Jill

A couple of days ago he posted a pic of his two little girls and how much he missed them. Maybe he just needed to be a Dad. Hopefully nothing serious. 

My guess is Florida ports as core markets and all of us too

Agree we all need to plan. Our current plan in 3 weeks is to check out of our FLL hotel at 10:30 and head for Miami. Park by 11:30. Get out of car at 11:45 and get in line for our 12:00 time. 
 

It won’t (hopefully) be like this forever. Capacity is slowly going up. Pre-pandemic you were car to bar in about 20 minutes with a full ship. We’re prepared for an hour to get through the process, if earlier great, if a bit later, whatever. 

@DanielBhow was your boarding? 

She’s in Cadiz. Has been there since August 26. I think I remember she was supposed to get interior upgrades (carpet, furniture etc) back in 2020 that didn’t happen. 
 

I know she was getting  “tired” looking so hoping she’s getting freshened up. 
 

We’re on her 3rd cruise back out of Seward in May. 
 

Enchantment is there too. Maybe Royal got a BOGO deal! 

So how does this happen? They aren’t allowed off the ship (except for CocoCay) 

I would assume it had to be a passenger that exposed them? 

This is what my October 23 Symphony is showing in CP

I read somewhere that starting with this Saturday’s Symphony to expect upwards of 3000 passengers. Maybe this is why The Key is back. I’m on her in 3 weeks. I’ll check with my Facebook group for that sailing to see if anyone has gotten this email. 

You could test at the Orlando airport when you arrive or choose a Walgreens/CVS drug store to test the day before in Orlando or wherever you’re staying the night before. I’d start with the airport test. 
 

Currently no test needed to disembark if you’re staying in the US. You may need one to get back to Ireland though. That’s up to your country. 

10 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

But do they have Swatches or Casio calculator watches?

Amazon does! 

I’m boarding symphony in 3 weeks. Right now mask wearing is indoors, generally as you’re moving about the ship. Getting from point A to point B. Once you get to where you are going (bar, restaurant, theater) it can be removed. 
 

A lot will depend on what the virus is doing in December. I can’t see it getting any stricter. 
 

The good news here in Florida is that our cases have dropped dramatically. Our 7 day average is about 5,500 cases a day. Nationwide we appear to be moving on from the surge we saw over the summer. 

You can fly in whenever you want, leave out when you want. We’re arriving 4 days prior for our Alaska cruise and staying 3 days in Rome after our Holy Land cruise

7 hours ago, GKMCruising said:

Shocked there's not a thread for this already, if there is and I missed it I apologize.

Figured we could use a thread to give shoutouts to specific crew members that you've have go above and beyond for you.

For me, our most recent cruise on Ovation was extra special thanks to a couple specific restaurant / dining crew members. Our waiter, Mega, realized quickly how much our 2-year-old daughter loved grapes, so she had a serving of cut grapes waiting at the table for us every night at dinner. Our daughter looked forward to going and seeing her every night, to the point that we even dropped by after one night when we ate in Coastal Kitchen just to chat with her for a bit. The last day of the cruise, our daughter was having a rough morning, but we were able to stop by the host stand where Mega was working for breakfast to let her say goodbye and help cheer her up.

The other was James down in Sorrento's, our daughter's "pizza buddy". We'd stop by for a slice or two late night after the shows or for a mid-day snack and he made a point to chat with us and her every time. The last night of the trip, he made her special heart-shaped mini pizzas and a paper rose.

*This* is the kind of service that keeps people loyal to Royal.

 

Be sure to name them on your cruise survey! 

I’ve been reading in a few Facebook groups about people being turned away from the port because either they didn’t test or the wrong test. Just this past week 50 were turned away from Symphony. 125 from another sailing. 

Just wondering if Royal is really trying to get these people onboard. Imagine the frustration/disappointment passengers feel when turned away. Even though 99.9% of the time it’s likely due to their ignorance and not making themselves aware of what’s required. 

Just today someone posted on Facebook they bought the Abbott test at CVS but it wasn’t the proctored one. 

I just think Royal is really trying to get bodies onboard and placating/catering to those who either can’t follow directions or simply have been living under a rock for the past 15 months. 

Every passenger turned away is a possible negative Facebook/Instagram/Twitter etc post. Look at the Seattle case earlier this summer. It was splashed all over the media. When you dug deeper, you found the family actually was at fault but that story sticks in the non cruisers mind. It’s bad PR

Hand Holding/butt wiping is a pet peeve of mine but in times like this, they may just have to do it. 

