Chadster

What I did just a couple of hours ago is I finally caved and bought Travel Insurance.  Between Covid, a Same Day Flight, and the smaller risk of Hurricanes, I decided that I needed to this just to be on the safe side.

@Jkaczano Already gone. At least it isn't showing on my dashboard for the 26th sailing. Must be lots of hungry people out there!

Here's the link to the Prime plan on the Allianz site.

Here's the link to the Prime plan on the Allianz site.

Amid my YOLO booking spree, and after considering that I also had a couple of other out-of-town trips planned in the next year, I did this exact thing this weekend. I added up the per-trip protection costs offered by the airlines and/or cruise lines involved, and it ended up being cheaper buying the annual plan. And now, on top of that, I have higher benefit limits.

RCL is probably the same but here is how Celebrity handles testing for B2B cruisers. I'm on a B3B so, I can attest by personal experience to how Celebrity does it.
You will receive an envelope with a letter in your cabin two days before your ship arrives back at its home port. The envelope will contain a transfer pass. The letter will tell you in detail how the check-out, testing, debarkation and re-boarding process will work. It will tell you that there will be a meeting, a day before debarkation, usually in the morning, for all B2B'ers. You'll do two things at this meeting: talked through the process, get your antigen test. You'll be advised only of a positive antigen test result.
You'll have the option of walking off the ship and returning later or walking off and returning immediately to the ship. On the day of debarkation you'll assemble in a meeting place aboard the ship for B2B'ers around 7;30am. If you're walking off and returning later, you'll get a new Sea Pass card and tracelett, complete the health questionnaire and have a new picture taken at the meeting. You can walk off when the ship has been cleared by the port authority. You'll pass through Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP). The CBP uses facial recognition to clear at Port Everglades and I suspect elsewhere. It's a quick walk-through process. Otherwise, you go as a group around 9am and pass through CBP, do the facial recognition thing, then wait in a waiting area to re-board the ship. You'll receive your new Sea Pass and traclett here. When the ship has been readied to re-board guests, you walk back on. The whole process takes about an hour. If you start at 9am, you'll be back aboard by 10am.....and have the whole ship to yourself and the other B2B'ers. We had 75 between first and second legs and 41 between 2nd and 3rd legs.
 

We put in a royalup bid for a star class suite and initially it was a 'weak' bid but enough to fuel our "what if" dreams. 
BUT, thanks to this post and a couple others we learned that we'd get the money we've already paid for our drinks and speciality restaurant packages if we do get the bid so we upped it to a strong bid. It'll make for a fantastic "welcome back to cruising" if this goes through.
Even if we don't get it, we'll still eventually be at sea, on our balcony, drinks in hand, listening to the sound of the Allure cutting through the ocean while gazing at the sunset skies. Pure bliss!  ?

Refundable deposits are like insurance. You pay extra to have peace of mind if you really want that specific cruise but are not completely sure of your future schedule. You can lock in your preferred cabin and know you can cancel if necessary, provided it’s before final payment. But it seems like a toss up….pay more for the cruise and maybe take advantage of the refund, or pay less and risk it. For me, being solo and an unabashed, unapologetic raging cruisaholic…I’ll take the risk.?

I sorta went on a bit of a spree with some money I've had socked away, and now I can attest to the fact that YOLO booking is indeed a thing. ?
September 26, 2021: Oasis out of Cape Liberty (7 days)
December 24, 2021: Anthem out of Cape Liberty (Christmas at sea!) (7 days)
December 31, 2021: Anthem out of Cape Liberty again! (Why not be at sea to welcome in 2022?) (9 days)
UPDATED AFTER SAGE FORUM ADVICE: May 1, 2022: Serenade out of Vancouver (North to Alaska...and back...) (7 days)
All of these happen during breaks for me with school and will celebrate milestones in said schooling since I'm getting toward the final phase.
If they all go off without a hitch, I'll be Diamond for the second leg of the holiday B2B and Diamond Plus at the end of the Alaska cruise; the one on Oasis will be my first Royal cruise (not for a lack of trying over the last 18 months!). These points will apparently really stack up with the bonus and because I'm cruising solo.
You people are a bad influence! ?

I've inquired recently and was told yes, the ship will take care of it.  
EDIT to add:  If vaccinated.
Unvaccinated cannot do B2B.

Yes.  The only rates that don't qualify are travel agent rates and family and friends rates that employees have access to.  Those and offers for free cruises.
If in doubt email C&A.  

Amid my YOLO booking spree, and after considering that I also had a couple of other out-of-town trips planned in the next year, I did this exact thing this weekend. I added up the per-trip protection costs offered by the airlines and/or cruise lines involved, and it ended up being cheaper buying the annual plan. And now, on top of that, I have higher benefit limits.

