Oli82

I'm on the Barcelona to Barbados cruise leaving next Tuesday. Confusingly my travel agent has emailed to say that no test is required. Yet I'm certain that on the RC website it is very clear that for transatlantic cruises leaving from Europe a test is still required. I paid 60 euros yesterday for a test for my wife and I. That's non-refundable. I think the travel agent is just confused - which is unfortunate as presumably many others will now not bother to get a test that they are required to take. I really hope the test results are checked - nothing is more infuriating than paying a lot for tests only to have the relevant company not even ask to see it! That happened throughout the pandemic for me.

Thanks for all the replies! It's all very helpful info. I think my only remaining question is that we booked a check-in for 12:30pm a couple of weeks' back, that was the earliest time available. Now that we have The Key, I've heard that we might be eligible for an earlier check-in. Should I try to 'undo' the check-in, or ask Royal Caribbean if we could switch to an earlier one? If we could get on at say 11am then I would go for that, we will be at a hotel near to the port anyway. Oh also - is the room available when we board the boat? I assumed we could go there, drop our stuff off, freshen up and then go walking to the lunch without carrying bags. I know there is the option to leave hand luggage with them included in The Key, but I won't go for that as I want to keep hold of my valuables.

Hello everyone, My wife and I will be travelling on the Rhapsody of the Seas this November 8-20 from Barcelona to Barbados. I have a few questions that hopefully I could get some guidance on. I have never been on a cruise before and don't know what to expect, my wife has but as a child many years ago. Here are my questions - I hope it's allowed to ask in this way. Many thanks in advance to anyone who's able to help. I hope they don't seem silly. 1) The cruise is described as a '12 Night' cruise. When we're paying for things that are 'per day', is that 12 days or 13 days? I know it should really be 12 as the onboard/offboard days together equate to 1, but I don't know what's the norm with these things. 2) We have gone for the 'Deluxe Beverage Package', as it's a honeymoon and we didn't want to be mentally adding up expensive drinks. I appreciate that we might struggle to get full value from this. My question is, are there any situations where we might be offered drinks that aren't included? Should I be "on the look out" for that? We know the expensive wine bottles and Starbucks aren't included. My question basically is, is it easy to accidentally stray into drinking things that aren't included? 3) We're looking at this 'The Key' option, as it's hardly more expensive that the decent Wi-Fi option. 20 vs 19 euros per day. My question is - what percentage of people get this? Is it like flying where often everyone appears to have paid for "Speedy Boarding", rendering it almost useless? Or do very few go for it? I'm tempted to get it but just know I'll be disappointed if it appears like everyone has it so the benefits are effectively non-existent. 4) I was planning to dress smart casual, so a nice polo top with jeans. Is this acceptable for dinner? I heard from some people that it's normal to dress smartly (i.e. wear a shirt I guess) to dinner. Do I need to pack some formal wear? 5) On the final day, we arrive at 8am, what sort of time would we be off the boat by and on land in Barbados? I know if we get The Key we have a breakfast on that final morning and can choose our departure time. Are we talking 8:30am? Or noon? I'm totally unsure about this. Anyway I hope these questions weren't stupid and that it's an appropriate place to ask. Many thanks in advance for any help. Thanks, Oli