GoodSmith

Has there ever been a shark attack in Coco Cay?

Hopefully the same goes for the US vaccination requirement. Some unvaccinated family members are eager to cruise with me but cannot enter the US.

Was anything useful released yesterday? Passengers flying from Canada don't have the luxury of flying last minute.

I am on this sailing and was disappointed reading the email. 13 days would put me 2 points short of Diamond I don't want the partial refund if they honour my 56 points, you think they would be ok with that? Seriously I don't understand why we have to return early. Can't they implement these inspections and protocols onboard during the 14-days sailing?

Thanks @crabkitty for sharing this with us. I have a question, did you take a COVID test onboard the ship before returning to Barcelona? If so, what type of test was it, on which day of the cruise, and when do you get the result?

So I have been contacting Royal Caribbean on Twitter and by phone. Here's what I got so far. On Twitter they seemed to be ok with what's available to Ontarians so far, quoting "As long as it's an official record of your vaccination." On the phone I was told that when something like the CDC card is not available then I can provide an electronic document received from the health authority that administered the vaccine. In either case I will be taking my health card with me, so if feasible at the port they can access the Ministry of Health website and validate my vaccination status of necessary. This is very important on the transatlantic cruise where vaccination is obligatory. It's hard to believe there won't be other Canadians booked on this cruise, and I would love to hear what they think of this.

I contacted Royal Caribbean on Twitter but they just kept saying "original vaccination record issued by the country's health authority". The keyword here is "original". I have that document but it's printed from the internet, not something mailed or stamped. My final payment due date is approaching. I contacted my travel agent and will try to reach again to Royal Caribbean through other channels. My upcoming TA cruise requires ALL passengers to be vaccinated, which makes the situation more delicate for me and other Canadians. Will keep you posted on what I find.

Any Canadians here started cruising with Royal Caribbean yet (specifically Canadians from Ontario)? and what original proof of vaccination did you use? Luckily I was able to get both my Pfizer shots, but due to vaccine shortage in Canada and me insisting to match my first dose I had to wait 10 weeks instead of 3 between doses. Now I am worried Royal Caribbean will not even accept this as a valid vaccination, although in the UK they delayed Pfizer 2nd dose from 3 to 12 weeks and studies showed this generated more antibodies, but what's really worrying me is that here in Ontario we didn't get something like those CDC cards, and the only vaccination proof I have so far are 2 PDFs I can download and print which show all my vaccination details. I really need to know if this will be considered original proof of vaccination, because after all the struggle I have been through I don't want to arrive at the cruise terminal with these printouts to find that they are not acceptable and be treated as unvaccinated.

Transatlantic sailing will stop at one Spanish port before heading to the US, so I'm hoping the masking rule will relax once we leave the Spanish waters and head into the ocean.

Actually this might not be that good of a news as it may imply RC doesn't see cruising resuming anytime soon so they are extending the program further to keep new bookings alive. I hope I am wrong.

Actually I would attend one of those again if the presenter was Jenna Williams. I attended her show on my first cruise and was disappointed, but I loved her charisma and enthusiasm, I would actually go watch her again just for the show ?

They throw even unserved food if not eaten in 4 hours. They would be wasting more food this way, but it's probably a cheap price to pay for our safety in these times.

I certainly love it and don't think I will be cruising again until they bring the buffet back. It would also be the time when it's safer to travel and these restrictions are lifted. Cruising is all about the freedom and relaxation of a vacation, which other dining options don't provide. I tried specialty/main dining once but didn't feel like it. I like to feel free and relaxed with what I wear and how I eat all my meals. And by the way, I don't like those who fill mountains of food in their plates and throw half of it. I actually do the opposite, I fill many smaller plates and I keep moving around between my table and the buffet to stay active while eating. I would rather waste water and dish washing than wasting food.

I found your previous blog on Serenade, unfortunately most of your great photos are deleted, but I got this nice summary:

I would have loved to know your opinion on how smaller ships compare to an Oasis class when there are limited choices for activities and dining. Really wanted to see this ship through your lens.