Mrs. RoyalMoyal

Ha! I felt bad enough emailing Sharla on a Friday night (that is when I had free time)... I had no idea she was on vacation. She moved me from a studio to a 7th floor obstructed view balcony for a nice cost savings on Saturday! Sharla and MEI are great. 

Ha! I felt bad enough emailing Sharla on a Friday night (that is when I had free time)... I had no idea she was on vacation. She moved me from a studio to a 7th floor obstructed view balcony for a nice cost savings on Saturday! Sharla and MEI are great. 

@cdixon22my auto-reply is not set yet since it's a weekend. I did respond to your email though. 
 

Time with other family members (grandparents etc.) is equally as valuable. ?
Jokes aside, we have been leaving the girls once a year since my older one turned 1.  It was Hubby's idea and I was reluctant at first.  We kept this "tradition" up until covid messed up our travel plans last year.  In 2020, we did not leave them at all.  This year, while we still can't cruise, we headed off to the Rockies for two weeks last month without them.  You know what they said when we came home?  They both said they missed their time with my parents tremendously and it was good to spend two weeks with because they missed out last year.  In fact, the tables have now turned and my 15 year old claims that we are more clingy than she is lol.

Ovation was scheduled to leave from Seattle for over two years now.  I don't think they cancelled all cruises that were booked before the pandemic and created new cruises like they did for Serenade that was supposed to sail from Vancouver but moved to Seattle with ATRA.   
However I think most of us can read between the lines and know how this likely went down.  The dunce force is strong with some anti-vaxxers.  

Exactly, none of this changes anything for us.  We’ve continued to mask up, socially distance, and practice our good hygiene.  We’ve been fully vaccinated since February since both of us are in the health care fields. 
 
we have started to travel some, but still take all the precautions we can.  We’ve always carried hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes when we travel, so we were wiping down plane seats before it was cool ?
 
stay safe.

With my luck, both the theatre and the movie will be CATS.

Love to see Dear Evan Hansen or Come From Away.

Have you bounced this off a TA? RCG is not consistent at all in following their own booking protocols. Heck, my TA @Sharla sees one amount due online and then another amount due on my booking confirmation. I will NEVER booked a cruise without my TA!

I'm declaring the November 15 sailing to be the US Inaugural.  But I think that's about to change.  I'm ready to update my cover photo

My mom and I stayed at the Galveston Inn & Suites in 2019 and I remember liking it well enough. It was just for the one night before the cruise and I remember it being pretty comfortable. A good size for 2 adults, clean and friendly. Complimentary continental breakfast (with waffles).
I will say, it wasn't really close to a lot of stuff so we ordered delivery for food and basically just chilled in the room.
Can't comment on parking as we flew in and didn't see a reason to rent a car.

I’ve seen a number of winch events and one landing.  I’ve never seen the Hollywood special effects so perhaps they have a way to manage that.  
In both cases the full fire team is readied and waiting.  It's not something taken lightly.

That's challenging for all existing bookings.  
I don't want to sail on a ship where I have to endure protocols to accommodate unvaccinated.  

But they have an 8-hour port stop.  They just arrive so late that they miss the entire morning and KSC usually closes around 6pm.  I'm not sure it's worth the admission price x4 to only get a half a day at KSC.  
It might be more cost effective to rent a car for the day and explore the Cape Canaveral/Cocoa/Melbourne area if you are really itching to get out and do something at this port.  It will keep you much closer than trekking all the way to Orlando.  The area has a lot of public parks and river/mangrove areas that you can find a kayaking tour-- some where you may be able to see manatees and dolphins up close.  You can drive out to Cocoa Village which is a quaint little shopping area.  One of the more touristy things to do is take a visit to Ron John Surf Shop up on Cocoa Beach.  You could spend a few hours at the beach even if you like.  There's also the Brevard Zoo up in Melbourne.
Otherwise stay on the ship and enjoy it.

I'm not sure it would be cheap, but I recommend, if you have a full day in Cape Canaveral, that you spend it at the Space Center.  There is so much to see.  I would definitely NOT try and see any theme parks.  They are too far away and the time is too limiting to really do much.

I work in a supermarket.  Having watched how few people social distanced during the whole pandemic (and still act) while grocery shopping, the most recent release from the cdc pisses me off more than ever. 
The policy makers don’t even live on the same planet I do. 
 
