whitsmom

Hi Linda!
Here is the current policy as per Matt's post on 8/27/21. On B2B trips, Royal will test you onboard prior to the second cruise at no cost to you...
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/08/27/royal-caribbean-did-not-change-their-back-back-cruise-policy
 

Members will receive double Cruise Points on bookings made through September 30, 2021 for sailings departing January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022.

We are flying 4 times between October this year and August next year (2 international and 2 domestic) so the pre-check will be so nice also.

We are flying 4 times between October this year and August next year (2 international and 2 domestic) so the pre-check will be so nice also.

Some guests onboard have said I've started to sound American...

We are flying 4 times between October this year and August next year (2 international and 2 domestic) so the pre-check will be so nice also.

+1, simple interview, the best travel investment I made in recent memory. Precheck is fantastic and Global Entry makes things so much easier. 

Me too!  I just put mine in my carry on and put them on when we get to the hotel.

Me too!  I just put mine in my carry on and put them on when we get to the hotel.

It’s an interesting experience being on Adventure and at CocoCay with so few guests.  
It’s 930 on a sea day morning and there are tons of empty chairs on the pool deck and in the solarium.  Hot tubs are empty.  We’re on the starboard side of the solarium and there are only two other people sitting down  
The energy level is definitely much more subdued, but that’s ok with me.  
 


 
 

Yup! same! There's something both really relaxing and really exciting about putting them on at that stage. Like both 'finally we're at the last step' and 'OMG IT'S HERE!'

Me too!  I just put mine in my carry on and put them on when we get to the hotel.

Me too!  I just put mine in my carry on and put them on when we get to the hotel.

I listed this in another post, but they're available here: https://store.optum.com/royal-caribbean/

Also concur that the interview is pretty simple.  Make sure you have 2 forms of ID.

Both me and my wife have had Global Entry for years. It is the best money we have spent on travel related items. The interview is a breeze! It will take you longer to park and find the interview location that the interview itself. We also had to drive out of town to an airport that offered interviews and we just made a date night out of it. FYI.... I recently renewed mine and did not have to re-interview and my renewal was approved in less than 48hours and the new card was in my mailbox in less than a week so once you get it then it is pretty easy to keep renewing when necessary. 

I did this at ORD years ago and it was simple.  Usually, the interview is at the international terminal or the TSA/DHS office at the airport.  

We love Global Entry.  The TSA precheck part is especially great for all flights (domestic and international).  I concur with how easy the interview is.  Ours was about 5 minutes each.  Enjoy!

I pretty much live on the road and have had Global Entry to many years now. It's great, you'll love it.
The interview is really pretty easy. They'll usually just confirm you are who you say you are, maybe ask you a question or two to make sure your answers match your application, do your fingerprints. Sometimes they'll show you how to use the kiosk, but not always (they showed my wife, but basically told me to figure it out myself). That's it. When I did mine, it took less that 5 minutes at DFW. My wife did hers at ORD and it took maybe 10. Both done on layovers while we were passing through said airport (with appointments, of course). 

I don't see why not!  I think it's a great idea and means my wife has one less article of clothing to pack now 😂. She'll be in a carryon size in no time!

The Optum site does have 1, 2 and 3 pack options, but eMed is the best per test price.

Arrived to the terminal early so waited to come down til our 3 pm boarding time and were greeted by this.  So much for organized. And, no, it isn’t moving.
 
 

Twice we have been stuck in traffic (fatality) with no where to get off for almost 2 hours for one and over an hour on the 2nd one.  Needless to say we missed both appointment.  I would think twice about trying do push it to the wire. 

I just sailed 8/22-8/28 on Odyssey with 2 kids ages 2.5 and 3.5.
We got their pre-sail test done at the pediatrician without an issue.  We had 12pm boarding time, so when we got to the port there was no lines to start checking in or to get their at-terminal test done.  The nose swab was quick and easy.  At first the kids were intimidated by the tester's outfit, but we told them it was just going to be "nose tickles"  and thats exactly what it was.  It wasn't a deep swab at all.  We got our results in about 40min and got right on the ship.
Our on-ship departure test for the kids was very similar to the at-terminal one.  We booked an appointment for 10:45am (iirc) on day 6.  We wanted to get tested earlier since that was the day at CocoCay and fortunately they called us at round 9am saying there was no line and to just come down.  Again the test was a not-deep swab for 10s and the kids had no issue.
Adventure Ocean was available but we didn't use it.  The SplashAway area was great with the limited capacity on the boat.  On embarkation day, one of the splash pads was empty except for my kids.  Throughout the week, the most kids I saw in one of the Splashaway areas at any given time was maybe 6-7.  There wasn't any apparent limit set by Royal, but the limited ship capacity seemed to help keep it pretty empty.  
Since the kids were young, they weren't up late enough for any shows.  Pretty much any time they weren't at the pool, they were either in the room or in a dining area.  The kids did really well with the masks since they really only had to wear them in the hallway for a few minutes at a time.  
We only took them off the boat at CocoCay which was great.  We were the only Ship in port so the island felt completely empty.  We are from Florida, so we didn't think it was worth it to book an excursion just to go to a beach at the 2 stops in Mexico.  Instead, we planned to enjoy the even emptier ship, which worked out as planned.  It felt like we had private splash pads during the port days.

Twice we have been stuck in traffic (fatality) with no where to get off for almost 2 hours for one and over an hour on the 2nd one.  Needless to say we missed both appointment.  I would think twice about trying do push it to the wire.