SpeedNoodles

We were on Liberty in Nov and while sitting in the Promenade, saw store clerks, bar staff and even cleaning crew members stop what they were doing, come out into the walkway, and politely remind someone to either put their mask on or how to wear it correctly.  We were very impressed and commented on it in the survey. There is so much media on negative cruise things, we wanted them to know their crew are doing things right.

If you get interviewed by the Miami herald or USA Today , sing royals praises. There is a lot of negative press out there for cruising in general. 

1) They deal with Royal directly when there are any problems or issues, saving you time and frustration.  They get to know your likes/dislikes over time.  You allow some independent travel advisor to get the commission that Royal would keep if you booked directly with them.
2) MEI Travel is a sponsor of this website, and many of us use them.  There are many there who are awesome.  I personally use Michelle Cunningham ([email protected]), or you can fill out the yellow form on the home page of this website and one will contact you.  Others will likely chime in singing MEI's praises as well.

I'm on tomorrow and can't wait!! I just may have a tear in my eye.

Currently on Allure.
Masking everywhere and at all time indoors.  Not awful, yes that KN95 does get warm and a little uncomfortable during shows, but it is tolerable.  Notice a lot even masking while walking through Central Park, on pool deck and solarium until they get into a seat.  Yes few blatantly tried g to get around policy, just not many.
No they are not asking to to mask up between sips or bites, generally when seated with drink or food mask off.
Surprised by the number of vaccinated children 5-11 years old.  Really surprised.
Passenger counts.  3250 total. 2000+crew.  147 D+ 19 Pins. 
Original passenger count was supposed to be 4500 almost 1000 cancellations last minute, info from Loyalty Ambassador but I could also have numbers off by a little but generally what I thought it should be.  Except I'm surprised at the high number of cancellations.
Yes hot tubs not in Solarium are all kids, but that was my expectation.
Windjammer open for dinner, during busy breakfast lunch some lines,b ut it looks like they move quickly.
Can't speak to MDR as not eating there
So far still glad we decided to stay on this cruise
Btw. MERRY CHRISTMAS 

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

Just in: We have 3 negative test results! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 And our friends are negative as well.  

Booking a cruise doesn't matter. Having a TA maintain your reservation is where the value comes in

One pro is that your agent should be on the lookout for price changes.  My MEI agent emailed me last week with almost $500 in savings on 2 different cruises.  
I actually like to book my own cruises, but I then transfer them to my agent to handle from there.  As Matt said above, there are no charges and lots of benefits.

Having a travel agent is like having a lawyer in court: it makes everything easier. Unlike a lawyer, a travel agent costs you nothing extra for their services!
Check out Top things you didn't know travel agents can do for your cruise vacation

The captain message today came at about 1630hrs 12 passengers and some additional crew tested positive. His number was 1.9% of the Ships capacity. Not knowing that number makes it a bit more difficult to figure out, but 1.9% on this packed sailing to include crew does not seem all that bad. Protocols are containing the illness it appears. We are here in the waters outside port everglades enjoying our last evening on board. We saw a movie this afternoon and are going to see a comedian tonight both  in the Royal theater. 
I wrote the Captain a thank you note, I was told he would get it. I told him how we appreciated his transparency and felt well cared for. We congratulated him on his staff also, I made sure NOT to lick the envelope shut!! 

Thanks everyone, Christmas came early for us, notified last night they accepted our bid (7 days before) OV to un obstructed Balcony

I can see being disappointed.  I can NOT see being upset.  This isn't 2019, and things have changed dramatically even in the past 10 days.

Tonight was Chops. Outstanding. The areas all around the atrium, tree, stairs long lines of passengers some dressed to the nines, some totally themed all masked until picture time, sure looked to me like everyone there was making the best of the situation. A fun evening to people watch. 
Returned to room to be greeted by a nice holiday card from housekeeping.
* please note, I am not a blogger or a TA or even otherwise known to Royal. I am just an ordinary passenger and my insights are my own, I just hope to help our cruise community. Sometimes I question some reports of things knowing where they are coming from and what they "get" so I tend to read them with caution. 
I honestly still think Royal made a mistake by ramping up capacity the way they did. It is too crowded coupled with the protocols BUT honestly I also feel they have gone out of their way to be transparent, enforce protocols and then finally very generous compensation do to this bump in the road, and that's all it is a bump. I could scream when I read the reports. 
I supported them (Royal) by purchasing a ring, Tag watch, Next Cruise certificate and assorted other things with much of the OBC. I think they seriously knocked it out of the park when dealing with this situation. Just my 2 cents. 

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

I read that it's already on a downward trend in South Africa, so here's hoping!

Actually I have found that many times I have to enter it twice to get the offer.  So like so many other things at RCCL.  If you don't like the first answer, ask again.

Just got off of Adventure out of Galveston and when we boarded on Monday we were informed that ALL venues indoors require masks at all times, even the "vaccinated" designated shows and events. The crew made sure we all complied and witnessed them reminding folks to "mask up". The tough ones were the teens and children who seemed to have a problem keeping them on but the crew was nice but firm. Due to the "mask at all times" mandate the casino was designated as non-smoking and after the initial shock to some, all complied. The cruise was enjoyable and we never missed a beat. Cruising today requires flexibility and patience and even with the extra protocols was as good as it was before.

I think this would not be something they would do.  Each person must have their own account and the proctor carefully watches each person, after scanning QR codes, etc - then they "put you on hold" during the waiting time and when it's over another proctor will come back and interpret your results.  Having more than one person on the same call would make this very confusing.
That being said, people can log on at the same time on different devices and do them with individual proctors on their own accounts and get them all done at the same time.

Just got off the Anthem and received an email on the way home that my bid for next week has been successful. I had bid on every category available and hoped something worked. So now I’m solo in a two bedroom grand suite that has capacity for eight. Oh, well…I’ll give my luggage it’s own bedroom and bathroom.
I went from a JS to the 2bd GS. I received the notification that my bid was accepted exactly one week from the sail date.

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!

@Neesa- Thank you for keeping us updated on all of this, and maintaining such a fantastic attitude!