WAAAYTOOO

Both 8 night cruises. I'm chalking it up to "why look for logic where there clearly isn't any".

Short cruises always have higher drink packages 

I took the plunge at $57.99 for the drink package for Odyssey in January.

Strangely, its $61.99 on my Mariner cruise in May. You would think newer ships would be pricier.

I think expecting a significant drop in price is unlikely. 

Yay! I just save $465 dollars on my next two cruise for next year!

Yup.
 
I did basically the same as you in January 2020…..my wife went home after the first leg and our 19 year old son joined me for the second. 
 
I had to get off, meet him, and reboard with him. 
 
All the Royal personnel I spoke with about this agreed it was silly, but I still had to do it…even when I explained he could enlist in the navy without my consent and cruise around the world. 
 
It wasn’t a difficult process. 
 
They had my new seapass waiting for me at the disembark point. I met my son outside the terminal, we went through security, then went to check him in.  When they took his name, they immediately escorted us back on the ship, no waiting whatsoever, even though regular boarding hadn’t commenced.  

Not sure where else to put this, but here goes.
Earlier this week I had a huge problem with the C&A confirmation page after login. I would log in to the Royal website to check out cruises, and was asked to complete a short form of confirmation details, starting with my email address.
However, putting in the email address activated a pop up which asked it I wanted ot keep using my email address, that then returned me back to the original login screen and yes, I was in a loop of doom.
I reached out to IT support and what a great experience that was. The young man to whom I was speaking did not have the answer, but while I was on the phone he rallied others to his aid and eventually it was resolved.
What impressed me here was the determination to immediately resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the caller (me). As an IT professional myself, I know there are those who do not have this as their highest priority.  Would I recommend RC/C&A IT support ?  Very much so. It may take a few selections on the menu to get to the right person, but in my experience, the service is exceptional once you are there.
 

Or if you are @Galveston Steve and can wait it out in a nearby Whataburger should they need more time for the first sailing

As more Oasis Class ships begin sailing this month, we would love to hear about how the entertainment options are rolling out.  We are booked on Allure 22AUG21 and haven't seen any entertainment options pop up in CP yet.  Not surprised by this.  We can appreciate that RC has lots of other bigger "fish to fry" to safely restart many ships this summer, but we have always enjoyed the range of fantastic entertainment options on Oasis class, including the aqua show, ice show, and musicals, and hope to be able to do so on our next cruise. 
Please pass along any news you may hear about how entertainment options may be rolling out for Oasis Class.  Will also want to keep tabs with anyone blogging on Allure the first half of August.
Thanks!
Roger & Carol 

I don't disagree with anything you said, but to be fair, no one is testing people coming in and out of WDW. As a result, there isn't wall-to-wall media coverage of every single covid case. Because statistically, there have been.
Again, no issues here with your plan.  But cruises get singled out by media while theme parks slide by due to cruise lines subject to regulation.
There, I feel better now ?

I don't know if the cancel the pre-Disney plans is directed at me or not. But...not an option. I will not and have no plans to alter my vacation. I had Covid in April 2020, I am vaccinated and won't stop living my life for something that is here to stay. If I was to test positive, I get my money back so I would be whole; at least I will have had some wonderful vacation memories. What good would it be to deny myself and then still possibly test positive???? Plenty of people have been attending the theme parks for months and are just fine.

I get that but current DBP prices come to over $1700 for our cruise (4 adults). Not ready to float that big a loan to RC?‍♀️

Sorry, but the Black Friday sale hasn't been what it used to be. I would not recommend waiting for any one sale.
The best strategy is to track prices over the long term. Book early, and then cancel/rebook if/when a price drops.

We just booked a cruise (Enchantment out of Baltimore in June) and it has $50 pp deluxe, $23 pp refreshment. Seems like it's unlikely to get better than that.

Yep my prices didn’t budge. 

Same old same old for me.  DBP goes from $67 to $58 yet again ☹️

Just checked it out and for our sailing (August 2022 on Oasis, 9-night Caribbean on Oasis from Cape Liberty) and the DBP is down to 57.99 pp/pd from 69.99. Will be buying this and The Key today!

Yeah I was just planning to try for a Sky Suite to get into the suite class.  Ive tried the Royal Up on RCI, but never any luck, I think im too cheap.  

We lost Vision out of Puerto Rico for Oct 30, 2021.  It looks like they have cancelled all of the PR sailings for Vision.
Here is a list of the cancelled sailings for the next couple of months

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.

I have contacted the FL Attorney General to ask for an evaluation to see if Royal asking me to provide proof of vaccination in order to sail on a cruise for which I have already Paid in Full, violates SB2006.  Maybe I will hear back, maybe I won't.

I have contacted the FL Attorney General to ask for an evaluation to see if Royal asking me to provide proof of vaccination in order to sail on a cruise for which I have already Paid in Full, violates SB2006.  Maybe I will hear back, maybe I won't.

Right Now You Can Go On Royal’s Website and Book This Cruise! 
Outrageous If They Have Already Cancelled It. Obviously The Marketing Dept Is Working Well Even If The Rest Of The Company Is A Wreck!

 

Our hospitals filling up have nothing to do with the current law. You have to remember we are the #1 tourist destination worldwide. We were doing absolutely fine with positivity rates less than 3% up until 3 weeks ago. We have THOUSANDS flying into this state everyday for leisure. Of course we’re going to see increases before anyone else. 
 
This virus isn’t going away. The death rate is not corresponding with hospitalizations. The vaccines are generally working in that it’s keeping people out of the hospital and from dying. 
 
Vaccine passports wouldn’t have stopped this IMO. All vaccine passports are good for is increasing the divide in this country. 
 
The blame lies in the messaging. It’s been poor from the get go. Do this, don’t do this. Shame rarely works. Distrust is huge right now. I don’t know the answer but locking us down again isn’t the answer. 

I have contacted the FL Attorney General to ask for an evaluation to see if Royal asking me to provide proof of vaccination in order to sail on a cruise for which I have already Paid in Full, violates SB2006.  Maybe I will hear back, maybe I won't.