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We just docked back in Barcelona and I figured I’d jump on and share our experience with everyone. Would love to answer questions as I’m sure many of you had questions similar to what we had. Overall, we had an incredible time and have almost nothing but good to say about our first “post-covid” cruise. On our ship, that carries over 6000 passengers, had 900 on board. We heard we picked up 300 more in Rome, but can’t confirm that. We hear there’s 600 on the 8/29 sailing. The ship was unbelievably empty. We bid the lowest amount on a RoyalUp suite and won. So, we were spoiled with a bigger room and incredibly empty ship. Everyone paid so much attention to you. No lines at slides, empty mini golf, empty rock wall and flow rider… you could do anything you wanted. Shows were well attended, but still so much seating available. One of the only complaints we had, sorry had to add it in, was the push for specialty dining. The first two days, literally every crew member that saw you, would give you a 5 minute spiel about the packages. It became very annoying. After day 2, we only heard it here and there. Excursions had to be through Royal Caribbean, but they all went smoothly. Not my style of tours, but we were happy to see all of the sites. The tours were even smaller groups and some people didn’t even get off the ship. Shopping was usually cut out, as we weren’t able to go out on our own. We still managed to get some good souvenirs. Heads up on the churches… you don’t go inside. So ignore the “wear pants and sleeves” rule, or at least ask about it. Testing went well. We had a test at the beginning and the end. A couple passengers did test positive and were immediately removed from line and weren’t allowed on the ship. You get your results before they even let you on. Nerve racking, but once you get the results, it felt so good to just get on board. The new muster drill is AMAZING! You just watch a couple safety videos on the RC app and you get it checked off near the entrance of the ship. Takes 2 minutes. Everything on the ship was open. Masks were required at all indoor spaces, so if you just hang out outside, problem solved. The staff was not even super strict about pointing out if a mask falls below your nose, etc. We even took our masks off at most tours, because it seems Italy is only “requiring” it for cruise passengers. In Florence, it blew me away how many tourists there were and we were the only group with masks. Play bingo and go to the contests and auctions, because there’s no competition on the ship. Attend the casino drawings and raffles. We won more stuff on this cruise because our chances were so much higher. We even won a $1200 painting (3 groups at the raffle) As always, food was amazing, shows were awesome, crew was all smiles, and everything felt very normal for cruising. Can’t wait for masks to become non-existent. Let me know what else you want to know? For those holding out… just go. It will be worth it to be on an empty ship.

"Buy a drink package, get a free covid test" The other way around works, too I guess

Yet another CDC attempt to discourage cruising. Hope the cruise lines give them the middle finger ? on this one. There has not been a problematic “outbreak” on any ship to resort to this new “recommendation.” CDC trying sooooooo hard to remain relevant.

