Va4fam

I guess it's a combination of ports we haven't made it to and a bucket list. We haven't been to a lot of Caribbean ports yet so St. Lucia, Aruba, Curacao, Grand Cayman, Antigua, Bonnaire are still on our wish list. Of course Alaska!

Several years ago, we did a disembarkation excursion on Royal for a Hop on/Hop off tour of Miami. They took our bags at the cruise terminal and we reunited with them at the airport later in the afternoon. It was a fun and easy way to see multiple neighborhoods in Miami.

@D Alt...Wow! I'm excited for you. What a great room.

We bring our two bottles with us and pour our own. Screw top are convenient but we have a small corkscrew just in case. Just ask for wine glasses. Our room attendant brought us some without asking. No issues walking around with a bottle or glasses. Great for Central Park entertainment to sit there and enjoy your wine. I have seen others pour their wine into large yeti containers and even clear water bottles so they have wine on the go.

People really sneak into the Diamond Lounge?!!! Is that a thing? We are so grateful to be cruising again never really thought about mentioning the chair hogs, alcohol bootleggers, and snooty suite people....but they are still there! Overhead on our last cruise..."I'm Diamond Plus, I shouldn't have to wait in this line." or "This Elevator is for Suite Guests only."

In the past month, it seems like the upgrade decisions are being made further in advance. Yay! But that also might mean that if bids are still "pending" a few days before sailing, the odds are not in your favor for the upgrade.........maybe? Has anyone received a confirmed upgrade recently (January 2022) when their sailing was less than 3-4 days away?

We had a JS on Oasis in October and made reservations at CK. You can get them but may not get first choice of times. Some of our CK reservations were very early like 5 pm, or later than 8:30 pm. Still worth it.

Yes, Ravenna it is. I booked flights for our May Greek Isles cruise before realizing how far Ravenna is from Venice. Our return flight leaves the day after we arrive in Ravenna and I'm worried we won't have enough time to get to Venice and see the highlights in one afternoon/evening.

I'm pretty sure on Royal you get the cabin AND the amenities when you are upgraded.

We also like El Loco Fresh for a a few meals but tend to hit Sorrento's EVERY night for a late snack. Cafe 270 on Quantum class is a great choice.

We prefer El Loco Fresh or Playmakers depending on which sporting event is televised that day.

With all apologies to anyone that enjoys smoking, count me in for the permanent banning of smoking in all indoor areas of the ship, including casino.

We also feel your pain.....my wife and son tested positive last week. We had hesitations about our Anthem cruise this week but the COVID result basically made the decision for us. Right now it's 15 degrees in Virginia and hard to think about all of the "St. Somewhere's" we are missing out for the next 11 days. Hope everyone is well and you get to go on another cruise soon.

Great pic. We were originally scheduled to be on Navigator this week but moved it to February '23. Can't wait!

You can definitely see it from the port in Bayonne. Have heard that sometimes the cruise ships will sail closer but not on any of our voyages....yet!

Update--we are not going on the cruise next week and officially cancelled. My wife tested positive for COVID yesterday which made our decision for us. Unfortunately we are now getting flooded with all of the "Get ready to Sail" emails from Royal and preparing y to be hit by another snowstorm in Virginia this weekend. Maybe next month's cruise will work out better. Everyone stay healthy and enjoy your crusies.

Great idea. That would be magical!!

@Linda R....fingers crossed things will calm down by then. Technically I think our sailing is 2/27. Oasis is such a great ship and we already have a lot of fun planned during the sailing.

Check the fine print and details of what they are including with the Key right now. We purchased the Key in December for a January and February cruise. The 25% off specialty dining and the free room service were no longer offered at time of purchase. Early boarding, carry on valet, internet, and first day chops lunch were the perks remaining for us. I don't think they are allowing priority hours for the onboard activities right now either based on reading recent trip reports. Maybe you still get on an earlier tender at tender ports?

Well.....the original sail date was January 2021. It was moved by Royal to January 2022. I thought we would have until January 2023 but the TA says sail date must be in 2022. Very confusing and not sure what information is correct.

We will ask for the cash refund, but if we can't get it, will we be required to wait for the FCC to appear in a few months? If that's true, can we use the FCC to pay for the cruise fare before the new final payment is due? Or can we rebook and apply the fare now towards the new booking without waiting for FCC?

The cruise was booked before the pandemic started. Original sail date was mid January 2021. Royal shutdown made it necessary to move it via Lift and Ship to January 2022. Does that help our cause?

@Lovetocruise2002.....that's a great question but I don't know the answer yet. Our TA seems determined that we have to rebook soon and travel this year. This booking is from 2019 and with a TA that we no longer use for new trips but thanks to the pandemic, we are still working with them on this particular trip.

We are less than two weeks away from our 11 day Anthem cruise. Unfortunately, we are most likely going to cancel. Since we are already past final payment date, I think our options are somewhat limited for getting a refund. Future Cruise Credit should still be an option. Our TA said we must rebook by April 30th AND travel in 2022. Is this correct? We have 2 more cruises planned this year (with different TA) and a lot of family obligations coming up. It will be difficult finding enough time to take another trip later this year. Here are my questions: 1-Do we have any options for a refund? 2-What strategies do you suggest for using the FCC this year, or even extending to 2023? Can we use the FCC on one of our other cruises? 3-Is there another option we should be considering?

I live in fear of splurging for a Star Class Aqua Suite one day, and never being able to return to a regular cabin after that. RoyalUp is a great strategy, especially right now. Lots of good deals are out there. Hope you get to try a JS on a future sailing.