Biff215

Any thoughts on Baha Bay in January?  Just like Thrill Waterpark, I'm concerned about the temperature in the winter and whether it's still worth the money.  Any insight would be appreciated!

17 minutes ago, Matt said:

Thanks for the update, Matt. Now it will be interesting to see if Royal reinstates their excursions. 

21 minutes ago, craftycruiselady said:

The nightmare is true since the construction started on the new garages a few days ago. But it also matters how many ships are in port. If you are on a 6 ship day, it will be ten times worse than a 3 ship day. I personally would be a little ticked to pay full garage price and be stuck out in a surface lot. I would get there early enough to grab a spot s someone is leaving but not so early that not enough people have left yet and you should be fine. 

Have you considered another option, uber to a hotel very close to the port with a shuttle? Will probably be cheaper but yes, you do lose a little control because you are waiting for shuttles and it is most likely cheaper? Unless you were staying really cheap or free on your two days and then maybe not.

Thanks for that info. Looks like 4 ships in port that day.

We're staying in Disney on DVC points so no need for a hotel either night.

15 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

What car company? I've done the one way with Enterprise and the price is rarely that much more expensive than a round trip.

I check Costco daily and it compares Alamo, Avis, Budget, and Enterprise.  It hasn't dropped below $300 for the two days, compared to $125 if I pick up and return at MCO.

16 minutes ago, Lucky said:

I flew into Daytona Beach (DAB) for Wonder in October. I rented a car to get from DAB to Cape Canaveral, dropped it off, they shuttled us to the port for free. We flew out of MCO, and on the way to the airport we used Go Port.

I bring this up because you do have the option of renting and taking a shuttle one way each. We used Avis in this instance.

Thanks. If you mean renting at MCO and dropping off at the port, I did mention that but it’s almost $100 more total that way. They’re really upcharging the dropping off at a different location from where you pick up, it’s almost $200 more. 

7 minutes ago, loki007 said:

I would and have chosen option #2. I have parked at terminal 1 many times and never had an issue. What time is your boarding? Get there before noon and there will be no issues parking. 

Thanks. We got 10:30 and plan to be there nice and early. I’m just hearing about long waits for parking with a huge ship like Allure doing a short cruise, plus Wonder going out of there too adding even more cars. 

Since both cost about the same, I’m just looking for convenience getting to and from the ship. 

Hi everyone, debating on what to do here. We’re flying into Orlando two days before a weekend cruise on Allure. Here are our options for transportation that would cost about the same for a family of four. 

1. Rent a car from MCO ($125) and return it there before taking Go Port shuttle roundtrip ($240). 

2. Rent a car for the entire trip ($300) and park it at Port Canaveral ($68). 

The only other option is renting a car at MCO and returning it near the port, but that ends up costing well over $400. 

I thought I was settled on option 2 since we would have the most control (no shuttles) but now I’m hearing nightmare stories about the parking situation at Terminal 1, particularly for Allure since it’s attracting more locals. 

What would you do? Thanks in advance!

7 hours ago, Hannah L said:

We just got off Allure and were on a ferry to blue lagoon that morning when half way through the ferry ride they said they had to cancel and bring us back “due to unforeseen circumstances.” We assumed they had oversold the excursion on the island as there were six ships in port, but this is so much worse…

Was Allure in Nassau on Tuesday? I thought Indy was Royal’s only ship in port that day. 

20 minutes ago, RoadtoNowhere73 said:

Hi Smokey, perhaps a rhetorical question: I wonder then, what other arrangements they've made for pending BL reservations between now and then. My rez remains active in my RC excursion queue (granted it's still a month away)

I’m willing to bet they’re taking a wait-and-see approach. How long the Bahamas holds their ferries from operating will determine when they can restart excursions. Then Royal can decide whether or not to continue to offer them. For now I’m sure they’re content holding on to everyone’s money until everything settles. Just my guess. 

1 hour ago, Xaa said:

Yep gone for mine too.  I had no plans to head back anyway.  Not that I wouldn't go back, just that there are other things I would do first.

In Nassau??? Please share, lol. We really struggle with Nassau and were considering Blue Lagoon this time. It will be interesting to see if this is simply a knee jerk reaction by Royal to temporarily pull these excursions or if it becomes permanent. Such a terrible situation for everyone involved. 

All Blue Lagoon excursions (there were 9) have now been completely removed from Cruise Planner for my January cruise on Allure. 

Noticed this morning that all nine of the Blue Lagoon excursions on Cruise Planner for our January Allure sailing are now “sold out” (none were just the other day). 

