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Test loads are up. You have Liberty and Symphony out of NJ. Enchantment from Tampa And Wonder from Port Canaveral

Unfortunately with all the insanity going on on debarkation/turn around day, it's pretty hard to get someone to make a special trip to the room. I mentioned this in another lost items thread as a possibility of what may happen to forgotten things: You leave your room at 8AM, the forgotten item missed in the hurry to be out on time for breakfast, shuttle, flight whatever. Within probably an hour, an attendant is in your room, frantically cleaning - vacuum, mop, tub, sink, windows, sheets, beds together or apart, hangers stocked, fridge emptied, trash etc etc - to get their block of rooms turned over by 1 PM. If they find a forgotten item, they probably have a bucket or bag on their cart to drop those items in. They finish all of their rooms. Meanwhile, you're calling their number but they're not there and as it's all hands on deck to get the ship emptied, cleaned and ready for new guests, no one has the freedom to run around to look. So you make your case and leave. The attendant finishes their block of rooms and takes this now mixed bag of forgotten items - most likely untagged from the room they came from - to Hotel operations on board. Hotel Op gathers them all, maybe makes a brief list of the items turned in and hands the several bags off to operations on land with this possible list. Operations on land is busy dealing with new passenger luggage, crew mail etc etc that the lost and found items aren't touched until the ship departs and things are calmer. At this point they have 192 pieces of jewelry, 221 sunglasses, 59 pieces of clothing, 87 packs of medication, 85 books, 102 electronics, 219 toys and gods know what else. They sort them into loose piles based on those categories, tag it with ship and date. A week later, maybe, that case - and 500 others - hit their desk. Maybe, just maybe, they take the time sort through each individual item to see if it matches a (poorly?) described sentence on a case. Maybe they find it...but in that time...it will be months with more and more ships coming in and more and more people forgetting things. And all of this doesn't even consider abandoned or lost luggage that they have to deal with. I've said all this to say I know you're upset and I'm not trying to say what you're feeling isn't valid. But I hope you know it's not that Royal doesn't care...more likely that they just don't have the manpower to give each case dedicated attention. Hopefully, in some months, you'll get your necklaces back. I'd advise keeping up with your case, calling once a week or so just to make sure they know you're serious about wanting the things back. Squeaky wheel and all that. It may not expedite the process but it could keep your case from getting shelved (as I'm sure there are many people who give up after a few days or a week and inevitably it gets pushed down the list)

Not a service animal. Fluffy needs to stay home. If you can't leave the animal then you don't need to be cruising. I was a working dog handler in the military and have worked with the service animals for the blind and my mother currently volunteers with the Paws for Passengers at the Reno Airport. I am in healthcare now and I can't even count the number of times patients have asked me to write letters for them to take their animals with them. I have said no everytime. I know what it takes to have to need these very specialized animals and to have to them trained. Service animals cost thousands of dollars in training and everyone that wants to take Fluffy with them to the store, Dr's office, to dinner, on the plane, or on a cruise, diminishes the real service animals and does a disservice to the disabled that truly need them.

Emotional support animals are not service animals and are not protected under the ADA like a service animal is. My wife kicks them out of her restaurant all the time. Generally it is easy to tell the difference, like the time an 'Emotional Support' dog nipped at a passing customer. Service dogs won't do anything but lay under the table in silence. You are permitted to ask specific questions about the claimed service dog. https://adata.org/guide/service-animals-and-emotional-support-animals#:~:text=Emotional support animals%2C comfort animals,not considered service animals either.

This was a great question, thanks for bringing it up! I'm shocked to find I've been on 23 different Royal Caribbean vessels.

I am sure I do not hold the highest but this is the list that I have had the pleasure to cruise on in my 39 years: Adventure of the Seas (1) Allure of the Seas (1) Brilliance of the Seas (2) Empress of the Seas (1) Freedom of the Seas (1) Harmony of the Seas (1) Independence of the Seas (1) Jewel of the Seas (2) Liberty of the Seas (1) Mariner of the Seas (3) All West Coast Navigator of the Seas (4) All to Mexico Oasis of the Seas (1) Ovation of the Seas (1) Radiance of the Seas (2) Song of Norway (1) 1983 Serenade of the Seas (1) Symphony of the Seas (1) Vision of the Seas (2) Voyager of the Seas (1)

I have never complained to guest services before, but on a recent Voyager cruise, I complained over a dog. A passenger let her dog roam on one of the lower decks and up and down the stairs. The dog was leashed, yet loose. It nearly tripped me on the stairs creating a dangerous situation. I showed the pictures to Guest Services and they knew exactly who the passenger was and said they would have security talk to them "again". Super frustrating that the passenger created such a frustrating and dangerous situation.

