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We got back from our weekend sailing on Freedom and it was quite the experience. We had great weather (it’s been raining like crazy in SoFL) at Coco Cay and Nassau. Being on the Freedom with only 1000 passengers is odd and I think we prefer the action of a packed ship but this was certainly interesting and had many positives. We opted for the Coco Beach Club and it was overall a good experience. The elevated dining experience had some nice choices like grilled Caribbean lobster which was prepared and presented very nicely. There was literally nobody at the beach club (see pics). My only complaint is that there’s not enough shade by the pool and it’s odd that upon arrival the host doesn’t bring over a bucket or pitcher of cold water to wherever you are seated. Minimal gripe but still it’s hot as h*ll (keep in mind I’m born and raised in SoFL and I still think it’s hot!). Onboard Freedom there was little to no action which is to be expected. It was nice to go to the suite lounge and have the entire place to yourself for a change. I know this type of reduced capacity cruising won’t last forever so we just rolled with it. IMHO my family and I felt very safe with young children in regards to RC’s COVID safety protocol. They did a great job and the ship and stateroom were extremely clean. The kids literally wanted to eat at Giovannis Kitchen every single night so we did (the pizza!) and it did not disappoint. We are looking forward to things hopefully getting back to normal and more cruises in our future!

If I were Royal Caribbean, I'd be looking at adding a St. Thomas visit on every sailing from a Florida port. ?

Just make it a sea day. Not a big deal at all.

I hope more ports will impose such vaccination requirements since the lines (and Florida) are unwilling.

I saw what did there ?

Hi Miguel, welcome to the forums! New C&A rank will be applied on the cruise after the one where you earn it. That said, if you would effectively hit the new rank after the first or second night then you could go to Guest Services, let them know about your situation, and ask if there was a way they could "enable" it mid-trip. They don't always, I've really only heard about it happening for Pinnacle or Diamond; not sure if they'd make that kind of accommodation for Platinum.

From what I experienced, the casino was vaccinated only. For the theatre shows they made the mezzanine an area for unvaccinated guests and the lower floors were vaccinated only. I’m sure there were more places but those two caught my attention. Traveling with 2 young kids we never felt restricted in any way in that regard.

Best to think of Chef's Table more as a wine pairing meal. You'll be poured a glass of wine and a matching entree will be served. Location on Quantum class ships is in a room within Chops. Oasis class it varies, Allure-top floor of the Diamond Club (at least it was), Harmony-inside Solarium Bistro (I think), Oasis-area between the Suite Lounge and Coastal Kitchen (across from the bar), and as far as I'm aware it isn't offered on Symphony. Now Oasis class locations could have changed. Who all, in a nut shell whomever paid for the experience. I've heard of them swapping out menu items due to allergies. Always best to notify prior to the meal or booking on board to verify they can accommodate.

there will be one at Grand Lucayan too in Freeport. At least that’s what the drawing shows.

Don't let my wife hear this. She'll only ever want to go to Coco Cay and nowhere else. Well, except Bermuda of course... ?

You are awarded the "new" C&A level once the cruise has been recorded on your C&A account....which is usually about 1 week after you return from the cruise where you go past the points level. So....you will not be Platinum until the next cruise AFTER you go over 30 points.

Never know, I went from an inside to a balcony for $100/pp on my July 16 sailing

So what are the options (for Royal) if this requirement is sustained ? 1. They give in and have to refund the money for anyone who is considered unvaccinated. This is money coming directly out of Royal’s pocket. A few pissed off customers. 2. Royal rearranges the schedule and finds a port that will accept the ship. It’s a huge hassle for the schedulers but no refunds. Probably highly unlikely for close-in sailings. A few pissed off customers (maybe). 3. They say “F” St Thomas and schedule a sea day. No refunds b/c schedule changes do not qualify for a refund. A few pissed off customers.

I'm no lawyer but I don't see how this is around Florida Law. Florida Law states that cruise lines can't ask for vaccine status. St. Thomas states you can't come here if anyone over 12 is not vaccinated. While I see Royal Caribbean trying to use this as a way around Florida Law, some Floridian (or their governor) is going to end up suing Royal Caribbean over this and I don't think this shields them at all. Legally it sounds more like if you sail from Florida, to follow both laws you would not be able to include the US Virgin Islands as a destination for the time being.

I wouldn't hate if more ports did the same and it was around around the Florida law...

Hi all, Has anyone else heard the rumor that they may be putting in a lazy river at Perfect Day at Coco Cay? I heard it from one of the cruise vloggers' videos aboard one of the first Adventure sailings in May, so I would love it if it were potentially true! ?

