mamie

Labadee is supposedly happening now or soon, so that should hopefully work for you in March.  San Juan may relax those restrictions, as they were given timelines each time the rule was made, and the rule was made with the latest surge, which may subside some more by then.  
Good news is that another option could be St Maarten.  It is certainly large enough to handle Symphony and at St Thomas you are right next door.  St. Kitts could be another but that would probably require bigger itinerary rework.  Nassau could also happen as well.  

St Thomas is just being picky on what ships can dock.

Puerto Rico is letting ships dock, but their testing requirement isn't practical enough for ships to want to do it.

People start back posting about chair hogs, sneaking into the diamond lounge, sharing drink packages, smuggling alcohol on board, snooty suite people and out of control children.  
The online cruise forums have been much politer during COVID.  

In October 2021 we rented a car from enterprise and drove to the airport. We sailed with 50 percent capacity so the time frames may have been faster than normal. We had a flight scheduled for 2:30pm out of Orlando. We arrived at Port Canaveral by 7am. We were able to get off the ship and went down to the enterprise area and did not have to wait because they had a representative waiting. We were the first couple to take the shuttle to their car rental. I checked in for an economy car but they asked us to a higher option car. Because I'm an awesome wife, I choose as a surprise for my husband to take back the Challenger (free of charge) which my husband was delighted to drive the latest year. He has 2014 challenger. Although, I briefly lost my credit card in the parking lot exiting the shuttle it was found by the driver and we were on the road pretty quickly. The drive is about 45 minutes we also took the toll which cost an extra $11.00 that enterprise charged and we arrived at the airport by 9 am.  It only took us an hour to drop off the car and go through security. We waited about four hours at the airport but they had a lot of stores (Universal and Disney) and decent food options to keep us entertained. I believe Orlando Airport recommends to arrive three hours before the flight. 

It was amazing!!! You will never experience a more relaxing cruise. I'm soo glad we decided to cruise during this time. It doesn't matter what you are doing plenty of room so no need to rush to find a spot. We went on Mariner of the Seas October 8, 2021. The ship only had 1,600 passengers on board versus the limit of 3,000. We were extremely lucky because we were the only ship at Perfect day. 

Just received an email, they canceled swimming with the pigs for my October 10,2021 excursion. 😢 

Just received an email, they canceled swimming with the pigs for my October 10,2021 excursion. 😢 

Yes, so you can get into the pool or hot tub. 

We used CVS for the rapid antigen test in the afternoon
We used Walgreens for the PCR test that same morning
It took 45 minutes from the time we took the test at CVS to get our results.  The technician called us and five minutes later we got the email, both negative.
Walgreens emailed my husband the day of our cruise, so three days later.  I did not get my Walgreens results until 6 days later.
If anyone wants details on how each place operates or anything let me know,  we live in NC.
Walgreens only allowed us to schedule 2 days from the time we needed.  CVS allowed me to schedule it a month out.
 

Gotta say, Royal is doing it right -- ship was about 30% capacity -- (I heard everything from 1200 to 1400 passengers).  The crew was incredibly attentive and happy to be sailing.   Chops Grille (my first time there) was delicious.  Check in was simple and staterooms were ready when we got on board.   We had a bit of a scare.   on night 3 (Nassau) We were scheduled to leave the port at 9pm and didn't leave until around midnight due to a passenger that needed medical attention.   I heard that the passenger had a fever and needed to find a hospital bed, but I also heard that the passenger was injured and needed medical attention.   Gotta admit it was a little worrisome, but AGAIN, Royal handled it as best they could. 
Now counting down to my next one in 7 weeks!!!   

As someone who is a diver, I would recommend looking at your local community center/YMCA or Padi shop to see if you can take classes and get your dive card. You get much more out of becoming a PADI certified diver than just the lesson you get on the ship before going out into the ocean.  I know it's not like they are taking you on a super deep dive where you need to worry about decompressing on your way back up, but there are safety things that you really should learn.  Can you do it on the ship and dive?? yes, of course.  Will you feel more comfortable and confident if you are better trained? you bet.  

Thanks, Matt! I must have missed that the first time I viewed the video when it was released. It's best to watch a couple of time as you provide detailed information.  

Spectrum of the Seas® Anthem of the Seas® Symphony of the Seas® Allure of the Seas® Harmony of the Seas® Oasis of the Seas® Freedom of the Seas® Independence of the Seas® Liberty of the Seas® Adventure of the Seas® Explorer of the Seas® Mariner of the Seas® Navigator of the Seas®
search FAQ on the  RCI page for all PADI information
 

Only Royal Caribbean's Oasis, Quantum and Radiance Class ships offer a thermal spa. Mariner is a Voyager Class ship, so they don't have it.
Mariner does have a complimentary sauna and steam room, but they are closed right now due to Covid
 

Are PADI lessons available and if so what ships have them? I would like to take a driving excursion but I need to learn how to dive. I appreciate any information and thanks in advance.

