GKMCruising

From our experience, that was about right for how long it took for them to get the results out to us. Glad your girls are a bit older and therefore more patient - we had one poor couple on our Alaska sailing with a very squirmy toddler who was *not* happy about the swab. They came out 45 minutes later to tell them that because he was moving so much they didn't get a good sample and were going to have to reswab and run the test again.

I think what *should* happen is that the CDC agrees to end their involvement on the condition that cases onboard stay below a certain threshold. If they start seeing high cases numbers, they should reserve the right to intervene again but only on a ship-by-ship basis. No sense in the sins and mistakes of one line or ship ruining it for the rest of the fleets that are trying to do the right things.

I didn't, but you're definitely going to want hiking/trail shoes with good support for anything where you'll be doing a lot of walking over uneven terrain. I also recommend wool socks - even if they get wet, they tend to dry quickly.

Yeah, the savings on my two bookings is part of what allowed me to justify springing for the UDP for the first time on our Wonder sailing. That, and I *really* want to try out Hooked.

Definitely a cost savings measure first and a COVID/norovirus prevention measure second. Yup. Not on Royal, obviously, but I've seen little kids literally sticking their hands into a chocolate fountain at a buffet before. Needless to say, I didn't have much of an appetite for dessert after that.

For a second I thought this was your cruise fare, not the savings, and wanted to know what kind of magic you pulled off.

Black Friday is always wonderful, I've saved so much every year with that one. I'm also *really* hoping that a Kids Sail Free offer pops up between now and my two sailings, as that'll drop my daughter's fare off entirely, which will be a fairly significant savings. I'm not banking on it for Wonder, but betting it'll at least show up before the one on Harmony.

Yeah... I almost wonder if that's a typo. Also, the app disagrees with the website - what else is new with Royal IT though. This is on Odyssey. This is on Mariner Go figure. Heck, on Ovation, I'm pretty sure I saw the minimum age for North Star listed as 3 on one link, minimum age of 4 on another, and no minimum age but the height requirements on another.

Harmony (September 25, 2022) - Currently down $296 from when we originally booked onboard with NextCruise, though we lost $50 in OBC, so we're really down $246 total on that one. Wonder (March 4, 2022) - Currently down $125 from our original booking price. A little bit more expensive than the original week we had planned for Wonder (March 25) but totally worth it to do the inaugural sailing.

I'd definitely rather see the masks go before the testing. It's way less inconvenience for me to go get a quick nose swab before boarding than to have a mask on in all public spaces for an entire week.

Exactly. Some of the protocols are obviously more cumbersome to adjust quickly, but the masks/plexiglass/etc are things that could be easily turned on and off, for lack of a better phrase.

I know Royal is currently planning to keep Windjammer full-service instead of self-service even after COVID, but I definitely think they'd ditch having the drink dispensers and whatnot being staffed. I also agree with ditching the physical distancing - at higher capacities, there's going to be a major logjam for tables and seating in a lot of venues with the amount of areas currently blocked off.

I think the shutdown was needed at the very beginning, maybe a couple of months, simply to allow time for cruise lines to figure out protocols. However, it should have been the cruise lines working *with* the CDC to restart as soon as possible, not having to work *against* the CDC.

If there's a 7 year old who doesn't meet the weight minimums, they've got bigger things to worry about.

Agreed. I fully expect more CDC guidance, and I'm perfectly fine with it, as long as cruising can continue safely. Small price to pay to be back on board.

That always seems to be my credit card offers. "Get 10% back from some random store that isn't even located within 500 miles of your house" "Get 5% back when you spend way more than you'd ever reasonably spend"

https://www.cruisehive.com/carnival-cruise-line-extends-protocols-through-february-2022/57511 Will be interesting to see if Royal and Norwegian follow suit, or if they choose to keep evaluating and updating more frequently as the year draws to a close.

If you install the Royal app, you can peek at current menus fleetwide.

I don't care *how* crazy your wish list is, it's your wedding. At least you have a good reason for it, unlike some people who I'm sure make insane requests just because they spent the big bucks and feel entitled.

Yikes. I've had the same thing happen when looking for AirBNB rentals in the mountains before - $150/night, but after taxes and cleaning fees it winds up closer to $300/night, which is just ridiculous for most of the places I'm usually booking.

We packed basically jeans and long sleeved shirts, along with lightweight rain jackets and mid-weight regular jackets, along with knit beanie/toboggan hats and gloves. I think it stayed in the mid fifties to low sixties for most of our trip, so it worked out perfectly. As long as the wind wasn't blowing, it was almost warm enough for short sleeves and long pants. I saw a few people in heavier coats, but I also saw a handful in shorts...

Yup. It worked especially well since my two year old is currently potty training, so we were able to leave a toddler seat on the extra toilet just for her.

Correct.

Good to know that repricing or changing cabins won't mess with the double points promo.

The JS layouts on Quantum class are so bizarre. I had the one with no walk-in but two toilets.