columbus_cruiser

Straight talk:
If you are flying to the port, wearing a mask while indoors onboard the ship will be the least of your problems. 
 
Masks are mandatory while in airports and planes.  With layovers and delayed flights, the travel day can be very long.   
I don’t see mask mandates going away any time soon. 
 
With your knowledge of how wearing a mask affects you, I think some really intense reflection of whether this is the best time for you to travel is warranted. 

I don’t particularly care to get into any discussion of the pandemic/politics/science/mask mandates, etc.  Cruising at any time is a luxury and is much more so during current times.  I want to cruise, so I agree to follow the rules because I know I am able to follow them.   Those who can’t or won’t follow the rules should find another way to vacation. 

With all that is happening, could cruising be put on pause again?  It's not just the COVID numbers.  This recent surge is impacting the ships' ability to provide satisfactory service to their guests - cancelled port stops, shows, and on-board activities. I'm not trying to be a fear monger here.  I've been on six cruises post-COVID and all has gone well.  But to quote Han Solo, "I have a bad feeling about this!"

You should also note that some onboard activities, such as ice skating, rock climbing, laser tag, production shows, Adventure Ocean, etc., could be impacted during your sailing, as we adjust our plans to ensure that the health of both our guests and crew remain our priority.
 
That is transparency.
Not liking what they stated does not make it not transparent.  

Incorrect. It was part of the service offered by RCL for international travelers. Of course they could stop this offer at anytime but for the clients that made their reservation based on the fact that this costly service will be provided for them, RCL should either offered compensation or full refund with no strings attached. 

Totally not the case on Odyssey right now, corporate must have made a call. I have never witnessed so much security posted within the ship. All crew seems to be addressing masks, and most are compliant. 
We were at Sorrentos sitting at a table having some tea, masks off of course. Mr. Cabash stands up without mask on and while reaching into his back pocket to get it to put on a staff member was on him, made me chuckle. Very serious right now and they are being worn correctly, you don't see a nose! I haven't used lipstick thus entire sailing:)
They let us know all movies are complementary too if you want to stay in your cabin. I'm typing this from my balcony. I must say I feel the ship is handling this well. While disappointing I feel safe and still enjoying. 
Going to a Tap show they added to the schedule at 1500. Yes. Added. Nice.

UPDATE:
Good morning - I want to thank everyone who let me "vent" about my recent situation with Royal Caribbean.  Since my former friend was able to access and cancel my 40th anniversary cruise (since she had been provided the reservation number to link to our reservation) I have been doing everything in my power to have someone from RCCL just hear me out and take the time to investigate my claim.  This finally happened.  I reached out to an advocacy group - the Elliott Advocacy Group - for help.  Michelle Friedman took the time to review every document that I had provided RCCL in hopes of at least getting my $200 deposit back.  I am happy to report that the Chairperson of the Resolutions Department at RCCL reached out to me with a formal apology and stated that she and other staff members actually took the time to review and listened to the cancelation voice recordings.  Although they were not able to provide me with a copy of the actual recording they were now convinced that it was not me that phoned in the cancelation.  RCCL also offered to reinstate my original reservation - they were not able to offer the cabin on the back of the ship since it had already been sold - at the cost that we paid back in 2020.  Since we had already rebooked a cruise for the same week on a different ship they applied an additional $200 to the balance we owed and even provided us with a $100 on board credit.  I am so glad that this is finally over.  They too were surprised that someone would stoop that low and be that hateful.
So this restores my faith in RCCL and the groups that advocate for others.  Not sure that without the help of the Elliott Advocacy Group I would have ever received a response from RCCL - but I did and I am happy with their response and the outcome -so time to close this case and move on - looking forward to sailing in 2022.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!  - rita 

Today, 69 crew members and 3 new guest cases. 
Our FCC just arrived! Booking another sailing!!
 

@Ampurp85 yes the OBC was because they sold me Evian but gave me something else, nice gesture. There are 3 of us in the cabin and they gave 2 bottles, so I believe it may be 2 per cabin.. 
I'm not a "crowds" person anyway, I am enjoying my huge balcony in this 2 bedroom grand suite.

Friday morning update, pool decks still packed, even the chairs in the pools solarium included have clothes and towels reserving them, I get it it is gorgeous outside getting your vitamin D. I am back on my huge balcony as I wasn't enjoying the pool deck that way, not my personal choice.
So they added a show, Tap Factory so we reserved it at 1530 which is cool because so many shows have been canceled. 
I ordered the Evian water and was given cans of royal spring water and 15.00 obc credit.  It doesn't taste "canny" I was pleasantly surprised. 
The tree is beautiful; dining at Chops tonight as it is Mr. Cabash birthday today. 
This morning upon returning to room we were gifted 2 pretty royal water bottles as well as notification of carols & mass. They have mentioned our friends in the Jewish faith holiday and there is a beautiful large menorah. 
 

I can understand that! I’ve made it a point to NOT accept any FCC’s due to RCCl inability to issue correct amounts, tracking and distribution of credit amounts (They (RC) spread out on previous FCC into 3 separate cruise, which the original amount could have been used on 1 sailing. 🤦‍♂️ Needless to say TA wasn’t happy with that process, which I couldn’t blame him.

