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Just got off Mariner over the weekend and wanted to provide a few takeaways I felt stood out. First, the positive: I hadn't been on the Mariner. For a 20-year-old ship, Royal has done a very good job keeping the public areas of the ship up-to-date, clean, nice-looking. It's still a great ship with a totally modern feel. Entertainment seems to continually improve whenever I cruise. I'm not much of an ice skating fan, but felt the ice show was really well done and enjoyable. The staff continues to be so helpful and friendly almost across the board. Somehow they really find a way to keep the staff upbeat and positive despite the tireless work schedules and repetitiveness of the job. This makes a huge difference in the overall experience of cruising Royal. A few negative notes: The staterooms need a refresh. Both of our rooms smelled a little musty and were showing age. Also, having only two electric plugs in the entire stateroom in 2022 is just ridiculous at this point. Also, felt like public restrooms need to be updated. I feel like the food gets worse every time I cruise, and I think Royal needs to take a real look at the MDR experience overall. The selection in the MDR was repetitive and very uninteresting. I'd describe the food as average-at-best. Meanwhile, the Windjammer really lacks healthy options, particularly for breakfast. Honestly, the best food we had during the cruise was from the Promenade Cafe. It's the one aspect of Royal cruising overall that I feel has dropped in quality noticeably over the past 10+ years. I always enjoyed the experience of dinner in the MDR and the experience of dining overall on cruises. I hate that it's becoming less of something to look forward to. Playmakers - There were all these fans of particular teams at Playmakers to watch NCAA tournament games but the weird version of ESPN they carry would bounce back and forth between the two games. I felt so bad for the people who went there to root for a team they really care about! And we're not talking about regular season baseball games or something. These are huge, mainstream, national sporting events. Their lack of access to live sports is just ancient at this point. But the real question is... why is Royal putting these sports bars onto every ship if they can't support it with the live programming sports fans are going to expect?? Why drive additional attention and devote more space to an area of weakness? It'd be like adding fancy Internet Cafes to every boat and only having dial-up modems at each computer terminal. All this said, we still really enjoyed ourselves and don't love cruising any less!

I think you'll see pre-cruise testing going away before vaccine requirements.

I don't think it's the homeless situation. I think it's the crime and potential open drug use that I don't want to be around. Also, desperate people tend to do desperate things. Being a tourist also doesn't help as we are not familiar with how things "work" there vs being here close to the city where we live.

Our first full day and night on the ship continued to be great. My daughter and I woke up early and went to get Starbucks and pastries. The person tried to charge me for the pastries but I knew from this group that they should be included, so I whispered in my most un-Karen—like voice, “um, star class?” And he started apologizing. As someone who hates attention, I feel weird about all of the fawning that happens in Star class, but maybe I’ll get used to it! By then end of the week I’ll just bust into places yelling, “do you know who I am???” Once everyone was up we went to coastal kitchen for breakfast. It was lovely if nothing to write home about. While we ate I texted with Leroy to figure out bumper cars. He told us to meet him at the seaplex when we finished and he was right there waiting for us. How does this man cover multiple suites? I feel like he’s always immediately available. It’s like an old episode of Three’s Company when Jack tries to go on multiple dates at the same time. We saw Leroy escorting a group into wonderland while we were walking to chops for dinner and he looked like we had caught him cheating But I digress- bumper cars. Leroy sent us in through the exit twice and I tried not to think about how I would hate me if I were watching that happen from the long line waiting to play. But, that’s the star class perk so I went with it. It seems my children have some issues they need to work out because they bumped me mercilessly. Our plan was to then hit the indoor pool, but, alas, someone puked in there and it was closed. So we decided to do the ship scavenger hunt. Leroy said he’s never seen one of his groups do it before, which is interesting. I couldn’t figure out how my son and his new friend were finding everything so easily and then I remembered I gave him Leroy’s WhatsApp in case of emergency. I guess winning the scavenger hunt by asking your genie to cheat is considered an emergency in my child’s world. Sorry, my TEEN’s world. I did finally get to meet the new friend’s mom and I asked Leroy to add them to our overwater cabana list for CocoCay so that the boys can play and I can relax. That might sound generous, but it’s actually extremely selfish, lol. We had lunch at Jamie’s and it was very good, though next time I probably wouldn’t do it two days in a row. after lunch we went to do ifly. I wasn’t intending to participate, but Leroy cajoled me into trying it. Let’s just say I was not good at it. I don’t think I’ll try it again. My kids loved it. I went after that and had my hair blown out. I pre purchased a package of 3 blowouts for less than the price of two single ones. I hate doing my hair and I decided to make it my self care gift. We got all dressed up and took some photos before dinner at chops. They really push the private photo session but since those are not included in the photo package I purchased, i passed. Chops was quite good and they asked really thoughtful questions like whether we could eat the food on their regular plates or if we needed new ones (the answer is for us, we don’t care) . After dinner we saw Frankie and the Dreamers, starring the guy who played Frankie Valli in the first run of the show Jersey Boys. We went in a little bummed because both spectra and we will rock you are not showing this week due to quarantined cast members, but it turns out this show is great. Even my kids liked it despite asking me repeatedly why I knew all of the words to the songs. So now I’m up stupidly early because someone forget to tell my sleep cycles that I’m on vacation. We will see what today brings! TL:DR: star class is awesome and I never want to go home.

