WAAAYTOOO

Apex Day 3: We were in Limmasol Cypress today. It is a very popular vacation spot for Brits and EU citizens. Americans visit this city via cruise ships. Its economy is tourism and from the looks of it, pre-covid it was very developed and making lots of money. It's slowly coming back but I'd say it's only about 50% back.
Life with COVID protocols aboard ship: Celebrity has a policy of everyone over 15/12 has to be vaccinated to board.Local masking policy in Greece dictates on board masking requirements.  All the time inside (except cabins and the usual exceptions). No masks outside - and this was just recently changed about 2w ago. Before that masks were required indoors and outdoors. Case numbers are rising again in Greece after months of declines. Deaths and hospitalizations continue dow trending. The Greek government is considering require masks outdoors again. Aboard ship, no staff are telling guests who are unmasked to mask. I'd say 30% don't wear mask indoors. There is ample signage about spacing. They ask elevators be limited to 4 - one person in each corner. That seems to be pretty well adhered to. I don't mind the masking so, it's no big deal to me. With the protocols, ship life still seems about normal. What's really nice is the pax load - about 800. Nothing is ever crowded. There are no lines. We haven't taken a cruise ship tour since the nearly 2000s when we first started cruising. We booked two on this cruse and finished one yesterday in Lammisol. 16 people on a 3h walking tour. Guide was a PhD Greek art history professor that is based in Cairo Egypt and teaches at university there. She was excellent. Ship tours are reasonably priced with three tiers: Normal Group, Small Group and Private Journeys. Private Journeys are very expensive and involve things like balloon rides, private yacht sailings, helicopter tours are mainstays. Not ever port has the Small Group which is a group under 10. Rhodes, where we will be on day 4, is one. Its a 4h tour with lunch included. Around $90pp. Not terrible, Could probably get for less but during COVID feel better about using ship tours. 
More later.   

Hi guys. I’m here to share my recent experience with RoyalUp, a program that allows people with existing reservations to bid for an upgrade to a higher room category.

The reason why I’m sharing my experience is because prior to and after the upgrade, I had a ton of questions that I’ve been trying to look for answers all over the internet but couldn’t find any.

Hence, I’d like to share my experience with everyone and hopefully it can give some answers to my fellow cruisers!


  A brief introduction: (or skip to the end for the answers to the “FAQs”)


  I’ve booked a last minute 4-night sailing onboard Quantum of the Seas in Singapore, also known as Cruise to Nowhere. It is basically a hospitality restarting program by the Singapore government with no ports of call. Strict restrictions are also put in place for the safety of the guests.


  I’ve booked a Junior Suite (J4) for me and my wife. The price displayed on the RC’s booking website was SGD 1399pp for 4-nights before pre-paid gratuities and port taxes. There wasn’t any other suite options left for booking, which I presumed was fully booked.


  Almost immediately after completing the reservation transaction, I received the RoyalUP email, and invited me to place a bid to a higher room category. Even though I could clearly see that none of the higher suite categories were available for booking, I still decided to give it a try at bidding for RoyalUp.


  Long story short, I placed bids on all categories, ranging from Grand Suite to Royal Loft Suite and kind of forgot about the whole RoyalUp thing. 


  Until around 24 hours before the sailing, I received an email saying that my bid for a Grand Loft Suite was successful. My bid amount was SGD 1210 per person hence SGD 2420 was charged to my credit card on file immediately.

 





  In general, I paid about $2710 per person ($1399 (JS) +$1210 (RoyalUp) +$100 taxes and pre-paid gratuities)


  I’ve checked the price of a Grand Loft Suite on a different sailing date, and it cost around SGD 5400 per person and before taxes. Which means, I’ve gotten nearly a 50% off the original price.

 
From Junior Suite to Grand Loft Suite is a big jump. In terms of Royal Suite class, it was upgraded from Sea Class to Star Class.


 
At this point, I was very excited! But at the same time, I have a lot questions that needs answers to.


