HeWhoWaits

14 minutes ago, twangster said:

The recent approach has been for the cabin attendants to service the cabins early then all crew leave the guest areas so they can fog these areas with a mist that attempts to eliminate any virus that is present.  No one should want to inhale the fog chemicals so the guest hallways remain sealed absent of crew while the chemicals do their thing.

After time it is safe to reopen the guest hallways.  

The extra time keeping guests out of their cabins is used to minimize spread.

Thanks for the update on what the current cleaning/sanitizing protocol is on turnaround day.

But does the extra time for fogging really minimize spread when that extra time means more of us close to more of us for longer on day one? Just a thought.

I don't care how early we have to debark - breakfast is a must. If in a hurry, usually WJ or Solarium. If departing later, one last MDR breakfast.

The firmness of the beds onboard is absolute heaven for me. Hotel beds are always too squishy (and don't get me started on the lack of support from their pillows).

We decided to avoid the crush of people and parking traffic (as well as the morning rush hour) in Baltimore for our cruise on Grandeur. We enjoyed a leisurely morning of breakfast in the MDR and then relaxing on our balcony until they kicked us out of the stateroom about 9:30. Walked right off, breezed through customs, and would have been driving away by 10:00 if my wife's fairly distinctive bag WITH extra identifying ribbons hadn't been picked up by someone with a very similar (newer and less beat up) bag. Luckily, the phone number on that bag was a cell and the woman hadn't left the dock area yet and we were able to exchange bags.

6 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Apparently the cancellations are happening for those who thought they lucked in.  Technically if they're giving you an OBC, I guess you did luck in!

 

We got the standard Cruise Planner cancellation email but did not receive the info you posted. I'm on the line now hearing this exact info - waiting to find out if it's $20 per cabin OBC (which the rep assumed to be the case) or $20 per person who reserved the excursion.

15 minutes ago, SPS said:

 

@PurdueFlyeris suggesting that as your response when they contact you again regarding payment. 

"Email? What email? I never received an email about that. Since I received the tests, I assumed everything was taken care of."

13 hours ago, Boba Fett said:

You do have to wear the blue satin wristband…it was barely noticeable honestly…we just sailed last week.

The above may be true for you (and many others) but ANYTHING on my wrist is VERY noticeable. I have not worn a watch in nearly 30 years. When we went to Disney World last year, the "easy" way to do things would have been to wear the wrist band that acts as your room key, access to the parks, and charge account. I kept mine in my pocket and fished it out every time it was needed. I despise events that require a wristband to identify that you're entitled to enter/reenter - give me a physical ticket or stamp the back of my hand in some obnoxious color - anything but a wristband. The only thing I have "willingly" worn on my wrist would be hospital bracelets when I have had surgery, and those come off the second I don't have to have them on.

On 2/3/2022 at 10:55 AM, HeWhoWaits said:

Doing my weekly check to see if any Cruise Planner items are less than what we already paid and stumbled across this:

A FREE excursion. Checked out and got a message that I only have complimentary items in my cart so no credit card is required.

Details page has this note: "Entrance fee, complimentary beach chair, shower access, and a soft drink are included."

We may or may not want to go to the beach that afternoon, but you can't beat the price!

During last week's price check, the Cas Abao excursion was still available for free. Today it is showing $49 per adult and $39 per child.

20 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

We once didn't get our bags until 7PM, so I now wear long pants Day 1 (suitable for MDR) and pack shorts or swimsuit in my carry-on for a relaxing afternoon.  Dress code is lax on the first night, so don't fret much.

On the occasion that our bags were not delivered until late, our party of five adults and two young kids were all in shorts and sweaty shirts (some without collars) in the MDR for dinner the first night.

Then again, you'll see that on other nights too.

We have experience as early as the moment you are granted access to your stateroom to not getting any bags until after 9:00 p.m.

It's really a crap shoot.

In the past we have taken 7-night Southern Caribbean trips departing from San Juan. This year both the trip my wife is taking in June with friends and our anniversary (35th) trip in July are 8-night Southern Caribbean trips departing from Florida ports.

14 hours ago, Jorge Salvans Sr said:

Do you realize you guys have the rest of the ship non smoking? Why penalize we smokers and gamblers?

Except for one full side of the pool deck where the smoke is so thick that even being outside forces those of us who have respiratory ailments (e.g. asthma) to always travel on the other side (and sometimes not be able to comfortably access the soft serve machine). Why penalize those who don't opt to pollute their lungs and those of others?

26 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

The time gets reported in UTC time. I want to say that's 5 hours more than EST? Meaning 3pm EST is 8pm UTC.

So a Saturday departure requires a test no earlier than 0:01 UTC on Thursday? That would be 7:01 p.m. Wednesday on the East Coast and even earlier in the evening for those farther west.

Here's a perfect solution, IMO.

Remove the mask requirement in vax only venues, but make the casino open to everyone! Solves everything for most of us.

1 hour ago, Va4fam said:

This is good news and great timing for everyone sailing after February 15th......including ME!!!

Wish they would have kept the casino smoke free.  

The smoke-free casino (and the reduced odor in nearby venues) almost makes wearing masks palatable. 

Almost - still don't like wearing the mask.

1 hour ago, PG Cruiser said:

This is how I would have stated it:

"The U.S. CDC requires at least two doses of vaccine with the exception of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine where they require only one."

But what do I know? I don't even have a good command of the English language.

Your command of the English language is better than that of whoever created the health protocol information you shared with us.

23 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Ordered ours on January 19. Got the email today that they are expected to be delivered to us on Friday - will have been just over three weeks from order to receipt.

The kits arrived. They are Abbott BinaxNOW kits. Sadly, they are NOT the authorized kits for pre-cruise testing.

49 minutes ago, twangster said:

Excursion prices routinely go up and down as demand and sales trend.  

The concept that anything on a Royal ship has a fixed price is fundamentally flawed.  The percent off is the "percent off today".

Demand and sales didn't change enough for a beach excursion between Monday and today for "15% off" to be $39.99 (full price ~$47.00) and "20% off" to be $42.99 (full price ~$54.00). That's a 15% increase in the ever-fluctuating base price for an excursion that will never be "sold out."

Purchased an excursion for late June on Monday at "15% off." Same excursion is $3 per person higher today at "20% off." 

Royal math strikes again!

Why did Beethoven get rid of his chickens?

All they said was "Bach, Bach, Bach."

A man stumbled home at 3:00 a.m. His wife scolded him "you said you'd be home by 11:45."

He calmly replied "No. I said I'd be home by a quarter of twelve."

How do mathematicians scold their children?

"If I've told you n times, I've told you n+1 times..."

A pun, a play on words, and a limerick walk into a bar.

No joke.

What do you get when you cross a joke with a rhetorical question?

...

Ordered ours on January 19. Got the email today that they are expected to be delivered to us on Friday - will have been just over three weeks from order to receipt.