sushitex

5 hours ago, RoperDK said:

We just got off the Odyssey and to our surprise both my husband (tables) and myself (slots) received over 1500 points and will be prime on April 1.  I read on the clubroyale site that certificates for our free inside cabin will be available on April 22nd.  What will the date on the certificate be?  Free cruise from April 1 2022 thru Mar 31 2023 or will it be dated from April 22nd for one year?  Will it be for an interior on ANY 7 day cruise or only their selected ships and dates?  It always seems that their selected ships and dates don't align with what I can use, lol.   

 You may want to read the date again - the tier (or annual) cruise, according to the website, will be available beginning April 25, for Prime-level and up members of Club Royale. 

The cruise dates that are blacked out are usually the ones that are American federal holidays, with the exception of Easter and perhaps a couple of other non-federal holidays. I believe that one may also use the tier code to redeem for $500 off one of those holiday cruises or one that is 8 or more nights, but then it won’t be a comped cruise - merely $500 off.

3 hours ago, LeeW said:

 

Butchart Gardens is in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, not in Vancouver.  Pre-covid you could walk up to the parliament building and get a tour for free.  Lots of folks take orca watch tours here, although we weren't tempted by the full water survival suits they were wearing in the zodiacs.

 

Do a search for "victoria tourist" to see local things to do.  

 Oops, my bad. Guess I didn't have enough caffeine this morning! Thanks for the advice!

Hubby was diagnosed as a type 2 Diabetes patient several years ago. A little over 2 years ago, he lost about 100 lbs., mostly through following a low-carb, high-protein diet and by taking daily walks or riding an indoor exercise bike several times a week.  

While on cruise ships, we still do our walks most days - usually he does a little over 3 miles, while I tag along and do about 2.5 miles. This is usually on deck 4, in the morning. We don't care for the jogging track so much because it's more crowded and usually hotter up there on the pool deck.

Hubby still follows a "modified" diet - he eats lots of protein, a carb, and apples for breakfast, protein and a large salad for lunch, and protein, some carbs, and more salad and veggies for dinner. If there's a Johnny Rockets onboard, we will usually splurge one day. Hubby does dessert (usually ice cream - sugar-free, if he remembers) about twice during a 7-night cruise. Luckily, he doesn't have a big sweet tooth. I do, however (been tested, not diabetic.) I enjoy the sugar-free coconut cake, pineapple "Sunshine" cake, and the profiteroles, if they are freshly-made. 

The Promenade Cafe and if available, Park Cafe, are good for picking up apples or other fruit if you are far from the Windjammer. Just remember that watermelon, like other melons, while delicious, is high in sugar. 😞

If the ship doesn't offer chiller boxes in the cabin, one can request a medical fridge in advance or when you board the ship. Same thing for sharps containers. 

We are going on our second cruise to Alaska in May, so I'm actively researching some shore excursions.

Is the Juneau city bus a blue school bus? We went on an Alaskan cruise 10 years ago (NCL) and I recall walking up to a kiosk, paying for our passes, and boarding a blue bus to get to Mendenhall Glacier and back. Does anyone know how much the passes cost currently?

I don't know what to do for a tour in Vancouver. When we stopped there before, there was a bus near the pier that we paid maybe $8 a person, and it took us to the downtown area to walk around in for a couple of hours.   This time, we are sailing with Royal Caribbean, and I'm leaning towards a 2.5 hour-long city "historical sights" walking tour. I have read that Buchart Gardens is too big to explore during an abbreviated evening tour, so that's out. Any suggestions?

We have booked tours with Royal for Sitka and Skagway, so we're good.

Thanks for any advice!

On 3/5/2022 at 12:58 PM, firefly333 said:

Liberty is on the way into Galveston by 530 today for a medical emergency and casino closing at 5 pm. They wouldnt disembark until the morning. 

 

We never know what happened for sure.

 We were on the second leg of a B2B for that cruise. I do recall hearing "Alpha Alpha Alpha" and then something about a passenger on the pool deck. On Saturday late morning we spoke with a Guest Services crew member who confirmed that yes, we were hurrying back to Galveston so that person could get medical care. Hubby did see an elderly gent in a wheelchair accompanied by several crew members and medical staff a few hours after the Alpha announcement; we  think that was probably the person but have no more information otherwise. 

It was actually kind of nice arriving in Galveston during daylight hours instead of getting there in the wee hours of the morning. 

