ctwilliams

Now Monday....I am going to wait it out. They are covering hotel costs. Short cruise, but life is crazy sometimes.
 
We will set sail from Cape Liberty, New Jersey on Monday, February 10th. We’re currently finalizing our itinerary and compensation details and will share the details with you at 2:00 PM EST. We are trying our best to still make this a great experience for you.

Unprecedented situation that Royal had no hand in making.  Given the situation their reaction seems reasonable and understandable.  

I'm sorry that you are frustrated over this, but this is all part of cruising and you need to be prepared for that. There are all sorts of things that delay sailings, weather, mechanical failures, illnesses. You need to be prepared for delays and port changes. Calling someone at a call center will not have all of the information as this is a fluid situation. As far as the call center knows, the departure date has been pushed back a day, so of course they are not going to issue a full refund for the cruise. Its in your cruise contract that RC can alter the sailing as they see fit at any time and we as passengers have no recourse.
6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER: a. Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Except as provided in Section 6(e) below, Carrier shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever by Passenger, including but not limited to loss, compensation or refund, by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation
Others that are on your sailing have reported that RC is refunding the passengers the rate for the day, and any on board things like beverage packages etc. I feel that is more than fair. I also feel that it is wise of the cruise line to push back the sailing to thoroughly sanitize the ship out of an abundance of caution. The cruise will still be enjoyable even though it was shortened by a day. The kids will forget about the delay 10 seconds after boarding the ship. Roll with the punches and have a great cruise.
 

From someone who has climbed the C&A ranks quickly the secret has been a lot of solo cruising on longer cruises and occasional suites.  To make it economical cruising off peak is the key.
Long cruises help a lot.  A cruise of 11 nights solo equates to 22 points.  The snowbird migration last year was 13 nights netting me 26 points.  
The best "bang for your buck" are transatlantics on older ships.  Rhapsody Nov. 2020 14 nights for $1,300 "all in" (inc. taxes and fees) on a solo basis would net you 28 points for a very low $46 per point although you do have to consider the cost of international airfare.  These ultra low fares are few and far between so if you used them exclusively it would take years to climb the ranks.
It's not always about just sailing the cheapest cruises.   You'll want to enjoy the cruise, it is money after all, so not all of my cruises are the bargain variety and often they cost me much more per point.  
If it's strictly a points grab suites can help but you have to look at the numbers.  In some cases the extra cost to move up to a suite is less than the cost of another cruise to gain the same number of extra points, in other cases it isn't.  I've got a 15 night cruise booked in a JS that will net me 45 points solo in a suite.  If I cruised solo in a regular cabin that would be 30 points.  The extra $1,200 to move to a JS comes with an extra 15 points.  I could spend the $1,200 for another 7 night cruise that will get me 14 points or for $1,200 I get 15 points so in this case it made sense to upgrade and I get to enjoy a JS cabin.  More importantly it's a pretty cool and unique itinerary and being 15 nights the extra space will be appreciated compared to an interior cabin for 15 nights.
One feature of C&A to be aware is the ability to put you and your "significant other" in a relationship.  Qualification so far appears to be having the same address on your C&A accounts.  Once in a relationship if one person achieves a certain level in the program, the other person is granted that level even though their actual points remains below the threshold for that level.  They don't get your points, but they get your level.  This is how one can sell the notion of cruising solo to a partner.  You are "taking one for the team" as you will both level up as you advance.  
Cruising just to get points doesn't make sense but if you research and check often you can find some pretty cool and unique itineraries and often they are cost effective off peak when most working class people or those with kids can't cruise.

