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Kids tested negative! Made it on the ship. Genie escorted us to our room. It is awesome! Fridge full of beer. Fruit and wine on table. Very impressed with Star Class experience. I recommend to all.

We are Barb & Ken, from the Smoky Mountains of TN. We have sailed with RCI since the early 1990s, and love cruising. We first sailed in an inside cabin, quickly moving to an OV on the next cruise. I remember being.so.close to the walls of the Panama Canal locks that I could see the petrified fish and barnacles on the walls from our great big window). After much cajoling and whining, I talked my husband into a balcony for the following cruise. We upgraded to JS several cruises ago, and never looked back. We sailed in a GS on Anthem to NE the fall of 2019 thanks to a RoyalUp, and this is our first cruise since sailing resumed. We have missed it so much! Who is going: Just us, Ken and Barb. I’m an accountant in a large corporate setting, so am always looking for a quality bargain. I love planning travel almost as much as actually going. Cruising is my favorite, because even though I enjoy cooking, I also enjoy a break. Ken is in logistics at a large coffee company, and is your quintessential dad, hating waste. So he finishes my meals onboard…and wonders why he gains on a cruise, turns off lights around the house all the time…even if someone is in that room. Once he turned off the oven as we ran out for several hours of errands….even though I had a turkey baking. He also has some really cool electronics all over the house to save on the cost of electricity. I’m an ‘early-adopter’ electronics geek, so love that. When: December 5, 2021, eastern Caribbean Celebration: Last year’s 35th anniversary, my birthday Cabin: CLS 1724 — our first! Logistics: We will be testing at home Friday morning, very early. If for some reason inconclusive or a test is defective for either of us, we have CVS booked as a backup. Will cancel if not needed. We then drive to Savannah, GA, which makes the trip 1 hour longer, but will have some great food along the way. We will be driving from Savannah to Ft Lauderdale the second day, staying near the interstate that night. Haven’t decided on the Buc-ee’s that we will make a pitstop at yet, but one is on the list. Our checkin time is 11:30 Sunday morning. Since we are in a suite, we will arrive between 10:30 and 11:00. When checkin first opened for our sailing, RCI assigned me 11:30 and my husband 12:00 even though I checked us in at the same time. I was fine with that, since I planned to have a drink and relax while I patiently waited for him onboard. For some reason, he wasn’t crazy about it, but sacrifices, you know? I was eventually able to change his checkin time to 11:30 too, but it sure was fun teasing him about waving buh-bye as I boarded, blowing kisses as I left. How we got here: We were first booked on Odyssey for this week, in a JS. When we saw the Covid restrictions as sailing resumed, we decided to do a ‘cheaper’ cruise, so moved to a JS on Oasis, which was half the price, albeit one night less. After toying with a few bids for GS and CLS, we found a CLS facing aft, close to one side of the ship and snatched it up for slightly more $$$ than the JS we previously had booked on Odyssey. So, cheaper it isn’t, but upgrade it is! Special plans: Dining in 150 CP for my birthday, Cococay Beach Club same day, Coastal Kitchen most nights, no plans for the ports. We are doing a similar itinerary next December on Harmony, so may not even leave the ship this time. This is our first time sailing Oasis class, so we want to check out everything onboard. Caveat: I have been wrestling with whether or not to do a live blog for several reasons: 1. I was afraid I would jinx us by starting a blog, then one of us test positive two days ahead. Now, I’m too excited to fret, and know if that happens, there is a reason for it. But, I will cry buckets. Serious buckets. 2. I am nowhere near as entertaining as other writers here. Some of you are amazing at blogging. I was a bit intimidated. 3. I could get onboard and only update sporadically, failing at live blogging. After all, we have 4 free drinks a day, plus the suite happy hour. I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol. I plan to do the Ultimate Abyss, even though I’m a bit claustrophobic. Who knows what could happen? Also, Cruise Life Rick and John&LaLa from CC onboard. I could be starstruck. If you have questions, I will try to find the answer to them. No promises, but will do my best, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the experience. I apologize now, before failing at this. You have been warned. Set your expectations low, and no one will be disappointed.

