Chadster

Same here. My travel agent before I found MEI put everything in a group rate in order to be able to show lower rates. But like you, I found it to be too much of a hassle to deal with. UNCFanatik, I hope you're able to get a price drop!

I personally can't get enough sea days! In the 28-day scenario I laid out above, 11 of those days are sea days (not counting embarkation/debarkation days, which are technically partial sea days). The journey would be aboard Anthem, so I think there'd be plenty to keep me busy -- even if I just wiled away some time sitting at the Dog House and enjoying a hot dog or seven, or sampling the bars -- or jumping between doing each. The awesome thing about these B2B2B cruises is there wouldn't be a ton of repeated ports. I'd get a nice sample across the Caribbean: 8 ports, with only one repeat (Philipsburg, St. Maarten). And there's a day at Coco Cay in there, too. Plus, it focuses on the eastern and southern Caribbean; I did the Western Caribbean on my first cruise, and I was not overly impressed.

That would be amazing; I see those cruises and always find myself wanting to do those! I got to thinking about this question because I was looking at that 28-day stretch aboard a ship this holiday season; it's in stark contrast to how overwhelmed I felt on my first (and only, so far...thanks COVID!) cruise, and it was just 5 days. I had fun, but by the time it was over, I was ready to head home. I definitely feel like now, though, I'm much more receptive to longer cruises the more I've thought about it and the more reading I've done about people's experiences (particularly aboard RCCL, in this case, thanks to the Blog).

So glad to hear this. I was definitely trying to figure out how they'd make that work, since the Air2Sea balance got lumped in with the other cruise charges as part of my total. I had horrid visions of having to try and get Royal to understand that this smaller payment I'm making before final payment is for a specific line item, and could they please apply it directly to that...

I'll definitely touch base with my TA and/or Royal (I have one cruise each being handled by them) and see what I get told. It just seems odd, since the Air2Sea fare gets lumped in with the overall cruise cost. But, I'll do whatever I'm told!

Same -- I cruise on the 26th, so I'm gonna be watching what happens!

Did you check your lot number? Here's the list.

I know when I booked my Air2Sea reservations for my December cruises, the cost was added to the cruise invoice. According to the Air2Sea FAQ (not specific to this latest change in payment dates), those payments follow cruise final payment guidelines.

I hear "Golden Room" and all I can think is... Though I guess if you do well enough in the casino...

So, I was idly sitting here on this Friday afternoon after finishing my work, and as is often the case, I started poking around Royal Caribbean's website, just to look at prices and ponder. I saw that the same cabin that I have for a B2B later this year is available on the cruise before the first leg. If I were to book it, I'd be aboard the same RCCL cruise ship and in the same cabin for a total of 28 days. No, I haven't YOLO booked it...as of when I type this, anyway. It got me thinking, though. For you -- especially those of you who have cruised a lot -- how long would be too long aboard a ship before you needed to take a break? Yes, I know, responsibilities throw a curveball in that decision, but just from a standpoint of having the time and being able to do it...what would be the limit before you decided it was enough for a while?

Because of their shipment slip-ups, I'm now in possession of four test kits. Originally, they only sent me a two-pack. So I called, and the rep sent me an additional via overnight. And then I get an email from the Optum Store telling me that because of a shipping issue, they had only sent part of my order -- so they were going to send me the other test that didn't arrive with the first two. So now, I have a primary and a back-up for my currently scheduled cruises through December. I'm considering scheduling another, though, so either way, I'm covered. That being said, I also just scheduled a test with CVS for the Friday before I head to port for a Sunday cruise. With my ability to cruise riding on getting this test just right, I'm all about redundancy. And for those needing to deal with Optum customer service, I definitely agree that calling is the way to go. Very little wait, and they were very responsive. Of course, as we all know, YMMV.

If you booked directly with Royal, yes. For my Christmas Eve cruise, my final payment date has moved to Nov. 24. If you booked through a travel agent, they may have a different deadline, but it should probably be within a week or so of whatever the 30-day date is. My travel agent likes to get payments taken care of a week before final payment just to stay ahead of any last-minute issues. Since the week before the 30-day mark for my NYE cruise is during Thanksgiving, I'll pay a few days closer to Royal's actual deadline.

