ennjay

12 hours ago, TxTeach79 said:

Sad to report the slaughter of the spirit class casino bars is complete

 

so does this mean there’s no more bar in the casino?! That seems crazy?! How does that work?

Hi all,

I’m going on my first B2B! Do we have to do the in-app checkin for both cruises or just the first one?

thanks!

jenn

Anyone who has done this excursion who can compare it to the experience of staying on board and viewing the glacier? It looks really cool but we are a family of 4 and I am trying to determine if it’s worth the $800 cost. Thanks!

Anyone know how to check your FCC's? I just got this email but I thought I had used up all my FCC.  But I'm not really sure.  How might I check??

12 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

Do they provide any help in this situation?  Can you get art supplies or craft supplies from the kids club?  Can you order off the regular menu at the restaurants or do you need to order from room service?  I have 3 young children and am trying to picture how we would make it through quarantine.

We weren't in it very long as fortunately she only got sick the afternoon before disembarking (and is 11 so we didn't ask for any special activities).  For entertainment we basically just got free movies on the TV, and free wifi (which we had already purchased...).  There was a big case of waters in the cabin (which was an oceanview cabin on a low deck), and they only offered us the regular room service menu, though I didn't ask about any special menus.  Obviously no room service charge.  They did bring me an alcoholic drink (for free, I think) when I asked for one. 

It wasn't bad at all for us due to my daughter's age and the fact that it was the last day of the cruise -- but I can imagine with 3 young children that would be quite stressful. 

This happened to us when my 11-year-old (vaccinated) child tested positive on our last sea day on Harmony last month.  Funny enough, we were also traveling with my parents (in another cabin, but adjoining) and my father tested positive too.  My mom tested negative (until the day of disembarkation) so she stayed in the cabin when my dad was sent to the red zone. When my daughter tested positive, the rest of us (me, my wife, and my son) tested negative and so just I went down to the red zone with her while my wife and son could stay in the cabin.  So I think it all kind of depends on whether the other family members test negative, but yes of course for a minor child one parent will have to accompany them.

Hi all -- this question is for anyone who tested positive for covid onboard and submitted travel receipts to Royal for reimbursement. 

We got covid on board Harmony in March and couldn't fly home from Florida to NY upon disembarkation, so we rented a car and drove back home. Onboard they said (and we were given a letter confirming that) Royal would cover our expenses for car rental, lodging and meals, and we submitted everything to the email address they gave us just after we got back. Does anyone have experience with this and can give me an idea of what to expect in terms of reimbursement time? And do they mail a check?  

Thanks for any experience anyone can share!

Jenn

Was on Mariner March 12-17, and then Harmony March 20-27.  

Both ships seemed not quite fully staffed -- on Mariner, it meant that the kids club didn't have the separate rooms -- all kids ages 6-11 were together, which my 11-year-old didn't love but put up with. On Harmony, we noticed it in the very limited hours for activities (on non-sea days, things like the zip line, Abyss, flowriders, rockclimbing, etc., were only open for a few hours, mostly in the early morning and late afternoon hours). Not HUGE impacts, but noticeable.

There were definitely kids on board, but not an overwhelming number that I was expecting. My kids had no problems getting into Adventure Ocean any evening, which is not always the case in my previous experience with higher capacities.

Covid protocols were completely different on both ships, and very noticeable to me. On Mariner (~2800 pax on board), it felt like a tighter ship -- all crew in KN95s (many double-masked), they handed you your plate and utensils, and cups of water/tea/lemonade in the Windjammer/buffet.  And it didn't feel as crowded.  On Harmony (~3700 pax on board), most crew wore loosely fitting surgical/cotton-type masks, sometimes below nose, occasionally not at all... Windjammer you got your own plates and utensils and drinks in the machines, and at Mini Bites it was FULLY self-serve (which shocked me!). The casino on Harmony was incredibly smoky, compared to what felt like a cleaner air environment on Mariner, and much more crowded even though it's bigger. 

We had 6 in my party (3 cabins) on Harmony, and 4 of us had Covid by the end of the week (2 tested positive on days 6 and 7 on board, 2 more right after departure).  Even though we had 3 adjoining cabins, when my father tested positive on day 6, they didn't test the rest of us (with antigen testing) except my mom who shared his cabin, even though we all had dinner together every night and were traveling together and he named us as close contacts.  It seemed like they didn't want to know about positive cases.  We heard SO much coughing from others on our balconies. And on the Facebook group for the sailing, many have reported positive Covid cases in the day or two after disembarking. Made me very skeptical about their claim to be trying to keep people healthy, to be honest.  I suspect they're more concerned about their crew -- which is fine -- but with Royal about to drop the "don't worry, we'll help you get home if you test positive" Covid protections, it's something to be aware of. Since we live in New York and were supposed to fly back the day of disembarkation, we did get an offer of help to quarantine/get home. We chose to rent a car and drive back to New York. We'll see what they reimburse -- hopefully they'll be good on their promise.

Didn't notice any food shortages.  

Just curious as my kids are tweens now... at what age do others let their kids explore/travel around the ship on their own?  My twins are 11 and I remember on their last cruise, at age 9, Adventure Ocean would have allowed them to self-sign-out and while we did not approve that at the time, they were annoyed at us because most of the kids were allowed to self-sign-out.  Now that they are 11 I'm a little more open to it, but still a little wary (this would be on one of the larger Royal Caribbean ships). At what age have you let your children wander around a large ship on their own?  What parameters did you set?  Did your kids have a phone/wifi?  Thanks for sharing your experience!

