JasonOasis

It isn't supposed to get cold at least not like the refrigerator in your house. Those fridges are designed to keep items cool, not cold and I've always found that they've done their job at keeping bottle water, beer stuff like that cool. They are not designed to keep food cold (at proper temperature) or for holding medication that must be kept cold.

What did your original cruise documents show that were emailed to you? Did you make the booking here in the United States, Europe, South America, Australia, or Asia? If you made the booking here in the States perhaps the person didn't understand or even know about Golden Junior Suites. I understand you requested a golden junior suite but is that what they actually booked you into? Were you actually downgraded or was the mistake made when you booked and the representative booked you into a regular junior suite instead of a golden junior suite? Royal does have a lot of representatives and some don't know aspect of Royal and that is no excuse representatives should know everything about the line they work for. But I wonder if the mistake was made at actual booking where the representative didn't know about Golden Junior Suites and mistakenly booked you into a regular junior suite and did actually charge you for the golden access and somehow it was overlooked by both parties when the cruise documents were emailed out to you. The reason I'm asking what your original cruise documents stated is because the junior suite is the same size no matter the deck but the location of the Golden Suites is different and that may be the reason they couldn't help you when you called back is because all the Golden junior suites were sold out.

I don't know if you have a yearly subscription to Clear or not. If not Clear cost $189 dollars per year (they raised their prices in 2022, the blamed inflation). MIA does have Clear stations but only at select number of checkpoints. There may or may not be a Clear station at the terminal your are flying out of. On the other hand TSA PreCheck only cost $85 dollars and is good for 5 years. Even with as much as I used to travel before covid and the limited amount of travel I do now I don't think Clear is worth the cost. In most cases Clear only saves a person 1 or 2 minutes verses TSA Pre. Last week I traveled to Atlanta on my way home their was a line for both TSA Pre and Clear. The people in the Clear line probably got through security 2-3 minutes faster than I did. The problem with Clear is the same problem TSA Pre has which isn't checking your documents/ scanning your face, the problem that causes the backups is people and their bags going through the actually screening x-ray process.

My husband also does not eat seafood, we went to Hooks on both Symphony and Wonder and they have more than just seafood on the menu.

The wait time for passports has come down significantly from where it was at the height of the pandemic. If you are 6 months out I would strongly suggest you get passports. It is never a good idea to leave the country without your passport, even if you are taking a cruise you are still leaving the US, get and bring your passport.

I'm wondering what does your original cruise documents say? When is your set sail date? Your stateroom or category of stateroom if you were booked into a suite guarantee would be on your original cruise documents. What ship or class of ship were you booked on where they are now sold out until 2024?

I never thought to do something like that. You have peaked my interest in make your own resort for a day. This is why I love the blogs because I never would have thought to do something like that.

I've cruised out of NJ with Royal multiple times doing the Orlando/Bahamas cruise and I will say this the first cruise I ever took out of NJ on Anthem we went to Universal and there simply wasn't enough time to actually enjoy the park. All the other times we sailed on that cruise we've done our own shore excursions but have never again done Universal because it takes at least an hour (more if there is traffic) just to get to Orlando and there are no price cuts on admission to these theme parks simple because you show up at 1:30 or 2 pm. I wish Royal could get into port at Port Canaveral around 7 or 8 am and still leave at 9 pm then I think it would be worth it but a 12 pm arrival and a 9 pm departure does not give you enough time at all if you are going to Disney World or Universal.

So let's take this a bit further and say for example on a 7 night cruise your stateroom or suite is only cleaned 2 or 3 times max during those 7 nights. Should you still pay ( cruise line charge your for) gratuities for the additional 4 nights if you received no service at all from a stateroom attendant? Now think about how that might effect stateroom attendants overall pay. This is such a mirky issue because there will be people who will question why they are being charged 7 nights worth of gratuities if they are only getting service 2 or 3 times during a cruise and that would put a tremendous amount of financial pressure on stateroom attendants pay. After the am cleaning I put the sleeping it off sign out because I don't need the turndown service at night. But if this becomes a trend industry wide cruise lines would either have to raise the hourly pay for stateroom attendants or they will have a really hard time filling those positions because people may start to balk at the idea of paying for services they aren't actually receiving which means stateroom attendants would see a drop in pay.

