EmptyNestTravels

+2 votes for @michelle Michelle Cunningham at MEI-Travel. She's been amazing in bringing me up to speed, giving great advice, cancelling & rescheduling cruises for me due to COVID issues, repricing, and looking out for me. She even booked a group cruise for me later this year. Great communication. I'm sure all the MEI TAs are great, but @michelle has been the face of MEI for me. I've only had positive experiences so far.

For assigned traditional MDR dining, is there a way to request a specific table location (e.g. by one of the windows) before getting onboard and your assignment is already printed on your Sea Pass card? Thanks!

Also, there are restrooms located on the ground floor of the Terminal 1 parking garage if needed during your wait to board.

I found this updated guidance for cruise passengers on CDC website (updated on Feb 15, 2022). https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html#before-you-board-testing

Some TAs advertise they can assist with passport renewals. What is the advantage of contacting a TA for passport renewal vs. doing directly (and paying expedited fees if necessary)? Do TAs have special connections & access to expedited services?

Coco Beach Club was $97.99 for Dec 2021 cruise & I thought that was a good value, and within my acceptable threshold to give it a try. For my upcoming cruise next week, Royal has Coco Beach Club "on sale" for $199.00/person. Not happening. For that same Dec 2021 cruise, DBP with VOOM including gratuities came out to $72.58/day; acceptable and within my threshold. For next week's cruise, it's was priced at $90.90/day total cost (above my threshold); and now shows as being "sold-out" now when I tried to reprice in CP. How can they "sell-out" of DBP+Voom combo package? They are still offering the DBP separately and VOOM separately? Maybe it's just a money making strategy for Royal? Seems prices have gone up steeply for cruises and CP items in the past several days. I have to chuckle at these big "sales" they are always sending to my inbox. As someone else said, the "percent-off" seems to be arbitrary and means nothing; you have to look at the actual bottom-line cost to determine value. If Royal's CP prices continue to increase at the current rate, Celebrity or another luxury cruise line may a become better value proposition for me moving forward.

I received an email from Royal this morning with "An Update to Your Healthy Sailing Protocols" as posted below. I don't see the update posted on their website yet.

Moved post to "Royal Caribbean opts into CDC highly vax program" discussion

I guess my TA @michelle got me super discounted pricing, because the new "sale" prices are all significantly higher for every one of my upcoming cruises. No complaints from me! Just underscores the value that my TA brings to the table! #Grateful.

There are several Del Webb (and other brands) 55+ communities (some just starting construction) in the Jacksonville, FL & St. Johns County areas. There's a cruise port in Jax, and Port Canaveral is about two hours drive.

For my upcoming cruise on Harmony, CP shows the VOOM SURF Internet Package is currently $15.99/day, and the VOOM SURF + STREAM Internet Package is $19.99/day. I already purchased the SURF + STREAM Internet Package, but given this new info, I'll try downgrading to the VOOM SURF package for my next cruise. Thanks for the good & detailed info!

I ate breakfast in the MDR on disembarkation day for my Jan 2022 cruise on Independence. It seemed to be mostly families in the MDR. Wait staff didn't seem to be the caliber of folks that serve at evening meals. A bit disorganized, and multiple wait staff making rounds and asking folks repetitively if they wanted juice. Can't say they were inattentive to customers needs. I was a bit concerned about it possibly taking too long and not getting off the ship in time, but it was fine. Food was good, and the time from ordering until being served was acceptable. Even ordered a specialty coffee, and that was delivered to my table in only a few minutes. Maybe next time I will have to try the Windjammer for comparison. Is the Windjammer usually crazy and over-run with people in a frenzy at breakfast on disembarkation day?

Thank you Ashley. This is very good info! Much appreciated.

Can you purchase a Voom for a single device, and then switch between the two devices? Say I am connected via my phone, then want to switch to my laptop for awhile, and then switch back? Is that possible (use one device at a time) without purchasing access for multiple devices? How does that work?

