VoidoftheSeas

Allure was using Malin+Goetz when we sailed on her in August. Hope that helps.

Given that I could hardly sleep on the Odyssey last month because of the rattling hangars, I'm very okay with this feature.

Does anyone happen to know which Royal Genies are currently on Wonder? We're booked for a Mediterranean cruise in June (yay Star Class!), and I'm trying to get some advanced info, if possible.

I booked online, but we got an email last week about the payment date change to April (sailing Wonder on Jun 5). Hope that helps.

All right! Day 1 was a success and we are halfway through day 2, already! Some highlights of boarding day: We arrived at Port Everglades about an hour early, but no one so much as asked about our scheduled boarding time. Just smooth straight through everything. Our kids are fully vaxxed, so no tests needed at the port. I will say that everything was much more efficient with vaxx and test verification this time around. It seems clear that they've made some improvements over the last year. That said, we did feel a bit of the hangover from our previous cruise being Star Class. There were a few times when it wasn't clear what we should do next, which obviously doesn't happen as SC when you literally have someone walking you from one part of the check-in process to the next. We were onboard a bit before the staterooms were open, so there was a little time to explore the ship and grab a quick bite at Sorrento's for lunch. The Odyssey is gorgeous and you can just feel the newness in every corner. It's so elegant and I love it! We registered the kids for Adventure Ocean, which took a little longer than expected. It was much easier when we did it onboard the Allure this past summer, but Odyssey really only has 2 AO areas, and there is a lot more of folks having to pick the hours they are going to be there. Each child is allocated 8 hours to start with, although, if previous experience plays out, it shouldn't be super difficult to find a spot if the girls decide they want to spend more time there. After AO, it was time to make Coastal Kitchen reservations for the week. We're only doing one specialty restaurant this trip (Wonderland!), so it's just CK for the rest of the trip. After making sure we were set up for the week, it was pool time, and time for some fruity drinks! Dinner at CK was filet (me) and roasted duck (Ashley). Always a delight. Post dinner was AO for the kids and just relaxing in Schooner bar with some piano music and a couple of Old Fashioneds. Overall, the first day was a bit more relaxing and less hectic than our previous cruises, which is nice, since that is the tone we wanted to have for this trip!

Lunch and layover in Midway. First leg was uneventful, though we nearly had a bathroom emergency right before landing. Everyone's all full up now and ready for the second leg to Florida. The energy is building!

Negative COVID tests have been acquired and we are on our way for an early spring break adventure! Who: David (that's me), Ashley (my wife) and our two girls (10 and 7). What: Odyssey of the freakin' Seas! Junior Suite, Room 9200 Where: Sailing from Fort Lauderdale and then it's on to CocoCay, Cozumel, Puerto Costa Maya When: Feb 20-26 ------------------ I am super excited about this sailing! It's the first trip with just our immediate family. We had a great Star Class adventure with my parents last summer aboard the Allure, but otherwise our previous cruises have just been my wife and me. Thanks to the new trend of multiple week long breaks in the spring, we jumped on this chance to get back on the water. We originally booked a large ocean view room, but the prices kept going down and we bumped up to a balcony and finally snagged a RoyalUp to a junior suite this past week. This is our first time on a Quantum class ship, and there is so much to do on Odyssey. First, we have our travel day (today). It's a long way from Seattle to Florida, after all. We stayed in a hotel near the airport for our 6:25a flight (oof!). Everyone's a bit groggy after a 4:15 wakeup, but the girls are already starting to drift off as I type this up from the plane. We'll be in the air soon and I could not be more pumped! Let's go!

Sailing on Odyssey, actually, but that's awesome. Congrats on the upgrade! All of my requests are still showing pending, but who knows what will happen, I guess.

Cool. I was looking more for the email letting me know that upgrades are available for the sailing. I'm prepared to wait all the way up to the last second to see if my bids are accepted! I now have this page bookmarked: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade And that'll be my go-to for RoyalUps in the future without waiting for RCCL to send me an email!

Oh wow! This is great! Thank you!

What was/is your final payment date for that cruise?