I understand why they want to do this part of it is probably their desire to go green but I think the real reason they want to do this is because of staffing shortages. I'm a clean person I even will partially make the bed, not as good as house keeping but I will make the bed after I get out of it (my mother instilled that in my as a child), but I like having a clean stateroom/suite, I like having fresh towels every day, in my opinion it is part of the cruise experience. I'm back to traveling a bit for work not as much as I used to before covid but I do travel for work. What I've notices is hotels say they are not cleaning rooms every day because the customers don't want it but when I've talked to housekeeping they absolutely hate not cleaning the rooms everyday because when they do clean the rooms they have to spend almost 3 times the amount of time cleaning a room than they would when they were cleaning it everyday. And of course management is breathing down their necks to get the rooms clean and back in inventory. Post pandemic there have been hotel rooms that I've walked into where I walked out and went back to the front desk to demand a new room because the room wasn't clean like it should have been. Again I don't blame housekeeping they are working their butts off, I blame the hotels and it has nothing to do with going green or less contact and everything to do with money. In some regards the cruise experience has already been diminished and in my opinion that is part of the cruise experience and I don't want to see cruise lines follow this trend.

Is this what you used when you uploaded your vaccine information to Royal when you checked-in online? If that is the case I would still bring this document. Your original question was would they accept a picture of the card on your phone and the answer to that is no you have to have the physical document whether it is a card or the alternative document the state issued you at the time. Whatever physical document you have been issued you need to bring with you a photo on your phone is not good enough. Hopefully this answers your original question.

I've done multiple cruises since the resumption of cruising in the US and we've always brought the physical card with us and every person we've seen has their card with them as well. You can roll the dice if you want to, but if you really want to get on the ship without running into issues I would suggest you bring your actual vaccination card with you.

Every cruise that I've taken I've always without fail had envelopes left in my stateroom on the last night for any additional tips that I wished to leave. I've never had any crew member ask me for any additional tip I will leave an additional tip at my discretion but the envelopes are always there in the room on the last night of the cruise.

This was quietly announced 2 or 3 days ago right after American released their Q2 earnings. American has announced they are cutting 90,000 flights from their schedule starting in August through December in a move to restore reliability to their schedule going forward. That equates to around 18,000 flight per month or 600 flights per day. However keep in mind American Airlines is by far the largest airline in the world and I believe they operate over 4900 flights daily (or at least that was what they scheduled). According to multiple article the reduction in flights has already been loaded in the system Cirium (industry insiders and airlines use this system to track schedules and flights). https://dentonrc.com/news/state/american-airlines-cuts-more-summer-and-fall-flights-to-boost-reliability/article_0c55ae9c-3849-58a3-a80f-2e56893f6aa3.html Part of this schedule reduction is also being driving by the fact the FAA limits commercial pilots to no more than 1,000 total flight hours per year. And even with all the cancellations at the airline I work for pilots have already rack up more overtime flight hours this year than they did in 2018 and 2019 combined. At the airline I work for we already have some pilots in the 600 flight hour range (pilots can fly up to 100 hours every month). If the airline I work for already has pilots in the low 600 flight hour range I'm sure American which is much larger has to have pilots knocking on the door of 700 hours which isn't a good place to be at the end of July. Keep in mind during a typical year most senior pilots will have around 600 total flight hours and junior pilots will rack up between 700 and 800 total flight hours (junior pilots want to make more money therefore they pick up more trips/overtime than senior pilots who are already making top dollar and are looking for more of a work life balance). American Airlines is not alone both Delta and United have trimmed their schedules for the remainder of the year as well though not as much as American because they are not as big as American. So while American paints this a bid to improve reliability for the remainder of the year the real reason we are seeing these airlines cut flights from August through the end of December is because if they don't trim their schedules to reduce the number of flight hours to better match the pilots they have and pilots continue to rake in the overtime the airline runs the risk of having pilots time out right in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel season.

When did you book the sailing was it before March 31, 2022? Secondly in a later posted you state you booked it on the US website, have you called Royal directly because if the issue is you now need to switch sailings then all you would have to do is pay $100 dollar change fee. I would start by getting Royal on the phone because depending on when you actually booked this sailing (before March 31, 2022) if the actual set sail date is before September 30, 2022 then cruise with confidence does apply to your sailing. However if the day of the booking or the actual set sail date falls outside the dates given on the email then normal cancellation policy is in effect. And it might be better to simply switch your ship and sail date and pay the change fee than to straight out cancel but I suggest you call Royal since you booked this online..

I completely disagree with you on the issue of testing for one simple reason according to the CDC as a result of the vaccines the incubation period for covid can now be up to 14 days. And during that incubation period an individual can test negative for the virus and have no symptoms. This is also a reason why I'm against post-cruise mandatory testing or reporting and why I say people who say they got covid on a cruise should be very careful making that statement. An individual could have covid before they board the cruise, test negative, feel fine for the entire 7 night cruise then feel like crap right after the cruise ends. Naturally they would think they got covid onboard the ship but the truth is they could have had covid before the cruise ever set sail but were in the incubation period which has changed from what it was in 2020 and 2021. I think the vaccine requirement for adults will remain at least through the end of the year but pre-cruise testing needs to go away because it is not preventing covid onboard ships thanks to the longer incubation period. Vaccines prevent serious illness and will keep a ships medical facilities from being overrun which is what the vaccine is supposed to do. In my opinion anyone who is concerned about covid on cruise ships should not cruise at this time.