I'm an insurance nerd and this has me scanning my travel insurance policy and trying to apply the situation. 
Usually trip cancellation coverage is only effective until you begin your trip.  If you insured your flights as part of your trip, then technically the trip begins when you leave your house and therefore the trip has already began at that point so you no longer have cancellation coverage. 
That's when you have to look at trip interruption coverage to see if/how it would apply. 
Just from my insurance policy, one of the covered reasons for trip interruption is:
Your, Your Family Member’s, Your Traveling Companion’s, Your Traveling Companion’s
Family Member, Your Business Partner’s or Your Business Partners Family Member’s
covered Sickness or Injury which: a) occurs while You are on Your Trip, b) requires Medical
Treatment at the time of interruption resulting in medically imposed restrictions, as certified
by a Legally Qualified Physician, and c) prevents Your continued participation on Your Trip;
Now the question here is the medical staff person that screened you and led to a denial of boarding considered a "Legally Qualified Physician" and what documentation do you need to get to prove that your symptoms/illness fulfill parts B and C.  
Another covered reason that includes being quarantined:
You or Your Traveling Companion being hijacked, quarantined, required to serve on a jury
(notice of jury duty must be received after Your Effective Date), served with a court order to
appear as a witness in a legal action in which You or Your Traveling Companion is not a party
(except law enforcement officers);
But again, is being denied boarding for being sick considered a quarantine if it's for something like noro where they aren't going to put you in isolation back on land?
Now my policy also has this additional benefit under trip interruption that could apply:
If You cannot continue travel due to a covered Injury or Sickness not requiring hospitalization and
You must extend Your Trip due to medically imposed restrictions, as certified by a Legally Qualified
Physician, benefits will be paid for additional hotel nights, meal(s), telephone call and local
transportation expenses.
The language here seems to imply that this only kicks in if you have to EXTEND your trip..but the definition of a trip is from when you leave until when you return.  So unless you get quarantined and not allowed to take your flight home I'm not sure this would have the coverage for the interim period until your flight home.
Then we go to trip delay coverage:
Benefits will be paid up to $200 per day for: 1) the non- refundable, unused portion of the Prepaid
expenses for Your Trip as long as the expenses are supported by proof of purchase and are not
reimbursable by any other source; and 2) reasonable accommodation, meal, telephone call and
local transportation expenses incurred by You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the
Confirmation of Benefits, if You are delayed for 6 hours or more while en route to or from, or during
Your Trip, due to:
Again, one of the reasons covered here is:
quarantine, hijacking, Strike, Natural Disaster, terrorism or riot;
Then another coverage that could be applicable..or not is Missed Connection coverage:
If You miss Your cruise or tour departure because Your arrival at Your Trip destination is delayed
for 3 or more hours, due to:
quarantine, hijacking, Strike, Natural Disaster, terrorism or riot.
We will reimburse You, up to the Maximum Benefit Amount shown in the Confirmation of Benefits,
for:
a) Your Additional Transportation Cost to join Your Trip; and
b) Your Prepaid expenses for the unused land or water Travel Arrangements; and
c) reasonable accommodation, telephone and meal expenses up to $200 per day
necessarily incurred by You for which You have proof of purchase and which were not
paid for or provided by any other source.
This is where travel insurance gets confusing..you have to figure out which one of these coverages is the one that you file under.  In the case of being denied boarding, with the appropriate documentation (and I would make sure there was a letter from the cruiseline/medical personnel that you were denied boarding due to a quarantine type situation), I would venture to say you'd have the most luck getting coverage under the Missed Connection here.  Technically the you are missing the connection to the next part of your trip.  
Now interpreting this is fun because does that mean you can hole up in a hotel at the $200/day limit until your flight home?  If you decided to pay a change fee to get your flight home moved up, is that change fee covered?  Is it considering "joining your Trip" if you are changing the flight to go home and end the Trip early in this situation?
So basically..even if you have trip insurance, they really don't make it easy on you to file ?

No double points in studio cabins.
I have a studio inside booked to Iceland.  The rate was fantastic.  Since I'm above 340 points I get a reduced single supplement when booking a regular double occupancy cabin but even with that the regular cabin was $1,200 more so I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a very unique itinerary at my price point.
I also have several Odyssey studio balcony bookings.  Again the rate was too good to pass up for a brand new ship.  Only single points though.  

