jerseygirl3

1 hour ago, hometoosoon said:

We’re booked for Jan 23. I am on day 8 of the curse….super, super mild. Hoping and praying I test negative when the time comes 🤞🏻

I thought you had to be 90 days out from a pistive Covid test  to be able to board. 

With children being infected at a much higher rate than previously, why has Royal not mandated children 5-11 be fully vaccinated?  The vaccine for that age group has been available for several months now. This would help to increase the rate of vaccinated onboard. 

10 hours ago, mandaleigh said:

So how does this apply if the cruise was booked with a nonrefundable deposit?  Does the Flexibility when you need it still apply?

We paid our final fir february cruise before they changed to 30 days. We cancelled and got  our entire fare refunded to our credit card (within 48 hours) except for our original deposit went to an FCC.  We did not book a refundable deposit. 

On 12/26/2021 at 2:25 PM, seapad said:

Just wondering for those who are tested positive, and live in the US, but need to fly home. Wonder how the quarantine party and then fly home is being scheduled or what's the whole process like

The problem is, unless they go to the medical center to report symptoms, US citizens arent tested before  they get off the ship. Who knows how many are boarding commercial flights and are Covid positive. 

20 hours ago, cruisebot21 said:

Umm - that was THEIR offer, not a request or demand on my part.  They came to me with a couple different options and this was one of them for the initial proposed quarantine.  In regards to the hotel, it is a popular one we’ve stayed at and has a number of room with two twins each. Not going to name it so as not to stigmatize 

 

Like I’ve said, they were balance of compassionate and professional and in my mind went way above the minimum required under the circumstances.

 

Anyway, have the day you deserve 😉

I don’t think I saw where you mentioned that in your original plans that it was Royal’s offer. Were there any other positives on your sailing?  Were they also flown home via private jet?  If not, I would hope they didn’t fly home commercial. 

3 hours ago, cruisebot21 said:

Pt3:

I’ll try to answer some of questions above in this update 🙂

 

In light of me being Cdn vs US, would I have been tested anyway? Probably yes.  I started to have light cold symptoms early afternoon and if I didn’t already have a scheduled test in a few hours, would have called medical.  To be honest, I felt like I had a bit of heat exhaustion from the really hot / humid weather the day before.

 

The next morning in my new digs, I started to figure out the many moving parts of getting everyone home.

 It was really windy out and the ship couldn’t dock at CocoCay - after a long delay, we turned around and started the last leg to Miami

 

I’m sure guest services was swamped, but I had multiple calls throughout the day updating travel info / policy and what to expect, Doctor checking in, offers for room service and general wellness check-ins.  Everyone was courteous, listened to any concerns, and made it clear they had time to work with me.

I know that was clearly not the case as there were announcements requesting people to report to the conference centre (where testing took place) and there were reports on FB that corridors had been closed like when I was moved the day before.  

 

The plan:

We had flights booked to leave the morning of docking - clearly I wouldn’t be able to go.

It also wasn’t fair to put that on my wife to haul lots of luggage and 2 kids through an unfamiliar process of border crossing / immigration with continually changing protocols - not CBSA’s fault, but I didn’t want to send her into a situation where she may be delayed by long lines, miss a connection, require further testing, quarantine in Toronto, etc

 

It was going to be a really long day at the best of times, with arrival home being just after midnight.

 

We were planning on probably all of us quarantining in Miami in 2 rooms and once I was good, travel home together. We were going to have her work send her the required IT to maybe work down there for a week or two.

 

When we had booked, we specifically choose to go on this itinerary so we could be home and do our 14-day post travel quarantine over the holidays to minimize impact on jobs and school. 

We were reassured before we left that there was a repatriation policy that ensured we’d be immediately flown back if we tested positive.  In discussions with guest services, they mentioned that policy had changed the prior week - while we were on the Freedom of the Seas and that quarantine in Miami with later flights is the current solution. They said they’d see what they could do, but were not optimistic.

 

 

 

Are you seriously expecting Royal to pay for 2 hotel rooms and allow you all to quarantine and to travel home afterwards together so as not to burden your wife with luggage and 2 kids?  You chose to sail during  pandemic. Royal is being incredibly generous in dealing with your illness. To expect more is beyond.  

I love the spin he put on vaccination for 5-11 year olds. Instead of mandating that they be vaccinated, he states "more and more 5-11 years olds are being vaccinated". Why isnt it mandated, just like the 12 and over? 

A woman who is currently on Freedom said  there are so many positive crew that are quarantined  on her sailing now. Doesnt bode well for future cruises. 

1 hour ago, clover18 said:

News Flash: Odyssey is heading back to Fort Lauderdale to deliver someone with a medical issue. So we will have to dock and take the person off then return and head south. Captain telling us we still have plenty of time to make it to Curaçao by Wednesday. 

Is this the ship that departed late due to the  Covid cases onboard the previous sailing?  

4 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

😟 I get it and totally understand. Noone in my family lost, but several people I knew well. Sorry for your loss. 

Thank you

On 12/17/2021 at 9:13 AM, ledbyrain said:

Hello,

 

My family is supposed to sail on the 26th and I'm trying to decide whether to cancel our reservation due to Omicron.  I'm wondering about the chances of RC cancelling the cruise themselves or CDC suspending cruising by then. Is this likely/possible? My main concern (given the level of contagiousness) is that so many crew/passengers could become positive that the cruise just can't function well (e.g., meals). I would love others thoughts. I'm so sad to even be posting this...

We cancelled our 1/31/2022 Anthem sailing due to this rise in Covid. 

4 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I saw compass still calls it formal night.  Dh bought a new tux this year for our cruises and I have my sparkly dresses to wear.  We love to dress up for formal nights.

