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Re the links: Carnival has been sailing at 70%+ capacity. They and MSC are both known to be stretching it when it comes to safety protocols for Covid. Both should be expected to have more cases. They aren't representative of the entire industry. Even with that, the percentage of people sick on those ships is miniscule compared to the number who were sailing. Carnival had 3000 passengers and 1400 crew aboard, and 26 people infected is less than 1%. And the last article is a click-bait opinion piece. Doesn't really provide anything. And this is not to minimize death from Covid. My family has had its share of Covid tragedy. This is to put the situation into perspective. I feel safer taking an RCI cruise than I do flying, shoulder to shoulder, on a plane right now, because RCI has been jumping through all the ridiculous CDC hoops. I'm quite impressed with some of the measures they have taken. Some of us are ready to cruise, some of us aren't. Both decisions are valid. One doesn't have to be right and one wrong. We each get to make the choice for ourselves. That said, I am not even thinking about our May 2022 cruise in relation to what the protocols will be, because they could be completely different by then. Hope you get to take/enjoy your trip.

Just booked a 2 night Halloween cruise on the Freedom....seems a bit silly to fly from Iowa for 2 nights but hubby hasn't cruised since before the shut down because he has very little vacation time, so my 60 days just turned into 30.....woohoo

I do not feel that it is the job of the TA to identify price drops. Most of them have waaaytooo many bookings to do that on a regular basis. Most of the Agents will do a price review when a new "sale" comes along but on a day-to-day basis ? No way. Has @michellecome up with price reductions for bookings for me ? Yes...but I don't expect her to be doing price recons on any kind of regular basis the way I do. More often than not, I will identify what I BELIEVE is a price reduction and then it turns out that it's not b/c different discounts or price incentives are in place from the original booking. That's just me. Everyone has differing expectations.

just price adjusted to a suite on Nov cruise for less than the minimum Royal up offer to that same suite and i get the double points now.

Quick update: Wife ordered a new passport on August 27th, expedited service. Updated to "In Process" on September 1. The passport arrived today (9/29). We were worried with the updates to the system, but no problem... we don't leave for another week <whew!>.

I asked NextCruise on my last sailing and they said the land tour counts for double points.

You people are obsessing too much on these loyalty points... I don't even pay attention to them (wink wink)

ME: Alexa, remind me to go to the gym. ALEXA: I have added Gin to your shopping list ME: Close enough

Nope. I am just very much of the mindset that cruising is currently a very safe way to vacation. I have also actually been on a cruise recently so I have experienced the current cruising environment. I would feel just as comfortable sailing with Royal again as I would visiting Disney, with the added benefit that the cruiselines at least require vaccination/testing. I enjoyed the lower capacity that allowed for spacing on the cruise ship where I had plenty of open space indoors and out to not be in a crowd with people. That isn't an option on a packed airplane.

After seeing all this talk about price drops, I took the chance and called my Costco TA yesterday at 5:00 pm. While I waited online she was able to get a RCI rep online within minutes and would come back to me every few minutes to report her progress. They were able to find a 16% discount on my FOTS cruise in November. I had already made my final payment back when the due date was 60 days out, but since they changed it to 30 days I am getting a refund instead of an OBC. I didn't check prices first, just picked up the phone and asked them to do the leg work for me on my commute home which this TA was very happy to do...thank you Azurea. Since these $$ were already paid off on my CC, now I have the problem figuring out what would be the best way to spend this savings on my cruise!

Most of the time I am able to let clients know about a price drop first- most people don't check prices all of the time themselves, they let me do that. I find it the exception for clients to email me first.

