MicDay

2 hours ago, CrusingfromClayton said:

MicDay, we live in Raleigh - our CVS is only showing 2 weeks out. Am I following the wrong path?

@CrusingfromClaytonI just did a mock run and it does now just show 2 weeks out?  We just cruised 2 weeks ago, I'm sorry this has changed but it's still better than Walgreens.

@DiceyI think CVS did an excellent job and reported our results in 45 minutes and RC had no issues with the printed report CVS sent us via email.

I understand everyone's stress, it was very stressful getting this part done but it was wonderful to be able to cruise again so it was worth it for us.  I think I made it more stressful worrying about it.  Heck, I even cooked instead of going out so less contact with people two weeks before our cruise.

We used CVS for the rapid antigen test in the afternoon

We used Walgreens for the PCR test that same morning

It took 45 minutes from the time we took the test at CVS to get our results.  The technician called us and five minutes later we got the email, both negative.

Walgreens emailed my husband the day of our cruise, so three days later.  I did not get my Walgreens results until 6 days later.

If anyone wants details on how each place operates or anything let me know,  we live in NC.

Walgreens only allowed us to schedule 2 days from the time we needed.  CVS allowed me to schedule it a month out.

We had the UDP and I was told yes via FB messenger for our 08/27/21 Ovation cruise. 

When we went there I was charged, crew was told no it was not included.   It is not badly price had an excellent piece of chocolate cake for $3 something.

We had the refreshment package and all the drinks were included and we were not charged for them.

We did the UDP on the Ovation a couple of weeks. 

We love the specialty dining, but holy cow it was too much food.  My husband and I tried to share our food but the serves just bring out more food.  By day 5 I was asking for the kids menu and eating a piece of fruit for breakfast.

The food and the service was very nice but we would not do the UDP again, probably the 3 night one because we do love the SD.

She was going to take me to the Mediterranean, it was cancelled due to Covid in May 2020. 

My poor husband, I fought tooth and nail that this was not going to be cancelled.

I refused to cancel anything.

RC and Delta did it for me  

So I've yet to sail on her.

My husband has already stated we will fly Premium Economy if not First Class.  He hurt his back in the Marines and crazy to say I never knew how much flying hurt him.  He's that kind of person who does not complain but once I surprised him for our Alaska trip with FC he realized he did not have to suffer.

I felt so bad, I did not know how painful it's been.  

Back in 2016 we flew Delta to London but our connection was missed in ALT (long story, all Delta's fault) so they stuck us on British Airway for the last leg.  Like I said above it was not a fun experience.  

I really appreciate everyone's advice, you guys are the best

You all are so helpful.  I googled this information but I feel like we on this blog we are more of a like mind so I trust your opinions more.

@Linda RI have sky miles but not enough so did not think about buying them, thank you.

@Ray Did not think a layover would be an issue since I'm not leaving the airport so thank you.

@Lovetocruise2002That makes sense, we love direct flights too.  Not that we can get them for this flight, we live too far.

@KristiZI've flown a bit and have never heard that but to be honest I don't pay that much attention.  I arrive at my gate wait check that all is well and plant myself there.  I will pay attention next time I'm flying.  I love learning new things, thank you!!  

August 27th Cruise Port Seattle

They had different lines for each time 11:30am, 12pm ect....

A bit of confusion for some passengers, but I thought it was marked well

We had 12pm and the line was long but with a bit of patience we were on the ship before you knew it.

Once your line starts its a very quick process if you have everything lined up.  I think it took us 5 minutes to check in once in the terminal.

I actually met someone on here but he and his sweet wife, he was so busy showing me how to use my phone with the RC appt I never got their names.  

Sorry I missed the meet-up, I gave my husband Dramamine and for some reason it knocked him out (used it plenty of time before).  I never saw them again the whole cruise  

3 minutes ago, KristiZ said:

OK, if you really want Delta, you can go Charlotte-JFK-Athens. Not the cheapest, but nice connections. And if you're collecting miles that would be a plus. This often runs as a Lufthansa codeshare, so you might miss it if you're looking for Delta specifically.

Similarly, Charlotte-JFK-Venice is a Delta route.

