CruiseBride926

On 7/27/2021 at 2:59 PM, karmamule said:

We bias towards getting drink packages if only to prevent ourselves from constantly second-guessing and self-limiting because the amount we're drinking each day is going to exceed what it would have cost for the drinks package. 

 

While I suspect it more than pays for itself regardless, just removing that worry about "how much am I spending on drinks?" thanks to having a fixed cost is worth it.

 

 

 

So much this. We had booked a last minute cruise with our kids and decided not to get the drink package (deluxe in this case) and my husband talked himself out of every single drink. Thankfully I don’t have that issue especially since we were saving all that money from him not drinking 😂

We both agreed that the drink package is completely worth it for that reason alone.

1 hour ago, lazydayz said:

Good luck!

Thank you!

We went back and forth on whether to place a bid for our Sept 12 cruise on the Oasis. We are booked in an ultra spacious ocean view with large balcony and after looking at junior and grand suites we both agreed that our current room suited our needs with our kids more. Today the FOMO bug bit me and decided to place a barely over minimum bid on the ultimate panoramic suite and the 2 bedroom aquatheater suite just to get it out of my system 😂

Feeling much better about the $800 I spent on a cabana now 😅

I was so tempted by the floating cabanas but with 2 young kids it didn’t feel like I’d get the full relaxation vibes if I was playing defense trying to keep them away from the slide lol

I think it might have been a site issue. I’m sailing the week before bud hadn’t bud yet and went to the email to show my husband and the site wouldn’t load any rooms at all. Later that day I got another RoyalUp email and that link worked fine.

Got ours for our Sept 12 sailing today too!

We paid $800 for a coco beach club cabana (not the floating one) that we are splitting with my parents. For 6 people it seemed worth it but I understand that “worth it” is different for everyone. 

2 hours ago, sixbirches said:

It seems like they’re leaving out a lot of important details.

Like what? It seems as we have about as much info as every other test sailing so far.

We have the Oasis booked for September and I’m iffy but leaning towards not sailing. That being said I’m not so sure that it won’t sail that I’ve booked a backup cruise. The mayor of Bayonne said he wanted cruises to start in mid-August and as far as the governor we’re pretty much fully back to normal here so whatever the hold up is I think it’s on Royal’s end.

5 hours ago, jptoz said:

By 4  pm on day 2 you will probably  be in 70 degree weather. Next morning you will be off the coast of Florida. I've done this cruise alot, and the biggest problem with it is the florida stop. Its absolutely  useless. As others have said Anthem is built for cold weather. Lots of great indoor venues. 

It’s not useless. It’s a great opportunity to get a discount at the spa without feeling like you’re missing anything. 😂

4 minutes ago, zeppgirl said:

I'm having internal turmoil because we are looking to book our next cruise. The best deal and the longest cruise is one sailing from Cape Liberty to Florida and the Bahamas. All looks good, except I'm concerned about flying to NJ in the winter and that the first few days and last few days of the cruise will be cold. Has anyone sailed from here in the winter and if so, how was your experience?

 

 

We did a December cruise on Anthem in 2019. There is so much to do indoors that we didn’t even miss the outside for the day and a half or so that it took to get to warmer weather. 

8 minutes ago, MaritimeR&R said:

Same cruise, same cabin next year over 10 grand....ridiculous for a 7 night Bahamas

 

That’s why we did L&S for our April cruise. We were planning on a FCC after seeing what it was going for the next year we jumped to switch. It was costing more per person for an interior cabin then we paid for our entire family of 4 combined in a balcony cabin. 

24 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

If they go the test cruise route,  then each and every ship has to go through it, which will take substantially longer than the 95% route.  I understand that they wish to do it to increase the number of unvaccinated children on board, but unless they also come out with an official,  no unvaccinated adults on Caribbean cruises at the same time,  then the test cruise route will also possibly allow unvaccinated adults by the droves to sail.

The way he worded it made it seem anyone that can get vaccinated will be required to. Probably something along the lines of the Bahamas cruises where 12+ need to be vaccinated. 

17 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

And when he said it, did he specifically mention Caribbean cruises?  I inferred he was talking  about the initial Alaska cruises. 

Nothing was mentioned specifically but it sounded like he was referring to all cruises. Plus it’s pretty clear from all of the new test cruise announcements that this is the way they’re going.

