cured

The OP has said a couple of times that the voucher has indeed been cashed in.

It looks like you originally had a suite guarantee. Did you already have your Jr Suite already assigned before you got the royalUP notification or did they all come at once? I believe I have read of at least one instance where someone got their RoyalUp but then their suite guarantee came through and it bumped them back down again. With a suite guarantee, you agree to accept what is assigned. I am sorry this happened to you but you did put in for a suite guarantee and you got a suite. It does suck if your charge was immediately charged and not put in pending first (never had a credit card do that but yours may be different) especially if it affects your credit limit and limits what you can spend for a few days. Hopefully you had taken that into account that you may be charged for your RoyalUPs and it didn't affect your spending at all.

I am disappointed that they are lowering or dropping the vax requirement. On a certain blog, there is a text screen of a conversation with Bayley where he confirms unvaccinated people can now book without exemptions.

Now you are contradicting yourself. You were emphatic that IF there were no lines you should be able to check in. Now you are insisting that if there is a line, those with a later boarding time who are cutting the line should not be asked to go to the end of the line. Wow! You truly believe that you are more special than those that actually are there at their assigned time and you think that they should wait behind your superior butt. Just wow. And no, that logic does not apply. If you are late, the line all moved up one spot, so your spot is still there when you arrive. Everyone who boards before you arrive has actually boarded one spot ahead of their boarding time. When you get in line after your boarding time, the line is restored back to its original order. In the other scenario, if you cut in line, everyone is moved back one spot until they get to your 12:00 boarding time. Now say 100 people have the same entitled attitude. That would mean 100 people would have to move backwards in line. And you truly believe this is fair? Unless you are a Royal Caribbean executive making policy on boarding, your opinion of how it should work means absolutely nothing. Still waiting to hear why, if this is really about not wanting to stand in line, the reasons why your parents cannot board at 3:00. Yet you conveniently ignore that. Even though you do not have a 10:30 boarding time, the rules do not apply to you, and you WILL board when you want. Boarding time be damned.

Agreed. Of all our cruises, assigned boarding times are never checked" ____________________________________________ So if boarding times are not checked, then you can enter the terminal before your boarding time. Which is EXACTLY what the security agent told me last Sunday. He said "the doors open at 10:00 and you can walk right in." If there's no lines, perhaps they will let them check in. If they can't, then they can take a seat inside the terminal and await their boarding time. Enough to know that entitlement to cut lines causes headaches for both Royal Caribbean and the people who have the correct boarding times. Again, picking and choosing what you want to hear to justify breaking the rules. Right on the front page here is another thread about boarding Harmony. One poster said he got there at 10:20 and there was already a zig zag line. So your security guard was lying to you. Most have also said that the check-in is efficient and you are through those enormous lines at noon within 20 minutes. Doesn't sound like that much of an inconvenience to justify cheating. Again, if this is really about lines and not about preferring to get on the ship earlier, why don't you explain why your parents can't board at 3 like so many have suggested. Your security guard said there are no lines then. And you won't be cutting any lines. Or is it really about trying to justify breaking rules just so you can check in earlier than your assigned time?

The security guard told you there is no line after 3pm. If your concern is really about not wanting to stand in line and it is not at all about getting on at your preferred early time as you stated in your original post, then your parents won't mind waiting until 3pm when your security guard says the line dies down. They can check in and board immediately. No having to wait in that concerning long line. However, I highly suspect this is more about wanting to board early than it is about any lines.

Actually, they won't be sitting in the air conditioned terminal. They will have to wait outside till their assigned noon time. Nowhere in your original post nor in the title do you even mention "if there is no line." Your excuses evolved as you received more and more negative feedback. And you are relying on one single security guard's word. I would be curious to know how many other security guards you queried before you got one that told you what you wanted to hear. This is a common phenomenon on social media platforms. People ask about breaking rules, get feedback they don't want to hear, and then change and evolve their story, hoping to get just one post that will validate their reason to break the rules. You may want to view the many, many videos out there that show enormous lines early on for boarding Harmony. None of them back up your security guard's statement.

en·ti·tle·ment /inˈtīdlmənt,enˈtīdlmənt/ noun the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. How is showing up at 10 to check in at 10 because you want to when your assigned time is 12:00 anything but wanting to cut in line? Just because some random security person told you there was no line at 10am? Was this person in a position to give you permission from Royal Caribbean to change your check in time? If everyone cut in line, there would be a huge line at 10am. That is the reason people are assigned times. Just because you don't "prefer" your assigned time does not mean you can just do whatever you want. Pure sense of entitlement. For the record, my children knew by kindergarten what entails cutting the line. If early boarding was so important to you, why didn't you stay up until midnight and check in then? And it is absolutely unfair to everyone who did plan accordingly and got the early boarding times. Only they are entitled to show up at 10am.

