Fairlynew

Are gratuities also included in the dining package? If not does specialty restaurant staff share in general pool of pre paid gratuities?

I haven’t sailed NCL but I recently cruised MSC Yacht Club. It has a lot of European options. I wrote a lengthy post on another forum detailing my thoughts on they compare

Check your credit card activity. My card was charged for royal up a couple of days before I got the email notification

We sailed another cruise line last week. All passengers were required to be fully vaccinated (if eligible) and have a negative test no more than 2 days prior to the cruise. Upon boarding, we were advised that all passengers would be required to take a Covid test on day 3. This did not bother us; it made us feel safer. I am wondering if RC is also requiring all passengers to test during the cruise. I have also seen that some cruise lines are requiring both a negative test 2 days in advance and a test at the port for all passengers, even those who are vaccinated. Is RC doing this?

I will go slightly off topic. We are sailing from canaveral today. We stayed at the swan at Disney last night. We used Disney transport to explore resorts. We only saw 2 groups not wearing masks. Signs all over said masks mandatory. A lot has been written about cruising being safer than Disney. I agree because we don’t know vaccine status of those at Disney but I was pleasantly surprised at the mask compliance.

One advantage to the aqua suite on oasis is that aqua theater show on oasis is spectacular!

Remember that a lot depends on the concierge. I have sailed Sky class 3 times. Two of the three the concierge was outstanding. The other time, our experience with the concierge was so bad that we lost all trust. We preferred to stand in line for regular guest services. At least we knew we could rely on them.

Yes because lots of things on ship are closed while in port

I won a Royal Up bid from a GS to a CLS and was notified about a month prior to sailing. Timing is very unpredictable. A friend on another sailing went from a Jr. Suite to a GS and was notified about 2 weeks in advance.

I am in the minority. I prefer the GS to the CLS. I felt isolated on Deck 17.

@SpeedNoodlesi am sorry for the stress in your life right now. I hope that both your husband and the horse recover quickly and fully. Please let us know how they are progressing. Also, remember to take care of yourself.

Thank you. I still enjoyed the trip. Good friends, beautiful scenery and good food make everything better

That excursion got cancelled when they changed our port time in Juneau. Our group ended up booking a white water rafting trip that got close to the glacier. Unfortunately, i tripped and fell in Seattle the evening before we boarded. I fractured and dislocated my shoulder. After spending most of the evening in the ER, I boarded the ship the next day. I was traveling with friends and decided that they, along with the ship's staff, would take better care of me than my husband. I was right. I was going to be in pain anyway; the beautiful scenery made it much more tolerable. I did not however think that white water rafting was the best thing for me to do, so I stayed on the ship that day. My friends thoroughly enjoyed it, though.

I am in the minority. I prefer the 1 BR GS to the CLS. I like being more in the middle of the "action". I felt like we missed a lot of fun things when we stayed on Deck 17. Having said that, I love the CK and the suite lounge, but it was too easy to get into a rut and only go there when in a CLS. The GS is also less expensive.

Be careful in choosing travel companions. I have friends that have traveling styles I enjoy more than those of my husband. I enjoy traveling with him as well, I just adjust expectations