Artemis at Sea

Hello- we are disappointed with the luck of booking Crown for our upcoming Alaskan Cruise but we are going to try to make the best of it. I hope you are enjoying your cruise. Could you please tell me what nights are the formal nights on the journey? I see that it is usually day 2 and another day. Do you recommend the MDR on formal nights, or specialty dining? Thank you!

On 7/31/2021 at 2:09 PM, Thenagers said:

Day 4- CocoCay

Woke up to us docking.  I had an amazing view from my aft balcony!  Grabbed food from Promenade and enjoyed this veiw.  It was overcast with dark clouds in the distance.  We waited until 10 to get off.  We went to Chill beach and swam some.  There were thunderstorms in the area so they cleared the water.  Never rained and the sun came out.  I was one of the 1st ones at the Snack Shack.  Loved the chicken sandwich!  Be carefull of the seagulls. I was beseiged!  They stole a fry right off my plate.  Once the water reopened it was a gorgeous day.  I tried most of the bars in that area even the floating one in the ocean.  There was no need to pay for a cabana or an upgraded area.  There were plenty of chairs everywhere.  We came back to nap again.  Had early dinner again and it was delicious as usual.  We went to the shops and then tested the fates in the casino again. I was not a winning night!

Sorry to hear about your fry- those seagulls got into my taco! They are relentless! 😄

My response to the general comments: 

Yes, this cruise does, in fact, end on NYD, which was surprising to me. It is the Dec 28th 4-day out of Port Canaveral on Mariner. I have been on five cruises before on various lines, but none on a holiday. My experience is that people do tend to go to bed early on the last night knowing they have to get up early. I was hoping that those of you with lots of cruise experience would know more about how RCI might handle this. I appreciate those of you who were willing to give helpful answers, including those who said it was less than ideal- I agree. 

We have the constraint of school starting back Jan 3 so that limits us, also.

Thank you all and have a great day!

On 7/11/2021 at 2:52 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

Interesting question as I cannot recall Royal having had cruises start and end on Jan 1as everything is closed so I looked and it looks like you must be on the Mariner Dec 28, 2021.  This is the only ship of Royals that has a sailing starting on Jan 1 in any country for both 2022 and 2023. 

 

I am kind of surprised and would have thought they would have turned this one into a 5 night ending on Jan 2 and changed the 5 night departing on Jan 1 into a 4 night departing on Jan 2

Yes, you are correct! I was surprised about it, too. Port Canaveral is most convenient for us, and we were considering this as a fun thing to do for the holiday. A five night coming in Jan 2 would definitely be better. We will still consider it.

Hello!

Question about Royal Caribbean cruises when New Year's Eve is the last night- will there still be celebrations, even if it is the last night? I know the bags will need to be out before the parties would start, but will there still be a balloon drop and everything if it is the last night of a cruise? Thank you!

8 minutes ago, WxNerd said:

We were there 2 days ago and the snorkeling in the 3 little alcoves at Chill Island wasn’t great. The only place to see any fish was right up next to the rocks and the waves were very rough so it made snorkeling in that area difficult. The plane they put out in the water is only accessible by excursion now. 

Thank you! This confirms what I suspected. I hope you had a great time on your cruise!

15 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

I haven’t been to Coco Cay in a while but I never found the snorkeling to be very good.  However I would probably snorkel in Nassau.  I’ve taken the snorkel trip offered by Royal.  They take a powered catamaran to a reef and always found the snorkeling to be very good but maybe a little cold in the winter. No drinks or food, just snorkeling.  I would bring the gear and snorkel in Nassau. 

Thank you! We may skip it, then. I have a feeling that they would prefer guests to go on excursions rather than snorkel for free, which makes sense from a business standpoint.

I see that at some point there was a sunken wreck to look at, but it may not longer be accessible?

We will be sailing on Freedom of the Seas this month and were planning to bring snorkel equipment to possibly snorkel on Coco Cay. After doing some searches about this, I see various reviews. Back in 2019 it looks like the advice was to go to Chill Island and snorkel there, where there was a wreck to look at. Some other reviews have said there isn't really a good place to snorkel anymore after some updates to the island.

Can anyone from the recent sailing or from as recent a cruise as possible give me some tips and advice on snorkeling? If it isn't worth it I don't want to lug the gear around. Thank you!

Watching your Sailaway!

https://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/

Another cam at another angle, currently showing a tight view of the top of the ship

https://www.portmiamiwebcam.com/

LINES ARE FREE! 
Time for Sailaway!!

Interested to hear when you are able to access rooms. Were they ready sooner because of protocols? How fast was luggage delivery.

Have a wonderful time!!

For a while it was zoomed in on Freedom and you could see people walking through the gangplanks! The camera angles probably cycle through.

Exciting to see Freedom OTS in port, knowing people are boarding now for the first official cruise back! We will be on it later this month! 🙂

We were really. hoping to do this but my daughter is too young for vaccination. Something to look forward to another time. I have heard that the end of the class is a good time for friends to come meet up with you (to finish the sushi), and had heard that you aren't supposed to take it with you- maybe that has changed. 

Have fun!

Bummer, we have not received an offer to do this- we have a July cruise on Freedom. Is it because we booked through Costco? Seems like a neat program- I have never cruised Royal before.

