WAAAYTOOO

This is my understanding, too. Still unlimited access on the O class ships in the SL

Not a huge fan of Jamie's, but as @AshleyDillosaid, it's nice to have another option when you have the UDP. We usually do a lunch there. Their tiramisu is better than Giovanni's. That's the only thing they do better, IMO.

Yep. I see it now. I had missed that paragraph in my first reading. Willful ignorance, I guess. Oh well....money back in my pocket !

They are !!

Yep. We just lost B2B 7-17 and 7-25. At first glance it seems that their options to move this cruise are very generous. It seems to me (without indepth evaluation) that you can shift any 2021 or 2022 sailing. I assume it would have to be on OY. This is particularly awesome for us as these are both upgraded casino comps which ordinarily cannot be moved at all. I'm secretly a bit relieved as I was dreading what the boarding and onboard protocols would be for us (unvaxxed). This will give us a little more time to see how things go. I AM beginning to think that OY is cursed, however...?

Mariner does not have a Coastal Kitchen but you will have a private breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants (probably Chops). There is no private lunch, per se. On port days you will, most likely, have access to Giovanni's but it will be an empty, unstaffed restaurant where you can bring your food from the Windjammer if you want to do that. On sea days the specialty restaurants are open for operation so that option will not be available. Meals in specialty restaurants are not part of the suites benefits so aside from the daily breakfast. You will have access to the Suites Lounge (and the Suites Concierge), expedited check-in, embarkation and disembarkation (whatever that happens to be with COVID protocols). I have read that there is a new protocol for the "Behind the Scenes" tours so I have no idea what's going to happen with those. In the past, you would be offered 3 different tours - Entertainment, Galley and Bridge and you could choose any or all of those, if you want. We have no idea how those are going to be handled, going forward. I have never stayed in one of the Oceanview Panoramic Suites but I had 1 reserved for 7-25 on Indy. Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it !!) that sailing was moved to Odyssey so now I won't get a chance to stay in the OPS. I will be interested to see how they transfer that reservation since OY does not have a OPS. They're taking their sweet time in getting those transfers done !!

A Travel Agent can execute a hold on a cruise without deposit. The length of the hold varies but usually it is for around 48 hours. It does freeze the price.

YIPPEE !!! Have you gotten your new room assignment yet ? We have not. The website still shows us on 7-17 (and 7-25 since we are doing a B2B) Indy. UGH. Not sure what we're going to do yet for transportation. We may just Uber down and back so that we don't have to deal with parking (14 days). Since they have not yet released any protocols (including "special" protocols for the unvaxxed) we are not 100% sure that we are going. Since they are offering a cash refund we may end up cancelling. Still waiting to see how things go.

We have never stayed in a Central Park Balcony but we have one reserved for a B2B in Feb/Mar 2023 in one of the rooms with the extra-large balcony. I had heard that those rooms can get very hot in the summer due to minimal air circulation but hopefully it won't be too bad in Feb and early March.

YIPPEE !! So glad you made it home safely.

We are only 34 and 42 days away from our Indy→Odyssey cruises and not only are we not able to check in, but our rooms have not yet even been moved over to OY !! We are 69 days out from our SY cruise and that check-in isn't open yet either. I think things are definitely in flux !!

Our very first (and second) rooms on the Oasis class were in a Boardwalk balcony. We loved those rooms. Some are concerned about privacy since you can see straight across to your Boardwalk neighbors but that never concerned us. We were always looking either down or out the aft (something just doesn't sound right about that last part...LOL). The balconies on those rooms are very small but they're adequate for people watching and getting some fresh air. We always tried to stay as far aft as we could so that we had the best chance of having some ocean views. Unfortunately, since you are on Oasis, you will have the great purple monstrosity to deal with which obstructs your view to the ocean....but being further aft will help with that. It's a long walk all the way to the back but that's the trade-off for having the better view (IMO). Of course, there's nothing like an oceanview balcony....but there's nothing particularly unique about it like there is with the BW or CP balcony. If you do decide to go with the OV balcony, I recommend staying closer to midship as you don't have to deal with the walk. You really can't go wrong either way ! That's the good part.

Ahhhh.... I doubt they would wake your steward for something like that. If they are able to provide what you need, most likely someone from Guest Services would bring it.

No one really knows what the lounge rules are going to be when US cruises resume, but based on information from other recently resumed cruises and recent history before cruising paused, the Concierge and Suites Lounges were off limits for D+. With COVID restrictions in place I would be very surprised if D+ could access the CL on OY. The GOOD news is, it sounds like there will be some beverage vouchers provided that will probably provide you better coffee than you could get in the CL ! Again, no one knows for sure quite yet but that's been the scuttlebutt.

