Sianli

So does the new 48 hr negative covid test requirement apply to HOS out of Barcelona? I know we test when boarding and we won't be in the USA to test in Friday.

Is this only for cruises from the USA? 

On 9/1/2021 at 7:57 AM, LanceRomance said:

I have seen that they have hired crew for a Grease Musical. As a lot of their crew only got out of quaratntine a week before passengers boarded. They might just not be ready for a production for the first couple weeks. I have fingers crossed that we will start seeing them next sailing. It would be odd that they would hire the crew, and not have the productions until November.

Thank you for the Grease update! Fingers crossed that they can perform for your next sailing!

23 hours ago, LanceRomance said:

 

Maybe just to add a little glass half full perspective. I am of the belief you make of life by how you choose to view it. If you choose to see the glass half full this is what you will see, and you have that choice. Maybe it isn’t what you envisioned, but for me I see this vacation as a massive ray of sunshine in a dark year. I love that in 10-20 years from now when people will inevitably bring up “wow 2021 was a horrible year”… I can say I don’t know what you are talking about! 2021 was the year I escaped to Italy and Spain aboard a luxury ship with reduced capacity where the service was beyond anything I previously experienced. When one day someone tells me about how much they loved Italy and Spain “but man the crowds and masses of people was just so unbearable I barely had room to move”…. I will be able to tell them about the time I got to experience these amazing cities without the flock of tourists. Where I could breath in the sites and sounds in a less crowded setting. Think about a time 5 years from now when everything is back at full capacity… how many people would pay a premium for “small private sailings” or “small group private tours”. Those are premium services that you now getting at a discount. It is an opportunity you will likely never get again. So yes, you can focus on everything that it isn’t, but you also have the choice to see everything that it is… and when you do you are going to see an extremely unique experience that  you are likely never going to have an opportunity to experience again. So, perspective… keep it in focus, and know what you perceive this trip to be is ultimately what it is going to be. If you think it’s going to suck guess what … it will because that’s where you have chosen to place your focus, and attention. But, if you choose to see the positives, and make the best of these unique situations you are going to have a blast. If you choose to see everything it isn’t you will fail to see everything it is…

Thank you for your kind perspective. Decided to get excited about this trip again! You are right and it is nice to be on a low capacity ship. We were on Allure two weeks ago and it was so good. Just going to bite the bullet and buy the excursions that most meet our wishes. 

4 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

I definitely can recommend the boat tour. We did that a couple of years ago (on our own). And it´s the much better view than going with the train.

 

steamboats

I think we will do that too. We have done the train before and I have wanted to see them from the boat. Not sure which of the tours to book as two say by boat and the descriptions of the tours are similar. I also read that some excursions are half price if booked on board so hoping if we pre book we can get OBC if the price drops on board.

1 hour ago, dorts said:

Hi all, due to board Harmony Sunday and have been living it up since Wednesday here in sunny beautiful Sitges! Everyone is sticking to the rules and honestly with the weather so nice we are outside mostly so masks etc haven't been a real issue. Lots of tourists here also from around the world from what I hear and everyone just loving the sunny beach vibes. I am super excited for Sunday and will accept the changes that come with travel at this time. This will be my fourth attempt at getting on a cruise and although less passengers I am looking forward to being spoilt by the crew and just getting back to cruising...

Bon Voyage! We are out two weeks from Sunday! 

2 hours ago, FionaMG said:

 

Cinque Terre is amazing. We have done it twice, catching the train from La Spezia and getting off and back on at all the different villages. Last time we had lunch at a beach restaurant in Monterosso. We won't do it again this year though; no point in paying a fortune to visit somewhere we've already been at a fraction of the cost.

 

I do quite fancy the idea of going to Capri. I probably would have to do an excursion to go there anyway. I'm one of those nervous cruisers who is always scared of not making it back to the ship in time and with Capri requiring a crossing by boat to get to it I'm not sure I have it in me! 