2 hours ago, tangled1010 said:

Thank you for this. I did a "trial" run with OnPoint last week and it was very easy and had my results in minutes. I liked that I could see the proctor too. Doing the "for real" test this week. I scheduled it for 1215a July 15th cause we have an early flight and I want it done before we head out.  Wondering if the date will show July 15th also since it looks like the lab they use is in TX or CA?

We had someone in our Facebook group run into this issue but it was easily fixed. Her initial report said the day before but they immediately changed it. Our proctor asked us the time where we were so I would just make sure that happens. It’s doubtful they’re even in Texas or California anyway, they work from home. Someone mentioned theirs was from the Philippines!

1 hour ago, Diane O said:

Thanks. I read on the app that it is required on the list of info needed for test results but I am seeing so much contradictory info out there. Thanks for passing this along!

As posted above it is possible to print out a second form with their CLIA number on it. With both I plus Royal’s response I feel confident that it will be fine. I’ll report back when I can. 

From Royal Customer Service:

Hey there, we prefer a CLIA number or certification number, but not all medical facilities have those numbers so if your test doesn't include one don't worry about it. - Cheyenne

39 minutes ago, Diane O said:

Great to hear that. Would you mind letting me know if the CLIA number was on your OnPoint test results? I called OnPoint and their representative said that the CLIA number is NOT on the results which is making me hesitant to use them. 

No it doesn’t. Does Royal state anywhere that CLIA # is required?

OnPoint was awesome this morning. Got 4 tests done in about 15 minutes and had the results emailed in about 30 minutes. Highly recommend for the $15/person if you already have your own tests. 

@kjones123 Thanks for sharing! We’ll be in the same “boat” next Saturday for testing, I think we’ll try OnPoint. Are you on Quantum?

Hey @Matt, have you ever heard of OnPoint or if they’re accepted by Royal?

The cost savings over eMed since we have existing tests would be significant, I just fear a disaster if I’m told at check-in that it’s no good. 

I have the same question now that Walgreens is no longer an easy, free option. The eMed tests are a bit expensive and it’s annoying that you need extras in case something goes wrong. With OnPoint, you provide the test which is nice considering I have a bunch on hand already. Has anyone successfully used them to board a Royal cruise?

https://onpoint-testing.com/product/certified-teleservice-covid-testing/?gclid=CjwKCAjw7vuUBhBUEiwAEdu2pD8xTcr9bSC4yULHQ70vMiN_0RH6cLc_OyBV_h0BpSfjiR_s2O18thoCuF8QAvD_BwE&fbclid=IwAR0Bl_rH3_AqXNZ2WEHhBtsFEKld4coIN84iCPMyT41ClVvvZglLsrhmyDg&fs=e&s=cl

3 hours ago, SueB said:

I just ordered mine for our sailing in August!  I saw the same You-tube video!!  Contacted my TA to see where I order from!!  Received my confirmation of purchase last night.

I ordered yesterday but never received an email confirmation. How long did it take?

31 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Odd, I can see current dates

 

I see that too, but once you click one, it changes to 11/20/2007 for me and then I can't correct it to anything past 2017.  I tried on my phone and my computer, so it seems consistent.  Please let me know if you see otherwise.  Thanks!

27 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

We got the blanket on our Alaska cruise. For $25.99 I didn't have much hope for it, but it was actually a really nice thick blanket worth every penny.

We were going to grab that too. This is the issue I’m encountering with the date:

I can choose my date initially but then it switches to 11/20/2007 and when I go back to the calendar to fix it, 2017 is the latest year.

I just fear buying it if this is a site they’re no longer updating and then we don’t get our stuff!

On 5/3/2022 at 10:08 AM, CruisingNewb said:

Yes! We found them and already purchased!  Can't wait to see them in our room when we board!

We’re looking to buy them too for our Quantum cruise next month. While our sail date and ship are on the first page, the checkout page only goes up to dates in 2017. Did you experience this too?

My daughters experience on Adventure in July (she was 12) and Symphony in December (she was 13) was that the entire (12-17) group stayed together in the club for activities, even when the group was quite large (50+ teens on Symphony jammed into the club). As others have said, the club is really only a starting point for most teens and they go from there. I also agree with those who believe 11 is far too young for this group. In addition to the issues with appropriateness, there were some activities such as ice skating where parents of 12 year olds had to be present. It was weird that they were included in the teen club yet treated differently. Personally I think 13-17 would be better.