No they do have GTY's for Suites as well but there is of course much less inventory at that level and once they've sold all their suite GTY's they will not offer or sale any more for the particular cruise. When I first started booking suites some years ago I would alway used the suite GTY because it was a more affordable way to get into a suite. I no longer do that now as we can now comfortably afford owners and crown loft suites but for those looking to get into a suite without having to do an upgrade the suite GTY is an option and can be a money saver but there are usually only a handful of suite GTYs offer per cruise.

Someone has to go first and I think Virgin Voyages is small enough that their decision will not make headline news on major networks. The fall season starts in middle of September I think by then at the latest most cruise lines will have dropped their pre-covid testing requirement.

It is a great deal, Azamara had old ships that were not designed for the ultra-luxury market Azamara was hoping to move into. Silver Seas is already in the ultra-luxury cruise market and the addition of this brand new (ship was built/delivered in 2021) expedition type ship should open up parts of the Arctic and the Antarctic to Silver Seas customers. While Royal Caribbean Group will do some modification to the ship so that it represents the Silver Seas brand, for all intents and purposes Royal; purchased an ultra-luxurious expedition style vessel and saved at least $100 million dollars in the process. With the steep rise the industry is seeing in not only luxury cruises but also expedition style cruising the return on this investment is going to be huge for the Royal Caribbean Group. MSC Cruises is jumping into the ultra-luxury cruise market with their Explora Journeys Brand and the Ritz Carlton is still planning to launch their own ultra-luxury cruise brand in 2023. This segment of the market is growing and Royal scored a great deal on this purchase and this ship will allow them to go head to head with other expedition type cruise lines but doing it in a ultra-luxurious way which many expedition cruise lines don't offer. https://maritime-executive.com/article/crystal-s-expedition-ship-endeavor-sold-to-royal-caribbean-group

Congratulations on reaching D+ status we reached it right before the pandemic. It will take us years to reach Pinnacle even with booking suites but we are in it for the long haul. 5 free drinks per day. If you aren't a heavy vacation drinker you'll never have to buy a drink package again LOL!!!!

Did you book through a TA or with Royal directly? If you booked through a TA I would call them and see if they can help you out. TA's can be a very useful resource to have on your side in situations like this. However if you booked through Royal directly I still suggest you call the worst they can say is no but they also could say yes and move you to a different cabin if one is available.

I'm still waiting to read about covid restrictions...

Take your blessing and run with it, Star Class is Star Class. I also go an unbelievable deal on a 2 BT ATS on Harmony on the December 10, 2022 cruise, and we booked that at the NextCruise desk on Anthem. I could not believe the price of the suite when she quoted it and it was the only Star Class suite left on that cruise and the only Aqua Theater Suite remaining. I was looking for a 1 bedroom and she had none but their was this 2 BR ATS and the deal was to good to pass up for Star Class so we booked it.

Actually it is the Islands that are requiring this. While you can visit the Bahamas unvaccinated if you are flying you still must present a negative covid test taken within 72 hours of your arrival. Many of these islands are no longer requiring airlines to check and verify documentation but your documentation (vax card or test results) will be checked upon arrival in the Bahamas and the Bahamas according to their website can refuse entry to unvaccinated individuals if they believe there are issues with the documentation or if they think you have covid. Other islands in the Caribbean have similar policies in place. Jamaica also updated their policy on July 5, 2022, they no longer require unvaccinated individuals to present any covid test to enter Jamaica however it isn't a free for all or business as usual. Jamaica has warned unvaccinated individuals who choose to travel to their country if you should test positive you will be required (not optional) to quarantine for 10 days at a government quarantine facility. You may be released from quarantine to travel home but only if the medical officer at the facility signs off on your release and the destination country allows covid positive individuals to travel. St Maarten another popular destination also allows unvaccinated individuals to fly into their country. In addition to presenting a negative covid test taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival, all unvaccinated guest flying into St. Maarten must purchase (prior to arrival) covid-19 insurance it is mandatory and will be checked upon arrival in St Maarten. In addition to having covid-19 insurance and a negative test, unvaccinated travelers will be tested (at their own expense) at the airport upon arrival and must quarantine in their hotel room until the results of that test come back. I could go on and on about the restrictions still in place in the Caribbean for those who are unvaccinated. The responsibility to check this documentation should have never rested on the shoulders of the airlines but just because airlines have been removed from the equation does not mean they've flung the doors open to those who are unvaccinated. Having said that I do think the pre-cruise testing requirement will go away by the fall at the latest. If you're expecting cruise lines to drop the vaccine requirement I've always stated I think that requirement will remain in place through the end of this year.