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Just booked the May 15th, 2022 Alaska cruise on the Serenade. I have some FCC from our cancelled cruise May 2020. Kelley from MEI is my TA. She has been excellent on getting my deposit extended due to RCCL error. She has gotten me a better rate then advertised. Then today, Sunday, I get an email from her that she got an even lower rate with a refundable deposit. If anyone is on the fence about getting a TA please know I'm more than happy, Kelley is awesome! First time ever using a TA

I was thinking about last year on new years day when we drove from ontario canada to st petersburg florida to stay at the inlaws , so that on sunday we could drive to miami and board OASIS for our cruise ... loved everything , enjoyed doing the escape room and launching the rocket , why take the elevator go down the Abyss . heres hoping that we can do this again soon

The Escape Room. I've never done an activity that made me feel so incredibly stupid in my life.

I was on Adventure from Jan 18-Feb 1. My wife and I did the first 8-nights, she went home, I stayed onboard, and our youngest came with me for the second itinerary of 6-nights. The whole experience hooked me on back to back cruising. We have two back to backs booked for 2021. Oasis next to Adventure in St. Maarten. Adventure felt big till we saw this. ?

Inspiring ... Thank you. We were on Anthem of the Seas (FEB 23) ... it was a very special cruise (39th Wedding Anniversary). More importantly, we starting dancing at 5 and, after breaking for dinner, danced as long as we could (every single night). Many thanks to the Royal Swedes (who can literally play any Rock tune). They had a request for a song they did not know (so they learnt it on their break). The lead said he was never so nervous playing a song live. Missioned accomplished ... a very talented group. We followed them wherever they were on the ship. Royal Caribbean has spectacular live music .. we miss it very much. Curt from Canada

Watch out for that complimentary food. Last time I was at Cococay the hamburgers told me "Eat all you want, you look skinny. I won't make you fat". Their compliments were all lies. ?

At this point I can no longer look back at "last year's cruise" because we lost both to covid. The last one we actually sailed on was over Thanksgiving 2019. ? I have fingers, legs and eyes crossed that we will get to start up again, even tentatively, in September on Harmony and that in the slightly longer term we will get to do a long awaited bucket list Panama canal cruise for our 35th anniversary in December 2022. Hope springs eternal!

YIPPEE !!! So happy that you are having a good experience.

Go to a "sell expert" lecture during a crabbiean cruise ?

At the moment the exchange rate is $0.79 which isn't bad compared to recent times so if you do tip in CAD just remember it's not dollar for dollar. LOL. Try shopping in Canada. Before you know it you have 10 lbs of coin in your pocket and are listing to starboard like a ship in trouble. You know those old pirates movies where they always pay in gold coins? I call BS. I've experienced a pocket full of coin in Canada. Took a chiropractor 6 sessions to get my back straight again.

Something to consider... Will the weather be warm enough to really enjoy the floating cabanas - considering the price ? For me, it is still waaaytooo cold Jan - Mar to swim. While the floating cabanas would be a very nice place to spend some time, I don't feel like I would get the true benefit of it b/c I would not be able to get into the water at all. I originally had a cabana booked in Jan 2022 (had gotten a good price, considering...) but then decided that it would just be too cold to fully enjoy it so I cancelled. I have rebooked for a Sept. 2021 Mariner cruise. Of course, with Sept. there is always the hurricane problem, but at least, if we manage to avoid a hurricane, I think it will still be warm enough to swim. If your brother is hearty enough to swim in the cold weather (I see you are from CT...maybe it will be nice and warm to you !!) and the price is right, it would be a lovely gift.

Forced to close this thread. This isn't the place to debate the virtues of a vaccine, nor attack each other for their views on it.

2020 just turned '21 and is already drunk.

I object to the use of the term "force". "Require" is a much better term. Since cruising is a voluntary activity, nobody's ever "forced" to do anything.

Taking the RCL shuttle from the port to airport in Fort Lauderdale. Taxis are way faster.

