AlohaLivin

2 hours ago, 14Terry said:

We received them on our recent cruise on the Explorer. 

Also, regarding Diamond Plus members having access to the Concierge Lounge, please see the  update (dated 3/4/22) on the RC website. As of 3/15/22 Diamond Plus members do have access to the Concierge Lounge. Some ships have Suite Lounges and currently Diamond Plus members don't have access to those (unless they're in a suite).

On the RC homepage click on the 3 bars on the top left of the page (to the left of the RC LOGO), then click "Crown & Anchor Society", then click "View Member Benefits updates", then scroll down to "Suite & Concierge Lounges". I hope this helps.

On our recent Explorer cruises in May, we were in the Concierge Lounge prior to dinner, every evening. Happy cruising everyone!

True - at least until it goes into the upcoming dry dock. The concierge in August stated that the concierge lounge (now basically a claustrophobic interior closet) would be moved to the same upper deck where the Diamond lounge and Dizzy’s are now located in the spot where Izumi is currently. It seems that all the concierge lounges will eventually be replaced by suite lounges (which is okay since the Diamond lounges usually are very similar in offerings at least for the basics).

10 hours ago, Blur said:

I don't think OP understood the robes are not free to keep.  They will definitely charge you if you try to take those home.  Same like the pool towels.

Well yes of course they would, I think they are around $80 each. As would be the case with a cruise ship or hotel of any kind. But honestly I assumed that I was misunderstanding what the OP was sad about because I could not really imagine someone thinking they were free. Thus I asked for some clarification. 

6 hours ago, Jamie F said:

okay, thats fine but sad

Sad? Sorry, I am confused, are you saying that it’s sad that you can’t take them home for free? I realize that I must be misunderstanding.

I have seen them on friend’s luggage, but we have not received any yet (but our status is quite new, so maybe soon!)

2 hours ago, Amanda1123 said:

This is what I’m talking about. Maybe they do not have them anymore 

Hi - Royal worded this very poorly, because what you’re actually purchasing here is that bubble type cover that goes over 2 lounge chairs). I can see how it would be confusing given the title. FYI the price of these now is over $100 where they used to be about $30   Not worth it either way, however, since there are tons of free lounge chairs and umbrellas

Rapid test and trace is wonderful, we’ve had super experiences with them. I would think you could get a pretty quick appointment online ( and if you have some tests already at home like  many people do, you’re good to go).

5 hours ago, Bazza said:

Oh dear...!

I have B2B on Oasis in January 2024 with identical itineraries (booked it for some winter sun!) - both going to Nassau, Perfect Day, Labadee and Falmouth. 

Never been to any of these places (was considering Margaritaville for Nassau and RIU Resort for Jamaica) but suddenly wondering if worth it???!

All subjective comments I know but the fact so many negatives does make you wonder!! Gulp!

It seems from your choices that you love beach days and if so this will a great cruise for you! What people complain about regarding Nassau and Jamaica has to do with issues such as the variety or quality of tour options, the port “feel,” and the reaction of locals to cruisers. But it doesn’t speak to the quality of the beaches, island views, and specific venues. I cruised with my parents in 60’s - 70’s and Nassau was one of the few destinations so I have visited it repeatedly; as @CanHardlyWaitmentioned, the negative feeling on Nassau is likely due to the fact that many of us have visited it a bit too often. Yet, I have had visits to Nassau that we truly enjoyed.  Don’t worry

On 9/14/2022 at 1:54 PM, luv2cruuse said:

I’m not sure if this question has been asked before but I searched and couldn’t find it.  I’ve gotten a few comped cruise offers but none for the dates my husband can go on as his PTO from work doesn’t reset until 4/1/23 so I was thinking of doing a short solo cruise.  Can someone do a solo cruise on a casino royale cruise offer where only taxes and port fees have to be paid?  TIA

I am suddenly in the exact same boat. I could grab a friend, but thinking that I will instead just go alone. We are D+ so an extra 7 pts won’t push me a lot towards Pinnacle, but it is something! Good luck on your adventure!

1 hour ago, JustMeJoe said:

I would agree with Ocho Rios, but I'm going to put Progreso, Yucatan and that 4 mile pier at the bottom of my list.  Maybe Progreso has gotten better, but years ago it was terrible.

We are headed there in January, so I hope that Progresso has improved (we have somehow never visited). 4 mile pier???

Jamaica, anywhere. The worst is Ocho Rios, the pushiness is mega watt. Years ago it was Nassau, but at least there you can get close-in beach days and some interesting activities - in Jamaica getting to anything remotely positive takes an hour on a bumpy road. 

Ditto.
 

I have never actually traveled alone, at least not for the main part of the journey. I am a healthcare provider in private practice and therefore have more flexibility with my schedule than my husband does at this point.  And, every cruise I’ve been on this year I have earned a Casino comps cruise via a casino promotion and with all we already have booked there are more cruises on our docket than my husband has time for. Thus, I am also considering some solo cruising. 

Luckily I am not a bit shy But it will certainly be a new experience. I guess we just have to hope that they are some friendly people on our cruises with us, right? My husband and I have made many cruise friends over the years, and it would be great if some are on board if I am solo, but there will be new people to meet!

