Rene Desmarais

Since you are on Freedom, you can board in Miami using the suites entrance. You have access to the Suite Lounge onboard where they should have a happy hour with free drinks in the evenings, typically 5-8pm. You can take advantage of the suite concierge for anything you would typically need to use Guest Services for and to make reservations for anything that requires reservations (shows, dining). There should be a suites only breakfast area. I'm not sure if they're serving a special suites breakfast or if it's just a spot where you can take your Windjammer food and eat.

Freedom 

I got notified of a charge on my Amex card today and I was wondering what the hell was this because I paid off everything Royal Caribbean…. and then find an email that my royal up bid was accepted for my move from a balcony to a grand suite... a grand suite! How awesome is that?!! A grand suite for a solo person.
 OK so what do I need to know?

Agreed. I don't drink soda unless it's ginger ale and even then it's rare.  I guess it's alcohol for me! 

They're allowed.
Vaccinated guests must show a negative result for a PCR or antigen test taken no more than 2 days before boarding day. Kids age 5 to 11 who have been vaccinated may present proof of full vaccination and follow the testing protocols for vaccinated guests.

An FYI for anyone waiting for that. 

In all my Royal cruises, the marked section always matched the location of my room.  

I know this wasn’t the purpose of your post but I just have to share this story…
I am 100% Filipino, born in NYC, raised in Jersey. And while I’ve only been on one cruise, I absolutely love cruising!!
The worst part of cruising for me - the amount of times I got asked a question by people who thought I was a crew member.
“What time does [insert place here] open?” “Where is the nearest restroom?” “How do I get to [insert place here]?” And my personal favorite “Wow, you have to stand in line with the rest of us?” 
 
I must have said “I’m sorry I don’t work here” a dozen or more times! Anyway, I chuckle at it now and if that was the worst of my vacation, so be it haha.

The vaccines, at this point in the game, protect you from severe covid cases. While that is obviously valuable and important to the individual, it's pretty useless when applied to a group since vaccinated and unvaccinated alike can get and spread covid. 

At this stage of the game, you could drop all testing, masking and vaccine requirements and things wouldn't be any worse off on a ship.
 
Europe is going in that direction quickly
 
 

I will counter that, My brother-in-law entire family (Wife, 2 daughters & son) got covid just after the holidays.   It started with my nephew, then my brother-in-law, then his wife, then both girls.   they wore masks throughout the ordeal, washed hands and daily house cleaning & laundry. Infected family quarantined away from family members.
They are ok now...all got their tests to show proof for positive results, followed the Canadian guidelines/procedures.
 

I can't wait to hit Diamond as well,  My wife doesn't drink so that defeats to purpose on buying the package. I usually drink no more than 2 drinks per day..   So Diamond status will be more than enough.

Switch health ordered from Air Canada - $79 for 2 tests...   we used it for our December sailing on Harmony and will again for April on Symphony.

I don’t think we can draw analogies from sister companies.  Celebrity for example didn’t do test cruises so they had to maintain 95% vax rates to sail.  SilverSea and Celebrity have long seen many fewer kids compared to Royal.   SilverSea has an older clientele typically.  The dramatically different number of children allows those lines to craft policies that are adult centric. 
Royal Caribbean Group has the three sister companies that each serve a distinct and different target audience.   They don’t overlap on purpose (or minimally).  Each is free to draft policies and protocols that are appropriate and desirable for that lines target consumer but within the overall guidelines from the Healthy Sail Panel.  
SilverSea is more likely to have guests demand a booster requirement or they won’t book.  Royal Caribbean International is less likely to have this type of consumer.  That’s not to say there aren’t any RCI guests who would like to see a booster requirement but with more families on Royal there will be fewer guests who demand a booster requirement and some families that may not choose to booster their kids.  
Azamara is no longer part of the RCG family of cruise lines.  
A booster requirement on RCI will narrow their market and that’s not in their best interest as of today.  

on my brother's recent Freedom sailing, he asked for a booze card and was told, they no longer offer it.

I just read that it was announced that Harmony will be the first to visit Labadee in late Jan (27th I believe).  Yippee !

+1 on this although it would screw-up our flights from YVR, but I can fix that. I can't fix stupid (look'n at you, Trudeau). I hope they make up their mind soon and stay consistent for the entire season. 

