Jverge

Says "no more than 3 day's before arriving..." so I'd say that means Thursday. 

Not a stupid question at all.  The day you get the test is day 0.  So, if you are sailing on Sunday, Thursday would be the earliest day you could be tested. 

Renewed ours on June 16 and received them last Tuesday... expedited service.  

I've done the drink card thing on a 7-day cruise.  I much prefer that over the drink package which I will never drink enough to make it worth it.  

When are your cruises?
CWC ends April 30, 2022.    That used to seem like such a distant date but in the lifecycle of cruise bookings it isn't that far into the future.   Plus any FCC obtained through CWC has to used by April 30, 2022 for cruises through September 2022.  As time marches forward those dates will soon be upon us relative to the lifecycle of cruise bookings.  If you cruise often that won't be an issue but if you book just one or two per year and it's hard to coordinate time off work/school and family schedules that could make it harder to find replacement cruises.  Lastly CWC eligibility ends July 31, 2021.  If book in August CWC won't be a tool in your toolbox. 
I also expect airlines will soon return to the old ways of more change fees, at least those that did before. We may have a few more months of waived airline fees but once traffic comes back so will the fees, IMO.

Trip insurance is complicated. There is no simple answer to your questions. I provided a link below that helps explain "trip costs." The link is to a popular web site for pricing insurance called InsureMyTrip. There's lots of helpful information within the web site. I've used if forever. Handy.
https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-policies-and-claims/trip-cost/
Figuring out what your pre-paid trip costs are is the key to getting the insurance you need, no more, and determines your cost for the insurance. Here's a link that discusses this very important area:
https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-policies-and-claims/trip-cost/
 An important thing to do is purchase your insurance plan to cover whatever advance/prepaid costs your shelling out to start with. You can add new costs later, of course, at a price. There are disadvantages to waiting until you are past the insurance companies "buy by" date. Those are explained at InsureMyTrip. Basically, you loose some benefits if you don't buy the plan by the company's "buy by date."
Assess your medical risk. If you have one, assess what your existing health insurance policy covers. Most US based insurance plans won't cover medical costs you might incur outside the US. You can't predict injuries that require medical care. You can predict (estimate is a better term) your health risk from chronic disease. These are higher as you get older. Smaller at younger ages. It would be nice if you could buy "only what you think you need on medical coverage." That's not how it works. You have tiered coverages for medical expenses, e.g., $10K, $20k $100K, etc. The younger and healthier your family is, the less coverage you need - to a point. It's not unusual for a complicated fracture to cost upwards of $10K.
Without question, the most expensive thing that can happen to you on a cruise is if you become ill or are seriously injured and have to be medivaced. TBH, the chances are small but they exist and increase with age as stroke and heart attacks become more likely. Those two events are likely to exceed the capability of the medical department aboard to care for you. Sepsis (really bad infections) is another. You are going to get transferred, possibly by air, to a hospital that can provide the appropriate level of care. a bill for that for $250K isn't unreasonable. There is tiered coverage here also. If it fits in your budget and you evaluate your risk of something happening requiring you to be air-lifted off a ship is high don't get coverage under $250K. If you risk of that happening is low, you can go with less. I'd recommend not less than $100K for medical evac but seek out other views on this from professional agents. TBF, if you have a questions, the selling insurance agents from reputable insurance companies will provide good information.
Spend some time looking around the web for information. Forget social media, you are more likely to get misinformed. Another option is to find an independent travel insurance broker in your area. They're around and can help guide you through the process. 

Also check out https://www.travelinsurance.com. It compares companies and has reasonable rates as well as complete coverages. Good luck!

If you aren't specifically buying Royal's protection plan, usually trip insurance is covering you from when you leave your house until you get back home.  If something happens and you are past that 48 hour mark and can't cancel, that's where your trip insurance would kick in.  If your trip is delayed/extended the trip interruption costs will cover hotel costs. meals, incidentals for expenses that you incur.  Those are headaches compared to the big expenses relative to medical expenses, so if you could absorb those costs out of pocket and it not financially devastate you then it's probably okay to self-insure those.

Not a member of star class personally so it's probably jealousy.  All I know is I'll be enjoying my "Vax-Class" perks when I'm sailing in Aug. ?