The antigen test results come out within 15-30 minutes of testing

My responses are, of course, based on before-COVID (BC) realities so answers may be subject to current conditions. IMO, the most important information that the Genie gleans from the advance contact are things like what kind of drinks you prefer to be stocked in your suite and whether or not you have food allergies, etc. All of that can be relayed to the Genie in plenty of time, even on short notice. ...and if, for some reason you still do not relay that information to the Genie before boarding, it only takes 1 visit from the beverages guy (he comes at least once per day to replenish...or did, BC) to fix it all. If you want something special (food, etc.) on boarding day, you might or might not get that information relayed in time. IMO asking for special food on embarkation day is a nuisance for everyone. I would recommend that you wait until at least day 2 for any kind of suite event - especially involving food. You should have no problem organizing any kind of event IN your suite. You can invite anyone you wish to your suite and they can enjoy any food and beverages that you enjoy. There would be no cost unless you want liquor or wine. Where you will sometimes run into issues is if you try and organize something OUTside of your suite. Then it becomes much more complicated and the chances are higher that you might be asked to pay for non-SC pax. Dining in specialty restaurants is a good example. Obviously, anyone staying in the SC suite will have no charges but those who are at the table with you who are NOT SC will be expected to pay. It is in everyone's best interest to make sure that the non-SC are aware of this fact and not taken by surprise that they will most likely receive a bill. I say "most likely" b/c I have experienced certain isolated situations where the non-SC seated with SC did not receive a bill....but the "rule" is clear - non-SC must pay. When you are served in your suite, you will not be charged for anyone - or at least, my experience has been that there is no charge, regardless of how much food or drinks are consumed. Again - based on BC experiences. Tipping is appropriate (I know I don't have to tell you that....). What beverages will be on hand for you ? The Genie/beverage guy will stock any kind of water, juice, soft drink or beer that is regularly available on the ship. If you ask for something NOT regularly available on the ship (diet Ginger Ale, caffeine-free soda, etc.) you probably will not get it - especially now. I have heard of Genies going out into town on turnaround day and procuring special requests for pax but this is really rare and I would not expect it to happen these days. It is possible to have individual drinks (wine, liquor) delivered to your suite although we have never asked for this on any of our SC cruises. It just seemed decadent when I can walk my fat a$$ down to the bar and get it myself if I want it that bad...especially on Deck 17. There is a drink cart that comes around in the afternoon with select drink options but we never ever seemed to time it right and have never even seen one ! You can have bottles of wine delivered but there is a charge. Liquor is a very complicated issue and they strongly discourage it. Can it happen ? Yes, but it's neither reasonably priced nor easy to do...by design. One of the only complaints I have ever had about my SC beverage service was that there was TOO much brought to the suite so I think you will have no problem at all getting as many drinks delivered as you could possibly want. We actually had the beverage guy remove some of them the last time, they just kept coming and coming and coming. It was a ridiculous amount of cans and bottles for just 2 people !! I will make 1 recommendation...if you want a lot of beer to be available in your suite, you will probably have to ask for an ice chest to be brought it. The only cooler that is in your suite is the same size as everyone elses...super small and not cool at all. This is a request that I would (and always do, BTW) make with the Genie PRE boarding. Let the Genie know that you expect an ice chest filled with XX beer all iced and cooled down for when you board. If you don't make that specific request ahead of time, you will have plenty of warm beer with nowhere to cool it down or store it. We always keep an ice chest full of ice in our suite. Sometimes they will have to scout around to find an ice chest (most often it is actually supplied by one of the attendants !!) but I've never had them fail to produce one, eventually. Just remember - inside the Suite - anything goes - all free for everyone. Outside of the Suite - maybe yes, maybe no (extra $$). I hope you get the RoyalUp upgrade. It will be sooo nice for your whole group !!

I vote to book another cruise this year….ya gotta do what ya gotta do!?

If RC does make a change and you have a cruise in the next two months, I'd have those Binax tests in your shopping cart ready to purchase

This is exactly why the CDC has done this. Testing 2 days out will make it 75% harder to cruise. That’s their goal. Pretty soon all women will have to be a 32A to sail ?

For my future solo sailings I get 6 points each night. 1 for sailing, 1 more for being solo, and 1 more for being in a suite. Double that is 6 points per night. When this first came out, I emailed Royal just to make sure. Also, previous cruisers have already posted on the forums. So for him sailing solo in a non-suite…1 for the sailing, 1 extra for being solo. Double that is 4 points per night.

I have the Bixax’s just in case, but hoping nothing changes. We’re going on Mariner this Friday and we have Antigen tests scheduled for Tuesday am. ?

