WAAAYTOOO

Have a safe flight and a great cruise, Buck ! Let us know how it's going.

Thank you ! SOOO extreme. Unbelievable. I had read somewhere (can't remember where) that Australia was going to adopt a mandatory vaccine requirement that would be enforced by the military. Might be more scare-mongering conspiracy. I sure hope so. That is very very scary.

I have no confidence that OV will sail either !! If they would let me L&S over to OV I would consider it but they haven't given me that option. Besides, we were in a Star Class suite and I it appears that those are all sold out anyway. I'm so deflated...I am just going to slink away and lick my wounds.

So what does this mean ? CSO still in effect ? I thought this was going to the USCA ? Sorry....not much legal knowledge, here.

Yes

Got our cancellation email this morning for the QN HNL/YVR. I expect for the other legs on OV (NZ/TP) to be cancelled soon, too. Oh well, more money back in my pocket.

We got our cancellation notice today for Quantum out of HNL. It is the third (and final) leg of our Australia/NZ/HNL B3B. So disappointing. We are on OV for the first 2 legs. I'm sure that cancellation is coming soon. No L&S option. Full refund for us.

Does anyone know the makeup of the relevant USCA and whether it leans one political direction or the other ?

Sorry another duplicate transferred from a different thread, but applicable to my ongoing saga, here. GLAD to see that they have modified the insurance requirement to remove the word "quarantine" since they had it lumped in with the medical evacuation requirement and it did not belong there. Removing that word completely was the best thing...now the requirement is clear. Still waiting to see what venues will be excluded. We have decided that if the casino is still completely off limits for us we will cancel this cruise per: Since they have further clarified that applicable FCCs will be refunded as cash, it is kind of a no-brainer for us....FCCs used to pay for this cruise are over $10K of which approximately $7500 would be refundable as cash. While Royal cannot price us out, they most definitely CAN and DID price us in with that FCC change. If they do NOT restrict us from the casino, we will take this cruise but if they do, we will cancel and get a full refund.

I looked yesterday and the August Florida protocols did not have an active link so this is definitely new. GLAD to see that they have modified the insurance requirement to remove the word "quarantine" since they had it lumped in with the medical evacuation requirement and it did not belong there. Removing that word completely was the best thing...now the requirement is clear. Still waiting to see what venues will be excluded. We have decided that if the casino is still completely off limits for us we will cancel this cruise per: Since they have further clarified that applicable FCCs will be refunded as cash, it is kind of a no-brainer for us....FCCs used to pay for this cruise are over $10K of which approximately $7500 would be refundable as cash. While Royal cannot price us out, they most definitely CAN and DID price us in with that FCC change. If they do NOT restrict us from the casino, we will take this cruise but if they do, we will cancel and get a full refund.

I think @Matthas done a Private Journey.

There is a Star Class representative that meets you outside, before you ever enter the building. That person takes care of getting your luggage dispositioned and gets you through security. Depending on the port, you then make your way to some holding area where someone will meet you to get you onto the ship. Sometimes that is your Genie, sometimes it is another Genie. The Genies are soooo busy on turnaround day that they basically share responsibilities for getting the new guests onto the ship. You are never left "alone" with the exception of that waiting period once you are through security and waiting for escort onto the ship. When we boarded Anthem in 2018, Yen actually met us prior to security b/c we had requested that our bags remain with us so she helped us get through security, arranged 2 separate porters and then onto the ship. Make sure you do not release your luggage to anyone until after you have met with the SC representative. Everyone will try and grab your bags....don't let go of them until you know for sure that they are in the custody of SC.

The Genie creates a tentative itinerary for you based on a number of things - your Cruise Planner reservations, your pre boarding email and questionnaire discussions and ship activities which you may or may not know about prior to boarding. He/she will go over the itin when you board and then again daily (or more often, as necessary) so that it can be adjusted to YOUR desires. It helps the Genie keep your reservations timely and helps them manage their time. Let’s say you have a plan to go to the beach on Coco Cay but that the morning the ship docks at Coco Cay, it’s pouring down rain. The Genie will help you with alternate plans. Maybe now you decide you want to get a massage. The Genie will make that schedule adjustment for you and take care of everything. At dinner, the night before you get to Coco Cay, the Genie might tell you, “Looks like it will be raining tomorrow. Do you still want to get off the ship ?”

UGH. Sorry to hear that she has it too but very happy to hear that you both have mild cases. It seems to me that "breakthrough" cases, like you wife's are far more common than they had thought originally. I know, personally, many people who have received the injection and still got COVID but at least no one that I know has been seriously ill so that's a BIG plus.

WOW ! Thank you, @JasonOasis. This is completely different information than I have seen before. There is no mention of "quarantine" at all and the 2 categories that they list are easy to verify. I wonder if the language that included "quarantine" has been deleted. That would be SOOOO helpful.

UGH. I hope you are over it soon and fully recover. So have you confirmed that your wife actually DOES have COVID or was it a false positive ? I wish I could claim that I have been immoculated (inoculated by natural immunity) but I took an antibody test a few weeks ago and I have no antibodies....so it's prophylaxis for me. Regarding your Oct cruise, let's hope that by then you won't be forced to get insurance. A lot can happen between now and then. We are still looking into the requirements for insurance but what I really need is for Royal to confirm exactly what I need and whether or not what I have is sufficient. Of COURSE the insurance company is going to try and sell me MORE insurance...I don't really consider them to be an impartial judge of what I need. But so far, nobody at RCCL can tell me whether or not I am covered per THEIR requirements. Insane. I certainly hope that the CDC and ultimately, the cruise companies, come to their senses and realize that those who have natural immunity do NOT need the injection. I think things are trending in that direction. Fingers crossed for you.

