twangster

Points are awarded 7-10 days after the cruise ends. Only at that point will your new level be achieved.

I kept putting off an Alaskan cruising for years, then I did one. Then I did four more. Alaska is beautiful. You won't regret it. PS - I have two more Alaska cruises booked and will go again in 2023 once they release that season. Every visit to Alaska is different. Here is another thread on Ovation: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/12630-ovation-goes-north-way-north-to-alaska-11-nights-may-13-2019/ Maybe some of those port stops overlap with your cruise for more ideas.

Whichever way you go I always plan to be on the helipad when sailing away from ISP. Sometimes you get a whale spotting right from the ship and pretty close too. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/9160-radiance-of-the-seas-alaska-southbound-83118/&do=findComment&comment=83841

Juneau whale excursion in this thread: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6634-explorer-alaska-62218-7-nights-rclblog-group-cruise/&do=findComment&comment=73463 (Note the pictures of a bigger boat packed with people that came by) ISP whale excursion in this thread on a bigger boat (my first Alaska cruise, rookie mistake) https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/5211-alaska-recap-celebrity-millennium-june-2017/&do=findComment&comment=51846

Icy Strait Point is known for marine wildlife. However I've also gone whale watching in Juneau on a different trip. Both are acceptable but I'd give ISP a nod for better chances. Some of their tours even guarantee seeing marine wildlife. Where ever you do it I'd advise seeking a smaller boat if you want to get closer to the action and have better views. On the larger excursion boats when someone yells whale 150 people run to that side of the boat.

It helps if you know what you are looking for before you go. Reduced deposits and some OBC can be benefits but it really depends on your qualifiers. Age, military service, police/fire, Crown and Anchor, home state, etc. all play a role on your cruise pricing and some of those may or may not be combinable with NextCruise OBC. They tend to slant heavily towards NRD pricing but refundable is available for non-suites upon request. Not always very attractive though once you switch to refundable. The perks mostly align with NRD bookings.

Allure's crew were going to get a day at CocoCay during their break between the simulation cruise and the (hopefully) first revenue cruise. Odyssey's crew got one of these crew days a few weeks ago. She may be there related to that crew day.

I think there are still "trade event" cruises in November. At least there is still a gap in her schedule for them. Wouldn't be surprised if those were around the time of these types of formalities.

Really depends on your budget. Downtown hotels near the cruise terminal are more expensive compared to airport hotels. Some hotels are literally at or very near Canada Place where the cruise ships dock. Some of those can be $300 or $400 per night but are convenient to everything downtown including Canada Place. I always stay near the airport, pay much less and ride the train into downtown. Super cheap transfer from hotel to ship, or ship to airport.

Here is a trip report for Vancouver to Hawaii on Ovation. Quantum should be similar. This was September but I expect you'll have a similar experience a few weeks later. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/15665-ovation-goes-south-to-hawaii-sept-20-2019/ I don't recall being cold but take a look at the photos and try to catch what others are wearing. I try not to take pictures with other people so that's kind of working against the concept here but hopefully you'll get the idea. Very enjoyable cruise, enjoy!

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

Step 1 - Got it Step 2 and 3 will take some people 15 minutes. I'd hate to be #3 in line. For the moment Royal is going with a crew member assist at the Freestyle machines.

Wake view aft cabins are generally in high demand but they are not as private as a side facing balcony on this class. If privacy is important do some research, otherwise give it a try and you might find it's something you'll want to do again.

I'm not sure what the question is. If you are going to Vegas for the weekend, get off the plane and find out you are positive what would you do? If you are going on a business trip, get off the plane and find out you are positive what would you do? If you are flying to see family somewhere, get off the plane and find out you are positive what would you do? I think the same applies when flying to a cruise. Do the same thing you would do if you discover you are positive on any given day no matter where you are. Were you thinking that a casino in Vegas should be responsible to pay for your quarantine costs just because you were going there but now can't? I guess the answer is... Consider travel insurance and look for the coverage you are hoping for.