This is such a good recommendation - not only for SC but for ANY room service. Generally, they will bring you exactly what you ask for and nothing more. If you want butter....be sure and include that. If you want ketchup or sugar or jam ....you have to ask for it. When it comes to food orders, I have learned it is best to give the Genie (or the Concierge) a written request that includes all of the extras. It just makes things easier. Maybe we're just lucky but we have had very good luck with in-suite dining as long as you ask for everything up front. When you are staying on Deck 17 it's not that big a deal to go and get something that may have been forgotten but if you are in one of the ATS or the UPS that would NOT be convenient at all. I know that most SC pax write down the things that they want the Genie to do. We have never done that BUT again, it is always just the 2 of us. I think when kids are involved it adds a whole new complication factor. Yes, your Genie will comm with you about 30 days prior to boarding (that was BC. Not sure what the timeline is these days). As @Lovetocruise2002said, some Genies are better communicators than others but even the ones that aren't that great at keeping in contact will respond eventually. Remember...if you want a cabana on Labadee, the Genie can do that for you. No hurry as Genies have priority and can get yours first. If you want a cabana on PDCC, you must reserve that yourself as the Genies do not have priority access to those. As I recall, the Genie intro letter will remind you about cabanas. @Jaxwhat a great idea about North Star at sunset. I never thought of that ! I'll bet it was gorgeous. I'll have to keep that little secret in one of the files in my head. LOL

I think a document outlining your preferences is a very good idea. I did not do this on our first star class cruise (rookie mistake as it was also our first Royal cruise ?) but will definitely be doing it going forward. I think it may make it easier for the genie as well; rather than having to look at multiple email threads they have it in a single document. Requests are really a personal thing, but ours were pretty basic. We had the genie schedule activities like I fly, Northstar, Escape Room, sea plex activities and entertainment. For instance we wanted to do Northstar at sunset and I Fly multiple times. It’s best to have them book these time slots beforehand as space can fill up quickly. If you change your mind, your genie can always cancel your time slot. We also let our genie know we wanted a bridge tour (I think those may be temporarily suspended due to covid) We provided a list of restaurants we wanted to eat at and those we did not … if you are specific about eating at a specialty restaurant on a particular day , let your genie know. We wanted to eat at Chops Christmas Day and have breakfast on our deck Christmas morning so our genie arranged that …. A word of advice be very specific on any special requests/condiments on any room service orders. We were 0 for 3 and that was putting our order in through our genie. We generally avoid in room dining for this reason but thought we would give it a try. Probably would not do it again. Thank goodness we had a 14 year old son that didn’t mind running for the forgotten items. Lol In terms of the frequency of communication with your genie, it varies from genie to genie. Some are better at pre cruise communication while others may be better at delivering a fabulous onboard experience. You kind of have to go with the flow and trust the process. It will be fantastic in the end!!

It is not uncommon to have a list/document prepared when your Genie emails you. Some Genies correspond more frequently than others because they are busy with guests onboard. It all depends, but once you get onboard, you can be sure they will do everything possible to make the experience special for you.

I purchased the Abbott BinaxNow 6 pack (sounds delicious, but...no) even though where I am in NJ there are plenty of available places for me to go and get a free rapid test. I keep checking availability and it seems there’s always something nearby. But…I’m not taking the chance that when the time comes for me to get that ‘three day before’ test, there happens to be something which causes a delay, or suddenly there’s limited availability resulting in me scrambling. I have quite a few cruises coming up during which time I’m pretty confident that pre-testing will still be a thing. Just like insurance, it seems to be a good investment. Hopefully I don’t need it.

Dos Equis is my favorite beer served by Royal. I brought and will continue to bring a Yeti cooler bag, it holds a twelver with lots of ice. (I use it as carry on during air travel). Put beer and ice in it. We take it to pool also.