If you bought the Abbot ones, they are 24/7

Actually you raise a really really interesting question.
Let's say the 'ok to sail' order is given today. How long would a cruise line need to set sail? 
Tasks you'd need to find solutions for:
recruit/rehire staff from around world get staff to the ship (no small task with airlines  not flying, visa restrictions etc etc train/retrain staff (Probably some mandatory safety training at the vary least and refamiliarization) gain port access both in the ships 'home port' and any ports they want to visit (and again have all the approvals and process in place etc) logistics on food and supplies (Probably rather easy to spin up but would need some planning) make any ship alterations that are needed for virus protection (Probably doing now) you'd probably want to quarantine any staff on land for 14 days before you allow them to board (Organize hotels, you can book out, medical staff etc etc) and the million and one tasks I can't think of that i am sure is keeping someone awake at night. Staffing is going to be a nightmare. Normally only a few new staff are ever boarding a ship at a time (or coming from other ships in the fleet for new ships). The logistics of recruiting the staff, getting back staff you've let go (Many who may have found other jobs, etc etc) and then trying to negotiate with all the governments around the world to get them to the ships (transit issues, travel restrictions, visas, flight issues (though you'd probably hire planes) etc etc.
I imagine you'd look at getting enough staff/resources together for a ship or 2 at a time and ramp up over a period of time (Which could be months). 
There would easily be a months work there I would say if not 2. So many things have to go right and so many things that you have little control over. 
I imagine there are a lot of people who's sole job at the moment is to plan for this eventuality. I certainly don't envy them their task. It would certainly make an amazing documentary/case study in the future.
 

Yes and I'm going to party like it's 1999! I'm going to cruise at least twice next year. 

Yes and I'm going to party like it's 1999! I'm going to cruise at least twice next year. 

How you proceed will depend upon what you want to do.
If you want to Lift & Shift your cruise forward to the same time, next year, you can get your Travel Agent or Royal Caribbean to help you with determining your options for that.  This option price protects your cruise and extends it 1 year into the future (+ or - 4 weeks on either side of the original sail date).  Royal is being very accommodating with this option, giving you plenty of options for changing ships but keeping your current price.  It has proven to be very popular for people who can wait a year to sail.
If you want to book another cruise, but not have it price protected through L&S, you can either get a Future Cruise Credit (125% of the cruise fare value) or get a 100% cash refund, which would go back to your original form of payment.  If money is a concern for you, then you would need to wait until you either get the FCC or get your money back to book the replacement cruise.  While it has been taking VERY long to get your money refunded, recently the process time has improved.  If it were me, and I knew which replacement cruise I wanted to book, I would go ahead and book it now and apply the FCC or refund later.  With this latest round of cancellations, there will be a rush to rebook and perhaps price increases as a result.  I would want to get in there ahead of the rush...but that's just me.
Whatever you decide to do, you must either notify your Travel Agent or Royal and let them know what you want to do.
Good luck !!

There's an easy fix for that though ....
Passenger attempts to buy drink ... ding ... i'm sorry sir the computer says you haven't completed the EMuster so your charge privileges have been deactivated, please follow these instructions to reactivate your account.
 
 

Most likely, yes.  The only time I have known of B2Bers not having to physically disembark on turnaround day was when there was a very large B2B group, in which case CBP came onto the ship to process the B2Bers.  It is extremely rare for that to happen. 99% that you will be required to shortly disembark and reboard.  But you will be permitted to go to your cabin (if you wish) immediately.  You will not have to wait until 1:00 like the newbies.

Mamie,
I just got back from a back to back cruise in January and we did not have to disembark and embark again. You could either go off in the port and board again like a regular port or you could stay on the boat. 
I personally enjoy back to back cruises. I recommend staying in the same stateroom for both segments, otherwise you will have to pack and unpack, which is no fun.
I have a personal blog where I covered this topic in depth here if you would like to check it out. I also have done a lot of research into various back to back itineraries offered in 2021 and have laid them out here because I know how hard it can be to find these specific cruises.
I hope these tips help!

I noticed the prices have gone down so I called for a price adjustment and the new price was $654 less. In October 2019, I booked a balcony room on Symphony of the Seas 7 day cruise for October 2020 for $3262.16 and now it's $2608.16. I notified my friends who booked a stateroom and they were also given $600 price adjustment. 
RC representatives said to keep checking back and they will price adjust until final payment is made. For those who have cruises scheduled for the later part of the year I would call for the price adjustment.