Happy update on this! I got the Royal Up offer email today so thought "hmmm, maybe things are opened back up?" I still don't see the cruise listed on the website, but asked my TA to give it a go again, and he was able to make the change, which I can now see online. Hooray! And surprisingly enough, the shore excursions and drink package purchase transferred over to the replacement passenger as well. 11 days to set sail so this got a little close, but everyone is thrilled that it worked out finally. SHEW!

I agree with Wayno in the sense that, yes service animals are well protected and despite what people say there is no registry or database of service animals. Unfortunately, people tend to take advantage of that and claim their dog is an emotional support animal. Companies can only ask if it's service dog and what service they perform - they can't ask for proof of the disability or a training certificate - so someone who is falsely using "emotional support animal" can say it's for anxiety and there is no standing for the cruise line to debate that. Alas, it makes it tough for people who do really need service animals. all that to say..hopefully the pups in this case were at bare minimum well trained and using only the designated potty section and not causing distress to any other passengers

I was finally able to get it canceled. It took 4 calls to Royal, but finally a lovely customer service agent named Stephanie was able to get it canceled and I see the refund on my credit card now. Many thanks to Stephanie!!!

Add Odyssey and Wonder for twenty six active ships. Of the 26 ships that are carrying passengers today I am missing 3 ships. So 23 ships of the current active fleet of ships in production (not including Icon or Utopia obviously, or ships that are no longer in the fleet). If you include former ships add a couple to that. I had bookings on them all but the pandemic messed me up.

Also, Vision out of Baltimore and Adventure out of Port Canaveral, which I missed earlier because they're loaded for April 2025 and I didn't think to check that far ahead.

9am - assuming you left the cabin at 7:30am - 8am so they could start cleaning it for the next guests. Staying in your cabin past 8am is rude to the cabin attendant and will likely cause them to miss or cut into their mid-day break. By 9:10am you are probably being paged to get off the ship. By 9:20am they will start trying to find you. Once the breakfast service is done nothing is open. Crew are in turn around mode. There is nothing to do other than sit somewhere which you can do at the airport. They offer excursion transfers with luggage service for the day of departure. With a later flight they are totally worth it.

I’m sorry you lost something important to you. And it’s understandable that you’d want to take nice pieces of jewelry with you on a cruise when there are opportunities to dress up that most of us don’t have that often at home. I recently left a pair of expensive noise-cancelling headphones on a Delta flight. I filed the reports, checked with the gate agents, and ultimately was told “we’ve done all we can do, sorry”. It’s upsetting, but ultimately it was my responsibility to keep track of my own belongings. We always hope for the best, but realistically we can’t put that responsibility on huge companies like Delta and RCCL who are responsible for turning around thousands of passengers everyday as quickly, safely and efficiently as possible. I wish you the best though, and understand your disappointment.

I know what you mean! I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I can probably get two cruises on "lesser" ships than it'll cost for one on Icon!

Glad to finally have a time frame though. Probably won't book anything right up front but it will be nice to see what the options are for fall 2024 that's not Icon (I'm too poor for Icon lol)

Just wanted to throw out there that even though the summer of 2024 dates aren't listed yet, I see there is one date listed for Symphony of the Seas round trip out of Cape Liberty, NJ at the end of Sept 2024. Suspecting it may be Symphony coming up to replace the Oasis in summer of 2024.

Emotional support dogs are not allowed according to their policy. They are not considered service animals because they are not trained to perform a specific task. Are service animals allowed onboard a cruise ship? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

We are hoping she comes to NJ!!

Yes. That's what I do for all cruises. Go grab the arrival time in the app, then go finish the rest on the website when I get time.

I forgot to mention. We will be using apple air tags again this year in our checked luggage. This is one of my biggest fears but we are on a direct flight with priority luggage so I am keeping good thoughts. I would definitely not handle lost luggage as well as @Lovetocruise2002 Lol

Speaking of luggage, I splurged and purchased Monos luggage for all of us. It’s an investment for sure but the rigorous testing and lifetime guarantee convinced me to give them a try. I am tired of luggage falling apart after a few uses. Some of you may think I am nuts but I purchased the luggage covers . Reviews are mostly favourable but I will report back. I love pretty + functional luggage and really hope the covers work. I decided to purchase a variety of colors so our bags are easily identifiable (navy blue, pink, grey and terracotta). I took a picture of one of the bags with the cover on for those that have no idea what I am talking about. Lol

Good thing I'm cruising on SY twice before she goes to NJ.

Anyone else’s furry friends do this when the luggage comes out?

Voyagers: Adventure, Explorer (next June) Freedom: Freedom Oasis: Oasis, Symphony, Harmony (next Sept) Quantum: Odyssey, Anthem Vision: NONE Radiance: Brilliance (in two weeks) 6 so far but 3 new ships for me next year!

Just got off the Explorer on Sunday. No charge for any extras on anything. The only restriction was that if you wanted more than 2 lobsters you had to eat them first then order another. I ordered two, my wife ordered the beef and a lobster then gave me hers so I got 3 at the same time.

