MarineMoMmaBear

Yes! Please combat this bad press! Odyssey of the Seas 12/18/21  
Captain was always communicating, every day. Felt well cared for and safe. Security mingling through out in addition to staff gently reinforcing proper mask wearing to make sure that protocol was followed. 
Please see my reports on my Odyssey sailing and use what you need. I did feel safe, while I wasn't surprised our ports were canceled it was probably best. The island numbers were climbing and we would be blamed for the virus spread. This way Royal couldn't be the scapegoat once again.
Instead of concentrating on the 1.9 % positives how about the rest of us sailing healthy and happy being mindful of our behaviors. Celebrate and speak to that! Denise 🙂
oh, and thanks for doing this. All I thought when I read the reports was this isn't fair reporting.

We love Boca catalina for snorkling and the Honestly the group tour are basically the same and  it is watered down drinks on almost all of them. We really enjoyed our snorkle only time with ADG tours (Jergen yes like the hand soap.) he is the BOMB!  You can connect with him on Whatsapp +297-569-3827
Seriously, best tours we have EVER had in Aruba and we go 2 times or more a year to the island since 2013. He will prolly beat any one you try to book price and it will be private for you crew only. 
Tell him his "sister" sent you. He isn't my brother but when he first started out he messaged me instead of his sis and it has become a joke now. 

Zees is a must go every time!  If you like Gelato and good Italian check out Giannis YUMMY

So this was at virtually the exact time mine was cancelled. hmm
 

This is actually the second story of a cancelled cruise in this same fashion that I've seen posted here in the past week - definitely think this could be a genuine IT issue. 

Exactly we adore Baby Beach and Mangel Halto. If you are ever in the area and it is open take the time to stop at the Balashi brewery they have a lunch area that is yummy.

I would normally agree, but this is RCCL IT we are talking about.  They have kind of earned a reputation.

Most of the time a "system glitch" is code for "a human screwed up"

I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.
Don't give up....Royal needs to make this right.   If you don't get the answer you want, keep calling back until someone fixes.  Hopefully your TA can assist.
 

Update 01/03/2022
We had a wonderful time. We did get all of our prescheduled things added back in with the exception of one but we were we able to add the Chef's table for NYE on RCCL because of onboard credit. However we still have not seen our original refunds to our account   from DEC 16th "glitch"  How this gets handled decides if and when we cruise again...
 
Update12/27/2021
We have a a cabin annnd after 10+ days and prolly 200emails our Travel agent worked a miracle for us. Apparently we were caught in a software system change... So because we literally cannot get back our purchases ourselves and in some cases it's now sold out. They upgraded our excursion to the VIP one for same price they also gave us our unlimited specialty dining package free. So we arrive at Port tomorrow and pray all these emails of documentation work. We were told to report to embarkment at 11 and they would have everything fixed for us... 
 
Soooo last Thursday I received a reminder that it was an oportunity to book extras prior to boarding our Mariner of the Seas NYE trip, leaving DEC 28, I clicked on it to see if there were any new prices from my original paid. Well to my surprise the other couple's confirmation number was there but ours POOF gone. I tried to add it back and it said it didn't exist. Whaaaa? So I called my travel agent. She goes on her system and it was cancelled. Yes cancelled. She got on the phone with RCCL. The person escalated it and they said was clearly on their side and it was a glitch they said.  It took nearly 7 hours to get my reservation back, but all of my great priced items were gone. 
Yes my cabin is there and I have my seapass but the stuff I already purchase was gone because guess what people snapped those right up.   They told me to put everything I could back in my cart and they would fix it with onboard credit to offset new cost. Cool right? NO! because the account is still locked 5 days later and I can't pay for anything nor is it possible for me make any other plans.  The RC agent told my TA that the IT department had to unlock it. My TA has spoken with them multiple times now since Friday morning at 8am .
I am pretty upset and very irritated at this point that RC couldn't fix. My biggest grump is all my reservations that had limited space with our friends are completely gone. Our NYE plans are tanked as well... 
To add to all of this my FCCs from 2019. that were applied to another cruise (that was cancelled) were in some sort of freeze so they didn't get applied and they are now saying too late to applie them.
It will be our first RC trip. My hubs is ready for it to be never.
Advice on salvaging our trip?