 
 

I feel the same about certain suites.  If I'm looking just for a Star Class suite for example.
I'd love to be able to filter on specific cabin category and see the price range over several months, lowest to highest.
As far as solo cabins, Royal doesn't really embrace them.  Too often they are not so much cheaper that it makes sense to book them.  Once in a while maybe, but look at Harmony for example.  A 2W studio interior is often a few bucks more than a regular interior.  A studio ocean view is often a few bucks more than a regular ocean view.  Why would anyone book a studio when for less money you get double points in a bigger cabin?
Sometimes on Mariner or Radiance class I see a 2W several hundred cheaper than the next cheapest regular version.  This July on Brilliance for example.  A rare example of a studio being a decent amount cheaper than regular cabin.

Not Royal's website, but...
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/11/03/guide-royal-caribbeans-single-and-studio-staterooms
Summary:
Vision Class - none
Radiance Class - Studio Interior on each ship
Voyager Class - only Adventure and Mariner have Studio Interior 
Freedom Class - none
Oasis Class - Only Harmony has Studio Interior and Studio Ocean view, no other ships in this class have studio cabins
Quantum Class - All ships in class have Studio Ocean View Balcony, only Odyssey does not have Studio Interior

Health Canada (our version of the FDA) just approved Pfizer for 12+ this morning.  Bring it on.  Now I don't have the leave my kids behind in the dust, but I totally would have ?

There are all types of people who cruise with all different levels of disposable funds to spend on their vacations.
Some people have arrived at the point where a suite is a must have to cruise.
Many people, the majority, don't cruise several times each year.  For many it remains a special annual event or every two year event, something worth spending a bit more on.
Some people are retired and have some money for cruising but need to be more aware of how they spend their retirement to make it go the distance.
There is no wrong way to cruise. 
At the moment I am willing to go in an interior cabin sometimes if it means I can get in an additional cruise given my annual cruise budget being near it's limit.  I've gone from a loft suite to an inside guarantee cabin a month later.  I certainly enjoy the good life in a suite but it isn't a requirement for me.  Same goes with a balcony.  If it's close in price, why not.  If the balcony upgrade is the cost of another whole cruise, nope.
To each their own.  
My "lifetime" stats:
Interior: 19.7%
Ocean View: 11.5%
Balcony: 44.3%
Suites: 24.6%
Twice in Alaska in interior cabins that saved me thousands which I put into expensive excursions including a helicopter flight so I could walk on glacier.  That remains one of my best cruises and most memorable experiences.  Over five Alaska cruises I could have put more money into my cabin and cut back on excursions for the same budget.  So glad I didn't.  

When my wife and I started cruising, we were young and were always trying to save money, so the first few cruises where in an inside stateroom. I know everyone says that they don't spend much time in the stateroom anyway, so it doesn't matter. But after a couple of times of being in a CAVE, we moved to a balcony and have for all of our cruises since. I love being able to come back to the cabin and relax on the balcony in the afternoon or any time at night. 

Nope.  Brand new.  
Thing is a rocket.  Maybe it's too fast for the Royal site...  

My wife’s brother is up in NB now visiting their parents.   
 
Last week he missed one of the random “we’re checking to make sure you’re quarantining” phone calls.   They threatened him with fines and jail time.
 
He’s fully vaccinated....Pfizer shots  
 
I hope things get better for all of you up there soon.  
 
 

Hubby and I should have second doses by end of July but as a fellow Canadian, my concern is actually more with being able to get in/out of Canada without quarantine.  It is the border issue that concerns me more these day.  I will be so thankful if I can cruise Allure in December without issue.

I'm sorry this is happening to you! If you have booked cruises, you can contact Royal Caribbean and ask for the cruises to be released back to you. If they say no, escalate it. You have the right to take them back.
If you have FCCs (not applied) you can book new with another travel agency or direct. FCCs belong to you, not to the travel agency. 
Good luck! 

I had a similar experience back in 2019 with a rather large online company that I had used a few times. We booked a couple of cruises while on a cruise and told them I did not want that company to manage those bookings, however they did capture the bookings and notified me upon my return home. I decided to let it go and those bookings fell cancelled in 2020. Issues started in trying to lift and shift etc and like Jupiter03 responses were rare and confusing. After months of problems, I found out that you can demand the bookings be returned to RCI and then you can work directly with them any time.  According to RCI the agency can not refuse if that’s your wishes. 
 
On the positive side, after all of that, I found Michelle Cunningham at MEI and the world of travel is a different place now. Through the entire disaster of 2020/2021 cancellations, rebooks, lift & shifts, FCC’s etc she was right there any time I needed her help. She answered calls, texts and emails 7 days a week (I mean even Sundays).  Once you work with a pro like her it will reinforce how important a good TA can be. 
I hope you get things worked out for sure so you can resume enjoying your travel plans.