Sykes

How long ago did you book? It usually takes about a week for everything to show up, and in the mean time it’ll show a balance due for a few days because the system will add in the prepaid gratuities before the offsetting discount is applied. The ALLINCBO75 shows that you should be in good shape though. (I believe that the process also doesn’t start until you’re inside of the final payment window, but that shouldn’t be an issue for your Feb. 4th sailing.)

The Beyond was nearly 100% full on our sailing two weeks ago and we also never had difficulty finding a seat at any bar or venue, except if we arrived late for one of the Eden shows. There weren't a ton of open seats, but we could always find room for our party of 5.

Oof, that's rough. 😞 Our orders were mostly correct and delivered in a timely manner. Our Retreat Host delivered all of our meals personally, and she was able to quickly correct anything about the order that didn't meet our expectations. I guess it just goes to further show that the isolation/quarantine experience varies significantly across the fleet.

As another datapoint, we were allowed to stay in our S2 Sky Suite on the Beyond with 4 days left on the sailing. I don't think it was an issue around the availability of quarantine cabins because we were both symptomatic but my wife tested negative while I tested positive so we were given the option of separating if we thought there was any hope that she'd be spared. (We stayed together and she tested positive the next day.) When we asked if we'd be allowed to stay in our room the nurse in the medical center responded in a tone that seemed like "of course you will, what a silly question". In the end it worked out well for us. We were feeling bad enough that we would have stayed in our cabin even if we didn't have to, so at least we got a pro-rated refund and upgraded room service out of it.

Our July 11th Greek Isles cruise on the Beyond was nearly 100% full (over 3,000 passengers), but honestly it never really felt that much worse than my last two half-full Edge cruises. I did notice that they added significantly more chairs to the main pool area compared to the half-full sailings--before there was an area left open for dancing and events, and this time that area was full of chairs and all the chairs were more densely packed. But nowhere on the ship did I find it difficult to find a place to sit, nor did I ever have to wait long for a drink if I went up to a bar.

To be fair, they weren't wrong or lying--it was largely true one year ago. But like with most things COVID the situation is fluid and constantly changing, so a lot of what was true a year ago is no longer the case.

heh, it's fun how two different people can see the same thing and feel completely differently about it. I guess that's why it's nice to have lots of choices! I'd say that the Sunset Bar and Eden were tied for our favorite places on the ship. We liked the quiet and the intimacy of the Sunset Bar, and thought that Eden was the perfect place to relax (usually far more mellow than the other venues). In fact, we just sailed the Beyond and were disappointed that they expanded the Sunset bar to the point where it kind of lost its charm. (I'm sure most people will see the expanded Sunset bar as a huge improvement though.) We like it because it's quieter, but we're also not creatures of habit--being able to change things up on a long sailing is really nice, even if the menus are substantially the same. And, honestly, a lot of the restaurant-specific menu items have been some of our favorite dishes.

Inconsistency seems to be the only consistent thing. My wife and I are currently quarantined on the Beyond after testing positive on Day 7 of a 10-night cruise and they allowed us to stay in our Sky Suite. I'm not sure if they are treating suite guests differently or if the protocol is just different here, but it sure makes things a lot more pleasant than if we were moved to an Oceanview cabin. It really isn't half bad. Although I'd probably prefer to be in my own bed at home, COVID with room service is better than COVID without room service, and the view out the window changing daily is a nice added bonus.