This one is a dead horse and has been discussed and confirmed to death. ? Count backwards. Think of it like this... Saturday - the day you need the results, typically the sailing day, Day 0 Friday - 1 day before the day you need the results, Day 1 Thursday - 2 days before the day you need the results, Day 2 Wednesday, 3 days before the day you need the results, Day 3 Tuesday, 4 days before the day you need the results, Day 4 Monday, 5 days before the day you need the results, Day 5 Even Royal Caribbean covers it in the FAQ. Where Do I Take A RT-PCR Test And Submit The Results Before Cruising? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

Not me. They are reacting and adapting, a lock quicker than the CDC. MSC still says no test for vaccinated yet they tested everyone at the port yesterday, vaccinated and unvaccinated, including people who paid for tests for unvaccinated kids in the days before. They wouldn't accept those test and retested every single person who boarded. That isn't written anywhere in policy. Cruising during the restart is going to take some flexibility. Things will change sometimes daily.

Why do you think it would be disruptive? Full disclosure, lazy rivers are the only water features/attractions I enjoy. I’ve never been a fan of swimming pools, beaches, and water slides. I have yet to try wave pools.

Free for all to use is how I would do it. With the river running right past the other side of the swim-up bar in Oasis Lagoon. You enter your order on the app while getting into the river, and pick up your drink while floating past the bar. ?

Day 3, 7n E. Caribbean, Celebrity Equinox out of PEV: Great cruise so far. Highlights are: Equinox, built in 2009, was fully refurbished in June 2019. It shows. Normally clean and well maintained are Celebrity ship's this one looks almost new (we were on Apex 2 w ago so know what new looks like). Carpets and furniture show no normal wear and tear. Outdoor/pools side furniture is new. We like production shows, not everyone does but the one last night, Topper, that's been in production for probably 3-4y running. We've seen it multiple times. This cast is hands down the best. Food quality, preparation and presentation comports with Celebrity's high standards. We like Murano and Murano lobster, flambe'd at table side is as good as ever. Service level and friendliness of staff is very high. Of course, that's because of the passenger load - about 40% of capacity or about 1200 guests. Last week they had 1600. Some are wearing masks, not many though. They are not required. 95% vaxed, probably higher. No mixed vaccines for the back end leg of our B2B and that was just announced within the hour. We had Pfizer x2. There are some older kids, not may little ones. I'm assuming the older ones, over 12, are vaxed as that is required. Since leaving PEV (clear, hot and sunny) weather has been cloudy, some rain, nothing disruptive. Hot and humid. That's the prevailing weather this time of year. There's some brewing low pressure concerns off the coast of Africa right now. 2 of them could be a problem next week and beyond that affecting the Lesser Antilles (S. Caribbean itineraries), possibly on up the Caribbean island chain to the north and west, possibly S. FL. Itineraries for both legs of this B2B, W. then E. Caribbean, has changed 3 times since we booked the E. Caribbean sailing for August 2020 (L&S'ed to August 2021). Then an 8n itinerary, changed to 7. We booked the W. Caribbean sailing on the front end of the B2B about 3w ago. Itinerary on that sailing has changed twice and again just yesterday, I'll get to that. I reported earlier that the requirement for antigen testing regardless of vax status was implemented last Friday - 2d before the cruise departure. That policy changed twice with the last change cancelling the antigen testing entirely. Reportedly because of the cluster at the PEV terminal for the Edge sailing on the day before and fuming guests. It's back on for the next leg of our B2B sailing and we were informed of that today by email. Not sure how that will be handled for B2B guests. I'll let you now. The word of the day? Remain flexible and don't get pissy about changes. THEY ARE GOING TO HAPPEN. Port circumstances are changing daily. We had planned on Tortola and at the time, to get off the ship, you needed a ship's tour. We lost that port and the tour we booked (fully refunded) on one of the itinerary changes just last week (berthing or local concerns, favor the later - BVI have had strict travel restrictions including a vax requirement to enter. The other original ports were Nassau, Coz and Costa Maya. You could get off on your own in Nassau but on our port day, Monday, it was a national Holiday. Everything was closed! We took a small tour of Nassau. 20 others and a very good tour guide and just fine with everything closed. Lots of port construction going on. It's going to e really nice when it's done. Originally, we were not going to be able to do your own thing in Coz or Costa Maya. Last evening, we learned we can do a self guided tour in Costa Maya. Still not Coz. I think this is a local government thing that Celebrity is having to deal with. Transmission rates in Quintana Roo state are high and have been that way since mid-May. We booked a tour and will keep it. So far, just happy to be back in the cruise groove. I can deal with everything else.

We Right now, we have signed our standard 6 months and 3 week contract - but we have been told our assignments could change as the pandemic is still changing things on a daily basis.