With final payment dates shifting all over the place, and RoyalUp not being available on every sailing, I'm wondering when people have been seeing RoyalUp emails coming across for recent cruises. I have a cruise scheduled for 2/20 (final payment date was this past weekend), and I'm wondering when I can expect to see a RoyalUp email come across, if it's going to. What's everyone's recent experience been? How soon after final payment date/before your sailing have you seen RoyalUp offers?

My wife and I are booked on Wonder of the Seas for June 5th. We've been pretty vigilant about everything cruise related for this trip (that also includes mainland stops), so here is my view: Buy travel insurance and trip protection. I'm normally opposed to both of these for frequent travelers, because it costs more in the long run, but these are exceptional circumstances. Anything is possible. Everything could shut down again between now and this summer. Be prepared for that possibility and know your options. 6 months is a long time in a Covid world. We have seen huge dips and massive spikes in case counts and fatality counts in just the past 6 months. I would take any current requirements as directional only. Track them, but make no assumptions about what they will be this summer. I do agree that they need to verify the requirements for all the ports - but RCL will also be doing this, and they will either set their guidelines to the strictest of those requirements or skip the port. It is highly unlikely that they will need to verify anything at the ports themselves. The ship will essentially declare the status of everyone on board to the port authority, who will decide whether the ship is allowed to port or not. Basically, as long as they are aware of the risks and understand that there is every likelihood that their trip could be cancelled, I don't see any reason to try to convince them not to go. If they intend to keep up with their vaccination status, they'll be set for whatever vaxx requirements there are wherever they go. It will really come down to whether EU countries are allowing US visitors at that time - and given how much stress has been on the EU tourism industry, my guess is that they will be.

Icon doesn't sail until 2024, though. And I would be very surprised if Icon doesn't get summer itineraries from Florida.

Just 13 for me. 6 in February, 7 in June. 2 weeks a year is about all I'm able to manage with a full time job and kids (and not living in Florida).

Over the last week, we've been working to shore up our pre-cruise itinerary, which has meant a couple of changes in venues. All very exciting stuff! First! We have decided not to go to Iceland this time around. Basically, after looking at everything there and thinking through our longer term travel plans, we want to wait to do Iceland until our kids are coming with us - mostly because we're not confident that we would want to go there a second time, and want to make sure our kids have the experience. So instead, we are going to start our trip in Amsterdam! Our current itinerary looks something like this: Day 0: Depart from Seattle. Flights, waiting, yawn. Day 1: Arrival in Amsterdam. Anne Frank House. Van Gogh Museum. Day 2: Train to Brussels. Grand Palace. Manneken Pis. Some kind of Belgian Chocolate. Train to Paris. Day 3: Pantheon. Notre Dame. Palais Garnier. Arc de Triomphe. Dinner at The Jules Verne (Eiffel Tower). Day 4: Paris Catacombs. Versailles. Day 5: The Louvre. Day 6: Train to Barcelona. Casa Battlo. Day 7: Picasso Museum. Barcelona Gothic Quarter. La Sagrada Familia. Parc Guell. Casa Mila. Days 8-15: Wonder of the Seas! Whew! I am exhausted just thinking about all of it, but I am also pretty excited about everything on our list. It's possible we will add another day in Barcelona, once the cruise is over, but that's still pretty up in the air and will likely depend on flights.

That's my expectation as well. And we got a killer deal on the Star Loft when we priced it in the first place, so I really doubt there will be any cost reduction for us at all.

What a whirlwind! As most people probably know, all of the Allure of the Seas sailings in the Mediterranean next summer have been replaced with Wonder of the Seas. Wonder is an incredible, brand-new ship. Yay! But, Wonder also has far fewer Star Class rooms available, including no Star Loft. Boo! We've been stressing over what will happen with our room for days. We've been looking forward to this experience and were really concerned about a downgrade from our Star Class suite. Well, now I know. We've been moved into a Grand Suite 1BR. Boo! But all our Star Class and amenities and benefits are being retained. Yay! It's basically the best I could have hoped for with the change, and while I am disappointed that we won't get the Star Loft room, I'm thrilled that we will still have a Star Class experience on the cruise, albeit in a slightly smaller room.