1 hour ago, tkportersat said:

Yes, that is the one I selected and it let me through. 

1 hour ago, msuspartabigten said:

Say yes to this, which is true. This will make it free and they don't need to know it's for travel. 

"Are you seeking a COVID-19 test because of high transmission rates and difficulty maintaining recommended social distancing?"

 

After all, even though the CDC recently downgraded cruising to Level 3, it still seems they consider it to be a risky business. So, going along with their policy, we probably, when boarding a cruise ship, will be going in into areas where there are "high transmission rates and difficulty maintaining recommended social distancing."  We can then honestly answer "yes" to question #1. 

Also, my city has never strayed from being classified as having high transmission rates since a few months into the pandemic. 

I think that some people here might be confusing 2 different items:

1. Currently, Club Royale is offering a certificate for a free interior room  for earning 800 points during the course of one cruise. As far as I know, it's still going on and the list of available cruises is published on the back of the certificate and at the Club Royal offers website, once one earns that certificate.

2. It's been reported on at least one FB group, and here on CC, that Club Royale is going to be allowing people who earn 1500 points to become Prime, if they earn them between June 12, 2021 and March 31, 2022. Current Prime members (and up)  will keep their status for the next casino year anyway (April 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023.)

This is the PDF of the Club Royale letter that has been making the rounds here and on FB. 82782934_Clubroyalestatusletter.pdf

We have been on several cruises with Royal since the restart; the last one ending on Jan. 21st. I recall carrying our passports (with vaccination cards tucked inside), printed test results,  and boarding passes into the terminal and showing them all  at least once before we stepped onboard the ships. 

That's 4 1/2 hours using the Sam Houston toll "expressway", lol! Of course, that factors in our required stop at Buc-ee's or Whataburger...

A little over 2 years ago, we stayed at a LaQuinta on the Seawall. It was January 2020, there was a cold front, and it was crowded, especially at breakfast. But it was free, using my Wyndham Reward points. I don't recall bugs or it being dirty, just the crowds. 

Last summer, when cruising restarted, we booked a stay at the Baymont Inn by Wyndham, which is next to the other LaQuinta, on 63rd. We never went inside that LaQuinta, but it looked fine. Since then, we have stayed at the same Baymont 2-3 more times. The area has some food outlets nearby, including a Jimmy John's (subs) at a corner of the LaQuinta - the tuna subs there were yummy, lol. Behind the Baymont, there are a couple of shopping centers. We walked across the street to Randall's (a grocery chain store) and also picked up pizza from the Domino's in the same shopping center. There's also a Schlotzky's next door to the Domino's. Oh, and in front of the Baymont, you can't miss the Golden Corral, it basically blocks most of the view of the sea from the Baymont unless you are on an upper-level floor.

We stayed at the Baymont mainly because 1. we could use our Wyndham reward points there to book a room and 2. at the time, they allowed free cruise parking for up to 7 nights. I just called them a few days ago, however, and they no longer offer the free cruise parking.  Oh well. I guess we'll be driving straight through to the Port on cruise day - we live about 4 1/2 hours from Galveston.

We were on the Liberty of the Seas in mid-December. Adjacent to the Star Lounge, which is on the fifth deck all the way forward, is a room labeled “Connoisseur Club.” However, I was told by another cruiser, and I saw a sign on the door myself, that it’s closed most of the time except for when it is being used as a Pinnacle Lounge. 
 

The Adventure OTS is the same class of ship (Voyager) as the Explorer. We were on the Adventure for a total of 7 cruises in November, December, and January. Next to her Imperial Lounge (fifth deck, forward again) is a room labeled “ Card Room” and I believe it was also being used as a Pinnacle Lounge. 
 

I don’t believe they allow smoking of any kind in those rooms. I remember seeing smoking areas in parts of the pool deck and outside, port side on deck 4 on the Adventure, however. 

44 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

I agree that Royal even though not obligated could have tried to help the op by at least giving her $80 in obc to show good will and keep a customer.  

 

I didn't like that the op felt like they didn't need to take any responsibility for their plight.  I work in a high school and it seems like that attitude is becoming prevalent.  It is everyones fault but mine, but that is another discussion for another day.  

 

Didn't she already receive $100 in OBC when she was moved for social distancing reasons? 

Ooops, it appears to me that OP looked in the gift  horse's mouth (the chance to bid in the Royal Up) and it bit her! Yikes.

