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Like everyone, I'm hoping for a slow return to sea beginning in November, but sadly don't think that will happen. While November would be better, I would be elated if there was a return in January!

Yupp, but that's 3 months of only 4 ships. I'm curious which ones they select

As @SpeedNoodles said, MEI definitely can work with Canadians. I have also found that many US based agencies can book for Canadians as well. However, choose your agent carefully. A good one is worth their weight in gold. And bad one, you cannot escape from even when you want to run. Don’t get swayed by low pricing. That is not all that matters sometimes.?

I'd be happier if it was December... ?

Yep. I buy my cruises from a US based TA and pay in USD. The direct RCL $CDN costs take an 'exchange cut' as do the $CDN credit cards. The least cost way is to online transfer CDN-USD and pay with those USD.

Don't tease @twangster!!...if only I had been cruising back when that was the case....there was a short period of time in 2008 as well

Many Canadian banks have US subsidiaries that offer CDN residents US based USD accounts and USD cedit cards. Transfers and payments can be done online eliminating the 2.5% exchange fee. RBC and TD have this service.

Some truth to that. But there's no cruise excursion that can get me to Alberta and back in time, so... (also, I've been rewatching TAR Canada, and it does a pretty good job of highlighting many, many places I've never been to in this country)

I will explain... If you are an RBC customer, you can apply for an RBC Bank account and RBC Bank Visa. This is different than a US dollar account. RBC Bank is a US soil bank based in Georgia (this is legally different from RBC Royal Bank, the Canadian soil entity) To pay your RBC Bank USD Visa...(in high level basic terms): + In your Canada based online banking, open a $USD savings account. (this is still in Canada) + Transfer CDN funds from your usual $CDN account to your fancy new $USD. Here is where the 'buy USD' exchange is done and online is your best rate. + Go to your RBC Bank (the US entity) and do a cross border transfer from your CDN $USD account to your US $USD checking account (or chequing for us north of 49 types) + Transfer from your US $USD checking account to your RBC Bank USD Visa to pay it. + You're done. No ultra crappy buy/sell rate and no 2.5% foreign exchange charge. There is an annual fee for the checking account, but what you will save more than offsets it. https://www.rbcbank.com/ Not sure what's going on these days, but you might be able to get this all setup online without having to go into the branch.

.....as long as its back before March 07!!!

^^^This right here is what some people don't realize. Also why we always pay in USD for our vacations. Unless we are vacationing in Canada, which never happens lol.

Right on...those we call the 'Junior Suite Days'.

There have been times when CAD has been greater than the USD. As a kid I remember taking a school field trip to the US. It blew my mind when I paid for some minor purchase in Canadian and I received more US money back as change. To a kid at the time it seemed like a perpetual money making machine. If we wait long enough who knows what the future may bring. Wouldn't it be cool to be paying less for a cruise and cruise planner purchases compared to Americans? One can always dream...

Thank you for this. I really enjoy looking at your pictures. Seeing the ones from Quebec (again) reminds me how I've only been there a couple times in my life.....and I spent my first 27 years living about two hours drive time from there. Goes to show how things can be taken for granted.

Been reading your review you linked... so far I'm about half way through. Thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for everyone's input so far.

As stated above....pricing. That's what got us to try MSC on the Divina. Nice aft balcony for half the price of the same aft balcony on the Navigator (both ships out of Miami for a New Years sailing). Enjoyed the ship very much. We then tried a YC cabin on the Seaside when it came to Miami. That is a different ball game. RCI came out later with the classes of suite cabins on bigger ships, but the pricing was too high for us. If you want to give it a try, get a YC interior cabin(yes, they do have them) and see if you like it, that's what we did. Then see if you want a YC balcony suite vs. an RCI Sky or similar. We have sailed in Grand suites and Junior suites, we wanted to try the YC "experience". At about $190 a day PP + tax, it was very nice, and on their newest ship. We have a YC booked for a 7 day Mediterranean sailing on the Seaside in the late fall 2021. Price is about the same, just under $200 a day PP + tax. With a different port every day, I won't miss the balcony. RCI wants $250 a day PP just for a lead in balcony on a Med sailing. We still sail with RCI mostly, but without wearing blinders.......... And, YES, YC is a ship within a ship..........

My itineraries from my Empress ----> Odyssey sailings were Eastern Caribbean to Southern Caribbean (both 8 night). So maybe "Caribbean" is close enough.

MEI can (and does) work with Canadians.

