GatorCruiser

Anyone know how long it typically takes to get your points updated in the cruise planner? I sailed December 4-12 and they still haven’t been updated to reflect that cruise. I guess they are dealing with bigger issues at present but was just curious.

Transparency by the Captain I’m sure is much appreciated

Carnival has some nice itineraries you may want to look into.

Bottom line right now is cruising is going be tough over the next several weeks with omicron skyrocketing the case numbers. The usual cruise experience likely will be disrupted in terms of entertainment etc as we haver already seen. Of course if increase cases are being seen among passengers it will inevitably spill over to the crew and entertainers. This is the unfortunate by product of focusing on case counts and testing especially in light of everyone aboard being vaccinated.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-ne-odyseey-of-the-seas-returns-20211226-5y4pltnucjdetf6kf6dcb63piq-story.html yet another article about odysseys xmas cruise.

We got our drink package for 50$ per person on our odyssey of the seas cruise 2 weeks ago

If you get interviewed by the Miami herald or USA Today , sing royals praises. There is a lot of negative press out there for cruising in general.

We all know the deal about cruising in the pandemic. Any complaints are unrealistic. It infuriates me reading these articles in MSM from passengers who allege the wool was pulled over their eyes etc. the cruise industry needs all our support.

Agree with above , for us it’s more about the ship and experience than the ports. Any frequent Caribbean cruiser has been to St. Thomas ad nauseam. These ships are moving amusement parks. Most of us have been to most of these ports of call already.

The BinaxNow test thru emed is the best and so easy to do.

Absolutely spot on assessment. Time in life is everything. This Will pass very quickly. Just sucks for the people on ships right now and the next couple of weeks.

I’m just not sure what more some of you think royal could do? Short of stopping cruises altogether, there isn’t much more than could be done that they haven’t already done. As matt has said , they aren’t close to full capacity yet. Again, I was on odyssey 11 days ago and everything was fine. This explosion in cases has literally happened overnight. We all know the risks when we book in this climate. It’s sucks for those no doubt currently on ships , but this too shall pass. Going to be a tough 4-6 weeks in regards to case counts.

My wife is following a Facebook group They just indicated that Aruba is not allowing any cruise ships to port regardless of cruise line

This is absolutely correct. Omicron has been crazy with its spread.

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

I think its reasonable to assume there are going to significant case counts in the country over the next 4-6 weeks. How much of that spills over to cruises remains to be seen. Royal is doing about all anyone could do to mitigate cases. Like you, I hope this upcoming period doesnt ruin all the progress thats been made to get back to cruising

theres an article in the washington post about the symphony cases. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/12/20/royal-caribbean-cruise-coronavirus-omicron/ this quote is particularly annoying: Some of the ship’s passengers criticized the company’s handling of the outbreak, saying they had been given a false sense of security after the cruise was advertised as safe by officials who hailed their testing capabilities. “They failed their own safety standards,” James Johnson, who stayed on the ship with family members, told the Miami Herald, as other passengers reported that they had received conflicting advice from overwhelmed staffers amid the outbreak about testing and whether they needed to quarantine. we all know the deal when we book. Royal is doing as well as can be done. I guess some cruisers expect zero cases.

I know everyone is different and has their own unique calculus when determining risk. Nothing short of an Ebola outbreak would dissuade me from cruising. Everyone is vaxxed that sails. Risk is much less than anywhere else on land. I hope these articles don’t scare off passengers who might otherwise cruise.

We as a country need to move past the notion of perseverating about case counts and shift to what really matters and that’s severe disease and hospitalizations. Until then every time there’s a case it will make headlines. Covid isn’t going away , we aren’t defeating it. It will become endemic and we will have to live with it as it causes less virulence. The media needs to let it go as does this lawyer. Everyone on board is vaxxed x2 and A lot are boosted. That really should be enough to get back to Normal life.

I liked the ship overall. Loved playmakers being in seaplex. Didn’t like how you essentially walk thru Izumi while walking down promenade on deck 5, is an odd design choice. Liked how teppanyaki was separate. Loved lime and coconut concept, ifly is amazing. 270 and cafe 270 are great.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/covid-cruise-breakthrough-case-sent-100127784.html fascinating read on how royal handled it. I was on this cruise and we sensed something was up. Glad the couple is well and that it didn’t lead to more cases. Royal seems to have a good system in place to handle the inevitability of onboard cases.

Just got the email officially informing us of our Lift and shift to our grand suite on wonder from harmony. To say I’m stoked would be an understatement. Just amazing news!!! I’m going to never leave that suite neighborhood except to go to trellis bar in Central Park

My wife and I are booked in a grand suite on harmony in December 2022 and now see it’s canceled in the cruise planner. Man if we got the equivalent of that on Wonder, it’s would be epic !! Fingers crossed.

Buying Cubans in Aruba and curaçao. Experiencing odyssey, meeting Chris Wong, going on a booze cruise on a schooner in the south Caribbean, meeting random people with equal love of cruising