4 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Completely understand..I am on my D+ quest as well. My cruise card calendar is quite full at the moment but I still can't stop shopping! 

I already had to book a 4th to get to Diamond Plus. Originally our 12 night next October wasn’t included in double points. Then they extended it to December. Now that cruise was in play and left us 14 short! Booked Harmony cause it’s only 2 hours to PC. Then Wonder came along and I moved Harmony to Wonder and a longer drive but ultimately a better cabin and $500 cheaper! Win win

14 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Yes! We did a GS and a 7 day land tour and 7 day cruise combo in 2014 and got 28 points for that sailing.

Thank you! That’s what I thought but ya know September 30 is hours away and I got that fleeting moment of “oh did I count correctly?” We will be right at 175 points by the end of October 2022 and if I counted wrong, I’d be forced to book more in a hurry! 

Can someone clarify this for me: we’ve got a 7 night Alaska with a 3 night Royal land tour. We are in a Junior Suite. 
 

It shows up in my cruise planner as a 10 night. All 10 nights are counted as a junior suite booking correct? So total would be 40 points? 
 

Please say yes because that’s what I’ve been planning on to get us to Diamond Plus. 

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

Allure pricing was way cheaper when I looked.

Honestly I can’t believe the prices right now. I’ve gotten over $1k lower on my Symphony in 3 weeks. Down to $1400 for balcony. I originally booked symphony way back in early 2019 for May 2020 in a JS. Took the 125% FCC for $5600. That FCC is now paying for Symphony and Wonder AND part of our Alaska. (I did put $$ deposits down but balance is being paid by FCC.) Couldn’t be happier! 

So what I find interesting is Odyssey is 756 this week and Allure is 2400. Allure has been around 2k (give or take) pretty consistently. 
 

So why the big difference? Allure is not Amp’d and odyssey is brand spanking new. You would think everyone would want to be on the newest.  Is it price? Both are Caribbean itineraries. Ports are roughly 2 1/2 hours apart. 

On the bigger ships (quantum and oasis class) with more restaurants, I say yes. However we only do dinners, not lunch as I would gain way too much weight. I barely eat lunch on land plus sea days are spent on the pool deck and we’re not going to shower and get dressed to go get lunch. 
 

On smaller ships (Freedom and below) we usually will do a 3 night and possibly go back to one for a 4th night. Those ships typically have 3 restaurants: Chops, Izumi and either Jamie’s or Giovannis
 

We have a 12 night on Odyssey next October and our group has settled on the 5 night package because it is a very port intensive cruise (Holy Land/Greece) and we have several ports that leave late. I don’t want to commit to a specialty restaurant if I’m schlepping back onboard at 7:30/8:00 after being ashore all day. I will stuff my face, have a glass or two of wine and hit the bed! 
 

We have 3 sea days plus embark day and one day where we leave the port at 3:00, so we figured there’s 5 nights we could easily do. We will do MDR for the rest. 
 

So for us it really depends on the ship and itinerary. 
 

Currently we have it booked for upcoming Symphony and Wonder. The 5 night on Odyssey and Alaska we may just do a Chops+1. 

We are on Radiance May 27. It’s the Southbound route out of Seward and ending in Vancouver. We have a corner aft JS. We added the 3 night Wilderness Express land tour which starts May 24 in Anchorage. We will fly in on the 23rd. 
 

We chose Radiance because of the itinerary and we knew we wanted to do the land tour to Denali. We’ve never been to Alaska and don’t know at this point if we’ll make it back so going big on this one to cram as much Alaska into 10 days that we can. 

9 hours ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Add a Bloody Mary for a serving of vegetables. 

Ohhhh good idea! 

On 9/22/2021 at 10:37 AM, KLA said:

Already planning to skip breakfast in favor of a filet and grilled lobster lunch 

Yep I think I’ll just have a mimosa for breakfast and wait for lunch! 

April is a prime season to sail, especially around Easter. If you’re more flexible, October is a great month to sail affordably. 
 

If you’re set on April, I’d book as early as you can to get the best price. There are a lot of 3-4 day options out of Florida and you may snag a good deal on a 7 day. Watch for the sales (which seem to be always available). 
 

You could also ask for a quote (MEI Travel) from this blog’s homepage. MEI Travel may have some group rates available or one of their agents can search high and low to find you the perfect cruise! 

Comes at a steep price though. If I were flying in I’d have an Airbnb as backup lol. 
 

I got the same email today and they’re obviously pushing the home test. I ordered our yesterday and plan to make a Walgreens appt as a backup