mnshortie21

Psycho just made this one 😂😂😂

If you are in a rush to eat….eat at WindJammer. People who want to eat at the MDR are there to relax and enjoy their vacation. Asking RC to change their whole operation to appease a small minority of diners who are in a rush, just isn’t going to happen. You choose where you eat and if the MDR isn’t for you….don’t eat there. It’s pretty simple. Nobody wants a Panera dining experience at the MDR. If they do, then eat at Panera! 

But most importantly…did the rocket test negative for Covid two days before departure date?

I’ve done nine since September, number ten is this Thursday. Oasis in Sept and Oct…the rest on Anthem. All out of Bayonne, NJ.  Here are some of my pros and cons. These are just my highlights and I’m sure each passenger has their own personal list.
The Pros:  Reduced capacity and everything that goes with it…easy boarding, less lines onboard, chairs available on the pool deck and solarium;  Easy peasy safety drill on the app…love it! No more herding like cattle waiting for those selfish late arrivals before the video starts;  Knowing every adult is vaccinated and tested…and every child is PCR tested prior to arrival and tested before boarding;  Knowing the crew is vaccinated and boosted when eligible;  The food, entertainment, venues, service and crew are fantastic as always.  Biggest pro, I’m on a cruise!
The Cons:  Getting the Antigen test…always a bit nerve wracking knowing a positive test is a personal cruise killer. Wearing a mask, although for me it’s no big deal and makes me feel safer.  A major con is the uncertainty…anything can change at a moment’s notice. Entertainment or itineraries changed or cancelled…port delays or denials…venues changing access times or limiting capacity. Changing protocols. And of course the biggest con…I may get quarantined.
So far…after nine cruises, I’m used to it and feel like it’s just normal. I’m an optimist and I love cruising. I usually sail solo and do my due diligence. I know what the requirements and protocols are. I’m also flexible and know that anything can change. I guess I’m lucky that I am able to cruise often and feel bad for those who plan a family vacation just to be hit with unexpected changes. It is a challenging time to cruise. Hopefully we can all get through this in good health and get back to pre-pandemic cruising. I’m looking forward to it. But not the chair hogs…I’m not looking forward to them. You know who you are! Good luck!😎

I was not going to bid on a balcony, but I checked this week on the bid I do have for a neighborhood interior and saw for the balcony category a notice, "Pricing above reflects a 25% discount to normal bid pricing. Act fast as this promotion is only valid until Jan 31, 2022" 
Has anyone else seen this in RoyalUp? Is it normal? Might it go lower?  It's extremely tempting as I have never had a balcony.

One of the changes made,
“Testing requirements will continue, and ships with at least 95% of fully vaccinated crew and passengers may continue to reduce or eliminate certain public health measures onboard, such as mask use and physical distancing.”
 
Then below that under Masks, 
“The CDC will still require cruise ships to wear masks onboard ships, regardless of if the lines opt-into the voluntary program or not.”
 
So what is it, have to wear masks or can the cruise line reduce or eliminate masks?
 
 
 

So what's the punishment for not opting into a "voluntary" agreement?
There's no technical benefit to opting into the voluntary CSO, even if you still follow the CSO. But if you don't, will the CDC hold it against you?
And gee, thanks, moving the case threshold from 1 in 1000 to 3 in 1000.  Sorry, that's an absolute joke.
Some good things though. Self-service food stations are allowed again. Granted we know they'll keep many as manned stations, but hopefully I don't have to ask someone to pick up a piece of pre-plated cake or a banana for me.
Changes to quarantine cabin rules. I wonder if they'll let people quarantine in their booked cabins now.
I just hope they relax Adventure Ocean rules and let it be fun again.