 
To be honest, even with a “huge discount”, SGD 2710 (SGD 5k+ for 2 people) is almost double the original budget hence to me, it is still a lot of money to fork out for a 4-day vacation.


 
As we know, Grand Loft Suite is a Star Class suite and it is practically All-Inclusive such as free specialty dining, deluxe beverage package, internet package etc and it comes with a Royal Genie.


 
So naturally, some questions flashes through my mind, and since it was an upgrade through RoyalUP:


 
“Am I going to get a Royal Genie as well?”

“Will I be treated differently in terms of services than those guests who paid the original price?”

“How about the things I’ve pre-paid on Cruise Planner such as beverage package and internet package since my suite already includes all those packages?”


I’ve tried searching for answers on the internet but I couldn’t find any.


However, after I’ve completed my sailing, I kind of gotten all the answers I needed.


So now, I’m going share them with you guys.


My very own set of FAQs:

Q: Am I going to get Royal Genie as well?

A: Yes! Even though I gotten the upgrade 1 day before the sailing, the Royal Genie got in touch with me via WhatsApp on the morning of the sailing and she already took the liberty to arrange all the activities for us! She already pre-booked all the shows, specialty dinning and some activities such as iFly and Flow Rider. And she was extremely flexible and accommodating on all our requests to change meal timings, shows timings. All you need to do is just let her know your preference and leave everything to her.


 

 
Q: Will I be treated differently in terms of services compared to those guests who paid the original price?

A: Not at all. From my observations, only 2 groups of service crews knew you are an “upgrader”. They are the Royal Genie, and the cruise terminal staff. Usually, Genie will contact you 1 month before your sailing to get to know you better. However, she does know that you are an upgrader since she contacted you just 1 day before the sailing, not the usual 1 month. As for the cruise terminal staff, our information was given to them by the cruise line at the very last minute hence our information was “hand-written” on their paper. They did “congratulate” us on the successful upgrade by the Cruise Line which is why I knew they knew we were an upgrader. Nevertheless, they escorted from the moment we reached the terminal until being handed over to the Royal Genie. Very good service rendered.


 
 Q: How about the things I’ve pre-paid on Cruise Planner such as beverage package and internet package since my suite already includes all those packages 

A: They will be refunded to you and the Royal Genie made sure of that. It will be under “refundable” onboard credit and you can requested to get them in cash on the last night of the cruise. Otherwise, it will be refunded to your credit card.


 
Q: How about my SeaPass card? Will I be recognized as a Star-Class guest?

A: You will be identified as a Star Class guest on your SeaPass card, not the original room category that you were booked on.


 
Q: Do I get the same perks and benefit listed under Star-Class suite even though I’m an upgrader?

A: Yes! Complementary Dining Package, Beverage package, internet package, complementary mini-bar for the whole cruise with replenishment daily, complementary room-service, complementary laundry (I don’t think they set a limit on the quantity of clothes). For Izumi, there is no limit in terms of the amount you can order. If you have a Ultimate Dining Package, I believe per meal you will get USD35 credit per person for Izumi as it is based on A-la-carte pricing. But for Star-Class, there is no limit on that. The wait staff made it known to you before you order.



Q: How about those chargeable activities?

A: For our sailing, the chargeable activities are iFly (~$40) and Northstar (~$20) and strictly by reservation only. However, with the help of our Genie, reservation was done before hand. There is no charges for Star-Class guest for these activities. However, you are only entitled to 1 free session for each of these 2 activities. If you would like to go for a second-time, you will have to pay the charges.


 
All other FAQs regarding Star-Class:

Q: Can Royal Genie fulfill all your requests?

A: Yes and No. I’d emphasize that your request must be reasonable. If you would like to change your dinner venue to another restaurant at the very last minute, you can kindly check with her. Most of the times it can be fulfilled. However, if the restaurant is full, she might suggest to change to an earlier or a later time for you. I’m not sure what kind of magic they have, but I’m definitely against them pulling out other guests from their original dining timing just to slot you in. Firstly, you are putting Genie in a difficult position, secondly, you are causing unhappiness to the affected guests. So I’d suggest to give the Genie some leeway. Do not force you request onto them. If it can be done in a gentle way, go ahead. If not, please do not force or blame them.

