tonyfsu21

28 minutes ago, MuttMutt said:

Best advice you can get.  Test a few days to a week before leaving out, this way if someone does have a positive you can cancel rooms and inform Royal that you will be unable to go and get the room transferred or whatever they are doing.  Once tested avoid outside interaction with others unless you and they have a mask on.  This includes family and friends who swear they are fine and are vaccinated.  Test again 2 days before ship departure so you have the clean test and can board.

We did exactly this and had a great time with minimal fuss.  It does however require a few tests to be on hand but for the first one the cheapo's at the local store will work.  Plus for me it was a test run on how long it would all take and what I was up for on the B2B testing.

Ok, So suppose you self test with an el cheapo test kit and it shows positive. Are you now red flagged by a CDC database log? If this is the case, even if you went to a more reliable test center and received negative COVID result wouldn’t the positive still prevent you from boarding? In other words are the results of a self test which has oversight by a web based proctor uploaded to a database and used against you? 

I totally understand your anxiety as I have 2 young children who are unvaccinated. There’s only so much you can control so at some point it’s out of your hands. At least you “should” know whether your trip is going to happen a few days before you make your way to the port based on the 1st mandatory antigen test. Personally in my house we are taking the test on Friday at a lab in Fort Lauderdale and then staying at the house until we get in the car and head North to Port Canaveral on Sunday morning. I am 100% committed to not missing out on a 2nd Thanksgiving cruise because of this virus or the politics that surround it. 

Does anyone know if they brought back the suite guest “Sunset Sailaway” party that was normally held on the bow of the ship on one of the port days?

To add to @WAAAYTOOO comments I would also add that the recent ramp up in passengers coupled with the holiday sailings in general the chances of actually getting a winning bid are slim at best. Although I would be interested to know if chances are better or worse going from and interior to a balcony as opposed to a grand suite or above to a loft or star class cabin? I would think Oasis class w/ a majority of balcony cabins it might be better odds but then again is there an over abundance of passengers willing to fork out more significant money to stay in the upper tier suites or are they the last to sell out? In my experience I’ve mostly gone from suite to suite and only a couple times from balcony to suite. 

4 hours ago, Ditchdoc said:

I am a RN. I work two jobs. One is in an addiction clinc where as many as 200 patients needs are addressed daily. Some of these patients are known to be Covid+ and are seen in an isolated area. All the medical staff wear masks and patients are required to wear masks. All the medical staff are very much pro-vaccine. All my vaccines are current including flu and booster.

The second job is in a hospital administering monoclonal antibodies to Covid+ patients. Here I am in a room for 8 hours a day with as many as 5 Covid+ patients at a time. In this case, I all but wear a space suit all day.

Here is the deal. The cruise lines and a lot of other places commonality ask if you have been in contact with someone that has Covid. Well the truth is obvious for me but at the same time, I am not inclined to answer yes for fear of loosing my rights to cruise or attended whatever function is asking me.

Is this fair to health providers?

What is your opinion?

 

 

IMHO it’s fair to answer “no”. This topic is so sensitive that a “yes” could potentially have an impact on your cruise and that’s not fair. If you comply with the testing requirements then you should board the ship like the rest of the people. 

@twangsteri believe elaborated on the formula for this program. I have a 90% success rate which originally I attributed to bidding the highest dollar amount but later realized I just have really good luck. It is annoying that this drags on to the 11th hour but I get the fact (especially with the COVID-19 testing requirements) that plans change and rooms shift last minute. At the end of the day, RC makes money and that’s what this is all about. 

This will be me in 5 days w/ my sail away drink in hand. Same ship, same beverage, same stateroom but different debarkation port. 

39 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

When they are all expired with one pending is a good sign you won the pending one. So crossing my fingers this is the case for us here as well! We can no longer modify the bid so it's locked in.

Oh wow, didn’t know that. I don’t check often so I never really saw how it plays out at the end other then my credit card getting charged. 

6 minutes ago, CGTLH said:

FYI, on the same sailing: RoyalUp bids that I've made have moved to expired with one pending. Unable to cancel.

Fortunately all of mine are still pending. 

58 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Our Royal bid to an ATS went a 5 days before the cruise while we were on our first B2B part. No one were contacting us so I went to the ask the concierge , which promised to check . Still no one contact us so after few days I went to the second concierge to ask again and that time it worked and Sunil called us to meet him in the SL.  Not sure if it was any different if we weren't already on board. I guess you want to at least contract them before arriving the port  to schedule boarding time. 

It’s probably too late for that. We are already booked in a CLS with a 12pm boarding time so sky class or star class we are going to be at the port at 11:45am ready to get on that ship. I’m more concerned about the Genie having time to stock my bar & cooler with plenty of adult beverages (and some juices for the kids). 

43 minutes ago, Goldie 2001 said:

The only one left on our cruise is 1702....the balcony looks a little smaller due to the curve...but thats ok....

I would jump on that w/o hesitation. 

12 minutes ago, Goldie 2001 said:

Thanks so much for pictures and info! What do you guys think about ocean view vs. the ones over the sports court.....i think ocean view would be better.

