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It was JUST accepted. We sail in two days. Junior Suite from OV balcony GTY!!!!

I picture a TV commercial featuring Bubba Gump... There's, uh, almond butter, almond milk, Almond Joy, almond extract, Jordan almonds, almond flour, almond oil, almond paste, marzipan, almond cream..."

Almond butter for those with allergies. Disclosure: I profit from almond butter sales.

I know I have seen several people ask about the Key onboard as they are currently still selling it in Cruise Planner. I have a buddy sailing next week who purchased the Key and received the following email that he shared with me. I asked earlier in the cruise about the Key and was told that it was cancelled through 2020 but it appears to be starting again next week on Symphony. Hope this info helps someone.

Yes and yes! We have our best friend officiating for our vow exchange. And we are sending a VERY long detailed itinerary and wish list for the day including photos of past star class food spreads and cakes and things we love. It’s going to be in the balcony at sunset on Day 2 after Coco Cay. We are going to bring things like a runner for an aisle & cake topper and garland for rail etc etc. and the rest we are just trusting the magic. We already have such a BEAUTIFUL backdrop and amazing friends that we know whatever the genie does will be amazing. We really just want yummy appetizers and a champagne toast and a cake that feeds 12 LOL I’ve seen people get more than that for their birthdays And yes the rest will simply be a much needed vacation with friends! The Mediterranean honeymoon cruise will come later

My daughter renewed her passport recently. Filed the paperwork at the local post office on August 16th with normal routine processing and NO expediting service. We received her new passport exactly 5 weeks later on Sept. 20th, and received her birth certificate and other official paperwork separately in the mail about 3 days later... We were also told at the post office that it would be at least 12-16 weeks, so was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in 5 weeks!!!

Well…J’s review was rather blunt, but factually accurate. I would characterize the tour as disorganized and chaotic. I think we’ve gotten spoiled in that I usually book private tours, but this went a little beyond that. I would also say that the families being separated was also due to them not being together in line. Dinner tonight was Chops again. It was much better tonight than the other night. I think J has now reranked it to be tied with 150.

Wow complimentary room service - That’s a good perk to have. You can definitely get your money’s worth between the internet and if you get room service a few times.

I go into trips thinking the same, then the drink package changes the situation.

I've had an opportunity to cruise a few cruise lines during this 2021 cruise restart. All of them have been with reduced capacity. Having recently encountered two terrible boarding day procedures I've got give credit to Royal Caribbean for implementing the best boarding day process I've experienced. On those other lines it took hours for me to board the ship. Neither of them improved the muster drill routine to a notable extent. For both the other cruise lines their boarding day process cast a dark cloud on the start of my cruise vacation and in both cases it took a few hours after finally getting on board before it felt like I was on vacation. Even then I felt exhausted and didn't feel like doing very much on the first night. Contrast that with Royal where I was car to cabin in 20 minutes. Upon boarding I was free to grab a bite to eat and a beverage then I could visit my muster station at my convenience for a one-on-one safety briefing that took less than 60 seconds. Upon boarding Royal I immediately felt like I was on a cruise vacation. It was like I got an extra cruise day to enjoy. I was quickly into vacation mode and it was all stress free. I will say people arriving before their appointed time is a problem on all cruise lines. Don't be that person. If you arrive before your time you are part of the problem and you deserve the long wait times you will encounter. However once you are allowed inside the terminal there is no excuse for the other cruise lines to make boarding such a stressful and lengthy process. Hat's off to Royal for creating the best boarding day process.

Happy to say the price drop went through without any loss of OBC or issue! Yay! $240...SAVED!

Right now, I see 1600 passengers for Odyssey next week.

Why, I'll tell you why! Because we need this, we want this. LOVE has a way of making everything so much better. @Booscruizewhen I read your posts I feel JOY! I can not wait for your wedding blog, I promise you I looked at my calendar & tried to free up time to join you, bless you both! Have an amazing sailing and an amazing life together.

I'm getting this one in under the wire! Just booked a 7-Night Alaskan Glacier cruise on Quantum for 2022! This is the first times we've ever had multiple cruises booked! I blame all of you for being such bad influences!

Every technical change is vetted through Royal Caribbean's' Technical Confusion Mandate Enforcement Department before it goes into production to ensure it gets implemented in the way that presents the most confusion for anyone to figure out what it means.

What is this "other cruise lines" you speak of?