 
Q: Do I need to tip the Royal Genie?

A: Absolutely. They are not a receiver of the automatically gratuity system on board. Hence, the tips relies solely on you. Royal Genie is not just a regular butler, they are there to learn about you and make arrangements for you which you didn’t even think of.

My wife somehow mentioned to the Genie that this is our 2nd anniversary trip when we were casually chatting. (but did not mention in details). The Genie caught it and arranged for a surprise decoration and cake in the room for us. My wife and I were surprised as initially, we really can’t figure out how she knew about our anniversary. It is only when we tried to recall every single thing we said to the Genie, and realized that it must have slipped out of our mouth at certain point. Their attention to details are just simply unbelievable.

Hope this post is useful for whoever is looking for the same answers as I did.


Happy cruising!

I love the Park Cafe' 

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.

Careful....your "bot" is showing...

The black and white photos are gorg?. I cant wait to be just like you in a little over 100 days.

I owe you an apology, you were right.
I've traded Odyssey for Mardi Gras.  It checked all of my boxes.

My ongoing joke that people fall for every time. "I'm wearing my speedo bathing suit for boarding." I get all the DO IT, NO YOU WILL NOT, etc, etc... I have a pair of speedo BRAND bathing suit, but it's of regular size leaving EVERYTHING to the imagination, as it should be :). LOL.

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.

2 steps back but they will be moving forward again soon !  It's going to be soooo beautiful.

You and my wife must be talking. I am not allows to wear my speedo out either, although at our last quest the speedos and socks was all I was left with at the end, LOL  

Sometimes a cabin category that is close to being sold out will come in and out of inventory as people click on it.  It could be she checked when a guarantee or specific category wasn't available. 
If I see something I really want I book it and then transfer it to a travel agent later.  I've often seen a cabin come and go every 5 to 15 minutes.  When it finally pops back up I grab it and book it.

I would make sure that you are comparing apples-to-apples. Is prepaid gratuities, travel insurance, refundable deposit factored in? Is it a guarantee rate or choose your room?
I am almost positive that MEI uses the same rates as what is published on RC’s website. So if everything is indeed exactly the same terms, I am positive that MEI will use the rate that’s online at the moment of booking.
Let’s put it this way - MEI wouldn’t intentionally charge you more and even if they did, you can get it re-priced anyway. Many people on this forum have successfully re-priced their cruise fare.

On the early refunds we received from Royal in the past year they were in amounts that had no rhyme or reason. I would keep a spreadsheet (for a while it was very busy with all the cancellations) on the amounts paid and received and dates of both. Through several calls along the way I was able to get a customer support person that pulled all my cancelled dates and went over them one at a time. We were able to find where each one was and escalated the missing ones to getting processed. Happily all the refunds were received and now we are finally waiting for our first cruise in a year and a half next month.

My only advice to anyone wanting to cancel a cruise due to current mask protocols is to wait it out week to week up to your final payment deadline. 
As Matt has mentioned in another thread or two, things are changing so quickly pertaining to mask mandates, to arbitrarily cancel a sailing a month out or longer may be a strategic mistake. 

I did not mean to place “blame” on anyone, Royal Caribbean certainly has the right to institute whatever protocols they seem fit to be best for themselves
 
You and I are like minded. I cancelled my August Symphony, and rebooked Edge for exactly the same reasons. 

Regardless who is to blame I cancelled my Odyssey August cruise this morning because of the mask requirements.  
By cancelling now Royal has over 40 days to find a willing participant and that participant has 40+ days to plan their cruise, find something to do in port, get time off work, etc.  Seemed like the fair thing to do for everyone involved as cancelling 72 hours before the cruise would screw Royal, make it harder to resell my cabin on short notice and if they were able to sell my cabin that person would have no time to plan anything or buy anything in the cruise planner.
Maybe by September the mask requirement will be gone.   If not I've got another decision to make in a few weeks.

