JessyCruises

44 minutes ago, loki007 said:

For on board internet Prime receives a discount and Signature receives a free 1 device package. How do you access those benefits? Do you have to call club royal? 

The discounts are not available precruise.

For the Signature, when you create your internet account after boarding, the package should already be preloaded. 

For the prime, the person would need to visit the Voom desk to get the discount applied to a package.

38 minutes ago, TMiller said:

I’ve done that, it won’t let me.

When is your cruise?  Bidding might be closed 

I am not waiting.  I am in New Brunswick and just got off of a B2B2B cruise on Odyssey on Saturday.  It was a great trip and we had no problems at all with any of the testing.  Everything on the ship was open and there was no lines to go in the pool etc.  We have another B2B2B booked on Allure in November, with a 4 day on the Oasis before it.

Here is a little about our testing experience on this last set of cruises in case you are interested:

Our first sailing was Sunday 8/22/21 when it was still the three day testing requirement.

I went online late on Tuesday 8/17 to request our testing appt through the province. I got the call the next morning to schedule the appt. I explained our travel plan - (flying on Saturday 8/21 at 6 AM and then cruising on Sunday 8/22 and both need a test no more than 3 days prior) so I asked for a test on Thursday 8/19.  They explained that it COULD be up to 48 hours for results, so to have us covered for both, they had us go 8/18 & 8/19 for PCR tests.  That way we were sure to get the results in time for both the flight and the first cruise.   

On the morning of the 20th we had still not gotten the 1st results back yet so hubby made an appt with a place in Fredericton NB that offered rapid tests.  As soon as he hung up the phone he checked online again and the results of the 1st tests were there.  It was negative.  Later that same afternoon the other results came in too.  So we really only needed the test results from the 18th, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We cancelled the rapid test.

I had confirmed with multiple sources within RCL in writing (Bayley's FB, RCL FB, email) that we would be able to get the antigen tests between cruises for our B2Bs as well the PCR test to get home.  They were all consistent and said yes and there would be no fees.  

Regarding the antigen tests for the B2Bs, they had all of the B2Bers come down first thing in the morning the day before the cruise ended and we got swabbed.  We got the results back within an hour for the 1st cruise and I think it was a few hours on the 2nd one.

For the tests to get home we got a call from the Diamond concierge on day 2 or 3 of the last sailing and she set up the PCR test appt for us.  Disembarkation and our flights were scheduled for Saturday 9/11/21 but we requested to have the test on Thursday 9/9/21 in case we had any flight issues so we would not have to get retested at the airport or somewhere in Florida if we had to fly on Sunday. They set up up for an appt at 4PM on Thursday 9/9 and told us to go down to medical for the appt.  When we arrived, the nurse told us the results should be back in 35 minutes but asked us to come pick them up at 6PM in case there was a delay or she could send them to the room.  We told her we would come back at 6 to pick up the results and she was just about to stick the tester up my nose when an ALPHA ALHPHA ALPHA for deck 3 alarm came overheard and she had to take off, apologizing profusely.  She told us she would call us in our room when we could come back to get tested.  We totally understood - whatever the emergency was is the 1st priority. About 25 minutes later we got the call to come back down.  We were in and out in less than 5 minutes. We went back at 6PM and got he results, both of which were negative.  They gave us a print out of the results which we then uploaded into the ArriveCAN app with our vaccinations records.  Easy breezy!!

I know November will be more complicated to get tested before the cruise because of the new 2 day requirement so we will likely need to go with the rapid test in Fredericton before we catch our flight or try to find somewhere in Florida.

I saw part of this... 

On our July 1 Carnival Liberty sailing in 2007, we were late leaving for some reason I fail to remember.  There was a man, I think in his late 20s, that was apparently over-served and sometime late in the evening after setting sail decided for whatever reason that he wanted off the ship.  He got a axe, I assume from a fire box, and proceeded to try to chop down a life boat (I did not see this myself and I am not sure exactly what he was thinking as they were secured by metal attachments).  When security approached he jumped overboard instead of facing security.  It was very dark and choppy.  We had a balcony cabin that cruise and I distinctly remember the search going on, flood lights, rings in water, rescue boats, people yelling. I was 31 at the time I think and was terrified to go on our balcony for fear I would spot him in the water.  I cannot remember how long it went on for, probably not nearly as long as it felt, but by some miracle they were actually able to find him and he was ok.  The next morning the cruise director said in his video that in conditions like we had the night before it would normally be virtually impossible to find someone.  He said it really was a miracle.  I am pretty sure the Coast Guard was who rescued him and took his right ashore and I assume to a hospital and/or jail.

