Jill

12 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

And to date i have not heard of them using any of those exemptions for adults, only children under 12 and rumor is they only issue 4% or a little over to account for no shows of the vaxed

That’s what I figured. No guarantee. I wonder how that’s sitting with their unvaccinated fans? 
 

My honest opinion is that right now…..ships should be all vaccinated nut as we just saw with Adventure, you still get cases. Let’s all just pray Delta burns itself out, fast! 

On 7/19/2021 at 10:20 AM, CJS2766 said:

I just wonder at what capacity ships will be sailing at when we cruise this October? I keep hearing maybe 40%, but that seems low. What's the capacity for the Symphony??

So what I noticed is the first cruise for Symphony in October, inside is “sold out.” I’ve noticed a lot of cruises with inside as sold out. I’ve also seen ocean view as sold out in September cruises. I believe these were taken out of the booking engine to reduce capacity. 
 

After that first week, inside opens up however, the only thing that’s been available for my symphony sailing (October 23) are interior connecting and it’s been that way for months. 
 

Since October is still under the CSO, I’d still expect reduced capacity. I know in my Facebook group for that sailing, passengers from the UK have cancelled as well as some since the new testing protocols were announced. 

1 hour ago, ChrisK2793 said:

‘It sounds like Royal would save themselves a lot of bad publicity and their passengers a lot of trouble if they’d just require all passengers 12 and up ….. even leaving out of Florida ….. to be vaccinated just like Carnival is doing ….. Carnival doesn’t seem to be getting harassed by our state for ignoring the vaccine passport ban either  ….. and it would make it a much better cruise for everyone on board not having to be masked and tested during the cruise with the chance to be thrown off the ship as well.

 

 

Carnival though is accepting unvaccinated just like Royal is. Same testing requirements, “bubble” excursions, travel insurance etc. 

The difference though is they are controlling unvaccinated and keeping it to 5%. It’s not guaranteed you can sail. 

@em.down.the.rabbit.hole you can also try private message on Facebook to Royal’s official page. I’ve gotten help pretty quickly going through Facebook messenger 

10 minutes ago, em.down.the.rabbit.hole said:

Thanks for the name bomb ... do you have an email address for this John Heald and his team please?

John Heald is the brand ambassador for Carnival. Not sure how he could help with a Royal ship

9 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

Where are you planning to park?  We're from the same area but I always fly to the ports because I hate long drives.   But for my fall cruises out of Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I'm thinking of driving.

We will park at the port for both PC and Miami. Yes more expensive but convenient 

1 hour ago, AlmondFarmer said:

My families cruise isn’t until after thanksgiving. As a young and healthy family we are considering finding someone who has Delta variant and hanging out with them in an effort to get it, then hang low to keep from giving it to others. In doing this we will have less worry about accidentally getting it before pre cruise test and being denied boarding. 

However, there are some that continue to test positive for a few months even though they’ve recovered. 

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Douse your nostrils with rubbing alcohol before the test?

Ok you try it first and let me know

For us, we’re going to lay low starting 2 weeks before our cruise in October. No going out unnecessarily. We’re lucky that we are home based, so no offices we have to go to. 
 

We were going to drive to Miami with our friends, but now (if cases remain high) considering taking separate cars. Especially since one of the friends will have just flown home from NYC a few days before we leave. 
 

I’m not risking it! Lol We’ve waited so long to finally get back onboard that to test positive would be just awful. 

On 7/29/2021 at 8:47 PM, smokeybandit said:

States that started spiking first are already at peaking. Give it a couple weeks and it'll be over

I was listening to talk radio yesterday and Scott Gottlieb was on and he said we are about 3-4 weeks behind the UK with the surge and their cases are coming down. So fingers crossed, this devilish delta burns herself out in a few more weeks. Keep your eye on Florida. Hopefully our cases here start coming down first. 

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Sofa bed comfort factor has been scientifically studied and determined to be directly proportional to adult beverage consumption.  

Ha ha! The 21 year old’s graduation present is a cruise to Alaska. We have a JS and she gets the sofa bed. She’s Diamond too and a lightweight so her 4 drinks will make that sofa bed mighty comfy! 

