whitsmom

I was so surprised how easy and quick that it all happened.  We did luck up on our appointment scheduling as normally we would have had to drive 3 hours north to Cincinnati airport; however, for one week only that had it for Louisville airport and that was only 35 minutes away!  The person that did our interview was from Chicago. 

Easy.   Just go through electronic finger printing, photo,  and they just ask basic screening questions on whether you've been convicted of crime.   As you noted it gives you pre-check. ( I did it when it first came out, you had to list where you had lived etc.)   Its through CBP as opposed to TSA and its really handy when you have to come through customs.   Gets you to a shorter line when you return.

When you go on a cruise, be sure to bring the physical card. Since the terminal doesn’t have the kiosks, it’s the only way they can verify and let you skip the line. We had to learn the hard way the first time.

In Toronto, my colleagues and I were headed down to Clearwater Beach for a corporate retreat. I spent about 10 minutes in the Global Entry/NEXUS lanes (including pre-clearing customs) and it felt long. My colleagues took over an hour to get through  and only had about 10-15 minutes before general boarding was called. 
 
I'd known that the KTN was worth the cost before. But after that incident I KNEW that it was the best money I could ever spend on something travel-related. 

We had our interview appointment on Friday (9/17).  Our appointment time was 2:45 pm; however, we got there about 40 minutes early (we allowed extra time due to so much road construction on I-65).  They went on an checked us in and we only waited about a minute or two and we got to be together in the same room. Our KTN was effective as soon as we left our appointment (i thought we had to wait for our GE card to come in the mail).  He told me that the card is just another form of ID and it can be used instead of getting the enhanced drivers license for travel.  When I got home, I get our KTN's linked to our 3 flights that we have booked and applied it to our Delta profile also.  We have one more flight to book but have to wait a few more weeks before the dates will be available.  

@Jill You are going to love it. The crew is so excited to be back serving on the biggest, and they feel best of the line.
Everything is running smooth right now.

If it happens again visit the loyalty ambassador on board.  They sometimes have the CAS letters on display at their desk.  If not look in the cruise compass for when they are open and they'll get you one.  
At all bars including the MDR you have to ask them to use the CAS beer/wine discount.  By default they don't go searching your account to see if you have have used it already.   

Oh, you like to live dangerously... 😆
We've had Global Entry for many years and many vacations (including some international travel). The first time we skipped an hour long line TSA (like Orlando, during peak travel) it paid for itself. And skipping a customs line is crazy awesome!! 

I find the best way to figure out the percentages regarding the drink package is to just keep drinking. Then I don’t care about the cerpentages.🥴

I am not waiting.  I am in New Brunswick and just got off of a B2B2B cruise on Odyssey on Saturday.  It was a great trip and we had no problems at all with any of the testing.  Everything on the ship was open and there was no lines to go in the pool etc.  We have another B2B2B booked on Allure in November, with a 4 day on the Oasis before it.
Here is a little about our testing experience on this last set of cruises in case you are interested:
Our first sailing was Sunday 8/22/21 when it was still the three day testing requirement.
I went online late on Tuesday 8/17 to request our testing appt through the province. I got the call the next morning to schedule the appt. I explained our travel plan - (flying on Saturday 8/21 at 6 AM and then cruising on Sunday 8/22 and both need a test no more than 3 days prior) so I asked for a test on Thursday 8/19.  They explained that it COULD be up to 48 hours for results, so to have us covered for both, they had us go 8/18 & 8/19 for PCR tests.  That way we were sure to get the results in time for both the flight and the first cruise.   
On the morning of the 20th we had still not gotten the 1st results back yet so hubby made an appt with a place in Fredericton NB that offered rapid tests.  As soon as he hung up the phone he checked online again and the results of the 1st tests were there.  It was negative.  Later that same afternoon the other results came in too.  So we really only needed the test results from the 18th, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We cancelled the rapid test.
I had confirmed with multiple sources within RCL in writing (Bayley's FB, RCL FB, email) that we would be able to get the antigen tests between cruises for our B2Bs as well the PCR test to get home.  They were all consistent and said yes and there would be no fees.  
Regarding the antigen tests for the B2Bs, they had all of the B2Bers come down first thing in the morning the day before the cruise ended and we got swabbed.  We got the results back within an hour for the 1st cruise and I think it was a few hours on the 2nd one.
For the tests to get home we got a call from the Diamond concierge on day 2 or 3 of the last sailing and she set up the PCR test appt for us.  Disembarkation and our flights were scheduled for Saturday 9/11/21 but we requested to have the test on Thursday 9/9/21 in case we had any flight issues so we would not have to get retested at the airport or somewhere in Florida if we had to fly on Sunday. They set up up for an appt at 4PM on Thursday 9/9 and told us to go down to medical for the appt.  When we arrived, the nurse told us the results should be back in 35 minutes but asked us to come pick them up at 6PM in case there was a delay or she could send them to the room.  We told her we would come back at 6 to pick up the results and she was just about to stick the tester up my nose when an ALPHA ALHPHA ALPHA for deck 3 alarm came overheard and she had to take off, apologizing profusely.  She told us she would call us in our room when we could come back to get tested.  We totally understood - whatever the emergency was is the 1st priority. About 25 minutes later we got the call to come back down.  We were in and out in less than 5 minutes. We went back at 6PM and got he results, both of which were negative.  They gave us a print out of the results which we then uploaded into the ArriveCAN app with our vaccinations records.  Easy breezy!!
I know November will be more complicated to get tested before the cruise because of the new 2 day requirement so we will likely need to go with the rapid test in Fredericton before we catch our flight or try to find somewhere in Florida.

