barbeyg

We were on Oasis a couple weeks ago. We had two in our cabin, several left midweek, and after packing, hubby dropped his on the floor. Steward was happy to give him a couple more.

Planner purchases are typically cancelled when ships change. We were hoping that would transition, but apparently the software won’t allow it, or it is too cumbersome to do so. I have to rebook mine as well, so will watch for a good sale. There are a lot of balcony cabins. If you booked thru a TA, they should be able to get you all together again. If not, a call to customer service will rectify that. I think you can get the cabin situation remedied pretty easily. I suggest calling early in the day, if you need to call. The lines aren’t as tied up then.

Yes, I also read that the captain announced onboard that a couple crew members tested positive during routine testing. Some shows were cancelled out of an abundance of caution. At least, that is a report from someone onboard. Could be related.

And this page gives you all your options. Click on the one you want, and it takes you thru the info for each, including boarding day testing at the port: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/pre-cruise-testing

If you are looking to BUY the tests, this is the link. Go to the page and follow the steps there to order: https://store.optum.com/royal-caribbean/ If you are looking for the acceptable test list, this page gives you the acceptable tests: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-need-an-rt-pcr-test-before-i-cruise-where-should-i-go

Be sure to check your pricing as well, after being transferred. Ours is different. Bumped up about $500, but will wait till after 1/14 to contact them about it. I'd rather see if they correct the pricing before reaching out to Crown & Anchor.

After traveling around the Caribbean a bit on the Royal Caribbean website, we have landed in our cabin on Wonder. Lo and behold, it was the one mentioned! Yay!!

I can confirm cruise planner purchases will be refunded. I got multiple emails for each one overnight.

And it was the busiest place on the ship when we sailed, even the last night. I figure it’s because of the ‘I’m smoking and can’t wear my mask while I smoke’ ploy. Similar to the ‘I have this drink to my mouth constantly while I’m moving from venue to venue’ ploy. Gosh I would hate to have to enforce any masking rules, but the ‘no smoking’ rule? You couldn’t pay me enough to do THAT job. I would have to drink on the job to get thru the day.

I thought the same thing. OP, welcome to Royal Caribbean Blog. If you return, I’m sorry you are disappointed. Sailing during a pandemic means we have to be flexible. There are smoking areas on the ship.

And who frankly get their kicks out of their 15 seconds of fame by being named on a news site. Seriously, we all know the risks when we choose to sail.

LOL on the forgetting to put it on. I was in the Suite Lounge having dinner when I remembered my 'bracelet' wasn't on my wrist, I had left it in the cabin. DH just laughed, but I wasn't comfortable until I had it. And there were a number of times we almost made it to the lounge door to go to the restroom, when we had to turn around for our masks. So I get it. Replying to add, we had the same with the elevators too. There were a few times even that we had to tell people it was okay to get on with us. They hesitated, I guess waiting for us to bark at them for trying, but there still would have been only 6 in the elevator. And there were a couple times where by the time we got to our floor that the elevator felt like the old days, with humanity packed in like sardines.

I only laugh because I am up at dawn and don’t want to go to a show that late either. Hubby would rather relax on our balcony, or enjoy a drink in the lounge to wind down. Now if we could wear our jammies there and the humor was a bit less adult….

And some of those that populate for Dec 2023 are wrong. You can get to a few by choosing ships. But if Wonder is taking over the cruises from Harmony, they currently have the weeks backwards on the 2 that populate in a search.

Yeah, a couple on our Oasis cruise, who are not prudish, said the sexual jokes made them blush. One of the comedians covered all types of sexual acts. We opted for the family show.

It is odd how this changes from cruise to cruise. I didn’t see anyone flaunting the masking rules on our cruise. I’m sure some did, but I didn’t encounter them. And I wasn’t watching out for them either. I have better things to do with my time. Of course, when we got to the vaccinated venues, everyone was quick to de-mask. (Or is that disem-mask? ) I know that having to remind people to mask gets old. And they shouldn’t have to, if you signed up to cruise during this time. The cruise lines have to abide by CDC guidelines, so have to police this. And there will always be those who have to be told, as if they are still stuck in a 3rd grade mentality.

I’ve seen some ‘funky’ sailings for Wonder pop up on the website. I think they are having issues posting the winter 2023-2024 sailings, for some reason. Doesn’t surprise me that there are other issues, what with the new releases PLUS moving some ships for 2022. Hopefully it will all be corrected soon.

What I was thinking too. We just got off the ship last week, and if my memory serves me correctly, I think they are queen.

Possibly, with all the current upheaval between new restrictions, etc., they are anticipating cancellations and adjusting for that. Last minute cancellations can’t be replaced easily, if at all.

Masking rules are ignored by some everywhere on land. I’m not just talking about the US either. I’m not surprised it is the same at sea. The crew is experiencing what grocery store clerks, retail workers, etc have experienced since just about the beginning of Covid. It is frustrating for them all, but this is not unique aboard ships. I will be glad when we transition out of this pandemic. But I’m sure that those who have to ‘police’ mask wearing will be much more thankful than I ever could be.

Im hoping the same, but am not counting on it. Maybe someone who has already been moved can answer that. Thanks for asking.

Not to mention the skewing of the info for the most dramatic effect. What a puff piece this was. Yes, I would expect to be moved to the ‘Covid ward’ if testing positive, and eat from room service, and disembark separate from everyone else. I thought RCI handled this well. And they never considered they had Covid? Hmmmm. Something doesn’t pass the smell test here. I have asthma, which was acting up the week before our cruise, and asthma wasn’t my first thought, Covid was.

We have seen some confusion in the past onboard, as the crew has to make the transition to new rules. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to first get the decree from Corporate, then each ship convey those rules to ALL crew members. And there have to be questions that Corporate hasn’t thought thru, doesn’t have the answer for yet. I figure within the next few days, we will get reports of what the new rules really ‘look like’. Of course, for those sailing this weekend, it’s going to be very confusing.

@BrianB, I agree completely with your assessment. For some, I think it is this last minute shift, in a situation we are all weary of, no matter what our level of risk tolerance is. We personally chose to sail under the previous guidelines and had a truly wonderful cruise, despite the “put on/take off/etc” of the masks indoors. We personally believe masks are theatre for the most part if they aren’t N95s, but the rules are the rules and we chose to sail, which means to us choosing to observe the guidelines. I personally have a lack of tolerance for people who know the rules, choose to go, and choose to break those rules, as if they don’t care that the cruise lines will suffer for their childish behavior. IF the new guidelines require wearing/removing during meals and drinks in addition to theaters, etc, we would be sad and postpone cruising for a bit if we had one coming up soon. My husband works in food manufacturing, 12.5 hour shifts, in a mask. For him, that wouldn’t be a vacation. So, for us, we would choose to wait. For others, it won’t bother them, and they would choose to sail. As you and I both know, both are personal decisions, and neither is wrong. So many have no tolerance for choices different from their own, which leads to the bickering on social media. I think it’s great that RCI is sailing again, and they allow cancellations for situations like this. Not many vacations you can say the same for. Hopefully the current drama over Omicron will prove to be wrong, and Omicron will be one more step toward exiting a pandemic. Hopefully, THIS will become COVID’s last hurrah. (Wouldn’t that be great?)

I agree. We chose to sail under the previous mask rules…and abided by them. We didn’t want to cause issues for the crew OR RCI.