Clear Laker

FlyArmy,

Instead of trying to answer your questions here.  Go to this link and you can find specific answers for this sailing:  Voyager of the Seas - April 9, 2023 - Page 2 - Voyager of the Seas Roll Calls 

See you onboard.

My Wife & I will be traveling on this cruise.  2nd time going on the Southern Route.  As it is Easter Weekend, we are going to spend a few extra days in San Juan prior to sailing.

St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Grenada, Bonaire & Aruba.  It will be our first time in Grenada and Bonaire.

Yes.  I would recommend getting excess cash the final night.  Long line can be expected on Departure Day.

Harmony 5/1. 5,400 passengers 92%  1,978 Crew. Capt.stated the most passengers since the restart.

2 hours ago, Safemike1 said:

Having only two plugs available will not be that helpful when bringing phone chargers, laptops, ect. . .  Can I use a power strip with a 3-foot cord attached onto the Freedom of the Seas? If not, then what kind of power strip/extension cords are allowed?

I bought this 220 to 120 converter.  Provides usb & an additional plug.  Amazon.com: Europe Travel Adapter Plug Set Schuko, Ceptics - with 2 USB + USA Socket Input - Type E/F and Type C - Ultra Compact - Safe Grounded Perfect for Cell Phones, Laptops, Camera Chargers (CTU-9-9C-PK) : Everything Else

5 hours ago, Lexster said:

Do you just ask your room steward for a topper? Is it like a memory foam one?

It is like a thick mattress pad.  Much less than what a pillowtop mattress has.

Agree on the pillows.

Extra Firm.  We always have a topper added.

2 hours ago, Iluv4n6 said:

Some new airline options are opening up for those of us in the north-woods (e.g., Green Bay) for direct flights to new places in FL this winter.  One of the options I just saw was on Sun Country direct to Fort Myers.  The price is compellingly low (compared to the cost for flights to FLL or MIA) so it warrants serious consideration for a 6-member family cruise vacation this Feb on Oasis out of Miami.  The arriving flight would come in an couple extra days ahead of time.  So we would roll the dice and take our covid tests at the hotel after we arrive in FL.  The trickiest part would be getting from Miami to Fort Myers for a 3:35 PM flight on disembarkation day.  Flixbus departs from Miami Airport at either 9:00 AM (arrive Ft Myers @ 11:20 AM) or 12:00 PM (arrive Fort Myers @ 2:30 PM).  This seems kind of tight either getting us all off the ship and to the MIA airport bus stop before 9:00 AM, or for the later option getting from the bus terminal in Fort Myers to the Fort Myers airport ASAP.  I would guess that the early option on disembarkation day would be the only one to consider, and that would mean self assist for every one.  On the plus side, Oasis is scheduled to dock back in Miami at 6:00 AM. 

Seems probably too far for Uber/Lyft.  I haven't researched any other transportation services between MIA and Fort Myers so far other than Flixbus.  Larry's Limos?

Although we likely will opt for a more expensive flight to either FLL or MIA that would make for easier connections, Sun Country probably could save us ~$1,000+ in airline cost for our family group. 

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions from bloggers who may have flown in/out of Fort Myers for their cruise vacation.

  

Our daughter lives in Naples.  In Oct we flew down prior to cruising out of Miami.  We flew into FLL rented a car for a week to drive to Naples and then dropped it off in MIA.  It was not cheap ($600).  FLL to Naples is 105 mins. and Naples to MIA is 100 mins.  Uber/Lift is not realistic in price.  No good Limo service between either.  Your best bet is probably to rent a car in Ft. Meyers and park at the port and drive back to Ft Meyers.  You should get a better weekly rate and it is much cheap to rent in the west coast of FL vs. FLL or MIA. 

39 minutes ago, AlmondFarmer said:

Is OBC better than comped cruise using Royal Visa points?

I would say "yes" as you can convert it to cash if you desire.  We usually use ours for paying our gratuities and take the rest in cash.  We pre-buy our cruise planner stuff getting the double points.

3 hours ago, Psycho and Barb said:

Don't want to hijack this thread but was just wondering how many people on here use the Phillips Respironics CPAP machines that have been recalled?  We registered our CPAP for repair or replacement but haven't heard a thing from Phillips.  Philips has not given a replacement schedule yet or any information on which machines will be replaced and which ones will be repaired.

Same for me.

8 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

My husband has a small travel CPAP that he can run off of battery.  Not sure if he'll use this option on Allure or not (our last cruises ships have had outlets near the bed, so he hasn't had to worry about it lately).

Allure has a plug behind/under the bed.

10 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

I always bring a light to medium duty extension cord which I pack together with my CPAP.  No problems encountered so far.

The first time I brought my CPAP, Royal provided a SUPER heavy duty extension cord that looked like it could power the entire ship.

