WAAAYTOOO

Hahaha. I’ll try my best but I don’t think it’ll be as good as as @Jax and @Lovetocruise2002 live blogs on their SC experiences. 

I agree with @WAAAYTOOO, the value of star class will vary from person to person.  My husband loves the perks of star class but would be ok without the genie. (Probably because he has a live in genie ?)  I need a few more star class sailings, but I am very much #teamstarclass and don’t think that will ever change. One of the intangible benefits on our first star class was having a genie to deal with a last minute weather related itinerary change. Our genie was invaluable in securing us a cabana at Labadee. The genie may be even more valuable in a post pandemic world, at least for a while. The star class program offerings are consistent but the genie experiences can vary from genie to genie and ship to ship. Some genies excel in a particular area and all bring their own set of strengths.  This was a big aha moment for me as I assumed my genie experience would look like others.  I think our next star class experience will feel different; I have the experience gained from our first star class cruise, a great TA and the experience of so many seasoned cruisers on this forum.

Yep, we are still on this one for now.....but it is very likely that we will cancel this one SINCE they chartered the following cruise (1-16-22) and we had planned a B3B SC from 1-9 through 1-30.  When they chartered 1-16-22 they moved us to 1-30-22 but now we have a week's break...we would have to disembark on 1-16, go home, wait a week and come back for the last 2 of our cruises.  AND b/c the Owner's Panoramic Suite was already booked for 1-30, the only SC suite left was the Star Loft and they refused to price protect it so we had to rebook at the prevailing rate which totally sucked.  So right now, we are still booked on 1-9 and 1-30 but I am 99% sure that I will cancel both of those and just keep 1-23.  My whole purpose of doing this was to do a B3B SC and the charter totally dicked that up.  So I will be satisfied just to do 1 week SC and do the B3B thing another time.  Unless they change their casino access restriction for unvaxxed, we will probably end up cancelling ALL of our upcoming cruises....so it's all up in the air.

My wife and I just won our 1st ever RoyalUp bid for Adventure this weekend! From Interior to OV Balcony. Saved at least $300 on the difference between the two rooms at time of purchase!

Well, I'm sure Royal has a compliant trip insurance policy they would love to sell you ?

Yes !

Thanks.  Typical different answers from different agents.  They must be trained by the same people that train the Royal CSR's.

Oh boy do I feel this one.  The Clean Plate Club guilt is real.

Ugh.  If you miss any refund deadline that's even more FCC that you have to figure out how to use.

Thanks Ashley, we switched from Western to Eastern when we did the lift & shift and I’m beginning to regret it.  But we will be on Harmony so it’s all good.   

Approved by Governor.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/01194
Amendment 116138 is the bill submitted by Boyd that was attached as an amendment to bill 1194.

 
Text of amendment 116138 here:
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/1194/Amendment/116138/HTML
1 Senate Amendment to House Amendment (672415) (with title 2 amendment) 3 4 Between lines 4 and 5 5 insert: 6 Section 17. Section 311.25, Florida Statutes, is created to 7 read: 8 311.25 Florida seaports; local ballot initiatives and 9 referendums.— 10 (1) With respect to any port that has received or is 11 eligible to apply for or receive state funding under this 12 chapter, a local ballot initiative or referendum may not 13 restrict maritime commerce in such a port, including, but not 14 limited to, restricting such commerce based on any of the 15 following: 16 (a) Vessel type, size, number, or capacity. 17 (b) Number, origin, nationality, embarkation, or 18 disembarkation of passengers or crew or their entry into this 19 state or any local jurisdiction. 20 (c) Source, type, loading, or unloading of cargo. 21 (d) Environmental or health records of a particular vessel 22 or vessel line. 23 (2) Any local ballot initiative or referendum that is in 24 conflict with subsection (1) and that was adopted before, on, or 25 after July 1, 2021, and any local law, charter amendment, 26 ordinance, resolution, regulation, or policy adopted in such an 27 initiative or referendum, is prohibited, void, and expressly 28 preempted to the state.  

