Jax

We are on Harmony Christmas 2022 in #8730. First time in an ATS. Looking forward to following along. Enjoy!

I have been doing a lot of research on this question as well. I have found that quite a few properties offer only a king or double bed option so that is reducing our options. I booked an oceanfront room at Margaritaville in Hollywood, approximately 8 miles from the cruise terminal. The reviews are good and we wanted a beachy type resort for our pre cruise stay. Depending on your price point, they offer 1 and 2 bedroom suites. It looks like a beautiful and fun resort.

I really wish you would have thrown an apple air tag on that bag. It would be interesting to follow its journey!! Lol

Oh no! This reminded me of an incident Shane told us about. The week prior to our cruise a passenger soaked him while he was standing near the flow rider. A wet genie is a no no and that passenger had their flow rider privileges suspended for the remainder of the week. I can just imagine his reaction to your experience. Lol

I hope it’s a go for you guys tonight. We missed trying the campfire dessert. Is it good?

I am glad you made it back onboard safely. This is one of our biggest fears. We did our first Royal Caribbean excursion on our last cruise to Maho Beach and were pleasantly surprised with the driving. But things deteriorated when the passenger directly behind us was sick to their stomach on the way back to the ship. It was awful. This has made me rethink future excursions. Lol

This made me laugh. Haha You have to tell Shane about this …. his reaction is priceless.

This brings bad so many fun memories. This and Playmakers were our favourite lunch spots. It always seemed to be open at noon regardless of whether it was a sea day or not. The brisket is so good.

Omg this is just so awful!!! Praying you make it without any further problems.

Happening after negative Covid tests.

Haha this made me laugh. Lindsay and Reyd felt the same with the addition of the Dog House.

Welcome back. We obtained our antigen tests in Canada for our December cruise out of Florida and they were accepted without a problem.

Agreed. A BC tourism group feels the same. https://bc.ctvnews.ca/canada-s-covid-19-rules-for-cruise-ships-are-problematic-b-c-tourism-group-1.5810318

If I am reading this right, it sounds like testing will be required prior to disembarkation at a Canadian port???? “Passengers, he added, will need to take a COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours before they board or take an antigen test within one day of boarding. They will also need a negative molecular test result within 72 hours before their return to Canada or an antigen test result within one day of their arrival, he said.” https://trib.al/oaSNWu0?fbclid=IwAR19zcxvYeAVzlB5bkhQfFQRFLGN_Mu1d0XOqn9PWcSiDPXWvEAZhDmzRRk

So excited for you to experience star class and doing so on Wonder is that much more exciting!

According to this link, yes for certain suite categories on the first formal night. I assume it would be arranged through your suite attendant, much like the complimentary laundry perk for star class guests. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

Good tip; I had no idea.

I am sure I will miss many benefits but here goes: TA takes care of booking, final payment, price adjustments, following for and applying FCCs if applicable, CWC if applicable, you can receive TA perks such as OBC, they are your point of contact so it will be your TA that waits on hold, the right TA is invaluable. I value a TA that responds to my requests quickly and has knowledge and specializes in cruising. That way I can relax knowing I am in good hands. Yes you can still royal up. Communication relating to your reservation is done through your TA but you remain in charge of any cruise planner purchases.

Our son likes collecting ship models.

Yes, tweaks are absolutely normal. In our pre cruise communication I stated our preferred dining times, specialty dining venues, and entertainment that we wanted to see. Then I let Shane take over the schedule from there. A good genie takes into account the formal nights and shore excursions and does a nice job scheduling dining and entertainment. For instance the day we went to coco cay, Shane kept the dining schedule casual with Izumi Hibachi and although our preferred dining time was 6pm, he extended it to 6:30 to accommodate a 6pm sail away. Due to the possibility of stronger winds, he scheduled us for Aqua 80 on night 1 to avoid potential cancellations later in the week. With the exception of Izumi Hibachi, our preferred dining times we always met. Due to the demand and buy outs of Hibachi our reservation was 30 minutes earlier one night, which we were totally fine with. It sounds like dining times are more important than entertainment so I am sure your revised schedule will reflect this. Just another bit of information on the Royal app schedule. Do not worry if you see entertainment booked multiple times. Shane knew that flexibility and spontaneity was important to us so he booked all available entertainment times for all the shows. That way availability was assured if we decided to change our plans…..he really is a great genie. Our first genie didn’t link any of our reservations into the app and now that I know it can be linked I prefer it. The paper schedule is nice, but I like to see it on my app.

Lucky for you, you are not restricted by airline weight limits. Lol Don’t forget about the free laundry service. I still overpack because I don’t like re wearing clothes but I love coming home with clean clothes.

^^This!

I think provincial mandates are going to look a lot different in the coming weeks. As provinces begin to eliminate mandates, it may pressure the feds to reassess its border mandates. Our premier recently announced several changes he wants Trudeau to adopt relating to border mandates including the elimination of the 72 PCR testing, quarantine, isolation etc. The province you reside in may be another consideration; here are recent statistics on fines broken down by province. Enforcement authorities can’t issue fines under the contraventions act in Alberta, Sask or the Territories. Regardless of the outcome or it’s timing, my vote is to go on the cruise. As others have said, time with our kids is precious and limited; we don’t get to turn back the clock and recreate memories from cancelled trips. Our son is in grade 10 and we have no regrets cruising this past Christmas. We had forgotten how good it felt to travel again and turn off Covid.

Thought I would post recent feedback on RT Lamp tests: A friend just crossed over the Manitoba land border yesterday and used the RT Lamp tests without any problem.

Good news, they mistakenly told me it was per person, but when I checked with them this morning they said it was $160 pp. Still pricey with the exchange rate but the results are fast.