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Tiffeven

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Everything posted by Tiffeven

  1. Wow! Within 2 hours of sending Sunil my phone number, he already called. He spent about 25 minutes on the phone coordinating everything. He mentioned that he must have missed the pdf that we sent and asked us to resend it. He told me that I can arrive earlier than the 1pm boarding time that he mentioned and go on and let the kids take their Covid tests, but we won't be able to board until the gangway is cleared from the previous sailing. He informed us that sometimes there can be a delay with the previous sailing's disembarkation which is why he said 1pm as he doesn't want his guests having to wait around. He also said he would make sure we have Adventure Ocean and Royal Baby and Tot hours, but they are working on a reduced capacity in those venues. He informed us that laser tag is not being offered with everything going on and that they just reopened Escape the Rubicon (the escape room), but they are only allowing large groups of six traveling together. Since Steven and I are only two people, and they won't group people with other traveling parties, we will have to miss it this time. We understand this is beyond the genie's control, and we will just plan on doing it after it returns to normal. He also told me that if I don't want to do Coastal Kitchen on filet night, he can have them make filet any night I want and have it delivered anywhere I want. Of course, we are just going to stick with getting it on the first night at Coastal Kitchen. He made reservations for us to have Playmakers for embarkation lunch as we requested. We had asked for snacks during 1977 (ice skating show), but he let me know that during the "everyone" show, they do not even have bartenders go around. The bartenders still serve drinks during the "vaccinated only" show but not the "everyone" show. Sunil asked if the kids like candy and if we allowed it. I told him that on vacation, we let the kids live it up. He told us since he can't have snacks delivered at the show, he would have candy delivered to our room before the show. Any disappointment I had is now gone, and I am quickly realizing why Sunil is so highly reviewed.
  2. Sunil sent us another email today which I was happy to see. In it, he asked if it was ok to call and talk to us personally "to have a better understanding of what our needs are or how we can assist each other to ensure all arrangements of our cruise and our experience of his service is exceptionally perfect." He also gave us his WhatsApp info, so that we can reach him with any "doubts or queries." I have to say I have never had a genie ask to call prior to embarkation, but I think this is a great idea as you can pick up on things that are impossible to notice via email. We are very much looking forward to chatting with Sunil and cannot wait to meet him. We also decided to change our Covid testing plan... again. The Walgreens in our city opened appointments for Wednesday last night at midnight. They did not offer the rapid antigen test, and the closest location that did was in Virginia (we live in East Tennessee). They did offer the Diagnostic Lab Test (PCR) and the Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) though. I do not think we will have results back in time if we took the PCR test as the lab is backed up. The information on the Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW) says "results are available within 24 hours, samples are tested on-site, and meets most pre-travel testing requirements, including Hawaii." I wanted to be certain is was accepted by Royal Caribbean, so I called and verified and they told me it was indeed accepted. I also felt even better about it, after @AshleyDillo said in her blog that she did this test and she received the results even quicker than expected. Everybody except Kat is scheduled for Walgreens on Wednesday. I also was getting more and more apprehensive about testing Kat at the Miami Airport on Friday. All I could think is it is literally the day before the cruise. What if they run out of tests or change it to only available to those flying (like the other airport testing site) or about a hundred other what ifs. Our insurance does not cover travel testing, but we decided to suck it up and schedule her testing at a local urgent care. According to the lady that scheduled the test, the self-pay cost is $170 which is the lowest I was able to find locally. It is worth the extra $90 to not have to stress over all the what ifs, so Kat's test is also Wednesday and they said we would have results before leaving the office.
  3. We cannot wait! I'm really enjoying your blog. It is definitely getting us excited for the cruise!
  4. It's all good. Like I mentioned, he is probably just the type of genie that gives his current guests his full attention which is getting more and more exciting since that will be us in less than a week. I have no doubt that he will be amazing from everything I've heard. It's just a different experience than what we had with previous genies, but it goes to show they are all special in their own way and have a different way of making their guests experience unique and memorable.
