PurdueFlyer

1231 sailing on Freeeom this week (4-nighter) per the Diamond concierge. Ship capacity 4500. it's also the middle of the work week, in the middle of Hurricane season, but I thought it would be a leeeetle bit busier.

I'm still confused because I can't find anywhere in Royal's own documentation that says a signature is required. Here's what the "updated sailing checklist" email says, which I received 2 days ago for my sailing tomorrow: Your To-Do List Get tested pre-cruise: All guests 2 years and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result (PCR or antigen) in order to sail. Guests 2 - 11 years old: test must be taken no more than 3 days prior to sailing — but not on departure day. Guests 12 and older: test must be taken no more than 2 days prior to your sailing's departure date. Proper documentation like, printed negative test results or negative test results presented on your phone from an accredited laboratory (no doctor's notes) are required to sail. All costs for this test are the guest's responsibility and must be done on their own, not at the terminal it doesn't state that the documentation is invalid if it's not signed. I have a printed version and screenshot version from a local CVS. there's a space for "provider" and a space for "collection location" which are both filled in. there is no signature. I cant be the only American who got an antigen test at CVS on this ship, right? I think the confusion is coming from folks who have test results with a signature field and then don't have an actual signature. but again, I can't see how not having one invalidates the test.

interesting. everything on Royal's website in October on Serenade is showing Bahamas stops (the 5-nighters to Nassau & Coco Cay, the 4 nighters to just Coco Cay). Then in November, everything shows Mexican stops, until Nov 27th, where it switches back to the Bahamas. I have a Nov 8th sailing on Serenade so mine is still showing Cozumel / Costa Maya for now. No changes. I just booked it this week. Our Nov 3rd sailing on Oasis was swapped from Labadee to Cozumel due to geo-political reasons, so I wonder if early and Mid November they are just maxxed out at Nassau and Coco Cay and can't re-direct any more vessels there? I like Matt's theory, but maybe they can't do Bahamas with every ship & have to pick their battles.

I booked an inside GTY for a 4-nighter. I wanted to use this as a litmus test to see what a basic, inside GTY gets a solo-cruising Diamond during a pandemic. I purposely didn't do a RoyalUp in advance because I wanted to see what would be assigned on its own. Answer: a BASIC, inside cabin I was hoping for a promenade view interior at least, but alas, no. So I dug out the RoyalUp email. Pricing data points per person (incase anyone cares): Promenade View: $10 Spacious Interior: $15 Ocean View: $20 Spacious Ocean View: $25 Panoramic Ocean View: $30 Ultra Spacious Ocean View: $35 Balcony: $50 Prices were identical in both emails they sent me (Aug 15th & Sept 20th). Then, I used an online-travel agency to go through a dummy booking and look at which cabins were still available (the actual rooms). There were TONS of promenade view interiors left, on all 3 decks that offer them, and all 24 of the Panoramic Ocean View cabins. Those are all on Deck 12 by the Spa. I've never stayed in one of those before. I threw down 2 bids, a $15 bid for the Promenade View ($5 more than the minimum) and a $40 bid for the Panoramic Ocean View ($10 more than the minimum). I was awarded the Panoramic ocean view today, 3 days prior to sailing, so 80 bucks total for the upgrade. not bad & I get to check out a new kind of stateroom. I went back today and looked at available cabins again, and I still see about 55 of the Promenade view interior cabins left, and 12 out of the 24 Panoramic Ocean View cabins left. So at least for this sailing, the availability seemed pretty good and my idea of low-balling both bids was successful. If its that wide open, your only competition is other guests, not really inventory. I am sure there is a magic line where the revenue management people would rather have the room go empty than upgrade someone for bare bones, but its possible that the lowest allowable bid *IS* that bar, and thus they'll take anything in the range as long as someone doesn't bid higher than you for the last cabin.

I suggest an electronic screenshot of your records if you can get them (from CVS, in my case) ... I've got one on my phone, and print-outs in a folder. The physical CDC-index-card-thingy is in a sealed ziploc bag and only comes out if I'm asked to produce it.

I carry mine on too, but still affix the luggage tags anyways. Gotta make sure the people on the airplane (that I'll never see again) know I'm getting on a boat after 18 months of no cruising, I'm looking forward to repeating this ritual in just 3 weeks!

