Va4fam

Yes. We are sailing that itinerary this weekend and succesfully Royal Up'd one of our cabins from Balcony to JS with a very small offer. We were pleasantly surprised.

@SunnyDays......you may be right about the timetable. We already discussed we would need a quiet place with good wifi and a place to set up our phones to do the test. There are 4 of us going on the trip. I am definitely going to do a sample test tomorrow.

After consulting with my very smart wife, we may elect to do our COVID tests in Washington DC this Thursday evening at 9 pm. (Our plane departs at 10:30 pm) UTC time would be 1:00 AM Friday and our ship sails from Ravenna on Sunday. Anybody see any issues with this?

That's my understanding of the rule. We plan to take our tests in Venice this Friday. (the sail date does not count)

@YOLO..........We used a separate bag to carry our beach shoes, sunscreen, and soda/water bottles (thinking if something leaked, no harm done). The bag was tagged and checked in by the porters with our other bags at the terminal and waiting for us when we got to our stateroom. Worked for all 3 cruises we've been on since October.

You are correct. It's 2 days now. If we factor in the UTC , we can do our tests 2 days before the cruise as early as 2 AM Italy time.

We leave the soda and water in our bags. No issues at all.

For those following along, i think UTC time is 4 hours ahead of USA East Coast time. So if it's 12:30 pm in Virginia, it's 4:30 pm UTC.

We will be on Brilliance next weekend and also going to Santorini. I know the ship uses tenders to get to the port. I'm pretty sure they use what is referred to as Skala or The Old Port.

That's awesome. We meet the EU definition of fully vaxxed and can do our tests as soon as we get to Italy.

Just received the updated Healthy Sailing Protocols from Royal about sailing from Ravenna. It stated that a COVID test is required 2 days before departure. Didn't it used to be 1 day before? Am I reading this correctly?

On our 3 cruises since September, our points were added no more than a week after departing the ship.

If you aren't playing during the cruise, is it possible to leave the clubs at the cruise termnal? Maybe contact Royal in advance to see if they can be held for you.

Thank you @CruiseGus, very helpful. If earliest check in time is 11:30 am, in theory we might be able to drop off bags close to 11 am?

Is it possible to drop off bags at the cruise terminal, leave them, and come back a few hours later to check in? Or at disembarkation, can we leave bags at the terminal after leaving the ship and pick them up later?

Were you able to keep the tests in their boxes or did the Airlines or security require you to open them?

In most cases you can modify your bid. It is only for the first 2 guests. Remember it's fun to bid, but be comfortable with the amount you submit in case you win.

Correct about Italy. It's 1 day before the cruise. Coming back to the States, is it 1 or 2 days to test? We plan to carry all 12 tests with us in our carry on bags. Sometimes bags can sit on the tarmac and get hot or rained on.

I understand that we can do Emed or other tests starting at midnight 2 days before the cruise for US departures. What about cruises departing from Europe? The requirement is one day before embarkation, simple enougth. But does the Emed testing time begin at local Italy time or does it revert to the US East Coast time?

We purchased tickets to SF and did a self guided with audio walking tour. It's an amazing place.

thank you for the info @RWDW1204. I ordered the 6 pack. There are 4 of us headed to Europe so I plan to order 12 total tests (4 for the embarkation, 4 for returning to the U.S., and 4 extra to be safe)

Where can you buy the 6 pack of emed? I only see the 2 or 3 pack on their site?

At the end of our cruise, we hope to get off ship and to the Ravenna train station as quickly as possible. Royal's web site shows the ship arrives in port at 6 AM. Do you have to go through customs after disembarkation? If we carry our bags and get off the ship around 7 AM (fingers crossed), how much time to allow for customs, finding a taxi, and getting to the train station?

Received a Royal Up confirmation today that the "kids" cabin has been upgraded and is now on the same deck as ours. In fact, they will be only four doors away. Problem solved!

We have sailed multiple times during a birthday or anniversary. Mixed results at best but we are cruising so not really an issue. Our Oasis cruise in October was during my birthday and we went to Izumi hibachi. My wife let the waiter and chef know it was my birthday. They assured her they would make it special but nothing happened. During an anniversary our travel agent sent us a gift of chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of champagne. But we never got that either. When I asked about it, Royal apologized and gave us a $25 onboard credit. During another birthday sailing, my wife received a cake and birthday song (twice), and multiple free drinks. The room attendant made a special cake towel too. If you use a travel agent, you might want to let them know about a special occasion.