SpicyCherry

When I heard how low the guest count was I knew the ship could use some on board revenue so I booked specialty dining.  That brings me to the Fine Cut Steakhouse tonight.

Soft rolls.




The Steakhouse Wedge

Peppered Bacon

Blue Cheese Crust

Parmesan Truffle Fries

Grilled Asparagus

My medium rare request was not what I expected.

No worries, it was soon replaced with something that I was expecting.

Dessert time

NY Strawberry Cheesecake

Who said it must rain to see a rainbow?
Not on Edge...

Time for this cabin to live up to its name.






Cool effect as the islands of the Bahamas appeared to be floating above the sea.

Day Two - Nassau
Early up to catch a sunrise arrival.


One of the most photographed lighthouses, ever.

Soon enough it was sail away time.

From the Sunset Bar.


The bar earned its name tonight

Cheers!

Back in my cabin I noted the mini bar prices:

Elite benefits VIA status recognition from Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor - very nice!


One thing a bit odd about this cabin is the outlet beside the bed, behind the lamp that doesn't move.

At least the lamp bends a bit.

Note to self - bring water back to the cabin so you don't wake up in the night thirsty. $5.50 per bottle plus 20% service charge.  But it is from the French Alps so there is that.

We are going on our 1st B2B in April 2022. We usually bring wine onboard. This is from Royal’s website, in FAQs: 
Can I bring additional bottles of wine if I am on consecutive cruises?
Yes. Guests are allowed to bring two additional 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne per stateroom, for each individual sailing. Additional bottles beyond two, will be stored by the ship and delivered, two bottles at a time, to the stateroom on the first day of each new voyage. Guests bringing four bottles at the start of the first sailing should have documentation for both sailings available to share with security.
So you can just bring 4 bottles on the 1st leg if it’s easier. That’s what we plan on doing. Not sure how it works if you buy it in port and they deliver the night before debarkation. I can’t imagine they would confiscate anything from your cabin, if you are staying in the same one for both legs. But you never know. Someone should be able to verify that for you.

I really hope it's a placeholder because the ship is due to sail at 4pm. Folks will definitely want to dress up a bit, I would guess. And on the 1st night, who knows when your bags will arrive? Now I've always gotten my bags pretty quick but.....Well I guess we'll see. Now that's 2 things I will stay tuned for. Looks like your assignments are stacking up!! 😊 

agree 100%.  it took so long to get there, but when I finally got to taste that forbidden fruit, I realized that most of the time, the lounge is only good for sitting around and looking at other diamonds.  
it's nice having the concierge there for questions, but depending on the sailing the lounge is usually packed during the nightly event so running in and grabbing your hors d'oeuvre and drink loses appeal if you can't find a seat.  if the drink is free anyways you might as well get it anywhere.
likewise, the priority check-in is nearly worthless now.  I havent seen a diamond-dedicated check in line at Miami, Tampa or Los Angeles since I re-started cruising in September.  there's usually a separate line for "Pinnacle / Suites" and that's it.  but even this seems moot with the adherence to strict check-in times at the pier.  I check in on the app and am always shepherded right along in the process until I'm onboard.  so it's quick, but doesn't feel very "elite." 
personally I enjoy the balcony discount if you like to book direct, but its really about the free drinks for me.    

Currently Edge does Chef’s Table twice each cruise.  It’s a shared table with 10 guests.  The first event is day 2 for guests who pre-purchased it.  The 2nd one is for anyone who buys it on board later in the cruise, like day 6.  
Wine is not included rather an additional $60.  You can use a drink package for each glass in which case normal drink package rules apply.  If it’s a $20 glass of wine you pay the overage for that glass sort of thing.  
 

It was occurring just now as I stopped by to inquire.

Some pictures of the venue, it’s located near the entrance of Fine Cut   

Thanks twangster…great info. Looks like a nice menu too. Looking forward to trying it for the 1st time. Although, I’m not sailing until December 2022.

On Edge now.  I didn’t book Chef’s Table but I can try to ask.  

Do you know what day the Chef's Table is usually scheduled for? In my cruise planner it has it on Day 1 @ 5:30pm. I'm hoping that is just a place holder. Any ideas??