YES!!!!!! I'm hoping @Matt is right about her staying in Baltimore. Here's the key difference between her and Enchantment ..... The specialty restaurants. Enchantment only has Chops, While, my beloved Lady G also has Giovanni's Table, and, my favorite, Izumi ---- which sits on the backside of the VCL ---- amazing views from there (pictured). In a year of shitty news, we really needed this.

If you have the option to take this cruise in 2021, use the Lift & Shift option before final payment to move your booking over to the same cruise for November 2021. Gets you a few benefits compared to a straight-up refund: Price is locked at the rate of your current booking, as long as you take the same cabin class and category that all passengers are currently booked in; if you cancel now and book the later trip at some future date, you'll be paying that sailing's current rate If you do it before the current final payment date, you can still cancel that booking later on with no penalty, as long as you do it before the new sailing's final payment date No need to make the current sailing's final payment as long as you Lift & Shift before Aug 31, since you now have the new sailing's final payment date I think that by that time in 2021, the US will have finally gotten its spit together and we may even have a vaccine. But if you're dubious about sailing resuming even then, I would advise to go ahead and take the full refund now before final payment. Once you've passed final payment date, you can't cancel for a refund without penalties unless Royal cancels the sailing itself and offers 100% refund. Any cancellation done by you and not Royal after final payment must be done for FCC if you want to get back 100%; cash refund will still be subject to the usual post-final-payment cancellation penalty schedule.

Although there are a lot of things on the MDR menu I enjoy, one of the things I like most about it is the chance to try something I don't eat at home. I always try something I haven't or wouldn't normally eat at home. Whether it is an appetizer, salad or entrée. Being that the food is already paid for, I don't feel like it's a waste of money to try something I might not like.

@Neesa I can't answer about whether RC accepts copies. But the county I live in allows you to request an original birth certificate via mail (would probably need to get the request notarized), or via a company called Vital Check. You might want to see what the options are for the county you relocated from.

Well my guess would be Mariner. RC has said all along the short Bahamas cruises would probably be first. Second quarter would hopefully add Harmony. My main interest is what is Miami going to do? I’ve got a May Symphony that is replacing my canceled October Symphony which replaced my May 2020 Symphony. Hoping 3rd times a charm!

That is the savings for us right there. We do not pay it off in Canadian currency. We pay off our US Visa with US currency, which we exchange at our local currency exchange (or train station also offers great rates). The local currency exchange offers rates that are considerably lower than bank rates so that is the savings. RBC allows you to open a US bank account and we basically call our local currency exchange, tell them how much to transfer over, and they transfer the amount into our RBC US account. From there the Visa is paid off and you are exchanging at a lower rate than the banks. Land vacations...over-rated lol

As the article states, theyre only planning on allowing 4 total ships there. I'd imagine that RCL will get a slot, now the question is, which ship?

I would think this is one of the things that the healthy sailing panel will be addressing. The number of logistics they will be dealing with is truly mind boggling!

Proving this point, I have read reviews that Allure, Explorer and a bunch of other big, new ships are "tired" or "in desperate need of a refurb".

I am still on that Nov. 9 NAV cruise (and the one immediately prior, as well) ! ...but it is a casino comp so I cannot L&S it. I will wait it out and get a refund once it's cancelled.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/08/19/no-royal-caribbean-still-has-not-sold-empress-of-the-seas

Lifted and shifted Nov 9, 2020 cruise on Navigator to Nov 8, 2021. Still Navigator on same itinerary. A big thank you to @michelle for being proactive and getting a great deal for us. ?

@monctonguywas referring to cruising on Grandeur out of Baltimore. About 900 miles, so a two day drive. Tolls, gas, meals, and one overnight hotel stay each way is less expensive than flying round trip.

But @monctonguy said 2-3 years of restrictions. Ouch! So maybe May 2022 is safe?

Wasn’t for me. I wanted to change my 7 day W Caribbean to a 7 day eastern but my MEI TA was unable to make that happen. I wanted the cruise I already had booked but the opportunity to get an insane deal on an OS on Harmony was too good to pass up. So after the L & S, I rebooked the original cruise! 2 for the price of 1. Ports are different even though both are W Caribbean so it’s all good!

Considering that for thanksgiving last year the pricing was thirty percent of what it would have been on Royal, I’d definitely give Seaside or Meraviglia a try. The pools on Meraviglia were more numerous than in most royal ships, and we never had a problem getting chairs.

Personally, I feel really good that I don't have any cruise planner purchases. I don't think I will bite on this one.