We took a tour with Bernard's Tours when we went on our honeymoon, it was great and we loved it It was a tour of maybe 10-12 people, air conditioned van, drinks onboard (soda, water, rum punch) We stopped at many sights including some time at Orient Beach for some swimming https://bernardstours.com/

Welcome to the Blog, Dominic !! Star Class is awesome. I know you will enjoy it. Good choice on the Suite ! The middle GLS on Deck 10 are the creme-de-la-creme of the GLS. They are huge and the views are incredible. Plus you will not have quite the noise problem (from the 270 shows) that we had on Deck 8. For US sailings (not sure if the rules will be the same for AU/TransPac sailings), you could order anything to drink and have it delivered to your suite. Of course, the drink might be a bit on the weakish side by the time it gets to you if you have ice in it but I have read of some people who asked for the ice to be left out of the drink...and then you can add ice once the drink reaches the suite. Your suite will always be stocked with ice, water, soda, juice and beer. Wine and liquor are extra. Regarding food delivery to your suite...as @LogicallyLazynoted, room service from the specialty restaurants is limited to the restaurants' operating hours....so if you get a yearning for lobster at midnight, you will be SOL LOL. You CAN order from regular room service but you will be limited to the room service menu. No charge though... No, you do not have to have a "standing order". You can order whenever (with the operating hours restrictions noted above) or whatever you want. If, for instance, you want to eat breakfast in your suite every morning, it might be useful to give that order to the Genie the night before.....that way there is no delay in getting it delivered. It IS possible to order your own food, but I have found, over the years, that it is not always easy to get through to the room service people and in the end, I have just decided that letting the Genie do the ordering for you is the easiest way, all things considered. Being proactive will result in less wasted time and warmer food !! Alcohol in your suite....this is a tough one. Is it possible ? Yes. Is it easy ? No. Is it cheap ? NO !!! During one of our SC cruises we had friends who were also SC and they insisted on having liquor delivered to their suite. Basically, you must purchase the bottles of whatever you want at a VERY inflated price (they basically charge you the equivalent of retail cost for individual drinks for the entire bottle....very costly). You would be far better off just ordering the drinks individually and having them delivered. The same is true of wine. Why would you pay for a bottle of wine when you can have as many individual glasses of wine as you want for "free" ?? Last thing to keep in mind....the Genie returns to his/her lamp at 9PM. It is good to be mindful of that and try and keep your requests to their operating hours. Obviously, if you have an emergency you can call after 9PM but for the most part, they try and retire for the night around 9PM. Even Genies have to rest !! Enjoy your SC cruise. Warning though....you will be forever spoiled. It's just one of those nasty side effects !

Unfortunatly your wife is for sure not vaxxed in their eyes but you are. If both vaccines are the same there is no window it must be in.

I have always enjoyed Orient Beach on past visits. Lots of really good beach restaurants and lounge chair/umbrella rentals. I havn't heard much on how it is doing since the Hurricane and Covid.

Last time we were at Coco Cay the tram driver told us lazy river was being developed on Coco Cay. : )

Hello there. I just released a 1br AquaTheater suite for this sailing (departing from Miami) to jump into a Star Loft Suite in case someone has been looking.

I’d say that #1 is the most likely. Considering Royal Caribbean themselves have said that the ships end up being around 90% vaccinated anyway, they probably don’t care too much about losing the unvaccinated. #2 & #3 affect a lot more people than #1, so I would imagine they’d take the route of least annoyance to customers here.

Our favorite in St. Maarten by far is Captain Bob's Soualiga Destinations snorkel day trip (https://www.soualigadestinations.com/) -- even if you don't snorkel it's a wonderful day! They are just a 5-10 minute walk from the cruise port. They are independent from RCCL but they will get you back on time.

I have won Royal Up just about every time I’ve bid and it’s been roughly 3-4 days prior to sailing that my credit card is charged for the win.

I have a balcony. I figured I'd try the spacious balcony room. I bid the minimum. Hoping I have the luck of the Irish! ? Again, no big deal if they don't accept. I'm hoping with reduced capacity, this may be the time that a minimum bid wins!

Points are awarded 7-10 days after the cruise ends. Only at that point will your new level be achieved.

I just received a Royal Up for my Oct 16 cruise on the Symphony. Decided to roll the dice and bid the minimum. You never know? Maybe the cruise gods will look upon me favorably! ?