We also had hoped to be able to visit Cinque Terre on our own via train. To book the RCCL tour will cost $195-$295 per person, and cannot go to all of the villages. With the new notice I am not sure how we get the additional covid test 48 hours before the port. I guess they will have them on board but for how much? We have been to Italy off season on road trip and love it. But we could switch to Anthem the same time and have more freedom and visit some areas we haven't been to. 

4 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

What size were the bottles of water? I know its kid of a strange question, but I am kid of strange  lol 

Regular size---16.9 ounce.

5 hours ago, celly said:

Tour buses left in time. No delays. Around 400 new passengers getting on today in Civitavecchia. Among them many Brits we heard. So far this cruise has mostly Spanish people, all well behaved, especially the children, as small as they are they wear facemasks. Everyone wears their facemasks as required. With so little passengers nothing is crowded, no wait times at elevators etc. It is sheer heaven.

Thank you so much for continuing to post. We are set to sail from Barcelona Sept 19th. Not at all the cruise we booked, but with the price we spent for our airfare we are reluctant to cancel. Our air credit would have to be used by Feb 8th, and we are not sure we could use it as we have all of our time/trips between now and then booked. We do still have jobs!. Part of me thinks if this is just going to be a cruise to nowhere, we should get on a different ship. (We are from Colorado, USA)

On 7/31/2021 at 3:29 PM, tiger-91 said:

This thread went downhill quickly. Why are people so up in arms about water!

 

So has anyone recently taken on board nonalcoholic beverages? I'm interested in taking Mountain Dew.  The FAQ says ok, but the eDocs for my August Symphony cruise says no. I guess I'll try regardless. But really does anyone have any experience? Seen it done? THIS year? Thank you.

On August 15 Allure we brought on one case of water, 2 bottles of wine, and a 4 pack of red bull.

5 hours ago, Kbonner said:

Yes well,......we are in an OS here and actually do not use it much as we do so many other things here. Its a huge palace and we mainly use the bedroom only......

Subjective- I would eat each meal in CK and skip the dinner package if you opt for the OS. Use the money for one of the expensive Italian tours offered by RCI.

End of subjective answer 🚢

Thank you! 

22 hours ago, Kbonner said:

Currently on Harmony and using the CK every day. Superb kitchen much better than MDR. W/o asking for we have an assigned waiter who serves us each meal from breakfast to dinner. Classy service and going over the top here.

Lobsters? Of course.

No free drinks for suites, only from 5pm-8pm. For your wine at lunch you  must pay as a suite guest. Pinnacles of course may use one of their drink vouchers. Yesterday observed 2 cheap suite guests who, when they learned had to pay for their lunch drinks, stopped the wine order and changed to tap water only. It is a very calm, relaxed atmosphere with a generally 24/7 deserted lounge. Except occasionally Spanish families who booked one suite for grandpa, grandma, parents, children and aunty attack the calm environment. 

Poor servers and waiters have no tipping customers .

Forgot to mention that during happy hrs the lounge is deserted as well. They definitely have to change something in order to make the lounge again a social meeting point. Although we are in a suite we miss the liveliness of Pinnacles up here in the lounge (other than those who are Pins and suite guests).

So food in CK, fantastic!

One last remark- people who constantly criticize the CK and lounge atmosphere and quality of food and service should really not cruise RCI but a more posh product.

Kbonner, thank you. We are to sail on Harmony Sept 15th. We have put in for a royalup, and our "owners suite" offer is still pending, won't let us modify. We also have the unlimited dining package due to all of the restaurants. If we get the OS it would include CK. Would you keep the uld or cancel if you have access to both? I do realize your answer is subjective. Thank you. 

7 hours ago, mauraoel said:

I am a little confused by your last comment.  If you are vaccinated you cannot get tested at the port if you don't have a negative test they will turn you away.

That is true now, but on August 15th they still allowed none vac'd adult passengers on Florida cruises but tested at port. 