This was my first time on a quantum/ultra class ship; and I will be honest, I do not like the class (based upon Odyssey). I hated the lack of seating along the esplanade, the minimal outward facing windows, the views in the specialty restaurants. I just felt a lack of comfort on Odyssey that I haven't ever experienced on other ships. She felt tiny and cramped in ways I hadn't experienced before. 
I love the indoor Solarium, I love that it was very easy to take a shower with the bathroom door open and watch the sea go by. 270 is beautiful but I was not impressed with the way they had the lounge configured. 
I will also say that there was a stark difference between my sailing in November to December, in November we had around 600 less passengers and I could easily have a relaxing morning and make my way to the Solarium and grab a chair. In December most if not every chair was claimed around 8 AM and I ended up spending way more time on my balcony the second sailing.
All those things being said, she was still better than being at work and while I didn't love the ship I did enjoy my sailings both times.

I don't think Royal will cancel anything unless the CDC makes them. 
And if they do you will know because I'll just be at my desk crying forever. I can't deal with FCCs anymore 😉
 

I've had a few cruises like that with low capacity.  I was the only person in the pub and the only person clapping for the singer when the song ended.  It felt awkward 🙂 

Hoping RCI can get a better handle on passengers who refuse to follow new Guidelines due to Omicron outbreaks. Watched maskless people being served at buffet, in stores on boards, disembarking and even entering lines for guest services.   Many teenagers walked around with masks on chin or not at all.   As a long time cruiser I want the industry to succeed but worry that regulations that are not enforced at all will become problematic with all of the breakthrough we are seeing currently.  

The shows were the best I’ve seen on Royal. The ship seemed a bit crowded in some of the common areas like the solarium and Esplanade. I think I favor the traditional promenade style.

I think the bionic bar in all the ships is a waste. Go once , maybe twice for the novelty. That’s the business model? But every tavern with a skilled and entertaining bartender/barmaid lacks them in every night. Missed the mark here Royal. And on odyssey, it’s prime real estate.

I’m not sure how much capacity will matter right now with omicron seemingly this contagious. We made it thru the summer delta surge Without it translating into cases on the ships. It would appear that the next several weeks are going to be rough for positive cases on the ships. Just so annoying when we had just got back up an running. My wife and I were just on the 8 day odyssey sailing from 12/4-12/12 and we really feel like we dodged a bullet in terms of the cruise being Adversely affected by Covid cases. We had an awesome time and thought royal did a great job

Here is the letter we just received in our cabin. My refunds for excursions as well as the two days refund already hit my on board account. While I struggle with Royal and the reason we got here I feel they have handled this with transparency and the unexpected compensation is MORE then generous in my humble opinion. 
 

The ship is definitely too crowded!!!

Frankly we have made contingency flight reservations for Sunday out of FLL. we have not canceled the second leg of our B2B yet but if things go downhill regarding the ships ability to visit ports we will probably cancel. We are not impressed with the ship overall and it’s really too crowded to even enjoy the solarium pool and hot tubs, even if there were NO port stops allowed next week. 
 
a few hours ago we were cool with staying on for the second week but now seriously considering our options. 

My point is…..something is up. I’ve read at least 6 passenger posts that got off this morning. Embarkation has been pushed back 2.5 hours and people boarding today got an email at 6:30 this morning giving them the option to cancel. This is more than a few cases. Whether the cases are mild or cause death doesn’t really matter. A case is a case is a case and I’m sure the higher ups at Royal are concerned. Things have been going really great and in a positive direction. The timing stinks. Odyssey apparently also has several cases. 

This is all based on conjecture and is my own personal opinion. 
1) Baring some sort of an all out travel ban or mandate I do not think that RCL will cancel cruises. 
2) What I think what we will see are some protocol changes. Which we have already seen with the masking changes. I am also sure that internally they are monitoring the epidemiology of covid on board their ships (eg who is getting sick, how sick are they, where are they from, age, etc). I think that they may slow down the ramp up to increased capacity. 
My personal prediction, is that I fully expect there to be more cases on board RCL ships just like the Symphony OTS. I think that as long as cases are mild or asymptomatic, RCL will not try to change their protocols too drastically. However if they see a rise in severity or a huge influx of cases, I think they may take even stronger precautions. I expect that RCL will slow down their increase in capacity over this winter, and ramp up faster during the spring of 2022. I fully expect by summer of 2022 to be close to full capacity and definitely at fully capacity by the end of Summer 2022. 

I would normally agree, but this is RCCL IT we are talking about.  They have kind of earned a reputation.

Captain just announced via the intercom in our room some fully vaccinated crew has tested positive for Covid 19 and have been quarantined. He did not disclose the number. The weekly testing of crew revealed this he stated. They are canceling shows going forward and contact tracing.
We stop in Curacao tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if they let us still visit. 
While there is no smoking in the casino everything on board seems normal, the suite concierge is missing since last night fingers crossed she isn't a positive case. 
Otherwise, everything else is packed with little social distancing. My line dancing class yesterday had us tripping over each other. 270 every table in use, making the most of our Holiday sailing.
On another happier note I found two cruising ducks. They bring me joy. 

I agree with this. It’s not very funny how people on this board will passive aggressively laugh at a post as a sign of disagreement. It’s annoying already.