Tcruisin

In Bermuda when docked there was no "curfew" and you could come and go as you like.  Cabo is a tender port so I'm not sure if this still applies.  Hopefully someone will jump in as I would be interested as well.

Super excited! My first cruise was on Vision of the Seas when it was sailing out of this port to Mexican Riviera (long time ago)! Then Royal went away for a loooong time 🥹When Navigator came to town, I jumped on it and have sailed a few times...I have done the happy dance with the announcement of Quantum! so much so, that I have already considered organizing a family reunion on the 5nt Cabo (w/ 1nt overnight) itinerary❣️
Question: what does an overnight look like? Are cruise ship guest able to stay out all night and come and go as they please?

Super excited! My first cruise was on Vision of the Seas when it was sailing out of this port to Mexican Riviera (long time ago)! Then Royal went away for a loooong time 🥹When Navigator came to town, I jumped on it and have sailed a few times...I have done the happy dance with the announcement of Quantum! so much so, that I have already considered organizing a family reunion on the 5nt Cabo (w/ 1nt overnight) itinerary❣️
Question: what does an overnight look like? Are cruise ship guest able to stay out all night and come and go as they please?

Is anyone else super excited that LA is potentially getting another ship?!?!?!?? 
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2024/02/21/spotted-royal-caribbean-will-add-second-cruise-ship-los-angeles
 
I swear I'm not dancing 

I'm not sure this answer everything but it's a start.
"Traveling Party" is defined as well.
100% cruise fare refund for you, and your Travelling Party, if any of you tests positive for COVID-19 within 14 days prior to the cruise or at the boarding terminal. Pro-rated cruise fare refund if your cruise is cut short for reasons related to COVID-19. If you test positive for COVID-19 during the cruise, Royal Caribbean will cover the costs of COVID-19 related medical treatment onboard, any required land-based quarantine, and travel home for you and your Traveling Party. *Last modified June 28, 2021. Subject to change. “Traveling Party” means your family members living with you in the same household and traveling companions assigned to your stateroom on the cruise. Conditioned upon compliance with the RCG COVID-19 Policies and Procedures in effect at the time of the cruise. Additional terms and conditions apply. See our COVID-19 Refund and Cancellations Policy and your Cruise Ticket Contract for details. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf
If you, or someone in your Traveling Party, cancel a cruise booking due to testing positive for COVID-19 within 14 days of embarkation, you and they are entitled to a refund, or an optional FCC, for the cruise fare paid to RCI. If you had close contact with a positive or suspected COVID19 case within 14 days of embarkation, and RCI deems you are unfit to travel, you, and anyone else in your Traveling Party who cancels, are eligible for a refund of the cruise fare paid to RCI, or an optional FCC equal in value to the same. To qualify for a refund or the FCC, if your COVID19 test was administered by a provider other than one retained by RCI, you must present your verified positive test result in a form acceptable to RCI. If you report, or we identify, that you may have been exposed to or are likely to have been infected by COVID-19, we may require that you and others in your Traveling Party do not travel to the port. This is in order to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Anyone effectively denied boarding in these circumstances will be entitled to a refund, or an optional FCC, for the cruise fare paid to RCI.

If I were Royal Caribbean, I'd be looking at adding a St. Thomas visit on every sailing from a Florida port. ?

I hope more ports will impose such vaccination requirements since the lines (and Florida) are unwilling. 

This is my wife and I in a nutshell. 
 
Inside cabins allows us to cruise multiple times a year without penny pinching. 
 
 

Interior is great when on a budget or in situations where you wouldn't otherwise take the cruise.  
Bucket list destinations often come with mega sized cruise fares.  For destination like Alaska interior is smart if it means you can put all those savings into excursions.  I would much rather put the $2k per person savings into over the top excursions because that is how you experience Alaska.  If you have $8k to put into an Alaska cruise with great excursions then great, do a balcony.  Instead of delaying an Alaska cruise until you can save up $8k go in an interior and do the same over the top excursions for $4k, then once you have saved up another $4k do it again another year.  Go twice and you'll experience a completely different Alaska.  Once you are in a helicopter or standing on a glacier with sled dogs the type of cabin you booked is irrelevant.   Same with a Panama Canal cruise.  
So if the choice is to cruise or wait to save up more money, I choose to cruise.  

Looks like Royal's protocols out of Texas will be the same as those out of FL.
Dear valued Travel Partners,

This is memory maxing from the Gulf Coast. Your clients can take thrills to the next level from Galveston, Texas onboard Independence of the Seas® and embark on island hopping journeys. And there are plenty of Texas-style adventures to be had even before they board — from Galveston’s amusement park thrills to spicy seafood sensations. 

