whitsmom

Yes, it's always exciting to go on a brand new ship. I felt the same when I got assigned.

We did the Northbound and is was amazing!  As we were on the inside passage, we actually had AT&T cell reception almost the entire trip (We were pleasantly surprised about this). 

Over the years have seen a bunch of weird things.  The German Shepherd security bomb sniffer who spent the cruise on the balcony next to ours after 9-11.  The teenagers jumping off the aft of Grandeur docked at Cozumel.  But the strangest (I guess most interesting) was the US Sub that made transit through the Gatun Locks beside us while in Panama on Brilliance.

My take on Royal's new Covid Vaccine requirements.
 
 

CHECK IN IS FINALLY OPEN at 40 days;   10/6/2021 Indy out of Galveston
 
I just tried the website.  Got an unavailable note.  Tried again and was able to get a 1:00 PM check in.  Multiple times were available.  
 
FINALLY!!   All checked in, printed and luggage tags pending.
 
I guess I'll have to find something else to do every day and night now!
Mike

I love the magnetic hooks!!!

I pulled the trigger.  I booked the back to back.  Refundable.  All I had to do was put down a deposit now.  I will re-price the cruise from now until final payment and then switch it to a non-refundable to get more savings.  ?  I was lucky enough to get the same cabins for both sailings.

The link to send Royal proof you are vaccinated before the cruise?
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/resources/vaccination-form
They'll email you a number of times before your cruise with the link.

We have had our pre-cruise COVID testing done at one of the local CVS locations. We had to find ones that administer the rapid testing as not all of them around us do. The past several days they have been cancelling appointments for the rapid test due to the large number of testing done and shortage of supplies. We ordered the Abbott home test kit through eMed that Royal and the airlines accept for our next cruise in September. Matt did a great review on it on the Blog and we also read up on it. It comes in a six-pack which for us is ok as we have several cruises coming up in the upcoming months. Cost was approximately $175 with tax and shipping for all six kits. Our insurance covers the CVS test but we did not want to bump anyone locally who might really need the test for health reasons.

That's bumper sticker worthy right there.

While this wasn't on the ship, it was during a cruise excursion.  Let's just say it was on St. Martin and was at Orient Beach.  I will only say that it was a parade and leave the rest to everyone's imagination.  Simply put, some things cannot be unseen.
I am reminded of the words of caution given to us by our tour director as we were being let off the bus:  "Those that can, don't and those that do, shouldn't!"  More accurate words have never been spoken.

I purchased the Key for our July 2022 cruise during the last week.  I guess it will be a wait and see for us then...

My Sister-In-Law just returned a couple of weeks ago from a Viking cruise around Iceland and they had to carry a round trace thing.  They were allowed to put it in a pocket.  They had to have it any time they were our of their stateroom. Their cruise was fully vax'd and they had to saliva test daily.  No one tested positive on their cruise.

You must call or email.  No longer self-service.
(800) 526-9723
[email protected]
https://dlxffu6hwewxp.cloudfront.net/cas/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/18063159_CAS_MemberBonus_Amenity_List_v3.pdf
 

Finally onboard RC again ? Just left⁹ Limassol 15 mins ago. As Matt told all ships sail with low capacity. Jewel this week sail with only 520 guest (normaly aprox.2800). So yes its very different but I think it will be a unique experience with a very high level of service. 3 crew per 1 guest. 

I just looked at my card and it just has Kroger and the Store #.  Mine doesn't says signature it says "Healthcare Professional or Clinic Site"

It's hard to say it like this.  Worst cruise I have been on (even worst than the one where I hid from my MIL for 3 days by staying in my cabin ?) ....but I mean...it was still a nice cruise....but could have been better...I suppose people will say "it is the best of a bad situation" and I suppose that's relatively accurate.
It was a royal pain in the posterior having to swap mask on and off, go to some shows and you could take it off, then the next day, you can't take it off.  I traveled with a 10 yr old, so kept getting kicked out of places we settled for live music or an activity.  The only thing that was consistent...was the casino was jumping.  Mostly I bet because it was the only place you could consistently relax mask free.
Ship was only about 1/3 full, so most places felt empty and actually a little sad at times.  Pool deck was also jumping (because you could be mask free).  Windjammer was straight forward, stick you plate out, they put food on it....you ask for more because you wanted 2 pieces and you get a dirty look (so typical) and we only went there once for a light snack. ?
Honestly If Royal had announced just 2 days earlier the whole "Everyone now has to wear a mask" I would have cancelled, but with the amount of notice given, everything was already in motion for the trip....kennels, PTO, testing.....so we sucked it up.  And Royal I bet knew that most people would end with the same conclusion.
The real highlight though was having Air2sea booked 5 first class seats get 'over sold' and have to fly out and back without 'checked in' prior to arriving at airport and standing around in lines to get seat assignments. 
Testing Antigen 2nd round to fly back was a cluster IMO.  They put a QR code in the stateroom, I accessed it, went to a page, it asked me a couple questions and asked how many people in my party....and then said you have an appointment.  So go to the appointment and the people running it are like "You need to download this QR code and app on each person's phone and setup 5 different appointments"...I"m like "i have one phone, one internet package and 3 kids....."....so they huffed/puffed and set it all up while we stood there and ultimately got testing.
Then they email the results.  I wasn't permitted use my yahoo.com email address that everything royal goes to that I can easily access from my phone.  NO I have to use a real domain based email per 'policy'.  Which is something that I can't readily access from my phone for security reasons (and then they didn't say "oh we will send print outs to your room") so I had to stress about that for several hours while trying to hack my personal email account from a cell phone on the worlds WORST internet only to then find out "ohh yeah, we will send the results to your room"
Obviously it all worked out....but the process could have been a lot smoother considering they have been doing it a little while now.

i totally agree!

i totally agree!

https://news.miami-airport.com/covid-19-testing-available-daily-at-mia-starting-may-21/
I found this

I would “practice” at home with a q-tip a few times so your 4 year old won’t freak out. 

i totally agree!

Originally I thought it was just me....every little break I had from work I was checking. I realized how much I love and need this blog. CC isn't where it is at, every thread is horrible. At least when a live blog is done here, I actually feel like I am on the cruise. 

I don't know about anyone else but I really missed this site while it was doing it's "thing" with migration...whatever that was!  Happy to be back reading up on the latest info!  
Have great day!

Our daughter works for a resort and she has said that housekeeping staff is down considerably and rooms are only being cleaned while someone is staying in them if they request it. Otherwise it's only after the guests check out. 
Cruising is a completely different story. I love seeing crew constantly wiping down things, offering sanitizer, basically keeping the ship very clean. With the new protocols in place I feel much safer on a cruise than anywhere else.