Peter D

Kids tend to congregate in specific areas. Seaplex, Living Room, Fuel, Arcade. adventure ocean etc. Aside from Seaplex, those areas are adult free anyhow. Solarium will certainly be a 'safe' kid free space and of course, the casino. I guess it all depends on if you are prone to noticing other people's children. I am sure you will have a nice time. Anthem is an excellent ship.

I have only heard of the 'pillow menu' being a thing on the high-end suites on some ships and I am not at all sure if Radiance of the Seas offers it. I doubt any option that the cruise ship can offer you will compare to your own. My wife brings her own pillow on the cruises. My recommendation would be to bring your own that you know will be best for you.

I sincerely doubt anyone wears sunscreen in solarium out of concern for sunburns. UVB rays are the sunburning rays and glass blocks nearly all, if not all UVB. UVA is still skin damaging, (but not burning) and glass does not block it. So, if sunburning is a concern, I personally would not worry about it, but if sun damage is a concern, then it cannot hurt. All this coming from a guy that shuns sunlight like Nosferatu.... because I hate wearing sunscreen.

I seriously doubt RCL is managing the vaccination rates at all through booking. I think they ask if you are and probably note it, but they aren't trying to get to 95% through the booking process, only through the sail process. Hopefully things will be much different come November, but as things stand right now, I think it is correct that your children will need to follow the 'unvaccinated children test requirements' ie. the PCR test up to 3 days prior.

What about bringing the EMed test kits with you and do the testing remotely using them? I assume you can do the test over a facetime type smart phone connection. Is that correct?

I am also sailing out of Vancouver in May. I am flying into Seattle and driving into Vancouver. So I am technically entering Canada by land. I do not know if border agency will ask if I am doing a cruise, but if they do will they then say, where is your testing. I doubt they will. From their perspective, I am a landing entry and no testing is required. Once I get to the port, I only expect to interact with Royal Caribbean personnel who will expect to see my vaccination card and negative test results. The only question is whether it will need to be a 1 day or 2 day antigen.... I expect we will get better instruction directly from Royal Caribbean in the form of a 'healthy sailing protocols' email (at least I hope so...)

Citadel Hill in Halifax is cool if you like old Forts. Peggy's cove is also popular. Bay of Fundy is popular in St John New Brunswick. I would expect the weather in both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to be warm. 60-70's.

absolutely. You would do just that. On your phone, you would go to 'logoff.com' and follow instructions to remove it from the wifi. Then you would go to 'logon.com' on your tablet and enter credentials to connect.

Good to know. thanks for the clarification.

Orient beach is very nice. It's on the Atlantic, so the water can be much rougher (i.e. more waves) than the Phillipsburg beach. Plenty of bars and facilities. The clothing optional is Club Orient which is way down the beach and well-marked.

I expect that masks will be required, especially if it travels into Canada.

It's not a bad idea. As long as you are using only 4 devices, you will not have any issues. The issues arise when there are more devices than the plan allows and the log in requires other devices to be 'kicked off' wifi. Teddy (above) provided a solid example for using more devices than plan allows.

I think we are saying the same thing, but to be sure. The 72 hour PCR/ 1 day antigen test is Canada entry requirements and not a Canada mandated pre-cruise test. The 2 day PCR/antigen test is the pre-cruise testing that Royal has been requiring all along. It's all so confusing... I cannot wait for it all to go away...

"As of April 1, 2022, pre-entry tests are no longer required for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada by land, air or water. You must still use ArriveCAN within 72 hours before your arrival to Canada." Travel to Canada: Requirements for COVID-19 vaccinated travellers The 72-hour PCR test or 1 day antigen test is for unvaccinated children 5 and older. The 2 Day testing is the standard Royal Caribbean requirement for fully vaccinated passengers to board a ship. I have been very excited for my May Vancouver to Alaska cruise but dealing with requirements to enter Canada are a drag. If this goes smoothly, I'll be very surprised.

This is definitely going to happen, so I wouldn't worry about the app. At check in, they will take a picture of it, if what you submitted is not sufficient.

I hope you come back after your cruise and let us know how this worked out. I was in this exact situation back in 2021, but the cruise was cancelled. I for one, am interested on how it goes.

I am also booked for Oasis on August and today's 10%off cruise planner cost for 1 plan, 2 device is $287. The diamond discount is onboard $ value of one day ($26.99). Right now, I believe the 2-device plan on the cruise planner is slightly better than the Diamond discount you would receive onboard for the full cruise. As I mentioned above, if you can go without wifi on embarkation date, you could sign up on morning of day two and save more. The onboard purchase just takes (the daily rate of $26.99 X number of remaining voyage days)- $26.99. Keep in mind, you are both entitled to the diamond discount, but if you do a 2-device plan, you will only get one discount. As for pre-purchasing, you can order now and watch the prices. If you see a better price, you can always cancel and rebook.

Royal Caribbean is currently running a 'kids sail free' promotion, it might be worth at least checking the price to put everyone in the same suite if possible.

Basically, as long as you do not wear pool wear, you will be fine. Whatever you wear on a normal day to day basis is appropriate.

Many cellular plans have wifi calling option if the phone can manage it. If you are getting the internet, you might have phone service on the ship available to you. Your phone would be in airplane mode with wifi turned on and you can use phone as normal. Might be worth looking into.

The one time I purchase a multiple device plan from pre-planner (in 2019), there was a letter in my stateroom with instruction on how to access it. I would expect the same on your upcoming cruise.

For those with Diamond status and above, one should not discredit the option to purchase Voom while onboard. I find it's better to purchase internet onboard rather through cruise planner, because of the onboard credit. The other thing about purchasing onboard is that it's prorated as week progresses, and if you can go without internet on 1st night, you will likely save some money. For example, as Diamond plus, we get 2 free days of internet. On our March cruise on Symphony, the pre-planner price was $20 per day and the ship price was $26 per day, pre-planner $140 vs onboard $130 ($182-$52 for two-day credit). Adding to that, I always skip first night. Cellular service works while in port and for a bit after departure. I only end up being without service for a few hours on first night. On morning of day 2, I sign up for service at 6-day prorated cost of $104 ($156-$52 for two-day credit). Essentially saving $36 at the expense of some first night access. It should also be noted that the C&A status credits are per person, so it's not advantageous for D+ to get multiple device plans. For example, on upcoming Oasis cruise, pre-planner price is $24 per day with one device plan at $168 and two device plan at $287. The listed on-ship price is $27 per day at $189 ($135 with discounts). If I were to get the 2-device plan onboard, it would only subtract $54. Instead, I would do a single plan for both myself and wife to get the $54 off both. It definitely works out in our advantage. Anyhow, thought I'd share my experiences with VOOM.

Are you sure it is not already surf and stream? This is the cruise planner description for my upcoming Radiance cruise in May. "this bundle includes both the Deluxe Beverage Package and the VOOM Surf + Stream - 1 Device Package."

Has anyone used the Diamond+ onboard drink package 30% off discount? Does it stack at all with other offers? For example, on Symphony of seas last month, ship was offering buy one, get one 50% off to everyone. The ship price was $88 for one and $44 for second ($132 for two + gratuities). If both are diamond plus, can you get an additional 30% off? If not, then assumption is $88 pp less 30% for both ($123 for two +gratuities). It basically makes the D+ perk useless. It would be great if Royal translated the drink vouchers into an equivalent dollar value discount to incentivize UDP.

Do you know if it can be stacked with other on-ship offers? For example, the ship will frequently offer the buy one, get 50%. so on ship price is $88 (1st) and $44 (2nd). Can you get 30% off that deal in addition?