Ubiquitous Cruiser

A different flavor of discount is the two 50% off beer/wine. On sea days I may want to use that for a beer by the pool and save my D+ vouchers for a mixed drink. Just let the bartender know which discount you want to use because as others have noted the bartenders will default to the diamond vouchers.

Cafe Promenade is good place for a quick breakfast too. Pastries, fruit, parfait and my favorite the breakfast sandwich (like an egg McMuffin).

Just off Alure yesterday & they were not delivered. Saw a few pax around the ship reading them so perhaps they know the black-market section of the ship to obtain them.

Yes, there are toasters, and that pic looks to be breakfast. They do typically have some meats and cheeses at breakfast. Don't specifically recall seeing mustard/mayo but sure the attendant would find some if you asked for it - otherwise just snag some from the WJ and keep it handy.

Just back and wanted to detail our experience with Global Airport Parking. The entrance is on Channelside and almost next door to the old Parking Doctor's lot. it's pretty much a one man operation. You self park and are double parked.

The check-in process is pretty slow. There is one shuttle so you may have to wait for him to return to the lot. When he does return he loads your luggage and checks you in. You leave your keys with him and he gives you a valet ticket.  He then explains that on your departure day he will have already moved your car so that when you get back to the lot your car will be ready to go - meaning you won't have to wait for anyone to move their car before you can leave. He dropped us off and pointed out the pickup spot and explained that when we returned he would drive pax back to the lot first come first serve. In other words, he does not wait for the shuttle to fill up before leaving.

On our departure day we exited the terminal and saw him at the pickup spot. Upon entering the shuttle he took us back to the lot, handed us our keys and off we drove - just like he said.

The lot is rustic and the check-in process needs some operations management help, but all in all it's a value judgement. For us it was fine and would use the lot again.

In case anyone else is looking for offsite parking, we've booked parking at Global Airport Parking. They have port parking on Channelside and are 1.5 miles from the port with a shuttle service. The rate is $9 / day. Will report back with a review after we cruise.

Seems that they've closed as their website is offline and BookFace is ghosted ... any other offsite parking options to check out?

We just did a B2B on Indy, and we received a notice in our stateroom that we were scheduled for a test the morning of the last full day of the first cruise. We reported to the conference center (deck 2) and were in/out in no time. The only stress point is that we never received our results in e-mail, so I went to customer service that evening, and they handed me the printed results.

Later we were chatting with diamond concierge and told her about the delay in obtaining the results. She said had we tested positive that we would have known it well before I picked up the results.

Wonder how they'll handle back to backers 😕

5 hours ago, BostonBud said:

I had booked a cruise the beginning of May.  a few days later they changed the ship and allowed ppl to cancel with full refund.  I cancelled then.  They never sent any documentation but on the phone stated that it would take 45 days to receive a refund.  Not long after that I started receiving emails about the sailing I canceled and just today received an email stating "Time to Check in".  Called RC and they said it's noted that the refund is coming but we're still getting emails about the sailing which is July 30th.  

 

I'm afraid of not getting the refund by the sail date and then them telling us that we missed the boat (pun intended).  Can't believe they don't send notices of cancelations but can still send updates on sailings. 

Same exact thing happening to me for our August Odyssey that I cancelled .. 

Follow up in case anyone else has this issue or encounters it by cancelling a sailing based on the new protocols.

Called and the CSR said that even though I can still see the sailing in My Cruises and am receiving promotional mailings that my reservation is indeed cancelled. They are keeping them active in the system with a notation that it is cancelled until the refund is issued.

Now which comes first ... the sailing or the refund?!? ... 🤣

1 hour ago, TMFTL said:

I have a cruise on Symphony in October that final payment is on July 4th.  Don't think I want to give them anymore of my money.  They can just apply what they owe me to that cruise.

 

 

Some have reported that their final payment date has been pushed out to wait for the FCC ... then it becomes a which comes first scenario - cruise, FCC or none of the above!

