Digjharper

We are very fortunate here in the UK to be able to have more than one passport. Just renewed my second one in February so thats me got 5 year gaps between renewals and always one available whilst the other is being renewed. Did the premium service and got it back in less than a week.

Very pleased to see that its now highly likely that the cruise will be stopping off at my old working location of Luanda in Angola. It will be interesting to see what excursions are offered to the passengers. Anybody looking for some good food and drink locations let me know and I can give some advice (was last there in August 23).

Maybe they own more than one house or car so after the cruise they just stay in one of their remaining houses and drive one of their remaining cars (or motorbikes 😀).

Really? We are due to do the transatlantic on it leaving Barcelona on 24/11/24 so perhaps we are getting a different ship for the journey?

Regarding the cost of changing flights - I recall our first ever cruise with RCI on the Anthem in May 19 that was delayed 24 hours in retuning to New Jersey (after a medical diversion to Nassau), pretty sure RCI said they would pay for all (not a limit mentioned) of all required flight changes. They also gave all passengers a day of internet use free as well. One reason why we never have flights planned for the same day as arrival in port at the end of the cruise but I certainly understand this is not an option for many.

We did the Anthem TA last month and on the Friday before departure, they sent an email stating that UK NHS self testing kits were acceptable to be used as proof on being negative pre boarding. They then issued a correction email a few hours later so sometimes they do get it wrong. However, in this instance of the OP, the policy was quite clear and stated many times by RCI in emails and on their website. Ask yourself too, how many other people were denied boarding because of similar circumstances or was the OP the only group denied? If they were it tells you that others read and understood the policy and were prepared properly. As for the matter of being told over the phone 3 times, I am afraid that unless OP recorded these calls, it would be very hard to prove anything that was stated in any conversation (unless you had access to the calls from the RCI side since they record them).

This is what I got below which is relevant for us leaving on the Anthem on Monday. I will take them at their word, print out the email and show them the negative NHS test they stated would be suitable. As a reminder, all guests ages 12 and older will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result upon arrival to the terminal. Guests who are up-to-date must test within the 3 days prior to our boarding day. Guests who are unvaccinated or not up-to-date will need to complete either an antigen test in 24 hours prior to boarding or a PCR test 72 hours prior to boarding. At home, unsupervised lateral flow tests - such as those provided by the NHS or other healthcare providers are now accepted for your sailing! Learn more about our requirements at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/health.

Don’t worry, they will be.

Obviously the OP is at the wind up but to a certain extent I agree with him/her/they. Probably RCI could encourage more passengers to join the cruise if they added a “sunshine” resort to an expected low sun exposure route. To give RCI some further advice, they would make an absolute fortune if they could also include Las Vegas as a stop to an Autumn Transatlantic cruise 😂

Had numerous Euro trips this year for long weekends, football and cruises and would say our passports have been stamped approx 50% of the time. As another poster stated, all movements are recorded electronically so no big deal.

Yes, correct. I made an earlier post about this as I was unsure as Royal Caribbean had two different dates on their website. I got confirmation from them that until the end of the year (provided it was booked pre 2022) it’s double points.- see below. Thank you for contacting our Customer Service Department regarding your Crown and Anchor membershipKindly note that your cruise will qualify for the double points, it will be 24 pts per passenger for the 12 nights cruise. Please let us know should you have any other questions.

Just looking for a clarification on this. We are on the anthem TA in October and I always thought we had missed the double points promotion as it ended on 30/9/22. Had a wee google and got the Q&A on the C&A Double points promotion and it contradicts itself by saying two different things. It says the following so which one is correct? What is the double points offer? The double points offer is exclusive to our most loyal guests, the Crown & Anchor Society members! Members will receive double Cruise Points on bookings made through September 30, 2021 for sailings departing January 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. Does my booking qualify for the double points offer? This offer applies to named, existing bookings made before September 30, 2021 for sailings departing January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2022. Offer excludes residents of China. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/faq/topics/crown-and-anchor-society-double-points-offer

On the transatlantic cruise on Wonder earlier this year there was was particular "lady" who was the loudest and most obnoxious person I have ever encountered on a cruise. She also happened to travel the ship on a mobility scooter. Like us, she hailed from the UK, albeit a different part and like us she enjoyed doing the morning and early evening trivia quiz. Everyday she was there with her hen pecked husband who just did as she instructed and was writing down her answers whilst she was busy on google trying to get the answers. She was obviously not fast enough with her fingers as she kept on telling the quiz master to slow down and even then, she still got some answers wrong. She also got upset when there were any USA based/themed questions in any quiz and as she ofter shouted out "how am I meant to know the answer to this question". She took things far too seriously and certainly put people off attending but one fellow Brit got a round of applause from the other contestants when, after another one of her complaints, said "please do us all a favour and shut up". I really hope she is not on our Anthem transatlantic cruise this October 😎

They could take lateral flow tests from the UK with them and do the video call - we have done this before. They could also go to Walgreens (not sure about CVS) and they will do the drive up lateral flow tests - we have done this as well and they don’t care about your nationality.

Similar situation to the OP. We had the choice of a 11:10 or a 17:30 out of Barcelona today after leaving the Wonder. We picked the later one to cover for any eventuality. However, the earlier one would have been fine as we arrived at airport before 09:00. This was after a hearty breakfast in the Windjammer followed by a 50 Euro taxi ride to the airport. However the nice lady at the KLM check in desk allowed us to check in all our baggage so we took the metro into the city centre and now enjoying a dine beer and tapas on the Rambla.