We scheduled our PCR test for Wednesday (9/08) morning at CVS for all of us except Kat. The youngest they will test is 3, and she is only 2. The health department in our county does Covid testing on Tuesdays and Thursdays for all ages, so we plan on being first in line on the Thursday before the cruise. When scheduling the test at CVS, it said the results take 1 to 2 days, but I called and they said up to 72 hours right now and that could even go up if they get more backed up. I really wish Royal allowed us to test more than 3 days before the cruise, but I understand that they have policies in place for a reason. Obviously we want to cover all of our bases in the case we don't have our results in time, so I called Miami Airport. We are not flying in, but I had heard they have rapid tests that the cruise line accepts. The information Miami Airport provided was they do testing from 7am-9pm, 7 days a week. They offer three types of tests: Rapid PCR ($179 per person and results in 30 minutes), PCR ($119 per person and results usually in 24-48 hours with a maximum of 72 hours), and Rapid Antigen ($79 per person and results in 1 hour). They also told me I could schedule an appointment online and I would be prioritized over walk-ins, but generally walk-in wait time is only 5-15 minutes. Our plan is to have everything packed up on the Wednesday before the cruise and to leave directly after Kat's Covid test on Thursday. The drive to Miami is about 12.5 hours if we don't get caught in traffic. Since I've yet to have a trip to Florida that doesn't include some traffic delays and because we have four kids, two of which are potty training, we are giving ourselves two days to get there. We will drive as far as we can on Thursday or until we get tired and the kids get fussy. Then, we will drive the rest of the way on Friday. If we have not received our results by Friday evening, we are going to stop by the Miami Airport and do the Rapid Antigen test.

Are you alllowed to buy two ? Do you get more C&A points for having the double drink package ?

Correct. C&A points are for the original cabin category. If you had a balcony or lower category, you should have received 1 point per night…3 nights equals 3 points. Double that equals 6 points total. If you originally booked a suite, including a Junior Suite (not RoyalUpped into one) than another point per night. 3 nights equals 6 points. Double that equals 12 points total. I get the Trifecta! I’m usually sailing solo, in a suite, so I get 1 point per night…plus another point for being solo…and still another for being in a suite. That’s 3 points per night. Double that equals 6 points per night. So for me, a seven night cruise totals 42 points! This makes up for all the cruises I had to cancel last year.

It’ll be interesting to see what Royal does. Richard Fain said earlier this week that Delta has impacted bookings. You add a more strict indoor mask mandate and take away a Covid test day and I’d imagine there will be more cancellations. There was just a round of cancellations due to St Thomas/Bahamas vaccine requirement. Fares right now for September and October are absolute rock bottom. Some ships are practically ghost towns. I think Odyssey just sailed with only 900 passengers.

All this added time compression stress could increase the number of drink packages.

Actually, looks like the CDC wants all unvaxxed tested at check-in too (which of course those under 12 already get tested on RC) CDC is just off their rocker at this point. With so few positives found pre-cruise or on board combined with the fact we're deep into delta right now, not at the start (and onboard issues haven't changed), trying to make testing more strict is just trying to pile on.

Currently sailing on the Edge. Departed Fort Lauderdale yesterday and today we stopped at Nassau for about 5 and half hours and now have the rest of the day at sea and a sea day tomorrow before arriving in St Thomas on Tuesday. The numbers I have heard are about 1100-1200 passengers, but Im not sure of the accuracy on that. The ship is 100% vaccinated, as no children under 12 are onboard. I think most people used today as a sea day because of the short duration and the restriction that only Celebrity Excursions were permissible to exit the ship. After boarding at noon after my excursion, I went up to the pool deck and many of the loungers were taken, especially those with outfacing views. The ship is beautiful and the food has been exceptional. Yesterday I boarded at 11:30 and my room was already prepared. I was probably one of the first 25-30 people on board. The check in process etc was the smoothest I have experienced, very similar to my Adventure of the Seas sailing from Nassau a few months ago. This is definitely the best decorated ship I have been on. I dined at Cyprus yesterday, with Sea Bass Ceviche and Mediterranean style grilled Sea Bass, both excellent. The guest lecturer is a Nasa space ambassador giving daily presentations about space programs etc. The Infinite Veranda, I am still not completely sold. In port when stopped, it makes the room too hot. But currently, as we are sailing it is fantastic to have an open air room and the airflow is keeping things nice and cool.

Already done.

On CC, suite guests have reported being able to board 1 hour early/late as well.

My family is booked on the Oasis OTS for Thanksgiving week, with stops in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas and Philipsburg, St. Maarten. We love being on the ship as much as possible--we sail for the cruising more than the ports-- but I'm wondering if anyone has any "must do" recommendations for excursions in either port. Thanks for your suggestions!