  5. I hate to be a debbie downer, but so far, I am a little disappointed with Sunil. His correspondence has been considerably less than previous genies. I kept telling myself that he is probably the type of genie who puts all of his focus on his current guests which I will appreciate when I am onboard. He still has not answered any of my questions, but I was excited to see an email from him today. Again, he did not answer any of the questions I had asked, and it was obvious it is the email he probably sends out to all his guests the week of their sailing which includes arrival information such as where you are supposed to arrive (Star Class entrance at Terminal A) and how luggage is handled. It also included information about Covid-19 test requirements. The only thing that was personalized in his email was our dining schedule for the week. Upon seeing this, it became pretty obvious, he never read the pdf that we sent him. I responded back with some changes. I told him that we only want to eat in Coastal Kitchen on filet mignon night, which I do believe is night 1 if the app is correct. We would also like to have dinner earlier than scheduled on the nights that the kids will be joining us since we want to drop them off at Adventure Ocean when it opens at 7pm. I also let him know that Steven and I will be dining without the kids at 150 Central Park, so we will have a later dinner directly after dropping the kids off at Adventure Ocean. I advised him that we prefer to have 150 Central Park on a sea day instead of a port day; and on this night, we will also have an earlier dinner delivered to our suite for the kids. In our pdf, we had also requested to have Hooked for lunch not dinner since Steven and CJ both hate seafood, but we were already changing a lot so we will forfeit the adult only dinner that we had requested at Chops and have Hooked instead with the kids and Steven and CJ can just have the turf and turf. We had requested to go to Izumi Hibachi without the kids but since he scheduled all of us at Izumi Sushi (unvaccinated kids can not eat at Izumi Hibachi), we told him instead of going to Izumi on Day 7, we would like Izumi delivered to our suite at 6pm. Having Izumi delivered will probably work out better since we will be tired from CoCo Cay and we will need to pack. Also in his email, in bold he noted that "Boarding will start approximately at 1:00 PM." In my email I responded that our boarding time is at 12pm-12:30pm and asked if we were not going to be able to check-in at our scheduled time? I told him that we would like to arrive as soon as possible, because we are checking out of our hotel at 11am and was planning on driving directly to the port. While I am slightly disappointed, I'm sure that will change when we get onboard. Sunil has great reviews which is why we requested him. We are very excited to meet him and are sure he will help make our week unforgettable.
  6. Steven said we can't be friends anymore lol. He survives off diet coke.
  7. Tell Alan we say hi. You are in great hands. Have a fantastic cruise!
  8. Well, today has been a rollercoaster. I called the health department where Kat was supposed to take her Covid test, and they informed me that we would not have results back in time for the cruise. I, then, called CVS who also advised me I would be cutting it to close. We decided to reschedule our test to a Rapid Antigen test, but this means we have to drive about an hour away on Wednesday to a CVS in another city. I would much rather have an extra two hours of driving (roundtrip) and have the peace of mind that our results will be back in time than chance it. I then logged in to the testing website for Miami Airport to schedule Kat's test. It asked for flight information, so I called and inquired about this. I was told they only test those flying in or out of Miami Airport. This was at the MIA South Terminal. Thankfully, I kept looking on their website and found that they also do testing at Central Terminal. They are operated by different providers, so I figured it was worth a try. I gave them a call, and they said that they do not require you to be flying to test. They informed me that they do not schedule appointments and operate on a first come, first serve basis; they are open 24/7; and results are provided in anywhere from 15 to 50 minutes for rapid tests which costs $79 for antigen tests and $175 for PCR tests. Here is the information provide on their website for anyone who may need it, "The Central Terminal facility, operated by Communitel and Family Rehab, Inc. and located at MIA’s Concourse E ground level median in front of Door 11, provides Antigen and Rapid PCR tests with results within 15 minutes and PCR tests with results within 40 minutes. The facility is open daily 24 hours a day for walk-ins and scheduled appointments. For testing costs or to schedule an appointment, call 305-869-1161. Customers will receive a written test result, or results can be emailed upon request." This information is slightly different from what I received on the phone, but for the most part, it's about the same. I did check on their website for appointment scheduling, but the only thing listed on their website was their phone number. Although, this started out as a giant stress-inducing mess, it ended up working out ok. I feel much more comfortable about switching to a Rapid test from the PCR. I also ended up getting some clothes that fit, so I'm happy about that as well. We are officially in the single digit countdown and can not wait. 7 days until we leave and 9 until we board!