Short answer - no. The RU will just include those already on the booking. If you try and add anyone new, the booking will reprice at prevailing rates and any savings you would have realized from the RU will, almost certainly, be eliminated.

We are platinum on Disney, it was all we knew and we sailed her while our daughter was young, we watched her grow up on those ships. It was a special kind of expensive but it was also magical with a little one. We sailed both balcony and concierge & yes the prices were insane. Some friends were doing Royal for Thanksgiving and we were invited to join, after so many Disney voyages we signed on, Harmony of the Seas Owners Suite...we have not looked back. (Diamond at this point) Yes the soda is a small extra cost, pennies compared to the Disney fare. With our teen we find Royal is perfect, there are more similarities then differences and Royal crew is amazing, we found them to be better than Disney cast members most times. The specialty experiences are elevated, Disney is limited to the 2 special adult only restaurant spaces right now. I think Royal has a really great product and honestly I was surprised, I did not think it would feel so elevated & it's without being stuffy. I am looking forward to sailing the Disney Wish one day well into the future if I am blessed with grandbabies, because the look in their eyes is priceless. My money every time is on Royal though, so many more ships, itinerary's ship activities, just more well rounded. If you stay in a Grand Suite or above on Oasis class you get the wifi, Disney concierge gives you about 20 minutes a sailing. After that it costs $$$ While you don't rotate dining rooms, the menu rotates and honestly Wind Jammer is much better then Cabanas. Until they stop making 4 year olds Disney will be an expensive adventure for a family vacation BUT Royal I personally believe is heads & shoulders above, so much more quality bang for the buck. Oh and CoCo Cay crushes Castaway Cay, CRUSHES IT! Calling @Baked Alaska I know you can help here!

You can select your time and then come back to fill in the rest of the info and take pictures later.

Those same people will circle the parking lot at the fitness club to find a space close to the door rather than parking at the far side of the lot (even in beautiful weather), then go inside and walk on a treadmill.

Homelessness and crime is an issue in Seattle as it is in most metropolitan areas. It is quite visible in Seattle but crime against persons is not high so you don’t really have to feel unsafe. We stayed at waterfront last September and walked everywhere (including to the space needle and back) and never felt unsafe. We did have one unnerving experience while in a target liquor store where we watched two separate robberies (of alcohol, not the cash register) in a span of minutes. No weapons were used. The perps simply loaded up duffel bags of alcohol, while security officers stood by and watched, and walked out of the store! It was quite surreal actually. We walked around pike place and went for dinner on the waterfront and like I said, we never felt unsafe

Something like this:

We sailed Harmony in an owners suite 2 weeks ago. What a fabulous cabin! Huge, tons of storage. Even with the sofa bed out AND a rollaway set up, there was room to move around. We received the email on the Monday prior to sailing and, though our requests were few, they handled them all. My only disappointment was requesting something for my adult daughter’s birthday on our first night. A candle in her dessert, an acknowledgment from our waiter but nothing . No big deal. Here’s our suite. We were in 10640. If you are too, please say hello to Fatoni from the Dumoulin’s! He was terrific!