We have recently had two experiences in which Royal moved us from one room to a better one, one was involuntarily, and the other, as a way to make amends for events that happened during our cruise that had nothing to do with the room itself. Both were free upgrades, and both happened while already in the original rooms. 

In the first case, we were in an oceanview cabin. We liked the location of the room because it was on the third deck, almost around the corner from the main dining room. The issue causing us to get moved was that the tv set wasn't working properly and the maintenance people decided that they needed to open up the wall to check the wiring. So, without so much as an hour's notice, we were told that we were being moved up several decks...to a balcony! The only hassle was packing up in a bit of a hurry, but luckily for us, most of our clothes were still in packing cubes, yay! The bonus was that this was the second leg of a B2B2B, and guest services decided that we could stay in the balcony room for the third leg, gratis.

The second case wasn't such a pretty story.  While cruising on a different Royal ship, hubby experienced several issues onboard, including being  skipped in line by the head waiters (serving other customers) in the Windjammer more than once,  and not properly receiving the casino certificate he had earned on the cruise (Club Royale told him it wasn't valid, oddly enough.) There were other issues as well, and hubby eventually voiced his concerns to Guest Services. A day later, the guest services manager met with us and to make amends, offered to move us to either a balcony or junior suite cabin. Of course, we chose the junior suite. He also issued a FCC (don't know if it will actually benefit us, being we sail mostly on casino comped and discounted cruises.) 

Moving up to that junior suite did make us feel better. Yes, we didn't earn double points as one normally would, but it was a free upgrade. Can't have everything...

So I have to say that Royal did try to make it right, on two different ships, for us. In fact, the guest services manager went above and beyond by calling Club Royale to try to get the invalid certificate issue fixed (didn't happen until we sailed on yet another Royal ship, lol.) Hubby also received a free whole lobster dinner in the MDR at the end of the cruise, as well as  a fruit basket, and several other Royal officers visited us or called us. Wow...our faith in Royal Caribbean has been restored (mostly.)

You are automatically signed up with Club Royale once you either insert your Seapass card into a slot machine or a dealer scans the card with his tracking device, and you start gambling. There are casino hosts onboard whose job is to assist and answer questions about the Club Royale program. There should also be a chart posted either on the casino host's desk or near the cashier's cage, detailing exactly how many points you will need to earn the perks (for example, the current promotion includes   800 points earning an interior cabin.) 

About a month ago, Hubby earned a bonus interior certificate with the new 800-point promotion. Because we wanted to add onto our 2 April cruises on the Enchantment, he was able to use that certificate to book a 5-night cruise to Bermuda, which is fine with us. No celebrations for us, other than one of the weeks in April includes Easter Sunday and the fact that we will also be visiting our son before/after the cruises, since he lives in MD. 

I  also earned a certificate on our last cruise, about 1 1/2 weeks ago. I remember seeing several Bermuda cruises (Enchantment) in the late spring and early summer, including May, and I believe, June on the list and in the online listing. We ended up using that certificate for a Liberty cruise in June out of Galveston, because we live only 4 hours or so south of that port. 

I love desserts but usually am full from eating bread, appetizer, and entree. My solution is to ask the waiter to bring me my dessert with a lid on it, to take to my room and store in the chiller for an evening snack. I’ve done this on 5 cruise ships so far. The MDR desserts beat  the Cafe Promenade/Park Cafe sweets by a mile, imho. However, I believe the best apple pie is at Johnny Rocket’s, lol! 

Boy oh boy…we’re on the Adventure for a B2B2B (started last leg this morning) and while the first leg was fantastic, my hubby declared the second to be just the opposite. Being skipped over while in line at the Windjammer twice,  and losing a day of Internet due to it being down (we did receive credit for it a couple of hours ago) wasn’t fun at all. Oh, and one day, maintenance workers decided to close off both sides of the outer deck on deck 4, in mid-afternoon, with plenty of guests ( including us) trying to enjoy a walk or just to go from one place to another. Not guest- friendly and likely, a safety hazard.
 

Reading about  people’s experiences on other Royal ships reminded me that while no ship is perfect, we are still on our favorite kind of vacation. 
 

BTW, we spent 17 nights on the Independence in September and early October and had a phenomenal time. That trip moved the Indy up to being my favorite Royal ship ( so far.) 