So, it appears I need to re-tract my original post. There IS a separate .pdf for entry requirements pertaining to cruisers. This contains some facts pertinent for those embarking on a sailing in Bridgetown and also for those on sailings making ports-of-call there. You can view it here: https://issuu.com/visitbarbados/docs/bpi_covid-19_port_protocols Here are the main bullet points as I see them: This governs the protocols for cruises that have been dedicated to fully-vaccinated travelers & crew. There aren't any details as to whether or not an unvaccinated traveler is welcome to embark on a cruise from Barbados, or stop there as a port-of-call. My guess, from the tone / absence of these details is that unvaccinated cruisers better start making other plans. Looks like passengers arriving on the same day on scheduled flights and directly embarking on a cruise will be transferred directly to the port by pre-arranged transportation. Those arriving on a charter flight will be deplaned in a staggered manner and have some kind of "sterile corridor" to the port Passengers arriving a few days early and doing a pre-cruise stay in Barbados would need to abide by the regular entry requirements into Barbados (I assume that to mean the PCR test on arrival at the BGI airport, plus mandatory quarantine at government-approved lodging until you get your test result back). At the conclusion of the sailing, vaccinated guests may transfer directly to the airport for flights home AFTER presenting results of a valid PCR test (rapid or standard) -OR- rapid Antigen test taken ON BOARD within 3 days prior to arrival. If you are doing a post-cruise stay in Barbados, you still need the test taken ON BOARD within 3 days of arrival but this one must be the PCR test (no antigen). My own musings: If these are going to be totally vaccinated sailings, how long until Royal communicates this? They got on top of the recent Bahamas changes in a hurry, but were already sailing there, so they kind of had to be quick on it. Who wants to get to an island paradise a few days in advance JUST so you can quarantine? And what happens when you don't get the results of your airport entry test back intime for embarkation? Might as well book air2sea plane tickets the same day you embark, and get right on the boat. What happens if you test positive onboard on the way back? They have to let you off the ship but are you escorted to another government hotel and told to quarantine? how long before you can test again, or see a doctor for a check-up?

it's the CDC ... next, you'll have to board the ship with the swab jammed up your nostril and hand it to an officer at the end of the gangway. because, science.

I think this is becoming the way to go, for any form of travel that accepts them. Cut out the middle man. I've got an upcoming sailing that departs on a Monday, so if I have to get tested on Sat or Sun as my only choices, its that much more difficult.

Hello Aussie friends, I am booked on Grandeur, sailing on December 5th. I think you are reading the Barbados entry requirements the same as I am. Not only do you need the negative PCR test to get into the country, you have to get a second COVID PCR test upon arrival at the Grantley Adams Int'l Airport (BGI). THEN you have to quarantine at a government-sanctioned hotel until you get the results of the airport test (they recommend 1-2 days for this). Yes, this is for vaccinated travelers! So, it sounds like getting the the 2nd test on arrival isn't the problem, because you can't leave the BGI airport without doing it. Its waiting for the results, as you alluded to. I can not find anything that waives this airport PCR test & quarantine period for cruise passengers who are sailing on an itinerary that departs from Barbados. There are protocols for "in-transit" passengers, but typically that's only applicable for for passengers not leaving the airport & flying directly onwards to somewhere else. It seems epicly stupid for departing cruise guests to have to arrive on the island 2 days early, JUST to quarantine at a hotel, to then get on a boat and leave the country anyways. And what if you don't GET the results of that PCR test before the ship sails? I emailed Royal last week about this, basically asking them if they have any further details or have been in contact with the Barbados authorities. I have not received a response yet. I emailed Barbados today ([email protected]) so I will see which one of them responds first. I booked this sailing as a solo cruiser with an incredible price ... so I'll net 28 cruise nights for this. Plus I've never sailed on Grandeur before, and the ports of call are just awesome! However the airfare has made this not-such-a-great-deal overall, and if I can't get around the mandatory quarantine period, I may turn this one back and book something else. They have 3 months to figure it out, but the Barbados requirements already seem onerous ?

you can sail by Dec 2022, but you have to BOOK those reservations by Sept 30th of 2021. I think s/he was referring to the book-by date being extended (hopefully it will).