We board today for my first RC cruise - Anthem, Grand Loft Suite, 7-night out of Bayonne. I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning in excitement. I don’t know if I’ll have the stamina for a live blog, and I saw the feedback on here that we have a LOT of star class blogs, but I figured I’d start this and maybe add any interesting observations as a newbie. I’m traveling with my family - husband, two kids (12 and 7). We’ve been trying to sail RC since we booked an awesome Black Friday sale in November 2019 to sail in March 2020. You all know what happened then. As we kept rescheduling and getting canceled, we kept upgrading. This story started in a junior suite and ended up in star class, lol. We had two years to pay it off and, as a teacher with a doc husband, we both really, really needed an amazing break from the last two years of reality. Our genie is Leroy and he’s been lovely so far in our emails. I’m ready to grab the wheel from my husband if he tries to pull over before the star class zone at the port, lol. I am usually a great packer, but with the limits of air travel taken away, I’ve gone insane. Apparently I think I’m Beyoncé and need several outfit changes per day. I’m legit concerned about fitting it all in the car. Then there’s my 7-year-old, who announced to me that she’s all packed and when I checked she is bringing a slinky, an army of stuffed animals, and one shirt. I remedied that but let her keep the slinky, because I’m not gonna die on that hill. This site has made me feel like an expert before I’ve ever even stepped foot on a ship. You all are so kind and patient! Thank you for answering my questions and for your blogs that gave me an exciting preview of star class. I was especially inspired by @Lovetocruise2002 and @WAAAYTOOO from reading their blogs and asking them questions - thank you! We live about 90 minutes from Cape Liberty so it’s way too early to leave but I am so antsy. I might burst into tears when we finally get on the ship after so many tries. Sorry for rambling, but I’m sleep deprived! Hope to update from on board later today.

We went to Labadee for the 1st time last week. My wife is awaiting knee surgery so we wanted to take the tram directly to Columbus Cove. We asked the tram driver if his tram would take us there. Affirmative response. He dropped us off at Town Village, pointed us toward the entrance to the artist village shopping area and told us to walk down the road to Columbus Cove. We thought that was as close as we get, so we started the difficult walk down the hilly sandy road. In the shopping area we were continually yelled at by the vendors. Some vendors were fighting among themselves on the side of the road. A female vendor got in front of us telling us repeatedly that we had to go to her shop. She blocked our path numerous times. I tried to explain to her that my wife was having trouble walking and we needed to get to Columbus Cove so she could get to a beach chair. The vendor still insisted that we had to go to her shop. I had no choice but to tell her firmly that we were not going to her shop and to get out of our way. I know the vendors are trying to make a living with the return of cruisers to Labadee but blocking our path was too much. We found out later that there was a "short" tram with only 1 car that does go directly to Columbus Cove. There is also the tram that we rode on that has a longer car, or multiple cars attached that does not go to Columbus Cove. A simple mistake, or lack of accurate information. Our day at Columbus Cove was very enjoyable, the clear water was beautiful. We return to Labadee in a few weeks with knowledge to take the "short" tram. There was only 1 ship in port on our visit so lunch was only served at the main food service area in Town Plaza. Take the "short" tram.

Allure would have to be refitted with the proximity key door locks for all of the rooms for them to start using WOW bands. Allure still uses the old SeaPass cards that you have to slide to use for payments and room entry. Since CocoCay serves all of the ships they aren't set up on the tap to pay system either. They still require swiping the SeaPass cards.

Vaccines also vastly reduce chance of severe illness if one does become infected. I would imagine cruise lines would far rather set aside a few cabins for quarantine than have to worry about interruptions to their schedules due to having to do a detour for medical emergency. (I know they still will occasionally have to do this, but less likely for covid related problems if passengers are vaxxed)

It's not like the UK Government to act without thinking through all the consequences is it?

That would be great, the stress and angst tethered to that test, it sucks the life out of my planning euphoria.

No cruise lines have given any indication that they are even considering dropping the vaccine requirement. From everything I have heard and read we shouldn’t expect the vaccine requirement to be removed for cruising at any point in 2022

I'm following along, our Thanksgiving sailing has us sailing with family that are also unvaccinated. I'm getting nervous even for then. I used to think no way they will continue this, a negative test to step on the ship should suffice, no? I hope they relax this in some way shape or form, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't want to cancel but enough is enough, we won't go without our group if they are not welcomed by then.

We arrived at 10:30 and were in the waiting area in 15 minutes. We had 11am arrival time though also in a suite. Didn’t see anyone being made to wait outside. No time spent in the sun.

Thank you for sharing your journey so far! We are booked on this same ship and itinerary in November in a Grand Suite, so I'm loving being able to follow along!

Leroy is incredible. I think he replaced Yen? He is so kind and funny and warm. My kids adore him and we do too. I never should have told him that my son has a sweet tooth because there’s an entire bakery worth of pastries being delivered daily. He is so good he even convinced me to go on ifly - that one is definitely one and done for me!