They started decorating the tree on the Adventure @ November 29, but added the Star and poinsettias a day or two later. Now there are poinsettias in many public venues as well as garlands and wreaths in the MDR. Next Cruise is also decorated for the holidays. 

In mid-July, we disembarked from the Vista and spent a couple of hours in Mahogany Bay. Hubby and I took the scenic route and walked along the nature trails to take pictures of the Vista and of the beach area itself. Once we reached the beach, we set up our towels, etc. on some loungers under some kind of tropical tree (not a palm) and we took turns swimming in the sea. It was very peaceful and not crowded at all (we went rather early in the morning.) We did not buy anything to eat or drink, although there was a bar and restaurant very close to us.

On the way back to the ship, we debated stopping to souvenir-hunt in one of the few stores that are located in the beach area, but we chose not to. We did find out from a worker that the "magical" chair lifts cost $12 or so for an all-day ticket. We opted out - hubby doesn't care for things that are high off the ground (so no North Star, lol) and I had no urgent desire to go on them, anyway. 

We would likely go back to Mahogany Bay if Roatan is on our itinerary again on a Carnival cruise. We've done the "animal petting and beach shore"excursion twice with Victor Bodden tours, so we didn't feel a need to do something like that again, at least not for awhile. 

“Guests may also bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom.”

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/food-drink-onboard-policy

Very good to know - we have Lighthouse booked, from Sept.  19 - Oct. 6, for our 3 upcoming cruises on the Independence. Booking the times we needed online on their website was quick and painless, and I was able to email someone from Lighthouse (beforehand) that online booking was the way for me to reserve. 

Prior to Lighthouse, we had just used the Port of Galveston lots. We thought that we would give the independent lots a try, and maybe save a little $$.

46 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

 

I'm willing to bet it won't be cheaper than the home kit. The home kits are $25-35 each test. The cheapest I've seen rapid tests at any pay up front place is around $65. I've seen prices vary between $65-95 for rapid. I would expect any testing at the terminals to be in line with that - if not a little more money.

Two nights ago, I ended up at the ER with food caught in my chest and had to get an endoscopy, with an antigen test required beforehand. Thank goodness it was negative. However, I had purchased the Abbott Home Self Test kits at $19.99 each plus tax at our local HEB. This is the test that is not monitored, I only purchased them because our daughter, a public school teacher, tested positive a week and a half ago and hubby and I were going to test ourselves if we felt symptomatic. BTW,  Daughter is okay, with only cold symptoms, she and her hubby are fully vaccinated. They all did the home self-tests and only daughter was positive, but of course, they are quarantining until after Labor Day. 

In the meanwhile, we ordered, and received yesterday, the Abbott monitored home tests available through eMed. With shipping and handling and taxes, it was about $177 for 6 tests. We may be using them for our upcoming Royal cruises, and 1 Carnival cruise. 

I texted a local drive-through testing center (not a government agency; they only do symptomatic people testing in our area)  and they texted back they only do the free ones for symptomatic people as well, but hey, their website states they will charge $190  per test if  one needs it for travel. Yikes. 

If you go to the eMed website, there's a little blurb in there somewhere which states that the FDA has extended the expiration date, and even a link to the actual letter from the FDA to the company. People are posting that there is a sticker on or in the shipping box that states the same information about the extension.

I guess that I am relying on the guy who blogs for Royal Caribbean - he posted an article about how easy and stress-free it was to take the monitored test through eMed. I also have been reading a lot of the posts concerning the monitored tests here and in the Royal Caribbean blog forums (hope they don't kick me off CC for mentioning them, lol.) So far, the reviews have been mostly positive. 

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I'm north of dallas and every appointment at my CVS was open. I'm surprised to hear corpus Christi has such a problem booking tests. Interesting to know. But I booked 3 days before. I sure hope they dont change it until after I get off vista. If I need to change it to 2 days, they do need to tell us soon.

We are in a terrible surge of the Delta COVID-19 variant down here in Corpus Christi. Hospitals and the county drive-through testing clinics are swamped. Sure, we can pay up to $190 for each test if we want to go through a drive-through (and not lie about being symptomatic) but we don't want to do any of those things. Our consciences won't let us tell fibs, so we are choosing to pay for the eMed tests. Waiting for approval right now from eMed.  (I think they are writing up the necessary prescriptions.)

We still will try to get the free antigen tests at Walgreen's or CVS, as long as they allow us. We have other cruises booked in late October and in the winter, so those eMed home tests will be used eventually.