Thanks to all, appreciate the feedback. Will stay up all night and sleep all day!  Or was that "ROCK AND ROLL ALL NIGHT AND PARTY EVERY DAY". 😎

Hi everyone, I know we get heated debating which dessert is the best one to order, or if a balcony room is worth it, but let's keep these basic rules in mind when chatting here.
No profanity No personal insults No political discussion This includes tropes about politicians and generalizations about political parties No debating religion Keep your posts relevant and accurate to each specific thread. We can all have our little fun within each thread but please make sure the information you're putting out there is correct and current.   Topics not related to Royal Caribbean may be removed. Posts or comments encouraging cruisers to break any Royal Caribbean policy is not allowed and will be removed.

I'm pretty sure you speak for 99% of the population on all sides of the political spectrum. No one *likes* wearing masks, we all merely tolerate it.

Update 01/03/2022
We had a wonderful time. We did get all of our prescheduled things added back in with the exception of one but we were we able to add the Chef's table for NYE on RCCL because of onboard credit. However we still have not seen our original refunds to our account   from DEC 16th "glitch"  How this gets handled decides if and when we cruise again...
 
Update12/27/2021
We have a a cabin annnd after 10+ days and prolly 200emails our Travel agent worked a miracle for us. Apparently we were caught in a software system change... So because we literally cannot get back our purchases ourselves and in some cases it's now sold out. They upgraded our excursion to the VIP one for same price they also gave us our unlimited specialty dining package free. So we arrive at Port tomorrow and pray all these emails of documentation work. We were told to report to embarkment at 11 and they would have everything fixed for us... 
 
Soooo last Thursday I received a reminder that it was an oportunity to book extras prior to boarding our Mariner of the Seas NYE trip, leaving DEC 28, I clicked on it to see if there were any new prices from my original paid. Well to my surprise the other couple's confirmation number was there but ours POOF gone. I tried to add it back and it said it didn't exist. Whaaaa? So I called my travel agent. She goes on her system and it was cancelled. Yes cancelled. She got on the phone with RCCL. The person escalated it and they said was clearly on their side and it was a glitch they said.  It took nearly 7 hours to get my reservation back, but all of my great priced items were gone. 
Yes my cabin is there and I have my seapass but the stuff I already purchase was gone because guess what people snapped those right up.   They told me to put everything I could back in my cart and they would fix it with onboard credit to offset new cost. Cool right? NO! because the account is still locked 5 days later and I can't pay for anything nor is it possible for me make any other plans.  The RC agent told my TA that the IT department had to unlock it. My TA has spoken with them multiple times now since Friday morning at 8am .
I am pretty upset and very irritated at this point that RC couldn't fix. My biggest grump is all my reservations that had limited space with our friends are completely gone. Our NYE plans are tanked as well... 
To add to all of this my FCCs from 2019. that were applied to another cruise (that was cancelled) were in some sort of freeze so they didn't get applied and they are now saying too late to applie them.
It will be our first RC trip. My hubs is ready for it to be never.
Advice on salvaging our trip?

The only way I could see Royal being forced to cancel cruises on their own would be if too many crew members become infected, or are quarantined due to contact tracing, and there are not enough to properly staff a cruise. 
That’s why I think the new masking rules are being announced. Precaution.
However, as a famous general once said…’Take not counsel of your fears’. In other words…it is what it is. Plan on cruising and having a great time. Hopefully this new thing…and whatever newer things come along…don’t become an impediment to safe and healthy cruising.

thank you everyone for the insights. I appreciate the info and varying opinions. 