Did they change the itinerary on you without notification? Isn't the itinerary something you actually choose when you book. Barring changes due to weather, medical or mechanical problems, or country regulations, as long as the itinerary is the same as when you book, that is the one thing that is completely in your control. How is the choice of itinerary the cruise line trying to save money? If you didn't like the itinerary, why did you book that particular cruise?

The at home/online tests are 6 for $150 through emed. Even cheaper are the free gov't tests and using Onpoint testing. They can be as little as $10 per person with a code. Instead of $500, you could have spent $40. You had options. You chose the most expensive route.

Squierjosh is not doing anything but enforcing the alleged reputation of the class of hard core Carnival cruisers. @squierjoshnot sure what you mean when you say "which means a negative tests causes A LOT of preventable problems." How can a negative covid test cause any problems? Also, are you implying that you don't have to test for Carnival? It actually looks like Carnival's testing is stricter than RCL's requiring a PCR test. At least RCL will allow you to do a home proctored antigen test. TESTING REQUIREMENTS Guests age 2 and older must present a negative PCR COVID-19 test, taken within 72 and 24 hours prior to the sailing date at check-in. (For example, if the sailing is on Saturday, the test may be taken any time from Wednesday through Friday, but not on the morning of embarkation). Unvaccinated guests (age 2 and older) must also take an antigen test at embarkation. On cruises longer than 4 days, guests will be tested again within 24 hours of debarkation. Guests traveling on back to back cruises will need to be tested in between voyages. Irrespective of voyage length, antigen testing will be provided on a complimentary basis to children ages 2-4. Children ages 5-11 will be charged US$60 per person, and guests ages 12 and older will be charged US$150 per person on their onboard Sail & Sign account. Prior to traveling to the cruise terminal, guests should review their pre-cruise test results to ensure it includes their full legal name, date of birth, type of test, date and time sample was taken, test result stating “NEGATIVE” or “NOT DETECTED” and laboratory, testing site, and/or healthcare provider details. Handwritten test results are not acceptable. Please refer to our COVID-19 FAQs for complete information on testing requirements and resources. I hope you have a good cruise, but I highly doubt you will because you are already pulling stuff out of your behind to be mad about.

Does anyone know for sure if the rumors are true that if you remove your auto-gratuities, the employee must pool whatever you give them? Basically making it the same thing that they don't get the full amount of what you give them, but just their auto gratuity share. We always leave the autograts on so that we don't stiff anyone and give extra where extra is due. However, we have a family member that insists on removing the auto gratuities and just tipping the people he sees everyday. I would love to present the argument that it doesn't work the way he thinks it does. They can see that he removed the gratuities and that anything he gives in an envelope has to go into the pool anyway.

So sorry this happened to you, it must be so frustrating to plan a trip and then have it canceled at the last minute. This is pure conjecture from some coworkers that tried for an exemption and what they claim they were told about the late notice, so take it with a grain of salt. But if true, it does make sense. Since RCL opted into the CDC's Covid Program for Cruise Ships in late February, the cruise ships cannot go over 10% unvaccinated. They claim they were told that since the children under 12 get priority on the 10% limit of unvaxxed (don't have to file for exemptions,) the ship has to wait until the last minute to assess the #of bookings on the ship and what number the 10% may be. They also don't want to deny families with children booking, so they won't give up any of the 10% spots to medical/religious exemptions until the last minute. Apparently they were told that a few weeks before sailing, they have a pretty good idea of how many open exemption spots they have after the children have claimed their spots. Then they start filling with medical exemptions. IF there are still spots left after the medical exemptions are filled then they fill with religious exemptions. If this is true, you may have better luck booking a cruise when school is in session so there are not many children. A cruise over the summer, particularly a holiday weekend, is bound to have the maximum number of children vying for those 10% unvaxxed spots. It is not surprising that there weren't any spots open for a July 4th weekend for anything other than age exemptions.

Unfortunately, I have been reading on other social media sites numerous complaints that a family's cruise was canceled when their medical exemption was denied within days of sailing. As for a Catholic religious exemption, that is going to be extra hard since Pope Francis said in January "that getting vaccinated against the coronavirus was a "moral obligation" and denounced how people had been swayed by "baseless information" to refuse one of the most effective measures to save lives." "Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts," he said, calling for the adoption of a "reality therapy" to correct this distortion of human reason."Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease," he added." The baseless information he is referring to is that the vaccines are made with aborted fetuses. The Vatican's doctrine office, however, has said it is "morally acceptable" for Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses. Francis and Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech shots.

