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Bob_KY

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  1. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to Pooch in CVS Covid Testing Change…   
    I guess we were lucky.  Pulled into the marked parking spot at CVS.  Got a call from the tech, both went in, showed ID. Swabbed our noses ourselves & got text results in an hour that I then printed out.  Hoping the requirement will be gone by our October cruise
  2. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to EmptyNestTravels in CVS Covid Testing Change…   
    Fear not!  The eMed test is remarkably convenient, easy, quick, and painless.  There are several videos online on how to do the test, and the proctor will walk you through the entire process.  You'll just need to create an eMed and NAVICA account and log-in (laptop with a camera, tablet, or smart phone) to get started.  
    Here's the link to Matt's video on how to do the eMed testing:
     
  3. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to Peter D in CVS Covid Testing Change…   
    That is interesting, because same thing happened to me yesterday in Massachusetts.  I went to CVS to get our test.  The outside pod had note stating as of 3/16/22, testing at minute clinic.  I didn't think much of it.  the nurse did take vitals before the swab.
    An hour or two later..... my phone rings and it is nurse practitioner calling..... my heart sank.   Then he tells me the test was negative.  I was thinking, they would only call for a positive.
    I cannot wait until the testing goes away... hopefully soon.
  4. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to sammy79 in Any News on Protocols?   
    This is an awesome news!  Time to start researching excursions for our cruise next week!
  5. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to Chris Fish in Labadee Review?   
    Perfect Day is the newer, shinier place. Biggest difference for me is the food is way better at PDCC. I have always enjoyed Labadee as a great relaxing day on the beach. We usually go to Nellies Beach and I go snorkeling on my own over by the cabanas. It's not Hawaii snorkeling but there are colorful fish and it gives me something to do other than sitting on the beach all day. The Labadozee drink of the day was tasty. The food really needs an improvement on the island. Worth getting off and make the best of it. I'm on the Mariner the following cruise after yours.
  6. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to MuttMutt in check in/set sail pass question   
    Yeah. It's no big deal yet. Check it in a couple days and I'd should be there. Also if you didn't select a room and just let royal select one the room numbers won't show up till about a week before departure or so. 
  7. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to EmptyNestTravels in MEI agents?   
    Agree 100% with the above.  And @michelle at MEI-Travel is awesome!  She noticed a price drop this week for one of my cruises;  saved me $$$ and also got me OBC! 
  8. Love
    Bob_KY reacted to SpeedNoodles in MEI agents?   
    A TA will take care of any problems or issues that come up without you having to waste time trying to get things worked out with Royal.  They can take care of price drops (and often find them for you and just reprice them and let you know that you saved money!).  They get to know what you like, don't like, and can make suggestions if they know you are looking for something but don't have an exact plan.    If your cruise in May was booked in the last 30 days, you can transfer it to a TA.   Otherwise you cannot.
    The way I feel about it is when I have a TA take care of my sailing, a small-business person gets paid.  I like supporting M.E.I. (and, in particular, my agent @michelle) because I always feel like they treat me like I'm the only person they're taking care of, even though I know they are very busy.  M.E.I. is a supporter of Royal Caribbean Blog, and that goes a long way with me as well.  I feel like they are friends that I just haven't met in person .... yet!
  9. Love
    Bob_KY reacted to Jolly Ogre in MEI agents?   
    I started out with Dannette and then when she left MEI they assigned me with @michelle. She has been nothing short of wonderful to work with.
  10. Love
    Bob_KY reacted to 1978bucketlist in MEI agents?   
    I use @Michelle from MEI. She was wonderful lifting and shifting. We had to shift twice.
  11. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to Pooch in This just in   
    Not in time for me.  We test Friday.  Please God let us all be negative!!
  12. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to Temeculaguy in Certificate of recovery within 90 days in lieu of testing starting March 11th   
    Just got an e-mail for my cruise leaving March 11th and it linked to the healthy sail center which has some changes starting March 11th. The most significant is a positive PCR test between 11 and 90 days ago exempts you from testing. The e-mail sent me this link, some ports do not accept it yet but we aren't going to those ports, looks like I don't need to test! I have a test scheduled for tomorrow, I'll probably still go because I am not comfortable with anything on the first day of implementation.
