CruisingOz

14 hours ago, CruisingOz said:

I screen shot the certificate from our Medicare app and uploaded it from the photos on the phone

I have just jumped into the app and checked if an earlier boarding time was there and noticed the third step which requires vaccine information, which was pending to be verified by Royal has gone. I would assume this is a good sign and Royal has accepted our Australian Government proof of vaccine. Also for our sailing 1.00pm is still the earliest on board time, which is fine by us. 

So far so good, will complete the ESTA (US Visitors Visa) in early December and start enquiring for an approved PCR test medical facility and book a date. I have a couple of websites my travel agent has recommended. It is $150 per person, but this is the cost of travelling today. I won't pay for it yet as things may change. I hear the US may accept our local COVID tests but I do not think Delta Airlines and Barbados Government will, so will have to pay. There is also a Barbados entry application we willl need to complete but only 72 hours from landing. We also reached out the Barbados Covid Labs as we will need to book a test to board the ship. PCR tests are $94 USD per person.

This is our biggest concern in trying to time the testing so we can get results in time to board the plane but also work it out to clear customs in Barbados within the 72 hours. We should be fine with travel time, but it is our end locally which is the issue as it will be Sunday 2nd Jan and will the labs be open? Talk about first work problems. 

Now the first Royal check-in worked, next is due Dec 10, at least I now know I can sleep like normal and not worry about it until 3.30pm Sydney time. 

The best way is to have a plan of when and where you would like to eat prior to boarding and when you get on board, go to a specialty restaurant and make all the bookings. This way you have something booked each night and you should be able to change your mind should your tastes change. We normally never booked lunch, but have done on occasions and it never seemed an issue. In the main we would normally get the reservations we wanted, but there have been occasions when I may have had to pick a different day and time, they were rare and I have called them and made changes as well.

Another strategy is, if you are celebrating a special occasion or have a large group, you can pay for that specialty resturant via the cruise planner, securing the day and time, and when at the restuarant tell the staff you have an UDP and they will credit you the cost of what you paid separately. Do not leave telling them until the end, do this as you walk in so they can do the backend stuff.      

1 hour ago, Pooch said:

Am I the only one who thinks that does NOT look appetizing???

@Pooch I wonder with a few beers under your belt would you be thinking differently???

oh yes. I love Singapore and well worth pre/post cruise time. Chilly crab, yummy.

Also, I should have posted it here as it relates to Aussies but I started a post after checking in for our first cruise in the discussions area

Australian's Taking US Cruises and Checking In 

4 hours ago, D Alt said:

which one did you like better for beauty and scenery and overall excursion enjoyment?

This will be our first time to Nassau as well, so great question. We too are trying to decide before the sale ends

We have a similar issue with a couple cruises in February. One on the Odyssey, you can buy shore excursions on the cruise planner for a cancelled port, and on another which is now a port day, you can only buy the sailing day try dive. The poor IT guys can not keep up with the changes or have not got the memo yet, lol 

6 hours ago, twangster said:

Can't access check in for another cruise while on a cruise using Voom unless you have a working VPN solution.  Go figure. 

@twangsterwe will need to check into a cruise while we are on-board a ship. How did you over come the Voom issue? Do you suggest I go to guest services or the C&A Ambassador on-board? I guess worse case is I can get my kids (adults) to check in for us via the computer at home and I can finish the vaccine step oo-board.

Also, I thought the picture I took of our international vaccine passport certificate would be hard to read, so I screen shot the certificate from our Medicare app and uploaded it from the photos on the phone and it looks a lot more visible, and dare say offical. So for Australians this should be a better way until Royal IT adds an upload feature.  

And all this time I thought it was just taking me longer to sober up?

We had similar issues. I went into the calendar and clicked onto one the excursaions, and within it was the order history option which gave me access to cancel and modify 

Thanks for sharing, we can not wait for our first Perfect Day. 

Hello fellow cruises from down under, we did the first of our check-in today and thought I would share. We have been regualarly checking the app, which you must have, and saw our ship, Grandeur finally get an upgrade which finalised last night. Previously it sat on its lonesome below all the other bookings we have where the ships which already use the app we could access details, but the Grandeur we could not. So check-in was noted on the app as 25 Nov, and being a RCB insider knew that the key to an early check-in time was to get in early, and start 11.30pm, so half an hour prior to the day.

First thing to know is do not do what I did and get up at 11.30pm on the 24th and continue to check the cruise planner and app waiting to see the change to "open". Anyway by 2am I gave up. It dawned on me this morning; stop laughing, I am slow; that it would be US time, eastern pacific, so Miami or New York time. This afternoon at 3.15pm Sydney time, 11.15pm, NY time, my app changed to open and off I went. Do you sense I am keen???

Being old school, I used the computer to check-in but you need the app to complete, and the process is similar as peviously, except with a number of protocols and disclaimers which you can print. There are three steps you can do prior, with the fourth step needing to be done the day of the cruise.  Step one and two are as before, personal details, passport, credit card, emergency contact, and then you can select the boarding time. On our cruise which is out of Barbados, there are a couple extra local government protocols and we have the addition of not only a test three days prior (which is different to the two days prior on cruises out of the US),but also a complientary test required at the port prior to boarding. Oh our noses are going to be sore, lol. Also the earliest boarding time listed was 1.00-1.30pm which we secured.   