I hate that they dumbed down to shorts in the MDR fir dinner. How hard is it to put on a pair of Dockers. I read where a guy was allowed in for dinner wearing a tank top 😳

7 minutes ago, AustinCruise said:

They would be wise to not allow purchases before someone checks in at the muster station!

As far as I know, they are no longer having passengers meet at the stations for muster drill.  I believe it's done on your TV or app.  One good thing that came out of Corona virus!

6 hours ago, Rosy Season said:

The timing of this is really going to screw up the holiday cruises - specifically those leaving on December 26th.  All of the pharmacies are closed (or not on business days) on the 24th and 25th and they don't consider Sunday a business day.  They're saying on other boards that after calling CVS/Walgreens they've been told that there is no way that they will be able to turn around PCR tests in time for a 26th sail date.

 

It's a big problem.  

Its expensive, but most airports do PCR tests with very quick results, not the 48 hours via pharmacies 

3 minutes ago, Jkaczanowski said:

Not “blaming” anyone.  As a RCG shareholder, they’ve reduced their cost to administer at the pier and probably increased the percent vaccinated on their cruise. As I said, not requiring vaccination, but definitely encouraging. 

I would  have preferred that they required 5-12 to be fully vaxed to cruise.  

Just now, jerseygirl3 said:

 

That’s the reason we’ve shied away from trying a Royal Up. Ive been told if my bid gets accepted, my previous cabin is released immediately and there is no going back if I’m not happy with the location of the upgrade. 

31 minutes ago, rm1247 said:

We are considering placing a bid through Royal Up for our upcoming cruise on Oasis, and I'm wondering if anyone won a bid and ended up regretting it? It seems like you might end up with the lesser desired rooms in a higher category, like those with noise issues or an obstructed view. I saw a comment recently from someone on Oasis on deck 14 about noise from the pool deck, and I realized that we could end up with a cabin on that deck. We haven't placed a bid yet, and I'm weighing the pros and cons. Thanks for sharing your experience! We are currently in a balcony, and would bid on one of the suite options.

1 hour ago, Radio said:

Hello everyone and good morning. Welcome to DAY 1 of “LIVE” from Anthem of the Seas. I am currently enjoying a freshly brewed cup of delicious coffee while at Courtyard Marriott in nearby Elizabeth, NJ. I only have about a 20 min ride over to Cape Liberty (Bayonne). It is a very nice hotel that is very clean, and the staff is very friendly.

 

My boarding appointment is for later today at 1:30PM, and the cabins should all be open by then. The weather forecast for today is cloudy and cold (40f).

 

I still must pack up the Radio Pressroom, attach my luggage tags and make sure my documents are handy to show the Terminal Representatives.   I have some friends that I will be meeting on board, and my brother and his wife will be sailing as well. Next week some other friends will be boarding (Dec 5th), and it will be nice to say hello again.

 

I will be posting next from Anthem of the Seas this afternoon.

 

Thanks for tuning in.

 

Radio

 

 

I often stay hear or at the Residence Inn when I sail from Cape Liberty.

 

 

 

 

The hotel is very convenient to the pier. . . It is a short drive.

 

 

 

 

My luggage tags have been attached. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Set Sail pass is ready. . .

 

 

 

 

 

My Itinerary this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Itinerary Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let the fun begin. . . 

 

 

 

Does that hotel allow you to park for free while you're on the cruise?

.

On 9/27/2021 at 5:28 PM, CruisingNole said:

Well, the title says it all. Why can’t Royal include a decent serving of fresh vegetables with an entree? And no, one piece of broccoli does not count.

 

 

 

 

 

A friend who travels with us asks for a separate plate of veggies every night with her entree. I’m sure if you ask they will comply. 

I really wish Royal would extend it to 72 hours prior to boarding. That way we could get a PCR test, which is much more accurate than a rapid antigen test. We leave on a Monday and they can’t guarantee getting a PCR back before7 pm on  Monday.  

1 hour ago, erinsmom03 said:

 

That's awesome! We also signed up for email notifications, and neither of us received any lol.

You can go to the website for passport renewal and it will give you the status of your application 

My husband and i sent ours fir renewal at the same time. His came back in 3 weeks (neither were expedited). Mine took 3 months. Mine also is a little different. The page with my info and photo is hard plastic and has my photo printed twice, one color and one black and white. My husband just is paper and has one color photo. 

4 hours ago, erinsmom03 said:

I was cutting it real close with our passport renewals and our next cruise. Granted, it's to the Bahamas and we could use our birth certificates and driver's licenses, but I don't want to carry around our bc's. When we sent in our passports, it said turnaround time was about 16 weeks, and we wouldn't get them back until right before our January 3rd cruise. Especially with mail slow downs and the holidays, I was resigning myself to carrying our old bc's around. 

 

I logged into check our status today, and the turnaround time has dropped to 8-11 weeks, and even better, the status for both of us has been updated to approved! They say we should expect our passports before Thanksgiving now. Nice!

 

Just thought I'd share in case others were wondering how long it was taking these days.

My husband and i sent ours for renewal at the same time. He got his 3 weeks later (not expedited) and mine took 3 months. 

On 11/13/2021 at 11:22 AM, Ken said:

If so, were you successful? How long did it take RCCL to respond? I realize that protocols are subject to change, but this is a deal breaker for us.

I think the only medical exemptions would be given for those who are on continuous oxygen. My husband has pulmonary and cardiac Sarcoidosis and although wearing a mask is at times uncomfortable for him, he complies at all times. 

22 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

And? My comment is that they now need to require everyone five and older to be vaxxed. Do away with the existing exemption. 
 

Sorry. I misunderstood.