Ah yes, the old "if I put my head in the sand it does not exist" thought process. Now where have we heard the "if we stop testing, it will go away philosophy" propaganda? Guess if I don't take a pregnancy test, I can't possibly be pregnant. I just read an article today that said that while immunity from both vaccines and natural immunity is slowing deaths down to its lowest point in the pandemic, the death rate is still higher than car accidents or strokes (covid 300+ deaths a day, motor vehicle accidents 100 per day.) You are more 3x more likely to die from covid than from driving to the port. But more importantly, debilitating long covid is still a big issue. That said, as anal as I am about mask wearing still (immune compromised) and vaccine proponent, I do think testing 2 days before is ridiculous. Nobody is isolating after their negative tests, they are going about their business. With Omicron's approximately 3-5 day incubation period, a test 2 days before is not going to stop a whole lot of covid from getting on the ship. And no, because of my immune system, cruising is not in the cards right now, so before anyone says just stay home, that is exactly what we are doing.

That is the included fare., which is delicious on its own. The for cost Beach Club has a upgraded menu that includes lobster, filet mignon, grouper, and a bunch of other stuff. Many pictures and the menus above. Note to anyone wondering - (just because I have seen the question several times), you cannot pay and eat at the Beach Club restaurant separately. It is not a for pay restaurant like Captain Jacks. You must purchase entrance to the Beach Club in order to access the Beach Club menu.

Since you seem to reference the Norwegian Dawn several times as an example, my suggestion is to just go ahead and book the Norwegian Dawn.

Not to mention the Bahamas. Since the preponderance of Royal Caribbean US Caribbean sailings stop at Coco Cay and other lines stop at their private islands, as long as the Bahamas have their negative test requirement the testing requirement is not going away.

good luck on that. You may find your cruise ending much sooner than expected and not back in the US or other port of embarkation.

Not sure how they can do that when some of their ports still require a negative test to enter. RCI is not just dealing with the US, they are dealing with numerous countries, all with their own rules and regulations.

I always carry mine on. Insurance is not going to replace mine if I lose it in checked baggage because medical equipment is supposed to be carried on board. Check your insurance before you take those kind of chances. My regular resmed motor crapped out at 4 years 3 months. My insurance said so sorry, we only replace every 5 years. Add to that the backlog right now with the Phillips cpaps being recalled, it took over 6 months to get the new one in stock. So, you might be out of luck for awhile if your luggage is lost. You insurance may not replace until your 5 years (or whatever their policy is) and you might be stuck waiting for one with the shortage. Luckily for me, I had my travel cpap that I used while I waited the 6 months to get the new regular one, which also satisfied the 5 year wait time. You should watch the latest edition of La Lido Loca. He recounts a story last week where already boarded passengers were looking down and saw suitcases floating in the water. I think it was Pullmantur, not sure. Apparently one of the luggage trolleys flipped and dumped the luggage in the ocean. Freak accident, but if someone's cpap was in their luggage, that would not be good. I have an insulated cooler bag where my meds with a frozen ice pack go on the bottom and the cpap stuff in the top compartment. I have a medical equipment tag on it (Amazon) and carry it on. As others have mentioned, airlines cannot count a medical equipment bag against your allowable carry on.

I have the battery pack for my air mini. It is great for transatlantic flights and or cruises when you can't find an outlet nearby.

The 12 and older was not randomly decided by Royal Caribbean. It is the age range for the next set of FDA approved vaccines. Cruise lines either have their vaccination set at 5 and above or 12 and above. How in the world do you see a link between the age range for an adult area and the FDA age ranges for vaccines?

He is asking for ADDITIONAL compensation over and above the refund because he did not get an email. That is absurd in this world of non-stop covid news, at least from Royal Caribbean. He absolutely deserves a refund and maybe even some OBC from the spectacularly poor TA. I can't believe a TA doesn't have enough customers to not know about vaccine mandates because they didn't get one customer's email letter. What about all the other customers? Isn't it the TA's job to keep up on protocols?

Today's www.royalcaribbean.com home page. Note the banner on the top routing you to current health protocols. 5 seconds to type in www.royalcaribbean.com. Nobody is going to take anyone seriously when they try to pass off they did not believe enough that in today's world that there would be any kind of restrictions, so made no effort to check themselves, even out of curiosity. Only Rip Van Winkle, awakening from a long sleep, could pull off the fact that they had no idea about covid.