To my knowledge, the only room service available is regular room service (food). I'm not sure you actually could order a glass of wine at 11:00 unless you are Star Class...but I could be wrong. Food ? Absolutely. For that, they use dining room personnel so they would not bother your room steward.

I only went up to the Suite deck once when we were on our B2B on Anthem....the weather was horrible. There did not appear to be any card access OR attendant. You just went up there ! Frankly, it is a huge disappointment compared to the nice suite sun decks on the O class with a separate bar, lounge and restrooms. I think (but cannot remember for sure) that one of the O class ships even has a hot tub up on their suite sun deck.

1. I agree with @12thman. I would NOT depend on RoyalUp if you really want a full suite. Those chances are extremely remote. 2. GS - I am a huge fan of Grand Suites on all of the Royal Caribbean ship classes EXCEPT for the Quantum class (of which, Anthem is one). Since you mentioned your mom uses a scooter, I would scratch this one off your list immediately. The half wall where the TV is mounted in the Q class GS makes that suite VERY cramped and I would think that she would have a big problem with a scooter. Frankly, I think you would have more room in your JS than you would in a GS on Anthem. I will never EVER pay for a GS again on a Q class ship. 3. I have never stayed (or even seen) a 2 BR GS on the Q class ship so I really have no opinion about this one. As long as the living area is not designed the same as it is in the 1 BR (with that half wall for the TV) you would probably be fine. This might actually provide you with the most comfortable situation as you would each have a regular bed. 4. While I have never stayed in an OS on a Q class ship, I feel confident that you would have plenty of room for your mom's scooter in an OS. Not only would you have plenty of room, but you would have a dining table and regular chairs in your suite so that you could enjoy a comfortable room service meal if you decided to try that. With a full suite, room service is complimentary so you could have breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all 3 !!!) delivered if you chose to do that. It's a very nice treat. Honestly, if you are going to spend additional money, I would NOT waste it on a GS on Anthem. I am fairly sure that you would have to completely remove the coffee table in the living room to be able to get to the bedroom with a scooter.

The last time I stayed at the Marriott Biscayne Bay (Miami) (I've never stayed at the Grand Marquis that I can recall) the lounge was open but it was very disappointing. Let's just say that the service and food options are far superior in any given Diamond Lounge than they were at that hotel lounge. I would certainly NOT expect it to be open on a Christmas night. Even if you call you could well get an incorrect answer. I have really just given up on Marriott properties with Concierge Lounges. It is my personal opinion that they are trying to phase out that amenity completely. They don't seem to be putting any money or effort into Concierge level service. Our last stay at the Biscayne Bay location was the final straw. While I will remain with Marriott until I lose my Titanium tier status (which I assume will be the end of this year), once I no longer have status, I will kick them to the curb. Now, if we are staying in a hotel, I will just choose a Courtyard or Fairfield Inn or some such lower brand to use up points without any expectations of special service. Frankly, I have found that the Marriott brand hotels (not the Courtyards, etc., but the BIG Marriotts) are generally old, run down and subpar. Since COVID I am just generally frustrated with hotels in general. IMO they seem to be using COVID as an excuse to provide poor service. While they no longer provide any room servicing (you have to go to the main desk to get fresh towels and/or toilet paper), they have certainly not reduced their prices ! I think they laid off their service employees and believe that they can just continue to eliminate the room (and food) servicing and that no one will realize it or complain. They are still using COVID as an excuse and we have moved on since that was necessary. Really pathetic, IMO. Sorry...that turned into more of a rant than I intended. Have a great time on your Christmas/NY cruise !!

I can guess (what happened to the Q&A)...

We will not get the nasal swab. If they won't let us do a cheek swab or a saliva test, we will not be going. I'm slightly worried about what kind of test they will administer on the ship. Same criteria as above so if they insist on doing the nasal swab, we are out. Congratulations on resisting the death jab ! LOL Glad you'll be one of "us". ?

Thanks. But we don’t know this will apply to FL departures yet, correct ? I love the idea of being able to get my own tests vs having to be tested at the port. Just trying to verify that it will be possible to do that.

That’s very interesting. Where did you see this ?

I'm sure this is their justification for doing it at this point. I don't see it ever going back....but hopefully I am wrong.

Yes, I am !!!

So agree with you about antibody and natural immunity. I think it will come about soon.