Jax

Deal!! Dec 23rd is shaping up to be a fun day!!

At this point I will be happy with the Festivus Pole. Haha

In Other News: Reyd informed me we have 213 pounds of luggage. And no where in that 213 pounds is a pair of swim trunks for Lindsay. #shopattarget

First Negative Test Just got 3 negative rapid antigen tests!!! OMG what a relief especially when we have a 16 year old that is hard to keep in a travel bubble lol Final rapid antigen test tomorrow morning at 7am before we fly out (required for cruise). On our way to the Marriott In terminal airport hotel. Driving in a snow storm.

Genie news Christmas trees in suite: no Christmas trees are in star class suites on Oasis this year. But there will be in room decorations. Thank goodness for the Festivus Pole. haha Messenger: I am now communicating with Shane via Messenger! Yay

Here is an email to the shipboard concierge team. Maybe they can put you in touch with your genie. We upgraded about 2 months ago and we received our questionnaire within 3 days and genie contact at 28 days. As others have noted, they seem to be fast at contacting star class guests who have upgraded. Hope to see you onboard! [email protected]

this! There is no end in sight to this control; you could put off your upcoming cruise only to be faced with more restrictions. Canada’s healthcare system has failed to build capacity to deal with Covid related hospitalizations throughout all 4 of the waves; giving government the justification for continued lockdowns and restrictions. Sadly, I don’t see anything changing going forward.

I agree, the inconsistency is very frustrating. Arrival testing and quarantine will come down to the CBSA agent we get.

If we don’t cease this opportunity now we may be faced with more travel restrictions and vaccine mandates. A booster will likely be required in the short term to be considered fully vaccinated. So we will face more tough decisions around booster shots. Like @Lovetocruise2002we are praying for negative test results later this week and a status quo on travel restrictions. God willing we will be in Florida Friday and boarding Oasis Sunday.

Genie News Capacity- they are expecting 4500 guests out of a capacity of 6500 or 69% with many larger family groups due to the holidays. @Lovetocruise2002 @calvink669 PCR Testing for International Guests: will happen between 7-9am on Day 7 and is complimentary. Entertainment/Dining schedule: preliminary listing coming soon once the schedule is released. In room movie listing: (onboard team to provide updated Christmas movie schedule once released) Jungle Cruise Suicide Squad 2021 Old Space Jam the new legacy Paw Patrol Still Water Escape Room Road Runner – Anthony Bordon Rya and the lost dragon Tom & Jerry 2021 The secret life of pets 2 Frozen 2 Wonder woman 1984 Respect The green night Candy land Dating and New York Beings Fallen for Fargo Jesus Music Spirit

Sensually stimulating It was over stimulating for me. I think it was a combination of factors but now that the seating is mentioned that may have played a small part. We had the lead entertainer and others running behind us and it was a bit creepy and very loud. If I recall Lindsay’s review, he said it was 60 minutes too long and 59 minutes we can’t get back. But on a serious note, entertainment is subjective; we all walk away with a different feeling. I say if you are curious about a show, what’s the harm in going.

I am so glad you and @calvink669mentioned this. I totally forgot about a later sail away. I will be sure to check our dining time when I get an initial schedule from Shane but it’s possible he already thought of that.

I forgot to update this thread once I heard from our genie. It sounds the suite attendant and/or our genie will take care of filling the hot tub and the suite attendant will arrange for the treatment/testing as needed throughout the duration of the cruise. I will report back once onboard but it sounds easy enough.

Anyone else’s pet do this?

Rules for our suite hot tub. The “no speedo” rule may be a problem if I can’t find Lindsay some swim trunks. Plan B may be “swimsuits optional after dark”. Lol

I haven’t seen our schedule yet but our preferred dining time was 6pm +/- tweaking as needed. Now I am wondering if Shane will make adjustments to our dining time due to the later sail away.

Done @Lovetocruise2002 @calvink669 I think the key word on capacity is “so far”

Interesting post on the Facebook group page for our cruise reports the suite concierge confirmed capacity at 51% so far. I may ask Shane whether he can confirm. If true this would be nice.

Favourite travel items For those that followed along on my earlier Blog some of these items are included again because I love them that much. Saje Farmacy Pack includes a variety of must have roll ons. I always use immune under my nose while on the plane. New addition to this Blog is the Saje pocket diffuser. It’s so great for travel. But probably won’t use on the plane because it would spread throughout the cabin. That would probably be a good thing …… My Pillow travel size - love love My Pillow; if I could pack my king size I would LOL but the travel size works great with whatever the pillow is. I don’t use anything but safe sunscreen from Beauty Counter and my Dr Ho just in case of back pain.

I am so glad to hear that your preferred dining times were confirmed! You never know what can happen with Royal up in the final days. There could be a Festivus Star Class Miracle for you too!

Packing Cubes I used packing cubes for the first time on our last cruise. I got these Lug cubes from Costco and love them. They help organize all the piles that seem to be popping up all over the house. Do piles happen in everyone’s house or is it just me? Lol

Pre omicron, no quarantine while waiting for test results for fully vaccinated. That’s why your hubby and daughter didn’t have to quarantine pending their results. The heading on Canada.go.ca website that outlines the new quarantine requirements is titled “Temporary border restrictions and measures to address COVID-19 Omicron variant of concern”. This is all about the omicron variant. Let’s hope in the coming weeks this policy is relaxed.

agree; policies like these certainly don’t make travel easy. There is so much I could say but will leave it at that and hope that no more obstacles are presented between now and this time next week.

Due to the omicron variant there are new requirements for fully vaccinated travellers who have been in any country other than Canada and the US in the 14 days prior to entry to Canada. If selected for arrival testing you must quarantine until you receive your negative test result. This applies to cruises that leave the US so if we are selected for arrival testing we will quarantine at home until we get a negative test result. It’s an inconvenience more than anything and thankfully we have a few days before Lindsay returns to work and Reyd returns to school. I am just relieved that we are not required to quarantine in a government facility. Can you imagine going from star class to a government quarantine facility with few if any amenities. I can’t even imagine.

Testing update: I promised I would update everyone once I had a firm plan for our Covid tests. We fly out on the 17th, cruise on the 19th so our preference was to get our cruise test completed while still in Canada. The challenge is that our flight is mid morning and the airport testing centre at YYC doesn’t open until 8am. So that meant sourcing a mobile testing option. Tab Labs provides mobile testing and a variety of services including rapid antigen and PCR testing. A technician will meet us at the in terminal Marriott hotel at YYC airport and we will be on our way with results in 15-20minutes. To schedule, you upload their app, add your family members details, select your service and provide a payment source. Cost is $99.95 pp. To speed the process further Tab Labs sent me a spreadsheet to add all the required information, like passports, address, birthdates. This will allow the technician to populate this to their system in advance of the testing day, saving time. A technician was assigned right away and the company has excellent reviews. When it comes to mobile services reliability is key. But every good plan needs a back up plan so we are getting tested on the 16th at a local Shoppers Drug Mart. Cost $40pp. That way should something delay our testing with Tap Labs we have a test in hand to fly. Another mobile testing option was Numi. The cost $125pp with a $50 discount if 4 or more tests are done. I will report back on the overall service next week.