I will echo everyone else--I love being near the elevator and was excited to get put there for my guaranty balcony on Harmony. Not only is there a stairway and a wall between you and the elevator, but also you don't hear all the noise from people walking down the very narrow hallways. You also don't have to avoid the obstacle course of dishes that sometimes happens in the hall late at night. Enjoy your cruise! Jane

Thank you, I will keep my eyes peeled.

Just go to the WJ, get a chocolate chip cookie, break a chocolate chip out of it and put it on your pillow. Problem solved!

Beats the obstructed view of the ocean I have from Colorado...

Wouldn't it be great if Symphony did a proper repo from Fort Lauderdale to Bayonne instead of the usual 3-day dead-leg? Sigh...

I use my AirTag religiously too, but we only ever do carry-on luggage. Once they made me relinquish the bag on the ramp for being "too big for the overhead" (even when it had been on 4 other planes of the same exact model on the same trip) and it ended up in another state so now I have to have a way of knowing where it is even if its always with me! The funniest part to me is always the notifications of "Daryl you've left your bag behind, it was last seen in the Pacific Ocean" whenever we leave the cabin! PS. Love the luggage covers, I have a fancy Away soft-sided carry-on and I hate how banged up it's gotten on just 2 trips!

We can’t wait for them to come out for actual bookings. We have to move a cruise from March ‘24 to Mar/Apr ‘25. We’d like to move it to that Adventure one.

This will be the 1st cruise in almost 18 yrs. for us! Last was Radiance of the Seas along western coast of Mexico. I am excited and curious what a ship of this size will be like.

@Matt and @twangsterhave lots of fans on here....

We've only sailed on 6 different ships to date: Majesty, Explorer, Liberty, Allure, Oasis and Odyssey... Two more ships booked in the next year or so: Wonder (x2) and Icon. On the current wishlist for various reasons: Mariner, Anthem, Ovation, Harmony and Symphony.

Just two: Vision and the Song of Norway But soon to add Allure and Quantum next year.

I bet @Matt and @twangster have done most. Harmony will be my 6th (I've done Majesty, allure, adventure, vision (2x) and freedom (2x). Jane

6 different ships so far…not sure I will ever make it onto the full fleet! I guess I started cruising pretty late in my life!

Voyagers: Navigator - Adventure Freedom: Freedom - Liberty - Independence Oasis: Oasis - Allure - Harmony - Symphony Quantum: Odyssey Vision: Enchantment Going to be on Explorer next year for the first time. Thats all for us.

Thanks. I'm an aviation guy so the planes are the main draw. My wife will probably relax in a beach chair and read a book.

OK so there's a hidden heart icon above the price for each cruise. I click on that, then the cruise appears on my favorites page. Or here, and it appears on my watchlist page I wonder when RC will enable these features.

After being on a cruise last week with a stateroom right in front of the exit from the hallway to the elevators...no problemo. Oddly enough...after 20 years of cruising...it was actually a pleasant surprise to not have to traverse a long hallway to get to and from our stateroom. Stay calm...and cruise on.

If they cut back on cookies then

You can purchase a reservation # from next cruise and use it. Just be sure to check any caveats with the purchase.

Galveston Saltwater Moms is a licensed Transportation Provider with the Port of Galveston, which means they can legally operate at the cruise terminals. They have a $500,000 bond and commercial insurance through Progressive. Give them a try as an alternative to the big guys.

I agree with #4…..especially with the purchase of the dining package. I always get the package because I save some money. The downside to the package is you cannot make any specialty restaurant reservations prior to boarding. So I find it’s best to board as early as I can and go right to any restaurant host desk to make my reservations for the cruise. Sometimes they have a restaurant reservation kiosk open on boarding day…but any host can make all the reservations for all the restaurants. Then I can browse through the entertainment offerings for the cruise on the app and make those reservations. Keep in mind the shows can change times and dates week to week so you can’t rely on someone posting the entertainment schedule for the cruise prior to your’s. And headliners come and go so someone performing on one cruise may be replaced on another. I coordinate dining and entertainment reservations to make sure they don’t overlap. Then…eMuster and check in at my muster station. #5 Checking in or not makes no difference in canceling your cruise. You can always cancel…with significant loss of money! Read the cancel policy.

I am currently on the mariner of the seas and starlink onboard is working well. I was on this ship back in September and the internet was all but useless!

This was the inspiration for the Christmas Vacation theme blog. Lindsay purchased this 1974 Ford Country Squire a couple of months ago and his dream was to drive it in our towns Christmas parade. The lighting isn’t the best but his brothers business was awarded 3rd prize It was a crowd favourite.

This is a grand aft balcony on Liberty, so it's bigger, but it gives you an idea of what the obstruction looks like from the balcony side.