Whether this is offered by Air2Sea depends on what kind of deal they can negotiate, and you probably won't know before January on that, December at the earliest.

If you want to fly out of Greensboro you're pretty much limited to United and United code-shares.

If you can work out a flight that is actually on SwissAir or Lufthansa rather than the US carrier, you'll be happier with the experience. Those are the two best options for you, unless you want to go to New York, Miami, or Atlanta for a few days prior to departure -- lots of options then.

I can go on, if you want, but essentially none of the airline flight schedules will be solid until Dec/Jan timeframe so try to be patient  

Wow thank you @KristiZ you were not kidding about being an airline in another life  

So SwissAir/Lufthansa are better flight experiences? 

The only non USA carrier we have been on is British Airway and it was cramped and an uncomfortable flight.   The Flight attendants were very pleasant but we also were in economy seats.

What does Code Share mean? 

I just want the best priced flight but I'll pay more for ease/comfort with the least amount of connections.

I did look at flying to NYC, usually can get very cheap flights there but my husband won't go for it.

Atlanta might be an option as that is part of his territory, hmmm.

My daughter and her boyfriend live in Charleston SC so they will either fly out of Charleston or meet us in Charlotte.

Patience is not my strong suit but I can do it, I'll just research our ports until December  

15 minutes ago, KristiZ said:

Where are you flying out of? 
I can tell you that as a general rule, regular foreign airlines run circles around all US carriers. (Low cost carriers are the same all over, however.)

I was airline in a prior life, and I still fly a ton internationally, so I have Opinions

Added where we are flying out, thanks @KristiZ

Charlotte or Greensboro NC

Good Evening!!  

I'm looking at flights for our May 2022 Cruise to Greece, I've got Kelley my awesome MEI TA looking at Air2Sea but I still like to look too.

We typically fly Delta everywhere but FL, I like SW for FL.

Kelley did not see Delta as an option but I noticed Air Canada is.

Maybe I've imagined it but @Lovetocruise2002 you seem not to prefer Air Canada and like Delta.

Anyone with international travel experience have any good advice on airline/time to book?

Kelley says she typically waits until the 6 month mark but if Delta is still not an option what airline is just as good or better?

We flew FC for our Alaska cruise and James would like to fly FC for this cruise but the price is crazy high (To me)

I've saved so much money on my cruises due to your insight/advice I thought I'd check your flight knowledge.

Edit to add where we are flying out of, thanks @KristiZ

We can fly out of Charlotte or Greensboro NC.

Thanks!!!!

We just got off the Ovation a week ago.

We both have the cloth ones and my husband just pushes up his mask a bit so the nose piece rest on the top of his mask, no fogging.

I like the ones target sells, they jut out some they are not tight to your mouth and I can breath better.

I thought the gators are not allowed?  I could be wrong but I never saw anyone wearing one of the ship?

You are correct RC has cloth ones for sale plus they give you white ones in your cabin.

6 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Dan has picked up every pebble out of the yard both pre-sod and post-sod. 

@WAAAYTOOO

When we bought our first home it was a spec home so we got to pick the finishes.  We still needed the yard done.

I asked the builder when would the Sod be laid.

They laughed at me and said

"Bless your heart, Sweetheart we grow our grass here"

My husband explained I was from FL.  I truly thought everyone used Sod, granted I was 25 years old who lived in an apartment while in college.

Your house looks great!  I'm so happy for you and Dan!

15 hours ago, Scoular said:

What have you got lined up?

I’ve got the app but you’ve just reminded me to nudge my mum to make sure she has, so thanks for that!

We always love the ice skating shows, so really looking forward to it. We did an escape room on Anthem a few years back, my first ever. It was actually good fun.

We currently have wonderland booked, and we’ll have access to coastal kitchen too. We have Jamie’s all over the UK so it doesn’t appeal to me as much. I’d like to try chops(I’ve actually got a package booked for our Alaska trip in May) but to be honest I’ve not heard great things from it. I also have always thought the steak in the MDR was pretty good too, so hard to beat. 
 

I forgot you could get breakfast at Johnny Rockets on Oasis class ships. 

Thank you!