Well, we got the news that our Star Loft was switched to a Grand Suite 1BR. That's disappointing, but we also got an email that they are retaining all of the Star Class benefits and amenities for our sailing with a $300 OBC thrown in to boot. I'm still disappointed about the room change, but this makes it at least tolerable, and I'm still thrilled about the itinerary.

We had a Star Loft room on the Allure. I am not optimistic about our chances of retaining a Star Class room on Wonder. Looking at previous comments about these types of changes, I expect that Royal will not do anything to remedy the situation if we get moved to a Sky Class room.

Here's the full email text (on the same June 5th sailing): ----------------------------- Dear Guest, We’ve been diligently working to prepare for our Royal Comeback. It’s taken months of planning and coordinating to get up and running - from activating new homeports and communicating with local governments and authorities, to ensuring our new protocols maintain your wellbeing with our Healthy Sail Panel. As we continue to review and analyze our itinerary plans, we’ve decided to reposition some of our ships to offer our guests the very best experiences for our return to cruising. Our original plan for Allure of the Seas was to offer sailings departing from Barcelona, Spain and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy beginning April 2022. However, Wonder of the Seas - our newest and latest flagship - will now take its place. Unfortunately, this means your sailing will be cancelled. The good news is, Wonder of the Seas will offer similar itineraries! Starting September 22nd, we’ll automatically move you to a Wonder of the Seas sailing on the same day as your original Allure of the Seas sailing to help make the transition easier. This way, you’ll still have the opportunity to enjoy a sailing like you were looking forward to! We know how much time and effort go into planning your vacation and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change. While we’re confident you’ll have an amazing time onboard, your vacation is important to us - along with providing you the flexibility to make the best decision for you and those in your party. Below, we’ve outlined your options along with a few additional details. Option 1: Stay onboard the Wonder of the Seas cruise We’ll automatically move you to the Wonder of the Seas sailing departing on the same day as your original cruise. So, there’s nothing for you to do! Your new sailing will still offer the same beautiful destinations as your original cruise, and it’ll depart from the same destination. We’ll do our best to move you to a like-for-like stateroom and your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items. If you were already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for any difference in pricing. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment 30 days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. Lastly, as we return to service, our sailing protocols will continue to evolve. To stay informed and up-to-date, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/Health. Option 2: Select a 100% Refund If you no longer wish to sail, we’ll be sad to see you go. We’ll process a full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare to the original form(s) of payment, including any non-refundable deposit. You can expect to receive your refund 30 days after you submit your refund request. If you booked your airfare through Royal Caribbean International, it will be automatically refunded to you. However, if you booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them. Lastly, if you used a Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, and you request a refund instead, we’ll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we’ll reinstate your original certificate. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to shifting an entire season of sailings and rebooking all guests, so please bear with us as we work to make this process as easy as possible for you. All moves will be completed by October 13th, 2021, and we’ll send an updated reservation confirmation with your revised details to the email address on file as soon as your reservation has been completely updated with the pricing fully adjusted. If you prefer to cancel your cruise, please call us at 888-281-9344 or contact your Travel Advisor by October 20th, 2021. And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by October 20th, 2021, you’ll remain booked on the alternate Wonder of the Seas sailing. Should you decide to cancel after our moves are complete, you will continue to be covered by our Cruise with Confidence policy. If you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at: 1 800 754 500 in Australia In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005 1 866 562 7625 in the U.S. or Canada All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for your understanding. We hope you find another cruise vacation with us. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or looking to explore, relax, and recharge - we have no doubt your time with us will be nothing short of amazing. We look forward to welcoming you onboard. --------------

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

Well, looks like this might be up in the air pending Royal's decision on how they are going to handle moving folks from suites on Allure to suites on Wonder. We'll have to see what happens, but I'm not super excited about the idea of being placed in a Sky Class room for this cruise (just not the experience we were looking for). Hopefully everything works out well.

I had a Star Loft room booked on Allure this summer, so I am paying close attention to discover how they're going to manage those reservations. They are going to have some very unhappy customers if a bunch of people get downgraded from Star Class.

I just booked Odyssey for February. Looking forward to it!