  9. It just hit me that our cruise is next week! This got me so excited that I figured I'd check our sailing's Facebook page, and I picked the perfect time to log on. Someone posted 47 minutes ago that Royal had opened the 12-12:30pm boarding times, so we gladly switched from our 1:30-2pm time. We are all for whatever gets us on the ship faster. Not to mention, we don't have to kill time between hotel checkout and boarding time now.
  10. I would reach out to Royal about the vaccination status request. You should have gotten it by now. We received ours on 8/22, but there was several people in the FB group for 9/11 that got theirs before we did. The email auto-populated our reservation number and some of our information, but here is a link you can try since you haven't received the email yet. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/vaccination-form?fbclid=IwAR34Olq3iXf8UvBqAbM9W71a6YotygEY3sgYsyDjL6xTxAMVjI12mqFZRU8
  11. We scheduled our PCR test for Wednesday (9/08) morning at CVS for all of us except Kat. The youngest they will test is 3, and she is only 2. The health department in our county does Covid testing on Tuesdays and Thursdays for all ages, so we plan on being first in line on the Thursday before the cruise. When scheduling the test at CVS, it said the results take 1 to 2 days, but I called and they said up to 72 hours right now and that could even go up if they get more backed up. I really wish Royal allowed us to test more than 3 days before the cruise, but I understand that they have policies in place for a reason. Obviously we want to cover all of our bases in the case we don't have our results in time, so I called Miami Airport. We are not flying in, but I had heard they have rapid tests that the cruise line accepts. The information Miami Airport provided was they do testing from 7am-9pm, 7 days a week. They offer three types of tests: Rapid PCR ($179 per person and results in 30 minutes), PCR ($119 per person and results usually in 24-48 hours with a maximum of 72 hours), and Rapid Antigen ($79 per person and results in 1 hour). They also told me I could schedule an appointment online and I would be prioritized over walk-ins, but generally walk-in wait time is only 5-15 minutes. Our plan is to have everything packed up on the Wednesday before the cruise and to leave directly after Kat's Covid test on Thursday. The drive to Miami is about 12.5 hours if we don't get caught in traffic. Since I've yet to have a trip to Florida that doesn't include some traffic delays and because we have four kids, two of which are potty training, we are giving ourselves two days to get there. We will drive as far as we can on Thursday or until we get tired and the kids get fussy. Then, we will drive the rest of the way on Friday. If we have not received our results by Friday evening, we are going to stop by the Miami Airport and do the Rapid Antigen test.
  12. We received an email from Royal today titled "Unvaccinated Guests: Register for your boarding day PCR test today!" We actual received four of these (one for each kid). Each one had a different reference ID, and when clicked it took you to a different link. The email read as follows: Dear Guest, As promised, we’re reaching out with details about scheduling your boarding day PCR test for COVID-19, which will be conducted in the terminal by our medical services partner, BioReference Labs, for guests between the ages of 2 to 11. All unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take a boarding day PCR test during check-in (plus, a debarkation antigen test, which we’ll share more details onboard.) It's important to register for your boarding day PCR test as soon as possible to avoid delays in your check-in process. If you're vaccinated, please do not complete this registration for yourself. However, you may have received this email because you'll need to register the guest below as they are between the ages of 2 to 11 and are unvaccinated. Lastly, please note, the above boarding day PCR test is in addition to the pre-cruise antigen or PCR test for COVID-19 that all guests 2 years and older — regardless of vaccination status — are required to bring a negative test result for, which must be taken 3 days before sailing and before arriving to the terminal. After clicking on "register for your test," you fill in basic information such as date of birth, address, phone number, or if you are symptomatic as defined by the CDC. It was very simple and quick. After submitting this information, you get "Success, the appointment is scheduled." This same page also says that we need to bring the appointment confirmation with us to the terminal. The confirmation was emailed to us almost immediately. I'm not sure if it is enough to show them the email confirmation on my phone, but I don't want to risk it, so I am going to print it out and bring it with us. Two weeks from now, we will be wrapping up our first night of the cruise. It almost seems surreal how close the cruise is. I am super excited, but to be honest, I lost a little excitement when I went to pack and realized none of my cruise clothes fit any more. I did find the perfect shirt to explain this. It read, "Due to quarantine, my beach body has been delayed." It's my fault for not checking my clothes sooner, but hopefully I learn from my mistake since most stores have already got rid of their summer clothes by now. I did the next best thing and ordered some clothes off Amazon and am keeping my fingers crossed that they fit. Nothing is going to ruin this cruise, even if it means wearing sweat pants and leggings for most of the trip.