Scariest thing last week was Boris Johnson's speech about Peppa Pig! Dont know what he had been smoking but it must have been strong lol If you havent seen it then i suggest you avoid its that bad

Just the latest scariant

No issues for me at the pool

Covid is the new flu at this point. We will be doing yearly boosters for the rest of our life and in a few years the media will drop the circus parade amd move on to something else. Even if we had 100% worldwide vaccination this would still stick around unless extreme measures were put into place like a multi month quarantine on top of vaccination and a few other things. Could I be wrong. Sure. If so I have an old shoe to eat. But at this point these topics are beating a horse that had been dead for 6 months. Let's just bury it here and now...

Exactly this whole Omicron variant is being blown out of proportion first by the WHO now by governments all across the world looking to scare people. They are still trying to use this virus as a means to control peoples lives regardless of vaccination status

My name is Peter and I am from Piraeus,Greece a common port of call for RCI companies. I am a shipbroker and a shiplover so you will see either news from ship or many videos of them. In following link you can watch plenty of videos of RCI ships that have called Piraeus

You're under no obligation to tip anyone beyond your daily gratuity. But if someone helps make your vacation all the better, then tip whatever you feel appropriate and comfortable with. There's definitely no unwritten rule on who or how much to tip.

Day 6-8 Antigua and Sea days back to Miami Sorry for the delay in the last few days of the trip. Internet was spotty and I couldn't get my pay to actually go through. So here's the last bit of our cruise... Antigua... Weather was absolutely beautiful again. We spent Thanksgiving morning and afternoon our on Runaway Beach and our was so relaxing. Roundtrip taxi right from the port was $24 and 2 loungers with an umbrella was $20 at the beach. Runaway is pretty bare bones... Loungers and umbrellas with a beach bar is what you get. So if you're looking for water sorts or snorkeling this isn't the place for you. In fact snorkeling from the shore can be rough because the under row can be strong in some places. The port day was short with an all aboard at 330pm but we were ready to get a break from the sun and get ready for Thanksgiving dinner. The dining room was expectantly a bit busier than other nights but it wasn't bad since we had a reservation. The show once again was changed so we ended up just relaxing in the room after dinner. The last two days just consisted of pool time, playing cards, some trivia and eating. We enjoyed having a solid two days to just hang out on the ship before heading back to reality this week. We did book a transfer from the ship to Miami Airport which was $16 per person. We were given an estimated disembark time of 9:20am but they had already called all tag numbers by around 830am. Customs was literally a walk through for us with no delays. Our big takeaways from the trip... We learned we like a bigger ship. We've sailed Voyager class and up previously and just like that size or bigger. A bit more to do, places to eat and more venues can make a big difference. (We haven't done mega yet... So not sure if that's our cup of tea either ) Ship shops seem to be running a little low in stock on some things. So if you see something you want (particularly liquor) buy it when you see it. Guest count is likely going up, so be prepared. That being said, we came back to news of another Covid variant so this could affect that plan. We were at about 75% so the ship felt pretty full. We hate My Time dining. Even though we made reservations for each night and requested a certain table we never sat at the same table. And only had the same serving team twice. This is our own fault as we didn't specify to our TA when she booked our cruise. Shows, events and activities changed all the time. You had to refresh the app calendar basically every morning to see what was happening. So if you're an activity planner than you might get frustrated. In regards to Covid protocols and cleaning, we thought the staff did a great job. And we didn't really see anyone disregarding the mask rules. Occasionally you'd see someone without it but for the most part it was all good. That being said, since everyone essentially was vaccinated (young children excluded) with negative covid tests, I think the masks should have been optional. Just my opinion but if we have to wear one to sail, we're happy to do it. So I'll end with some pics from the week. Thanks for coming along! Let me know if there's anything you're wondering about!

Just arrived in Australia.. better shutdown the cruise industry! Oh that’s right.. it never started!! The media are loving this one, as noted above the South Africans are wondering what all the fuss is about, the symptoms are the mildest of any of the variants.

Made it to Miami. All of my family tested negative for Covid. Kids will retest again tomorrow at Terminal A. I have been in contact with our Genie Shane. Excited for tomorrow!