Whoa, that's a lot of shooting down and not thinking innovative. Sure the ideas are a little out there, but shooting down single approaches to implement the ideas probably isn't the most helpful approach in a creative environment.
Let's take for example your response to location tracking. Instead of tracking happening on your phone, let's think about tracking via a wearable device that is then viewable via the app. This is one of the coolest onboard features that princess cruises is using on their medallion class ships. Just think of all the benefits of being able to see people's location: find your kids or friends, order drinks to your pool lounger, see how busy it is at the Windjammer.  Sure, there's a large cost associated with the data equipment to support this platform (especially for existing ships), but I wouldn't be surprised if Royal implements this feature on the new Icon class ships.
I get these kind of responses from my IT department at work. I challenge them to think about implementation in an innovative mindset rather than a brute force implementation mindset. Usually the best ideas come about after 2 or 3 iterations of planning.
This sentence reminded me of someone I work with and i just had to laugh:
Thanks for taking the time to respond to people's ideas, but I think you missed the spirit of this topic.  It's a wish list.

I think it would be nice to have a "You are here" on the deck maps like they do near the elevators on the big screens with other ship info.

Best price I ever got on a suite was when my parents invited me and paid.
So I guess the strategy could be summed up as, wait to be invited on someone else’s dime. 

We always book refundable rates on a few different dates. Whichever one or sometimes two end up repricing the lowest are the winners.  

We also commonly convert a refundable rate to non-refundable prior to final payment.

I totally understand why they are closing out these cruises...to cap capacity.  But I sure wish they would keep them in the line-up and just show them "sold out" rather than pulling them off the website.  It causes so much confusion and angst....which is all completely preventable by just leaving them visible.

Boarding
Earlier in the week we were informed boarding would be delayed 2 hours
Had an 1130 original time, Got to terminal at 1206 due to shuttle schedule
Boarding Process:
Show negative test to get into the door
Upstairs show passport, covid test, vaccination record and set sail
Then through metal detector
Then upstairs
Upstairs waiting at 1225, could have be quicker but I met some first timers on the shuttle and helped them through the process
At 100 pm they started letting Keys in, then others.  I was onboard by 108 (and I was NOT a key)

On Board observations
Ship feels VERY empty, I will try to get a headcount later (it is bouncing between 2600 and 3300 depending who you ask)
Dining room staff are all wearing N95 or KN95 masks
Guests are being very good about wearing masks (to this point at least)
First headline show was perhaps 1/6 capacity (see photos)

Entertainment schedule for this week
It looks as cast members clear quarantine they are getting shows going again.  All the main shows will be operational by the end of the week (fingers crossed)
Sunday
There is music and football in many venues
Theatre 700 & 930 Headliner Aaron Bonk - Dangerous Comedy
Studio B 900 Disco Ice Skating (I think guests do the skating to disco music
Monday
There is music, movies and football in many venues
Theatre 800 & 1015 Headliner Aaron Bonk - Dangerous Comedy
Blaze 900 & 1100 Adult Comedy
Tuesday
There is music and movies in many venues
Theatre 800 & 1015 Impressionist Gordie Brown
Aqua Theater 800 Hush! Silent Disco
Studio B - 1045 70's Disco Inferno
Blaze 1000 Adult Comedy
Wednesday
There is music and movies in many venues
Theatre 700 & 930 Impressionist Gordie Brown
Studio B 800 Hush! Silent Disco
Blaze 900 & 1100 Adult Comedy
Thursday
Aqua Theater 1030 Aqua80
Studio B 900 Disco Ice Skating (I think guests do the skating to disco music)
Blaze 900 & 1100 Adult Comedy
Friday
Theater 830 Cats
Aqua Theater 700 & 1030 Aqua80
Studio B 800 Hush! Silent Disco
Blaze 900 & 1100 Adult Comedy

Saturday
Theater 300 Cats
Theater 800 Family Comedy
Theater 1030 Adult Comedy
Aqua Theater 700 & 930 Aqua80
Studio B 800 & 1030 Frozen in Time
Blaze 1000 Farewell Party

Comedians for the week are Nery Saenz & Don Grey and they will be doing the shows together

Here is the perfect mask.  I got these for hubby and friend on our October cruise. I found them on Amazon.

Cats is cancelled?  Woohoo!  

You should be able to cancel within 48 hours of the sailing under the Cruise With Confidence program and receive an FCC.  If a port is missed, port taxes and fees are refunded.  They may inform of port changes prior to sailing, however sometimes they do not know until they dock (as happened last week).  Beyond refunding port taxes and fees, they do not own passengers any reimbursement (although sometimes they do, but they aren't required to, per the contract we sign when we book the cruise).
I'm sailing Odyssey on Jan 29.  We're totally ok with any port changes.  We'd like to go to Aruba and Curacao, but we're also happy just to be away from work and the Minnesota winter.
 