Have stayed in one once. Honestly, we did not like them, but to save money, it may be worth it to you. We like having privacy on our balcony, and everyone can see you on that balcony. I think it is fun to try once though as you might like it!

Thought I was going to be in the same boat for our Allure August 15th sailing. 4 other family members and I tested at the same time at local Walgreens. All of their results were back within an hour. I waited almost 2 hrs and called. They insisted all results are in and nothing they could do. Also, I could not find any other testing openings before our flight to Florida. I called back and they kept looking and still insisted nothing they could do. However, I did receive my results about an hour later. I suspect that when we tested together they left mine in the "box" by accident and maybe on my second call they searched again and found it. Not sure. I was a bit worried, however we had accidentally scheduled covid tests at the Port and so I knew that worst case, I would take the test there. I also was worried about being charged for the scheduled tests we didn't take, but no charge for no testing. So I think the worst is that you test at the port and are positive.

One thing to point out re SIM cards. I flew to China a few years ago and after doing research, immediately purchased a SIM card. That has worked well in Central America. Only problem, when you put it in you have to know Chinese to activate it. I have very basic conversational Mandarin skills and the SIM card was a waste! We now just utilize wi-fi calling.

16 hours ago, CaroleC said:

Just booked this cruise for the 12th September departure. Are we required to complete a Passenger Locator Form for Italy prior to checking in at Barcelona?

Are you from the U.S. and vaccinated? Not as of now. However, we are watching the latest restrictions on US passengers inbound today and it is not very promising. We sail Harmony, Sept 19th. Not sure when we could re-use our airfare if this cancels us since we already have many unused credits expiring in the next 6 months. 

We have made it for an 8:05 a.m. out off FLL, sailing in to MIA. However, it was a Southwest ticket, and we knew we could cancel it 15 minutes before and get our money as a credit. We also had backup tickets (non refundable) out of MIA at 1 pm. Just sailed on Allure. We took our time and were off the ship before 8:00. Could have been off much earlier. BUT you never know.

corrected

2 hours ago, kmcg8r said:

And you did not have to have the Internet package for this? You just texted each other thru the app?

No.

Royal up is your best bet. We have paid for upgrades on board in the past, but paid more than Royal Up accepts. On board Allure last week, no on board upgrades as they are following protocols which I am guessing do not allow. Only 1400 or so passengers.

43 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

You only need the negative test in the 48 hours before if you don't have proof of vaccination. On Harmony's European sailings all guests aged 18 and over have to be vaccinated to cruise, so in effect the 48-hour test rule only applies to unvaccinated guests aged 6-17 and for these guests there is a complimentary test mid-cruise which covers the requirement.

Thank you for clarification! Now, if we could just go on our own or non RCCL excursions......... Keep hoping that will also change.

On 7/13/2021 at 10:29 AM, Smithster said:

We will be aboard the Allure in October after over a year of being dry docked.  We are traveling with another couple and in past used a Walkie Talkie to keep track of everyone.  It was a pain the the %$#@.  but better than wandering the ship peeking in all the bars and shops.   I thought I heard through the grapevine you can use your cell phone on board the ship (or off for that matter) to locate your partner when your not together.  Via text or even call.  If anyone knows the answer to this question would love to hear from you.  Is there a charge and just how this works.  🤩

Yep. Just sailed on Allure last week and it was $1.99 per day to chat.

Very bummed that we can only take cruise ship excursions if we want to get off of Harmony on the 3 Italian ports. What I cannot figure out is that each port excursion includes the information that a guest has to have a negative covid test from the 48 hours prior. Does that mean prior to EACH excursion?? Or just to the first Italian port. And where are we to obtain these tests since we would be on board? I hope this is me being dumb and that someone on here has the obvious answer.

We were on Allure last week. There were a few Boardwalk cabins with guests that I saw. I do think that RCCL was doing some spacing and grouping which makes sense. Our 5 cabins did get moved, but all were moved to be together as booked, but a different deck. Make sure your reservations are linked and they will remain together.