We just got off Ovation sailing Alaska

We have Ovation May 2022 (Cancelling this one now)

We have Rhapsody for Greece in May 2022

We have Mariners for ABC Islands in August 2022

We did the specialty dining on this past cruise and I just booked Wonderland once for the experience, thought I'd dislike the food.

We had this awesome server who asked us some eating preferences and ask if she could just serve us based on that.

We said sure, it was delicious and I'm not a big fan of "fancy food"  I like a good steak or a good salad but I regretted booking only one night.

We really enjoyed the Costal Kitchen too, only ate there one night since we had the dining package.

Chops food was very good but they cannot cook a steak, I like mine medium rare and I keep getting medium at best.  The servers are good just not like everyone else.  All the other restaurant had such warm and outgoing servers Chops was just ok.  

11 hours ago, JohnUK said:

We have seen the Aqua show and the ice show: whereas the storylines might be weak the skills of the performers are incredible.

Totally agree with this, the performers were/are incredible!!

2 hours ago, Scoular said:

Thanks for the heads up! I hear with Covid that shows unfortunately must be booked onboard. I don’t even know who to go to for that! Unfortunately I also hear many shows on harmony are currently cancelled. I’m hoping by September they’ll be back up and running!

Harmony was our first RC cruise, we loved her so much we have 4 more cruises booked, sadly none on her.

I think I must be the only one who did not like the Aqua Show, it was too long and had some very boring periods (totally my opinion)

You book all the shows and specialty dining on the RC app, very easy to use on the book.  I have issues using it on land.

Download it before your cruise because a lot of people trying to do it when on the ship makes it a slow download.

I really enjoyed the Ice Skating show and the Escape Room.  We love escape rooms on land too.

We ate at Jamies, Chops.  Loved Jamies, chops was ok.

Was not impressed with Johnny Rockets for breakfast, did not try them any other time

You will have a wonderful time, can't wait to hear about it when you return!

No they did not need RC luggage tags. 

I suggest you have a some form of ID on them in case you leave one or more behind eating or whatever until rooms are ready.

We carry on only a backpack with all the important stuff (paperwork, ID, bathing suites, meds and one extra set of clothes)

I was so excited for our cruise I totally left our ducks at home and forgot to even look for them, duh!  

Love your story!!

9 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Amen. At least as long as someone else is paying for it

When it's my money my level of snobbery is 4 people in an interior.

I was shocked, my husband is the most laid back in our family of three.

My daughter and I like being spoiled.

We were originally in an interior for this past cruise but I wanted to spoil him and it backfired.

22 hours ago, twangster said:

I've yet to see a snorkel excursion that forces you to snorkel.  Stay on the excursion boat, wade without snorkeling if a beach stop is included, read a book, drink rum punch, what ever.

A snorkel excursion on a catamaran or large enough boat to have some shade can be quite enjoyable without getting in the water if she enjoys sailboats or excursion boats.

This is what my husband did so I could snorkel.  The crew was totally fine with it, one person less they needed to watch in the water was their reply.

@smokeybandit I should of thought of that, thanks!  I seriously thought of bring my own, now I know not too.

@Lovetocruise2002my 22 yr Daughter wants to try Star Class, every time I book us a new cruise she ask.  We really enjoyed CK but we only got to try dinner.

8 hours ago, CGTLH said:

Thinking about the gruyere cheese tater tots? If so they are showing up in the app.

If you did mean the tater tots, yes they still have them as of last week

19 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

So glad to hear you had a great time! We are counting down the days till next year.

You will not be disappointed, it was truly an amazing trip.

If you have any questions just ask and I'll give you our thoughts.

We just got back from Alaska on Ovation and had an amazing time.

My only complaint was the toilet paper (geez that's some rough thin paper)

The crew members were outstanding, my survey took me a bit to get in all the names.

So we stayed in a Jr Suite ( just James and I) for the first time.

We decide to try Europe again so we go to the NextCruise to book (learned it's just better to book direct with my TA Kelley from MEI)

I asked about 2 connecting OV balconies, my husband stops me and says Jr Suites or higher. 

He said he really enjoyed the space and was not going smaller.

We now are booked in a 2 bedroom GS, it's the only 2 bedroom Rhapsody of the Seas had available.

I know Rhapsody does not have the perks bigger class ships have but we are ok with that.