Reigert2008

4 minutes ago, Patt Whitmore said:

I will be cruising with a mobility scooter for the first time on my upcoming cruise.  

Has anyone seen cruisers on scooters in Coco Cay?  I am fully aware that they cannot traverse sand, but it looks like there are walkways between areas that could indeed handle a scooter. (On the videos I have seen, at least)  I can walk short distances ... such as from the walkways across sand  to a lounger,  so I was thinking it would be ideal if I could use my scooter between areas on the island.  I would have to tuck it out of the way to "park" it so that it would not get in anyone else's way - good etiquette for sure.

For anyone who has been on Coco Cay, does this sound doable? Have you ever seen this before?  I understand there are trams but I am worried about the amount of walking I would have to do after getting off the tram and the standing that might be needed to wait for a tram.

I will appreciate any thoughts or experiences with this topic.  .  

We were there in August and had a family member who uses a wheel chair much like you and the scooter.  We were able to get off the ship push her chair along the paved walkways and then used a "beach wheelchair" for in the sand when the distance was too far for her to walk.  Royal was really helpful on the island making sure we were taken care of, so I bet you won't have any issues.

43 minutes ago, Glrynote said:

I have questions about traveling with my husband who uses an electronic scooter to get around.  Is there a blog or specific information online that offers info regarding excursions?  Specifically whether handicapped cruisers will be able to get on boats when the ship has to be anchored a ways from the port?

Thanks.

If you haven't yet, you should fill out the form at the link below.  It will assist Royal in knowing what your needs are and how they can best accommodate them.  I use the form for my CPAP and and other family have used it for when bringing accessibility equipment onboard.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/guest-special-needs

Since the Explorer did her test sailing this past weekend, has anyone seen an official announcement that she has been approved to start sailing?  Her first on is scheduled for this Sunday.  The CDC page says she is approved for simulated, but that was the last i saw.

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html

13 minutes ago, NancyL2648 said:

Past final payment for my January 30, 2022 cruise on the Oasis.  I noticed my cabin is now about $1500 less....Is it possible to get the difference refunded at this point?

 

Yes!  under the Best price guarantee, you can get the difference as OBC for your cruise.  You will need to have your TA contact Royal or do it yourself if you did not use a TA.  Once the OBC is in your cruise planner, you can then cancel and re-buy items to use up the credits.  As you cancel items, the money would be refunded to your original form of payment.  

my in-laws were about to do this on a cruise we did in August.

Look in your cruise documents (even your RCI receipts and you shoudl see a column much like the one in the image (taken from our 2018 Alaska cruise).  "D" is Docked, "C" is cruising, and 'T" woudl be tendered.  We haven't had to tender on a RCI cruise yet, but will be in the future.

29 minutes ago, Ken Edgar said:

Yes, I was booked on the Nov 14th Explorer of the seas, in addition to the 3 ports listed above, St. Johns, Antigua was a 4th on the list that must have just been removed.   The only other 2 ports we would get full access on our trip was St. Martin and St. Thomas, this is why I decided to cancel our trip and will book something next year with the credit.   Instead I was able to make arrangements for a few days in Puerto Rico since I had airfare already booked and then a week at a resort in the Dominican Republic.  

I can see you are a very seasoned cruiser.   This was our 1st and until I know how I will like it, didn't want to be stuck on the ship as much as it was seeming we would be until we know how we like it.  This is the reason I booked the one I did with 7 day cruise stopping at different port everyday.   I had also booked an inside cabin thinking we would only be on the ship each night getting off during the day.  

Does anyone know how long it takes to get the FCC credit issued?   Just wanting to start looking at the next cruise.   Will the internet and drink packages automatically get refunded?   I submitted the cancellation via the online form.

Thanks

we were the same way with our first cruise, we booked a 4 night one as a test and within a few hours had known we should have done a longer cruise

The standard line is that it will take 30 days to refund your cruise planner and 30 days to get the FCC,but of course timing could be different in reality.  I’d you haven’t cancelled your cruise already, then you can go into the cruise planner and cancel them to get the refunds faster than Royal’s process.  
 

I would also recommend using a travel agent, even if you only use them for cruises.  I’m the planner of the family and plan all our trips,  but with cruises I utilize a travel agent.  They can help navigate the cruise waters during smooth seas (normal times) and especially in rough seas (Covid).  We use an agent with MEI travel (a sponsor of the blog), but the most important thing is that you have a good agent  that you can work with.  

link to @Matt’s post about travel agents — https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/06/15/top-things-you-didnt-know-travel-agents-can-do-your-cruise-vacation

Good Luck!