I am both excited and terrified to begin my first live Blog here of my first ever Star Class sailing and also….our wedding! I can only hope it is HALF as good as the amazing bloggers I read religiously here! 48 DAYS! Here we go! The Story- My husband and I (I will explain!) booked this cruise for our wedding 2 YEARS ago during a Black Friday sale at an amazing price! We both LOVE cruising…so much so that we have a YouTube channel called BoosCruize so it seemed natural that we would choose to tie the knot in a small ceremony on the high seas! So after much research we decided on the Star Loft Suite 1720 on Oasis Of The Seas! This suite had a HUGE rectangular balcony that could fit guests and also give us the ocean view we wanted….and a Genie to help us pull it all off! What could go wrong?!? Enter…COVID As you can imagine we basically needed a new pair of britches every other day for the last two years as things changed. It’s a good thing I buzz cut my head or I’d probably be bald and NOT by choice LOL A year later we weren’t even sure if this cruise would happen but we also KNEW we wanted to be married. So when a company came to us and asked to throw us a huge West Coast “David Tutera” style wedding in Hollywood that will be published for magazines we obviously said YES! We now have two bi-coastal weddings Lol It was amazingly gorgeous but nothing was our choice. It was all chosen for us….right down to our tuxes. We feel BEYOND blessed but it also wasn’t what we had in our head two years ago. So now here we are….our guest list of 50 has gone down to 12 due to covid complications. Are we upset? HECK NO! We completely understand and are going to have the time of our LIVES on a gorgeous ship surrounded by people who love us! We can’t wait! Who: We are an LA couple. Jarell is an international Flight attendant (yaasss benefits!) and I am an actor who just moved from NYC in time for a pandemic to close Hollywood Where: We are sailing on the Oasis Of The Seas out of Miami in the Star Loft Suite 1720 with stops at Coco Cay, St.Thomas, and St. Maarten When: We sail November 7th-14th, 2021 I think that covers most of the back story and introductions! So happy to meet you all and take you along with us on this very special journey that is over 2 years in the making! Can’t wait to see who our Genie will be! For good measure I have included a photo of the happy grooms from our West Coast Wedding!

I intend to tip. No reason not to. But I would imagine that after not working much through all the happenings I'm sure there are expenses that need paid off. And since they can't go to shore they can only purchase what is on the ship from what I understand is an inflated price. I would rather pick up 30 bucks worth of stuff that can be shared than to throw 3 times that in cash so they can buy the same amount of stuff on the ship. Everyone is welcome to do as they wish but I think many of the workers will appreciate when people bring stuff to the ship since they will get a larger variety of things and the fact that some people will show they truly care. I was also thinking about seeing if I could do a run to the store on my B2B, im sure I could take a drive to the store and pick a few things up if needed.

Even if you *aren't* Star Class, don't be afraid to ask the staff for accommodations, especially when it comes to kids. My daughter was so jet lagged and tired from the initial travel go Seattle for our Alaska trip that she had a full blown meltdown in the MDR the first night. I took her out (of course we were seated in the very back corner) and tried to get her calmed down. Once it became apparent she wasn't gonna settle, our wait staff quickly offered to have our whole meal sent up to the room so we could eat and she could get in bed.

Whoa! I didn't even know this was a thing. I will have to make plans to catch this when I'm Odyssey for the throwback to my middle school summer camp days. I remember the bruises well!

Yep...We will end up with 81 just enough for Diamond!!!!

Just Skip, not a problem. I just got off a B4B on Symphony a few weeks back. I changed between several cruises. After we were allowed back on, I went to the Loyalty Ambassador, Mary, at the beginning of the next cruise around noon, handed her our seapass cards, and she either put a little sticker on it saying our correct level, or when she had blank cards, reprint new cards the card with the correct level. Additionally, she handed us all our pins for our new levels. It generally took about 7 days for the system to catch up with us, and being in suites, by that time, we were changing again. However, the system may not be ready to give you 'Next Cruise' correct level discounts, unless you are longer than 6 days. That was the only place where we had an issue , but it recorded, and we corrected it on the last night of the 7-day cruise.

That is awesome! Congrats! You have given me hope. I have a bid on a JS for the Odyssey sailing after you. Actually I put in multiple offers for other suites too but all of them are expired except the JS one and now I cannot change/modify it. Hearing from others it seems like it's likely to go through but I have also heard of times where it hasn't. Either way I happy yours did! I am traveling with my wife and son so the extra space and tub would be AMAZING!

