Kathleen

When we cruised out of Miami on Oasis January 9 we had an 11:30 check in time. Everyone was bumped back 2 hours, per an email sent out a few days in advance, for extra sanitation of ship but that’s not ordinary.

@Bob Burd if you do as @twangstersuggested and stay in Vancouver overnight you could board Radiance the next day Northbound and end in Seward and fly home out of Anchorage. It’s a similar itinerary with Hubbard glacier as a bonus. I just realized you were talking about 2023 and not 2022.

@LuiG51 try messaging them through the Royal Caribbean twitter account attaching this photo. I find they get answered questions that the customer service people aren’t giving the correct answers to. Good luck and yes I believe the original email is clear that you receive compensation of both FCC and full refund.

I’d suggest asking this question as a message through the Royal Caribbean Twitter acct. I have really good luck with them finding out the answers to certain questions.

Just recently in Mid January, the FDA approved for Abbott an additional extension of Covid tests expiration dates. There is a link in the article to the FDA letter supplied to Abbott. From the reading of the letter Abbott received from the FDA, it appears it would extend any test that has an expiration of less than 15 months, to 15 months from the date the test was created. If you go to emed's website there is a link to email them. That may be worth the effort to do so. https://thepointsguy.com/news/fda-extends-expiration-abbott-at-home-covid-test/ https://www.fda.gov/media/155326/download

It works like many other messaging features on social media; such as Facebook and Instagram instant messaging features. In older days the disadvantage is that unlike text, you are not notified of the message when received but must continually check messages to see if you’ve received any. I’m not sure if that is still the case.

In the old days you could choose to not guarantee their cards with credit card and only guarantee with a cash deposit for the whole trip. Once that cash runs out their card will not work for purchases until you go to guest services and deposit more cash on their sea pass card. We have done this in the past with both our children and friends of theirs traveling with us.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Seattle. Nice hotel and great location near many of the downtown attractions.

Do you know the loyalty level equivalent of Royal Carribean Diamond on Celebrity. While I understand our points don’t transfer from one line to another, our loyalty level does.

We are Diamond on Royal Caribbean and will be Sailing on Celebrity our first time. Although our by points don’t transfer from one line to another, we understand our loyalty level remains the same on each brand. What is the equivalent of Diamond on Celebrity?

I did my part and booked another cruise yesterday! Three in my wheelhouse now!! So happy to have some planning to do!

Team “stack of papers” for me!!

We just got off Oasis, sailing out of Miami, on the 16th and sailed Star Class. Our Set Sail pass had Star Class on it but once we arrived at the terminal, there were two Ladies out side the terminal Checking in Star Class and taking your luggage. They checked you off on their clip board so I don't think it mattered whether our pass said it or not. From that point they checked our negative test, passport and vaccine card and had someone escort us to Suite area where we were met by our Genie and a RC agent who checked us in on her Ipad. Afterward we waited just briefly to board with our Genie. I'm not sure this protocol is the same at every port, as this was our first time to sail Star Class.

We have always sailed RC and are looking at sailing Celebrity in Alaska in 2023. We sailed Alaska on Ovation in 2019 and loved it. With the new Celebrity sailing, we would only repeat one stop, Juneau and we would get to sail to Hubbard Glacier which is a plus. We are looking at Sailing in a sky suite on Celebrity which appears comparable to a Junior Suite on Ovation but with complete suite benefits not normally available to a Junior Suite on Royal. Price wise when you add in all the extras the price on Celebrity is the same or a little less than on Ovation or Quantum and a little more than on Radiance. We are afraid to pull the trigger and just need some reassurances that Celebrity has great things to offer also. For all of you that have sailed both, please give me your opinions.

I found that I was ale to use my FSA/HSA debit card through Emed and I was not able to through Optum, so I ordered through Emed. That and the price made a big difference to me.

@SpeedNoodlesThat is the video I watched!! Definitely made me more comfortable before signing on, especially after seeing him mess up !