On 2/8/2022 at 12:37 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Harmony staff said they were expecting over 1000 kids in March

per cruise?!

I have two upcoming cruises with an under-12.  On the first one, I was able to enter vaccination status, but on the other one, it's still not there.  Very strange.  So it's not even person-to-person... it's cruise-to-cruise!

Good point on the non-alcoholic beverages adding up.  My kids aren't big on soda and juice, but they like an occasional virgin pina colada (and would drink bottled water probably), and my wife likes her lattes.  Don't think those are worth the full value of the classic package, though.  But maybe with the AI cost.

I think the difference between "simply sail" and AI is around $1200.  It probably is an OK deal, since for a 7-day cruise for 4 people, tips are $434, wifi is... not sure, maybe $150?... and even just one drink package would probably run around $450-500 (I would get some discounts for my status carrying over from Royal)... not sure what we would spend if we bought drinks as we went.  But even if it's a wash, it doesn't necessarily seem the wisest to pay it all upfront, in case of a late cancellation and possibly only getting FCC for it (whereas if you cancelled after final payment with the "simply sail" you wouldn't have to pay that extra $1200 at all).  Meh.

Speaking of the wifi, does anyone know, with the Always Included if you have 4 people in your cabin, do you get a 4-device plan?  Or is it just 1 device per cabin?

New Celebrity cruiser, thinking about booking a summer cruise with the family.  I'm trying to decide whether to book with the "Always Included" or without (it's an option) -- I'm the only alcohol drinker in the family currently which plays a role in whether the package is worth it (yes, I know it also includes wifi & tips). But I had questions about the drinks packages:

1) If you have Always Included and one person wants to upgrade to the Premium bev pckg, is that allowed, or do they require every adult in the cabin to do so?

2) If you don't have Always Included and one person wants to purchase a beverage package but the others don't (two in the cabin being minors, and the other a non-drinker), is that allowed? Or again, are both adults in the cabin required to? (I assume the kids are not required!)  I've cruised other cruise lines before (NCL and RCCL) and I think they all have different rules about this, so I wanted to check. 

Thanks in advance!

Thanks!!

Hi! Quick question -- can't remember from previous cruises. If I book the wifi package, does it work (and work well?) when in port -- for instance, at embarkation before sailaway, or is it just available when at sea?  

Thanks -- sorry for the silly detail question but I hope someone can tell me for sure! (As you may be able to deduce, I may have some online work responsibilities I may have to take care of remotely on embarkation day before or just after sailaway on an upcoming cruise, so I want to know if I should be able to get that done.)

I had the same experience a few weeks ago, far before the holidays. I was also super surprised at what should be an easy (and fairly common) request was so damn difficult!  I had to call several times, with long wait times, before finding someone who could take care of it for me.

Really strange!

From current B2B cruiser, posted on the 7/3 Roll Call.  Read posts 1118, 1127, and 1129...

Is there any word about covid testing required before disembarking?  I heard the B2B'ers need to be tested (and obviously anyone 16+ who is unvaccinated), but do all passengers?

Thanks!

New to Celebrity and sailing next week on Edge! How soon can you typically have access to your cabin upon boarding in order to drop off any hand luggage, etc.?  Have travelled on NCL and Royal previously and it’s usually 1-2:00, but I’m wondering if it’s any different on X.  Thanks!

Related question: I think as a "Select" member of Captain's Club (I've never sailed Celebrity before, but I get reciprocity from Royal Caribbean), I get a percentage off (25%) a wifi package.  Is that only on board, or can you book with the Captain's Club discount ahead of time?  And are prices on board comparable to the CruisePlanner ahead of time, or more?  

Thanks in advance!

I agree, things are sounding better -- both Fain and Lutoff-Perlo were so VAGUE in their explanations of how this would work, though -- "it'll work itself out" and "the details are confusing"...  it doesn't give me tons of confidence.  But I'm hoping that's just because they know something that they can't say, or can't say yet (and not that they are truly just ignoring the details and hoping things will "work themselves out").  

22 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Things are looking up 🙂

What makes you say that?

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Let's Keep the Dream Alive. Maybe this week.  Carnival just moved to require vaccinations to sail.  We have Carnival, NCL and Celebrity all telling us they will find a solution.

I’m counting on your optimistic outlook, Pee.  I really want to come back to this thread next week and say “Pee was correct”!

Not here.  I keep checking.  

Very interesting!  Thank you all.  I didn't know there were two "Inside Passages".... that makes sense.  

A little more about us: I initially had been looking at some other lines and smaller ships, but I think my kids will enjoy the Quantum class, and with 4 of us coming from the East Coast, I am interested in the cheaper flights to Seattle (with roundtrip itinerary).  Guess I will sacrifice Glacier Bay for those aspects.  We are not the most outdoorsy/athletic/adventurous (wouldn't choose adventure sports or long hikes as excursions, for instance), and don't want to spend a TON of money on excursions (but will likely spend some -- maybe with private providers if there are good recommendations; we usually prefer these to the big cruiseline bus tours which are outrageously expensive and usually disappointing), but are interested in doing *something* interesting in at least a few ports.  Kids are good, curious travellers (and we are well-travelled) -- but we are admittedly mostly culture/city-travel types and I get that this would be a different kind of trip.   That said, I am mostly interested in Alaska for the scenery/glacier viewing and wildlife.   I think the kids would like some of the kitschy "frontier/goldmining" type of stuff (less appealing to me, but...).  (And they'll definitely like the SeaPlex/big ship kind of stuff.  I kind of envision them going off and doing that kind of stuff, maybe kids club, etc., while we do "scenic cruising" on those days.)

Thanks, all!