Biker19

I don't think so - those are too dynamic and RCI probably has no shortage of buyers for them.

Not sure, but she's staying for a while.

I told you that I'll get back to you right after sail away.

It doesn't matter what any poster wants - virtually all tipping related threads go down that rabbit hole eventually.

Two cruise lines in the Royal Caribbean Group have ended the mandatory mask-wearing policy for crew members, demonstrating one more step toward pre-pandemic operations and a welcome improvement to the comfort of crew members who have remained masked for two years. Crew No Long Required to Wear Masks Crew members aboard ships within Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises are no longer required to wear masks, according to a statement the cruise lines released on October 3, 2022, to their team members. “We are happy to announce that from today masks are optional for crew. If you are willing to wear mask, it should be with the company’s logo. This is a huge step towards our return to normal life. The decision to wear a mask is up to every crew member,” the statement read. This new policy applies to all areas onboard each ship, including both indoor and outdoor locations. Crew members may now choose not to wear masks both in crew-only spaces as well as public areas and guest spaces such as lounges, restaurants, staterooms, and corridors. It should be noted that crew members are not required to remove their masks, but they may choose to do so if they wish. Crew members who prefer to continue wearing a mask are welcome to do so, just as the policy for both cruise lines permits passengers to choose whether or not to wear a mask. Several weeks ago, Celebrity Cruises piloted a select program permitting crew members to forgo masks as the cruise line tested whether onboard protocols continued to be effective without mask-wearing. That limited test was a success, as masks have now been made optional fleetwide for all crew members aboard Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises vessels. Silversea Cruises Still Requires Masks While both these cruise lines have now removed the mask mandate for crew members, it should be noted that the third cruise line owned and operated by Royal Caribbean Group still mandates that all crew members wear masks. Silversea Cruises’ “Healthy Return to Sailing” webpage outlines the current mask policy, which includes “Staff and Crew aboard all our ships will continue to wear masks for the foreseeable future.” While Silversea Cruises is part of the Royal Caribbean Group, each cruise line can have distinct policies and protocols to meet the unique needs of its guests, crew members, and port destinations. Because Silversea is a luxury, small-ship line – the largest vessel in the line’s fleet, Silver Muse, only accommodates 596 guests – they choose to be more cautious with their protocols. The more restrictive protocols are also likely a result of the cruise line’s more exotic itineraries, visiting ports of call that may be less equipped to handle potential disease outbreaks, and therefore require more stringent health and safety measures. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Ditches Mask Requirement for Crew (cruisehive.com)

The Hong Kong Health Bureau announced a minor relaxation of rules pertaining to cruise ships. The bureau abolished a ‘suspension mechanism’ whereby a cruise ship might be halted for several weeks if a positive case were found onboard. Only cruises to nowhere, 75% capacity limit, vax and testing requred However, still only cruises to nowhere are allowed, there is a 75% capacity limit, full vaccination is mandatory and there are also testing requirements that haven't been specified yet. Changes welcomed, but ... 'It’s a welcome improvement, but my guess is that the new policy is still too far from the current international norms to attract ships to return for the local source market,' Jeff Bent, managing director, Worldwide Cruise Terminals, which operates the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, told Seatrade Cruise News. 'We hope that the authorities will quickly relax rules for visitors coming to Hong Kong by ship, to allow the internationally-sourced lines scheduled to visit next spring to resume calling without unreasonable restrictions.' No cruises since early January Cruises to nowhere carrying only local residents had operated for half a year, from July 30, 2021, to Jan. 5 this year, before being halted as part of strict measures to stem the Omicron variant. Hong Kong eases some cruise COVID rules but maybe not enough (seatrade-cruise.com)

You mean you don't have a cabin assignment or the SetSail pass? If you do have the SetSail pass, have you decoded the barcode to see your likely assignment?

The tier of service won't make a diff - the lower tier (Surf) is plenty for a voice call. The issue is likely in the settings within the app.

Kinda up to the Captain but yes, that is sorta normal.

RCI took advantage of the COVID shutdown to change that.

Welcome to CC.

If you search for Air2sea (not airtosea) you should find a few threads discussing this. They may have deals on one-way international airfares, but typically for anything else, what you are buying is some potential peace of mind (not cost savings) and a locked in price (with which you could get price drops) which is not payable till final payment

Bookmark the page in the link above - it usually updates late Monday.

It's in posts earlier in this thread as well: rci_sales_event_USD.docx (rccl.com)

Posters starting threads based on what other lines are doing have been going on since April 2020.

And take a chance RCI will charge you for something you already have? You can always resubmit your bid, buy you can't get your money back after a Royal Up win.

Yes.

Yes, unlikely that assignment will change.

You can't go by what anyone reports. The best you can do is go to any weather website and look up the normal/averages for that day in that location - that's a better indication of what you might expect. And you could have things like high winds close the whole upper deck, regardless of temp.

Like some sales, the important wording is "up to" - virtually no one gets the 4Mbps down that has been sorta derived by lots of reporting - very doubtful RCI would ever acknowledge the figure. Also, the speed measuring apps are a very short snapshot in time.

As mentioned, you can do that by setting the app to the current sailing, not yours.

Water venues (except hot tubs and some pools) usually close when ambient temp goes below 50F (10C).

The info in the app is not complete and perhaps inaccurate until you board (and even then it might be a bit off) - you can look at the current sailing for complete/accurate info.

A continuous 24 hour package is available.

No, but don't try to wade through the maze that is RCI corporate and shipboard finance offices (even assuming the amount reported by the crew member is correct) - provide any extra tips in cash directly to the staff next time. Biker, who is waiting for a comment from @matj2000 on this one.