We just got accepted , from a balcony to a JS Yeah!

So how are things down under ?  News coming out seems a bit grim...just wondering if all is well.

I'll just say that everyone values the Key perks differently. The value also varies based on ship amenities/ship class. Opinions will be all over the place. The friends we sailed with went as far as to say that they will always purchase the Key going forward (they are frequent cruisers - never in suites) as long as the price is reasonable. I agree that the price of the Key and your desire to purchase the Voom package are the biggest factors.
We all (wife and friends) thoroughly enjoyed the Key on our Allure cruise back in May 2019, but that was pre-Covid. We purchased it at $19.99 which was a no-brainer as we all wanted the Voom package anyway. We really enjoyed the Chops Lunch (actually in Chops at that time) on embarkation day, special semi-private breakfast on the last morning in the MDR, reserved seating at all major shows (we would just arrive 10-15 minutes before each show and we were escorted to reserved section in the center of the venue... no scrambling for decent seats and we all sat together... many dirty looks!), carry-on bag delivery to cabin upon boarding, etc.
We were also escorted off the ship at the end of the cruise through the terminal utilizing the Star Class line (no one else on line). The terminal was packed and the regular line was of course snaking throughout the terminal at Port Everglades. We got a lot of confused looks that morning! We were through customs and in our car in literally 10-15 minutes from the time we all met in the Royal Promenade (Champagne Bar) and were escorted off the ship. I don't believe that perk is part of the Key program anymore.
However, in a Covid world with reduced capacity sailings, it may not be that much of a perk at this time especially at the current pricing.
My wife and I still purchased it for our 10/3/21 Oasis sailing at $21.99 (probably as high as I would have gone), but we just received this cancellation e-mail from Royal this morning... time for me to cancel the DBP and purchase the DBP plus VOOM! 🙄
 

 

Same here!  We have two booked July and August 2022 and I am waiting until right before final payment just because of the risk of cancellation.

Same here!  We have two booked July and August 2022 and I am waiting until right before final payment just because of the risk of cancellation.

What is on their website says that you get 100% Future Package Credit as long as the cancellation is 4 days or more before first package travel date.  Less than 4 days no refund.  Now I am a bit worried; however, we don't cruise until July 2022 but I will be monitoring this for sure.

That is who we are going to use for our cruise in July.  My son-n-law has done a lot of research on this matter and Go Port stayed at the top of the list so we are going with them.

I just realized that as of Monday, I have reached Diamond Level!  I had 73 points when I got onboard the Allure last Sunday.  If my reckoning of the Double Points promo is correct, together with the double points I’d gotten as a solo cruiser, I am now (unofficially) Diamond. Yay!
 

We're driving ourselves over to the port from Orlando but using GoPort for their parking and shuttle from the lot to the cruise next month.   Cheaper by far than the port garage.   We booked based on Sheri's video (above) so right now we're hoping for good results.   Will know more next month. 

That is who we are going to use for our cruise in July.  My son-n-law has done a lot of research on this matter and Go Port stayed at the top of the list so we are going with them.

Greeting fellow travelers!
After 3 cancelled cruises, we are super excited for a cruise we think will sail (cross your fingers for us!) We are already checked in even. We are sailing form Port Canaveral and are planning on coming in the night before. We are looking for a place to stay, and saw Go Port, which seems ideal. They offer a a hotel for a night, and transfers from the airport to the hotel, from the hotel to the terminal, and from the terminal to the airport all for one price. 

I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this and could let me know how it went. Good, bad, ugly is welcome. I guess what I am asking is whether or not it is worth it? I tend to worry and not dealing directly with the hotel is part of what concerns me. Thank you for your help!

Here in Ireland I use the Irish Passport online renewal.  I applied at 5pm on Monday last and received my passport in the mail at 10am on Wednesday. Fast!

I always fly in the day before a cruise. So I put on the ship tag before I get on ship, even though I am carrying on my luggage.

Wearing your bathroom sounds uncomfortable, anyway. 

I feel like seeing that "negative" result will be when I can finally breathe and say, "Holy crap, this one isn't getting cancelled, we are really going!" (Two cancelled cruises, three other cancelled vacations, and two years later)