I'm not sure this answer everything but it's a start. "Traveling Party" is defined as well. 100% cruise fare refund for you, and your Travelling Party, if any of you tests positive for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to the cruise or at the boarding terminal. Pro-rated cruise fare refund if your cruise is cut short for reasons related to COVID-19. If you test positive for COVID-19 during the cruise, Royal Caribbean will cover the costs of COVID-19 related medical treatment onboard, any required land-based quarantine, and travel home for you and your Traveling Party. *Last modified June 28, 2021. Subject to change. “Traveling Party” means your family members living with you in the same household and traveling companions assigned to your stateroom on the cruise. Conditioned upon compliance with the RCG COVID-19 Policies and Procedures in effect at the time of the cruise. Additional terms and conditions apply. See our COVID-19 Refund and Cancellations Policy and your Cruise Ticket Contract for details. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf If you, or someone in your Traveling Party, cancel a cruise booking due to testing positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of embarkation, you and they are entitled to a refund, or an optional FCC, for the cruise fare paid to RCI. If you had close contact with a positive or suspected COVID19 case within 14 days of embarkation, and RCI deems you are unfit to travel, you, and anyone else in your Traveling Party who cancels, are eligible for a refund of the cruise fare paid to RCI, or an optional FCC equal in value to the same. To qualify for a refund or the FCC, if your COVID19 test was administered by a provider other than one retained by RCI, you must present your verified positive test result in a form acceptable to RCI. If you report, or we identify, that you may have been exposed to or are likely to have been infected by COVID-19, we may require that you and others in your Traveling Party do not travel to the port. This is in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Anyone effectively denied boarding in these circumstances will be entitled to a refund, or an optional FCC, for the cruise fare paid to RCI.

Nearly 16,000 new cases in Florida announced today. Six cases on a ship. We know the virus has not been eradicated. We know unvaccinated are the primary transmission vector and we know that even some vaccinated will get the virus because the vaccines are not 100% just like other vaccines do not guarantee 100% protection. It is strongly possible that the infected guest "zero" could have become infected before leaving for the cruise. If those infected individuals did not cruise they would likely have never known and continued to spread it back home. Another example of spread being stopped because they went on a cruise. Now they know and can take appropriate measures at home while they recover. Protocols worked and cruising helped to limit the effect these individuals would have on their community. Sounds like a win, except for the innocent bystanders caught up in it on the cruise.

I was invited to the Indy simulation cruise next week but I'd have to fly and stay in a hotel the night before. The ship will be fully vaccinated for guests and crew. The ship will operate with full and proven effective protocols. The airport, airplane and hotel will be... who knows? Could be mostly vaccinated, could be mostly unvaccinated. Could be an airport worker doesn't want to lose their job and has bills to pay so they go to work with mild symptoms. No one is going to check or know any better. Protocols will consist of a $0.35 mask. The risks involved with this trip were heavily slanted to the parts of the trip that weren't on the ship. The ship would be the safe part. I declined the Indy invitation but if I get an invite to another Florida based simulation cruise I'm going.

No one can predict the future. It will be what it will be when we get there.

I have always felt that cruises are cleaner environments compared to hotels. As a former frequent business traveler it was not unusual to pick up something on a business trip. Having had that occur on a number of trips I started wiping down everything in my hotel room from the TV remote to the telephone which I avoided at all costs, and I was wiping down my seat area on the airplane. That was before any notion of a pandemic. Even with that sometimes I'd get something from a common cold to some kind of crud in my chest. However I never did get any of that on a cruise. There has always been plenty of hand sanitizer on a ship but rarely in a hotel until now. Fifty plus cruises later and I'm still of the opinion that cruises are safer, healthier environments compared to hotels. Now even more so. Cruise lines took a pretty clean environment and made it safer with the protocols we know about. Hotels aren't doing most of that. Hotel employees are cutting back service so they don't come in your room as much but employees may or may not be vaccinated. Hotels are now putting sanitizer out in some places but still not as prevalent as on a ship. There will be cases occurring on cruise ships but there are also cases occurring in resorts and hotels. The difference is that they are detected on cruise ships because of the protocols. Make no mistake - cases are occuring at resorts and hotels but there is no reporting requirement, few protocols and zero awareness that cases are occurring. Out of sight, out of mind and out of the news but that doesn't mean it isn't occurring at land resorts.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/blog/a-captains-inside-look-at-odyssey-of-the-seas/? From launching a cruise ship to his career journey, meet Captain Sindre. A CAPTAIN’S INSIDE LOOK AT ODYSSEY OF THE SEAS

Next March during spring break the floating cabanas have been sold out for months.

I went down a floating cabana slide yesterday. It was over my head (I couldn't touch bottom). I'm guessing seven to ten feet.

Um, yeah! That's a great offer. Money back and a free cruise.

Interior is great when on a budget or in situations where you wouldn't otherwise take the cruise. Bucket list destinations often come with mega sized cruise fares. For destination like Alaska interior is smart if it means you can put all those savings into excursions. I would much rather put the $2k per person savings into over the top excursions because that is how you experience Alaska. If you have $8k to put into an Alaska cruise with great excursions then great, do a balcony. Instead of delaying an Alaska cruise until you can save up $8k go in an interior and do the same over the top excursions for $4k, then once you have saved up another $4k do it again another year. Go twice and you'll experience a completely different Alaska. Once you are in a helicopter or standing on a glacier with sled dogs the type of cabin you booked is irrelevant. Same with a Panama Canal cruise. So if the choice is to cruise or wait to save up more money, I choose to cruise.