Hello, I am still new to this and have a question: 

Due to COVID protocols will boarding times be assigned? We had hoped to get on the ship as early as possible but I thought there might be assigned times now due to testing and other protocols that will prevent us from doing. Has anyone heard about the protocols? We will be on Freedom of the Seas.

I searched using various keywords and did not find what I was looking for, so I apologize if I am repeating a topic/question.

Thank you!

50 minutes ago, Kyle2123 said:

Just got the email, Navigator sailings are moving over to Freedom.

 

 

Dear Guest,

We’ve been diligently working to prepare for our Royal Comeback. It’s taken months of planning and coordinating to get up and running – from activating new homeports and communicating with local governments and authorities, to ensuring our new protocols maintain your wellbeing with our Healthy Sail Panel. 

As we continue to review and analyze our itinerary plans, we’ve decided to reposition some of our ships in anticipation of our return to cruising. Our original plan for Navigator of the Seas was to begin offering sailings departing from Miami beginning July 2021. However, Freedom of the Seas will now take its place. Unfortunately, this means your sailing will be cancelled.

However, the good news is, Freedom of the Seas will offer similar itineraries, so we’ll automatically move you to the corresponding Freedom of the Seas sailing beginning June 6th, 2021 to help make the transition easier. This way, you’ll still have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful destinations you were looking forward to!

We know how much time and effort go into planning your vacation and apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change. While we’re confident you’ll have an amazing time onboard, your vacation is important to us – along with providing you the flexibility to make the best decision for you and those in your party. Below, we’ve outlined your options along with a few additional details.

Option 1: Stay onboard the Freedom of the Seas cruise

 

• Beginning June 6th, 2021, we’ll automatically move you to the Freedom of the Seas sailing departing on the same day as your original cruise. So, there’s nothing for you to do!
• Your new sailing will still offer the same beautiful destinations as your original cruise, and it’ll depart from the same destination.
• Your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items. 
  • If you were already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for any difference in pricing. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment 45 days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution.
• Lastly, as we return to service, our sailing protocols will evolve. To stay informed and up-to-date, please visit RoyalCaribbean.com/Health.

 

Option 2: Select a 100% Refund

 

• If you no longer wish to sail, we’ll be sad to see you go. We’ll process a full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare to the original form(s) of payment, including any non-refundable deposit.
  • You can expect to receive your refund 45 days after you submit your refund request.
• If you booked your airfare through Royal Caribbean International, it will be automatically refunded to you. However, if you booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.
• Lastly, if you used a Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, and you request a refund instead, we’ll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we’ll reinstate your original certificate.  

 

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to shifting an entire season of sailings and rebooking all guests, so please bear with us as we work to make this process as easy as possible for you. All moves will be completed by June 18th, 2021, and we’ll send an updated reservation confirmation with your revised details to the email address on file as soon as your reservation has been completely updated with the pricing fully adjusted. 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 Freedom 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.

If you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at: 

 

• 1 800 754 500 in Australia 
• 0344 493 4005 in the U.K. 
• 1 866 562 7625 in the U.S. or Canada
• All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number.

 

Thank you for your understanding. We hope you find another cruise vacation with us. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or looking to explore, relax, and recharge – we have no doubt your time with us will be nothing short of amazing. We look forward to welcoming you onboard. 

Thank you for posting this! I have not heard anything yet- I feel like I am in limbo. I should be in the same situation, but until I see the email I will be worried. But I feel a little better seeing this. 

6 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We were booked on Freedom for the southern caribbean March 2022 and when RCI changed us to Explorer last October they automatically moved us to a similar located OS.....If you have a certain request I would look into it asap as they start filling/assigning  cabins. 

Thank you! I booked through Costco. Do you think it is best to call them or RCL directly? 

Sorry, but I am new to this. If we have a Navigator reservation and it is
transferred to Freedom, will they just randomly give us a cabin in the same class? we were very careful about the cabin we picked and I would like to have a similar spot.

18 hours ago, kilpa482 said:

IMO I think they might swap Freedom into the Navigator schedule based on the port schedules Miami has on their site. Just a guess

Oh interesting! I am pretty new to this but am scheduled on Navigator this summer. If they were to switch ships how to they handle the room assignments? Is it done automatically by room class and/or sailing status or would we get to choose our new room? Thanks!

8 minutes ago, mek said:

If you can't take your bag to your cabin can't you use the kind of lock people use for bikes?  Just run the cable through the handle and lock it to a lounge chair.  I would still have it in view, but that would ensure that someone simply just pick it up when you're not looking.

I was wondering this, too! If I did as SUSIEK mentioned above and left my bag on a chair maybe I could have a lock on it and attach it to the chair. Thanks!

3 hours ago, cruiserking said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic Artemis at Sea!

 

There isn't any type of bag check you would just have to take it with you. 

 

For an extra fee there is a program called the Key which allows you to board earlier, check your bag, enjoy lunch at Chops, get Voom internet service, have private time at the water slides and many other things. It costs $24.99 per person per day, you can get it cheaper during a sale when it usually drops to around $19.99. 

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-key-program

 

Jonathan

This sounds really great but I called and it sounded like it isn't currently offered. I will definitely keep my eye out for it! Thanks again!

Thank you, everyone. I will definitely look into the Key thing, or consider placing them on a chair in sight. And if there is a reduced capacity and special boarding time with room access that would be nice in this case!

Happy sailing to you all!