I'm so very thankful for this! I've had some unexpected news that kinda turned everything on its ear, and I was afraid I was going to have to cancel my back-to-back Christmas/NYE cruises, but with this, I'm not going to have to even remotely entertain that thought, and those cruises will be even more welcome as winter holiday escapes!

Let's just have unofficial ones all of May 2022. That way, I can be included during my May 1 sailing on Serenade from my aft-corner balcony.

Also, just a heads-up: I ordered a 3-pack and only received the 2-pack. They're shipping me the third one expedited, so I'll likely get it later this week. For me, the wait isn't a big deal because with the 2-pack I received, I have a test for my Sept. 26 cruise and a backup in case something goes wrong -- or, more hopefully, a test for my Christmas Eve cruise. The third is basically a back-up in either case, since I'll be on a B2B from Dec. 24 to Jan. 9, so I'll get the test for leg 2 onboard direct from Royal. I'm guessing I'm not the first it's happened to, because the rep told me "I know we're shipping out single tests at no additional...well...anything...expedited." Customer service was quick, helpful, and didn't try to give me a run-around, and I appreciate that.

I received my tests. This is the lot number and expiration date printed on them, but with the 90-day extension, they're now expiring on 1/5/2022. So, thankfully they'll cover my cruises.

Update on my order through the Royal Caribbean "storefront": I got an email earlier tonight from Optum telling me my shipment is delayed, though it's been shipped...so I'll get it Monday. If you go the Optum route through RCCL right now, I'd count on at least 3 days, just as they now say on the order page.

Yeah, I went through the store front, and now a note that wasn't there on the day I ordered appears saying...

Good thing I didn't order my test just before my cruise. It's the estimated delivery date and it hasn't even shipped yet. I get that they're probably flooded with orders, but this does not inspire confidence. Has anybody else ordered through the "Royal Caribbean Storefront" and gotten their orders yet?

Certainly! I'm hopeful the tests will be good at least through the end of December, because that would indeed keep me squared away until my cruises for 2020 are done. Will report back when the package arrives.

I had decided on going the home-test route earlier this week as I was finalizing my itinerary for travelling to and from the port and decided to wait to see the pricing on the ones being sold through the "Royal Caribbean storefront" was marked up because...well, I wouldn't have been surprised. If that'd been the case, I would've just gone through the regular Optum store. Since they weren't marked up, I went ahead and bought a 3-pack this morning. I'm now covered for cruises for the rest of 2020. Delivery has a window between "Sept. 9-10".

I just ordered a 3-pack of the Binax now tests by following Royal Caribbean's link (they're sold by Optum), and the process was quick and easy. I live near a CVS, so a free rapid test would've been an option, but the days I'm supposed to take it, I'm going to be either on my way out of town heading for Cape Liberty, or be at a hotel pre-cruise. So I went ahead and grabbed the 3-pack, figuring I have backups in case of errors...or ones to cover my other cruises, too. So glad libraries in Ohio are making this an option, though. I talked to my best friend in Cleveland, and she said that Cleveland Public Library has them, but only at the main branch, not the community branches.

I'm in the " @Sharlais awesome!" camp for sure! I haven't snagged any price drops recently, but what I really appreciate is that when I think I see a price drop and ask about it, she'll get in touch with me and tell me whether or not it's actually a good deal given my current promotions including OBC and the like. So, while I may not always save extra money on the front end, I'm still getting my value maximized thanks to Sharla's skills in "travel agent math", and to me, that's good, too!

If I could find a way to efficiently and economically pull off the flight, I'd definitely do a one-way. As it stands now, though, I've got a round-trip 7-day planned for May of '22 that's supposed to include several glaciers.

This thread made me realize I totally misread the FAQ about this, and I'm going to end up with fewer points than I thought this year. That either means waiting for Diamond status or booking another cruise this year. I think most RCLB readers know which way I'm leaning after I looked at the prices to turn both of my cruises this year into B2Bs...