Before we welcome booked guests back onboard with open arms this August, we would like to share some important details with you. Please ensure you carefully review the enclosed message to assist your booked clients. 

The information below applies only to sailings departing from Galveston, Texas on Independence of the Seas this August. We will continue to update these protocols as public health situations evolve. Your booked clients will be provided full details specific to their port of departure prior to sailing.   Pre-Cruise Requirements

Vaccination Requirement
All guests 12 years and older are required to bring proof of vaccination, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination record card, with the final dose of the vaccine completed at least 14 days before sailing.

Testing At the terminal: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 years are required to take a PCR test for COVID-19 when checking in.  Registration details for this test will be sent via email in advance.  Prior to disembarking: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 years are required to take an antigen test onboard within 24 hours of the end of voyage. Vaccinated guests who require an antigen or PCR test for entry into their destination country may receive one onboard at no charge. Registration details will be provided during the cruise. Both of these tests are complimentary. No testing is required for guests under age 2 years. Going Ashore At ports of call, fully vaccinated parties have the choice of booking a shore excursion or visiting freely. Parties that wish to go ashore and include any unvaccinated guests, including parents traveling with unvaccinated children, must book a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean that is provided by an independent local tour operator that has agreed to comply with recommended health protocols. Vaccinated parents wishing to go ashore freely can visit our youth facilities once onboard to learn about drop off program hours and availability, and reserve time for their child on the day they wish to go in port. Shore excursions may be purchased in advance on the Cruise Planner website. Once onboard, they can be purchased at the shore excursions desk or by using the Royal Caribbean app. All guests are also subject to restrictions and requirements as defined by local authorities in the ports we visit.      What to Expect Onboard
If guests have cruised with us before, they will notice some changes. Royal Caribbean, like all cruise companies sailing from U.S. ports, is guided by CDC regulations which currently govern many aspects of our operations. On the sailing, guests 12 years and older and all our crew will be vaccinated.

While we are ready to give all our guests an amazing vacation, we do want to share some details about the experience, so your clients know what to expect.Please note, a guest’s SeaPass card will be required to access lounges, shows, and dining venues, so it’s best to keep it handy at all times during the cruise. 

Face Masks and Physical Distancing   When indoors, CDC guidelines require all guests 2 years and older to wear masks unless they are actively eating or drinking. The CDC makes allowances for guests to remove their masks in venues and events dedicated to fully vaccinated parties. Since so many of our guests are vaccinated, they’ll find plenty of these opportunities. Masks are not required while in a guest’s own stateroom when with their traveling party or outside on the open decks, unless in a crowded setting. Updates will be shared as changes to the CDC mask guidelines occur. Guests will find the boarding process and entire ship set up to allow for physical distancing, which is encouraged whenever interacting with those outside of a guest’s traveling party.    
Dining   For Main Dining, we will designate areas for everyone, including parents and unvaccinated children, and areas for vaccinated parties only. My Time Dining will not be available to parties that include unvaccinated guests.  Some specialty restaurants will be open to everyone, while others will be for vaccinated parties only. If a buffet is preferred, Windjammer will be open to everyone for breakfast and lunch, and the food will be served by our crew. We recommend that guests make dining reservations via Cruise Planner before the cruise or the Royal Caribbean app once onboard. Grab-and-go cafes will also be available for everyone.  
Other Venues   Theaters and activity venues will offer spaced seating with options for everyone and for vaccinated guests only. Show reservations can be made once onboard using the Royal Caribbean app.  Youth spaces will be open to all children and teens.  Spa services, except those offered in treatment rooms, are available to everyone. The Fitness Center will have dedicated operating hours for everyone, as well as hours reserved for vaccinated guests only.  The Casino will be open to vaccinated guests only.         What To Bring

Travel Documentation Checklist A Passport Book or Passport Card, valid for at least six months after the cruise, is strongly recommended. If guests do not have a Passport, they may present a state-certified U.S. Birth Certificate (not a “baby feet” hospital certificate or baptismal paper). Guests age 16 years and older that choose to present a Birth Certificate will also need to provide a valid Driver’s License or picture ID card issued by the government. A COVID-19 vaccination record card for each vaccinated guest with the final dose at least 14 days before sailing.
For additional protocol information, please click the link below to read the detailed FAQs.

Please note that health protocols are expected to change over time. Guidance for other ports and sailings is still in development with federal, state, and local authorities. We will update you and your booked clients as protocols change.  