I think you are misunderstanding peoples replies and wrongly classing it as bullying. The 1st reply simply suggests that we should NOT judge a book by its cover! In that the person involved may have underlying issues. 2nd reply points out that we need germs to build up our immune system. 3rd reply points out that staff may also be an issue, lots of threads on here showing that cases of covid are higher in crew members on all ships. Also staff should be wearing gloves when working and dealing with any passenger Now your replies are your opinions and that this person doesnt have underlying issues, has parents who didnt educate him properly and who in your own words will catch herpes and spread it around! Yet you call others bullies and insulting when none of the replies launched any personal attacks towards you? Ps Herpes (HSV -1) can be transmitted orally simply by giving your 80 year old grannie a kiss at xmas if the bacteria is present around the mouth ( cold sores )

First time cruiser! Independence Dec 6, 2021

What @smokeybandit said. One cruise, the lady that took care of the continental breakfast, etc in the Diamond Lounge was so helpful and congenial the entire cruise. She put smiles on the faces of all who visited. When I gave her an envelope at the end of the cruise, she was surprised and grateful. But not nearly as grateful as I was for how she made me feel welcome each day. I’ve done the same for baristas and others. Specialty dining, we tip over and above the included tip, commensurate with the service rendered. Tip as you are led, for the staff who does something special for you. Don’t feel like you need to tip everyone something extra.

Drink more so you dont feel so bad about paying more lol

I get it. Just be prepared for a bit of an adventure.

Unless you go visit a crowded indoor venue with no ventilation, there should be no concern.

Took Uber from our hotel near airport to Terminal A. Arrived at 10:00. Found Star Class area and porter tagged our bags, put them on a cart and the bags are staying with us. Next my three children will get Covid tests once terminal opens at 10:30am. Fingers crossed. Getting excited and thirsty. Was sure nice seeing the ship.

Just finished cruise number 6 for 2021. Enjoyed every one. I feel safer on board than I do on land. That said, getting all of the tests and necessary travel documents can be very stressful. Keep in mind that some ports, such as San Juan Puerto Rico, require additional paperwork.

I saw it. It was shocking.

I was speaking to a guy working for Qantas call v=centre who is based in South Africa. He told me that in lock down they are not allowed to buy alcohol as the Government mediated all the bottle shops to be closed. Now that in in-human. Funny story about how many people are getting sill from drinking various concoctions of home brew.

When we priced out flights from CA to EWR it was going to be $1k round trip x4. $4k vs paying $5.50 in tax x4 for using points was a no-brainer.

Johnny Rockets includes soda with their meals if you pay to eat there. It's on their menu..kind of part of their gimmick. No beverage package needed for that. But the other specialty dining venues do not include drinks. And yes..Johnny Rockets is included in the package. You can order as much food as you want as long as everyone has the dining package.

@SpeedNoodlesSorry about your horse and husband...why did I put horse first?

My brother thought the poached lobster was pretty good to. So, I don't think it as sacrilegious......just an acquired taste.

Another vote for Bernards on St Martin. Have used them twice, excellent.

It isn't an e-mail template. When you log into your account and go to your cruise and then boarding pass a message pops up. On it talks about vaccines, unvaccinated onboard testing, and then states pre-cruise it shows the message that it hasn't been announced. It could very well be they just haven't updated it. The cruise is 29 days out. Like I stated I am going as if I need everyone to test, but it is odd to me that this is not updated for our cruise. When I click on the health and safety page specific for Harmony it doesn't even mention at all about pre-cruise testing other than the one at port for un-vaxed. I mean honestly they need to update that, because for anyone who is on these cruises aren't going to realize they need tested if they follow all the links for their specific cruise.

100 % agree If you dont mind me asking what did the young man say when you approached him about his behaviour? Or the crew members when you reported this matter! I mean you just said you were concerned so im presuming concerned enough to do something about it while onboard not just wait until youre home then post on a forum.

I get your fundamental point, that there are germ risks out there that we might not suspect. I also appreciate the points made by Ray I tend to be judgmental, and Ray and others have reminded me that sometimes there are other reasons for strange or inappropriate behavior. So both messages are valuable -- be an aware traveler, and also a compassionate one. (And all of this applies on land.)

There's frustration coming out of the South Africa medical community about the overreaction to Omicron since the cases they've found so far have all been very mild

So we could set up a Friends of Matt H meeting (FYI I'm not poking fun at Friends of Bill W)

…add a pickup truck to that line and you’ll have a great country western hit! Seriously…I wish your husband, and your horse, full and complete recoveries. Many thanks for administering these forums.