I have been in an interior studio on Anthem three times. It is small, but there is the virtual balcony which really helps. If you don't spend much time in your room or a small space does not bother you they are great. The only advantage to a regular  interior room for solo travel is the double crown and anchor points if that matters to you. 

Agreed, we did not enjoy the approach of the vendors up the hill, felt very uncomfortable with their approach. This was something we did not expect from a Royal Caribbean private island. Would visit there again as it was beautiful, but would avoid that area entirely.

Yes its the ones on the hill that are the worst, but you can tell they have boundary lines that they are not permitted to cross. When you have 20 to 30 of them all yelling at you at once, it becomes a bit overwhelming.
 

What is everyone's opinion on the local vendors at Labadee? I felt extremely harassed by them, they even take it to the point to play on our sympathy's by repeatedly asking to help their family. It was so bad we made sure we found another route not to even go thru that area. Then to make things worse, one of the local vendors picked up a dog by his hind leg and begun to swing him around, while the dog was crying for help. All the cruise ship people were screaming at him and a few tried to rush him to make him stop but security stepped in and the man ran off. I feel this type of behavior is completely unacceptable on a Royal Caribbean private island. This whole experience really ruined the beauty of the Island and makes us not want to return there. 

RCI really missed the boat here IMO. Personally, I buy a soda package when freestyle machines are present and I skip it when they aren’t. 

I've heard a number of people express confusion about "The Gift", an original Royal Caribbean production that runs on Anthem of the Seas.
On board Anthem on channel 14 they run a series of short clips about various things Royal Caribbean.  One of those short clips talks to The Gift and explains the story line.
The Gift is about a family.  The father is a simple man who runs a tug boat.  He and his wife created a beautiful little life with their two children.  The mother passes away leaving the family lost and torn apart.   
The father has lost his way and becomes detached from life and his children.  
The daughter is an adventure seeker.  A young lady looking to live her life but with her father having become disengaged from his children she is left to only dream of her adventures through books and in her mind, detached from her family.
The son is a tinkerer who loves mechanical things and taking things apart.  In the face of losing his mother who gave him direction but now with only his father who is vacant he too is detached from life and from his the family.
The Gift is a story about this family, alive but not living, stuck in their way having lost their matriarch and their journey on stage starting at this point in the story.
The mother in the spirit world sees her family struggling, torn and detached.  She sends her family a gift in the material world.  There is nothing in the gift but it turns the family's life upside down and leads to a series of events that play out on stage in the spirit world.  
The rest of the cast of The Gift live in the spirit world.  Looking closely you will see their makeup is pale and ghost like compared to the father and his children.  They are storytellers in the spirit world helping each member of the family through a series of journeys to find themselves, playing out their dreams, waking them up and re-engaging them with life and back into a family.
Once you understand the plot of the story it makes a lot of sense watching The Gift as it is presented on stage.  It's actually a pretty interesting production with good music and strong production talent.  

I'd say the biggest reason people would be discouraged from contacting you is the high probability of getting scammed by someone whose first post is trying to sell something.
I won't say WAAAYTOOO has never been wrong, but I put way more faith in their answers because they are an established contributor to this forum.

I hope your new job doesn't involve public relations.

I went on this excursion in CocoCay on Wednesday, I’ve always wanted to do this but the prices in Nassau to me was insane. So for $110 per person to me was worth it. They take about 30 people over, first they go over all the rules and teach you how to properly feed the pigs apples on these long skewer sticks without harming the pig. They then take everyone down to the beach area which isn’t very big, one guy stays in the water with the bucket of apples and hands each person apples as needed. They have several men all around and very attentive to the pigs to make sure the larger ones don’t get excited and hurt anyone. They have the pigs trained to sit on command and the love belly rubs. Many baby pigs running about the beach, if you sit down they will climb all over you looking for apples. There was an opportunity to sit on one of the very large pigs for a photo if  you choose to do so. There is also an option to have one of the pigs do a piggy back ride on your back in the water for a photo. If one of the pigs happen to poop in the water they have one of the men quickly clean it up with a net. All in all I had a great time, I feel it was definitely worth the money as I would never pay the 350 like they want in Nassau. 