However the third step must be done via the app, there is nowhere via the computer check-in to access it. Maybe I did something wrong but I have gone back and checked several times, so you need to go to the app and  into your booking and add your vaccination details, type and date of last dose. It will also allow you to take a picture of the front and back of your vacination card. In Australia we have the a government issued International Vaccine Passport, which is a single side paper or picture on the Medicare app run by the Australian governement. I could not work out how to upload a digital copy to the app so I opted to take a photo, which is one way offered, of the print out I will be carrying. It is in the pending stage as Royal needs to validate it, and I will update this when I either have approval or required to do something else.

I really need to check-in using only the app, similar process but we have nicer phots saved on the computer. Silly I know. 

So happy, one step closer and only 45 long days to go before our 674 days of waiting to step onboard a cruise ship is over.

I would seriously doubt it would be full? If this is the only restaurant you wish to visit, I would contact Royal but being 170 days out, I am sure things will change. 

If you are considering a dining package, you can only book restaurants when you board, and so you can visit a speciality restaurant and book your dining. I have not cruised post COVID yet, so things may be different but I have never come across an issue with times and locations

We agree with everyone, Buchart Gardens is really nice but requires time. Skip dinner on the ship and take a walk around town, it is a beautiful place and have a nice fresh seafood dinner or go look for "Fan Tan Alley" which is the narrowest street in the country. 

5 hours ago, mattymay said:

1st of FEB! Cruising is back. But only for NSW residents, and only in NSW waters

Whoo, it is a start. Now all I need is Royal to announce sailing in March and April as I will need a holiday after all the cruisers I am taking in the US, and a ship like Radiance going nowhere is perfect. Sitting around the Solarium pool all day, bar, Park Cafe, day beds. Oh yes please 

Moorea was already on those itineraries, so does that mean 2 day stop?

No, it is an added sea day and to ease the pain they have given the guests $100 on-board credit as compensation, which is a nice gesture considering it wasn't Royals fault. I can fell a 4am casino night, pizza with the dealers and a sleep in. Shh, don't tell the wife.

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

only welcome 1,200 cruise passengers per day

Thank you for the information. There economy must be doing well to turn away that sort of boost? I can understand as it really is not that big of a place and although beautiful, we saw more marine life snorkelling Moorea, although for us, Bora Bora had the best helmut dive experience thus far.

It might be possible for Royal to do a shore excusion from Moorea to Bora Bora with very limited numbers. Lets see, many months to go.    

Now you are just teasing me, lol. I can not have one until end of January and it looks sooo yummy 

We are booked on the Transpacific from Honolulu to Sydney for October 2022 and we just recieved an email from Royal stating the below:

We have sailed the inside passage south bound on the Radiance and we believe this is the perfect ship. Alaska is a very port intensive cruise, with lots of time spent off the ship exploring, so really in the evening all you want is a nice dinner, few drinks, a show or socialise and a good nights rest so you are ready to do it again. With a ship like to the Ovation, you will not really have the time, and/or the energy to take advantage of what it offers. Also the Radiance has great connection to the ocean with lots of glass, even the mid-ship elevator is a huge glass window. We noticed that you can sit throughout the ship and enjoy the views and spot whales, dolphins, and we saw a moose on the shore. The Radiance was almost purpose built to make the most of the surrounding nature views with many windows, portholes and deck access. We have sailed on the the Ovation and it is far more enclosed ship and you need to go out on deck up top to get outside. It is a great ship but if we were to go to Alaska again, it would be on the Radiance. 

The Radiance does north and south runs whereas the Ovation does a round trip. So, with the Radiance, you would need to factor in airfare, do a B2B or a pre/post cruise Royal excursion, so this may determine your decision. Regardless of the ship, Alaska is mind-blowing, enjoy.

Hello RCB Community, we were wondering what to expect on this tour. It is quite a long bus trip and we are concerned the actual time at the ruins will be short. If you have done this excursion we would love to know all about your experience, and what you recommend to do. We did have a RC tour via air and private tour get cancelled which would have allowed us a few hours at the site. Should we consider a non-RC tour or stay with Royal for safety? If you have done a tour privately and have a recommentdation, please let us know your thoughts.  

9 hours ago, baltodave said:

When will you be visiting Panama on the Grandeur?

All being well January 16th 2022. If I have wifi I will update the post

13 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

when I refresh, it allows me to edit my signature

We had the same issue and tried many things but  refresh worked, thanks for the information

Hello RCB Community. We were wondering if anyone is heading off to Bridgetown to board the Grandeur in December. We recevied an email from Royal on the protocols and coming from Australia, entry may be different, but we would love to hear about what you have to do or have done to gain entry into the country. I read we will need a Barbados app. We are not travelling until the 3rd Jan for some pre-cruise time, so we will need to hunt down a testing place so we can board the ship. We would love to know if Royal will have a testing station at the port or if you know of a place in town.

If you would please let us know what you are doing and/or have done; any insights would be very appreciated as we are coming a long way and as time creeps closer we are starting to sweat the little things trying to make sure we won't encounter any issues for what should be a bucket list cruise for us. Thank you in advance.   

We are booked on this excursion through RC in Jan when we are on the Grandeur and for us it is a bucket list excuraion, so money did not really factor. We paid in Australian dollars and it converts roughly into $165 USD. With the protocols and being such a long excursion we would not risk a private excursion. Imagine going through the locks to the other side and the ferry breaks down and the ship leaves without you?

On our cruse, this is the only excursion offered by RC, and so I guess we could explore the town but the oppotunty of going through the locks and seeing one of mans most amazing build. Read or listen to the audio book called "The Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough to get your interest heightened    

We try to pay USD but when sailing locally, with the exchange rate from AUD (Australian) to USD we pay in Aussie dollars but generally give them more to compensate for the exchange rate