Many suite pax do treat the CK as their MDR...but you don't have to. You can still eat in the MDR if you choose to do that. Whatever you decide to do, it is best to have reservations but not completely necessary - at least not for the MDR. I have been hearing that the dining capacity in the CK will be reduced for a while so it may actually be quite necessary to make a reservation at CK but nobody really knows yet. Yes, you can order whatever you want and as much as you want at the CK. I have mixed feelings about the menu(s) in the CK. Some are good, some are ok and some are "no way". The service in the CK (along with the views, particularly on the O class ships) are the 2 biggest draws of the CK. It is usually very good. The CK is also much less hectic than the MDR which is another plus. No reservations accepted for breakfast before COVID. I assume it will be that way when cruising resumes...but who knows ? Yes, CK can be very busy in the morning.

Great news since this was your desire but sorry that I won’t get a chance to meet you. We unvaxxed have to stick together. ? Oh wait….that’s what the vaxxed are afraid of, isn’t it ?

They are on all of the other ship protocols, aren't they ?

I miss the Dreamworks characters and parades.

I don't think so. Yesterday, prices were back up to where they had been before the LAST sale which apparently ended on Tuesday.

Thank you so much. I love what I do...? I do not recall ever asking the Genie for something that I didn't, ultimately, get. But we are fairly easy customers. We really have never asked for anything outrageous. There is a VERY BIG gray area where the Genies are not permitted to reserve seats. The Jazz Club, the Music Hall, Dazzles are all officially off limits for reserved seating. According to Joyce (who was always willing to share her insider information !!!), anything that is considered "revenue generating" cannot have SC reserved seating. Presumably, entertainment venues are ok but not bars or clubs. HOWEVER, the Genies can and do get around that fairly easily. We've had reserved seats in the Music Hall on Anthem and Oasis (which is formerly Dazzles). Here's another little bit of insider info thanks to Joyce. The Genies will never EVER tell you anything over the phone or in an email that is counter to the official "rules". So if you ask for something pre-boarding that is technically against the rules, the Genie will say NO. Once you are alone with the Genie they will do whatever they can to get you what you want but they won't put it in writing and they won't say it in front of anyone else. An example of this is when we had one of our friends along on the cruise with us (this was on Allure). He was not SC and he was solo. We told Charlie up front that we were bringing a tagalong with us and that we would expect for him to be included in all of our activities. He wrote back that only SC guests would have the service of the Genie. Once we got on board, he gladly included Jim in everything we did....we had reserved seats with us for all of the shows and enjoyed meals (which Jim did pay for) with us and we never had a minute's problem. When we got our end-of-the-cruise gifts from Charlie, Jim got something, too. It wasn't a huge gift...just a coffee mug, but it was the thought that counted. Charlie treated Jim just like one of his regular SC guests and it was appreciated so much. The Genie certainly can get you special private behind the scenes tours but a lot depends on what you ask for and who the Genie is. A few years back, during one of the very active hurricane seasons, we managed to slip in a cruise between a whole bunch of cancelled and modified cruises due to hurricanes. As a result of the weather, there was a TERRIBLE mosquito problem on Harmony. We were in an ATS and we couldn't even go out on our balcony due to the brazillions of mosquitos out there. Reyno called the pest control officer to come and take care of it. It just so happens that the pest control officer on board the Harmony is the head horticulturist in charge of Central Park and on Harmony (the newest O class ship in the fleet, at the time) was none other than Laszlo Turos, who is the creator of the entire Central Park concept and has created every Central Park garden on every Oasis class ship. When Laszlo showed up at our suite with a spray can of some kind of bug spray, we giggled. We said, "you're gonna need a bigger can"....and once he went out on the balcony and saw the magnitude of the problem, he kinda skulked away and came back with a big plastic "pump" power sprayer. Anyway, he did take care of the mosquito problem on our balcony but he also asked us if we would be interested in a private tour of Central Park. Dan (HUGE plant guy !!!) was so excited...and I enjoyed it too. Laszlo took us from one end of the gardens to the other, into private areas, really gave us an in-depth tour of how he created and manages the parks. Such a nice guy. So there ARE ways to get such private tours (we also did a similar one on Allure for the ice skating rink which was fascinating, too) but the public tour "All Access Tour" is not free for Star Class guests. I definitely think it's worth the money, so I recommend doing it, but SC won't get it for free for you. The Genie really is so much more than just a Concierge. They visit you every night at dinner to go over the schedule for the next day. They meet you before the show to personally escort you to your seats and get you a drink (if you want one).

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Until you mentioned this I had forgotten about the encounter we had a number of years ago in the Aqua Theater. A man had sat in one of the seats that Reyno had reserved for us and there was a very very bad encounter. In the end, security was called and the gentleman who was sitting in the reserved seat (his wife was in a regular seat) finally, begrudgingly, moved but made her stay put. It was an awkward show. Other than that one time, I don't think we've had any problems.