SpeedNoodles!! You saved me from myself!! I booked the Taste of Royal Lunch and then later decided to book the UDP since it went on sale. All this was done back in September. Here I am thinking all this time: 'I'm all set!!' Then I just read this thread and you made me realize that I really would be paying twice for a Specialty Lunch. DUH!! I just cancelled the Taste of Royal. Thanks for waking me out of my stupor🤦‍♀️

SpeedNoodles!! You saved me from myself!! I booked the Taste of Royal Lunch and then later decided to book the UDP since it went on sale. All this was done back in September. Here I am thinking all this time: 'I'm all set!!' Then I just read this thread and you made me realize that I really would be paying twice for a Specialty Lunch. DUH!! I just cancelled the Taste of Royal. Thanks for waking me out of my stupor🤦‍♀️

Isn't the Royal Lunch just an amalgamation of selections from various specialty restaurants? If so, and you have the UDP, not sure why you'd want to book it.  
 

I've seen people say it's not worth booking anything higher than Jr. Suites on ships other than Quantum or Oasis Class ships because you won't get as much bang for your buck.  What are your thoughts on this?

After reading everyone's differing experiences, and becoming sufficiently frightened, I decided to order (2) 3-Pack Test Kits from Optum now, even though my B2B isn't until April 30. So I ordered on Jan 15 at 11:30pm. I immediately received a confirmation with my Order #. The next day, I received an email that my order was shipped, with a FedEx tracking # and an estimated delivery date of Jan 17-18. OK Cool, right? So far, so good. I said: "I'm not sure what's going on with these people, but my order is on it's way!" Well, the next day, Monday, I went to track my order and now my FedEx status changed to 'Pending'!! OH NO. Not quite believing my eyes, I quickly refreshed my screen. Now, the FedEx status went from 'Pending' to 'We have no information on this tracking #' or something to that effect. Whaaaaat?? I definitely should not have talked so quickly about those 'Blog People'. So I said, Oh well. Then, yesterday, Tuesday, I received a notification from FedEx that my order would be delivered on Wednesday, Jan 19. I said, I'll believe it when I see it!! Happily, it was just delivered, with expiration dates of 11/20/22. Whew!! 

After reading everyone's differing experiences, and becoming sufficiently frightened, I decided to order (2) 3-Pack Test Kits from Optum now, even though my B2B isn't until April 30. So I ordered on Jan 15 at 11:30pm. I immediately received a confirmation with my Order #. The next day, I received an email that my order was shipped, with a FedEx tracking # and an estimated delivery date of Jan 17-18. OK Cool, right? So far, so good. I said: "I'm not sure what's going on with these people, but my order is on it's way!" Well, the next day, Monday, I went to track my order and now my FedEx status changed to 'Pending'!! OH NO. Not quite believing my eyes, I quickly refreshed my screen. Now, the FedEx status went from 'Pending' to 'We have no information on this tracking #' or something to that effect. Whaaaaat?? I definitely should not have talked so quickly about those 'Blog People'. So I said, Oh well. Then, yesterday, Tuesday, I received a notification from FedEx that my order would be delivered on Wednesday, Jan 19. I said, I'll believe it when I see it!! Happily, it was just delivered, with expiration dates of 11/20/22. Whew!! 

That’s too bad…We are doing a B2B on Symphony in April/May and will technically move up to Diamond between sailings. Now, Reservations said although it normally takes 7 or so days to update status, if you speak to the Loyalty Manager on the 1st leg, they should update you no problem. Wanting a 2nd opinion, I called the Crown & Anchor Desk. Now, they said that the updated status is really at the Loyalty Desk’s “discretion” so no guarantees. And even if you are recognized as Diamond, because of Covid protocols, you may not be allowed access to the Diamond Lounge. Well, where’s the fun in that?? We were trying to save on the Beverage Package for the 2nd leg and would just make do with the DC vouchers, but with no guarantees, we just went ahead with the Bev Pkg. We’ll see what happens!!

Royal Math is quite hard to figure out

I officially turned diamond on my last sailing after night one, the loyalty desk stood firm I was not to be awarded diamond until stepping off the ship...I just stared longingly outside the diamond lounge, lol. It was an 8 night sailing too, just torture me why don't you?  

Post AND pre-cruise testing !

I have a March 6th cruise on Anthem (newly booked in December-awesome price!) and also an April 18th cruise (which was originally booked in 2019 for 2020).  Everyday I feel differently about these…from yes, going no matter what…to what should we do…to wait and see…back to yes!   I too would be fine just spending the 7 days at sea for the March cruise.  I think right now I just have to stop thinking about it for the next few weeks and then see what happens.
I saw on this morning’s news that the CDC is in-depth looking at the cruise industry so who knows what will happen next anyway!  Apparently they are saying that every single cruise in the past few weeks has had COVID cases aboard.  Ughhhhhhhh 🙄😵‍💫😷