Some perspective, I live in Australia and can't legally leave the country; at least you guys in the US can fly out of the country. You can go to the Carribean, Europe and beyond. I have had several cruises cancelled, one was cancelled 22 days from departure date out of Japan. Royal didn't create Covid and I believe they are doing their best.  
I have a TA friend, and it is not just RCG, all lines have been cancelling close to sailing dates; poor lady spends her day organising credits and refunds for no income
I can understand the frustration with the uncertainty as I have several cruises booked and it is impossible to plan your work, life, flights, etc with all the uncertainty. however it looks like positive change is rapidly happening and each day I read about more positive information 

Last week I received an email from revenue management letting me know that my March bookings involved a pricing error but they would honor the bookings.
I had two suite cabins booked, one for me and another for a family member.  To give you an idea of the error involved my suite would normally go for 234% more while the other suite would normally be 255% more each on a solo basis given our unique qualifiers (CAS status, age, state, etc).  Both suites have the capacity for 6 guests.  I had booked both suites with a single guest in each cabin.
I offered to let the bookings go.  An email exchange followed that turned into a game of phone tag as we both worked around busy schedules but we eventually talked on the phone.   
Revenue management was very clear I could keep the bookings and they would honor the pricing.  They requested the phone call to make sure I understood they would honor them.  I told her to cancel them.
I didn't feel right taking advantage of what was clearly a pricing error.  I knew it was a error when I booked it and give Royal a lot of credit for offering to honor the bookings despite the thousands of dollars they would lose by doing so.  
A family of four booked in one of these suites would have gone for 500% more than I was booked for.  Between the two suites it amounted to an error that would cost Royal over $10k in revenue if both suites were booked at capacity not to mention losses in gratuity and onboard spending.
Simply stated it didn't sit right with me to take advantage of the company especially during these dark times with so much lost due to the pandemic.
Call me a fool but I slept better knowing I did the right thing.
BTW - nice people in revenue management.  

True! I started cruising when I was young and continued after having children, my son and daughter love it so much. Cruising is our favorite type of vacation as it has something for everyone! 

My position on this is more to the 100% for both guests and crew. I realize that shuts out some including kids, but in due time they will be eligible for vaccinations as well. As for the folks that choose not to get vaccinated that’s certainly their right to choose but sometimes those choices come with consequences. You can’t have it both ways and put a struggling industry and other folks in jeopardy because you made a personal decision not be be vaccinated. Fair or not, jeeeze folks “fair” isn’t really a grown up word so stop trying to ruin cruising for everyone.  One case is all the CDC will need to put the brakes on again!

I'd like to see 100% vaccination mandatory for adults At this point in the US you are choosing to get COVID if you choose not to take the vaccine and that's fine with me, just sit on the sidelines so we can all return to living. Have a 50 year old in the ICU today...if they ever wake up I bet they'll wish they got vaccinated. 

The date I was watching is now up 40% after three increases this week.
 

St. Kitts also has a dolphin excursion, which my family and I did. Was a bucket-list item for my wife, so damn the expense and full speed ahead! ? 
I believe all of the dolphin encounter / swim-with places are run by a single parent company / organization; there certainly doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference in pricing or packages to be found, which implies someone is coordinating that across the islands that offer it. I'm not normally one to recommend online reviews, but if you have multiple places to choose from then it might be worth it. Don't look for comments about the cost; check for reviews that mention whether the caretakers seem to genuinely care about the dolphins, whether the dolphins looked OK / in good health, etc.

Vaccine ✅ mask ✅ booster vaccine ✅ another booster (if necessary) sign me up! ? 
Anything to get on the ship!
 
 

Vaccine ✅ mask ✅ booster vaccine ✅ another booster (if necessary) sign me up! ? 
Anything to get on the ship!
 
 

This thread is about wearing a mask and getting a vaccine to cruise, not a discussion of what the state of Texas (or any state) is doing about masks for its residents.

Masks: YES.  Vaccine:  YES.  Cruising at that point:  YESSSS!!

Hubby and I have been working throughout the pandemic, me in constant customer contact.  Masks all day every day.  We contracted Covid from his elderly parents (they got very sick & we rushed over to help) just before Christmas.  As a PP said, him worse than me.  Our first shots are Friday.  I’ve been to WDW for a week and another week in Central Florida both with masks.  It was fine and did not affect my trips at all.  We are just used to wearing one.  All this to say HELL YES!!  Stick a needle in my arm & a mask on my face.  I am ready and willing!!!

In the spirit of keeping this to defining the "most" frustrating thing...
Inconsistency.  
Different ships, different crew members, different agents implementing the same thing differently.   From the suite experience on newer ships with Royal Suite Class, to one ship allowing Johnny Rockets with the UDP while another won't,  to a loyalty ambassador who implements their own version of the program rules and everything in between.  
Pick a policy, process or procedure and apply it equally across the fleet.