The funny thing about this cruise is that I haven’t had a moment to stop. When we have done Disney cruises, I’ll usually just sit on my balcony and read while the kids have gone to the kids’ clubs. That’s usually at least 4-5 books for a 7 day cruise. It’s now day 3 and I haven’t even gotten 1/2 way through 1 The boys have been having so much fun boogie boarding, that I asked Allan to arrange some private time on the flow rider so they could learn to surf. He arranged an hour today with Peter and Peter. By the end of the hour, both boys were stand up surfing. After the flow rider, mom and I went back to the thermal suite for about 20 minutes then we had dinner at Chops. It was a little disappointing. The mushroom soup was excellent and the Caesar salads were standard caesars. The crab cake wasn’t very good (DH didn’t finish it) and the bread (pretzel and onion) was boring. The bacon tasted “fatty and gross” according to one of my teens. For the main course, we all got the filet. I ordered medium while everyone else ordered medium well. Somehow I ended up with a well done while my mom’s was red so we swapped. We also ordered the tater tots, mashed, a baked potato, and asparagus as sides. Quite frankly, everything tasted a little bland (under seasoned?). Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t horrible but it was more what I would expect in the main dining room rather than a specialty restaurant. The chocolate lava cake, however, was phenomenal. The consensus for filet so far is 1) coastal kitchen, 2) 150 and 3) chops. Beach club is tomorrow. After dinner and right before Aqua 80, Allan had coffee and cookies delivered per our request. He also had playmaker ice cream bowls delivered as a surprise. We tried but just couldn’t do more than pick at them.

FYI… I’m J, her 15 year old. I will also be posting updates.

about time Royal quit pandering to a Very Very small minority and went with the majority of passengers

Aha! Can't believe I missed it, thank you!

I would be very happy if they stopped allowing smoking in the casinos. Celebrity already has smoke-free casinos. I would spend a lot more time in there if they'd ban it.

Just Booked! Super excited to be joining in.

Yeah my faithful TA reminded me when I put a hold on yet another booking this morning that I had to pay the deposit by tomorrow for it to count for double points.

We were just on Oasis and the Suite Concierge emailed before the cruise and he made reservations for CK for us and i didn't realize until we were on board that they also reserved all the shows for us. I just happen to look at the App and there were the reservations. He also emailed all suite guests everyday with a little blurb on what was happening that day. On Oasis there are 2 Suite Concierge, we tipped $50 each.

Thank you! That’s what I thought but ya know September 30 is hours away and I got that fleeting moment of “oh did I count correctly?” We will be right at 175 points by the end of October 2022 and if I counted wrong, I’d be forced to book more in a hurry!

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2021/09/articles/disease/passenger-dies-after-super-spreader-covid-19-cruise-on-msc-virtuosa/ https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/travel/cruise-covid-death.amp.html https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2021/08/28/is-it-safe-to-go-on-a-cruise-during-covid-pandemic-2021-restrictions.html

I sure hope that’s right…but I don’t have much faith in the CSO not being extended. I think it’s awfully hard for government agencies to release control over things they manage to bite into. Maybe they will extend it but with some modification. Hopefully they will realize the quarantine period and the tests cruises are no longer necessary. Fingers AND toes crossed…and we know how hard it is to cross our toes!

We are booked on an 8night sailing on Enchantment in a Grand Suite November 2022. It'll be our first (and probably only) time sailing in a GS, but it was just too cheap to pass up to get the double points! Expectations are low for us - we're just looking for some time away, good food, and nice weather.

All but one of my dives has been canceled, so 3 out of 4 over the last month. Not sure what is going on but at this rate I'm just going to twiddle my thumbs at most of the ports.

Thanks! I haven’t been in Social 298 (the teen club) but M, my 13 year old, has. Officially the age range is 13-17, but M has said that there are 12 year olds in there “whose parents have signed a waiver”. We’re in Coco Cay most of the day tomorrow, but I’ll try to stop in late afternoon/evening to find out for sure.

The airlines haven't seen COVID numbers because you're on a plane for the duration of the flight and then leave. There's absolutely no way to contact trace anyone who gets COVID on a flight and prove it was the direct result of the flight and not contracted in the airport on either end, on a shuttle to/from the airport, before the flight, somewhere at your destination, etc. I'd love links, as I have yet to see *any* true "outbreaks" as defined by the CDC since the Diamond Princess fiasco at the start of all this almost two years ago. There have been cases, sure, but nothing reaching outbreak levels. Indoor restaurants had so many tables blocked off that you were never directly next to another dining party. And sure, no one's wearing a mask at the pool, but outdoor transmission isn't typically a major concern anyways.

My MEI agent has probably caught a price drop once or twice. Usually I email him after scouring the site,. I honestly don't expect them to always be on price drops. They aren't charging me. I also don't think I am their only client, so if it takes a full day or so to answer me, I don't feel slighted in the least. What I was grateful for was not having to worry when the poop hit the fan during the height of the pandemic. But everyone likes their service to be performed a certain way so.....

