GKMCruising

@Sharla is the go-to around here.

7 minutes ago, Pooch said:

So you have free casino drinks and EIGHT drink vouchers per day since you can use your wife’s, and you still want/need the drink package?

Yeah, why not just buy her the refreshment package for unlimited juice/soda/mocktails? Take her drink vouchers and get your drinks off those, and save yourself some cash. Even if you went over by a couple drinks, it'd still be cheaper than a full package for yourself.

11 minutes ago, Jill said:

Glad we got on her for March. Just may be our only chance to sail her. 

That's exactly why my wife and I booked the inaugural, because we have no clue when or if she'll be back stateside.

2 hours ago, egd207 said:

Was there walking involved with the gardens part of the excursion?  Or was it all travelled in the tram? We are much older then you and can walk ok but steep grades walking might be difficult.  Thank you for your review and pics, all very helpful.

It was all in the tram. You got off the bus at the bottom and walked to the tram, got out at the top, could walk around the flat area up there, and then rode back down to the bottom.

Glad I could help with the review and pics!

37 minutes ago, egd207 said:

Has anyone ever done the Mendenhall Glacier and Gardens shore excursion.  We are planning a trip in September of 2022 and are looking over the shore excursions. I was wondering how long a time they give you at the glacier and what the gardens part entails. 

Yup, we just did that one in September.  See my review below.

37 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

When participating in onboard activities, flow rider....zip line....ice skating. Does one have to sign waiver each time participating or is it a one time waiver they keep record of?

One time waiver. They'll give you a band to wear afterwards to denote that.

28 minutes ago, JohnK6404 said:

I also thought it was very strange that they were not selling RC branded face masks onboard. The profit margin would be insane for something as simple as a face mask. Something with the Crown & Anchor logo, ship name, or Come Seek slogan and RC logo would be very popular. The shop on Oasis seemed very small and somewhat limited in selection compared to the other ships we've sailed on. 

I have a feeling that one of two things happened here: either Royal didn't initially expect to have to require guests to wear masks by the time the restart happened, or they ordered masks and they're all still sitting on a container off the coast of California right now.

Given that ships aren't normally in port overnight, I feel like it's rare to get a photo of the ship all lit up at night. I've got one of Mariner from a few years ago when rough seas kept us from going to CoCo Cay, so we wound up with an overnight in Nassau instead. Anyone else have some good pictures of the ships all lit up?

1 hour ago, Fred567 said:

I'm not sure how long it takes to actually get on the shuttle

If you're planning on Royal's shuttle service, they typically won't offer it for flights before noon.

52 minutes ago, gugenheimz said:

Do you guys have any idea if Royal would have a game that's on Fox (Ohio State/Michigan) on their TV's either at Playmakers or another venue? 

If they can get it, probably. But there's no way to know for sure.

1 hour ago, Landry_TX said:

I grabbed one of the 7 nights on Liberty. 1,000,000 points seems kind of high for this round of cruises. 

Yeah... especially since the last round of them were all around half as much for a newer ship and the same duration.

Yeah, it's a state residency discount. I've gotten it on some cruises before, but there's not currently one for either of my two booked for next year. No idea how or when Royal decides to offer them though. Maybe @Sharla might have more insight?

2 hours ago, decsmarg said:

I felt all the beauty of massage on myself. This procedure has many benefits for the body.

Bad bot.

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Since it's a new dosage of vaccine, it's it even feasible for vaccines to be available next week? It was easy for the 12-16 since they just pulled from the existing stock.

From what I've read, they're already working to get smaller needles and whatnot to doctors and clinics so that they can start administrating right away. I imagine they already have the new dosages packed and ready to ship as soon as they get the official green light.

Looks like someone forgot to update things after they announced Wonder was coming stateside. There's absolutely no chance of that sailing happening on that date.

11 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

I don't think capacity was the issue.  The usher just failed to use common sense.  It was the last night of the cruise, people (especially those with children) are busy packing. Not many people go to shows on the last night... and I was by myself.  How much space can I take?  The only reason I was there was because I missed the earlier showing coming late from Izumi.

Yeah, agreed. Some people are always too concerned with the letter of the law instead of the spirit. 

12 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

After about 15 minutes, an usher approached me and told me I had to move because the section was reserved for families with kids.

Strange. On Ovation, they'd inform anyone that went into the "family" section at shows that they could sit there but would have to stay masked / physically distance from other parties. I don't think they kicked anyone out - maybe a capacity difference?

9 hours ago, UNCFanatik said:

Just wonder how this will affect cancellations as I’m sure many thought the CSO would truly expire on Oct 31 and will now not sail.

Oh, I'll imagine there's a decent number of people in this boat, no pun intended.

I foresee some major price drops on sailings through the end of the year coming up.

8 hours ago, Sayuil said:

Hey newbie question

can you use 10% off and OBC reward on an existing upcoming booking?

generally how much is OBC rewards for? 100k coins?

AFAIK, you can only use one reward per booking, and the booking must be made no more than 30 days prior to redemption.

As far as the cost of the OBC, I believe it's 100k, but I can't verify since there's not one currently available for purchase.

8 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

I think you'll see a lot more hesitation for parents to get their 5-11 yr old vaccinated than getting themselves vaccinated. It'll be interesting to see how that all plays out if RC mandates a vaccine for that age group, especially if there's still a mask mandate.

I'm *hoping* that if they mandate the vaccine for 5-11, it'll put them over the 95% vaxxed threshold and allow them to drop the mask mandate. I expect testing before embarkation to continue for the foreseeable future though.

1 hour ago, Chili said:

Transfer Ovation’s crew to Radiance.

Not that Ovation really *has* a crew at the moment. I know our waiter from Ovation got transferred and started on Allure this week. From what I gather, most of the crew either got transfers or went home, and none of them have been told if they're going back to Ovation next season or if they're going to stay on their new assignments.

28 minutes ago, CruisingOz said:

Yes, both Carnival and P&O Australia normally run ships all year round. Royal ships tend to leave Mar/Apr to go off to Alaska. If The Federal Governmwnt finally opens up Sydney for cruising soon, then there might be a very slight possibility for Royal to re-crew Ovation and bring her down for three months. Some revenue is got to be better financially than a warm layup.   

That's basically what they did with Alaska - they lost a couple months of the season but still salvaged most of it. I wouldn't count anything out in these "unprecedented" times.

14 minutes ago, dejavu21 said:

i have the exact same question.  I have a Dec 19th cruise and a 10 year old waiting to get vaccinated.  

Local school district has said they plan to use a 30 day delay from vaccine approval for the younger age district before they drop their mask mandate, I'd assume Royal will do the same. They'll likely give at least a 30/45 day delay to allow for delays in availability for kids, as well as the required delay between doses.

Quote

"The pandemic isn't over. We've seen what the delta variant can do," Treffiletti said. "Despite, you know, really what have been the best efforts of the cruise industry to provide a safer and healthier environment for crew, passengers and communities, COVID-19 has still been a challenge, particularly with the delta variant."

What a load of crap. There have been less cases per person on ships than in some (most) states.

8 hours ago, BrianB said:

If every adult is vaccinated, why are we wearing them? Don’t children wear wrist bands anyway to identify their muster stations or something? Maybe I’m missing something but it seems useless. 

There are a limited number of adults who may be unvaxxed due to religious exemptions or medical contraindications. But yes, largely useless.