Edge class ships are different and Celebrity, learning from Edge, created a better design for Apex. There's a better balance of wood (although most of it is engineered) and plastic so Apex feels more "shippy" than Edge did.  Beautiful color schemes, both modern and traditional decor, overall beautifully decorated and appointed. Easy to find your way around with everything marked. There were around 800 guests (up from 300, then 400, then 600) on Apex's 4th revenue sailing. I'd guess maybe 25 kids under 18. Pretty sure this is "managed" - IOW Celebrity wants "fully vaccinated" sailings and bookings are controlled in some way to keep it like that.  We felt like we were getting  luxury level service - exceptionally attentive and welcoming staff at every venue. Celebrity is like this anyway but this was a different level. Certainly that the ship had less 1/3 of it's capacity (around 3200) made staff attentiveness, lack of lines, exceptional service possible. My advise is to go on these early sailings even though getting there and getting aboard can be a PITA. So far, it's totally worth it. One of the differences in the Edge class ships are the dining venues. There are 4 "main" dining rooms, all aft and stacked on top of each other, port and starboard, decks 4 and 5. There's a buffet (Ocean View Cafe) all the way aft, a burger grill on the pool deck and 6 specialty restaurants with different themes. The premiums to dine in each of these varies but it's expensive. On this sailing (8n) there are 8 dinner seatings. We purchased the dining package for 4 specialty restaurants deeply discounted (each dining venue costs around $30/person instead of the usual $45 - $55 if you booked separately and aboard. The Celebrity Edge class ships are perfectly suited to do this. We will dine in all four of the complimentary main dinning rooms and 4 of the 6 specialty restaurants. One of the specialty restaurants is on the top deck and outside. It's a steak place featuring outdoor grilling. There's also an outdoor movie theater up there. The pool deck is divided into indoor (Solarium) and outdoor pools. The indoor pool area has a cafe serving coffee and healthy stuff for breakfast only. The spa and fitness center is forward on the deck above. Big and well equipped including a spin and HIT studio.  Another different sort of thing is what is called Eden. Like a garden with lots of live foliage, it is a bar, entertainment and restaurant (2 of them - one complimentary and one specialty)) area that takes up decks 5 and 6 and a good portion of the entire aft 1/4 of the ship on those two decks. Adjacent to it is a small theater with an adjoining bar. Full production and acrobatic shows are done here along with single performer acts. As a guest, you are right on top of the performers, feet away on the ground floor, 50 feet away on the second level. The main theater is, as in the case of most ships, all the way forward and on two decks, 4 and 5 aboard Apex. 