6 minutes ago, Rob&Ana said:

Not sure the ships test will work with the new 2 day requirement. If they tested you on Friday you would be OK but they will test you on Thursday...so you will not qualify unless they have a special exemption for B2B. (Maybe you will be able to get a test that morning before you disembark...but I would doubt it....)

We leave the Oasis on Dec 12th and fly to LA to board the Navigator on the 13th...but because our first cruise on the Navigator is only 3 days I think they don't require a Covid test to board....I think we will ask to a test on Oasis just in case.

I would double check the testing requirements, I think everyone needs to be tested regardless of cruise length.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

1 hour ago, Rottimom said:

Can you share which ports you can not get off in without a excursion purchase?  I am booked for January and things might change by then but would like to be prepared if they do not.

PS I suspect the on-board entertainment will be offering more things to do on ship when in port than they did pre-pandemic.   I have cruised RC, Princess, Carnival and Disney with RC being my favorite if I am not traveling with small children (Disney wins with small children.)

Thank you.

Here’s the part for the November protocols.  I only see 3 ports that are affected. We are on a November cruise and had to book some excursions. We normally just wander around so this was our only option to get off the ship in the ports we’ve never been to. My advice is to just roll with it and enjoy the trip, even if you stay on the ship.  

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

Are they aiming for maximum stress before sailing? Do they really want us to sail? I totally don't feel warm and fuzzy about sailing with them as much anymore. Jump through all these hoops and MAYBE we will let you sail, smh....

I see this validation step as a positive thing.  I assume you would find out if there is a problem before you arrive.  For example, my in-laws had a small issue where thier CDC cards did not have the date visible on the card.  They have a sticket with some details and it apparently covered the date.  We had a few moments of panic while we pulled up thier vaccine records on our phones for proof but were able to board after that with no issues.  Had we been able to to upload our cards for that cruise, Royal could have let us know we need to see the dates and we could have figured it out at home and not in Miami.  

(Note:  the dates are on the cards and had we removed the cards from the protective cover we would have easily seen the date and breezed through.  We now know that for the next in early 2022!)

3 minutes ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Hello to anyone who has recently returned from a cruise.  My husband is wondering how cool it gets at night while walking around outside areas.  He is debating on taking a pair of long pants or just sticking with shorts.  I told him it probably gets windy so definitely a sweatshirt…right?  
Thanks for advice!!!

of course, it all depends on when you cruise, where you cruise, and your own comfirt levels.  If he is on the fence, it never hurts to pack a long pair of pants and a sweatshirt.   For Caribbean cruises, i've always worn shorts and a t-shirt in the evenings even when outside, but my wife will be there next to me in near artic wear

Cafe promenade is my go to location.  Get to know the baristas and your dink will hit the counter before you finish the order! Flavor selections are kinda limited, especially on the sugar free side, but they will make anything you want.  This even includes the blended coffee drinks.  

8 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Bring 2 $20s and 2 $5s, you've got your taxi fare+tip for both trips

That's funny.  I was just thinking I needed 2 x $20's, 2 x $10's, and 2 x $5's ($35 each way) to account for an added fuel fee of $1.50 and $1 per bag that I read about on some other page, that I cannot find now.

Thanks!
 

Do the taxis accept credit cards?  We don't normally carry too much cash, so may need to adjust our plans on that side.  Found this on the airport site.  Looks like it is $21 to Zone 4 (where the port / Sheraton is located)

https://www.san-juan-airport.com/taxi.php

Thanks!

Decided to look in my Lyft app to see an approximate cost for transportation to the hotel and learned that Lyft (or any rideshare) is not available in San Juan.  I see on the SJU website that you can schedule a transfer, but it is far more expensive than a taxi.  I also see that there are multiple taxi companies available and wondered if anyone has one that they would recommend.  We're staying at the Sheraton in Old San Juan and will be calling them for a recommendation  as well.  Thanks!

I would never pay off my cruise until the last possible moment (maybe a day early .  Price drops could still occur and then you would get OBC instead of the lower price.  

We recently had this happen to ours.  It was all fine when we checked in, then the options disappeared.  They are back this morning and they finally moved our room from when they sent that email a while back.  Now just waiting for the cruise documents to update.

