AshleyDillo

I like it because I get 2 days off for Thanksgiving from work, so to book that week I only use up 3 vacation days. There are more kids because of this but not as many as the other school holidays. Royal does little Thanksgiving activities and has a MDR Thanksgiving meal. Sometimes they start decorating for Christmas at the end of the week too so you see some of the decorations. It's still warm enough to enjoy the time outdoors but not oppressingly hot like a summer cruise.

Heyyyy...looks a lot like mine..cept add: January 2022: Harmony* April 2022: Oasis (placeholder til I decide to move the deposit elsewhere) Contemplating a 2-night Indy sailing end of January 2022..3 cruises in a month isn't too much, right? ?

Yes. Cruise planner purchases will not move to a different cruise unfortunately.

My guess was they would cancel the Anthem itineraries and maybe use Anthem as the UK domestic cruise option. I am not familiar with the potential UK ports and whether they all could take a ship as large as Anthem, though.

I don't know as I didn't experience it. At the airport they had a point of separation for folks that successfully had their health visas with the negative tests and then those that needed testing. It was my understanding that the testers had to report where they were staying and they were required to go there immediately and quarantine until they received their results. From Aruba's website:

Hooray for the internet..is this the guy? Steve Duell: http://www.onebusyguy.com/initial.htm

I did my testing for Walgreens for my trip to Aruba at the end of January. Aruba required proof of a negative test taken within 72 hours prior to entry. While Walgreens stated it was likely a 48-72 hour turnaround for the test results I ended up getting the results in a little over 24 hours. Walgreens didn't charge for the test and it was a PCR nasal swab that you administered yourself in the pharmacy drive-thru. Basically when I took the test I had to just cross my fingers that I got the results in time and that they were negative. Really doesn't give you much leeway to schedule a backup test. Absolute worst case scenario is Aruba had testing at the airport, but then you have to quarantine in place until you receive the results.

Oh no! I hope you don't lose your precious paragraphs! Maybe they are diluting them to sentences only ?

That's where it gets complicated since if you cancel before final payment (and if Royal doesn't cancel before then) then you end up with 10 FCCs in all those family members' names that have to be used by the CWC specified time frame (book by April 30th, 2022 and sail by September 30th, 2022). That's a lot of money to be tied up until you get the refund!

Yikes...that is a lot of money in FCC to take the 125% if Royal cancels. With the limited number of Star Class rooms available, unless @Heimbig already has those 10 people booked in on the 2022 cruise in question I definitely wouldn't opt for the 125% in that case. The 125% FCCs they are offering have to be applied to a booking by April 2022 and the ship has to sail by September 2022 from what I recall. Since you don't have anything to lose as you will be entitled to a full refund if Royal cancels after the final payment, I would only make that large of final payment if all 10 of you would 100% still sail in August if it happened. Otherwise when final payment rolls around, just envoke the CWC and get back the deposits as FCCs and you can apply them to the February 2022 cruise.

Bermuda has different entry/testing requirements than both the Bahamas and St. Maarten. It's a bit harder to wrap your head around how they're going to handle cruise passengers at it's a little different than those who are flying in and remaining in Bermuda for a land vacation. You have to have a negative a test before you fly and then they test again at the airport upon arrival. You're supposed to quarantine at your accommodations until you get those results back. Then they have tests required all throughout your stay. The cruisers are entering Bermuda and leaving Bermuda and then coming back again. @JLMoran is trying to think of how they're handling this re-entry to Bermuda as a port visit and eventual debarkation. I'm sure since Royal is even offering Bermuda homeport cruises they have these things worked out with the Bermuda government since there's customs and immigration to be dealt with but we probably won't see any kind of procedures laid out until the cruises are closer as the situation is constantly changing.

For me watching the aquatheater shows from the balcony was absolutely the best. We ordered Chops to be delivered one night and we were able to eat on the balcony at the large table and watch the show. The balcony wraps all the way around so there is a more private side to sit and watch the water as well, plus you get those wake views ? You can look out from your balcony down and see if there's anything fun going on down at the Boardwalk at any particular time and you can almost high-five the rock wall climbers from your balcony. You can send off your laundry, which I'm sure would be very helpful with having 4 kiddos! If you end up with grandparents along and they aren't also going Star Class, they can still join you for meals in your room and at the restaurants as long as they pay for them.

Bahamas does have one. You have to register and have proof of a negative COVID test to be approved for entry. If you are staying in the Bahamas longer than 5 days you have to take another COVID test while there. I don't know how things change for the cruises -- technically you are leaving the Bahamas. But when you return you are entering back into the Bahamas, so doesn't the cruise line have arrangements for the return visa? Or when you complete the first one are they going to have it set up for the cruiser scenario. I'm interested in the logistics of it all.

Cruise with Confidence is only good for cruises through April 30, 2022, so it isn't an option here. Basically you have to weigh whether the $100/per person cancellation penalty is worth the cost savings of going with a lower nonrefundable deposit cruise fare price. Remember you will still have the rest of the deposit available as a FCC to switch to a different cruise (for example, if your nonrefundable deposit is $250 and you decide to cancel or change cruises prior to final payment, you will have a $150 FCC). Also keep in mind, Guarantee rates are only available with nonrefundable deposits.

No, you must sail to get the C&A points, even if you don't get any kind of a refund. They also HAVE to refund you port taxes and fees in this situation.

Not definitely, but it does list November 1, 2021 as one of the potential end dates if it precedes the other two situations that could lift the order. I think this has always been the date, though? It's on their website: https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/index.html

Deck 8 is always my number one choice. It does cost a bit more than decks 9 & 10, but you will get the largest ATS balconies and rooms on deck 8. Also as mentioned you are at the Central Park level once you make it to to the center of the ship. It's also only 2 flights down to the Boardwalk and 3 to the Promenade. If you are debating between the ATS 2-bedroom and the 2-bedroom GS, definitely consider all the costs of the Star Class benefits that you will receive when you are trying to make your decision.

It's about a 15 minute walk to the Courtyard Junkanoo beach. If you've ever been to Nassau, the Courtyard is about the same distance from Senor Frogs as Senor Frogs is to the port (assuming they're using the same port to sail out of in Nassau that they use for port stops).

JetBlue flies that route via JFK.

You definitely can. They have had to-go containers to pack it all up every time I have done it, chopsticks, soy sauce packets, etc. Still have the same $35/person limit per visit as take-out.

It depends on the testing requirements of the country that you are entering. Aruba, for example, doesn't accept the cheek-only swabs and it must be a nasal swab.

The TA does NOT own the FCCs.

I'm still thinking it's just a case of copying the check-in pages/code for the Singapore sailings and isn't a sign of an overall policy change.

Nope!

On my Odyssey sailing for January 2021 I have the My Time Dining showing under the Dining tab in the Cruise Planner. When I click on My Time Dining it takes me to where I can add it to my cart and schedule the times.