bradski

thank you all.   I will go get that test now.   

here is why.   

Utah halts state, on-site rapid testing after analysis finds ‘higher than expected’ false negatives (sltrib.com)

I am trying to test today(Sailing in 2 days) and the CVS pharmacies in our state offer PCR only.  Walgreen has rapid but it is listed at Rapid Diagnostic(IDNOW) and Antigen isn't offered in my state.  I am worried that PCR will take 2 days as they say and I would prefer not to travel to the cruise port and get results.  Anyone have an idea if Royal will accept this test?  I have been on hold with them for 45 minutes so far and the first person just read the website to me.  

I went in December in 2019 and I would assume that it was mostly full.   I didn't think it was over crowded at all and if you made any effort, you can get a good seat where you want.   On sea days you need to get out earlier to get a free cabana or front row at the pool.  There generally was always somewhere to sit available.

3 hours ago, rockmom said:

Hi, just seeing this as I wasn't online last night.  Did you check in for the cruise and choose a boarding time?  I think at this point the earliest time slot is noon or 12:30.  You can choose a different boarding time for each of you.  

 

Also, I've been told by a LOT of people who were on some of the prior 3 night sailings that the ice show IS available, but you can't book it until you board and you book it via the app--it's not showing yet, but apparently will show up once onboard.  

I am hoping that I can see the ice show and I didn't see a comedian on the app? Good to hear there is still a chance because the only show I see if the showgirls and I have 0 interest in that show.

I was upgraded from interior on this 2/18 navigator to a spacious ocean view for the minimum $30 bid.   I know suites are harder to get upgraded but the basic upgrades seem to be happening. 

23 hours ago, rockmom said:

I'm booked on this sailing along with my daughter and grandson.  Kids club you will need to sign up ASAP when boarding as it is limited.  Since you have a 3 year old, that will be a different group than your other child.  Not sure how they are handling the unvaxxed kids, just a month or two ago there were reports that kids weren't allowed to interact with other kids not part of their family/travel group in order to not spread the virus.  Since you'll have an unvaxxed child in your party, you will all be considered as unvaxxed when it comes to dining and shows.  There will be places that are marked 'for everyone' and some that are only for those vaxxed. HOWEVER, if you and your husband are by yourselves and don't have the kids with you, you can go anywhere since (I assume) you are both vaccinated.  To get off the ship, you'll need to book an excursion through Royal if the kids are joining you.   I just checked the app and I can't tell if you'd be able to do ice skating since it's inside and I can't see if they have it broken out for vaccinated only or not. There is a morning and afternoon session on Day 2.  

 

Not sure about the escape room, but there's been an age restriction for those even before Covid, so yours would be too young.  

 

One other thing, those of us sailing on Friday have a pretty strong feeling that the capacity on this one is likely quite a bit higher than some of the more recent sailings.  Some categories opened back up a couple of weeks ago, but I think they had hit their targeted capacity and then either people bailed or they increased the the capacity.  Suites on this one have been sold out for a while.  Those who were hoping for a Royal Up have been bummed that so far only one person on our roll call was able to score one.  

 

Hopefully that answers some of your questions, but if you decide to go, heading to kids club as soon as you board is probably wise.  

I was able to go from an interior to a spacious ocean view for a minimum bid on this Fridays Navigator cruise. 

22 hours ago, PaddleAddict said:

rockmom

• 
• •  1k
• January 17, 2018

• #22  

Posted 23 hours ago (edited)

Oh, one more thing @PaddleAddict  Since you'll have at least one unvaccinated in your party, they will need a PCR test, an antigen will not suffice.  Turn around times are longer than antigen.  They must be done 3 days or less prior to sailing (but not on sail date).  And you must have the email from the health facility that did the test/processed the results that shows it was negative.  Then the child will also have to be tested at the pier--that one is done by royal and is an antigen.  So if you are thinking of going this coming Friday, you'd need to figure it out ASAP and get that PCR test scheduled for Tuesday morning and hope you get the results in time.  Those that are vaccinated must get a test within two days--but it can be antigen. So that means Wednesday or Thursday or morning of the sailing--but again, you'll need the emailed documentation before you'd be allowed to board.  

 

 

I know, this is the main thing that's holding us back. We will need to decide today if we are going to do this or not so we can get everything scheduled in time. 

 

A concern I have is the fact that we all had covid in December. I am worried that the kids PCR tests could still turn up positive since they say they can have positive PCR tests for 90 days after covid infection. 

