OrlandoDad

I just got off Independence of the Seas and can confirm the information Twangster gave is correct. He does not need to spend an hour on the phone with RC....would likely not get the right information anyway.

Thank You. I must say that looking back I am proud of myself for never once getting upset or nasty with a representative during the apprx. 10-12 hours I spent on the phone with them over this two week saga. Guess I am mellowing out as I get older.

Final Outcome for those that may be having this issue... The cruise went fine and we enjoyed ourselves. When I returned home, the ~$58 I insisted they owed me (I can add) was refunded to my card. That was a nice surprise, as I had no intention of spending one more minute on the phone with them to try to get it resolved, and would have just let it go. In the future, I will not apply for Royal Caribbean stockholder OBC even though I am entitled to it, as I am convinced this triggered my issues after it was applied and I subsequently cancelled and rebooked a Cruise Planner item to save a few bucks. Just not worth the hassle and stress I endured for two weeks leading up to the cruise. Also, I instantly regretted sending a brokerage statement, even a heavily redacted one, to a cruise line who obviously does not have the best IT department, to say the least. Advice to those finding themselves in this situation....insist that they change the final payment due date to the day of the cruise for all reservations the moment you get your first e-mail. They did this for me, they can do it for you. Alleviates at least a little of the stress and stops the daily e-mails. To Royal Caribbean....fix this!! Devote whatever resources are required to make it happen yesterday. It is ridiculous to be told by multiple employees on the phone that this is a 'known issue' and 'not to worry about it'. That's a big ask when your customer is not sure they will be able to board the ship on the sailing date for a cruise they paid in full the day it was booked. If you know about it, fix it.

Oops. Duplicate post. I’m well on my way to getting the $58 Royal Caribbean owes me from their bars. Lol.

Thanks All. Check in smooth as silk. Had every thing printed and I think just as importantly each person had their own documents in hand. I realize young children wouldn’t be able to do this, but if everyone in the party is able, I’d say let everyone present their own stuff.

Yes. I was the original poster here. I was on a call dealing with another issue, and while she was waiting on someone she mentioned it to me. I told her I knew about the requirements, and she said, unsolicited, that with my 10:30 arrival time I should not test before noon on Saturday “to be safe”. During our arrival each person that looked at our forms said the date, Jun 25, aloud as they inspected the test results paper. Pretty sure they are trained to do so; as it was consistent. They never once said Jun 25 12:30 am.

Thanks. It’s not sorted by a long shot. But I’m on board and not much they can do to me now I guess. Lol.

All checked in at Port Canaveral. Can confirm 100% all they care about is the date on Covid tests.

In the terminal all checked in. Waiting for the suite folks to be called then I guess we are up next. Getting close.

I did a dry run so every one would be familiar with what to expect, especially myself. I purchased the Over-the-Counter Binax Now test at the local drugstore (I'm assuming you are using eMed). This was reimbursed by insurance, and worth the hassle to be familiar with that particular test (the popsicle stick type). For purposes of planning your wake-up time, I'd like to revise the testing time estimate I gave above. Roughly 45 minutes each consisting of: 5 minutes to get 'patient' set up in front of camera and gather ID's, test, etc. 5 minutes to login to website, let eMed check your system, fill out information and wait for proctor 10 minutes for proctor to give spiel, check ID(s), scan test kit info and run test 15 minute waiting period 5 minutes for proctor to get back on line once you indicate you are ready, and for them to interpret results and finalize session 5 minutes to clean up/organize 'testing zone'...discarding materials/packaging for old test, etc. You can also log in to eMed ahead of the testing date site and perform all the steps of getting to a proctor (answering questions, system check, etc.) then just disconnect prior to the proctor joining your session so you and your mother in law will be familiar with the steps involved in that process.

It appears to be local time. At the beginning of the test, they ask you where you are (Country, State). The results were reported using that time. They did not ask where I was going (other than which cruise line). I can't be 100% sure because I am in the same time zone as the Port. Hope this helps. We did our four tests in series, as I had to assist everyone, even my wife Plan for about 30 minutes per test, provided there is little wait time for a proctor, which was the case for us. If assisting minors, you will be asked for your ID as well as theirs.