Like others mentioned above, I have a spreadsheet where I track all payments and credits I have received from RCL and I make sure they match up.

8 hours ago, MrMarc said:

I have a feeling that they are the ones with 6 kids, so the Adults buy the Full drink package and their kids, their kids friends and a couple of aunts, uncles and grandparents use the Freestyle cups and just pour it into other cups.  Wow, I am even more judgmental than I thought.

Totally off topic, but several years ago I saw a woman at a quick service restaurant at a Disney Resort who had several kids with her and one refillable mug.  She scanned the mug then proceeded to fill up an empty bread bag with pop from the soda machine and then headed off to their room. It takes all kinds...

On 8/9/2021 at 8:44 PM, Ch3l51 said:

Just checked the status of my bids for Aug 22 sailing. All are “expired” with the exception of one still “pending”. This is good news, right!?!?

What Ship are you on?  I have 3 bids on out Odyssey 8/22 but all still say pending.

10 hours ago, Linda R said:

I like Cats!!!

I have seen it on Broadway, on tour, and I have lost count of the number of times on Oasis. I have been know to go multiple times on a sailing.  I love those Jellicle cats

Am I the only person who cruises that actually likes Cats? 

We bought the Unlimited Dining Package for $248pp last week for the 8/28/21 Odyssey.  We cancelled and rebooked today for $224pp. 

The drink package was on sale very briefly overnight on 8/2 into 8/3 for the 8/22 Odyssey sailing for $44 a day or $49 with Voom.  We were not getting drink packages so it was no help to us.  I think it was a mistake as when I checked again later yesterday it was $62 & $75.

6 hours ago, CHRIS WONG said:

Sorry,  cannot share that on here Jess.

No problem!  We will find out for ourselves on 8/22

See you then!

6 hours ago, CHRIS WONG said:

Yes, we still have tournaments onboard Odyssey. There is no social distancing in the casino as it is a vaccinated area.

Thanks!  Are you able to answer about the limits on the Ultimate Holdem & Blackjack tables?

Thanks again

Jess

10 hours ago, CHRIS WONG said:

OK, let's try this. Ask me anything, and will respond to all questions over the next 24 hours.

Chris, I have a casino related question for you!

We are sailing on a B2B2B on the Odyssey starting 8/22/21 and are Prime in Club Royal.  Are you able to share what the min-max current limits are on Ultimate Holdem and Blackjack?  Are you still able to hold Slot & Blackjack tournaments with the social distancing requirements?

Thanks in advance!

Jess

Not only are flights from Canada way more expensive than flying from the US, but an issue that @monctonguyand I have is that we live in towns with pretty small airports.  There are 0 direct flights to the USA from Saint John where I live.  I don't think Moncton has any either and if they do, they are minimal. If I fly out of Saint John, I have to route through Montreal or Toronto with potential additional stops in Halifax & US airports before I can get to where I am going.  It is usually less expensive and takes less time to drive to Bangor or Portland ME and grab a direct flight to the US destination I want to get to.

Despite the fact that we cannot drive across the border right now, I did manage to get lucky and was able to use Aeroplan points to book flights for my next couple of cruises directly out of Saint John.  I still have to connect, but I should be arriving in Florida around noon.  My next few cruises are B2B2Bs so it will be nice to fly from home and not have to pay for parking for 3 weeks   Next up is Odyssey starting 8/22.  I cannot wait to get back on the water.

Here is a pic to show you just how small my airport is.

On 7/22/2021 at 1:26 PM, monctonguy said:

From Eastern Canada its insane to fly..so we always have to drive to Maine and then get a deal with a low cost carrier there...I am willing to give Flair a chance to see just how bad or good they are..I have looked at their add-ons...seems reasonable compared to the rest of the industry out here so to save almost $1000 per trip for us I will take a chance!

Where are you from in Eastern Canada?  I assume it is the Maritimes if you are driving to Maine to fly?  I am in Saint John, NB.

Edit:  Never mind.  Apparently I am a bit slow on the uptake today. I just noticed your handle. I think I figured it out. 

OP sorry this happened to you. It would be so incredibly disappointing. Hopefully RCL does something to make it a little less painful for you.

23 hours ago, Jill said:

John Heald is the brand ambassador for Carnival. Not sure how he could help with a Royal ship

That is what I was thinking too.  I used to reach out to John about my previous Carnival sailings and after reading that post, thought he might have "jumped ship" over to RC.