AspiringCruisePlanner

Did anyone also receive the email offering a free cruise in a balcony stateroom for Solstice this September through March? I was surprised at the offer because I'm only pearl as I only utilized the free play on a cruise back in 2019. I offered my wife to go on the cruise with a friend and I can watch our little one at home. I booked her a sunset veranda and the only cost were the port taxes and fees!

Just like it says.

My apologies for not reading your message correctly. Understood now. It's tough to say whether I'd stick with the connecting balconies versus upgrading to the Panoramic Oceanview if I were in your situation. You'd loose one bathroom, any balcony, one TV, and a door between the sleeping areas. On the flip side, you get a better view, suite privileges, double points, and a desirable location on the ship. I guess it all comes down to cost which is exactly what you're trying to figure out right now. Happy planning!

Hold your horses. What ship are you on? The panoramic oceanview suites are on the Freedom and Voyager classes of ships which don't have Star/Sky/Sea class designations. Only the Quantum and Oasis class ships have these classifications. If you are in a suite on any ship that is not Quantum or Oasis class, these would be your suite benefits: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program Unless you're talking about the Ultimate Panoramic Suite that only exists on Oasis?

Do you have flights booked with Air2Sea? That can complicate things as well. Did you already pay for drink/dining packages or excursions at better rates than currently offered? They could be wiped out for one of the reservations when doing this switch. Honestly, a call to your TA is going to be the only guarantee to get an absolutely correct answer. I would be curious to hear what the result of your findings are because these room change/upgrade situations can go several different ways.

5 day on Summit in December Stopping at Cozumel and Grand Cayman. Two new ports for us so we're excited! This will be our second cruise, first was aboard Equinox for our honeymoon in 2019. Excited to have time to ourselves. Baby is staying home with grandparents!

Really cool how they are using AR construction tech and BIM to visualize the internals of the ship before it's even put together. That's what those funky glasses are for.

What's interesting is that the Cayman Islands and Antigua cruises allow unvaccinated adults to sail, but only with a certificate of recovery. No option of presenting a negative test. I guess the unvaccinated that want to cruise to those ports are going to be clamoring for a healthy dose of coronavirus prior to their cruise

The title of the post can be misleading, but the bottom line is that there will be no limit on the number of unvaccinated passengers for itineraries that allow unvaccinated passengers to sail.

Source? I don't see anywhere in the article or on the NCL website stating there's a limit.

We booked the fly snooze cruise package with my extended family for a cruise in Dec 2020 that was cancelled due to COVID. Without first-hand experience, I can't say whether it would have been that beneficial, but I was optimistic because managing transport for the 12 of us would have been a hassle. Make sure you read all the details in case you have a late flight, because some shuttles from the airport to the hotel only travel until a certain time (varies based on what hotel you select). Also, the shuttle from the hotel to the cruise is a designated time and with set check-in times for the cruise, you may get there later or earlier than you want. Note that they don't have a refundable rate option and that if you cancel, you'd only get a future credit. IMO, it's a good value, but you have to be okay with shuttle bus transfers and the available times for those shuttles.