I have ALWAYS saved money booking in USD for flights and cruises(and usually flying from the US)...you must not be looking in the right places..I think I have booked once with Costco for the gift card in CAD..lol...and you dont need a US bank account or credit card either..lots of ways around it.. our dollar has been on the up swing as well.....I hope no one on the CERB is booking cruises anyways..wait till their tax bill hits next spring..lol…...

Great news..really going to try to get down to do a cruise on her once the borders open for us...dont want to miss out on the chance!

I was guessing November for Europe schedule. Will be keeping a sharp eye out for those 2022 sailings so I can see what's available for Norway / Iceland and eastern Med. Don't tell @Lovetocruise2002 ?, but I'm getting so desperate I'm even considering doing a B2B O-class sailing, if they offer alternating eastern and western Med on consecutive weeks like they do with the Caribbean over here! I just want 2 weeks on a ship, ideally in a Jr. Suite or better so I can also get some catching up on C&A done. And of course, that would also mean CK for dinner on O-class!

Sailed Seaside when she came out, not as good as Royal but at about 1/3 of the price i was very happy with the experience for what we paid.

We faced these exact questions two years ago when the Seaside first came out. As cruisers who are mainly loyal to Royal and suite snobs, I couldn't believe the prices of YC and the perks that came with it. We booked a sailing over the summer of 2018 because we were waiting for Symphony to show up and there were no Royal sailings at the time that appealed to us. My detailed thoughts are here. Quick summary: The Seaside is definitely not Royal and YC is most definitely not Royal Suite Class. Even the Balcony rooms in YC are comparable to a JS at best. The food quality in the Top Sail restaurant was good, but does not hold candle to Coastal Kitchen. The lounge was nice though and their YC sundeck is way better than Royal because there is dining up there. That was probably the only thing that YC does better than Royal. Shows were not great. Once you see one, you've seen pretty much all. It was an fair substitute, but not something that we would do again.

This post has been up for over an hour and there’s still no reaction from @coneyraven? ???

Which ship? Solarium Bistro? Symphony: Ovation: Or are you talking about Radiance or Vision class with a cafe in the solarium?

While we're waiting to come out of warp, I looked down at my watch. It was 5 o'clock.

Hello! In October, we did a RCCL cruise that included a stop to Key West. We did the train hop/on off (May also be called the conch hop on/off - I just remember it being more of a trolley). It was very affordable for our family of 3. Our son was 12 at the time. It was great to have the guided tour and be able to hop on/off at any stop. So we hopped off at the stop by the “Southermost Point in the Continental US.” Was too crowded to really get a family pic, but we found a high ledge near it to snap a quick pic verses the 30 people deep line. Anyway, we also had lunch at that stop at the Southernmost Beach Cafe. If you don’t mind sitting outside verses the covered patio, service is much quicker! There are umbrellas at the table. But it’s right on the beach. Very affordable, good food, and a great view! (It’s a block down from the trolley stop). We then did a longer than realized walk to the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park Beach. Walking in was like $2-$3 per person. Very affordable. Reviews of the area said this was the nicest beach (and it was!) there was also restroom facilities. There are a ton of picnic tables too. We initially put our items at an empty table. But then shady characters (who weren’t swimming) sat at that table (verses the empty ones??) So we grabbed out items and moved down the beach. So be careful of theft! In lieu of walking back (as the nearest trolley stop was a mile or so away), we did a cheap $5 uber back to the trolley stop. We then hopped back on and continued the rest of the guided tour! You could uber to the beach too, or enjoy a walk. It’s all residential walking to the beach from that particular trolley stop. It was so nice to do what we wanted on our own time. You can even stop at the popular museums verses paying a higher fee through RCCL. Our family of three paid maybe $45-$50 for the guided tour, beach experience, and shopping experience (as the first/last trolley stop is in the middle of all the shopping action!) Saved a lot of money that way. And lunch was maybe $30 (but typically you have to pay for lunch separately anyway on excursions!) It was an AWESOME experience! Highly recommend. Just be sure for any non-US ports that you do a RCCL excursions. The excursion places that RCCL uses internationally have to use US regulations to be included on their excursion list. Safety first!! ?

Snails are disgusting slithering creatures and I will continue to do my part in their demise. We MUST keep them on the menu for the sake of the planet and those that loath all things slimy!... Just trying to do my part!

@Matt 's "perfect" MDR menu:

I will always credit @WAAAYTOOO for her advice on star class luggage when arriving at the port. “DO NOT surrender your bags”. LOL

That's beer, right?