escapesnow

Unfortunately we tested positive and were unable to board the Oasis on Feb 6 as planned. I'm happy to share that the refund process was drama-free and extremely efficient. We called Royal the morning of Feb 6. They provided us with an email address where we sent them our positive test results. We received an automated reply that refunds are currently taking 30 days to complete. Less than 1 week later the full cruise fare and pre-purchased excursions were refunded back to my credit card. Never received an email, so if you're in the similar boat just keep on eye on your credit card statement. I'm currently dealing with a lot of headache over trying to receive a refund for an unrelated matter from airlines so I was scarred from that experience and completely dreaded dealing with Royal. Fully expected drama but it was the complete opposite. Sharing in case anyone finds themselves in the same unfortunate situation. Glad we caught it before getting on board though, and I am looking forward to booking a do-over for the fall. 

A friend shared that several new excursion options popped up on her planner just 3 days before the cruise set sail. Specifically, she mentioned that the bird aviary / sanctuary in Costa Maya was one of them (that's the one I'm looking for when I sail on Feb 6 so I paid attention). Not great for planning, but perhaps there's hope that more will come.

Thanks for your review! We are onboard on 2 weeks. Absolutely LOVING all your food pics

Thanks for sharing, this puts my mind at ease with our current plans. I plan on using the RT-LAMP test from Switch Health for re-entry into Canada. Will complete it early in the morning of disembarking, as soon as I can connect to cellular data on my phone (I never buy wifi packages on board). Seems to be the least stressful option for me personally when catching a 2 PM flight home. Testing at pier and terminal will be our back up options. Switch Health antigen test will be used when entering the US. We have a rental car so planning on making a couple appointments at Walgreens & CVS for testing to board the ship.

With Royal Caribbean cancelling their on board PCR tests for re-entry to Canada, I'm trying to figure out the best testing option when your flight back to Canada is the same day as disembarking the ship (2:00 PM flight departure). When balancing avoiding stress and cost, my current plan is to purchase a RT-LAMP at-home test purchased through Westjet or Air Canada. I plan on taking the test early in the morning before disembarking the ship. I don't ever purchase wifi packages so I'll likely just connect to cellular data with my phone once the ship is docked and complete the video call that way. My understanding is the results will be emailed to me in under an hour. So I'll complete the test as soon as I wake up, then could have the results in hand while I'm enjoying my last breakfast on board.

I know there are rapid diagnostic tests available for free from Walgreens that meet the re-entry requirements and *generally* you will receive the tests within an hour. Although I've heard that even if you do land a sought-after appointment, it's sometimes unreliable. I know there is also testing available at the airport inside of the terminal. However I've read many negative reviews (talking about Nomi Health at Miami airport specifically) from travellers so I'm leery of that option.  

I don't think there's a clear winner anywhere. For those that are still trying to make a cruise work, I'm curious, what are your plans for testing? Of course these are the current plans until the next hoop to jump through is announced.

20 hours ago, meadowlander said:

You can see the how close the desk is to the bed at 0:46 and later in the video, requiring a tight squeeze to pass. I remember the space on the sides of the bed being narrower than shown in the video.

We stayed in one on Grandeur that looked exactly like this. The room would've been great if the arm chair was removed from the room. It was in an awkward spot and was always in the way. I prefer the normal layout moving forward.

Royal Caribbean has approved the Abbott BinaxNOW covid home test. We're spending a few days in Orlando pre-cruise so we'll require another test (separate from US entry) to get on the ship. After reading about test result delays, and our busy Disney schedule pre-cruise, this home test seems like the best option for us. I haven't found a way to order it to Canada though, then of course pack it in our suitcase. Is anyone planning on doing the same route? If so, how are you getting your hands on these tests?

59 minutes ago, niko40 said:

Lol if you was seated at my table with a baby you would soon  be on your own

😀😉🤣

Lol exactly my point! I don't want to disturb other guests. Thanks all for the replies!

As Bella cruisers, what is the likelihood that we (as 2 adults plus baby) will have a table to ourselves in the MDR for dinner? This may sound like a silly question as this is standard for North American lines, but we sailed with MSC a couple months ago out of Dubai and as Bella cruisers you basically had no choice but to be seated with other guests in the MDR for dinner (ended up being 6 at the table). It's quite an active topic for that ship (Splendida) and I haven't seen anything discussed in Seaside so I'm wondering if it's different for this ship. Thanks!

We've been on Royal, NCL, and Carnival and have enjoyed all three thoroughly. We're a late 20's couple with no kids from Canada. Great food quality, plenty of entertainment, and pool time = awesome trip for us. We don't concern ourselves too much with the other details. Breakdown of the pros and cons of each from my perspective:

Carnival:

- Best for our taste in entertainment. We're not really into musicals and singing/dancing type shows nor do we find ourselves entertained sitting at a bar. Give us comedians and guest game shows (think Quest, Love and Marriage, etc.) and we're happy. You can expect hours upon hours of comedy acts every single night so we were always entertained.

- Worst for food. Food is so subjective and we've only been on one Carnival ship so take this as you will. In our experience sometimes they tried to make food really "fun" at the expense of quality. Think cereal-covered french toast that just turned into a soggy mess.

NCL:

- Best for food. The quality was amazing and tons of different options. I definitely recommend going on a ship with O'Sheehans (most do), it was our favourite place to hang out. I would say the MDR and buffet was about the same quality and offerings as RCCL but O'Sheehans really set it apart for those in-between-meals or late night snacks. Most lines will offer somewhat-lacking pizza, pastries, salads, and sandwiches as snacks whereas O'Sheehans offered wings, nachos, spinach dip, fajitas, etc. Anything you would expect from a good pub restaurant back home.

- As mentioned above, the Free at Sea promo is great. While you still end up paying a little, it's still a great deal

- Worst for entertainment. If you enjoy broadway style musicals you will love it. On Breakaway specifically they have a comedy club where they performed one or two improv shows per night. We didn't find it that funny and the shows were repeated throughout the week. We found ourselves walking through the ship aimlessly in the evenings on multiple occasions.

RCCL:

- Well rounded and somewhere in the middle when it comes to food and entertainment. Always something going on for every taste.

- The thing that really puts RCCL ahead of the rest for us is their indoor solariums. It's something that has really set RCCL apart from the rest for us as very few other ships offer this while combined with the rest of our interests. We're from Canada so all of our travel costs plus the weak dollar make it considerably more expensive for us than the average cruiser and limits us to one cruise per year (I know, first world problems lol). With that in mind we try to avoid too many risks and go with ships that we know will deliver great food, we will be entertained, and we'll be guaranteed plenty of pool time (indoor solarium). We're already spending thousands of dollars just to get to the port, what's a couple extra hundred dollars at that point then to go with RCCL which does well across the board. You may not be in that situation so take this as you will.

Hopefully that helps. I think sometimes people will throw out their opinions about things without specifying what "good" means to them. What we look for may be similar or completely opposite but you should be able to recognize that fairly quickly here.