wordell1

I have thought about doing this on pretty much every cruise. I'm convinced I could get away with it with some well placed tips to some crew members.

Unfortunately, I still need to work to maintain my habit.

No, I didn't take a picture. Sorry.

Thanks for doing the live blog. It's always great to live vicariously through others!

You can still do self-carry very early. We got off at 7:15am on Oasis last week.

I'm pretty sure it's just a bottle of water or soda. You can call the C&A society to set your preferences for each person.

Welcome! There are no dumb questions - only dumb complaints! In all seriousness, you have done yourself a favor by joining the site. There is a lot of great info here that will help you have a great cruise - and avoid issues. If you have questions, there are some VERY experienced cruisers to help you out.

I think a lot of people believe this blog is connected officially with Royal Caribbean. She brings up a good point about giving out your booking number on unofficial group cruises but I think the better point would be to pick your friends wisely.

And this is why dealing with the public is so difficult. I've worked retail my entire career and the sense of entitlement has gotten progressively worse. OP was ignorant of the rules but some people are the "special" people that the rules don't apply to. Is it too much to hope they end up getting kicked off the cruise and left behind? Nope, I'm just going to enjoy my vacation.

1. Again, I'm not arguing that the covid protocols make sense. You are making an argument that you should be able to disregard the rules that a business has told you in advance that you need to follow because you disagree with them. You have certain freedom to act as you wish at home and even in certain public places. Businesses have the same freedom to set rules for how they operate. If you want to start your own cruise company, you can run it as you see fit.

I would show up as a group and I'm sure it will be ok. As long as you still have your original booking, you should still get double points. Adding a person shouldn't have changed that.

I'm not sure anyone is defending the justification for the rules, just stating that we think you should be following them regardless. The CDC is one of the drivers of the on board protocols, but each port is a separate foreign government with their own rules. They are graciously allowing us to visit, subject to the port agreement that states that non vaccinated people will be on "bubble" tours. By not following the rules, you put all of us in jeopardy of not being able to visit that port in the future. If you don't like the rules, your recourse is to not go on the cruise.

I actually saw the same thing happen right in front of me on my Oasis cruise last week. A family was trying to get off in St Thomas and were stopped at the gangway. The parents were arguing with the office who was dealing with them that they were never told that this was the requirement. As I said above, it amazes me that people wouldn't read all of the protocols that Royal sends out in advance of the cruise.

I agree that it should be and it may be that they have not updated the way the reservations system is working. We are only now getting to the point where under 12 year olds will qualify so there are probably quite a few updates needed - show reservations may also be an issue. I would call your travel agent or Royal directly to see what they say.

This has been the policy since the restart of cruises. It is a CDC requirement and is followed the other cruise lines that allow unvaccinated children. It is clearly listed in the many emails that you surely received before your cruise and has been discussed many times here on this website. All you needed to do was book a tour through Royal and your son would have been able to go on the tour. Keep in mind that the cruise lines need to follow both the CDC guidelines and the Covid rules in each port that they visit. We may disagree with the policies, but they are all clearly communicated. Tours Required for Families With Unvaccinated ChildrenFamilies traveling with unvaccinated kids must purchase a local tour through Royal Caribbean if they wish to go ashore in ports of call. This applies to all ports of call except Perfect Day at CocoCay, Labadee and Port Canaveral, Florida. Vaccinated parents wishing to go ashore freely can visit our youth facilities onboard to learn about drop off program hours and availability, and reserve time for their child on the day they wish to go in port.

I liked it overall - definitely a step up from MDR. One underrated aspect of CK is how much quieter it is vs the MDR.

I have been on both and they are both really good.

Surprisingly, they are not easy to find on the island. My wife always wants to do the sloths in Roatan (admittedly, they are pretty cool) but we have never found good merchandise there.

Maybe it was just E2 and 3 - It was confusing because E3 was the Bionic bar and the door next to it (where the lifeboats are) is where we had just boarded.

They had both available for us as well so I had the MDR lobster as a backup. Incidentally, they also had all of the Thanksgiving MDR options (Turkey and Ham) available on that day also, even though it wasn't on the menu.

You should have bought them a free cruise on the next "Bliss" charter.

The actual muster for E1 to E3 was conducted at the top of the spiral stairs leading from the promenade to tbe boardwalk. Thus is because the muster stations are also the boarding area. We were E3 last week on Oasis

This is correct.

If you have not done so already, you will get a chance to leave a rating and comments on your post cruise survey. You might also stop by the excursions desk to give your feedback.

You will be only be able to make reservations once you are onboard - must be on ships internet. Shows fill up fast so make this one of the things you do ASAP once onboard.