You're Welcome and Thanks. Best of Luck to you as well

No. Issue(s) are not resolved. Current bottom line is Royal owes me ~$58. I am not going to die on that sword. Not worth the effort or aggravation to me. The e-mail I received Thursday night was actually for my other reservation. So they moved the payment due date on that reservation to Monday as well. Just to stop the e-mails. I get continued promises to resolve this but time is very short and I don't expect any results from them at this point. They assure me there will be no problem Monday getting on the ship. If the reservations are 'cancelled' Monday night I guess I will not be able to use the App on board for reservations and such. I will not be happy about that, but not going to worry about it too much. I will probably call them once more, either tomorrow or Monday before I drive over to the port just to have them tell me one more time there is no balance due and the reservations will not be cancelled...will mean nothing, but I have the time. They really need to get a handle on this. Whatever part of 'the system' that is showing a balance and not agreeing with what the representatives are seeing needs to be addressed. It is something they should be ashamed of.

This is what I am going by from a 'Royal Caribbean Blog".....post dated Feb 18 of this year.... "The amount of hours that have passed since your test do not matter. If you take your test at 8AM on a Thursday and your cruise doesn’t leave until 5PM on Saturday, the test will still be accepted. Royal Caribbean counts tests by days, not hours, so there is no need to worry if it has been ~50 hours instead of 48 hours since your test by the time you board the ship." Based on this, and the fact that I sail Monday, I can start on the tests tonight at midnight, as far as I can tell. I really don't think the folks at the port would check each test document to see if it was within 48 hours of your arrival time.

That is a really good question

Thanks....We sail, maybe, this Monday. So I can test anytime of the day or night after midnight on Saturday (tomorrow), right?

So I just got off the phone with RC about another issue I am having. While I had them on the phone, I asked about Pre-Cruise Covid testing. She stated the test must be done no more than 48 prior to my boarding time. I was under the impression the time didn't matter, just the two days. So I thought I could do the testing anytime Saturday (tomorrow) and be good. My intention is/was to do the at home eMed test very early Saturday morning, and I have a backup appointment with Walgreens that I was going to cancel if/when the eMed at home test went well. Do I really have to wait until 48 hours prior to boarding, or did get a little bad advice? Do they look at the time on the documents at the port, or just the day?

At least you have some time. I sail Monday and this issue is still not resolved. I received another balance due email last night. I guess I will call them one more time tonight when I get home, then just hope for the best Monday morning. Didn't I read somewhere the reservations are transferred to the ship two days before sailing? That would be tomorrow. This has been a terrible experience. I imagine I will book again with Royal, the casino offers are too good to pass up, but this has put a bad taste in my mouth that will likely linger for quite a while

Or have your wife see a voucher or a bunch of black chips on the nightstand

I thought I read somewhere it was something like within 3 cabins....but I am not at all sure about that. My kids will be two doors down....one cabin in between us. First time I see whoever is staying between us, I will make it clear to them that if they are disturbed by my kids in any fashion whatsoever I would like to know, and my kids will wish security came and got to them first

I don't think the kids would 'officially' be allowed to have their own room. My understanding is this is a common occurrence and nothing you need to worry about. Just when you first get on board people might not have the 'right' keys for stateroom access, but you can take care of this at Guest Services. I'm in the same boat, so to speak, with my wife and 17 and 13 year old. This is our first time with non-connecting staterooms. No need to make any 'changes' prior to boarding.

And just a brief update, I did confirm that they moved the Payment Due date to 6-27-2022, the day of the cruise. E-mail/website still says due date of 5-6-2022, the day I booked the cruise, but when I 'go to pay' link it shows 6-27-2022. So as long as 'the system' doesn't cancel me between 12:01 and the time I board on 6-27-2022 I guess I'll be good. And I'll have all my printed material for arrival time, drink packages, excursions, Key, etc if they disappear. I'll just be out a few bucks at that point. I'll just steal a $799.00 list price Invicta at the 95% off sale to get my $50 back.....KIDDING!!!!

Pretty sure you are right. When I did the rebooking, I think it did use the OBC. Then I cancelled that and the OBC showed back up...it is still there...and rebooked again. But if this is the case, there is no way in heck Royals system should have let me use the OBC for the purchase in the first place.

If I recall correctly, the 'instructions' I read said to submit request for shareholder OBC no more than 2-3 weeks out. So that's what I did. So it must have been about 2 weeks ago. I did not receive any sort of notification that the credit was there....it just showed up.

You can say that again! I am convinced this has to do with OBC. I made many, many cancel and re-bookings in cruise planner over the last month. All went just fine, with refunds coming to my credit card right at 7 days. Then I received the RCL shareholder OBC. Once that hit one stateroom, the next cancel re-book (to save $32 dang dollars!!) sent everything into absolute Chaos. But I am speculating about that of course.