Speednoodles I’m wishing the best for your husband and your horse.

#1) all posts by new members are hidden until approved by admin or a moderators for a certain period of time. #2) this is a volunteer position. Some of us are on the Group Cruise, and some have other things going on in our lives. I have a sick horse and a husband home with Covid, and today was not a day that I could check for post approval every hour. It's not a personal thing, so don't make it one. 3) Mistakes on "your part"? What ever-loving mistakes are you talking about? What do you think we here have to admit to?

It's all conjecture at this point. It's way too early for anyone to be making definitive conclusions about it. It's worth noting that South Africa's big surge last fall started pretty much this exact same time. There have already been three post-Delta variants that were a hyped as a big cause for concern but they never amounted to anything.

C-6 (Cruise minus 6 days) First, the obligatory background. I was first bitten by the cruise bug in 2013, when my husband and I joined about 1500 bikers on the High Seas Rally – a charity-driven biker cruise (well, we shared Freedom OTS with about 2000 other non-biker guests). The charity (and purpose) of the cruise was to raise money for kidney dialysis – and provide an opportunity for about 15 dialysis patients to experience cruising (and for many, their first vacation) while receiving dialysis on board – and completely free of charge! It was an amazing experience -- and the bite sank deep! Fast forward to April 1, 2019, when we were supposed to embark on our first Transatlantic on Oasis of the Seas – when (no fooling!) a crane fell on Oasis, shattering her aft and our aspirations of being on a megaship. Two years later, I made this new reservation on my first cruise ship – Freedom of the Seas! Cruise data: I first reserved this cruise through my TA in April 2021, because it fit in well with my goal of accomplishing a B2B or S2S this year. It has always been a solo cruise, and I made a concerted effort (with my TA) to search out price reductions through the months after the initial reservation. At his urging, I reserved an Interior cabin on the 8th deck, right around the “corner” from Central Park. In the end, I saved about $300 on my original booking by going to a non-refundable deposit; cost per night is about $82.00. Ship: Freedom of the Seas Cabin Type: Interior (8th Deck Forward) Cruise Length: 4 Nights Cruise Itinerary: Miami – At Sea – Nassau – PDCC – Miami Cruise Planner Purchases: The Key, Casino Lesson, Nassau Snorkeling, PDCC Beach Club Sooo. . . some caveats. I am unabashedly low maintenance. I don’t do makeup or hairstyling, and am most comfortable and relaxed in casual clothes. I drink water from the tap (have even drank water from a garden hose and lived to tell the tale – although I DON’T drink irrigation water (yech!), and always carry my water bottle empty through the TSA checkpoint and fill it up right away at the first water bottle filling station I can find. Therefore, I won’t be grabbing (or griping at the lack of) bottles of water onboard the ship. I also don’t get straws – maybe for slushies/Slurpees/smoothies, but for other drinks – not a chance. I do understand how the feeling of a paper straw decomposing between one’s lips is gross, and so may bring one or two plastic ones – or just drink my slushie/smoothie really fast. Since I don't have the DBP on this sailing, I will be picking and choosing my beverages with care; I am, as my DH is eager to point out, "frugal." Well, he says it a different way, but the point is the same! The reason I titled this blog “Simply Solo Freedom) is because this is what it is and what I am. As part of my milestone birthday this year, I wanted to: a) go on at least one cruise, b) cruise on a ship class I hadn’t been on before, c) stay in a cabin type I haven’t been in before, and d) try a solo cruise (my husband is not as fond of cruising as I am, and was very supportive of my trying it on my own). Since I couldn’t see just going on a 4-Night and calling it good after a 2500 mile flight, I added a fifth goal – try either a side-to-side or back-to-back series of cruises. The result: a solo cruise on Freedom, and following that, a cruise on Oasis – originally solo but my daughter said she’d like to try cruising. So this particular cruise is a simple solo cruise – with a few firsts in terms of things I’m trying (The Key, Casino lesson, Coco Beach Club) and a few goals for myself: maintain a live blog, figure out how to navigate Miami using public transportation, and enjoy the ship! What I will include in the blog: timelines and experiences; answers to the questions I’ve posed on different forums in the past; pictures of my interior cabin and its pros and cons; and experiences with the RoyalUp program, having put in two (minimum or near-minimum) bids for upgrades. Although this is a solo cruise. I hope you’ll enjoy the experience with me!