Except for options 2 and 3, “Cruise With Confidence” allows anyone to cancel up to 48 hours before for any reason for a 100% FCC ……… Remember unvaccinated under 12 traveling with vaccinated adults can still go on the cruise ….. Let’s say 20% (maybe less) of the age 12+ passengers are unvaccinated and would be refunded …….. on the flip side, what happens if a huge majority of the vaccinated passengers start canceling cruises because ports are being cancelled or changed to less desirable ones to accommodate the unvaccinated? Yes, Royal will still have their money and they have to take another cruise at another time with their FCC …….. but I’m willing to bet that RCL has crunched the numbers and decided it’s better financially for them to 100% cash refund the unvaccinated than to take the risk of an undetermined number of vaccinated passengers cancelling for an FCC because their ports are being cancelled to accommodate unvaccinated passengers. RCL wouldn’t have made this decision to keep the port and remove the unvaccinated from the cruise if they didn’t think it was in their best financial interest. Money decides everything.

I believe you just have to tell them you when ordering that you don’t want those drinks as your free D+ drinks ….. then when ordering alcohol tell them to charge those as D+ free drinks What I’m not sure about is if they’ll let one adult in your room get the deluxe beverage package and not make you get it if your reason is that you only plan to use your 5 free drinks to get alcohol. If that does work …… I’d love to do the same …… the 5 free drinks a day is enough for me ……. But not for my spouse.

‘Carnival is already not letting you on their ships if you’re over 12 and not vaccinated ……. Florida hasn’t done anything to them ….. so RCL can probably do it as well and nothing will happen to them either.

Appreciate the video tour, Lord willing, I will be on that ship come December

I seem to remember that if you book with Next Cruise they automatically assign your booking to the travel agent who handled the booking for the cruise you are on, so if you're looking to change to a different then you need to tell them not to. As long as you own the booking you can subsequently transfer it to a new agent of your choosing within 60 days of booking, if you wish.

It's changed so many times, I not even sure at this moment. When I was quarantined it was every week. All crew was PCR tested a few days before the ship set sail.

Well, here's another thing to do ....... pray that the spike in FL goes down like it mysteriously has in India first and now the UK. Steep rises followed by precipitous declines ..... ALL WITHOUT ANY NEW MITIGATION MEASURES in these two countries. In fact, Boris Johnson cancelled all mitigation measures in the UK on July 19th. Cases plummeted. NB, the UK has a high vax rate, India does not. It's early but this is a snap shot of FL's vax rates and new case numbers for the previous week (7/23-7/29. I've highlighted Broward (PEV) and Dade (POM) counties. Vax rates have jumped considerably from 3 weeks ago - like 20% or more. Note that these two counties also have the highest vax rates state wide and also have the lowest (below the state average) % positives. These are down a lot from a week ago. Note also % positives in these two counties is declining and by a lot. What these two metrics portend is herd immunity is being approached in S. FL counties with high vax rates. I'd predict steep declines in new case numbers over the next two weeks in these counties. If they get down below the 8% threshold the pre-boarding testing requirement could be relaxed. Fingers crossed.

I think we all share the same feeling...just have to remind ourselves how awesome it'll be when we do the embarkation walk onto the ship. ???

BACK IN THE GAME! Test cruise for Odyssey Of The Seas begins today!

As long as it stops at one port outside US, option 3 could easily happen

I don't know why they couldn't just flag it so unvaccinated couldn't get off the ship in St. Thomas. But I guess they're going to flat out refuse the ship if it's not all eligible aged folks vaccinated so that isn't even an option.

I just called my local pharmacy as they offer Covid testing. Medicare and Medicaid are covered....for the rest of us he said it is $65 for a rapid test. Here is the website from their page, it has a place you can enter a zip code to find pharmacies that participate. https://myrx.io Perhaps give that a try to see if there is a pharmacy near where you will be. He said they text you your results and when I asked if it is something they can print for me he said yes (I honestly don't know anything about this service and if it would be printable). So much can change between now and your sailing date. I hope this helps!

Well, that's a bummer. Thanks for letting me know. All my other next 8 cruises booked are some kind of suite, and all sail before Sept. 31st next year so can get the 4X points.

That is such a shame. I feel sorry for all those impacted.

The tide goes in and out quite a bit when you are in the floating cabanas. When we first got there I could stand and I am 5’ 7” tall. By the afternoon there was no way I could touch the bottom. The sting ray photo was taken in the afternoon. You WILL want water shoes because the bottom is vey soft mud-like. Also, there are sea creatures on the bottom that you do not want to step on. We had Cabana #20.

Hey everybody! Last December I went on an 11-day cruise with Royal Caribbean on 'Serenade Of The Seas'. It was so life-changing and inspiring that I decided to start a travel blog. I'm now writing about every port we stopped and the overall ship life. If you want to know about the juicy details of cruising go check it out and follow! www.incrediblewanderwoman.com Thanks! Leave me some feedback