  13. I'm sure any list you provide will be a great help in making your week extra special. I do have to say this email seems like the Star experience is going to be way less personal than before. Of course, this is out of the genie's hands and I'm sure it will still be an amazing week, but I will miss the days of the genie coming and hanging out in our room with us and the kids. There were so many memory that we would have missed such as when our genie surprised our son with a gaga ball championship in our room or when we were all laughing and our son showed him his stuffed animal that had a tear in his back and he took it and had it stitched back together for him. Our last stateroom attendant was also amazing. I even have pictures of her holding our daughter. I will definitely miss this and look forward to when this returns, but to be honest, just getting back to sea will be awesome and to do it as Star is the cherry on top.
  14. In a way, not answering some of the questions also shows the genie your personality. They could take it as I'm to the point, and I take time for the things that matter to me. It also lets them see that you've sailed Star Class atleast a few times, because I feel like most people are a lot more elaborate in their answers on their first few surveys and especially their first.
  15. We received our Vaccination Status Request this morning. The email provided a link which auto-populated our reservation number, ship, and sail date when clicked. The only information we had to add was our name, date of birth, and vaccination status (I am fully vaccinated and am willing to provide proof of vaccination, I am not vaccinated, or I prefer not to answer). On the link it noted, "Guests who elect not to provide documentation of vaccination prior to boarding will be considered unvaccinated. Additional health protocols will apply to unvaccinated guests, including testing requirements and restrictions on access to venues or events onboard." Steven and I completed the quick form, but we did not submit it for the kids as they are too young to be vaccinated and require the additional testing anyway.
  16. No preference. The set up is pretty much the same, with the private part of the balcony facing the ocean and the table and bar on the side with the rock wall. Sometimes, your view when in port may be affected, but there is really no way of knowing that when making a booking. Also, sometimes one rock wall is utilized more than the other, but again, there is no way of having that information ahead of time.
  17. Looking forward to reading your blog and will see you onboard on the second leg. Like Ashley said, I am worried about the what ifs and thought about not going out in the weeks leading up to the cruise. Of course, that stuck all of about 10 minutes, and we are going to Margaritaville Resort next week. I couldn't wait the 20 days until the cruise, and needed to get away sooner. #firstworldproblems. Enjoy your trip. The sail boat picture is gorgeous.
  18. We received an email last night with the health protocols for September sailings. I will post them below in case anyone is interested. This sailing is now fully vaccinated with the exception of children under 12. September 2021 Sailings Protocol Update Before we say, "Welcome aboard," we'd like to share our health & safety protocols for our sailings departing from U.S. homeports September 2021. Health and safety protocols are subject to change and as these occur, we're committed to updating you. Visit this link for all of our health protocols & additional details. Please save it for future reference. VIEW HEALTHY SAIL CENTER Vaccination and Testing Requirements Vaccination All guests 12 and older are required to bring proof of vaccination, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 vaccination record card, with the final dose of the vaccine completed at least 14 days before sailing. Testing Pre-Cruise: Within 3 days of your sailing’s departure date and before your arrival to the terminal, all guests 2 years and older are required to present a negative COVID-19 Test Result (antigen or PCR.) Proper documentation (printed negative test results or negative test results presented on your phone) from an accredited laboratory (no doctor’s notes) is required to sail. All costs for this test are the guest's responsibility and must be done on their own, not at the terminal. At the terminal: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take a PCR test for COVID-19 when checking in at the terminal. Registration details for this test will be sent via email in advance. This test is complimentary. Prior to disembarking: Unvaccinated guests ages 2 to 11 are required to take an antigen test onboard within 24 hours before the cruise ends. Registration details will be provided during your cruise. This test is complimentary. No testing is required for guests under age 2. Additional Information Healthy Shore Excursions We've worked with local tour operators to ensure they follow