Given a choice I would pick the suites on the side, however, I’ve had both and wouldn’t pass up either location. 

30 minutes ago, LindyLarge said:

Taking my first solo cruise on the Symphony out of Miami at the end of May. I have a few days free before the sailing, so I’m thinking about flying on a red-eye into Orlando 2 days prior to engage in some solo Disney fun, since I’ve never been.

 

Here’s the preliminary plan:

1) - land at MCO early Thursday morning

2) - get a Covid test at the airport

3) - Uber to an Orlando hotel (offsite of Disney, looking for a deal)

4) - Uber to WDW, check out hotels and Downtown 

5) - Do a park day Friday

6) - Uber to airport early Saturday, fly to Miami, board Symphony.

 

Am I crazy to do this? This was an idea to add some bucket list items to my already booked bucket list solo cruise. Obviously it’s not ideal to fly on embarkation day, but I feel a little more comfortable doing it since it’s Orlando to Miami. 
 

Should I feel comfortable? Anyone have any advice or suggestions? If anyone has done this and recommends an off-site hotel, I’m all ears. 

 

This is all very achievable, however, you may be overdoing it with the airports. It’s only about a 3.5 hour easy highway drive (especially on a Saturday) from Orlando to Port of Miami. It may be easier for you to just rent a car and drop it off by the port especially if your solo with nobody holding you back. 

You are going to get many responses here because people (including myself) are passionate about deck 17 and the loft suites. IMHO this is prime time the best location on the ship with both the suite lounge and the coastal kitchen in very close proximity. The CLS are mostly sky class with the expection being the star loft suite and the royal loft (there might be more). 

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

You are too funny!  I will be keeping an eye out to see how it goes for you!  Good luck!  What ship are you sailing?

Harmony of the seas. Seriously, I just realized/recalled that this is a RC Blog Group sailing! 

2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

If you have a secret I want in lol.  I am trying to Royal Up my Crown Loft right now into Star for Allure in December.  That or praying that someone cancels after final payment.

No secret really other then the same luck I’ve had my entire life! Let’s see how this plays out this week. I will update in a few days. 

3 hours ago, LJZ said:

Hello,

We are attempting to decide on a balcony stateroom for an August 2022 Sailing on either the Allure or the Harmony. 

My husband and I and our  18 and a 17 year olds  1 - Cabin -  Balcony -  we have sailed 8 RCI cruises and have been on the Allure in the past as well as the Symphony.  Was scheduled for the Harmony in April 2020.  - Not big water slides - folks.

Harmony - Coco Cay - St Thomas - St Kits

Allure - Labadee - Aruba - Curacao

The Allure is pricing at 2,500 cheaper than the Harmony.  The Allure is an 8 night Southern and the Harmony is a 7 night Eastern.

Right now the Allure is sailing to Labadee.  Will they replace this island if they are still not sailing to Labadee ?  What would the options be ?

We would really appreciate Thoughts on the Allure ?   Seems like it is too good to pass up for the price. but are not sure if we are missing anything.? 8 nights as well.

We know the ship has not been refurbished since our last sailing ?   is this worth justifying 2,500 more ?

Also, any thoughts on the shows ?

Thanks in advance,  Lori

Aruba & Curaçao stops in the Southern Caribbean are game changers. I would go with Allure (ship is amazing) and Aruba + Curaçao + anything is great. 

1 hour ago, atseau said:

I wonder how Super Mario handles his health insurance? Does he buy travel insurance for every cruise?

I have many more ?s

I get the feeling that Super Mario is so super that he has no need for health insurance. It’s YOLO with him. 

5 minutes ago, DunwoodyDad said:

Thanks Tony and great win yesterday (I’m assuming you are a fellow Nole based on your name). But I just tried about 15 times and I’m thinking the upload feature has been pulled down for some reason….maybe it’s getting updated/fixed or maybe they are swamped with images to verify and rethinking about doing this ahead of time. 

Thanks! Go FSU! I’ve had the same thing happen where it pops up random and you think “I will finish this next time I log in” and then it’s gone an hour later. Royal just can’t get IT under control. Good luck, try back often & it will pop back up. 

Close it out and reopen. After about 3 attempts it pops back up. Very annoying. 

5 hours ago, 12thman said:

@tonyfsu21you got a star class upgrade!? From which category?

Not yet, but I will report back in about 3 days when I win the upgrade to star class from a crown loft suite. 

I can confirm # 4 as I take my two younger children in and out of the suite lounge all day. I’ve never had a single issue and my kids are hardly what some would consider “well behaved”. Enjoy 

Anyone have experience with a Star Class Royal Up? Normally the contact is made w/ Genie a month out but with a Royal Up win it’s only a matter of a couple days before the sailing that the upgrade is official. Has the experience been the same in your opinion? We are not a needy family with lots of requests so I’m hoping that makes things easier. 

It’s worth the price for sure. The extra $44 is well spent especially if your already on the 10 yard line ready to score a touchdown with a suite on Harmony! YOLO 

Anyone know what’s up with the reservations for children that will need the PCR test at the terminal? Normally an email is sent out with the kids already registered based on our boarding time but this time, nothing.