Honestly I can’t believe the prices right now. I’ve gotten over $1k lower on my Symphony in 3 weeks. Down to $1400 for balcony. I originally booked symphony way back in early 2019 for May 2020 in a JS. Took the 125% FCC for $5600. That FCC is now paying for Symphony and Wonder AND part of our Alaska. (I did put $$ deposits down but balance is being paid by FCC.) Couldn’t be happier!

Here is a 360 from Playmakers: Playmakers in 360

Ooooh, I love this! I just checked my bids for 10/9, and everything is expired except for the Crown Loft. I'll take this as a good sign, at least for now...

Yes, please self quarantine somewhere if you test positive, even if asymptomatic.

At this point, it is still too early to know what will happen just yet. Normally, I would be home for about 6 weeks before starting a new contract.

Chops is probably our favorite place to eat onboard. I know it is for my husband and it is quickly becoming my favorite as well. We started with some wine and the best bread on the ship (French onion rolls and pretzel rolls.). Then hubby ordered beef carpaccio (I convinced him to only order one as we have plans to return here a couple times) and we both had the giant shrimp cocktail. They were so big I passed my last one off to hubby. We also split the goat cheese salad which has a HUGE piece of fried goat cheese on it. It’s tasty but can be a little strong so you have to grab a little bite of goat cheese with each big bite of salad. At this point I was starting to feel like I was in a Star Class food coma but we pushed on We each ordered the lobster and hubby ordered the ribeye (his favorite cut of steak). The lobster was ok. I do like that it is served fairly plain with butter and lemon and no weird heavy sauces. Mine was a little mushy, that can just happen sometimes but I also noshed on the ribeye so I was great. The steak was cooked perfectly and had a nice char on the outside but was perfectly medium rare inside. We managed to choke down a little dessert. Key lime pie for me and chocolate cake for Leslie. (Remember his thing about chocolate dessert?). At that point hubby was done, done. The cocktails started back during poker at 2pm so I walked him back to bed and headed to the show where Israel had a seat waiting for me. Honestly on this ship things are so empty it really isn’t necessary but it does make you feel special. The show started off brilliantly. Very upbeat songs and dance, fantastic costumes and very talented singers. But ten minutes into the show the music and microphones cut out sharply and I heard the dreaded “Alpha Alpha Alpha”. Oh no. Even worse it was backstage on deck three right in the middle of the show. At first the singer kept singing (even with no music) but they then stopped the show saying it would be just a couple minutes but eventually the lights came up and the cruise director ran out and told us one of the main performers had fallen down some stairs and hit his head The show could not go on. Thankfully we JUST got an update that after a few stitches he is ok and they will reschedule the show for later in the week. I’m so glad but that really was a scary moment. There was a large number of crew and I think performers from The Book in the audience last night and they were all deeply concerned. So all in all another great day and I look forward to catching the show again next time!

After dinner we went to the ice show. I thought it was amazing. There was a sand artist who performed during the show as well. We then went back to the room where we had Allen deliver 1 of every dessert from Chops delivered along with vanilla ice cream for the kids. We enjoyed it on the balcony while watching football on the aquatheater big screen.

It think it’s going to be in addition to. It looks like there’s still a ways to go. Each group (synchro, divers, dancers) was practicing separately today. We’re on deck 10. It’s not too high up, but I’d go with deck 9 if it was available.

Yay!!! All is well in the universe!!! ATTN: @Mark_A & @Chadster

Thanks! I'm kind of hoping they'll let my younger one in since we're going at an off-peak time, so I can't imagine there will be a ton of kids anyways. I'll report back my findings when we get onboard!

Its the government's of each country making the rules not RC

I love the little note from the genie!

That’s great to hear. Thank you!

The newer seapass cards (all one color , blueish for those in reg. cabins) can't have a hole punched in them. But you don't have to take them out of the holder , in order for them to be read/scanned.

A Sea Captain looks through his telescope and sees ships approaching on the horizon. He says to his first mate "Arrrr Matey, fetch me me red shirt". "But why, Captain?" the Mate says. "If these be enemies and we must defend our ship I don't want me men to see me bleed". The mate fetches the shirt as the Captain looks out again, this time seeing a fleet of Pirate Ships gaining on them. He turns to the first mate again: "Arrr Matey, fetch me me brown pants".