In Seattle, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt. Great location. Close to many popular Seattle attraction, especially Pikes Place Market. https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/washington/grand-hyatt-seattle/seagh

You do not need an appt. Just log in and click on take a test. The proctors are available 7 days a week around the clock. We took ours at 4 am on a Friday and there was no wait! There are a number of you tube videos showing you how to take the test if you would like to familiarize your self with it beforehand. That's what I did, so I knew what to expect.

I just returned and on Day 3 I had a massage and scheduled another massage on Day 7 with the same person. When I arrived on Day 7 for my massage, I was assigned a different masseuse and only told my other girl "wasn't feeling well". I suspect she tested positive and had to leave or quarantine, although I was never notified. I don't believe there really is any contact tracing done in that aspect, unless it is within your own cabin. Upon return from our cruise, I tested myself and was negative and that would have been 6 days after contact when I tested. We enjoyed our cruise and I always felt safe despite that minor worry.

@MattG I assume there is no Playmakers or sports bar on Quantum? Thank you for your answer. It is not clear from the cruise planner especially since it mentions playmakers and portside.

Planning an upcoming (not until October but I'm a planner!) cruise on Quantum and have currently purchased the unlimited dining plan. What are all the specialty restaurants and which are a la carte. The description of the plan says $35 at ala carte restaurants except $20 at Playmakers and Portside BBQ. I'm assuming Chops and Jamies are not A la Carte. What about the rest? TIA.

We were on Oasis last week and our Genie told us that Atlantis is bringing all their own entertainment and even customer service agents. RC was adding an additional 250 staff to the ship to accommodate the additional guest counts as well as long hours the chartered cruise keeps!! The problem with charters is they pay a certain amount to charter the whole ship and the promoter must sell so much to break even or profit. Promoters, unlike RC are not in it for the long haul, instead they must profit to move on to the next big festival and profit. Hence, unfortunately, they must pack the ship as seen in the picture. I feel for the staff who must be around so many people. I know that if they get Covid, two weeks away greatly impacts the money they make when they depend on the tips. Families at home count on most of them. Here's to hoping the staff remains healthy and it doesn't impact the next few cruises on Oasis. We had such a fabulous cruise last week that I hope those that follow continue to have the same experience.

We had friends whose cruise was also cancelled about 2 weeks in advance out of Miami. They were able to call and reschedule to Allure out of Ft. Lauderdale during the same week as the cancelled cruise. There are possibilities apparently. It is definitely a difficult time for both Royal and their guests and I agree it would be heartbreaking to be planning on vacation and have it cancelled. I hope, for all of us, things slow down and we can return to more cruising and your Alaska cruise goes off without a hitch. We sailed Ovation to Alaska and it remains one of my favorite cruises.

We just returned from sailing on Oasis Jan 9-16. It was a fantastic cruise. There is much to be said about a ship, especially and Oasis class, being at less than capacity and in our case, just at 50% or a little less. The boat never felt deserted but was a nice capacity to have no waits. We were able to port at all our ports (Western Caribbean) and all of the shows were going on as scheduled except for the second half of the Aqua theatre shows. The chief safety engineer responsible for making sure all safety equipment for the shows is up properly to keep the divers safe tested positive and without him they could not go on. I always felt there was plenty of room to distance ourselves from others, even in the bars and lounges but enough people to enjoy a group type atmosphere. Having done the whole cruise experience, we felt our greatest risk of contracting Covid was probably at the Miami airport. We were in an area were there were throngs of people and that was our most uncomfortable moment for the week. Whether to sail or not is a personal choice and we stressed about the testing and boarding during these times for about 2 weeks unnecessarily as we look back. Boarding was very easy and smooth. I hope if you feel comfortable enough, you will sail, as we had a fabulous time. Understanding and flexability is key but there is much to be embraced about sailing now.

Definitely a move we can aspire to!!!! Looking forward to when my calendar allows that veteran move! Until then I will continue to practice single cruises.