Surf is typically 0.5Mbps down and 0.25Mbps up. Surf and Stream is typically 3.5Mbps down and 2Mbps up. For simple text messages you wouldn't know the difference. For sending a picture VIA text it will be very slow with Surf only. Sending a short video would be impossible with Surf. You can do WiFi phone calls over Surf but video calls won't work well if at all. Surf and Stream is a better experience overall largely because so many websites have rich multimedia content and/or ads that need bandwidth to load. Trying to web browse with Surf only will be painfully slow. Even FB has so many pictures and videos it won't work very well on Surf.

When we were on Allure, we were the only ones in our party that were in a GS. We spoke to the Concierge and not only did he arrange for our whole party, of 11, to dine at CK for dinner one evening, he also invited the entire party for a 'Suite Only' cocktail party on the Helipad. It was very nice of him to accommodate us.

Day 3 - Charleston MisterZ and I had never been to Charleston, but Slash’s brother lived here so he had spent a lot of time in the town. I left the day in his capable hands. We docked at 7a, and could depart the ship starting at 730a. We got right off the ship and headed to Callies Hot Little Biscuits for breakfast. Totally recommended! Here was the Egg and Bacon Sandwich on a Habanero Jalapeño biscuit: Next we walked around the neighborhoods near the Battery, where there were lots of historic homes: Next we Ubered over to the USS Yorktown and had a great tour. I highly recommend it if you get a chance! Last, we headed back across the bridge for lunch at Union and Church, which was fantastic! Make a reservation because it’s very popular: I really enjoyed Charleston and will definitely be back. Dinner in the Main Dining Room. Garlic Potato Soup, Artichoke and Pea Salad, Pork Shank, Cod Fillet, and Pecan Pie ala Mode: The Pea Salad and Pork Shank were great. The rest was okay. Bye, Charleston! Full Speed and Slash went to see the comedian and declared the show excellent. The theater was packed. I retired to blog, so you’re welcome!

Use the app at midnight EST at 45 days out, click on check in, click on arrival time, select a time for each passenger, go to bed. Everything else can wait! And they will take your pictures at the port. It takes all of 5 extra seconds per person.

I don’t have those figures, but if you know where to find them I’d love to take a look. It’s been a pretty small window that they have been sailing anywhere near capacity (if they have even done 100% yet), so not sure how you would really come to that conclusion. I am sure they had pent up demand from that group, but sooner or later they are going to need to expand their customer base. As long as they give me money back based on their decision to keep it in place, it’s their call after all, but just like smoking in the casino, eventually they are coming for that money.

Many ships are sailing very near or at capacity with the current protocols, no need to be in a hurry to change them.

It is a shame too, that now people can't live in the moment without bars of expectations. I try to put as much joy out as possible, to be as compassionate as I can in each situation. Hence not complaining that I might have to continue to test to cruise. I understand it dampers the joy because of anxiety but I believe things happen for a reason.......part of that reasoning is speaking thing in existence. I think I am part-hippie or something.

I live in South Carolina and had no clue Charleston is a stop for Royal. So glad you had a great time visiting here!!

While 4 or 5 weeks could/does make a difference in regard to lots of Covid related protocols and expectations. I wouldn't take stock in testing or Vax requirements going away, especially since capacity is increasing. Not before the end of the year at least. There is absolutely no incentive to opt out of the CDC protocols, nor does reducing the only two requirements to achieve the proper safeguards against liability. I stand by my assessment that the pandemic has really brought the worst out of humanity. Sueing the cruise lines because they caught Covid would be the nail in the coffin.

Good question on the CWC - I think it has to come down to money and how much that costs the company versus customer needs. Unless you get a Covid Positive Test I'm not sure how many people are using CWC right now for different situations. In my scenario I wouldn't even think of booking a cruise until the protocol changes and the vaccine is the thing of the past - and what I mean by that is a voluntary shot protocol that you can get once a year if you like; just like a flu shot was before all this started.

I would be shocked if the vaccine requirement will be lifted this year and I really think it will be quite awhile (2023-2024) before anything like that is even contemplated. I'm only saying that based upon how much hubbub we had to do to get back to cruising and the current variant of the month that keeps occurring that is always right around the corner will keep the current situation intact. I'm in the boat (pun intended) where I've had the shots to maintain my job and my wife has not had the shots. When I floated the, hey I can go on a solo cruise I got quite the look so I'm on dry land for the foreseeable future. When it changes I'll book a cruise as quick as my keyboard allows.

