Bowen

You're right! And then if another cruise does it differently they have to go back in and reevaluate, lol.

Showering, Sleeping....what's the third?

I have always been Loyal to Royal, but I'm going with the first line to drop the vaccine and testing mandates, no second thoughts. I'll come back to Royal when they do, but I'd rather cruise on any line that just lets me cruise without the stress. That said I do think they all end at the same time, all the lines.

I think most of the "vaccinated" in the US aren't up to date. I know there is information out there on booster uptake, but it was like half of the initial group, then the 2nd booster was half of that, etc. So a huge portion of the people the cruise lines consider vaccinate right now are actually not vaccinated. I think they should just go back to a health declaration. And they need to stop testing altogether. No tests means no outbreaks. Perfect.

I don't think it will matter as far as protocols they have in place already. They've done this before, right? Released protocols and then changed them before hand? I don't think anything keeps them to the September time frame, like it's not a legally binding thing. If people don't want to cruise with the new changes then they'll offer refunds, just like the people who booked under one protocol (no vaccine mandate, etc) and then the protocols changed and they refunded us.

From your fingers to RCLs ears.

Just saw this on the Twitter, so hopefully something soon.

Awesome, thank you! I just messaged her and asked her to just go ahead and try to get both weeks off, especially now in light of the CDC news, maybe we have a better chance of getting the exemptions approved.

We did star class, same suite, on Harmony. Great room! It was loud very often though, if they are practicing for the show, which they seemed to do every day in the early afternoon. No naps for you!

I am asking a lot, and I know it won't happen, but if they would make some changes and not leave the testing/vax protocols in place through September that would be awesome. Even give a little, like no more testing if you're vaccinated, antigen tests if you're unvaccinated, something.

Here here!

OMG please let this mean the end of vaccines and testing, please.

Yeah I'm going to have her ask. I guess if the exemptions don't come through then she can just tell them that she no longer needs the days. We'll start there.

We're supposed to be cruising a week in August and a week in September provided our religious exemptions come through. My mom just got Jury Duty for six months, every other Wednesday through the end of the year. And of course both weeks are dates that she is supposed to be sitting on the Grand Jury. We do have the RC vacation protection plan, so my question is, will this be covered? If I call and cancel because of jury duty, even though it's not for me, will I get a refund? We don't want to go with only part of the family, and we are in the same room, so I'm kind of feeling out my options. She feels terrible that she didn't realize it, and while she might be able to request off, she's not sure she can do it twice in such close succession. I realize she should have just let Jury duty know about the trips in advance, but with all the exemption stuff going on she just forgot, so no sense crying over spilled milk. Anyone dealt with this?

Out of Galveston, whatever the Explorer class is (any of those), Labadee, Bonaire, Curacao, Perfect Day. Bonaire is my very favorite ABC island, but RC does it right with Labadee. Never been to Coco Cay, so that would be a must visit.

This happened to me years ago (probably 10 years ago) with renting some clamshell loungers on a beach, an RC excursion. I also never said anything, but it was a bit frustrating.

We had them punch holes in our cards, no problem. We just took it to the customer service desk and they took care of it, a small hole in one corner. I don't think I'd do it on my own just because I wouldn't be sure of where the chip was.

I can't help with this as we always choose to walk off the ship with our luggage. We did not use the feature, but I do remember that if we wanted to use it then we couldn't be first off the ship since the Genie (we had the guy you always see in the pictures, which was super fun!) was the one arranging to have our luggage taken down. We just let him know that we'd be walking off instead. I will say that anytime we didn't use him for something I honest to goodness think we hurt his feelings a bit, lol. I got the room because it was a two bedroom aqua theater suite and I just thought it was awesome, I knew we weren't really going to use the Genie, but once we met him on board I tried to use him because he'd always come by and talk to us about all the things he could provide. We did end up having him get us seats to the shows, and that was really convenient. Oh, when you board, be sure you don't walk on with your luggage (we're also those people), that bothered the Genie a lot as well. He wants to DO IT for you, ha ha. You're going to have so much fun!

My kids did not have any interest in going in to Victoria. My mom and I walked from the ship in to town, got some coffee, took the horse and buggy ride, and then had tea at the Empress. It was perfect for us, but my kids definitely would not have enjoyed it.

The Empress. I think you can make reservations, we walked in without them and had no trouble. It was a real highlight.

It was a great ride. The next time we get there we will definitely be buying the all day pass. Such beautiful scenery all the way down.

And I think I was mixing up Harmony and Explorer. We did Explorer in 2019 in a suite and ate breakfast at Giovannis. On Harmony is was Star Class and Coastal Kitchen.

We also did this, it was fantastic. We took a horse and buggy ride as well, so much fun.

Is this the Dragon tail coaster? If so then I believe there was a little cubby near the entrance where you could stash your bags. It's been awhile though and we do theme parks a lot, so I might be mixing them up. I do know I walked up with my backpack for sure and I either rode with it or left it right there in an unlocked space. This would have been 2019 though, so it might have changed.

Awesome! Congrats! I know when we went Star Class on Harmony Giovannis did serve breakfast and it was very good. We've only tried to use the Concierge Club once (pre COVID) and it was packed, so we didn't go back. We ordered room service through the MDR a couple of night and it was very good, not as hot of course, but still excellent. If that's not what you meant, then ignore me. Have fun!