Bfsroyal

Having done quite a few repositioning cruises with Royal (mainly transatlantic / never transpacific). I actually feel they tend to up the entertainment. Every day there will be a full schedule of events as a normal cruise. There of course is sometimes where there hasn’t been something on that we were interested in - so we grab breakfast / lunch / snack or have a coffee during those times. Some things that generally happen - that don’t always make a standard cruise with port intensive schedules - are progressive trivia, learn a dance (such as thriller) throughout the cruise to then perform in the theatre or flash mob, crew talent shows, passenger talent shows, karaoke progressive round ending with theatre final, sometimes additional performances (with different content) from guest acts, sometimes additional performances from orchestra, ceremonies (crossing datelines, crossing equators), one off performances by the cast of the main shows. A perk - on the transatlantic cruises I’ve done - is they tend to be about 70% capacity or less and usually there will be very few children. We do like the longer cruises as you really get to spend more time talking and meeting the crew. I saw the price of the cruise you are referencing a few days ago - at those prices I would be on it but my partner has already used his annual holiday allowance for our booked cruises this year. Even suites are a ridiculously low and tempting price for the sailing.

Today my other half had two missed calls from Royal for our Enchantment of the Seas sailing leaving 6th November from Athens. He rang back and so Royal are trying to free up some rooms for the sailing - presumably due to overbooking - maybe for other reasons. We are a party of 6 in 3 interiors (around 145sq ft) - not connecting - but near each other. They were looking to see if we would be willing to move to 2 junior suites (245 sq ft) with a refund of one room. It wasn’t quite right for us. Anyone else had these calls and was there any unwanted surprises come boarding as presumably they are trying to find additional capacity.

Yes that would be correct, all three (including the latest one just posted) would be in relation to the transatlantic.

Now another email: We can’t wait to welcome you onboard Anthem of the Seas’ transatlantic sailing on Monday! Last night, we sent you the updated testing protocols for your voyage and we wanted to add some further clarity about the timing of your test. All guests ages 5 and older must present a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 2 days prior to sailing. This means the earliest you can take your test is any time on Saturday 15 October. Guests ages 4 and younger are exempt from this test. Guests can take advantage of in-person or telehealth tests. Unsupervised testing will not be accepted. Proof of a negative test can be the printed or digital results. To learn more about our accepted tests, visit our FAQ.

I also received this email last night. But have just now received one saying; We’re looking forward to welcoming you onboard in a few days! As a reminder, all guests ages 12 and older will need to provide a negative COVID-19 test result upon arrival to the terminal. Guests who are up-to-date must test within the 3 days prior to our boarding day. Guests who are unvaccinated or not up-to-date will need to complete either an antigen test in 24 hours prior to boarding or a PCR test 72 hours prior to boarding. At home, unsupervised lateral flow tests - such as those provided by the NHS or other healthcare providers are now accepted for your sailing! Learn more about our requirements at www.RoyalCaribbean.com/health.

As others have mentioned the venue will appear on the statement. Therefore avoid the bionic bar! These shouldn’t be accessible to others outside of your stateroom. However can be accessed via your stateroom tv, your stateroom occupants app and the final statement will be left outside your room or posted under the door on the final night. A cocktail is usually about $13. A non-alcoholic one $7. A beer $6-8. A coke $4. If you buy any alcoholic drinks individually. You you can pretend you were buying two non-alcoholic beverages - give or take a $. However whilst ships are massive you occasionally end up seeing the same people again and again around the ship - waiting until the parents have gone to bed before visiting the bar will likely be a wise move. You can bring on two bottles of wine per stateroom. However these should be kept in your carry-on luggage. If you are arriving together this obviously might lead to presentation at security to verify they are wine. If kept in your hold luggage this will be kept by security and would require a visit to security on deck 2 to again verify the contents and if your father finds out your bags have gone missing might want to tag along. As stated losing the parents in port at the end of the day, or heading out for a second time may be the easiest and cheapest way to access alcohol without being spotted or having a trace on the account. Any alcohol bought in port will (most likely) be confiscated on return to the ship to be returned or collected at the end of the voyage. I once presented alcohol - 2x full size rum bottles - to ship security in port expecting it to be kept until the end of the cruise but they let us keep it in our room.