Not a member of star class personally so it's probably jealousy.  All I know is I'll be enjoying my "Vax-Class" perks when I'm sailing in Aug. ?

Not a member of star class personally so it's probably jealousy.  All I know is I'll be enjoying my "Vax-Class" perks when I'm sailing in Aug. ?

Just what RC posted on their site.  No reason given but I suspect this is the period where they stated if a passenger tested positive for COVID-19 they would make arrangements and pay for their medical evacuation and quarantine so if you booked during that period you had that contractual guarantee.  Now they are changing the contract saying you need insurance.  Again, just a guess.   In any case, I always get travel insurance for my cruises because you never know.

Could it be that during that period RCC said if you caught Covid on the ship the would foot the bill for medical evacuation and other Covid 19 travel expenses to get you back home and now they are saying you need to have insurance to cover those expenses?

I agree... this is a good accommodation.   If you look all the vaccine-only events/venues would be for adults 16+ anyway and all the potentially family events/venues are still available to do as a family with unvaxxed kids.   Basically RC is encouraging those who can be vaxxed to do so and if your not and don't like the restrictions they put in place you can choose to take the refund just like getting the vaccine is a choice.   

I agree... this is a good accommodation.   If you look all the vaccine-only events/venues would be for adults 16+ anyway and all the potentially family events/venues are still available to do as a family with unvaxxed kids.   Basically RC is encouraging those who can be vaxxed to do so and if your not and don't like the restrictions they put in place you can choose to take the refund just like getting the vaccine is a choice.   

This is great news.  Fairly new cruiser but by the end of Dec 2022 I'll move up to Emerald.   Trying to convince the wife to go on 12 more nights of cruises to get Diamond.  ?

This is great news.  Fairly new cruiser but by the end of Dec 2022 I'll move up to Emerald.   Trying to convince the wife to go on 12 more nights of cruises to get Diamond.  ?

And "...but here are the new protocols this week"

And "...but here are the new protocols this week"

All the promo emails they send should have the subject line begin with "no your cruise isn't canceled" just to avoid mini heart attacks several times per week

Just saw this...
CNBC: Two guests aboard Royal Caribbean cruise test positive for Covid.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/24/two-guests-aboard-royal-caribbean-cruise-test-positive-for-covid.html
I wonder if Matt has some first hand insights to report from the passenger perspective. 

I think two classes of people is the only way to have a mixed vaccination status passenger manifest at least this early on in the restart.  While I would rather it be all vaccinated this is an acceptable compromise.   
But technically there are 4 classes of people here:
1) suite Vax
2) suite non-vax
3) non-suite Vax
4) non-suite non Vax.
?

Well that question is a sure way to get this thread locked.  ? 
I'll give my simple perspective... vaccines aren't as protective against the new variants/strains of COVID and the biggest threat is the Delta strain which is the cause of surges in the UK and is taking a foothold in the US.  So even vaccinated people are still "at risk" of catching COVID, abet a milder form and hopefully not bad enough to allow that person to spread the disease (research is still out on that).  On a cruise however you feel more "at risk" because if you catch COVID, you may have to cut the cruise short due to the protocols and I know I don't want that for me having waited so long to get a boat.

Well that question is a sure way to get this thread locked.  ? 
I'll give my simple perspective... vaccines aren't as protective against the new variants/strains of COVID and the biggest threat is the Delta strain which is the cause of surges in the UK and is taking a foothold in the US.  So even vaccinated people are still "at risk" of catching COVID, abet a milder form and hopefully not bad enough to allow that person to spread the disease (research is still out on that).  On a cruise however you feel more "at risk" because if you catch COVID, you may have to cut the cruise short due to the protocols and I know I don't want that for me having waited so long to get a boat.

Well that question is a sure way to get this thread locked.  ? 
I'll give my simple perspective... vaccines aren't as protective against the new variants/strains of COVID and the biggest threat is the Delta strain which is the cause of surges in the UK and is taking a foothold in the US.  So even vaccinated people are still "at risk" of catching COVID, abet a milder form and hopefully not bad enough to allow that person to spread the disease (research is still out on that).  On a cruise however you feel more "at risk" because if you catch COVID, you may have to cut the cruise short due to the protocols and I know I don't want that for me having waited so long to get a boat.