Night one dinner-Coastal Kitchen filet night. I’m going to start by mentioning Coastal Kitchen as a venue. We have dined in Coastal Kitchen but only on Oasis Class ships (Allure and Oasis). On those ships it is a big open two story kind of loud area attached to both the Chef’s table and the suite lounge. On Odyssey it’s a much more intimate area up by the Windjammer. It has dark colors an is a single story. It’s a very inviting space. I’ll let you know about the views when we dine in the daylight as it was dark last night. Our service was very good and our food was most very good as well. They dropped off a very lovely bread basket and 3 different spreads to the table. We started with the Burrata (a HUGE portion) for me and Shrimp Cocktail for Les. Both great, he said the shrimp reminded him of the large ones from Chops not the tiny ones often found in the Main Dining Room. Then we each had the Crispy Pork Belly which I had remembered being excellent previously so I didn’t want to share and we each got one. Focus on the word crispy. Very crispy. Afraid I would break a tooth crispy (hubby just had two crowns.). So we didn’t finish it. Great taste just didn’t want to visit a Nassau dentist. We both ordered the filet and they were delicious. Cooked to perfection and melt in your mouth. Way too much food as I tend to eat smaller dinners at home and bigger lunches. We finished with just a piece of Royal Chocolate Cake for hubby and some vanilla ice cream. Not very exciting but it’s his favorite We managed to stay awake to go to our reserved seats for the comedian (about the 7th row) we didn’t want to be in the front. He was just ok. I giggled a few times but no out loud laughing. The cruise director Mike from Canada was actually funnier than the comedian and he was pretty enjoyable to listen to. He did a little breakdown of the different nationalities of the guests onboard and had them yell out if they were from that country. Was very interesting and would have been even more fun with a full house of guests. Well that wraps up day one and I have successfully avoided going to the gym. Thanks for that and more to come!!

Now onto the food. It was just ok. I’m glad we tried it but it might be a one and done for us on this trip. We started with the Poke Nachos (hubby LOVES anything with tuna so he was excited) they were a HUGE portion of wonton chips but not a lot of toppings. It tasted good though. I also got us the Buffalo egg roll thing (ok I looked it up and it’s called the Buffalo Chicken Crunch Roll) it was served with blue cheese and buffalo sauce and was the best thing we ordered. Next up hubby tired a new IPA he wasn’t keen on but that is the point, try things that normally cost extra He drinks Natural Ice at home, the cheapest beer for the buck. (Did I mention we aren’t really classy people?). Our main entrees arrived. Jerk wings and fries for me (I asked for a small portion of wings) and the Truffle burger for Les. I remembered reading in another blog maybe by @Tiffeven where her husband said the wings were not good and I remember thinking, it’s wings?? How can they screw that up? They can. It’s weird. They were kind of squishy, not crispy and not much flavor. Oh well. Hubby’s burger looked impressive but the bacon on it was more like ham and the “mushrooms” was one large fried portobello mushroom. We did not go hungry and service was good and we had a lovely view. On the way out we checked out some of the games, as in we looked at the games we would play if we wanted to spend even more money which we didn’t. But I noticed this whole game full of Frozen characters. I’m a huge Olaf fan (I need to photo our room sign) and I wanted to rescue them all. Hubby told me they needed to go to other homes as we have enough Olafs at our house. (We only have maybe 3-4 Olafs but one is a 14 ft tall Christmas inflatable.) Sigh no Olaf rescuing today. (Maybe another day hee hee).

Israel dropped us off at our room to explore and get our bearings while he went to get another couple. Our bags arrived I would say less than 10 minutes after we walked in so even though they were given to the regular porter they did a nice job of expediting them up. We checked over our paperwork and looked over the pre-cruise snacks left (the typical fruits and a tray of very…interesting appetizers.) I thought it was interesting our normal Diamond Plus items (3 bottles of wine) were not in the room but I will check on those. I know we have Star Class but I was planning on taking those home ha ha! Israel said he would be back in a bit to bring a little more paperwork and take us to Playmakers although it ended up we just walked there ourselves. We really aren’t “escorted” type people and this ship is super empty (differing reports says between 500-800 passengers, not sure which is correct but basically there isn’t anyone onboard.). The Playmakers area is honestly fantastic. It’s way up on 15/16 and has a lot to offer. TONS of TVs, a large bar area and eating area. Pool tables (2) a shuffle disc type game lots of arcade games ($) and lots of places to just hang out. The views are good and the game court/bumper cars area is large. Now to the food…ok well maybe let’s start with the drinks! Here is a terrible selfie of us with a great jalapeño/pineapple margarita and my husband’s Bloody Mary.