A small policy change took place effective today regarding COVID cancellations and testing positive onboard for voyages later this year. The updated doc (effective today) and the previous revision (effective May 3) are attached to this post for reference. Notable things remaining unchanged: Through April 30, 2023, Royal Caribbean will fully refund your cruise if you or anyone else in your traveling party tests positive within 10 days before embarkation. The positive test result must be "in a form acceptable to RCI". This is nice, because though they are gradually lifting pre-embarkation test requirements, they are still providing protection in case you self-test and turn up positive. RCI will not be responsible for cost associated with travel arrangements back home after testing positive on the voyage or being denied boarding at the terminal. Here are the notable changes: It appears that cancellations and pro-rated refunds for unused portions of a cruise due to testing positive for COVID will be issued in CASH only, rather than FCCs. The previous version stated that FCCs would be issued by default and that you'd need to request a cash refund in leu of FCCs The latest version only mentions cash refunds for COVID related cancellations/interruptions, but the request has to be made within 6 months or the money is forfeited. This is not a surprise, because Royal Caribbean, their guests, and TAs had a heck of a time managing all these FCCs floating around For sailings through September 30, 2022 booked prior to today (Aug 8): RCI will: cover the cost of necessary COVID-19 related medical treatment onboard the ship coordinate and assist with the costs of any required land-based quarantine (up to $250 per hotel room, per night, and meal costs of up to $100 per person, per day) The previous policy included all sailings through September 30, 2022. Now they are stating that the booking had to occur before today (the effective date of this policy) to qualify for the above protections. Clarification for cruises booked on or after Aug 8 for sailings through April 30, 2023 Although cruisers will still be refunded for unused portions of the cruise due to testing positive or being suspected positive for COVID, RCI will not cover costs of any necessary COVID-19 medical treatment onboard or the costs of any land-based quarantines. The previous version did not clarify whether pro-rated refunds (due to quarantine) would be offered for cruises departing after September 30th. That's clear now. The gist is that it would be wise to obtain adequate travel insurance for your trip, as always has been the case. Also, cruisers don't have to be afraid of self-testing and the chance of testing positive close to their voyage because RCI is keeping the refund policy in place until April 30th of next year. I obtained the latest doc from this link found in the FAQ pages. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf EFFECTIVE AUGUST covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf EFFECTIVE MAY covid-19-cancellations-and-refunds-policy.pdf

I actually pulled some prices for the villa suite once the Summer 2023 itineraries were released. 100% that 3 balconies is going to be cheaper. Here's my post.

How do bookings for new ships like Icon take place? Like what's the interval for the following events 1. Unveiling (Renderings, videos, etc) 2. Deck plans 3. Bookings open Also, are bookings open earlier for higher C&A members or for TAs? I'm not asking for the actual timeline for Icon. Just curious what has happened in the past to get an idea. Thanks

Utopia of the Seas will be another ship in the Oasis Class. There is no Utopia class. The new class of ship debuting in late 2023 will be the Icon class

Also another interesting statistic would be the number of people cancelling or moving their sailing as a result of the new policy.

More salt on the wound. They dropped the vaccine mandate for US cruises a week too late. I'm in disbelief.

To me, it sounds like they are allowing all unvaccinated to cruise and not doing any percentage limitation, but thats not entirely clear. Why so vague Mr. Bayley?

Here's the post from Michael Bayley's Facebook page last night.

Royal Caribbean extended their full refund policy for testing positive with 10 days of departure through April 30, 2023 a few months ago. I'd be surprised if they rescinded that. They run the risk of people not reporting and cruising anyway if they didn't offer the full refund. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-i-test-positive-for-sars-cov-2-what-is-your-refund-policy-and-costs-covered

The change in protocols announcement on the Health Sail Center page also mentions vaccines, but not very specifically Starting with August 8, 2022 departures, our protocols will include: • Requiring testing for unvaccinated guests on all sailings, and for vaccinated guests on sailings that are six nights or longer. • Maintaining a high percentage of fully vaccinated guests onboard all our sailings, far above the general population. • All crew will continue to be fully vaccinated and boosted when eligible, and tested regularly. I wonder if they'll remove their requirement for medical or religious vaccine exemptions and open it up to first come first served like Virgin did Also, "high percentage" is very non-specific. It'll be interesting to hear what they officially go with once it's all set in stone.

It would have been better left unsaid if you weren't trying to start a debate

It's not everyone's cup of tea, and honestly, it shouldn't be. Gambling and the gaming industry relies on convincing players they may beat the house (while the odds are pre-defined against the player) and/or that the entertainment offered while playing was worth the money the player lost. A lot of people don't receive that entertainment value and others do, aka gamblers. Players can reduce their risk of losing big by sticking to table games like blackjack and craps where the house edge is very slim (when played properly) and betting conservatively. IMO, this is the most fun, but others like my wife enjoy slot machines because of all the bells and whistles and the chance at a jackpot. Casinos are truly a menace to society, but they sure are fun to a large chunk of the population that fund their existence.

Saw this flyer on the RC marketing site for a Harmony sailing back in January. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Misc/Yeshiva_Week_2022_TradeFlyer.pdf

With the euro being so close to the dollar lately, that's a nice deal. When did you call and purchase?