This is why I'd like us to stop celebrating it as a win that we sent two presumably healthy people home on special medevac flights. Celebrating a clear cut overreaction as a win is just something else.

Well today in that eviction moratorium case, the Supreme Court ruled that while the CDC overstepped its authority, it wasn't going to reverse the stay from the lower court because the moratorium order expires next month anyway.
 
So, you never know what a federal court will do.

I still cannot see how a Federal Judge can rule that a Federal entity has exceded it's statutory authority and somehow limit that to a single State.  Therefore I think if the injunction takes effect, it will apply to all States, whether they are a party to this suit or not.  If that happens, I would guess that the cruise lines would use the recommendations of their own panel, to the extent allowed by State laws, getting around any issues as they are in Florida. However, I also don't think this Judge will want the far reaching consequences of making his temporary order permanent.   I think he is doing whatever he can to get the parties to settle,  but given the way Florida is digging it's heals in, I think the mediator has a difficult job.

We started off with DCL concierge too and recently made the switch to Royal star class in Dec 2019. Our son was 14 at the time and was finally ready to try something new. While there were a couple things I missed about DCL, overwhelmingly Royal’s star class came out on top! Specialty dining, unlimited internet, laundry and of course price are just a few of the reasons.  Once we have a couple more star class trips under our belt I think that gap will widen.  

lock it up!

Nah, I know I booked mine after yours. Totally me!

Now that's funny !!
As far as I can recall, the CK does not serve lamb shank.  I certainly could be wrong b/c we don't eat at CK all that much....but Sabrina's correct....the lamb shank that Dan loves has its origins in the MDR. 
I am not a fan of lamb in any form so I cannot really give you an honest appraisal of it but Dan really loves it.  He has only gotten a bad lamb shank once and that was one of the times that we ordered it when we were in one of the specialty restaurants that night.  I can't remember which restaurant we were at but he asked for the MDR lamb shank and what they brought him was really horrible.  But other than that one time (I'm sure that was some kind of spiteful revenge by the kitchen for ordering something "special".  LOL  JUST KIDDING !!!) it has always been consistently good, according to Dan-who-will-eat-anything-except-brussel-sprouts.  It's a big meal.

I say post away! It is good to have many perspectives! ?

Earlier today I had my May 2022 cruise cancelled out of Tampa. Apparently, ROS is being repositioned to Europe. Funny thing is the subject they send says "change" and then you have to get through the entire first paragraph until they tell you it's cancelled. No complaints as long as my two sailings before that go off as planned. 74 days until I walk aboard Symphony in Miami!!!!
Apologies of this has been mentioned already.

It took some time to get used to handling my anxiety correctly. I do not recommend you using any medicine or drugs, especially alcohol. These chemicals could become an addiction, and you should avoid them as much as possible because handling anxiety is about finding your inner peace. I had to find a specialist who has helped me dealing with this disorder. That's why before traveling, I recommend you to find one at fherehab.com The doctors helped me with therapy and meditation. And, yes, do not be ashamed to recognize your disorder; it would become easier to face it in this way.

Currently all categories are open to book on your date. Most cruises now through the end of October show outside view as sold out and mostly only interior connecting available. 
 
It all depends on what this virus is doing. But from what I see, after the “technical” end of the CSO November 1, the ships open up to all categories. 
 
The CSO will possibly end early with the current ruling in the Florida vs CDC lawsuit

I am currently booked on the 12/4/21 Odyssey sailing out of Ft Lauderdale.  I am just a little curious as to how long RCL will be doing reduced capacity sailings.  As Odyssey is such a new ship, it would be really nice to be on a brand new ship with only about half the capacity.  Maybe I am just being selfish!

@WAAAYTOOOis on Allure for 2 weeks, then I'm on for a week, then you get on for a week.  We did NOT coordinate this very well, ladies!!!

DCL concierge level pales in comparison to star. Good choice. And even outside of star, DCL is simply not worth the cost.