So the real question is are we getting the usual double points if we aren't paying the single supplement? Might not find out until 1 of us sails ? Booked a solo 4-nighter ex. LA on Navigator for January for $405 out the door, Promenade view stateroom (and got the $25 OBC). STUPIDLY CHEAP by any measure. But that's the only one I have purchased under the WOW sale. Diamond Plus ain't happening via standard points accrual LOL.

any simple way of finding which sailings arent charging for the second person, or do you just have to go through and select and price each sailing individually? Had a couple for late Jan / early Feb in mind (Navigator out of LA, in particular, which are already ridiculously cheap) that I may need to pull the trigger on (like, today. haha).

interesting, thanks. Booking invoice doesn't show this, but when I search for the same sailing on royalcaribbean.com it does come up as being elegible for the $50 OBC for that category (inside GTY on a 4 night sailing in this case). I will contact the agency.

stupid question, but for the WOW sale OBC, is that automatically applied for ANY new booking that is made within the sale window, or do you have to physically tell them to apply the WOW promotion to get it? I booked a sailing via my travel agent on August 12, which was the first day of the WOW sale, but I didn't realize WOW was going on. The booking is paid in full already, as the sail date is Sept 27th. Can't find anything on the confirmation page that states whether or not there is an OBC attached to the reservation. interesting, solo cruiser (sometimes) here as well. Which ship is this for? Some of them have studio cabins that do not charge the "singles penalty" although I have never done this before. I want my double points so I'm happy to get a normal cabin & pay the penalty ?

Not a happy camper at all with this development (or the last 18 months in this country, in general). All the test does is prove your status at the time the test was taken. Your status 72 hours ago means ZILCH right now. And why the differentiator between sailings starting at 5 nights? A family who goes on a bender at a wedding and then gets on a 3-night cruise the next day can infect large amounts of people on the ship just as bad, if not worse. I have a 4 night sailing out of Miami on 11/3 on Oasis, getting back to port on 11/7. I then immediately turn to a 5-nighter on Radiance on the 7th (same day). So I won't need the negative test for the first sailing, but WILL for the second sailing, and I'll have mere hours to get off the ship, find a CVS in miami and get a Q-tip jammed up my nose and get back to the dock. Since this is a Sunday, I'm worried that basic drugstores won't have testing widely available or it'll involve some stupidly-expensive Uber ride to get there. And of course, this will all change again in 3 months I'm sure.

I don't. ?

May 12th is basically our "D Day." we either get liberated by the judge, or it will be many many many months before a cruise ship sails from a US port.

yeah, I'm going with less-than-zero chance at this point. the Fla lawsuit is the only hope we have, TBH.

every time the CDC opens their mouth, it's yet another reminder of how epicly useless and irrelevant they are. they lost me when at the start of the pandemic they said "yeah we don't see a reason why anyone should need to wear a mask" which after some time turned into "hmmm you should probably wear a mask." after that, they just became a faint, buzzing noise in the background. if it weren't for my love of cruising, I'd pay them less-than-zero attention.

I'll believe it when I see the ship pulling up to the dock.

same here! well, the Nov 3rd Oasis part, not the 42-years-of-marital-bliss part ?

currently 3. 2 in November from Miami (back to back) and 1 in December out of Barbados (It was 4, with my May sailing on Independence cancelled, and I have not rebooked that one yet. I will not try and shoehorn it in prior to November, so that'll get punted to 2022.)

OK so that jives with what my reservation looks like on aa.com as well. thank you!

tag-on question to this... I also booked A2S for my December Grandeur sailing, Atlanta - Barbados round-trip on AA. Like you, since the final cruise payment isn't due yet, I got a reservation confirmation from Royal for the flights even though I didn't actually give them any money yet for the flights. The reservation shows up on my profile on aa.com, but it shows "ticket pending" and I can not select seats. is this normal? Do I not get an e-ticket issued until I do the final payment for the cruise & associated flights, or should I call A2S and make sure something isn't askew? These are scheduled AA flights, not a charter, but this is my first time using A2S so I was not sure what to expect.