I find it helpful to swing thru a bar or 2 on the way to the Escape room.....ymmv

The CDC does not have authority to stop land vacations. Their guidelines are not to travel but that is all they can do - issue guidelines for domestic travel. If they had authority they would shutdown airlines as well. So it isn't that they are being hard on cruise lines while giving land vacations a free pass, they are controlling what they can (cruise lines) while watching people on land vacation unable to do anything about it.

The Art auction. What a rip off

Good for a quick nap..

Definitely Spectra’s Cabarat..hubby’s review; it was 54 minutes too long and 55 minutes of his life he can’t get back.

@melmar02 made me think of another thing. Not leaving the ship with enough money. We took a cab to Paradise Point from Crown Bay with the hopes one of our ATM cards would work at a bank. Thankfully it did but I was silently having a panic attack LOL.

Walk to 7 mike beach from the ship. Yes, it's walkable, but it was miserably hot when we tried. Then everyone was so grumpy that no one wanted to stay.

Yes, they do check ID. My boys (now 21 & 23) found the 18-20 age the roughest when it came to activities, but also enjoyed the new freedoms they had by being over 18. Mine are not overly outgoing either, but always have each other so that worked out well. At 18 you can go into the casino, nightclubs (some will be 21+ but not all), attend the late night comedy. Your brother will obviously be able to do anything that involves alcohol. Some sailings there has been scheduled meet ups in the Cruise Planner. There may be one member of the cruise staff that shows up for the first one, but usually it's a place for that age group to gather and it's expected the the most social of the group will go around and introduce themselves and start forming groups. Similar to that person on the floor in your dorm that is the one to gather folks. But there will be no coordinated activities. My boys used to hang out in the evenings in the card rooms, outdoor movies, comedy clubs, and Sorrentos. Or they would meet up with us in the Schooner Bar for music. They loved Music Hall for the bands. During the day, if it was a sea day, you'll find them near the pool. They enjoy the pool games (belly flop, volleyball, etc). Since you're on Symphony, think Playmakers as a good spot to draw in your age group. Another idea would be to approach the Activities Director (not the Cruise Director, they aren't usually easy to get a conversation in with) and ask about how many passengers are on board in your age group and if there will be any planned meetups listed in the Cruise Compass. They print those every day, and if you ask the AD will usually try their best to include something to help facilitate a great vacation for you. They are working for a 10 on your post-cruise survey - and want to make you happy. If they know there is someone looking for something specific they will make it happen if they can.

Absolutely no way that they will allow anyone 18 or over into teen activities, I'd be very doubtful that you can sneak in. It seems bizarre to me that they are so rigid with age difference (an 18/19 year old has more in common with a 17 year old than a 23 year old) but I suppose they have to prevent potentially dodgy folks sneaking into teen clubs. Not really sure on what activities are available for 19 year olds but I do feel that the 18-29 age group are kinda forgotten about by cruise lines. Luckily you're going on Symphony (amazing ship) so there should be plenty of things to do on the ship anyway.

Stop packing so much crap we never used. I seriously need to be like some of you, have a cruise bag of the things we actually use.

The 'Learn to play' session in the casino. I'm not a gambler and never been to Vegas but I thought it would be fun to have a 'play'session to learn. No one else was there and the staff were not very enthusiastic so they only explained some rules to me very quickly. Not exactly the fun session I had envisioned! Also, the art auction! It promised champagne that never materialised and was painful to watch as an art conservator! Haha. ?

Try to call the captain to get permission to fly a kite on a sea day. Or the cupcake class.

This might change with COVID but not arriving early to the embarkation port.

We booked one of these Grand Suites on Anthem last year (last cruise we were on before the plague hit). It was on deck 7 but the same layout. If you have a choice between this configuration and a regular GS, I would not pay the extra money for this "large balcony". I found the small balcony to be completely useless. Some of that may have been the fact that it was just too darned cold outside to spend any time out there...but I feel like even if the weather had been better we still would not have used that small balcony. I am not a fan of the GS on the Q class ships to start with. I find them cramped and they have a much smaller feeling than any other GS I have ever been in, including the GS on Vision class ! I think the bathroom is really small and cramped and I don't care for the split sinks. The only reason to book a GS on the Q class is if the Suites amenities are really important to you. We hardly ever take that long trek back to the Suites Lounge (although it has a beautiful view) so that amenity is pretty much wasted. Breakfast in the Coastal Kitchen might be the only real amenity to enjoy and the $$ for the full suite makes that amenity a bit on the pricey side, IMO.