Yes, they'll honor the change for the third segment. It would be ideal to speak with the Loyalty Ambassador just so they are aware.

From an @AshleyDillo post. "I've been able to take food to go with the UDP. Izumi Sushi is usually pretty good about allowing it, as did Playmakers and they actually had disposable takeout containers. On my Oasis sailing I was even able to get Chops to go, but I did make a reservation ahead of time and showed up and asked if I could get it to go when I got there. Chops wasn't equipped for to-go orders with takeout boxes, so it was my food on a plate with a room service lid over it. Experience can differ ship by ship, but I've found if you ask nicely usually they will accommodate you where they can. I wouldn't expect them to do a 4-person full 3-course meal to go order from some place like Chops, but asking for a single entree, dessert, or appetizer usually won't put them out too much. It will help to make sure you have a reservation if you want to try to do a to-go from one of the sit down places. I was able to use the app and make several solo reservations at different restaurants without issue outside of the busy dining times."

I can see both sides of this, and see why you say can't fault the people. My only issue with that, though, is when we sailed out of Miami on 9/20, many people tried to get into earlier lines than they had for check-in. If you want to show up early and wait, so be it, far from me to tell anyone else what to do, but if you have a 3:00 pm check in time, and you stand in the 12:00 line, that's a problem. We had a 12:00 pm check in time, and when we got there around 11:45, the 12:00 line was huge, probably over 125 to 150 people. The 1:00 line had maybe 15 to 20 people, and the 2:00 line had about the same, maybe a few more. There was no line for after that, that I could see. Thankfully for us, right around the time we got there, a Port employee came over and started giving instructions for times/lines/etc. and checking people's time's on their passes or app, and then our line "miraculously" cleared out to about 25 people, and the other 2 lines grew exponentially. I can understand showing up early, getting in your line, and then if the earlier lines clear out, they would take you and check you in. I'm all for it. But those that do show up early just have to respect and understand the process in place and allow it to work. Then it will actually go quicker for all of us, I would think.

Got two in at the last minute. Dec. 2021 on Serenade and July 2022 on Symphony.

It's because of Royal Caribbean that I drink. Or cry. Or both.

The double points are irresistible

We’re going to end 2022 with 79 points. Not too shabby for a couple who never cruised until 2019. Double points definite helps.

Nassau review for Blog We took a Royal Caribbean tour to blue lagoon to see dolphins and sea lions. The animals were amazing. With covid we had to keep masks on the whole time, except for the beach. Some of the staff were unorganized and careless. They were filling boats to the max of people, and separating families. You could hear the separated families screaming from ground to boat try to figure out what was happening. If that wasn’t enough, when the second boat arrived, 2 young men threw metal stairs on someone’s foot. LOTS OF BLOOD. Also, when I was on the boat there. The woman on the intercom was mumbling while the engine was roaring, you couldn’t hear a word she was saying. On the ride back, the music was insanely loud playing “Party in the USA”… NOT FUN. Blue Lagoon was so hot even w/o mask. I definitely was about to have heat stroke w/ the mask. Final opinion: Animals were very fun, and very trained. Blue Lagoon was extremely beautiful. Staff sucked. One last thing… Get changed and use bathrooms on Cruise ship. I had to get changed in the bathroom at Blue Lagoon, nothing like hearing a couple having S3X and seeing a pair of two feet, one w/ nail polish. There was also a man who sprayed sun screen in the middle of the bathroom. It felt like a gas chamber.

After lunch we had another session with the North Star. Something about being 300 feet above the sea instead of the land is actually a little scarier. I had no issues when we did it over land but I held onto the railing this time. After that I wanted to drop by the casino just for a little while. Normally we spend a good bit of time down there but since we paid for the upgrade to the room and we have a good many more cruises coming up in the next year we decided we weren’t going to play this trip. Buuuuut we decided maybe just a few hands of Ultimate Texas Hold Em would be fun. Since we were being super conservative we only had the minimum bid down and I didn’t even bring my phone down since we were not staying long…well what do you know. I hit the Royal Flush on the second hand of play. Doh! Never complain about a win like that but i sure wish I had been betting my more normal amount. Play stopped for the table while they figured all that out and we played a little more, ok we played for a couple hours. Luckily we left with my winnings intact! I headed to a pirate themed meet up at the Ale and Compass bar that was organized on Facebook and met a few new folks. After that it was back to the room for some wine and to get ready for formal night. Well at least shower up and put on clean clothes. We hit Boleros for our pre-dinner cocktail and to listen once again to the acoustic guitar player who must be getting tired of playing for just us and the bar staff? Next up Chops dinner.