our Healthy Sail Panel health guidance for all Shore Excursions. These tours are available at a variety of price points and may be purchased in advance on Cruise Planner. Requirements for Going Ashore No Tours Required for Vaccinated Guests: Fully vaccinated parties may book a shore excursion or visit the port freely. Tours for Families: Families traveling with unvaccinated kids must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. This applies to all ports of call except Perfect Day at CocoCay, and Port Canaveral, FL. Tours Recommended in Port Canaveral, FL: For ships that stop at Port Canaveral, we strongly recommend that families traveling with unvaccinated kids purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore. No Tours Required at Perfect Day: Tours or planned activities are not required of any guest who wishes to go ashore at Perfect Day at CocoCay, our private destination. Mask Guidance Below is our current mask guidance for all guests, except those under the age of 2, who do not need to wear a mask at any time. Masks are NOT required to be worn: In open-air areas of the ship, unless you are in a crowded setting In the pool or any activity where they may become wet At venues designated for vaccinated guests only, such as select bars, lounges, restaurants and shows In your stateroom when you are with your traveling party While visiting our private destination, Perfect Day at CocoCay, unless you are in a crowded setting Masks ARE required to be worn: While indoors in public areas of the ship, unless seated and actively eating or drinking While visiting public ports of call, where local regulations may require them Dining For Main Dining, we will designate areas for everyone, including parents and unvaccinated children, and areas for vaccinated parties only. My Time Dining will not be available to parties that include unvaccinated guests. Some specialty restaurants will be open to everyone, while others will be for vaccinated parties only. If you prefer a buffet, Windjammer will be open to everyone for breakfast and lunch, and the food will be served by our crew. We recommend that you make dining reservations via Cruise Planner before your cruise or the Royal Caribbean app onboard. Grab-and-go cafes will also be available for everyone. Other Venues Theaters and activity venues will offer spaced seating with options for everyone and for vaccinated guests only. Be sure to make show reservations once onboard using the Royal Caribbean app. Spa services, except those offered in treatment rooms, are available to everyone. The Fitness Center will have dedicated operating hours for everyone as well as hours reserved for vaccinated guests only.
  19. I look forward to reading your #majorstarclasstakeover blog. I bet that is going to be a fun sailing and a fun blog to read.
  20. Glad to have you following along. I was really hoping there was another Star Class blog on one of the sailings before ours. Having a good blog to read helps build excitement and helps pass the time. Plus, it would be nice to know what changes to expect. If no one ends up doing a blog before ours, hopefully I can answer any questions that people have and also inform of any Star Class changes.
  21. The planning went into our first Star Class trip. Now we just make slight edits each time haha. Not to mention, by day 2 or 3, we are usually tired and are like "Just cancel everything for today, we want to be lazy and do nothing but eat and drink Starbucks (Tiffany) and diet coke (Steven) all day."
  22. We have stayed in a Deck 8 and a Deck 10 Aquatheater on Allure. We enjoyed both very much. The Deck 8 was definitely bigger and my preference, but the view from Deck 10 was fantastic. Both deck 8s also opened up for this sailing, but the price difference was about $28,000 more, so that was a hard pass haha. While an A1 generally costs a little bit more, usually you won't see such a drastic price difference in an A1 and an A2. The only reason for this is prices are sky high right now, and we locked in our price when prices were low. Deck 9 and Deck 10 are the same category (A2), so there isn't a price difference to switch but if I had went from Deck 10 or even Deck 9 (A2) to Deck 8 (A1), we would have had to go with today's pricing for the cruise. No matter which Deck you are on, you are going to have an amazing time. We absolutely loved Star Class on Allure, and if he is still there in October, we loved Genie Alan.
  23. Our A2 was on Deck 10 (10734) as it was the only one available when we lifted and shifted last year. I have been checking the website almost every day hoping a Deck 9 would open up, and to my surprise, one opened up today. I feel bad that I woke my TA up in order to snag it, but I wasn't going to risk missing it. Initially Royal was having issues getting it booked, but after a long hold, we were able to complete the switch to 9734. This was the perfect end to an already great birthday.
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