hardinggrad

Our Explorer cruise for Feb 4, 2023 was cancelled due to extending the dry dock. We were offered $100 OBC (for balcony) if we chose one of the 3 offered replacement cruises. The Feb 4 Harmony cruise wasn’t one of them, but I was interested in it. I was curious why there were limited stateroom categories left. So I googled the cruise and saw that it was a charter by Atlantis. I asked the RCCL rep but he didn’t know anything about it. I decided against booking it.  I’ve been on numerous cruises that had large groups sailing; but this won’t by one of them. Either they will charter the entire ship or not. I wasn’t interested in waiting around to be cancelled and forced to find yet another cruise. 

Allure is our favorite Oasis class ship. We really enjoy Sabor (on the Boardwalk). It is our first stop  after boarding the ship for lunch and margaritas. 

We were on the 2/6 Odyssey. As mentioned above, the only show that required a reservation was The Book. Maybe it will change when capacity increases. We really enjoyed all the entertainment on ship. We reserved  the NorthStar, as well as The Book, as soon as we got onboard via the app. Have fun!!

We had the same issue because we went from an ocean view balcony to a guarantee. My bids kept getting cancelled.  I called RCCL and they said to try clearing cookies etc and also gave me an email for the Royal up Dept. royalup@rccl.com.

I tried imputing my info in a private tab using the Royal up link on their website and I was finally able to get the corrected available bid categories. So I didn’t need to use the email. 

We were on the Sept 5th Allure cruise.  Back then tests could be 3 days in advance, not 2 days.  We took the emed test after midnight which was Thursday morning and had no problem with the check in prcoess or boarding the ship.  

We used National car rental last month and returned it to National on 710 Mullet Rd, Cape Canaveral FL 32920.  I'm fairly certain that is also an Enterprise location. Service was great!  Very close to the port and the shuttle promptly took us to the port.

We bought magnetic hooks from Amazon and used them to hang up our masks (and hats) by the door. Otherwise, I too would have forgotten mine.  

50 minutes ago, julesbeara said:

Thank you for sharing your experiences.  Curious, did you hold the QR Code up the your laptop camera.  Do you get an email confirming your test results sent to the email registered with emed???  Are they visible by logging into your emed account?  I understand we can see them via the Navica app, but I'd like to print something too showing our results.  Do I need to create separate emed accounts for both myself, and my husband?  Or can I use the emed account to view both our results?

Yes, QR code is held up to laptop camera. Each person testing creates their own individual account with NAVICA.  To begin testing, you select the "Start Testing" link on the emed home page and it will instruct you to login to your NAVICA account.  Once test is completed the results will be sent to email on file with NAVICA and also appear on the NAVICA app.  We printed the results and used those to checkin with RCCL at the pier.  

We used our laptop. My husband positioned it on top of some books. They ask you to scan the test at the beginning and also scan it after the 15 minutes are up, before they examine the results. We got up and walked around during the 15 minutes, but the test needs to stay in place in camera view. 

15 hours ago, lolalow said:

I have never been tested - how uncomfortable is it?  How do I know if Im going far enough back?  Can I help my son?  Not sure if he will go far enough back - he is 20 but disabled with Autism and is sensitive- I'm afraid he will stop and not go high enough if uncomfortable.  Will results be inconclusive if he does not go high enough?

It wasn't uncomfortable at all to me.  They say to insert qtip I believe 1/2 to 3/4 inch up each nostril and circle 5 times.   Just search for "I tried the at home Covid-19 test that Royal Caribbean accepts".  Michael Bayley, RCCL President & CEO, shared it on his Facebook.  It gives step by step instructions of someone doing the test.  Maybe you could maybe practice with your son in advance with a qtip.  The anticipation is definitely the worse part.

We tested right after midnight on the Thursday before for our Sept 5 Allure cruise (when you could test 3 days before).  We did not have to wait.

I wish I read this earlier. We just left one on the Allure yesterday. 

We are currently on Sept 5th Allure. We took the test right after midnight CST time on Thursday and the date was Sept 2nd (when tests were allowed up to 3 days before).  My test shows Sept 2, 2021 2:20AM AST.

10 minutes ago, birdylady said:

another question- What is everyone answering in regards to the questions asked?  Need testing to RETURN to US? Or may have been exposed (offered only on emed, not optum)?  And curious what happens when you take the test. Do they ask again?
Thanx

Erika

We answered return to US when ordering the tests.  When we took the test there was an option I believe that said "none of the above" and that is what we chose.

Just now, mauraoel said:

Darn you changed your response!!!😁

I realized my answer wasn't complete. 🤣

5 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I wonder how this will work for us in that my wife set up the account but there will be 3 of us testing. I am curious if we will test 3 times under one account or do we set up 3 different accounts?

Everyone needs their own NAVICA account.  Minors under 18 have a "managed NAVICA account".  Refer to the  FAQ under the support tab on the emed website.

8 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

I’m a little confused.  I ordered the tests and have received the box.  I have an eMed account set up and Navica app on my phone.  I was going to do the test on my laptop…so do I login to eMed to start?  Where does Navica come in to play?

 

And my husband is going to take the test as well.  So does he need to create both an eMed and Navica account as well?

We did the test on our laptop this morning.  We went to the emed website and selected "Start test".  It will have you login with your Navica login info.  Once the test is over the results will be emailed and also be on the Navica app.  You both will need the Navica app. Once my husband completed the test he logged out and then I logged in with my Navica login info.

My husband and I did the BinaxNow telehealth test early this morning for our Sept 5 cruise.  It was a great experience and my husband was glad he didn't have to take time off work to get the test. 

32 minutes ago, cnssu123 said:

I am asking a theoretical question. Not trying to push it. Just being curious.

I was discussing the same question with my husband. He thinks that they should interpret the time stamp based on ship time. I really don’t know, but we are going to test on Thursday early (and we are CST) so either way it wouldn’t matter. 
 

The FAQ for emed details the time stamp on the test. 

We plan to use this for our Sept 5th cruise. Thursday (Sept 2nd)  is the first day we can take the test. Does anyone know what time?  Can we take it at say 1am (which is technically Thursday)?  Trying to avoid potential long wait times. 

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Was that one of the8 day sailings?  If so then that's the reason it's closed....CDC not allowing sailings more than 7 days. 

No.  It's a "7 night Eastern Caribbean and Perfect Day" cruise.  (Sept 5 - 12)

On 7/4/2021 at 5:27 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

There will be lot more cancellations.  Royal will not have all their ships sailing by September.  they are hoping by the end of the year

We are booked on the Sept 5th Allure sailing.  It hasn't shown up on the website for some time now.  Do you know if that's because its "sold out"?  Can we assume it's still sailing?

My husband has a CPAP and as noted above, he  always completes the special needs form and they provide the distilled water and extension cord (if needed). I believe Allure has plugs in the headboard so there is no need for an extension cord.  He always carries his CPAP with him on the plane And it does not count as one of your carryons, since it’s medically necessary. 

We got our new assignment Friday. We didn’t receive an email, but saw the change in our cruise planner. The “amount due” part is incorrect and I called them and they said it would be corrected, give them up to a week to do so.