PPPJJ-GCVAB

Same prices as the Summer Sale.

I yearn for the day when even a legit positive test doesn't require heavy protocols to be put into place.

Sounds like Royal is handling it well all the way around. They didn't immediately cause chaos, and did a second, more thorough test to confirm the results before making rash decisions.
I know it had to have been TERRIFYING but I'm glad you guys made it through and can finish out your cruise with no more drama!

Whew! Good point to not automatically freak out! Just read this in a Facebook group: 
 
Thought of the day, DO NOT PANIC!  We are beginning to wind down our amazing cruise on Adventure of the Seas with Royal Caribbean.  We departed from Nassau Bahamas on Saturday and have enjoyed a very relaxing time.  One requirement of re-entry to the United States is a negative Covid test.  Royal Caribbean International is currently offering this service to all passengers departing from the Bahamas.
We took our tests this morning and went on about our day at sea heading to Freeport as our last port of call.  The testing process was very simple by signing up via an email.  We were in and out in under 8 minutes.  Woohoo. Cocktail time with our favorite bartender in Schooner Lounge with some 90’s Trivia. 
A few minutes into trivia, some ship’s officers showed up and spoke to Tim for a moment and he said he was going to the cabin.  I was a bit puzzled until another officer approached me.  He said Tim’s Covid test was positive and he needed to go back to our quarters.  I was simply blown the $&@) away!  I dashed right up to the cabin.  Tim confirmed what they said and we both were in shock.  Here we are on a full day at sea, hundreds of miles from home, and totally freaking.  15 minutes later a guy from medical shows up to perform a PCR test, the one that takes a sample of your brain according to Tim. 
The phone rang while we were waiting.  I answered and the voice on the other end said he was chief of security.  I put Tim on and he walked him through some things on his phone to set up contract tracing.  I’m still freaking that we are going to be confined to our cabin, or confined to medical.  F$&@!!! OMG we are going to be on the news! 
I finally checked my email and my results were negative.  Woohoo!  I can make a mad dash to the bar for a cocktail before they can catch me.  I wasn’t even told to stay in the room.  I get to the bar and order drinks.  A few minutes later Tim shows up.  Omg, he broke out of jail.  I just knew they would find him and make him walk the plank.  Luckily the results of his PCR test came back NEGATIVE!  What a sigh of relief. 
Moral of the story, stay calm and DO NOT PANIC!  We can’t thank Royal Caribbean International for taking amazing care of us during an extremely emotional time.  Loyal to Royal!

How long does it take to find out if your bid wins?  

***** I have no children 
I have done 32 Disney cruises and 3 Royal cruises.  I have 6 Royal cruises booked and 1 Disney (Wish).
I have only sailed on the Oasis Class ships for Royal and honestly I have enjoyed it equal to Disney.  Entertainment on Royal to me is fantastic, but of course there are no Disney characters.  The Aqua 80's show in the aqua theater is the best show I have seen on any cruise ship.  The ship is clean and well cared for overall.  Food is just as good as Disney if not better....many more options but they do cost extra sometimes, also tons of options that do not.  Windjammers is fantastic and tons more options than what Disney has on their buffets.  Service is hands down better on Disney, and I think that is not surprising to anyone.  Disney is known for their service and always goes above and beyond, but honestly for 1/2 the cost I didn't have any issues that prevented me from enjoying myself.
Here is my very one negative about Royal and it is easily remedied by myself (or you).  Disney was my first cruise ever and the ships are gorgeous.  The ships were built so you could enjoy the ocean view no matter where you are on the ship....Deck 3, 4 and 5 all have the portholes to look out or the promenade deck with chairs.  To me The Oasis Class ships were built to look into the ship....so you see their promenade deck (inside shopping), the boardwalk, Central Park....each of these spaces are amazing but no outside views.  So I always booked an inside stateroom on Disney to minimize costs and on Royal it is important if you want an ocean view you need to choose a cabin that gives you that.  I know book an ocean view balcony.  This by no means ruined any vacation and there are nice spots around the ship to see the ocean .
 