Totally agree.  I have already accepted the fact that "if" we sail this one, it will likely be on a smaller ship.
I swear, being stuck in dry dock for so long is making me crazy! ?
I will keep this in mind for sure moving forward but with the kids, and this being our first (but probably not only) Alaskan cruise, I'm not sure I want to spend that much time there.  It is a compromise after all, still not an outdoor person at heart.  But Hubby and one of my girls are so, you know.
Agreed.  That is why I am leaning towards RT YVR if they keep those same itineraries for 2023.
I am not responsible if @Chadsterbooks another cruise!
And I can spend Canadian dollars there pre-cruise so another win! lol
 

Man, this thread has given me a lot to think about, so thanks for creating it, and of course, thanks for the folks in the know for weighing in! I'm now rethinking my Alaska plans and possibly going for a shorter cruise on a Radiance-class than the longer cruise on the Quantum-class.

Man, this thread has given me a lot to think about, so thanks for creating it, and of course, thanks for the folks in the know for weighing in! I'm now rethinking my Alaska plans and possibly going for a shorter cruise on a Radiance-class than the longer cruise on the Quantum-class.

Amid my YOLO booking spree, and after considering that I also had a couple of other out-of-town trips planned in the next year, I did this exact thing this weekend. I added up the per-trip protection costs offered by the airlines and/or cruise lines involved, and it ended up being cheaper buying the annual plan. And now, on top of that, I have higher benefit limits.

Amid my YOLO booking spree, and after considering that I also had a couple of other out-of-town trips planned in the next year, I did this exact thing this weekend. I added up the per-trip protection costs offered by the airlines and/or cruise lines involved, and it ended up being cheaper buying the annual plan. And now, on top of that, I have higher benefit limits.

If you are a frequent traveler you should consider an annual plan. Either way, make sure your plan covers Covid related illness and medical transportation…ie, Epidemic Coverage Endorsement. An Embassy letter showing you are covered for Covid is good to have.
With Royal’s Cruise with Confidence program…trip cancellation for any reason (48hrs prior) is covered with a future cruise credit. Provided your booking takes place before Aug 31 and your sailing is before Apr 30. The FCC has an expiration date so it’s important to know if you have other cruises planned or not. Royal has been pretty good so far with Covid related issues onboard as far as partial reimbursement and transport. So the big expense potential is if something happens while off the ship…or if you are transported to a medical facility while in another country. Medical care and potential air transport home (especially if it’s a medical flight) can be very expensive.

Another Hip, Hip Hooray for @Sharla. I sent an email last night as I kept seeing all these great fare drops and wanted to get in on the action! My email simply asked Sharla that if she saw it, who should I call at MEI to check for me. If I didn’t hear back, I was just going to call the main number this morning. 
 
 I got a quick response from Sharla with awesome news! $544 lower on my Symphony (now OBC as I’m past FP), $347 lower on my March Harmony, no change in my May Alaska ?, and she or someone from MEI will check my Odyssey Holy Land/Greece today. 
This news actually kept me up last night as I now have over $900 in OBC on Symphony and we already purchased everything we wanted lol. I’m sure we’ll find something to spend it on or cash out in the casino. 
 
Top notch service once again even when on vacation! 

Yup, that's the plan! ?

I sorta went on a bit of a spree with some money I've had socked away, and now I can attest to the fact that YOLO booking is indeed a thing. ?
September 26, 2021: Oasis out of Cape Liberty (7 days)
December 24, 2021: Anthem out of Cape Liberty (Christmas at sea!) (7 days)
December 31, 2021: Anthem out of Cape Liberty again! (Why not be at sea to welcome in 2022?) (9 days)
UPDATED AFTER SAGE FORUM ADVICE: May 1, 2022: Serenade out of Vancouver (North to Alaska...and back...) (7 days)
All of these happen during breaks for me with school and will celebrate milestones in said schooling since I'm getting toward the final phase.
If they all go off without a hitch, I'll be Diamond for the second leg of the holiday B2B and Diamond Plus at the end of the Alaska cruise; the one on Oasis will be my first Royal cruise (not for a lack of trying over the last 18 months!). These points will apparently really stack up with the bonus and because I'm cruising solo.
You people are a bad influence! ?

I have the same issue but my OBC is a little over $900! 
 
We applied our 125% OBC to an upcoming cruise. It was a smidge over $1k. We bought drink packages, ultimate dining and CocoCay beach club. We still had about $250 left over. Then we added our shareholder $100 benefit. Then the cruise was just repriced with the WOW sale and that added almost $550 to OBC. I don’t know what else to buy lol. I’m sure we will cash out whatever is left at the end minus the 5%, I can live without $45. 
 
I did try to talk hubby into a floating cabana but he was not onboard lol. 
 
Now I’m looking at swimming with Sea Lions in st Thomas. ?
Hope you find something fun to do! If the ship tour is offered, (currently not due to Covid), I’d do that in a heartbeat. 

For the right price, I could be ?

I booked Indy for January solo in a regular room with this sale. I had been watching the price and saw it dropped and they weren't charging for the second person so I jumped on it. My MEI TA somehow even managed to get me in cheaper than I was able to price on the website and I got to pick my room..plus got the OBC which will cover gratuities.  

Well my grand total is in with the WOW sale. $1,746 savings for 3 of my 4 cruises. In addition to another $700 drop from a June sale puts me at $2,446 total. Not too bad considering the era of covid. Those savings just paid our airfare to Anchorage, the only cruise with no change in price. I’m a happy cruiser!