It seems Royal is a bit disoriented since the cruise re-start. There are some disconnects between ship port locations on the website, the marketing messages on their phone lines, videos on their own website, onboard print materials, and even shipboard announcements. When we returned to Port Canaveral last weekend on Independence, they made an announcement "Welcome to Galveston". Everyone laughed & it was finally corrected several minutes later. The marketing sales pitch announcements while on hold with Royal are stating Independence is sailing from Fort Lauderdale, and Navigator is sailing from (I forget which port) Florida (instead of Los Angeles). If you click on a particular ship name & details on their website, or watch their promotional videos, it may not list the correct port (Independence still shows as Galveston in print, and the video on Royal's website says "now sailing from Southhampton). These are all issues that impact Royal's public image. Fortunately, the actual sailing schedules and locations appear to be accurate. Hopefully their marketing team will get a handle on these challenges and get it cleaned-up and streamlined in the near future as they move forward.

Does cruising solo in an Ocean View Balcony (OVB) = double CAS points, or more points for OVB (or other balcony) & higher? Is there a list/breakdown posted somewhere? Thanks!

I've noticed mostly the the Royal Caribbean “Come & Seek” commercials (and another one that I can't recall - Celebrity maybe) streaming on YouTube quite a bit recently. Maybe tailored to my interests, but nice to see them and a positive image of the cruise industry in media for a change.

I've run the numbers for the various options for drink packages and internet access to determine price-point that I'm comfortable with. Even with my low number of daily alcoholic drinks, when I compare the options to purchase the Combo Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom (One Device) vs. purchasing the Refreshment Beverage Package + separate Voom Internet Surf & Stream (One Device); and then separately paying for a few alcohol drinks daily (including gratuities), it comes out less expensive for me to purchase the Deluxe Beverage Package and Voom option. The cost for the Deluxe Package with Voom has been averaging around $80.00-$85.00/day for sailings I've been looking at. Refreshment package is usually around $23.00/day; separate Voom Internet Surf & Stream around $16.00/day; then add in separate alcoholic drinks + gratuities. On my next cruise, the difference worked out to be about $60.00 more expensive to purchase separately vs. just buying the Combo package with Voom Internet Surf & Stream. Seems to be a moving target with pricing (just like Coco Cay Beach Club has ranged from about $90.00 - $180.00). I've noticed quite a bit of price variation depending on sailing and when you purchase the packages in Cruise Planner.

Thanks everyone! Seems 11:00 am is the goal. I got 12:30 boarding for Harmony later this month. No complaints. Earlier would be nice, and make it easy to take advantage of lunch at Chops. Happy sailing!

What's the earliest boarding time that's usually available on Royal? So far, the earliest I've seen has been 12:00 noon. I presume the earlier a person checks-in (via the Royal app) prior to the cruise, the earlier boarding time they would receive? Wondering what time is the earliest slot in the quest to be one of the first and enjoy more time onboard.

How does parking work for a B2B cruise at the Terminal 1 parking garage in Port Canaveral? Last time I paid in advance at the garage & they already knew the ship & # of days. How do I get that extended to include the second cruise / B2B days? (Don't want to return to find my car has been towed). Thanks!

54 degrees this morning at PDCC

Thank you for the discussion and great feedback. I decided to cancel my Coco Beach Club Full Day Pass ($189) and have already been refunded. If we are lucky enough to moor on Sunday (Independence), then I'll just walk around the island and enjoy the great food and entertainment available on PDCC. Will try the Beach Club next time when the weather is (hopefully) more cooperative. Happy sailing everyone!

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IBERRY30?cm_ven=localwx_pwsdash

Thanks to Matt for his blog post of Aug 20, 2021 "Royal Caribbean adds weather station to Perfect Day at CocoCay!" https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/08/20/royal-caribbean-adds-weather-station-perfect-day-cococay