Here's a video of that suite on Anthem. It should be pretty much the same on Ovation.

Is this 2021 turning to 2020 and saying "Here, hold my beer"?

Our patience will continue to be required now that we are in 2021. There are a lot of variables that will influence the timeline forward. Cruising will restart when all the pieces fall into place.

Heart disease is the result of personal choices made consistently by an individual over several decades. Covid-19 is highly contagious and will take you out within a month, through no fault of your own.

But even with these controls in place we are seeing days of over 3000 deaths from covid. Those numbers make it the number 1 killer in the USA. Not only this heart disease is a build up of many years of things and doesnt kill you in a week.

I am going to try a positive spin on this (with some less than positive "bits of data"): 1). The Vaccines (and there will be many of them) are proving to be safe and extremely effective. No amount of distancing and masking will shut down COVID 19. These temporary measures (probably for longer than we would like) are to protect: Us from a runaway pandemic ... giving the scientists time to develop the vaccines. Our health care systems ... Italy's almost collapsed early on. And, with great importance, our health care workers ... each and everyone of us should be thanking them daily. I can't imagine how I would react in their situation. 2). Some jurisdictions have done an amazing job of minimizing transmission. So much so that they are already starting up cruises. Not the exact way we would want to cruise, but the "canary in the cave" is doing very well. Below is some encouraging and disappointing "bits of data": Singapore .............Total Deaths/100,000: 5 [They are sailing now] New Brunswick ... Total Deaths/100,000: 10 [if St. John were a home port we could be sailing around the Maritimes now] ? Ontario ..................Total Deaths/100,000: 303 [Not good enough ... should be closer to NB results] Canada ................. Total Deaths/100,000: 402 [Skewed higher by some terrible results in Quebec] USA ...................... Total Deaths/100,000: 1,021 [The main reason the cruising industry is shutdown ... 75% of worldwide cruises originate in the USA. Once Vaccines are available, and allowed to do their job, we will be cruising again] My soulmate and I have cruises booked in NOV 2021, APR 2022 and MAY 2022. Looking at Winter 2022 as well (we are open to influence) ? There is light at the end of the tunnel (and it is not an oncoming train). Safe Safe, Stay Apart, Stay Connected, Curt from Canada

The news always takes the "doom and gloom" approach because it garners way more ratings than "things will be fine". They always latch onto the worst case scenario discussions because it gets them clicks/views.

Everyone on this message board understands and sympathizes with your concern. In fact, all of us share it to one degree or other. However, I believe that all cruise lines will require the vaccine at some point. Some of my additional thoughts on the matter: The cruise lines will be unable to require a vaccine until it is widely available to the public. My guess, that will happen Late April or early May, but that's just a guess. The cruise lines may not have a choice in the matter as it is could be a CDC requirement. Please note that some airlines are considering proof of vaccination before flying. As we learn more about the vaccine, we'll probably be better able to predict who will react to badly to the vaccine. The cruise lines will probably offer an exception to those passengers. (In fact, I don't see how they could avoid this!) At least some legal scholars have opined that the cruise lines will have to offer full refunds to anyone who refuses to take the vaccine and cannot take a previously booked cruise. I do not expect the vaccination requirement to be permanent. In 12-18 months, the virus will be effectively over and there vaccine will be a moot point.

As they say "owe the bank a dollar and the bank owns you. Owe the bank a billion dollars and you own the bank"

Someone at the CDC is right now at this moment saying this to a coworker... "I told you so, now pay up".

Must have hired someone from Disney to set pricing

Welcome to the message boards! You will not be allowed in the teen club as a 19 year old. They restrict it to teens 17 and under only.