Canadian Government now saying we should avoid cruises all together.  They are not paying for the charter flight for the Princess Cruise ship departing California.  I have a feeling they will not be doing many more of these repatriations.  They will no longer be travel agents. 

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ottawa-says-canadians-should-avoid-cruises-as-it-prepares-to-airlift/

Coronavirus: Italy extends quarantine measures nationwide https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673

@KWong They are giving people a heads up that repatriation possibly happen with more and more people getting Covid19.  This is going to be around for a year or more, so we just have to live with and and live life. 

Can not stay home and be hermits.  Can't wait for my next 2 cruises, even if it ends up being 8 nights of a mix of sea days and Coco Cay.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/latest-travel-health-advice.html#cruise

Planning a cruise

Canadians planning cruise ship travel should be aware that infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, can spread quickly due to close contact between passengers. Older people and people with a weakened immune system or underlying medical condition are at a higher risk of developing complications from COVID-19.

As the situation evolves, many countries are implementing policies and restrictions in order to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. These restrictions may impact a cruise traveller's:

• itinerary
• ability to disembark
• access to health care

It could also result in travellers being subject to quarantine procedures.

Passengers who plan to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line to check if their travel plans will be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. You may also wish to visit the Cruise Lines International Association for information regarding how they are responding to the situation. https://cruising.org/news-and-research/press-room/2020/march/clia-covid-19-toolkit

Reduce the risk of infection by following prevention measures when travelling. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks.html#re

Refer to the advice for cruise travellers for more information on how to plan for a safe cruise.  https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/publications/advice-for-cruise-travellers

Outbreak situation

Should an outbreak of COVID-19 occur on your cruise ship, you may not be offered the opportunity to return to Canada on a government-organized flight, as occurred with the Diamond Princess Cruise Ship in February 2020. If that is the case, when you return to Canada on a commercial flight, you will be required to remain in mandatory isolation for 14 days at a location determined by the Chief Public Health Officer.

The decision on Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease in Canada Order (Persons Not on Government Flight) is effective from February 19 to April 30, 2020.

This is available on my Empress and Navigator cruises coming up.  It used to be free to learn to play, I thought that was the whole point of free was to attract new players and get them into the casino to help generate revenue.  Technically it is still free you just have to pay upfront and then get it back in casino credit and a couple drinks.

hand-washing-us-audience.pdf

Hand washing instructions.  How many times do you see people at the Windjammer or in the washrooms, run the water flick their hands under the water, get them wet, and think that is fine.

RCL should post these in the bathrooms and at the hand washing stations

You should be not allowed to enter if you do not wash uour hands or use sanitizer.  On another note if they sneeze or cough into their hand and do not sanitize again, it did not mater if they washed when they came in or not. 

After you pick up food befire you pick up your utensils sanitize again in case your touched utensils that may be contaminated.

@Branderson610 You can always buy the tickets and if the price drops just cancel and rebook them.

1 hour ago, KenCP said:

This is better than a cruise to No Where at least you can get off the ship.

If the islands start closing their ports Royal will have to come out with New 7 night cruises from Miami:

Coco Cay, Sea-day, Labadee, Seaday, Coco Cay, Seaday, Miami.  Then we will see 3 or more ships at Coca Cay per day, Royal will have to expand the island.

Royal Caribbean has purchased land on the western end of Paradise Island in The Bahamas. They have started their plan LOL.

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/02/27/royal-caribbean-purchases-land-western-side-of-paradise-island-nassau-bahamas

This is better than a cruise to No Where at least you can get off the ship.

If the islands start closing their ports Royal will have to come out with New 7 night cruises from Miami:

Coco Cay, Sea-day, Labadee, Seaday, Coco Cay, Seaday, Miami.  Then we will see 3 or more ships at Coca Cay per day, Royal will have to expand the island.

It is really no different than the seasonal flu.  I would not let it deter you from travelling unless you have a compromised immune systen.

You still follow the same procedures.

• wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
• use alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if soap and water are not available
  • it is a good idea to always keep some with you when you travel
• eat and drink safely abroad by staying away from raw or under cooked food and meat
• avoid close contact with people who may be sick, especially if they have difficulty breathing or have a fever or cough
• be aware of the local situation
• follow local public health advice

One missing for me.

