NickNafster79

Just got off the phone with RC. The woman I spoke with seemed to think that unless you were flying into the Bahamas or staying there (and just doing stops/excursions), a Bahamas health visa would not be needed.

When I pointed out that the Bahamas' official website said that all visitors would require a health visa, she said she wasn't sure and that RC would email us with the requirements.

So yeah...still not sure.

I am sailing on Freedom of the sees. From the videos I have watched it is almost night and day vs the Carnival ships I have been on. 

Time for a clean start...

 
 
 

8 CREW MEMBERS TEST POSITIVE and july 3rd to july 25th sailings cancelled... devestated once again, as we were on 3 B2B next month

Truth. - but it certainly lessens the chances in vulnerable populations, which is why we typically vaccinate for chicken pox, measles, meningitis, rubella, etc.   Very few people die of measles, but it is insanely communicable and certainly makes for an uncomfortable journey as your body fights the virus.  Similar with covid, no?

Cocaine can’t be used by a Royal crew member due to the mask policy. 

Geez, I know we're all excited about cruising again, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan on getting some sleep.

When law enforcement went to test the drugs, DeSantis threw a fit and tried to fine them 5 grand for each kilo tested.

Found this:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2015/08/03/top-10-freedom-of-the-seas-hidden-secrets
I'm pretty sure @Matt made one for every ship. Just search on google "(Ship Name) hidden secrets" and Royal Caribbean Blog is the first thing that shows up.
 

With so many changes being announced last week, I'm not surprised at the lengthy hold.  I've always done best reaching Royal right at opening time on the east coast.  A lot of the country is still asleep/just waking up, and not making phone calls.  The reps are fresh & ready for the day, so at their most pleasant too.  ? 

Well, looks like I might be officially done with Royal Caribbean for good.

After canceling my honeymoon cruise (proceeded by Michael Bayley "Yippee" Facebook post) all bookings that would have worked around the dates we are able to cruise have been filled. We didn't even have a chance to rebook.

Apologies if I sound angry or am out of line thinking this, but priority should have been given to displaced customers for the new cruise dates, which isn't exactly possible when RC sends the the official cancelation announcement Friday afternoon at 3:00 PM.

Thank everyone here for all their help and information while trying to navigate this situation. You all have been exponentially more helpful than RC has.

I know RC customer service didn't know anything yesterday. I'm wondering if they've been advised differently for calls this weekend.

Regardless, you are absolutely right. They need to announce cancelations immediately if it's as sure thing as it seems. I'm lucky enough that I can drive to Orlando, but many folks can't and have book flights, hotels, etc. Even a full refund won't make them whole.

Still a matter of timing. At some point, Royal going to have to make a decision on its July sailings. 
We know that the next hearing will be on June 10th now. How long will it take the Judge to rule? June 10th is a Thursday, so unless he just dismisses the case on the spot, will the hearing be just one day? Will it be two days? If so, it heads into the weekend. So then we get into week on June 14th for Judge to deliberate. Will Royal really wait that long to announce the fate of July sailings and continue to have people in Limbo. Which each passing day, people become more upset with Royals lack of communication.
Then there is the issue on % of passengers required to be vaccinated. Will Royal even be able to meet those on a given sailing with the amount of children under 12 plue the 12-16 year olds that parents may not want to have vaccinated. 
as they say, anything is possible but probable is another story.

Overall, I would say there is no chance
But if we are speaking theoretically, lets say that they wanted to sail with the vaccine requirement. Like you mentioned, they would need to get past the DeSantis hurdle with the Law.
THEN, what is the makeup of your July 17th cruise, is 95% even attainable with the amount of kids under 12 on board AND the amount of 12-16 year olds where parents do not want to vaccinate their children. 
SO, what would need to happen? Cancel that cruise and rebook only vaccinated people? Cancel the families with children under 12? No easy answers there
Let me drag out my dead horse here and again say, THIS is why Royal needs to announce plans with July/ /august cruises TODAY cause people still believe their July cruises will sail because of no official cancellation announcement yet 

The CSO would have to be removed or significantly altered.  There is a small chance that it could still happen (Fl lawsuit, CDC suddenly gets some common sense) but you are most likely out of luck.

Agreed. They need to cancel July + the ships that are being repositioned so we have an idea of what is going on. At this point they are just holding onto our money and aggravating the public.

Regarding the tone deaf comments....
I don't think anything Bayley did is a problem. In fact, I think it's a public service because we'd know nothing about test cruises without it.
However....
The fact Royal is the only line that hasn't cancelled July cruises yet is a problem, and whomever is holding the line for some miracle or who knows what is the "problem".
They should have cancelled July a long time ago.  With reduced capacity almost certain, cancelling and then bringing back sailings for rebook later would be the simplest approach.
At the end of the day, I get the cruise line wants to hold onto sailings if there's a chance they may sail so they can actually make some money.  But given what other lines have done (cancelling July), it should have been done at least 2 weeks ago.

The "Yippee" thing kills me.

I get that it's a big step forward to getting restarted, but the news means a lot of us are likely having our cruises canceled. This was my first cruise in almost 20 years and my honeymoon, so "Yippee" doesn't quite capture my mood at the moment (as I'm sure it doesn't with many others, as well).

If you go here , Richard Fain talks about it in the video, and Matt writes about the vaccine protocol in the blog post. I totally understand needing to see it with your own eyes. There has been a lot of "i heard x is happening" lately! And, as someone mentioned above, anything could still happen, but this is what the plan is currently. 

This! I prefer Royal over any other cruise line. I’m also a TA. This entire announcement and the confusion it has caused would have been alleviated if they had moved forward with cancellations. Nobody wants to learn their cruise was cancelled by reading it on Facebook, especially when the message starts with “Yippee”. What do I as a TA say to clients? 

This is super annoying, I am supposed to be on Aug 7 with Symphony of the Seas but clearly that won’t be happening. They need to just up and cancel those cruises already so people can either rebook or make other plans. At this point they know July/early Aug won’t be happening, so it’s really bad customer service that they aren’t moving forward with that information. 

I thought the exact same thing when I saw his post.  It was completely tone deaf.
 

The challenge with summer sailings to Caribbean is that its prime family season and those vaccinated thresholds may not be able to be met on those sailings that are already booked with the amount of children 12 and under plus the hesitancy of parents who may not want to have their 12-16 year olds vaccinated. I think that is why Royal chose the test sailings route