Yes it was booked through Royal (not a TA) and when I tried to add the cruise it said the cruise was already linked to my account ... Wish me luck ... Off to CSR land and then escalations to get my $$$ back

We decided to cancel our sailing on the Odyssey and since it was a redeployed sailing (from Indy) we had the option to cancel by 6/18 to receive a full refund. I called on 6/17 to do just that and the CSR processed the request. However, the booking still shows in My Cruises and I'm still receiving promotional offerings for it as of this week - Royal Up and Cruise Planner "sales". Has anyone cancelled an Odyssey reservation and if so has it disappeared from your My Cruises? How long did it take for that update to occur?

Cancelling a reservation is new to us so not sure of the timing.

For our Indy cruise that was cancelled from MIA and moved to FLL on Odyssey there was no link to cancel in the email. This is the relevant section:

If you prefer to cancel your cruise, please call us at 888-281-9344 or contact your Travel Advisor by June 18th, 2021. And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by June 18th, 2021, you’ll remain booked on the alternate Odyssey of the Seas sailing. Should you decide to cancel after our moves are complete, you will continue to be covered by our Cruise with Confidence policy.

....

Based on the above I'd be hesitant to cancel using the CWC cancellation link from the Royal main page as that would generate a FCC as opposed to a full refund.

Scheduled for an 8 day (8/14) that visits Jamaica, Aruba and Curacao. All of those countries require a PCR test within 72 hours prior to arrival. Wondering how that will be facilitated as it would seem that Royal would have to make that available - though not sure they have the ability to process a PCR on board. 

Deck plan shows it on Deck 14 starboard side ...

Independence Of The Seas Deck Plan | Royal Caribbean Incentives

We have the Aug 18th sailing for the same itinerary and final payment was last Sunday. Decided to make it but have a backup vacation planned if this is cancelled.

If the sailing does happen and the protocols are not acceptable to us we'll use the cancellation under the Cruise with Confidence. We only made final payment because we figured it bought us some time to see if/how things get sorted out with the CDC.

Have stayed on Deck 3 OV many times on Brilliance. Never had an issue with noise unless you are near a crew stairwell. Being on Deck 3 is nice to scurry back to your room for a glass of wine prior to dinner or going back to your cabin after a show in the Pacifica Theatre - bot the MDR and theatre are on Deck 5.

To the question of the OP, the revised mask(less) guidelines for vaccinated people excludes those in congregant settings (shelters, hospitals, prisons, etc.) & IMO the CDC considers cruise ships a congregant setting, which means the mask(less) guidelines do not apply to cruise ships.

Not that I agree with such a designation ... 

1 hour ago, lynnemac said:

So is their no way, at present, to make FCC payments online?

Yes ... from the main page on Royal click the 3 lines on the upper left ... select "Manage My Cruise" and then "Redeem Cruise Credit".

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/reservation/future-cruise-credit

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

Let's see...............I only have one cruise booked in the "able to book stuff in my Cruise Planner" time frame, and YES, stuff went up.  Quite a lot.

My next alleged cruise (Aug) and the Deluxe is $67, which is basically onboard price, and Voom is $16 and the one after it (Mar) is $62 so yeah big jump ...

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

Just booked the 10 night Panama canal cruise on Serenade out of Tampa for February 2023

Booked it too! We had this booked for 2021 since 2019 on the Rhapsody. We also had the Serenade booked out of San Diego for 2020 ...

Now sailing Serenade out of Tampa to the Panama Canal seems like a good compromise ... Just 2 more years!!!

Board day 1 with an overnight stay in COZ, departure at 5PM day 2,

Day 3 to Costa Mya

Day 4 sea day

Day 5 Labadee

Do a 4 day w/o the overnight in COZ

We were supposed to be on cruise to the Panama Canal right now. We knew it'd get cancelled and decided when it did we were booking an AI in Cancun ... we head out on Valentines for a week. The required testing prior to boarding the flight back to the US is causing us anxiety. The resort is testing for free and will give 14 days free lodging and food if one of us test positive.

We're excited for the trip and plan to social distance with a beverage on the beach ... read that resorts in Cancun are only at like 28% capacity so social distancing should not be difficult.