I used to bring an extension cord.  Then with all of the issues with extension cords I stopped.  I don't want an orange extension cord like what I use for my hedge trimmer (which is what they provide).  So, I replaced the cord that goes to the power supply with a 12' TV cord (same cable).  It is now part of the machine.  No Issues.  Got it on Amazon for $4. 

On 8/1/2021 at 2:57 PM, APM said:

But right now, CVS tests are free of charge if covered by insurance or federal program (no insurance). Most insurance companies do not cover “elective tests “ for travel therefore you will bear the full brunt of the cost. Read the small print

We checked our insurance and they will only cover Covid Tests only if we are symptomatic or if we have had an exposure.  Royal's requirement is an "elective test" per our insurance and outside what they are required to cover by law.  No real surprise there.  Anyone have any experience with having Tests due to an exposure?  Is it as simple as stating we had dinner with Jack & Jill and they now have Covid ... please test us ... or do we have to document Jack & Jill's diagnosis?  

We have not been able to find any good pricing information for cash based testing either.  Anyone with personal experience we'd like to her from you?  

Hopefully, like everything else Covid related, the requirements will change tomorrow.

We will be traveling to Naples the week before we cruise on Symphony out of Miami in Oct.  Not sure our health insurance will cover non-symptomatic Covid testing for travel purposes.  Does FL offer free rapid Covid testing (non residents)?  Looking for ideas on the most efficient and cost effective way to test in the appropriate window prior to our cruise.  

We must have a really good price on our cabin on Symphony in Oct.  (We lifted & shifted from 2020).  Ours is $1800 more today.

37 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

Does Air2Sea include Southwest? They are much cheaper into FLL than any other airline.

They do not.

5 hours ago, Neesa said:

@Lovetocruise2002, thanks for that yes that was my top question. I paid 750.00 cash deposit on my June Brilliance sailing when I booked. The total taxes and fees are around 450.00. I will pay the balance due in a few days with an FCC and will have about 1200.00 FCC left over. I did not want to hand over even more cash because why?? It very well may not go and I already paid the deposit cash because I wanted flexibility with pricing, just in case. I guess I should have just said that in the first place, gees. Sorry to be so confusing. Thanks so much @Lovetocruise2002 @twangster@WAAAYTOOO. Fingers crossed.

You might want to check with your to see if the $300 can be applied to your prepaid gratuities. 

We did the lift and shift thing for our fall 2020 cruise.  3 days prior to L & S I canceled our cruise planner purchases.   We got our refunds 10 days later. 

Interesting.  Ours went in on Feb 28th.  Hopefully ours will be here soon.  

3 hours ago, Jill said:

My October 17 Symphony is definitely not looking promising 

We were on that sailing as well.  We Lifted and Shifted to same time in 2021 last week.  We looked up the cabin fare for 2021.  It was a 71% increase from our current 2C cabin fare.  So we saved $1650 by Lifting and Shifting vs. making final payment and waiting for Royal to cancel.  Sadly I think it's Royal's strategy to wait until after final payment is due before they cancel.  What way they can float your money for 60 days.

Too bad we lost $400 for our canceled flights.

29 minutes ago, CruisinUpinLife said:

No, unfortunately your cruise planner purchases will be cancelled and will need to be rebooked.  Lift and Shift does not apply to cruise planner purchases.

We understand that part.  Our question is Have the recent Sales been offered to sailings in late 2021 or do they extend only to a certain point.  IE  Drink Package sale prices are good for sailings before June 2021 or Dec. 2021 etc.  In normal times Cruise Planner sales only apply to sailing closer to the sail date not the entire booking window.

We are getting ready to Lift and Shift our late fall 2020 Symphony Cruise to 2021.  We were wondering if the Cruise Planner sales we have had in the last 6 weeks have extended to cruises in late Fall 2021?  Thank you in advance for sharing your experiences. 

We are looking for current experiences with Cruise Planner refunds.  A while back we purchased the Deluxe Beverage Package for a cruise this fall.  Currently there is good price for the DP plus Voom.  We called and asked to upgrade one of the packages to DP plus Voom. Was told you have to cancel the original purchase and repurchase the new package.  In the pre-Covid days this would be no problem as you would get your refund in a few days.  We were just wondering how long we will have to float the $400 to RC for a $54 Upgrade?  Any current experiences on Cruise Planner refunds would be welcome.  We understand the current expectation is 45 days, but RC just canceled 7 weeks of additional cruises.

I figured they would.   Our Oct. cruise climbed a little this week.  Lots of people with FCC looking for new vacations.

I was wondering about that as well.  Will they do unplanned maintenance?  Will they release the crew?  It would be an interesting topic @Matt.  Probably to early to know.