Ok trying again.

I presented a spreadsheet to hubby. If I do 21 cruises at double points/solo sailers I can make pinnacle by December ‘22. I’m not too sure he’s bought into that idea

We received an email last night with the health protocols for September sailings. I will post them below in case anyone is interested. This sailing is now fully vaccinated with the exception of children under 12. September 2021 Sailings Protocol Update Before we say, "Welcome aboard," we'd like to share our health & safety protocols for our sailings departing from U.S. homeports September 2021. Health and safety protocols are subject to change and as these occur, we're committed to updating you. Visit this link for all of our health protocols & additional details. Please save it for future reference. VIEW HEALTHY SAIL CENTER Vaccination and Testing Requirements Vaccination All guests 12 and older are required to bring proof of vaccination, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination record card, with the final dose of the vaccine completed at least 14 days before sailing. Testing Pre-Cruise: Within 3 days of your sailing’s departure date and before your arrival to the terminal, all guests 2 years and older are required to present a negative COVID-19 Test Result (antigen or PCR.) Proper documentation (printed negative test results or negative test results presented on your phone) from an accredited laboratory (no doctor’s notes) is required to sail. All costs for this test are the guest's responsibility and must be done on their own, not at the terminal. At the terminal: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take a PCR test for COVID-19 when checking in at the terminal. Registration details for this test will be sent via email in advance. This test is complimentary. Prior to disembarking: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take an antigen test onboard within 24 hours before the cruise ends. Registration details will be provided during your cruise. This test is complimentary. No testing is required for guests under age 2. Additional Information Healthy Shore Excursions We've worked with local tour operators to ensure they follow our Healthy Sail Panel health guidance for all Shore Excursions. These tours are available at a variety of price points and may be purchased in advance on Cruise Planner. Requirements for Going Ashore No Tours Required for Vaccinated Guests: Fully vaccinated parties may book a shore excursion or visit the port freely. Tours for Families: Families traveling with unvaccinated kids must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. This applies to all ports of call except Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Port Canaveral, FL. Tours Recommended in Port Canaveral, FL: For ships that stop at Port Canaveral, we strongly recommend that families traveling with unvaccinated kids purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. No Tours Required at Perfect Day: Tours or planned activities are not required of any guest who wishes to go ashore at Perfect Day at CocoCay, our private destination. Mask Guidance Below is our current mask guidance for all guests, except those under the age of 2, who do not need to wear a mask at any time. Masks are NOT required to be worn: In open-air areas of the ship, unless you are in a crowded setting In the pool or any activity where they may become wet At venues designated for vaccinated guests only, such as select bars, lounges, restaurants and shows In your stateroom when you are with your traveling party While visiting our private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, unless you are in a crowded setting Masks ARE required to be worn: While indoors in public areas of the ship, unless seated and actively eating or drinking While visiting public ports of call, where local regulations may require them Dining For Main Dining, we will designate areas for everyone, including parents and unvaccinated children, and areas for vaccinated parties only. My Time Dining will not be available to parties that include unvaccinated guests. Some specialty restaurants will be open to everyone, while others will be for vaccinated parties only. If you prefer a buffet, Windjammer will be open to everyone for breakfast and lunch, and the food will be served by our crew. We recommend that you make dining reservations via Cruise Planner before your cruise or the Royal Caribbean app onboard. Grab-and-go cafes will also be available for everyone. Other Venues Theaters and activity venues will offer spaced seating with options for everyone and for vaccinated guests only. Be sure to make show reservations once onboard using the Royal Caribbean app. Spa services, except those offered in treatment rooms, are available to everyone. The Fitness Center will have dedicated operating hours for everyone as well as hours reserved for vaccinated guests only.

Old Aunts used to come up to me at weddings saying, "You're next...." They stopped when I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

You get the points associated with your original booking. So if you upgrade from a balcony to a suite, you would get the double points associated with the balcony (2 per night). If you upgrade from a room that already has double points (JS or higher) then you would get 2X2 or 4 points per night.