Me and my wife are vaxed but our young kids are not.  In Royals instructions we have to take an antigen test 2 days prior and they have 3 days prior for the PCR.    They also take a rapid at boarding I guess. Where are people seeing that vaxed passengers need to take a PCR?  Royals website disagrees with the above statement about vaccinated needing PCR.

How do I figure out when to get my pre-cruise COVID-19 test? | Royal Caribbean Cruises

On 12/13/2019 at 8:25 PM, CatLadyFemme said:

Did you happen to notice if there was a GF section in WJ? How was boarding and disembarkation? Did the ship feel super crowded? How was service/crew over all?

 

Glad you had a good time!

I didnt do much in the windjammer so I couldn't tell you about the gf selection. Getting on the ship was smoother than getting off for the obvious reason the the people are crammed into a shorter time frame leaving vs arriving. We boarded within 10 minutes and leaving took us a couple minutes longer. Just more chaos and lines. One thing that was surprising was the line for uber/ Lyft(crazy long). We took a cab because the extra $5 dollars was worth the wait. 

The ship was never crowded imo, it was busier on the sea day and some things like the flowrider had waits. Shows you could get to 10 minutes early and get good seats still. El loco fresh was only 3-5 people in line worst case. The were always chairs and places to sit. If you wanted a prime beach chair then you need to get out early. 

Service was amazing, we talked multiple time about how most people were super happy that served us. 

9 minutes ago, Xkontour98 said:

 

The apple pie is amazing if it's anything like what they serve on Symphony (flower shaped). Easily the most memorable food I had on our last cruise. My wife doesn't care for apple pie in general, but really liked this one. By the end I was ordering 2!

 

OP- thanks for the review. We are sailing on 2/24 with our kids for the first time that are 5 & 8.  Is there a minimum age/size for laser tag?

There is a minimum, I would guess 42-48 inch range. A few younger kids were in both games I played. 

Getting off the ship after 4 great nights. We went to the showgirl show to kill time before dinner and it was good. Not something I would normally go to but I enjoyed it.  The night wrapped up with the comedian and he was good again. 

39 minutes ago, 90007012 said:

The apple pie sounds delish! Will have to try. Who is the cruise director? Thanks!

Hugo, he has a ton of energy and does a great job. 

So far must do's-

Ice skating show

Laser tag

Comedian( I will comment on adult show after tonight)

Main dining dinner and breakfast( I say this because some people skip for buffet at windjammer)

Everything at cococay

Surfrider 

If first time do the x vs y challenge and scavenger hunt after

Food must haves

 Apple pie dessert

El loco fresh for a snack

Soft serve

Late night pizza slice at promenade

Kiwis, bananas, apples

Decorations are not overwhelming but they have some Garland around with lights and the huge christmas tree in the promenade. 

10 minutes ago, 90007012 said:

Thanks for the review! Are there any Christmas activities onboard? We are heading out on Nav tomorrow. 

Yes there are

Your is 3 day so likely different but. 

Day 1-elf,  movie by the pool. 

Day 2- national lampoon Christmas,  movie by the pool

Day 3- family holiday art- adventure ocean

Santa pictures- promenade

The santa claus, movie by the pool

The polar express, movie by the pool

Day 4, sea day, how the grinch stole Christmas,  movie by the pool

Ice skating(kind of christmas)

Family holiday trivia,  the schooner bar

Family holiday storytime, adventure ocean 

 That is all I can see on the compasses. 

20 hours ago, George C said:

Always love the ice show 

We had a preview of the ballroom show and just didnt have interest. The adult quest game was very fun and funny last night though. Tonight I will see the adult session of the comedian and report back. His name is troy thirdgill. 

Cococay-  

Today was Cococay day and we had a great time. We easily could have done 2 days here. 

Thrill waterpark- they have a variety of slides from boring to wow that was fast. The highest slide is run with passes you have to get early so they dont have too many people waiting.  At 2pm they open up to everyone and I went at 2:30 to a 10 minute wait. Very worth it as you just keep getting faster and faster on the tallest slide in north america. Dueling demon slides were fun as you start with a verticle drop and go fast. They rock climbing wall was not great in the pool as it was not easy to do for most. The rope swings into the pool were ok at best also. Wave pool was solid and you could easily find places to relax. 