40 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I'd drive 9.5 hours in a heartbeat over flying right now.    I wish this was an option for us (it's a 23-hour drive to our next cruise's port - which ends up being at least 2 days tacked on to both the beginning and end of the cruise). 9.5 hours is a walk in the park.

I’m thankful my next 2 cruises are out of Miami (5 hours drive) and PC (2 hours). 
 

We don’t have to fly to a port until May 2022 and October 2022. Sure hope “it’s” a distant memory by then. 

Does the all inclusive in Mexico have about 90% vaccinated? No, I didn’t think so. 
 

Seriously I think cruise ships are probably as safe as your own home. 

2 hours ago, Cruising With JT said:

How do they know if you're symptomatic? Like do they actually check?

Nope. Other than the info I provided on the questionnaire. Didn’t even show my ID or insurance card which they told me to bring

6 hours ago, Cruising With JT said:

I am hearing that you can do drive through rapid tests and they don't really ask you why you're there since you're sitting in the car? 

I was tested for Covid 2 weeks ago at Walgreens drive through. It required an appt. You have to fill out questionnaire that you check off your symptoms. 
 

On the appointment form, it does ask if this is for travel purposes or because you have symptoms. 
 

Travel purposes = charge

Symptomatic = free

(I was negative BTW. Managed to catch a summer cold) 

2 hours ago, CruiseRoyalDad said:

You know that's an interesting question. Will Royal begin testing ALL passengers for covid considering the rise of the virus among the vaccinated? In the name of responsibility to the public. And if it comes to this will Royal still charge only those that were not willing to show proof of vaccination for the test and provide the return test free for those that have been vaccinated? If media reports on the variant are true we'll know the answer soon and Royal's true intention behind charging tests for unvaccinated passengers. 

Yes. Matt just posted. 
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/07/29/royal-caribbean-will-require-negative-covid-19-test-all-us-sailings-longer-4-nights?fbclid=IwAR3F0YVwRC21XXMFzce_ZdUgBjUodjK4b7Rw-VdfMWHqPnAmic9EKJRW29o

4 hours ago, Jill said:

No. Cruises currently out of Florida have no testing requirements for vaccinated. However, that could change with this variant since some who have been vaccinated are getting Covid. 

Well it appears I can predict the future. Testing now for all sailing out of Florida until August 31

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/07/29/royal-caribbean-will-require-negative-covid-19-test-all-us-sailings-longer-4-nights?fbclid=IwAR3F0YVwRC21XXMFzce_ZdUgBjUodjK4b7Rw-VdfMWHqPnAmic9EKJRW29o

We are doing this exact same itinerary late May 2022. Thanks Baked Alaska for confirming downtown Marriott. 
 

I have us booked at a Hilton Garden that first night (using points) but I’m thinking of getting a room at the Marriott. 

I just saw on Facebook the odyssey changes. Someone alluded to the dredging going on at the port in Nassau as to why the port was dropped. 

37 minutes ago, griffinjam22 said:

If sailing out of the US and are vaccinated are they testing passengers upon returning? Or just unvaccinated?  I know things change all the time. Just curious

No. Cruises currently out of Florida have no testing requirements for vaccinated. However, that could change with this variant since some who have been vaccinated are getting Covid. 

I find they generally happen about every 2-3 weeks, usually starting on a Wednesday and lasting 7-10 days. Always a sale during major holidays. Black Friday usually has the best prices all year. 

You can use Cruise with Confidence up to 48 hours prior to sailing. This way you literally can wait until the last minute to decide. 
 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-with-confidence

My mind went right to the movie, “Step Brothers.” Murphy beds would allow more room for activities! 
 

I would “practice” at home with a q-tip a few times so your 4 year old won’t freak out. 

49 minutes ago, Pooch said:

Booked an 8 day on Explorer to get to Diamond.  My TA said lots of folks doing the C & A math!

I was never great in math but I figured this one out fast! As soon as they extended to December, that suddenly included our 12 night Holy Land in October which bumped us to 24 points. Instead of being 26 shy of Plus, we were now only 14! It was either a 4 night in a JS on Mariner or a 7 night on Harmony. No contest! Harmony all the way!