Jax

Received updated protocols for our upcoming sailing over Christmas. They look good so much better than they did for our sailing over Christmas last year

I have been wondering about this. This is our first time in an ATS (deck eight) and we are excited to watch the show from our deck but we aren’t sure how it compares to watching in front row seats. My initial thoughts are to have our genie reserve seats in the theatre so we can experience both.

There are 4 shows available to reserve on Harmony over Christmas so far.

We stayed in 10320; our son at the time liked the idea of the side balconies. Our choice was a side balcony on 10 or an interior on 8. We went with 10 due to reports of noise from 270. But I agree with @WAAAYTOOOthe side balconies really are useless but I have always thought they may be good on an Alaska sailing. One feature we didn’t mind was the split bathroom on the main floor. There were only 3 of us so we weren’t bothered by the smaller space. You can’t go wrong with whatever you decide.

We are staying here for 7 nights in December before we cruise over Christmas. It looks lovely, the suite we selected is newly renovated and the ocean front views, full kitchen and spa sealed the deal. Reviews are consistently very good but it’s nice to have a local include it! We are looking forward to our stay!

Oh I know, it’s one of the reasons we made the switch to Royal. Out of curiosity I checked on prices over Christmas 2023 and a 1 BR concierge class suite on Fantasy is $37150 USD or $50773 CAD Our star class ATS this Christmas is looking quite reasonable in comparison. Nuts….

I had no idea until recently how expensive park tickets had gotten. Friends just booked park tickets pre cruise in December and it was $3k with accommodations over and above that. What the heck…

@Rags1this may be the best genie surprise I have heard of! What an amazing night you will never forget. I needed more emojis.

We cruised last Christmas at the height of omicron and were able to fly, cruise, take land transportation and stay in hotels without getting sick. We try to keep our immune systems healthy by daily use of our at home steam shower and infrared sauna and we always book the thermal suite onboard to maintain access to these facilities. Plus weekly visits to our chiropractor. We stay in suites, eat at specialty restaurants, practice good hand hygiene, keep our hands away from our face and always avoid any buffets (we did all these things that pre Covid). We are cruising again this Christmas and are looking forward to the relaxed protocols. Last year we did try to limit our 16 year olds interactions in the 2 weeks leading up to our cruise due to testing requirements. Hopefully we all remain healthy this year but the risk of someone getting sick is always possible whether on a cruise or on land.

This may help. There are several resources and contact informations https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/dining-dietary-restrictions-customer-care

I am sailing Harmony over Christmas 2022 and 2023 and the unlimited drink package is $77.99 for both cruises. I use a USD credit card to avoid exchange rate fluctuations should I reprice any cruise planner items at a lower rate.

I can always justify the suite life, so if it works for your budget it’s worth it! It doesn’t have to make mathematical sense. It’s about making memories which are priceless.

Yes there is definitely a disconnect when it comes to federal vs provincial quarantine requirements. In Alberta there is no requirement to quarantine if Covid positive but if we test positive on a random test returning home we are required to quarantine for 10 days. Makes no sense and leads to a non compliance issue.

I used apple air tags for the first time last December and thought they worked great. They won’t prevent your bags from being lost but they may assist in locating them faster if they are. Our Canadian airline carrier doesn’t provide access to luggage tracking like other airlines do so for me it was worth having the AirTags.

Are you sure you didn’t copy and paste this observation from my Anthem blog. Definitely no wow factor other than the Aft views. This made me laugh. You know how much I love service.

Yay! What a relief. Did u use switch health tests?

Agree, your odds improve considerably with direct flights. Maybe get apple air tags for extra peace of mind.

We had a similar situation this past Christmas on Oasis where another couple joined us without star class or suite benefits. As others have said it depends on a host of factors; how many, whether they have the unlimited dining and refreshment packages, policies can vary from ship to ship and genie to genie so the extent to which they are included in activities and dining may vary. When the genie initially reached out he asked if others were joining us so that allowed me to ask how the process for scheduling dining and entertainment would work for our friends. I didn’t request any star class benefits for our friends and acknowledged up front that I knew they were not entitled to any. Our genie said he would take care of it and he did. He surprised us by including our friends in CK on night 1 (filet night) but at the last moment the food and beverage manager said it wasn’t possible. Which we totally understood because it was a Christmas sailing with reduced capacity limits. He included our friends in our escape room session, BINGO and rising tide bar. Our friends tipped our genie throughout the cruise. Dining was made easier due to the fact they had the unlimited dining package and refreshment package. Dining in your suite will not be a problem.

That’s just one of the reasons we were glad for the older teens. Lol

Yes, we did it on Oasis this past December and as others have said it was a lot of fun. It seemed more challenging than the escape room on Anthem, definitely more math skills required. Our genie scheduled us with his other star class families so there were about 12 of us, 3 of which were older teens which really helped us out! Would definitely do it again.

We celebrated our sons 16th on Oasis over Christmas. I know how you are feeling; yikes, where did the time go! And in Alberta they can get a graduated driving license at 16 so the fun has just begun. Lol Happy sailing and celebration!

Public hot tubs. Seeing lots of foam just adds to the cringe factor. Buffets.

I am trying to find out more information on a cabana rental at the Fins Up Water Park at Margaritaville Nassau. Specifically pictures of the cabanas, location, number of loungers and any first hand reviews on the experience. The resort is relatively new, opening in summer 2021 and there are lots of videos and reviews on the water park in general but I can’t find much specific to the cabana rentals. I read the Royal Caribbean blog article on day passes at the park. I have been in touch with resort concierge and they couldn’t offer anything more than what’s in their marketing materials. The cost of the cabana includes 2 people but can accommodate up to 4 with extra guests purchasing a day pass to the water park. Any reviews would be appreciated.

Not sure about the MDR but some of the specialty restaurants offer a holiday menu for an additional charge over and above the dining plan. This past Christmas we ate in Chops Christmas Day. Because we were star class there was no up charge for us but our non star class friends who had the unlimited dining plan were charged $100 pp. I thought that was expensive since the menu didn’t offer any new “holiday” offerings from the other nights we ate there.

Welcome! Glad you enjoyed our getaway. Only 215 days to our next Christmas cruise adventure.