WAAAYTOOO

With RoyalUp, you will only receive the cruise points associated with your original booking, so if you go from an OV Balcony to a JS or GS, you will still only get the points associated with the OVB. The good news is...that's still double !!!

Me too, thank goodness. They have never gone back down to what I paid last year.

This is precisely what I did when I renewed my annual policy with Allianz. That's why they sent me the "Embassy Letter".

Royal and Celebrity are beginning to look like a bunch of clowns inside a pinball machine - jumping around reacting to one thing and then bouncing back in the other direction. Sad, really

The last time I was on Radiance - MANY years ago there was a separate area for D/D+/Pinns at breakfast but since they started using one of the specialty restaurants for Suites/Pinn breakfast I don't think they have that anymore. To my knowledge there has never been a separate MDR area for Suites for any meal.

I totally agree with you - that Celebrity is best served by offering the tests on site....but I had read elsewhere that Celebrity was NOT going to offer the tests on site. I doubted that to be the case and it turns out NOT to be the case, looks like.

How big an aircraft was it, @smokeybandit? Private or small commercial ?

I guess the real question is…. Does testing positive for COVID-19 = “becoming ill with COVID-19”. It’s obvious (at least, recent experiences indicate) that nobody is really “becoming ill” with COVID-19. The limited recent examples really just consist of asymptomatic people testing positive or coming into contact with someone who tested positive. No one (that I am aware of) has had any real medical emergencies. The point of Royal requiring everyone (potentially) to get medical insurance coverage would be to preclude Royal from having to continue to fly all of the positive cases home in a private jet. Insurance companies, being what they are, will try and weasel out of paying for ANYthing if they can. Maybe this would have to be an entirely new coverage area. I really don’t know.

I guess that answers the question of whether Celebrity will provide on-site testing for those who weren't able to get it ahead of time. Maybe they won't continue to provide the tests ?

No, no separate Suites restaurant on Radiance class ships. The Suites Lounge will have (or did, BC) some munchies during breakfast and happy hours but no full service sit down restaurant. Breakfast only, as you noted.

All I know is that, as an unvaccinated passenger, Royal has required that we are covered for potential COVID-related trip interruption and medical evacuation coverage. Luckily, our annual policy already covered us beyond what was required so we are good on insurance. Below comes from Allianz and is known as an "Embassy Letter". These coverage amounts are per person limits. I do note that the word "emergency" appears several times in this explanation of benefits but we were assured that this coverage meets all of Royal's requirements. Let's just hope we never have to use it to find out !

I have had 2 price drops in the past 2 weeks on our Dec. 22, 2022 Oasis cruise. Not that much money ($364 total) but considering this is a Christmas cruise, very much appreciated and fairly unusual.

Hmmm. I dunno. I do know that the annual travel insurance policy we purchase does cover such events (I had to have that verified) but some travel policies may not.

How many other families is Royal having to make these special arrangements for ?

ME TOO !!! That's the main reason that I get the UDP b/c cans are included.

Really sorry to hear that your cruise got interrupted at the end.....but now that it's over anyway, a private ride home sounds pretty awesome !!! Be safe and good luck on your trip home.

There are people who TRY to get this kind of room so I would definitely give it a try. Your balcony will be very large...nice catch !

Are you having to leave the ship ?

As @AshleyDillosaid above, SC does include the Chef's Table but at our last CT, they did charge $25 PP for the wine. I assume it will be the same after the restart. As a SC passenger, ANYthing (to eat) on the ship is included with the exception of the pastries at Starbuck's and the candy-by-the-pound at the candy store (but the ice cream at the candy store IS included). The coffee at SB is included but not the pastries (go figure...). All of the upcharge items at Chops are included, there is no upcharge for Izumi Hibachi, regardless of how much food you order (and you are allowed to order sushi from the sushi side if you want it). Eat as much as you want of whatever you want at Johnny Rocket's, drink as many malts or milk shakes as you want, eat all the ice cream you want, all of the popcorn at the theater and Aqua Theater is included. Food at the Pub, Playmaker's and all specialty restaurants is all included. You are actually hard pressed to find food that is NOT included in SC which is what makes it SOOOO incredible.

Correction: The 8-21-21 SY is STILL showing CLS for all categories.

On CruisingPower, the TA website, this sailing is currently listed as "Not Available" BUT that doesn't mean that it won't sail. In the recent past, this status has basically just meant that they aren't accepting any new bookings...in other words, the ship is probably booked at capacity. All room categories are showing CLS (Closed) but again that is probably just an indication of a sold-out status. This is just an example. The rest of the room categories are showing the same status. If it makes you feel any better, my 8-21-21 Symphony cruise (also 8 nights) looked exactly like this for a LONG time until they reactivated it and Royal announced that it was going to sail. I think the fact that your cruise has been hibernating as a result of it being >7 nights is also another reason for its status. So fingers are crossed for you. I know you will feel better once they announce a test cruise for Anthem.

They already HAVE restricted unvaxxed from the Solarium

I’ve always had thin blood ! That’s why the skeeters and vampires leave me alone. ?

Not a stupid question at all. The day you get the test is day 0. So, if you are sailing on Sunday, Thursday would be the earliest day you could be tested.

I just got an interesting email from the Private Journey CSR. It is for our 1-23-22 OA cruise where we are in Star Class. She is offering different categories of cabanas for our visit to PDCC. Odd that I receive an offer for this sailing as I have 2 SC sailings before this one… Why would I need Private Journeys to secure a cabana at PDCC ? Can’t anyone just book a cabana through the cruise planner ? At these prices I can’t believe they are selling out super quickly. Maybe they are… I am not interested in a cabana in January in the Bahamas. It’s much too cold in Jan. for me to make it enjoyable plus the prices are very high…so no thanks. I actually had a floating cabana at the beach club booked at a MUCH lower price a number of months back but cancelled when I thought about it…too cold for me in Jan.