ocean Cat said:

I wanted to get a booster shot tomorrow but after a call to RCL they said even the booster needs to be no sooner than 14 days from sailing( Nov 8 embarkation). Not sure why since a booster isn’t even required. I would have liked the extra protection of the booster. 

Boosters beyond 2nd shot aren't required by any destination country/island at this point, so RCL doesn't care.

Reminder, at least in our experience with WoW sales, it's usually not the best time to book on board activities and shore excursions. Last 3 times while the cruise fare was substantially cheaper than we had (and repriced accordingly) the shore excurisions and on-board activities were 15-20% higher than what we paid. Smart of RCL, but if you can wait a week or two, you might find the same activities for less.

On 10/20/2021 at 8:19 PM, Miggsoo3 said:

We traveled in August with our unvaxxed 6 year old. The kids club was operating normally with some covid protocols. First there were only three sessions a day 9-12, 2-5, 7-10 then anything after 10 you paid for like normal. Now the big change is you are assigned 12 hours to start the week and need to pick your sessions. Once the hours are used and starting on Day 4 the limits went away but there were still capacity limits in the kids club so if you didn't reserve a time and last minute your kid wanted to go you could call and see if they had space. In the clubs kids had to be masked the whole time. Now that being said my daughter loved it like she always does and and was able to go whenever she wanted.

Thanks a bunch for the input. It's reassuring. In regards to ports excursions, did y'all had a chance to walk around the port with your kid or were you "policed" to go straight to/from the ship after excursions?

Hey folks,

We'll be traveling with our unvaxxed kid, which makes us "mixed families" according to Royal. So we have some questions we could NOT find answers in Royal's website. Are kids' clubs operating as normal? Or are there new protocols in place for kids' club? The second question is: we will be forced to use Royal excursions, which is fine, but my kid likes to go shopping and eatings at the ports. We'll be allowed to do that? Or we can't leave the ship unless is in a "bubble excursion?" TIA

I've seen it in many cruises when they have the sale in the promenade. It's the junkiest and chintziest looking "gold" you've ever seen. I believe it's 14k-plated, not even solid. Calling it "gold" is gratuitious.

1 hour ago, neongoddess said:

Hi everyone!

 

My name is Jennifer and I have been on 7 cruises, including one last week! They have all been on Carnival so far. 

 

Now that RCI is back on the west coast, I am considering booking a sailing for May 2022. 

 

I am wondering how covid precautions on RCI compare to Carnival. On my most recent cruise (7 day Mexican Riviera on the Carnival Panorama), the ship had a 95% vaccination threshold. Everyone over 12 was vaxxed (unless they had a medical exemption) and tested, PLUS only 5% of the total onboard population (including kids) could be unvaxxed. Thus, there were hardly any kids under 12 onboard at all. 

 

My question for recent RCI cruisers is: is RCI also limiting the number of kids onboard their ships? 

 

Also, Carnival was sailing at reduced guest capacity (60% of normal). Is RCI doing this as well?

 

I have looked for answers to these questions online and I think the answer to both is "no," but I am not sure. Thank you!

No one has any idea what the protocols will be for December of this year, let alone May of next year. So many variables and so many decisions they're tuning month to month not only depending on covid situation at home, but also in the ports of call. I highly suggest begin checking Royal's website for official protocols around mid February of next year.

Very nice! Thanks fo heads up.

6 minutes ago, wayne_trisha said:

Missing from Harmony OTS on November 28, 2021.

Missing from Harmony in Feb'22 out of PC and Allure our of port everglades this december 😕 Not cool if this is an unannounced change.

46 minutes ago, TexasRon said:

We are regular visitors to Las Vegas and either take cash or a cashier's check for gambling funds when we head out.  We have an upcoming cruise and I am wondering how folks handle gambling funds.  On previous cruises I have used the ATMs, but the plan is to possible gamble a little bit more this trip if we feel like it.

 

Thanks for your input! 

We don't bother to bring cash except for the porter boy/gal tips. We get our grambling money onboard and that's posted to your on board account (for a minimal fee). 

Folks,

Just noticed the UDP is gone from both of our sailings (different dates, ports and ships). They're only offering 3-night package now.  Was this announced (and I missed it)? TIA

1 minute ago, atgood said:

Which one in Orlando?  The Grove, Gaylord Palms, or Solara?  It’s been over two years since we been to any of those waves.  Never heard of the restriction. 

Grove. Never been to the other two.

2 hours ago, atgood said:

Which two flowriders require at least a 42” board or longer?
 

There is no size restrictions on RCI.  However, they make you sign a waiver if you have any brand of board other than a Flowrider board.  

The one in Tampa and the one in Orlando require 42'' to use their FR🤷‍♂️

On 2/1/2020 at 1:12 AM, seanjulz said:

Board arrived yesterday took it for a spin today and loved it I think it will take me awhile to get fully used to it but so far I'm happy with the purchase can't wait to put some hours on it

Sick board. Do they allow boards shorter than 42'' in Royal? The two closest flow riders to me require at least 42'' boards. Wonder if Royal has similar restrictions?

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

RCI has had 100% solo supplement bookings available pre COVID - just perhaps not quite this cheap or on as many ships. By the price jumps, they obviously caught on that folks have booked enough.

Thanks for the info, much like OP I'm in a bit of a disbelief the deal I was able to get my sis on this sailing. My stateroom always packed with wife and kids, so I had never priced solo cabins. 

I have to wonder if this was a hush-hush promo or if it was a technical error. I'm truly hoping for the sake of my sister and y'all is the former, because if it's the latter, there's a fair chance Royal could cancel those bookings or demand payment for the difference. 🤞

2 hours ago, coastcat said:

Thank goodness I didn't wait. I had been booked on a 4-day Navigator cruise (December 6) preceded by a 3-day Carnival Radiance one. Carnival cancelled last Thursday and I immediately had my TA book me onto the December 3 Navigator sailing - same balcony cabin, same amazing solo rate. That rate is gone today...

Sheer dumb luck for my sister too. I just looked up the price for her room and it's nearly $900 more than what she already paid (yesterday). Fingers crossed they won't cancel her reservation (and y'all's either).

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🤷‍♂️