wordell1

You should just bid what you are comfortable with and then don't stress over it. There's no secret to winning, beyond the strongest bid winning. In some cases, what you are giving up matters because they can then award it yo someone else. For Star class, you can factor in the savings from any drink package, dining package and tips into your bid.

Terminal A

I'm pretty sure they will be down by January 9th.

They won't be at the same terminal. It should be business as usual. Just walk off your luggage and you should have plenty of time.

My first insight is that this is something your TA should be doing for you. They may be inexperienced.

I believe you can do it through the app for 1.99 per person per day. I always get the 2 device package for the 2 cell phones and use whatsapp. This allows us to stay in contact with people on land (our house/dog sitter) and also keep up with online stuff ( Like the RC Blog!). Either way works.

Work through your travel agent to prepay gratuities. If you booked direct through RC then you can just call them.

Coastal Kitchen on Oasis was great. The restaurant manager was very involved. We ate there the whole week. We had requested to have the same waiter the whole week and she was great- always sent my son away with a full plate of cookies to go. We also had really good service in the lounge. We typically showed up 30 minutes early for a pre dinner drink and we were always served very quickly.

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.