teddy

When we are in straight cruise mode, we stay near the airport. It's just the two of us, and the room is simply a place to sleep when arrive the day before we board. Coming from Maine, we can't seem to avoid LaGuardia and its delays, so we like a short trip from the airport to hotel. We look at prices online then call the hotel directly to book. We've found prices to be decent (relatively speaking), especially if you don't mind a Days Inn, Comfort Inn, or similar. If we get in late, we have food delivered to the room, otherwise I ask someone working at the hotel where to go for a decent, local meal. The port is a relatively quick Lyft ride away unless traffic is horrible. I think we're staying at the Airport Embassy Suites just east of the airport next month....as I recall, it was under $180ish. This is kinda a "splurge" for us. We tend to be cheap frugal.

Oh no...we bid the minimum +$50...it came out to $250 pp because the minimum bid was $200 pp

I doubt anywhere is going to actually promise or guarantee your results within a certain time frame. That being said, I know a lot of people who have gotten antigen tests as CVS and Walgreens and received their results in 2-3 hours. Even PCR tests are coming back in a couple days. I've had 5 antigen tests and 2 PCR tests done between CVS and Walgreens. I got the results in hours for the antigens and withing 36 hours for each of the PCRs. My wife has had even more tests done due to traveling to Canada.....and Canada is much stricter than Royal....PCR tests only and they must be done within 72 hours of crossing, unlike Royal who only counts days. All of her tests have come back in time for her to make it across the border. Locally, CVS schedules online 2 weeks out, Walgreens 48 hours.

Never mind. We’re getting soaked now. ️

I would say that if all are still pending and you still have the ability to modify them, then no decisions have been made. I’ve read here that some have received emails the day of their sailing….both successful and unsuccessful. Nice to see you. I’m outside of Portland and it looks like we’re going to get soaked later today.

We’ve bid on five different cruise upgrades in the past couple years, bidding on multiple cabin types every time. Each time, within a week (give or take) of the sail date, all but one of the bids has shown expired when we click the “modify/cancel” link on the original email (the one that says they’ve received our bids). This has always happened days before our card gets charged and we see a new room assignment The one bid that doesn’t show expired has been still in pending mode but we cannot modify it. Each time, that pending bid has been a successful upgrade. We are just one couple with limited cruise experiences. Everyone else’s mileage may vary. In my opinion (based on reading here), the higher class cabin you bid on, the lower the odds are that you’ll be upgraded, especially when bidding on star class upgrades. We usually book at the lowest end of the cabin choices, so Royal Up is a cheap way to have a chance to see other cabin types…some of them we weren’t aware of before we received the opportunity to bid. With one exception, we have always bid the minimum amount. The exception was on our first post-pandemic cruise out of Nassau in September. We booked a balcony guarantee and bid minimum +$50 pp on a junior suite. This was a successful bid. On our next two early November cruises, we are currently pending (with all other bids expired) on a promenade view for $10 pp and an ocean view balcony for $60 pp.

I did the same in jan 2020, except it was my wife and 19 y/o son. They wouldn’t let him board alone because of being under 21. I got off and met him outside the terminal, then we were allowed to board immediately

We were too.

Title says it all. Saw a lower price on the Beach Club day pass but when we went to rebook it was unavailable.

I can see this happening with us.

I forgot all about “no shorts in the Main Dining Room” when we were on Adventure last month. A couple nights I wore shorts that I feel are dressier than jeans. No one looked at me funny. To be fair, on both formal nights I wore appropriate attire.

Now I have that song in my head on repeat….the rated G version of it from The Jungle Book.

She drove up and back. Unlike Royal, Canada counts hours for the test to enter. It must be within 72 hours of entry. PCR only. No problems crossing back into the States. She has dual citizenship therefore can travel on her American passport. Her sister, who went with her, is still a Canadian citizen and had no problems getting back in the states with her Canadian passport and US resident alien card.

My wife just got back from a few days in Canada. While not quite the same as Canadians coming down, she said the process on each side was easy as long as you have all your ducks in a row....testing, vaccination card, etc.

My "A-HA!!!" moment was watching someone get medevac'd from Haiti.

Interesting. I just noticed that all our current Royal Up bids say they can be modified up until 3 hours before sailing.

Around 15 years ago I had a retired gentleman working for me in the evenings. He retired from the US Navy and spent a lot of time in the North Atlantic in a destroyer. Some of the stories he told made me feel nauseous just hearing them. He even had a few pictures that looked downright scary. Most I've ever experienced was some swell in the Eastern Caribbean that made the pools slosh around a bit.

I say yes, but I’ve lived in Maine pretty much all of my life. ymmv

We thought about it after final payment for our flight into Nassau and would have had a $250 change fee. I’m not sure if all reservations are like that.

Lol There’s a video game my son used to play a few years ago called “Papers, Please” that I referenced after showing our vaccination cards to three different people in the same room at the British Colonial Hilton. It was a very weird experience since each person watched our cards be inspected by the person before them. Like you, we were the only guests there at the time. I’m pretty sure the workers doing check-in thought I was insane…. I’m glad to see I’m not the only me who thinks like this. For those who don’t have gamer kids: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papers,_Please

I don't drink alcohol, don't gamble,am not a huge beach/sun person, am not a people person at all, and have to eat carefully so I don't get sick. I absolutely love cruising. There is something about being out on the ocean that is so peaceful and rejuvenating. Even staying in an inside cabin on a full ship, I have always been able to find a quiet space on deck by myself. I drive my wife crazy cause I'm always three cruises ahead of what we have booked.

Mentioning the military made me remember the first and only time I have ever gambled. I was a 19 year old Marine and my unit was sent to a Nellis AFB for a Red Flag exercise. For whatever reason, the Air Force didn’t want the Marines to stay on base, so we were billeted in hotels not far from the Strip. The casino attached to the hotel let the Marines drink and gamble regardless of age. I lost a lot of money that first night. It was a lesson I’ve never forgotten. I haven’t gambled since, not even a lottery ticket…and I’m in my 50s now.

Received the two test kits yesterday. Expiration dates of 9/27 and 10/5. This paper was included saying all lots have a 3 month extension.

I feel the same about Royal Up as I do when we book a Guaranteed cabin…I absolutely do not care where the cabin is. Seriously…both my wife and I feel this way. With that in mind, I believe those who want their cabin to be in a specific place or don’t want a cabin in a specific place shouldn’t book Guarantees or bid on a Royal Up. It seems like a recipe for unhappiness.