ChrisK2793

14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Double points and some fortunate accounting at home during 2021 is going to get us to D+ in July, about 5 years ahead of schedule

Same here ….. both of us and our 10yo son will be D+ when we get off Symphony on Feb 19.  We hadn’t intended to cruise again until all the Covid protocols were gone, but the 4 points per night for suites made us take 4 cruises between October and now.  I just wish I had booked our cruises for the rest of this year and next year before that promo ended!
 

20 minutes ago, Pattycruise said:

Testing only prevents those who tested positive at the time of the test from boarding.-there are still people getting on the ship with Covid, who became positive after their test was negative.    It's a false sense of security to think that testing means no one onboard is positive.  It's also a false sense of security to presume that masks will prevent the spread, as all masks are not created equally, nor worn properly. The same can be said for vaccinations as we all now know that the vaccine doesn't prevent the spread, it's supposed to  lessen the effects of the disease (nothing to do with cruising)   The whole thing is really a crap shoot, no matter if it is cruising or at a supermarket, a restaurant, a theater, etc..   Hopefully I'll be on my 6th cruise since August soon enough and whatever protocols are in place I'll follow.  
 

Personally, I’d rather both masks and testing to be gone as requirements for cruising.  I’m just saying IF I was forced to keep one of the 2, I’d prefer the pre-cruise testing over the masks.

1 hour ago, PG Cruiser said:

Choosing between masks and pre-cruise testing, I’d choose the masks. I’m used to them already.  It’s the testing that really adds stress to cruise preparations.

 

If I had to keep one of the other …… I’d prefer to keep the pre-cruise testing and then have no masks ……. Even with masks, a bunch of Covid positive people getting on the ship won’t have a good outcome.

16 hours ago, Terri Smith Johnson said:

If this has been asked before, I apologize in advance...We will be cruising March 27 on the Oasis on a 7 day cruise with 3 ports.  I have made excursion reservations (paid) in all three ports, yet they do not show on the app in the calendar (it appears as if I still need to purchase), nor does it show after I log in online (3 of the 5 show as reserved).  If I look at my charges, and the details, all the excursions are there.  Is this just something that will correct itself as we get closer?

 

As long as they show in the “order history” of your cruise planner on the website, then you’re good.  Lots of times the app never shows restaurant reservations of booked excursions ….. Royal has a terrible IT department …….. pre-Covid they accidentally gave away the Deluxe Beverage Package on a bunch of cruises for $18/day!  Royal tired to cancel it on the tons people who bought at that price and ended up having to honor it because of the uproar trying to cancel everybody caused.

UGH ….. SORRY …… I just noticed in the picture I posted above that Walgreens also says ages 3 and up 

31 minutes ago, Tplanav1 said:

Anyone have a good recommendation for Our 2 year olds PCR test. Was planning on CVS, but their website listings testing to 3+. Pretty frustrating the cruise requires it for 2+ but it’s something that’s not readily available until the kids are 3

The test at Walgreens called “Rapid Diagnostic Test (ID NOW)” is an NAAT PCR test that is accepted by Royal for unvaccinated  children.  It says results take 24 hours, but every time we’ve used it for both adults and unvaccinated children (3 cruises since Covid so far) the results have come back in about 3 hours.  

 

53 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

My room is on the Starboard Aft side on the Wonder.  I think I have the wrong info on my luggage tag.  I hope my luggage isn't brought to the Port side.

A few times now, even with the tag being 100% correct, we’ve walked the halls and found our luggage FAR from our room.  Even on the CL floor, we’ve found them on the opposite side of the ship from the side our room was on.

I hadn’t heard of this perk before …..  myself, my spouse, and our 10yo son all have over 100 shares since the Covid drop  ….. would all 3 of us be able to claim $100 OBC each on the same cruise?

7 hours ago, newcruiser215 said:

Hello! First time RCL cruiser. If I have the unlimited dining package, can I make reservations on the app once I'm onboard? 

It’s easiest to have your restaurant dates and times written down and to go to one of he open specialty restaurants or one of the desks where they’re selling the UDP as soon as you get on board and just let them make all the reservations for you …….. every time I’ve tried the app it didn’t work and I ended up having to do that anyway ……… I even have the surf and stream every time and all it does is tell me over and over I have to be on the ship Wi-Fi to make a reservation …. And yet I am 

2 hours ago, Patchy said:

Hi all,  I have some FCC’s that expire at the end of 2022.   Looking at possibly booking an August sailing on Oasis of the Seas out of Bayonne (to avoid airfare), but the itinerary is identical to a sailing that I already have scheduled for April.  2022.  So essentially we would stay on the ship for the entire 7-day sailing except for CocoCay (which we LOVE).    This would be our first sailing on an Oasis class, and our previous sailings have been on Freedom, Odyssey, Anthem, Mariner, and Navigator.   We are a family of four (two adults in our 40’s and two boys, aged 10 and 8).    Wondering if there is enough difference in the ship amenities on Oasis (versus very fun ships like Odyssey and Freedom) to keep us entertained for a full 5 days?   Thanks in advance!

