tonyfsu21

22 hours ago, Neesa said:

Here is the letter we just received in our cabin. My refunds for excursions as well as the two days refund already hit my on board account. While I struggle with Royal and the reason we got here I feel they have handled this with transparency and the unexpected compensation is MORE then generous in my humble opinion. 

 

Wow, very generous! Aruba & Curaçao are great but this is better. Odyssey really is the destination anyway!

Positive = no cruise, no exception. As others have said, take the antigen test not PCR. 

7 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Didn't the Freedom Class just get RID of all of its cigar bars ?

I believe they did. I enjoyed them while they lasted though. 

5 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

True. Hazard pay? 

Or even better, put those robot bar tenders to real work! Lol 

10 minutes ago, KWong said:

Cigar lounge is actually not the worst revenue generating idea. But I'm certain that the cigar smokers would also not want cigarettes disrupting the cigar aroma. 

This is true but every cigar lounge I’ve ever been too has been a mix of cigar and cigarette smoke so this wouldn’t be any different. It’s all about the ventilation. Personally I would spend top dollar for a good quality cigar and a nice drink to go with it. Royal could be missing out here solving multiple issues with one venue. 

6 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I also agree that a smoking venue with GOOD ventilation and exhaust would be a welcome feature even though I do not smoke...but pity the poor crew that has to work there.  I guess it's no different than the casino crew who have worked in the smoky casino for years....

True. Hazard pay? 

I mean realistically what revenue is the Bulgari/Cartier store bringing in? My neighbor was a T&Co executive and as I understand it there is a good reason they yanked all the stores off the ships. How about a cigar/smoking lounge with a Havana style bar? Smoke in comfort and isolation. Everyone wins.  

5 minutes ago, twangster said:

Many areas around the world have banned smoking in bars and restaurants.  When they did the smokers rattled their sabres and forecasted all of these establishments going out of business overnight.  That didn't happen.  Non-smokers rejoiced, smokers adapted.  The same will occur in ship smoking lounges that also have some gambling in them from time to time on ships.

Before this policy change the casinos were beginning to advertise smoking while playing only, like that would be enforced.  

It will be interesting to see if this temporary policy becomes permanent.  

It was going to happen at some point in time.  Perhaps the time is now.  

IMHO it’s time RC starts adding designated smoking lounges completely closed off much like the cigar bars of the past. The smoking area on the pool deck is out of place where it is. At a minimum they should have set it up in a less trafficked area and away from all the kids running around by the pool. The walkers, breathing apparatus and smoke plumes are unpleasant at best. 

1 hour ago, TickledBlue said:

I would imagine that they already have a pretty good idea on the impacts of income of a casino smoking ban since it has been implemented on Celebrity (owned by RCG) for many years.   I guess those that cruise on Celebrity is a different demographic though.

RC has invested huge sums of money into the casinos & player programs (especially on Oasis class). I am not a smoker so I welcome the ban. In my opinion the half assed attempt at making 1/2 the casino “non smoking” was a total joke. I don’t care where you are in that casino, regardless of the designation it still smelled heavily of smoke. I don’t sail Celebrity but my parents are on them often & tell me the casino does not have the same vibe. I am guessing the Casino Royale smokers are going to be pissed and feel betrayed and this will reflect in the contributions to the machines & tables. I’m sure eventually they will get over it but smoking and gambling + drinking are all kind of married together into one good time!

The gap between D+ and Pinnacle is excessive. Even for the sake of exclusivity it’s still excessive and there is plenty of room (perhaps purposely) to insert another tier to shift the entire program if necessary. 

I tried to search because I know this was recently mentioned but can’t locate…

Which sites do you use to filter Star Class only sailings for pricing? 

22 minutes ago, Dicey said:

I hope this is still effective when we return to the Anthem in March 2022.  The smoke in the casino was unbearable when we were on the Anthem last month.  The difference between the non-smoking and smoking sections were smoky and smokier.  And smokers will often walk over to the non-smoking sections with lit cigarettes.  

The smoking / non smoking areas in the casino is a joke. Like the entire place isn’t going to be filled with smoke in that small of a room? 

Support & donate to your Casinos because they could be the only thing keeping these ships floating at this point. Think about that….

9 minutes ago, baltodave said:

I think this is great news.  You can count my wife and me as those who have not gambled much due to the smoke in the casinos.  I think the cruise lines will make more money off of non-smokers than the loss revenue from smokers who won't go in the casinos.  Here, in Maryland, when they banned smoking in bars & casinos those businesses did not take a hit at all.

 

It’s great news but I doubt it will last longer then the holiday season. 

7 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

A smoking ban in the casino would normally induce me to spend more time in the casino. With the mask mandate in indoor areas, it might not, as I would try to spend as much time as possible outdoors where it isn't required.

I'm also one who would seek clarity on what qualifies as "actively drinking." Does that mean I am putting the glass, bottle, can, or cup up to my lips RIGHT NOW? Or does it mean I have a beverage that I am taking a swig (or sip) every couple of minutes? 

It all changes once you pass through the gangway. 

10 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

I don't think this person will post again......the shakes from not being allowed to smoke in the casino won't allow them to type.

Ms White must have hit triple 7’s last night in the casino for a $100k win and suddenly realized her luck in the casino is not directly tied to the way she times her cigarette puffs! 

I guess everyone has their own set of priorities and where they draw the line in the sand. Ms White likes her cigarettes while gambling clearly. At this point, nothing regarding rules and protocols on cruise ships surprises me anymore. You need to get on that ship with the understanding that this is not 2019. 

What’s the over/under on when Royal Caribbean revamps the current tiers and makes “adjustments” which will demote across the board?

At this point I’ve wasted enough of my time on this. At first you can see the RC representative is clueless as usual and provides false information. If I stopped at that point w/o pressing then this wouldn’t have been resolved. FYI- it’s important to note that I’m not the one that’s “confused”. 

Anyone with younger kids should know EXACTLY what I’m talking about because they all are obsessed with the climbing pods. We have not been on Oasis since the upgrades and would like to know if they retrofitted the wall adjacent to Johnny Rockets with these climbing pods? I seem to remember in 2010 when she came out there was some kind of kids castle or something like that on the opposite side but hoping that’s been updated. I can’t find any recent pictures of that specific area. Thanks!

52 minutes ago, bobroo said:

Before Royal ships come back online, they are outfitted with a facial recognition system. Therefore it’s super easy to accurately contact trace once a positive passenger is found. 44 sounds like a very low number to me considering the close confines of a cruise ship. I bet a typical passenger comes in close contact to several hundred other passengers and crew during any given day of a voyage.

Also, the reason your uploaded photo from check-in is found to be no good at embarkation and needs to be retaken? Redundancy. Redundancy for the facial recognition system.

Good point re: check in photo. I agree, 44 seems way too low. I am willing to bet there’s many more cases that get ignored just simply due to RC saving face. Of course this story makes the front page of our local news!

They only test unvaccinated children on the last day onboard so how would they even get to that point?

IMHO anything goes at this point. You can’t send an email out like that and then not accept a rapid antigen test when it’s spelled out on the email. 

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

It feels so good to be back in Florida!!! That’s all for now.

Enjoy your dinner at La Bamba! My kids are requesting pollo a la plancha from La Bamba so take out it is! I don’t know what’s going on with the harbor shoppes today but the parking lot is packed. 

4 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

The CDC dictates the type of testing for unvaccinated (one of the two tests must be PCR). This seems just outdated text.

Perhaps but this could really mess people up. This email tells me it’s ok to get the rapid antigen test for my kids and then a complimentary PCR will be performed at the terminal. Very annoying communication error.