Waiting for the announcement on "what cruises get final payment dates pushed back next month" is a lot better than "what cruises get canceled next month"

How I wish there were people who would do that for me...

They do. I've chatted with crew members who were fellow Filipinos. They sort of shared this "insider" information about being tested regularly.

What country of origin are most fish from? Finland

Dinner was back in Coastal Kitchen since I wanted the duck and don’t get much of a chance to have it at home. Once again everything was great. Delicious breads and spreads (hubby eats the olive tapenade with a spoon.). Hubby’s obligatory shrimp cocktail of the night and he also had the tuna tartare. I had the octopus, chorizo and potato dish which somehow didn’t make it to the photo gallery here. Entrees were the everyday strip steak for hubby with fries (they have fries on the CK kids menu so I figured it wasn’t a big deal for him to ask.). I had the duck, it was very good. An extremely large portion and the spatzle and blueberry sauce really set it off. We must have skipped dessert because I don’t have a photo (That sounds good right? If there isn’t a photo it didn’t happen.) We skipped the singer and went back to the room to crash. Noting our menagerie was increasing by the night.

I'm glad they don't have to cancel sailings and shut down the whole ship... And I hope the members get well soon and all the rest of the crew stay safe and well.

Not sure when you last cruised, but people have been wearing whatever they want to the main dining room for a long time now. The official dress code recommendations are just that. Recommendations, not enforced. Swimsuits are pretty much the only thing that will get you turned away.

Hello All I wanted to update this topic. Although it maybe relevant only to a few. I did get confirmation from the CBP that a trusted traveler ID card issued through the Global Entry, FAST, SENTRI, and Nexus counts as authorized travel documentation. So if your cruise is upcoming and you are a US Citizen leaving from the United States and traveling to the countries listed under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, you may travel and be granted entry back into the United States by traveling with your Trusted Traveler ID card. This is a good option for those who have global entry or membership to any of the trusted traveler programs (FAST, Sentri, & Nexus). This gives me peace of mind as I am still waiting on my passport renewal and was very nervous about getting it back in time for my cruise later this year.

I got great news from my TA today! The cabin’s fare has dropped over $500 since the June booking. We are getting it refunded to our original method of payment. No OBC to try to spend. We already had $450. With almost $1,000, we would have had to get a dining package. I am not sure my pants would be able to sustain that!

But do they have Swatches or Casio calculator watches?

Hi again Whitsmom. We made it back from a 10 night on Freedom with no problems! Just had to do a couple of nose swabs for the back to backs - negative. Ship was about 20-40 percent capacity - smallest 1191 to 2609 largest - holds 4375. Masks were on and off (sorry about that) - most wore them some did not - was really not a big deal since we were outside mostly or eating/drinking. Really nothing to do ashore - mostly closed at Nassau. Stayed on the ship and just glad to be sailing again. Talk later, take care.

Send the ships... we are Opening!!!

Personally, I would not purchase a high end item on a cruise (or in a port). For these types of items, i like to have a good relationship with my jeweler. My local jeweler has given me great discounts for paying cash, where I "essentially" do not pay the sales tax, much like you would abroad (until you claim it on your customs form). Of course, i'm a rule follower, so YMMV. I do enjoy looking at the items though! (Note: i still pay sales tax, just on the lower price. For example, it the tax on the item is $100, then they give you a $100 discount before completing the transition. It's fair to me, fair to them and I get the piece of mind knowing that it's a real item and they stand by the purchase.)

We would love to, but my wife only has three weeks vacation in 2022. Two of those are already taken up with cruises. We kicked around the idea of me doing a solo week to rack up points but after 25 years of working opposite days/shifts to keep the kids out of daycare, I’d rather not take a vacation alone. Once all the kids moved out, we realized we still enjoy each other’s company.

Oh, I definitely did, as well as call them out on Royal's Twitter page.

“Queen Sabrina from Coastal Kitchen!” I’m crying

LMAO this is why I have obliged and am deciding to making this drive. Inevitably we will also be THOSE tourists who pull over and gawk at the sunning reptiles as if I haven’t spent a lifetime of avoiding walking my small dog near our lakes for fear they end up lunch And yay there will be MUCH content to drown away in LOL I am already dreading getting off the ship and it’s a month and a half away! I’m gonna need a sedative on the plane home LOL