We went in June. They take you across the water to another island. The pigs are all running (and swimming) in an area that is about 200 x 100ft. About half of that is in the water.  They don't make the pigs do anything. They can choose to swim or not. About 5 or 6 pigs choose to swim when we went with about 4 or 5 just sleeping on the beach. We were in the water about 20 to 30 minutes and you feed them and then can hold one and get a picture. They took pictures (which you could later purchase online) or you could use your own camera. At the end they brought out a bunch of piglets to play with.
Overall it was entertaining and my 11 year old thought it was fantastic.

We went in June. They take you across the water to another island. The pigs are all running (and swimming) in an area that is about 200 x 100ft. About half of that is in the water.  They don't make the pigs do anything. They can choose to swim or not. About 5 or 6 pigs choose to swim when we went with about 4 or 5 just sleeping on the beach. We were in the water about 20 to 30 minutes and you feed them and then can hold one and get a picture. They took pictures (which you could later purchase online) or you could use your own camera. At the end they brought out a bunch of piglets to play with.
Overall it was entertaining and my 11 year old thought it was fantastic.

We went in June. They take you across the water to another island. The pigs are all running (and swimming) in an area that is about 200 x 100ft. About half of that is in the water.  They don't make the pigs do anything. They can choose to swim or not. About 5 or 6 pigs choose to swim when we went with about 4 or 5 just sleeping on the beach. We were in the water about 20 to 30 minutes and you feed them and then can hold one and get a picture. They took pictures (which you could later purchase online) or you could use your own camera. At the end they brought out a bunch of piglets to play with.
Overall it was entertaining and my 11 year old thought it was fantastic.

Please let this go and allow Chris to continue his thread...