When we returned from the Allure on Jan. 8 we actually encountered a "thinking" CBSA lady. When we got off the ship Royal did our tests in the terminal. We had our negatives just after arriving at the airport at  8:45. We filled out our ArriveCan stating that we had been outside of Canada and the U.S. - automatic tests - but told her we had taken a test that morning. She said, "Were they negative?" to which we replied yes. Without asking to see them, she applied green stickers to both our passports and we were on our way.

They better check re-entry rules back into Canada too - I was researching this the other day for a trip we're planning.   
This is from the website travel.gc.ca website for those who have tested positive.
You will not be able to board a public flight to come to Canada until:
15 days have passed or you present a medical certificate confirming that your symptoms are not related to COVID-19 When you are able to enter, you will need to follow testing and quarantine requirements to keep Canadians safe, particularly given the new COVID-19 variants in Canada and around the world.

There is a beach club in the works for Nassau.  Not exactly another Perfect Day CocoCay but a beach club.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/04/14/report-royal-caribbean-targeting-january-2023-opening-of-royal-beach-club-nassau-bahamas
Perfect Day Lelepa in the South Pacific was delayed but still in process.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/lelepa-cruises
Antiqua was supposed to also get a beach club but that postponed indefinitely, for now.   
Royal's acquisition of a resort on Freeport has also been postponed since the sale fell through.  In that case the government didn't like the bidding process so they are trying for more money.  Royal is presumed to participate again once the Bahamas opens it up.  
Rumors of a Labadee update haven't been confirmed by Royal but anticipated.    
 

My brother and his family rencently went on a cruise. 
my sister-in-law tested positive for covid at the airport. My brother and his 2 daughters tested negative.
They received a call from dept of Health Florida and requested vaccine proof for all familly members.
His wife has to quarantine for 11 days.
10yr old only received  her 1st shot so she counts as not vaxed. They said she has to stay in the U.S to quarantine for 5 days.
16yr old had her 2nd shot in July 2021. She is also to quarantine in the U.S for 5 days as it has been more than 6 months since her 2nd shot.  The agent emailed my brother the cdc guidance concerning the 6 month thing. 
My brother was the only one that was allowed to returned.
If he would have known about the 6 month thing, they would have never left for a cruise vacation.
Good thing we have familly in Lake Placid FL
He also mentioned both Symphony and Rhapsody of the seas were getting ready to dock at CoCo Cay when Freedom was leaving to sail back to Miami 

My brother and his family rencently went on a cruise. 
my sister-in-law tested positive for covid at the airport. My brother and his 2 daughters tested negative.
They received a call from dept of Health Florida and requested vaccine proof for all familly members.
His wife has to quarantine for 11 days.
10yr old only received  her 1st shot so she counts as not vaxed. They said she has to stay in the U.S to quarantine for 5 days.
16yr old had her 2nd shot in July 2021. She is also to quarantine in the U.S for 5 days as it has been more than 6 months since her 2nd shot.  The agent emailed my brother the cdc guidance concerning the 6 month thing. 
My brother was the only one that was allowed to returned.
If he would have known about the 6 month thing, they would have never left for a cruise vacation.
Good thing we have familly in Lake Placid FL
He also mentioned both Symphony and Rhapsody of the seas were getting ready to dock at CoCo Cay when Freedom was leaving to sail back to Miami 

My brother and his family rencently went on a cruise. 
my sister-in-law tested positive for covid at the airport. My brother and his 2 daughters tested negative.
They received a call from dept of Health Florida and requested vaccine proof for all familly members.
His wife has to quarantine for 11 days.
10yr old only received  her 1st shot so she counts as not vaxed. They said she has to stay in the U.S to quarantine for 5 days.
16yr old had her 2nd shot in July 2021. She is also to quarantine in the U.S for 5 days as it has been more than 6 months since her 2nd shot.  The agent emailed my brother the cdc guidance concerning the 6 month thing. 
My brother was the only one that was allowed to returned.
If he would have known about the 6 month thing, they would have never left for a cruise vacation.
Good thing we have familly in Lake Placid FL
He also mentioned both Symphony and Rhapsody of the seas were getting ready to dock at CoCo Cay when Freedom was leaving to sail back to Miami 

They did not. 

I am curious to why the cruise lines have not put in place that everyone over the age of 5 is now required to be vaccinated before cruising.  Most of the blogs I have read of people that have contracted Covid was either with or around an unvaccinated person between 5-12.  Just curious to when the cruise lines are going to change to include everyone 5 and above since the vaccine is available.  I do not think it is fair to require everyone else and not the young children.