Being on the Odyssey right now my own personal assessment is the cruise line got excited and relaxed to soon. I had said previously after our November Oasis sailing they were on the path to shutting themselves down, their own fault. 
The last minute protocol  changes regarding masks, smoking in casino (Not a smoker) etc may not have been needed or an issue if they didn't ramp up capacity so darn fast and/or made the notifications in a more timely manner. 
There is a family in the Suite Lounge that are clearly sick with something. The coughing and sneezing is so bad we won't visit there anymore. They are extended. Grandparents on down to little ones. Our Suite concierge has disappeared never to be seen again after night 2. We are avoiding the suite lounge now. Period. What, no one else hears this? Shouldn't a test be in order? No. Why? I can only surmise $$$$
We have adjusted our behaviors as we are not mask wearers but do so because we agreed to adhere to sail. This sailing is our family Christmas event, we participate within our comfort level for our experience...but,
Shame on Royal. There are too many people on this ship and protocols they put in place are not being enforced or followed, so IF there is a shut down it belongs in my humble opinion squarely on their shoulders, this ship is packed. I do not believe the number of 3700 with 1700 children, no way.  Good Luck Royal but I think greed may have gotten in the way, just my personal observation. 

-Pleas from the hospitals will be there no matter what, especially hospitals suffering self-inflicted staffing shortages.
-Professional sports are already changing their protocols since they realize keeping asymptomatic people off the field is not a common sense approach anymore as covid weakens
-There have been cases on cruise ships since June.  With current protocols there will ALWAYS be cases found on ships.

Yes, they are the same.

This post is like watching a documentary with a strong biased agenda. Are crew members’s validating these points? Yes. Is this an accurate representation of the entire crew? Absolutely not. I also noticed several crew members that were either indifferent or didn’t bother to properly wear a mask themselves. Realistically, crew opinions on masks, enforcement, etc are more varied like anywhere else in the world.

I don’t see the value in this discussion and continual brow beating, it’s probably good to just lock at this point.

WE (and I use that term collectively) are keeping the industry alive by continuing to cruise and book cruises.  I am one bad discussion away (and I suspect many others are as well) from walking away from the industry completely.  Yes they have to walk a fine line.....but they are off the line right now (AGAIN).  I can drop 5 digits a trip ANYWHERE but I choose to do it here multiple times per year......but not much longer

Ugh.  Frankly I’m surprised that they are only mandating this through 1-5-22.  What a PITA

Unfortunately a while back they changed the vax "recommendation" to a vax "mandate".  You can no longer cruise unless you are fully vaccinated (eligible ages apply).  Florida is not enforcing the "cannot ask for proof of vaccination" so it's utterly useless.  They keep making fake indications that they are going to fine companies (cruise line included) who ask for proof of vaccination but it's only bluster.  The Bahamas and St. Thomas recently extended their prohibition for unvaccinated passengers but even if the cruise is going nowhere near The Bahamas or St. Thomas Royal is still requiring fully vaxxed.  Absolutely stupid.  I hope the vax mandate is ended soon too but I'm not holding my breath.  Thoroughly disgusted by all of it.

Just the latest scariant

I think you are misunderstanding peoples replies and wrongly classing it as bullying.
The 1st reply simply suggests that we should NOT judge a book by its cover! In that the person involved may have underlying issues.
2nd reply points out that we need germs to build up our immune system. 
3rd reply points out that staff may also be an issue, lots of threads on here showing that cases of covid are higher in crew members on all ships.
Also staff should be wearing gloves when working and dealing with any passenger 
Now your replies are your opinions and that this person doesnt have underlying issues, has parents who didnt educate him properly and who in your own words will catch herpes and spread it around! 
Yet you call others bullies and insulting when none of the replies launched any personal attacks towards you? 
Ps Herpes (HSV -1) can be transmitted orally simply by giving your 80 year old grannie a kiss at xmas if the bacteria is present around the mouth ( cold sores )