Jet ski tour- I really enjoyed this but I have ridden a bit when I was younger and we went first behind the guide. Full throttle 95 % of the time. Behind us got backed up with speed and a couple falls. If I had been towards the back and not able to go full speed I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much.  Crazy thing is, you go out a couple miles maybe and the whole area in at most 10- 15 feet deep. 

Chill island- I rented snorkeling gear and enjoyed my time around the rocks. Visibility near the beach was bad, but 30 feet out and it was good. We got to the beach  around 9am and had a front row with an umbrella. I spotted a good sized sting ray, lemon peel angel, a few other angel fish, tangs, ect. 

I am going to the adult comedy show thirsday and will report back. 

Pool decks- I have been impressed with the availability of chairs. We have on both days had time in one of the cabanas on the ship which is nice because my wife had the charge her phone today and they all have ports. (Tip, on boarding day if you get on early get a cabana on the north side so you have a better view) Movies so far have been elf, blinded by the light, spiderman, homecoming, and I think angry birds 2.  

Soft serve- I have tried both vanilla swirl and chocolate swirl. Waited no more than a minute and the server is quick. I like that people dont get their dirty hands on it. 

Gym- I thought is had plenty of space,  machines, towels, sanitizing wipes, classes, and was great. Better than any hotel gym I have been to. 

Arcade- this was a disappointment with amount of games and prices. 

Room- we went interior and with the promenade view. I wouldn't recommend this for a family if you have kids that go to bed early. 1st night they had loud music until midnight. ( not a problem for us) You cant hear the bar or people normally, but the music performances are loud.  The room has been clean and the attendant was great. He even offered my wife to borrow a personal iPhone charger since she left hers on the plane.

Fyi - you cant buy and iphone charger on the ship, just android. Nassau.  she bought on at the grocery store for 7 dollars. 

I am coming to the end of my 2nd day on the navigator and I thought I would share some thoughts. Skip to sections you want to hear about. 

Food- for me it has been great do far

Main dining- I had the prime rib on day 1 and the service was good and the food was solid. We had 3 deserts between the two of us. Warm apple pie, key lime pie, and warm hazelnut chocolate cake. I would rank them in that order from great to good. 

El loco fresh- I personally like the chicken and the pork better that the beef. I liked that all condiments were time monitored and replaced. 

Cafe promenade- pizza was good, not great, but available 24 hours per day and quick. I liked the coconut cookies the best here. 

Windjammer- I told myself I was going to stay away but had a quick trip in and I was surprised. A couple snacks and a kiwi to eat by the pool side. 

Room delivery- we had breakfast this way and it was solid. Pancakes were great, bacon was nice and crispy, sausage and eggs were ok, orange juice was good , chocolate milk was true moo. 

Sports deck/ activities

Flow rider- the boogie boarding and knee boarding was fun and not too difficult. Standing up was harder and I want to try and improve that on future days. Not longer than 10 min wait so far and 5 pm standup time was 2 minutes at most. 

Slides- the mat slide is quick and fun. Wait hasn't been bad the 3 times I have tried but I watched if there was a line for the mats. 

The double tube is good but not as quick as the mat slide. 

Putting green- some boring holes and some challenging holes. I would rate a 7.5 of 10. 

Rock climbing- approaching 40 and I thoughts this was a fin thing yo do. I chose the medium difficulty and it wasn't too challenging. I am tempted to go back and do the middle green holds. 

Laser tag- very fun, It keeps scores of each player and you play as a team. I would put this as a cant miss. 

Ice show- I thought the intro was awesome and this was a great show. 40 minutes flew by and didnt get bored at all. Music was good,  skating was better, and a must go to. 

Comedian- I was surprised by this because previous reviews weren't promising. I think he is new back with royal but the comedian was good for a family. " haveanicecruise". 

Wasn't there but pga tour was.  This last week was cooler than next week will be.  You can always look on weather.com and it will show you past days. 

18 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

What rooms? 

Promenade view, virtual , ocean view. 

3 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

What amount did you bid for yours?

Minimum on all 20, 30, 50. I had regular inside room.  

7 minutes ago, broadwaycam said:

Do you mean ocean view? I just got the Royal Up offer for my cruise. I bid $50 p/p for ocean view. I saw that they still had like 53 left. Our cruise is February 1st.

If there are a bunch left in a month I'm sure you have a good chance. 

Just now, Irishfam7 said:

How can you tell whether the suites are full or not?

I tried to book the cruise and see what I could select. 

Are there upgrades room available? If there aren't I cant imagine you have a chance. When mine was accepted there were almost 10 of the view rooms available.