5 minutes ago, steverk said:

That is a bit confusing.  I'm doing a 1 night pre cruise stay.  Since I really didn't see any way to enter in my full itinerary, I put down the ship as my lodging.  That is the major stop, so I figured it was the best option.

We are also flying in the day before and staying at a hotel, so we filled out a form that lists the hotel as our lodging for the one night.  I assume that we would at least find out something on the cruise if we need it post-cruise, but the only options on the form are Flight or Ferry.  

7 minutes ago, steverk said:

I see that this morning San Juan is listed as a departure port.  Everything looks pretty much the same as other US ports except 3 of my ports of call require ship board excursions

Oh! and you need to fill out the TravelSafe declaration to fly to Puerto Rico!

Yeah, that's what I see as well.  We booked some excursions for Barbados, St. Luca, and St. Kitts last night.  We didn't want to have to try and explain to people that "it looked great from the ship" and we still had OBC from a canceled cruise that we needed to spend, so it wasn't a lot of new "out of pocket expense".

You can fill out your travel form basically anytime.  When you do, you will enter in the date as MM-DD-YYYY, but when it show up on your travel profile as DD-MM-YYYY, so don't get confused.

We are still trying to figure out if we need a new travel safe form for the one night post-cruise that we will be in Puerto rRco and which option to pick since we won't be flying in.

17 minutes ago, Sharla said:

I would go with the November protocols that came out yesterday. Puerto Rico is part of the US, but the other ports won't be so Royal and others are subject to the requirements of those countries.

Thanks!  Now that I have read a million things and slept a little, i think my concern was "Do I need to be tested 3 days before flying from Puerto Rico to my home in the mainland" ".  Since we have never traveled directly to and from Puerto Rico, our brains have been having a hard time reconciling that Puerto Rico is mostly like the US, but not always.

I also saw in the Royal protocols that anyone needing a test to return to thier home country can get one on the ship, so at the worst, that would cover it.

We got such a good deal on this cruise, it will be worth the extra steps.  

Saw this link in another thread and now wonder if this will affect Vaccinated Americans cruising from Puerto Rico.

Link -- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-administration-unveils-vaccine-testing-requirements-travel-u-s-n1282288

Quote from article "Beginning Nov. 8, unvaccinated U.S. citizens and long-term residents will have to present a negative Covid test taken a day before re-entering the country, and unvaccinated foreign nationals will be able to enter only in limited circumstances, an administration official said Monday. Fully vaccinated Americans will have to be tested three days before travel. "

Maybe one of the TA's that frequent the boards has an idea. Maybe @Sharla?  (sorry I don't personally know her, but i enjoy seeing the information she provides.)

My TA for this Puerto Rico cruise has not been helpful and is the last of the items i have with this agency.  I'm reaching out to them for guidance, but am not hopeful for a response.  

I've already switched my TA needs to MEI Travel and have used them for 2 cruises and a land based trip, just have to get through this last non-MEI one...

You can also cancel anything you used your credit card for in the cruise planner and re-buy with the onboard credit (making sure the price is not higher of course).  We did that with some drink packages back in August.  

Puerto Rico protocols released today for November.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/getting-ready-to-cruise

14 hours ago, Moxiegirl1977 said:

Hi, my fam has 2 cabins (2 adults, 2 teens), which have separate reservation numbers. How do I help get the 4 of us the same embarkation time? Don’t really want the kids managing themselves, lol.

You need to link the two reservations for this and for dining.  You can link them in the app/website, have your TA do it, or call Royal to do it.  Once the reservations are linked, one person can check everyone in. I’ve been doing it for my in-laws for a while and just checked in three different reservations a few months ago. My mother in law and father in law don’t even know how to login

Last I heard, the reservations have to be linked before you embark so that the cabins can be seated together.  If you link it in the app, I would still have your TA or Royal confirm they are linked for dining.

1 hour ago, Mayle said:

Ok I will try that. We are flying Friday and staying overnight at a hotel the day before. So we don't have a car she can wait in. We were taking the free shuttle from the hotel to the port

I totally get it, we had  everything planned a limo service out to be at the port in Miami about 5 minutes after our window opened and then apparently there was no traffic that day we still ended up being there 20 minutes early.  It’s not fun just hanging around.

I'd have your travel agent call Royal (or you call) and ask how to resolve it.  Since you are on the same reservation number, they may be able to find a compromise by moving you back a little and her up a little.  No sense in being stressed and having to wait outside at the port.  Royal is really enforcing the arrival times and there may or may not be a space for you to wait, unless you wait in your car if you drove.