Cruising With JT

How did I miss this thread? I am booked solo in a 2F Studio Balcony oceanview cabin and look forward to meeting many of you for the first time! ? Thanks to everyone for all the guidance on all the threads, been more active on this community as of late and I am loving it!

Thank you!

Oh very cool, good to know! So when I book my dining reservation on Cruise Planner should I look for Izumi or Hibachi? I don't see Hibachi listed on Odyssey cruise planner options, only Izumi and no mention of Hibachi style dining...?

Another Studio Balcony just became available if anyone wants to grab it --

I saw the live stream earlier today and was so happy (I love Royal but I am a cruise fan first!) and kinda got emotional to be honest. I think many of us will be emotional when we first step foot on our next ship or see Adventure sail away or the first ships from the US. It's been a long time coming...

Haha! Well even after all she has been through, glad we aren't being charged for the "infant" ?

Symphony has Teppanyaki?

I think it applies to both. We booked excursions in CocoCay, St. Thomas, and San Juan, and my 4-year old daughter was free for all of them today. She was charged a few months ago.

I checked with others on Facebook and it appears that this may not be a glitch, it may actually be a new kid policy that Royal implemented without actually telling anyone. It appears that kids 4 and under are now free of charge for excursions and specialty dining. I booked 3 excursions and 1 specialty restaurant where there was an associated child cost and my daughter who will be 4 at the time of sailing was not charged, even though she was charged for the same excursions/dining just a few months ago. Another cruiser on the same cruise did the same for their 2 year old and 5 year old. The 2 year old was not charged but the 5 year old was. So there you go. @Matt Have you heard anything about this possible policy change around kids? Not sure if I missed it in one of your blog posts.

Here is an example of what I see on this "new look" Cruise planner, this is the zipline at CocoCay and I have select myself, my wife, and my toddler.

I'll say August 15th to be different ?

Crazy. When I book my excursions with my kid it shows up as "Infant" on the checkout page and charges them $0 even though there is a "Child" cost associated with. Hopefully they honor this glitch too like the $18 drink package glitch ? Just saved around $150 for 3 excursions that my daughter was a part of by cancelling and rebooking. Awesome.

I know!!!!!! I went to the beverage package page to make sure LOL

I am getting my 2nd moderna shot on Friday, figured that's the best so not to miss anytime from work. Heard it's rough but agree that it's better for that short-term discomfort vs what Covid does to you.

Did anyone notice that Royal Caribbean cruise planner isn't charging the "Child" fee for excursions? I just booked 2 things at CocoCay and St Thomas and it didn't charge me for my kid but they are booked. Fine by me. Maybe Royal IT at work again, or another glitch that I am okay with ?

I am excited that Royal has finally brought this fun style of dining to their ship! It was one of the things we liked about Norwegian but since we've become more Loyal to Royal, happy to see this available on this ship and hopefully others in the future. Anyone else a fan? I logged into my Cruise planner for one of the first Odyssey sailings and I don't see it listed yet as a dining option, hmm... odd? I am able to book everything else though such as shore excursions, other dining options and internet.

I think my browser is on something then LOL... because I can still access my Cruise planner sailing for the sale that went on today, woot woot.

Hmm...I went to go do a price check and saw this:

So many... yet so important. I am happy to hear about how frequently the meetings are now occurring between the CDC and cruise lines, it was about time. I think with continued engagement and development of solid plans and adhering to certain aspects of the CSO, there is a path forward, which is what the FL governor wants. He is in some sort of contradiction though when he wants cruises to return but doesn't want cruise lines to require vaccines. It doesn't work that way, Ron.

Wow that is nuts... It looks like Australia no longer has a pandemic or something? Lol.. no masks is crazy nor social distancing. I have seen some baseball events in the US with over 40,000 fans, some masks but mostly not... crazy... It still boggles my mind when I see large gatherings like these yet the CDC won't even allow cruises to restart sooner rather than later with all the safety protocols. Hopefully by mid-summer things are back rolling again.

What in the... where is this? Recent photo?

Good to see this... fingers crossed. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/04/28/cdc-cruises-could-restart-july/4883450001/

I hope things are back to normal by November 1st. Any chance of the CSO being extended past Nov 1st? Or is that just crazy talk? We are talking about the CDC here...

Yeah I've noticed that as well...not even a video from the original YouTuber Mansur Ashkar in quite some time. I tagged him on an FB post since he is a public Odyssey group saying more videos! And he saw it and acknowledged but hasn't posted anything. I guess we'll see what happens in the coming days but you may be right.

Wow that's crazy... I love breeze but not sure if I'd want the breeze to be coming from bow thrusters in an enclosed room lol...just shows how strong they are.