Just to further clarify...
The CAS terms and conditions has verbiage that is open to interpretation so all we can do is report what the CAS has been doing lately. 
In my experience (never using travel agency rates) at the moment it is the cabin type that has determined my points multiplier.  For a single traveler, studio cabins receive one point per night, standard double occupancy cabins receive two points per night and suites (Junior and above) receive three points per night.  This has been regardless of any single supplement paid or reduced, above or below 340 points.
The official verbiage is:
One Cruise Point for each completed night of sailing and an extra Cruise Point per night when you purchase and sail in suite accommodations (categories RL, RS, PS, SL, TS, A1, A2, A3, CL, OS, FS, GS, JS) and/or sail in any category and pay a single pricing type for double occupancy staterooms. All other rates including Travel Agent rates are excluded from single price type extra point promotion. Cruisetours are included as an additional night per each day on the cruise tour. Points will be awarded by rate paid not rate berthed, for example, in the instance of an upgrade from an outside to a suite category including reduced rate upgrades. Allow up to 30 days from the date of debarkation for Cruise Points to post to your account. Requests to add missing Cruise Points may be submitted up to 12 months after the debarkation date of your sailing. I have been above 340 for over 13 cruises.  Over the course of those 13 cruises above 340 I have at times paid no single supplement (100%), 150% single supplement and 200% single supplement.  In all cases I received double (standard cabins) or triple points (Junior and Grand Suites).  I have not booked into a studio cabin so none of my cruises were single point per night.
When I have paid 100% single supplement I inquired with CAS to see if double and triple points would be offered for that cruise for single guests.  They assured me they would be.  
The 150% reduced single supplement for being at or above 340 does have some restrictions.  It does not apply to a cruise that departs in July or August, certain holidays or cruise voyage packages.  The official verbiage is:
Single members must have 340 Cruise Points earned in order to receive the single cruise fare at 150%. This offer is based on availability with certain restrictions. Ocean Voyage Packages, Holiday sailings (Christmas and New Year) and the months of July and August are not included in this offer. CAS balcony discounts are prorated for single cruisers.  For two eligible guests booking into a balcony the CAS balcony discount may be $X but for a single eligible cruiser the balcony discount is something less than $X.  
Balcony and Suite Discounts are a per stateroom discount applicable on balcony and suite categories only available to Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members. Savings are not redeemable for cash and are non-transferable. When reserving, a valid Crown & Anchor Society membership number must be included in the reservation. Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Crown & Anchor Society members will receive an increased discount for making a reservation for a sail date outside of six (6) months. Within six (6) months of sailing, if the guest cancels and reinstates the booking, applies a fare change, changes categories, or changes the ship or sail date of the booking, the discount will be automatically adjusted to the lower value. This offer can only be combined with the Onboard Booking Bonus while making a reservation onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares and is not combinable with any other promotion or offer, including, but not limited to Shareholder Benefits, and other dollars off and onboard credit offers, MyCruiseSM Upgrades, Companion Fare and Free Cruise promotions and benefits.  Single occupancy guests paying less than 200% cruise fare will be eligible for a prorated value of the Offer. Note that CAS verbiage does not specifically state triple points for a single cruiser in a suite but that has been what they have been providing in practice regardless of being above or below 340 points.
When it comes time to consider the RoyalUp upgrade program, single cruisers always pay a 200% upgrade charge.  If you bid $100 for an upgrade, that is doubled to $200 as you step through submitting a bid.  Being at or above 340 points has no bearing, single cruises pay twice the bid amount no different than two people on a booking submitting a bid. Successful RoyalUp bids into a suite do not include any extra points per night that you would not have received for the original booking.  
The official discount code for the reduced single supplement is DP340.  Any guest over 340 points can apply this discount code along with their CAS number when making a booking on the Royal website.  If you use a travel agent they can use the DP340 discount code along with your CAS number to price a cruise. 
Group cruises, both the type offered here on the blog and anytime a travel agent has group space available typically do not include a reduced single supplement rate.  To have a travel agent book you into group space you typically must pay 200% single supplement even if you are above 340 points.  Having said that they can sometimes take a direct booking that you made yourself and import that into the group space.  That may not improve your price but it may make you eligible for other group space promotions. 
Typically charter cruises do not include reduced single supplement rates.  
When visiting NextCruise on board they can price reduced single supplement rates for anyone above 340 points.   Make sure to instruct them to do so.  In some cases they don't always know the rules and may suggest that cruises outside of July & August or other holidays such as Memorial or Labor Day are not eligible.  They are, stand your ground and politely request they apply DP340 anyways.
The reduced single supplement for being above 340 points does nothing when you book a studio cabin.  You rate will be the same as everyone else booking a studio cabin.  CAS balcony discount might apply to studio balcony cabins but does not for studio interior cabins.
Frequently my point multipliers for being solo are not automatically awarded.  A simple and friendly phone call has always corrected it.   

I used the digital set sail pass at Cape Liberty a few months back and they happily scanned it in to get me checked in. They then printed out a copy on paper that I had to show everyone else. Would have been the exact same thing I printed at home. 
 
 

I used the digital set sail pass at Cape Liberty a few months back and they happily scanned it in to get me checked in. They then printed out a copy on paper that I had to show everyone else. Would have been the exact same thing I printed at home. 
 
 

Quantum class does deviate from the previous evolution of Royal ships.
No Viking Crown Lounge, Promenade replaced by Esplanade.  MDR isn't one large space but four distinct rooms.  No slides.   However they have other features no other ships in the fleet have.
IMO people don't like change or different.  In their mind different = bad.
I personally love these ships.