For those who cruise solo a lot, do you all usually request a table by yourself or a group table? I had a nightmare scenario on Premier (the original Disney line) where in graduate school in my 30’s my husband and I took a cruise and they stuck us with five honeymooning couple - not looking for a repeat of that!

There are usually very tiny ones around 1-3” at chill island  (although I’ve seen an occasional larger one). When we were there twice in August one of the lifeguards at barefoot beach (Labadee) was down with a net scooping up all the ones he could find. I don’t know if that is typical or not. Jelly fish are common from the east coast of the US southward, definitely always a possibility to get a sting. As noted by others, the lifeguards keep vinegar spray in their kits. Hopefully you won’t run into a problem.

I recently added this sailing as a casino comp. Since it’s between two other major trips for us and close to each other those I may end up doing this one by myself. Hopefully they’ll be lots of friendly people onboard!

So many examples, but the most recent was that my husband had taken his tux to be altered before we left and somehow his tux shirt did not get back into the suit bag. So there we were recently onboard with cummerbund, bowtie, shiny shoes and jewelry, but NO  white tux shirt. Out of desperation I asked the concierges if they still have shirts onboard from when they rented them out while knowing that my chance was about .00032343% of that happening.  It turns out that she knew the tailor on the ship and called him. Within 15 minutes he met us in our cabin, measured my husband for a shirt and left.  Within 15 additional minutes he returned with a tux shirt that fit my husband freshly pressed and ready to wear.

There are often many who go above and beyond  - the other concierge made sure to leave her phone with me whenever she could so I could use her hot spot when we were on the ship while in port because the wifi was completely dead and we really needed to reach family and the pet sitter on occasion. There’s some unfriendly staff around on ships at times. but there are tons of super kind and helpful staff on the ships in my experience. We try to remember them in extra ways as best we can.

On 9/8/2022 at 12:42 PM, Fairlynew said:

I am trying it for the first time in October.  I usually travel in suites, but we are in a regular balcony on this trip.  I decided that the Key would replace some of my favorite suite perks-priority boarding with a sit down lunch, reserved seating for shows and easier disembarkation.  I will see how it goes.  

That was what we did as well - we have only sailed in suites, but had a balcony through the casino so we bought the key to provide the priority boarding and a few of the benefits that overlapped with the suite benefits. It was worth it at the price point at which we purchased it, but I can’t see paying a ton for it. Since we did a B2B with a suite on the second leg, some of the debarkation day benefits were definitely wasted.

Anxiety is more common than depression, luckily somewhat easier to treat. But he needs to want to do it. The gold standard treatment for anxiety is cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavioral therapy (many licensed Psychologists can handle both of these). For more severe anxiety, the psychologist may recommend an adjunctive treatment with a psychiatrist (equal in education, this professional handles the medication part while the psychologist is trained to handle the psychotherapy part). But there is little more immovable than a person with significant anxiety - being angry with them or begging won’t change it. The rest of us may understand their fears are irrational, but the person experiencing it does not recognize that he/she is being irrational. 

On 9/5/2022 at 4:08 PM, twangster said:

I still have my D+ pin on my backpack.  It kind of blends in but frequent Royal cruisers may spot it.  

Agree that anything other than the Pin badge is tough to see. DH puts his Diamond plus pin at the bottom of his strap badge holder, but it is hardly noticeable. There needs to be something useful to do with all the pins though!

We just completed our health questionnaire on the app - I can confirm there were only three questions and that we were able to complete the questionnaires on the app for our 14th and 20th sailing today (13th) . The questions are (1) are you fully vaccinated for covid, (2) have you had a Covid booster, and (3) are you more than 23 weeks pregnant.

(headed to the airport, I apologize if this repeats any prior info). 

39 minutes ago, Matt said:

prisons and nursing homes

hopefully none of the cruises we take will resemble either one, although I would definitely take the latter over the former (and likely will be more of the latter in 20 years).

21 minutes ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

Thanks all!

I normally ignore it too but I ended up not packing enough conditioner last cruise and used it. It was lovely. (though I do have my hair in synthetic braids on vacation so I'm more lenient with what I use vs when it's going on my raw hair)

I can definitely see that happening. Sometime it is a guess on how much product to bring. But we are about to shove off so I will make sure to try it at over the next two weeks. The worst that can happen is that I look like I have ship hair

1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Malin & Goetz as of last October on Allure.  Same as Odyssey.

I never can remember that - but then I mostly ignore the hardware on the shower wall Fine curly hair, I don’t risk it!

We test at 7 pm tonight for our 14th boarding. Looks likely it will be the last time we do it for a cruise (although of course we will keep some at home in case of infection). I am in dire need of a cruise!  The proof is below!

1 hour ago, Lexster said:

How did I miss that? Sorry for the dupe topic!

Wasn’t spanking your hand  I just wanted to point you in the right direction. Actually when I have a question, the first thing that I do is search the board - you would be surprised how much great information there is here that may be 3, 8, or 40 pages back on ports, hotels, excursions, etc.

Hi - this thread began a few days ago on this same topic, the responses may be helpful to you

15 minutes ago, RogerC1 said:

I just still want to know why Michael Bayley promised all cruises starting August 8th would not require vaccination and Royal still hasn’t addressed that or apologized for the gross miscommunication. 

I do have to agree that the wording of these announcements has been horrendous - starting with the “welcoming” the unvaccinated. I’m not sure that they could be doing a worse job.