April 25, 2021 Anthem of the Seas, Transatlantic

If the islands start closing their ports Royal will have to come out with New 7 night cruises from Miami:

Coco Cay, Sea-day, Labadee, Seaday, Coco Cay, Seaday, Miami.  Then we will see 3 or more ships at Coca Cay per day, Royal will have to expand the island.

On our last cruise we asked our room attendant to only to clean the bathroom, make the bed, vacuum, and only make up the room once a day.  That way we only had to wipe down the bathroom everyday and not the whole cabin. We are on vacation after all. Our room attendant was the best she took really good care of us and we took good care of her too.

Another note when you are wiping down make sure there is some residue when you wipe.  Most wipes need 30 to 60 seconds to do the proper job.  If you are wiping and it is dry then the wipes are doing their job.  If in doubt get a new one out.

@Wilson the new terms and conditions for the Royal Caribbean OBC says you can only redeem up to $100 OBC per room.  So it looks like the $250 will not appear again for awhile.

Most insurance companies will cover you if you get sick, not because you do not want to travel unfortunately. If it becomes a pandemic then 95% of the insurance policies will not cover you.  

@amille69 it is just offered to US citizens

https://www.archinsurancesolutions.com/coverage/Royal

You can apply for Insurance through TD Insurance or Blue Cross or if you a CAA member as well.

3 hours ago, Wilson said:

I have not seen $250 obc in well over a year.

i had seen it a couple months ago.  I used a $100 OBC and it was applied to my account then 2 days later the $250 was there. I thought at first I was on the MSC section. I still have 6 days to go before I am not eligible for the cruise i just booked.  

Is it me or does it seem that Royal is not refreshing their deals as much?  It seemed to be daily for awhile now lately it seems the $50 and $100 go days with saying Sold Out.  Still holding out for a few days to see if the $250 OBC comes back.  I have cashed in some $100 OBC already. 

@m00cat I did the same thing on our first cruise, but I am glad I did so there were no disappointments.  I did learn a few things and have adjusted for other upcoming cruises.  I did a lot of research and this forum helped me out so much!  Thanks to everyone here and their cruising knowledge and experiences.

The ultimate drink package is definitely worth it on shorter cruises 7 or less nights.  I did find on the 12 night cruise you drank sometimes just because you felt you had to because you had the package.

The Ultimate dining package I did like as well especially for sea days.  You can over eat put you can also ask for smaller portions so you don't over eat.  I do not mind crowds but when I am eating I do like the specialty restaurants because the noise level is much quieter. I will however have to do the MDR on an upcoming cruise because they only have one specialty restaurant and it is Chops Grill, not my favourite but it does have great food.

Having an excursion in every port was overwhelming that is something I will not do again.  You are on vacation so your should not need a vacation after it is over because you did to much. 

We did "The Key" as well because it was our first time on Royal and we did not know what to expect, probably will not do that gain, but never know it will be ship and itinerary dependant. If you have a few tender ports and not doing excursions with the cruise line then it may be worth it then.

Just go on your cruise have a fabulous time, do what you want to do, and then next time you will know what you like, and did not like.  Next time you can tweak your cruise to your liking.

Have a great trip!!!

@Kathleen If you purchase your adapter for Europe always take it on your cruises as it will give you an extra plug in.  The ships have both North American and European plugs, especially great on the older ships as they do not have a lot of plugins.

@Tuggboat Can not see why you would not be ale too.  We have used our DBP for just drinks in other specialty restaurants.

The first time we were there they charged us for the difference of what we went over.  Each visit after that on the same cruise they never charged us, possibly because of the extra tip we left or maybe we had so much fun chatting and laughing with the staff.  I did notice on one day it showed we visited 2 times but we had only been there once.  Maybe because the Ulitmate dining they showed we had gone two separate times. 

@Clay Purvis

If you have the beverage package milk shakes are included as well.  The rules I believe differ on different classes how the food works.  On Quantum class ships you pay for each menu item, and on the other ships It is a flat fee for your food and you pay for your milkshakes if you do not have a beverage package.  Not sure which ship you are going to be on.

For my sailing in October 2019 on Vision it was on the App before we sailed. It showed up about 4 weeks prior to departure.