No cruise line would give any indication they were going to remove the requirement until they were ready to do it, so not sure the giving of indication is really a sign. I agree with you that it's unlikely that anything changes in 2022 based on their actions to date and willingness to comply with CDC. That being said, no one really knows. I can't see the CDC changing their guidance, so I think Royal would need to unvolunteer themselves from the CDC voluntary program, which I also doubt will happen. So I agree with your conclusion, but we won't know until we know. Releasing protocols through 5/31/22 and having a Kids Sail Free promotion that started with 6/1 sailings....likely means nothing, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the virus doesn't have a significant spike in the next month or so and continues with current status. Not trying to make a political statement with these comments, but just based off what we appear to know about the vaccines and specifically the Omicron variant. I am sure there are benefits to the vaccine, but it doesn't appear to stop the spread. That was really the main argument for cruise lines when they put the vaccine requirement in place. That it was in their best interest to ensure that there were no positive cases on their ships. The majority of people are vaccinated and a lot more have natural immunity (which they currently won't take into consideration in their protocols, but surely they aren't ignoring in their risk calculations). I hope for all our cases that they surprise us and remove them sooner rather than later, because that will definitely mean that the virus is relatively under control, but not holding my breath for 2022.

True, true....but IF you can, and IF you are willing, take an Uber to the International District and eat at Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant. My family have been eating there for over 6 decades. My father used to eat there with Bruce Lee when they were students at the UW. It is not the best or nicest Chinese restaurant, but for some reason, it is one of my all time favs. We will be eating there the night before our cruise in June.

My adult son and I were there at the New Year. Quickest route between our hotel and the light rail passed through an area with a large group of homeless. We passed through the area multiple times with no issues. Each time we were greeted with happy smiles and friendly word. Homelessness doesn't create a lack of safety.

While all the entertainment cast is extremely talented, you definitely saw the best show on the ship! Mr. Regular was going to skip it but I made him come with me and he was so into the whole performance. I wish we could have made multiple reservations to go again.

Mushroom soup on Wonder last week

I think the chemicals are reasonably strong from experience, which isn't a bad thing with the volume of people going in and out of them.

They provide you, if you ask for a bluetooth system which you can sync with your mobile, It was actually really good. Laying in the Cabana with some nice music, very relaxing. Compared to round the main pool which is good, but so busy!

Amount you bid doesn't always seem to factor in, so you can win a bid even with the minimum. Also, not everyone will qualify for an upgrade. If you can't modify or cancel a bid, it is usually a sign they have accepted your bid. There is a whole thread about RoyalUp.

You will be allowed to check in right away. But Port Everglades isn't too far so unless you have delayed luggage you should make your time even with a slight delay.

Ah, I grew up in West Warwick - I'm a Wizard! Answer yes to the first question (think of it as it not easy to social distance on a cruise ship), then no to the next three and then check the accept. Your insurance should cover it then and it should be free.

Yen is an awesome Genie. We had her on our B2B SC cruises in Feb 2018. I’m happy to hear that you are enjoying Leroy. More Genies is better !

There is no comparison between Wind Jammer and Cabanas, WJ is soo much better. And food on RCL is better.

Mmmhmm. Helpful. But for those that want to hit the hot human marinade tubs (and or/pool?); does anyone have experience with how chemical-y they are?

Like a Grand and Miraculous cruise ship, our passengers has sailed through the universe of fun; and for a brief moment we have been among it’s passengers.

No, we did not feel like it was too enclosed or claustrophobic at all. We spent many, many hours in there throughout the cruise! My wife and friend's go to area! The pool and hot tubs are much nicer than on Oasis class! The solarium is full of light since it's all glass panel. Also, climate-controlled thankfully so you won't suffocate! There is more shade toward the back of the solarium due to the bistro, sunshine bar, roof, etc. We found (at least in FEB) that the higher tiers of the solarium pool were sometimes very cold since the water did not get much sun. We found the same issue (once again in FEB) with the outside forward pool that has the structure above and the North Star crane. The water was much colder due to lack of regular sunshine throughout the day. The main aft pool was bathed in sunshine and much warmer. We got some color in the solarium... I did notice the glass, at least in some areas, blocks UV light as my transition lenses never darkened. You might have to occasionally "chase" the sun depending on the position of the ship. Some pics... One of the 2 double hot tubs... Nice view from front row of loungers!

My wife likes the lanyard I prefer my wallet. It’s the same size as a credit card.