    https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-recovered-from-covid-19-need-to-be-vaccinated-or-take-a-test-to-sail
  13. Thanks
    Bob_KY reacted to mac66 in 70's Rock & Romance cruise   
    Just thought I would throw this out there since you don't see it mentioned on forums very often...
    In 2019 My wife and I discovered  a private charter cruise on Celebrity called the '70s Rock & Romance cruise. We tried to book it but it was full for 2020.  We were able to eventually book it for 2021. That one was canceled but it did run this year 2022. So after a 2 year wait we went. 
    We were cruising a lot up until 2020 and we've been to many Caribbean islands so the idea of a 7 day floating rock concert appealed to us as doing "something different."  Being that my wife and I both went to high school, met in college, got our first real jobs and got married the 70s is/was (arguably) our favorite decade we grew up with the music but actually right now, being retired, is pretty fun as well.
    This was the first charter we'd been on so there was some things to consider.
    1-The company sponsoring the cruise has a "no refund" policy. You can't cancel the cruise, but due to covid you could push it off until the next year.
    2-While the cruise was on Celebrity (Summit) loyalty perks didn't apply (we are Elite on X). No free cocktail hour or other perks.
    3. In addition to Celebrity's 2 day before covid testing, the sponsoring company instituted a same day rapid covid test at no additional cost. You showed up at the dock, they picked you up in a bus and took you to a nearby building where they did the rapid test. Then transported you back to the dock.  I heard that a number of people tested positive even though they tested neg two days before. Celebrity had relaxed the mask mandate just before this cruise so masks weren't required anywhere on the ship (except for staff).
    4. These cruises typically sell out so if you are considering it book it as soon as you can. They open it up to book on board first. Then to previous attendees and then early booking and then open booking.
    5. Depending on the cabin you book it is about $1,000/person more than a regular X cruise.
    The main venues for the music were the theater, pool side, the Rendezvous Lounge, Sky Lounge and the Grand Foyer. There were concerts starting at 10 am about every two hours in one of more of the venues until about 2 am.  The attendees were split (Gold or Silver cards) and the main concerts in the Theater were rotated. Usually an early 6 pm concert for the Gold and a later 9 pm concert for the Silver. We were silver so ate dinner at 6 and attended the later 9 pm concerts.  There were pool side concerts in the mornings, afternoon, early evening and late night.
    Foreigner was one of the headliners. They played the first night and then got off the ship before we set sail.  One of the original guys from Boston had a band that played Boston. Others included Ambrosia, Air Supply, 10CC, Little River Band, lead singer from Chicago, lead singer from Player, Melissa Manchester, Maria Mulduer, The Guess Who, Badfinger, Atlanta Rhythm Section and... some tribute bands for Sly and the Family Stone, Queen, Bread, Eagles, Bee Gees, Wings, Blues Brothers and some cover/house bands that played everything from the 70s.
    Foreigner was very good as was The Guess Who. The Boston guy's band didn't play enough Boston and Air Supply, 10cc and the Little River Band played mostly new stuff for the first 40 minutes or so than sprinkled in some of their 70s hits which was disappointing.  The tribute bands were all very good as were the cover bands. There was also a lot of other stuff going on so one was quite busy.
    There were also meet and greets with the singers/groups, interviews, Q & A sessions and you ran into them throughout the ship in the bars, MDR, elevators, buffets, poolside or hot tubs. It was a lot of fun to talk with them.
    There were a couple nights where there were free drinks during the pool side concerts otherwise you had to have bought a drink package or buy drinks separately.
    The ship was rocking for 7 days (4 at sea days and two port stops) and it was a lot of fun. This was the 5th anniversary and there were a lot of repeat R&Rers.  
    The charter company also does a Flower Power (late 60's early 70's) cruise, a Malt Shop (50s early 60s) cruise, a Disco, Jazz, Soul Train cruise and probably others. There is some overlap between these cruises and you will find some of the same groups on many of them. You can google those if interested.
    As much as we enjoyed it I don't think we are going to do it next year. Maybe again in 2 or 3 years but not every year
    If you have any questions I'll try and answer
    https://rockandromancecruise.com/
     