Stay frosty, my friend !!

You know what they say…If you don’t believe or like the answer from Royal’s Rep…Just call back to another rep because it’ll be a different response.

So this is just CDC recommendations and we are all getting wound up for nothing.

This thread made me realize I totally misread the FAQ about this, and I'm going to end up with fewer points than I thought this year. That either means waiting for Diamond status or booking another cruise this year. I think most RCLB readers know which way I'm leaning after I looked at the prices to turn both of my cruises this year into B2Bs...

We received an email from Royal today titled "Unvaccinated Guests: Register for your boarding day PCR test today!" We actual received four of these (one for each kid). Each one had a different reference ID, and when clicked it took you to a different link. The email read as follows: Dear Guest, As promised, we’re reaching out with details about scheduling your boarding day PCR test for COVID-19, which will be conducted in the terminal by our medical services partner, BioReference Labs, for guests between the ages of 2 to 11. All unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take a boarding day PCR test during check-in (plus, a debarkation antigen test, which we’ll share more details onboard.) It's important to register for your boarding day PCR test as soon as possible to avoid delays in your check-in process. If you're vaccinated, please do not complete this registration for yourself. However, you may have received this email because you'll need to register the guest below as they are between the ages of 2 to 11 and are unvaccinated. Lastly, please note, the above boarding day PCR test is in addition to the pre-cruise antigen or PCR test for COVID-19 that all guests 2 years and older — regardless of vaccination status — are required to bring a negative test result for, which must be taken 3 days before sailing and before arriving to the terminal. After clicking on "register for your test," you fill in basic information such as date of birth, address, phone number, or if you are symptomatic as defined by the CDC. It was very simple and quick. After submitting this information, you get "Success, the appointment is scheduled." This same page also says that we need to bring the appointment confirmation with us to the terminal. The confirmation was emailed to us almost immediately. I'm not sure if it is enough to show them the email confirmation on my phone, but I don't want to risk it, so I am going to print it out and bring it with us. Two weeks from now, we will be wrapping up our first night of the cruise. It almost seems surreal how close the cruise is. I am super excited, but to be honest, I lost a little excitement when I went to pack and realized none of my cruise clothes fit any more. I did find the perfect shirt to explain this. It read, "Due to quarantine, my beach body has been delayed." It's my fault for not checking my clothes sooner, but hopefully I learn from my mistake since most stores have already got rid of their summer clothes by now. I did the next best thing and ordered some clothes off Amazon and am keeping my fingers crossed that they fit. Nothing is going to ruin this cruise, even if it means wearing sweat pants and leggings for most of the trip.

It isn't an option until Royal makes it an option though, and they haven't yet is what I meant ? We shall see what transpires over the next week If announce any changes immediately, that's going to throw a lot of folks going on cruises next weekend for a loop with not a lot of time to scramble to get tests rescheduled for a day later, especially since I know a lot of people were relying on the 3 days giving them enough time to get their PCR results back as they don't have the access to rapid tests in their area.

It’s true that Royal has not changed any boarding (or masking) protocols yet, but they did indicate that they are planning on remaining in compliance with CDC recommendations. Let’s hope they reconsider this one…

Crazy churn; probably best to ignore these ever-changing CDC proclamations it until I'm a month out from my cruise. Then watch for the RCL protocol emails. ?

No, it's not an option, it's a CDC recommendation to either request vaccinated have a test in the 2-day window prior to sailing or they can get one on embarkation. Basically they still want the unvaccinated tested at the pier and they want them to be tested prior to coming to the pier, but they're giving them 3 days since they're going to be tested again. I guess they feel they're giving the cruise lines a win to not have to test as many people at boarding this way. It's on the cruise lines to give the OPTION for the vaccinated to just get tested at the pier if they are going to abide by these new screening requirements. We will see how Royal decides to do handle this for the September and October cruises. Previously they have been taking the stance to go by the CDC recommendations as they've made it clear they're honoring the CSO guidelines to sail, even though the CDC added the language that the CSO is non-binding in Florida. I think the CDC exists in a vacuum where they don't realize that this type of screening testing isn't as widely available all over the country as they might think, especially with the surge in cases. PCR is a type of NAAT, but you don't find many places that offer quick results on that one, but that's the most widely available type of test, at least from my experience. But again, the lack of testing really isn't their problem. This change means even the 100% vaccinated cruise lines will require testing before sailing, although I think most of them already did. The ones like that I know of actually provide the tests at boarding at their cost already.