Apex, 8n Greek Isles Itinerary, July 9th to 17th. Quick update Day 2. Airport Arrival: We were nearly 4h late to Athens. Airport Customs and Immigration were highly organized and went smoothly. As you lined up and entered immigration, two airport officials checked that you had your passports, vaccination records and Greece Entry forms you filled out in advance and received a QR code in your email. Our QR codes were easily retrievable in my G Mail Account without an internet connections (stored - nice feature of G Mali for off line access).
We arranged for airport transfer to the ship - normally we don't because we don't like to wait for the bus to fill up. Celebrity was prepared for our late arrival, we picked up our bags pff the carousels, cleared immigration (no customs), easily ID'ed Celebrity Reps, went straight to a waiting bus with 5 other couples and off we went to Piraeus. IOW, no wait for the bus to fill up. You can hire a limo or get a cab easily but that's going to cost upwards of 60 euro. Because of COVID, we felt better using Celebrity provided transport ($75). It was a good call. Athens airport is new,clean, everything is well marked and also in English, and nice. Trip to Piraeus took about an hour in heavy late afternoon traffic.
Celebrity Check-in. After getting off the bus, lots of Celebrity staff pointing where to go. The check in facility is a tent - fancy but still a tent. There were fans and industrial style AC units that blew cool air but it was still quit warm but not uncomfortable. To enter, you show your passport and express pass as usual. The new part is the pre-boarding antigen testing. If you downloaded the Trust One App (the company that is doing the antigen testing), you registered, received a confirmation email and QR codes. I took pictures of these and saved them on my phone - good thing because to retrieve them for check-in, from the app you need an internet connection. After showing the QR codes we went to an area where there are several lines and staff with tablets )there's no check-in desk. You again show your passport that gets scanned to the tablet and your express pass gets scanned - your checked in. Not so fast. Next, we were directed to the antigen testing area, got tested (nasal swab), waited about 15 minutes in a designated area within the tent and in front of a big TV screen that flashed your QR code number. Took about 15 minutes for the number to show on the screen. Went to the people signing you off and got a sticker so you could proceed to the ship ...... after you went through security. To complete the entire check in process, your dealing with your phone, where you stored testing QR codes on it, your hard copy passport and your express pass. I had every thing I needed on my phone and printed out for back-up. Used both. The whole process was different, more complex and took longer. Normally an Edge class check-in takes about 10 minutes. This took about 45. It was very well organized though. I'll post a ship review next.
Apex, the second edge class ship is brand new. It was supposed to start revenue sailings in Europe in May/June of last year. She had been floating around with minimum crew in the Med. I was surprised to learn that Celebrity started bringing staff back aboard 2 months before the first sailing in late July, 2021. Almost 100% of key engineering and departmental supervisory staff were brought back. Enough hotel, kitchen, spa and fitness staff brought back to allow the ship to practice full operations. Crew were moved to guest staterooms, were scheduled to drink at all the bars (there are 7 of these) and dine in all shipboard restaurants - there are 9 of these - the ship, for all intent and purpose, was fully operational as a practice sailing. I was told the crew had a ball.  By the time that the first revenue sailing took place, most of the kinks of a restart were ironed out. We were the 4th revenue sailing from Athens.  
 

First time we purchase at 10 (2008) and sold for 90 (2015). Second time purchased at 33 (2020). Have been able to use shareholders discount 8 times and are currently scheduled to for the next 2 cruises. No worries here.

As Matt says its all about boarding times but I have just managed to get a RoyalUp confirmed from a Junior suit to a Grand Loft so now star class and the genie contacted us yesterday and we can board within an hour either side of our allocated boarding time. Bid a low amount on the upgrade and was surprised it was accepted but if we get the full benefits of the star class and I get the refund for the deluxe package and the unlimited dining we had purchased then with voom and gratuities included as well it works out almost the same as I paid for the junior suite with the 2 packages bought. 

My TA cancelled our 8-21-21 SY cruise a few days ago and Royal has confirmed that we will be getting a full refund including all 4 of the FCCs (~$10K) that were used to pay off the biggest part of that cruise.  The cruise is still showing up in our “Upcoming Cruises” list so they still haven’t actually cancelled it yet but hopefully it will get processed soon-ish.
In contrast, my TA cancelled 2 cruises out of AU ( Royal had already cancelled the 3rd leg) and all 3 of those cruises disappeared from the upcoming list immediately.  There’s no discernible pattern.

My TA cancelled our 8-21-21 SY cruise a few days ago and Royal has confirmed that we will be getting a full refund including all 4 of the FCCs (~$10K) that were used to pay off the biggest part of that cruise.  The cruise is still showing up in our “Upcoming Cruises” list so they still haven’t actually cancelled it yet but hopefully it will get processed soon-ish.
In contrast, my TA cancelled 2 cruises out of AU ( Royal had already cancelled the 3rd leg) and all 3 of those cruises disappeared from the upcoming list immediately.  There’s no discernible pattern.

Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Miami Brickell Downtown. Highly recommend! See TripAdvisor reviews.