  14. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Casino Minimums   
    The casino managers have ultimate control over table stakes.  The stakes can (and do) change from ship-to-ship and even within individual sailings.  I don’t know, but suspect, they adjust stakes to maximize revenues and help control crowding.  If no one is playing, they will lower the stakes.  If it is very crowded, they go up.
  15. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to ChanaC in Off/ on ship at ports of call   
    Yep, it's totally like an open door policy. You can, and I totally have, stepped out the ship to feel dry land for like ten minutes and turn back around and get back on the ship. If you are in a port all day you can also get off early, get on for lunch or to relax, and get back off. Like the above comment says, just make sure to get back on board on time!
    Also note that it takes to get on and off the ship. When you first dock everyone is usually scrambling to get off ASAP and there might be a little line. Sometimes they prioritize guests who booked excursions with the ship. Also, you should really give yourself 15-30 minutes to get back on the ship again at the port. You have to go through security and show your room key and it can get backed up. This is especially true on ships that have to tender into the ports. This means the ship drops its anchors off the coast and you take smaller tender boats to the dock. This is a bit of a process since you have to wait for the tenders, board them, and sail over to the ship. Personally, I like to plan that if the ship is leaving at 5:00, I would make sure I'm back at the dock by 4:30.
  16. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to ChessE4 in Royal Caribbean Insurance or Outside Vendor?   
    Royal improved the coverage it offers through Archer, but the policies we have from Allianz are better, as others have indicated.  For us, the itinerary is a factor.  We have used Royal's vendor for some simple Caribbean itineraries.
  17. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to barbeyg in Royal Caribbean Insurance or Outside Vendor?   
    We currently use the Allianz annual policy, after lots of research. They have a nice variety of choices. 
  18. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to bobroo in Ukraine - Russian situation   
    Royal will in no way be endangering one of their ships any where close to Russia for many years to come.
    Honestly, I’m sure Royal will never port in Russia ever again.
     
  19. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to smokeybandit in Crown and Anchor tier levels need changes?   
    Thanks to suites and double points, I'll be D+ in 8 years of cruising, with only one RC cruise prior to 2015.
  20. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to ChrisK2793 in Crown and Anchor tier levels need changes?   
    ‘Do you know you get FIVE FREE $13 drinks every day as a Diamond Plus?  That’s $65 FREE every day!  You get early access to the seating at shows, you get cabin discounts when you book your cruises, free behind the scenes tours when they start back up ($100 plus per person value), choice of amenities to be left in your room every cruise …….. even the few times we haven’t stayed in suites, it’s never takes us longer to board than 20 minutes in the regular line ………. We only just became Diamond Plus this week and are VERY HAPPY with what we’ll get on our next cruise in a couple weeks on Wonder!
     
  21. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to ChessE4 in First Time Cruiser   
    On my first cruise, the only thing that was confusing/frustrating was dining because the muster drill was scheduled during our dinner seating.  Royal doesn't do that anymore, so I don't think you'll have problems.  Generally, the ship is "vacant" on port days if you stay on the ship, which offers you uncrowded use of the pool and other amenities.  I have found sea days the only "boring" times, which is why I pack a book or chess set.  We have talked to cruisers who never leave the ship as they have been to the available ports multiple times -- they just chill.  There are lots of odd events on a cruise, like wine tasting, destination lectures, T-shirt sales.  You need to try bingo once but then that gets old.  Ditto for the shopping presentations - try a raffle ticket or two just for fun, but don't be disappointed if you don't win.  We have always enjoyed music on our cruises, whether we dance or just listen.  In the end, you can be highly scheduled or just go-with-the-flow, depending upon your personality and interests.  There is something for everyone, just not all of the time.  Have a great cruise!  Using the Royal App on your cell phone or stopping by a touch screen display (located throughout the ship) will enable you to find what's going on at any moment.
  22. Love
    Bob_KY reacted to BarbieBell in Travel Agent pros and cons?   
    I’m a big supporter of MEI and without Michelle Cunningham these past couple of years I can’t even imagine the mess I would be trying to sort out. With cancellations, FCC’s, Lift & Shifts, ship changes - it was a tangled web. 
    She was always there helping me work through it so believe me a great TA is a blessing. 
  23. Love
    Bob_KY reacted to WAAAYTOOO in Travel Agent pros and cons?   
    Some of the big box travel agencies (CostCo, for example) do not participate in RoyalUp so if you want to still be eligible for RU, do not go with a big online agency.
    MEI is the sponsor of this blog and most everyone who has used an MEI agent is very happy with their service.
    We use Michelle Cunningham and think she is awesome !  Good luck
    Michelle Cunningham [email protected] Phone. 703-881-2727
  24. Haha
    Bob_KY reacted to smokeybandit in Things you miss from Royal...   
    I miss the in-person, full lifejacket, sweat in places that should never see sweat muster drills.

  25. Like
    Bob_KY reacted to jticarruthers in Celebrity dropped masks for vaccinated as of 2/12   
    Looking forward to my first cruise on Celebrity so much more ....
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