Thank you, that was my understanding too but he got it direct from a Royal rep (we all know what that's worth) so i thought i would check with the experts ?

Yes, passport is required. We just sailed on the Ovation last week. The White Pass train is not able to go into Canada since there are bridges being repaired. Our excursion was shortened by 45 minutes.

I think it would be good to have a contractor at the pier performing viral testing for those who arrive without a test result…even for a reasonable fee. That would help those who don’t get their private test results back in time, and just show up thinking they can board anyway.

Good Afternoon Everyone! I have been spending all day looking into all things cruising! Like many of you, I cannot wait to get on board. Had a question for Star Cruisers...When initially emailing your Royal Genie, besides the questionnaire, what other information have you given to your Genie? If needed will the Genie correspond frequently with you before the cruise? Is it crazy of me to have a document prepared with all of our preferences and general information about my husband and I sent upon initial contact? We have some "wish requests" that may not be able to be granted but I want to try because it seems like the Genies do have magical powers lol. I have seen a couple of examples of request/preference sheets but if anyone has more insight on this, I would appreciate it! I do know from my readings that I need to request to be reserved at CK for filet night LOL. Anything else that I should definitely request? I do not want to be imposing from the start, but we do want to form a connection with our Genie and make sure we get the most out of our experience. Thanks! Andrew

I am following as well. My family is sailing SC in April on Oasis. We just (like an hour ago) surprised my husband’s mom and his brother and family. We are paying for them to come on the cruise. They will be staying in ocean view balcony rooms. We definitely want them to come hang in the suite and we’re wondering about this very question. Thank you for asking! PERFECT TIMING! ?

Boarded in suite last week, leeway 1 hour before or after chosen time. At port terminal opening, Suite guests called fro m line and boarded first, approx 150 in line when terminal opened, 30 minutes before first time slot. Just my experience, yours my differ

@tonyfsu21 sent you a PM ?

Thank you so much for this excellent information. I am 100% going to ask for an ice chest for lots & lots of beer!

Yea but im not age 2-11 nor unvaccinated but they still send me that email with a reference id to register for PCR. My 2 year kid did get one too but my wife didn’t …. Some random inconsistency here

Thanks Josh - That's what I figured. Appreciate the quick response

You will only get the points associated with your original cruise. I was going from Balcony to suite on a Royal Up and was told I would not get the extra suite points. Just the double points for the balcony. That was one reason I did a Royal Up for suite double points, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way Sorry

I just read a blog that Symphony only had 1300 last week...yes I know you asked about NJ and she sails from Mia but just threw it out for comparison. They also stated that there were excited it was so limited but then later found that with such limited people that the "heart" of the ship didn't seem to be there. Excellent service and food but they missed having people onboard.

Some of us choose inside cabins regardless of what level C&A we are. Not sure why you’re throwing shade at cruisers who enjoy our interior cabins.

CHECK IN IS FINALLY OPEN at 40 days; 10/6/2021 Indy out of Galveston I just tried the website. Got an unavailable note. Tried again and was able to get a 1:00 PM check in. Multiple times were available. FINALLY!! All checked in, printed and luggage tags pending. I guess I'll have to find something else to do every day and night now! Mike

Possibly the email was sent out with only the 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm time slot available. Once the limit was reach for the time slot and no other time slot available it just errors out. Same thing happened with my check in for Harmony. Few days later more time slots became available, including the prime 1:00 pm to 1:30 pm slot.

Just because you're clueless and/or inconsistent about one thing doesn't mean you're not an expert at others. ?