I'll just say that everyone values the Key perks differently. The value also varies based on ship amenities/ship class. Opinions will be all over the place. The friends we sailed with went as far as to say that they will always purchase the Key going forward (they are frequent cruisers - never in suites) as long as the price is reasonable. I agree that the price of the Key and your desire to purchase the Voom package are the biggest factors.
We all (wife and friends) thoroughly enjoyed the Key on our Allure cruise back in May 2019, but that was pre-Covid. We purchased it at $19.99 which was a no-brainer as we all wanted the Voom package anyway. We really enjoyed the Chops Lunch (actually in Chops at that time) on embarkation day, special semi-private breakfast on the last morning in the MDR, reserved seating at all major shows (we would just arrive 10-15 minutes before each show and we were escorted to reserved section in the center of the venue... no scrambling for decent seats and we all sat together... many dirty looks!), carry-on bag delivery to cabin upon boarding, etc.
We were also escorted off the ship at the end of the cruise through the terminal utilizing the Star Class line (no one else on line). The terminal was packed and the regular line was of course snaking throughout the terminal at Port Everglades. We got a lot of confused looks that morning! We were through customs and in our car in literally 10-15 minutes from the time we all met in the Royal Promenade (Champagne Bar) and were escorted off the ship. I don't believe that perk is part of the Key program anymore.
However, in a Covid world with reduced capacity sailings, it may not be that much of a perk at this time especially at the current pricing.
My wife and I still purchased it for our 10/3/21 Oasis sailing at $21.99 (probably as high as I would have gone), but we just received this cancellation e-mail from Royal this morning... time for me to cancel the DBP and purchase the DBP plus VOOM! 🙄
 

 

I have been planning to get it for my Jan Indy sailing because it is just me. However its been $27 that sailing with most sales and given the limited perks, I just don't think it is worth it. Under $20, a maybe, but over that is a definite no. I agree that if you are sailing in 2021, not solo, it might be better to just buy the multi-device Voom package.

I got it for my 4-Night Freedom OTS sailing at the end of November because:
1) I'm sailing solo, so it's just one
2) I want the Voom anyway, and it was $1 / day less !  than the 1-Device Voom (it's now gone up to $1/day more than Voom, but that's ok) @ $16.99/day
3)  If it stays intact, I'm eager to try the Chops lunch
 
If I had to buy it for 2 people, I probably wouldn't, as I usually just get a 1-Device Voom and share it with my DH

I got it for my upcoming Dec cruise. Mostly because of the internet. Might as well get the bump for almost the same money.

No to the Key especially right now. The perks would be fine if the ship was full and you wanted to get in the front of the line and the other few perks it gives but personally I would not get it even on a full one. Just not worth it IMHO. Our last cruise there was no waiting for anything and the reserved seating was actually off to the side for the shows which to me makes it worthless.

Not on that class of ship. I would only consider it for oasis or quantum class ships. That’s where you’d really get the benefits. With that being said, I personally wouldn’t buy it. Just not a fan of “buying” perks. 
 
 

This has been discussed at length and Matt has made it clear that he's not a fan of the "Key".  
That being said, I find the Key worthwhile only if you were intending to purchase 2-device Voom without it.  And even at that, you need to look at the difference (remember, you have to purchase it for both adults in the room) between the Key and 2-device Voom.  There will always be a difference and that is the cost of the other perks (early boarding, nice first-day lunch, nice last-day breakfast, priority seating for shows,...).  That being said, during Covid with empty ships (and enforced boarding times), it may not be available (if it is now, it will be cancelled) and probably not worth it.

Hi All,
Some of you may remember I had a lot of posts a few months back when I was booking my mum’s first ever cruise and first ever holiday in over 17 years. We eventually booked on Anthem to go around the fjords which got changed to the med and I upgraded us to an Owners Suite as I wanted to make it special for her and to make sure she had enough space for her mobility scooter since there weren’t any accessible rooms left. Unfortunately that ended up being cancelled and changed to a British isles cruise which didn’t excite us seeing as we were planning to go end of September.
I’m super excited to say that last night I booked us on Harmony OTS out of Barcelona on 3rd October. I was holding off as it looked like Italy were going to keep their borders shut to us Brits but they surprised us all and opened up! This time I managed to bag us the accessible crown loft suite. Apparently there’s only one onboard so I’m really happy I’ve got it - my mum thinks we’ve just got a balcony room 😋. I’m a little bit nervous that she doesn’t like heights and it’s on floor 17 but I’m sure she’ll overcome that when she sees the room, right?🤔😬
 This will be my first time on Harmony and first time on an Oasis class ship. It’s been on my to do list for a while now! My question is, what can we absolutely not miss on Harmony once onboard?