Braised Short Rib, Berkshire Pork Belly, Lobster Thermidor, Halibut, Fried Cheesecake, and of course, the Garden Martini

I am really tired of ‘the sky is falling, the sky is falling’ mentality from the press and politicians every time a new variant arises. I know the drama sells for news sites, and allows politicians to be able to be able to hold onto unreasonable control a while longer, but so far, as contagious as this is, the cases presenting are milder: https://nypost.com/2021/11/27/omicron-variant-symptoms-unusual-but-mild-says-south-african-doctor/

On the ships Royal has the vaccinated wear wristbands which allows them to enter the vaccinated only areas. The ship knows who is and who isn't vaccinated.

They used to call the LGBTQ meetups Friends of Dorothy gatherings. As for arranging meetups..ask at Guest Services what they can do or what they are offering on your sailing. I have seen the bulletin boards with cards before on the smaller ships such as Jewel. The larger ships will usually have dedicated meet up times in the Cruise Compass but these are self-led meet ups. The cruise staff doesn't organize anything other than printing a date, location and time and you may need to be proactive in approaching folks that show up at the specified place and time to see if they are looking for the same meet up.

With all the love in my heart, you are kinda needy. People have been trying to provide some direction but sometimes the community doesn’t have the exact answer for which you are looking. Sometimes you have to get on board & look around. Take the initiative! I’m sure if anyone gets more concrete information, they will post. And sometimes these threads go off on little tangents. The friends of Matt H was an aside and not meant to change the purpose of your original post.

In addition to what others have said, I have in the past computed the value of the meals we eat (for the proportion of the daily fee assigned to dining) and the value of the stateroom service (considering what I what tip a housekeeper in a nice hotel). It turns out that the service/fee gratuity charged daily by Royal is very reasonable for the service provided. Back when the amount was $13.50 per day, I got a business card from Guest Services which spelled out how much went to dining staff, stateroom attendant, and others. I haven't seen the exact breakout at the newer rate, but know the value of the food I eat (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, self-service coffees, etc.) is at least $60 per day. At 15% gratuity, that is $9/day I would tip on land just for dining. (However, we usually tip 18-20%.) The stateroom attendant, in my book, does "double" what a typical hotel housekeeper would do. Thus, in my analysis, the daily gratuity may be under what it should be. I admit the daily charge may take a bit of thought to fully understand, but you will receive great service and virtually limitless food and beverage on your cruise. Enjoy!!

Hi. Super new here. If you sleep 8 hours a day, you are awake for 16 hours. Assuming half the time you are being served is 8 hours $14.50 divided by 8 is $1.81 per hour of service. That's pretty darn cheap considering how many persons it took to provide the services you received and had available to you to receive.

For St Maarten, you might try Bernard’s Tours (3rd party). They have great reviews on TripAdvisor! We enjoyed a very nice island tour with them and wouldn’t hesitate to do again.

You are not alone, that both looks and sounds way too greasy. Fried Mozzarella sticks are overrated IMO.

Remember that it must be a certified birth certificate. A copy will not suffice

Thanks for the heads up! I was thinking about purchasing the UDP at $196PP, but add another $36 PP in gratuity and no thank you! That would be close to $470 for the 2 of us. Not worth it. I really hate this part of cruising where you are charged for every little thing possible! I'd almost rather pay a higher price for my cruise at the beginning if it included more. Don't like this new way of trying to generate money ?

Don't freak out when you get back and you've gained a couple of pounds even though you've stuck to the diet. They use a ton of salt in the food, much more than most people do at home, so chances are you're just retaining water. Water weighs over 8 pounds per gallon, so just a little bit will really "tilt the scale". It will be gone in a couple of days when it's flushed out of your system. Avoid the "bacon" appetizer at Chops Grille, it's covered in a sauce that contains a lot of sugar. I did Atkins back in 2000 and lost over 70 lbs, and stuck with it until 2006. The weight has crept back, but it's taken over a decade (and the addition of 2 kids). I started Low Carb again at the beginning of the year and have dropped 15 so far. Stick with it, it works!