Again I have 7 cruises booked currently, 6 on Royal and only 1 on the Disney Wish.  The Disney Wish is a 3 day next September that I am paying $2350 for 2 people and that is more or the same price as I am paying for each of my 7 day cruises on Royal.
 

I have never experienced anything like that but then again, I do not look for it, either.

I just noticed today in the Royal app that my Freedom of the seas sailing for November is now starting to identify certain areas with a (V*) to show which areas are for Vaccinated guests only. Obviously many things could change since technically the protocols for those sailings are not out yet . But I just wanted to pass that information along.

Agree on this for most of their coffees and espressos, but have you tried the blonde roast (regular coffee or espresso)? That's actually decent, and doesn't have the burnt popcorn taste of their other coffees.
Maybe it's a function of me still not finding a proper coffee, but I haven't been able to drink coffee black for years. I have some kind of sensitivity to the oils, or something similar, that gets my stomach roiling if I don't put a little bit of milk in it. Not much, like 2 ounces in a 16-ounce serving. And it's definitely specific to the hot-brewed coffee, because I can drink their cold brew black (even though it's not a blonde roast).
 
 
Sorry for the slight thread hijack. At least it's still on the topic of coffee. ? ☕️??

I wanted to quote, but Op and I are both Speechless

If built, a ship of that design may not pass a buoyancy test.

That's a rendering of Horseshoe of the Seas I believe.

I think it’s totally dependent on so many variables. Majority of the time my card Is charged about 1 week before the sail date but I’ve had one occasion where the upgrade was finalized at the port counter. 

I think it varies.  I found out about 2 weeks after I placed the bid.  I got the option to bid about 2 months before the cruise, so I found out about the upgrade about 6 weeks before sailing.  I don't know how typical this is.  I have seen others comment that their bid status was pending up to about 12 hours before boarding, at which point it switched to not accepted.

I'm new to RCL but I've found this is a complicated arena to get data on as few want to share info because technically the readers are their competitors. I'm going out on a limb, going on one of the adventure sailings out of Nassau in August but now there are domestic options so it's unlikely tons of people will sign up  from here on out plus you have to factor in capacity restrictions and our flight is essentially sold out as are many (no two seats together left) as we are about 6 weeks out and anyone looking to book will pick another sailing, I know I would have had I not booked it months ago when it was the only option because air has doubled in price since then. Prices are a bit higher now than when I booked and I booked a JS then bid on a GS and an OS. Only a couple of GS left and a bunch of OS left. I bid about 60% of the difference for GS but near minimum for OS hoping some GS would get moved to OS and I could have their GS. Per couple currently stands at 2850 for JS, 4600 gs and 7300 OS. But I paid closer to 2600 for JS, so my question is, do they go off the dollar net from the customer or the difference between the current prices. I gave all the details because I don;t care that much, I'm fine with a JS, if I get the upgrade, great, if not, I'm still on a cruise and not at work plus I'm not paying 7300, if I get the GS for a grand or the OS for 1500, great, but I don't see 5k more value, that puts it in viking territory.

This is going to get reported for at least the next month or so and then hopefully will just not be interesting anymore. 
 
Bottom line: there are going to be cases. We’ve seen the protocols work exactly as planned for 2 cruises now. 
 
All the people freaking out (mostly on Facebook) really should just stay home. Those that are comfortable and believe in the protocols climb aboard. 

On the flip side, if you have something that needs to be done or changed ASAP, you can call RCL and get it done immediately on your own ….. if you have a TA that’s hard to get in touch with, or that takes days to do what you ask, you could miss out on a price drop or anything else you might need done ASAP.
To me personally, not having control of my own reservation isn’t worth it, unless I’m getting OBC or something else from the TA for using them.
 

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I kinda want to know what Jack had to say, but I think I'd rather the thread just continue as is...

I might pontificate that there is nothing else for me to add to this worthy discussion...the insights I've already gained are incalculable. ? 

At first I thought about deleting the non post, but, after reading the comments, I think it's too valuable to get rid of.