4 hours ago, Captain Billy Bob said:

If Murphy has anything to say about cruising it's going to be a long wait for cruising to restart from Cape Liberty.

Pretty much everything is open. I don’t think he’s going to stand in the way of cruising. Plus he’s running for re-election and seems to be on a “make everything seem normal” tour.

2 hours ago, cruiserking said:

It's not a "What if" it's a When. Vaccines will be available for children 12 years and under by early to mid-fall. At this point Royal Caribbean at minimum will be able to meet the 95/98 threshold and sail without masks and social distancing for vaccinated passengers. 

 

Jonathan

Sorry I should have clarified that the “what if” is in having a definitive date. While I think your estimation is extremely likely it would be really bad if it didn’t and then they have half of an already reduced capacity ship needing refunds.

56 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

And you know this as fact, how?

I mean I don’t think anything can be stated as fact now but in the video from Michael Bayley he said that Royal would be taking the test cruise route. I mean I suppose with vaccine rollout there might be hope that all kids could get vaccinated but that’s a big “what if” so you’d think they’d do the test cruise anyway just to be cautious.

When my kids were crib age the JS or larger was a must. The extra space was needed and the bathtub was definitely a plus. Now if we get a decent deal we’ll go for a suite but if not a balcony is fine too. I’m not going to take the kids to a suite restaurant or anything so for us the only perk would be the size. 

3 hours ago, WeatherFx said:

 Freedom and Oasis from Miami in July?

I admittedly don’t really know what I’m looking at but they look like short cruises and the port of call says “sea”. Could they be planning on running test cruises out of Miami?

1 hour ago, sandebeach said:

Thanks for sharing, that was interesting.  I wonder what his job is on the ship?

I think he mentioned he was a broadcast technician.

I’d get off and at least check it out. We just grabbed a few loungers and found it to be fairly quiet until we decided to take the kids to the pool. Definitely much more of a party atmosphere over that way. You can also look into the beach club. It’s cheaper then a cabana and comes with lunch at the restaurant.

21 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

You won't be shunned. Do not think for a moment that the snide remarks about kids and families by some posters are the reality of the real world. These are die hards that complain about everything.  In fact, there it's more likely that the ship will work hard to insure that families have a wonderful cruise vacation in an effort to show others that cruising is back.  

 

Thank you I really appreciate you saying that. We’ve been really cautious thus far and I really believe it can be done safely with basic precautionary measures that would be taken with or without kids on board. And I know it’s partially selfish but I tried (and eventually failed) and internet schooling a kindergartner so I can really use a few days with a drink package 😂

2 hours ago, Blauelini said:

Just know most will be shunning you and your kids on board due to everyone knowing they are the only unvaxxed people on board. Not saying it to be negative,  just a dose of reality. 

I highly doubt that. The reason RC said they’re leaning toward test cruises is because of families so no my children won’t be the only unvaccinated people onboard. If their age group gets approval for the vaccine before we sail they’ll 100% get it but if not then they’ll go, wear a mask, and stay out of people’s personal space just as they’ve been taught to do this entire time. Not to mention we will have them tested in advance in addition to the one from Royal. Like I said previously other lines are sailing vaccine only and that’s the only reason I feel ok taking them because the people that don’t want to sail with children do have that option. And if Royal decides to go the same route then so be it and I’ll completely understand why but if it’s an option I’m able to take them we will 🤷‍♀️

I will hopefully be sailing with my kids in September. My husband and I are fully vaxxed but my kids are still too young. If they’re able to by then we’ll be the first in line to get them but if not we’re still going. It’s been a really rough year for everybody not just child free adults and we all really need this vacation. After almost a year and a half of this they’re well trained on hygiene, distancing, and mask wearing. I’ve watched my daughter’s heart get broken too many times over this pandemic and I’m not going to cancel just because people don’t want her there. I’d probably feel differently if there weren’t other lines doing the 95% vax cruises but kids shouldn’t have to miss out when people who want vaccinated only cruises do have that option with other lines.

1 minute ago, Marygracie C. said:

what percent of vaccine is RCL stating for their ship passengers and crew?

In the video Richard Fain made he said crew will probably be 100% and for passengers I think he said everyone that can be vaccinated will be but taking in account medical exemptions and children they didn’t seem to be requiring the 95%