Oasis Class ships are WAY BETTER than all the other classes of ships as far as having things to do ……..  we’ve done a few cruises on Oasis class ships with our 10yo son where we never got off the ship other than in cococay and had a great time every time.

Local CBS Orlando news just now ….. they didn’t say which company or ship

On 1/28/2022 at 1:35 PM, egd207 said:

I am travelling with family members and we have our reservations linked in cruise planner.  When we first booked online we all chose MTD.  Now I know that unvax kids are not allowed to do MTD from reading blog.  The 4 year old is in another cabin from mine - will this affect my MTD?  Are we going to need to eat together in the MDR or can we go alone?

You really need to call RCL and have whoever is going to be eating with the 4 year old charged to either early or late seating in the MDR ……. IF everybody is MTD, and the 4 year old can’t do MTD because of being unvaccinated  ……. Who’s he going to eat with and where is he going to eat if none of you are in a regular seating for the MDR?  They won’t allow him to even come into let alone sit at a table in the MTD area being unvaccinated.

6 minutes ago, cruiserccl said:

Wow, that's a long time. Did they give you a reason why it took so long? Was this through a TA?

Thank you for the advice and I will contact them after 2 wks. I hope it's not going to be months.

It was a cruise I booked online thru Royal’s website ……. No explanation for why it took so long …… I can’t believe I forgot about it!

13 minutes ago, cruiserccl said:

Unfortunately, we decided to cancel another cruise. This is the first time I will be getting FCC since we chose to book with non-refundable deposits. The PIF isn't until a couple of months, so all I would be getting in FCC is the deposits.

How long does it take to receive the FCC after cancelling?

I would like to use it to book the next cruise.

Thanks for any information and suggestions.

 

I cancelled a thanksgiving week cruise way back in July  ……. Totally forgot about it ……. The FCC’s just came this past week and it took me a while to figure out what they were for since I totally forgot I cancelled a cruise after all this time.

I’d call and ask about them if you don’t get them in 2 weeks.

Just saw this which explains it best 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Misc/18065216_RoyalUp_Trade_FAQ_Flyer.pdf

On 1/26/2022 at 7:53 PM, cruisellama said:

Diamond = Elite,   Diamond + = Elite +

Diamond, Diamond +, and Pinnacle all only get you Elite

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/cruise/more-cruise-lines-requiring-coronavirus-vaccine-booster.html

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/silversea-azamara-cruise-lines-requiring-booster-shots

https://thepointsguy.com/news/more-cruise-lines-require-covid-booster/

https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Silversea-Azamara-require-Covid-booster

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6676/

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-will-follow-cdc-if-booster-shot-is-required/64647

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Is RC suddenly sending out a lot more Royal Up emails? There have been a ton of posts on Royal Up the last few days.

1 hour ago, Pattycruise said:

I haven't gotten one for either of my February sailings nor my March one

I’ve never gotten a “Royal Up Invitation Email” …….. I always just go to the link below on my own and put in bids …… some of my cruises have accepted bids 60 to 90 days before ….. others wouldn’t accept a bid until 30 days before …….. I’ve won my bid offers 4 times now and only on one of those 4 have I bid more than $20 over the minimum bid

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

4 hours ago, Gisser said:

If your bid is accepted, do you get new documents (specifically printable luggage tags?) Or do you have to have the baggage folks hand write you luggage tags for the news room? Thanks.

I just had a Royal Up bid accepted this morning ……. This afternoon I received an email with new e-docs …… the next to last page had my new luggage tags to print ……. Last time I won a Royal Up, I called earlier to ask for new ones to be sent not realizing I’d get new e-docs anyway and they sent them to me.

3 hours ago, Fairlynew said:

In a little over a month, I will (hopefully) embark on my first cruise as a Diamond member.  I will be on the Allure.  I am very excited!  Can anyone tell me what hours the Diamond concierge is available and if he/she can help with dinner (UDP) and entertainment booking?

Thanks all!

I highly recommend you go and make your own UDP reservations immediately as soon as you board the ship.  If you wait for the diamond concierge to be there, you’ll be stuck with whatever is left.  Most of the good times are filled up by 1 or 2pm on boarding days and you may not get some of the restaurants you want on the days you want either if you wait.

11 minutes ago, kadmgs said:

To fit more people?

My question is what/who is sitting there? I know I need new glasses, but I swear that a walrus and a racoon in suits. 

I see the same thing

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Q Are the RoyalUp℠ upcharges commissionable?

A Yes, based on the commission percent on the booking. At this time, the only exception is for bookings that reserve under a net price code which will not earn commission on the upcharge.

What’s a “net price code” ?
 

‘On the flip side ….. my 10 year old son has a Florida State ID card ……. So I already created his own NAVICA account for him ….. this is our first time using these at home tests ….. so hopefully they won’t say I have to put him under mine instead when we go to do it on 2/10.

They must have given out 8 CL upgrades this morning ….. last night there were 21 left, now there’s only 13.