DCPIV

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

Not everybody has a non-stop flight option the day before.  Some need to travel a distance.  That is all I am pointing out here.  It is more complicated and risky for some.  The majority will make it work.

You still take the test the day before.  What does a non-stop flight or connection have to do with that?  Even if you are flying halfway around the world with two-hour drive to the airport, there's plenty of opportunity to do the test at home and have results in hand before leaving.

If you are trying to work in a test from a pharmacy, I get it.  That's trickier (although it always was "two days" or "48 hours" for an antigen test, even when 72 hours from PCR).  However, we're talking about the at-home test.  It takes half an hour at your own home.

You're vaccinated.  They're vaccinated (unless they are kids).  There's plenty of room on the ships at the moment (and likely for the near future).  Celebrity ships aren't showing cases.

I'm not saying that your concerns are not legitimate or that the risk does not exist, but the risk does appear to be rather remote.  Like the others, I'm far more concerned about the airports and airplanes than I am about the cruise ship, even when accounting for folks getting on and off.

I assume you're talking about the fabric wristbands?  I've seen no discussion of those in some time.  I think Celebrity dropped those PDQ after all the issues with them.

We had tracelets on Summit in July/August, and I haven't even seen much discussion about those.  It didn't bother me in the least to deal with it, though, so I'll gladly (sort of) wear another if they hand it to me when I board her again soon.

13 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes this 2-day testing time frame is a big issue even with the at-home tests.  It is usual to fly in the day before.  It does not give people flying a significant distance with connections much of a chance to test before they leave home.  Testing after flying to the port city is OK for some but too much of a risk for others.  What happens if you get a positive test?  How do you get home or quarantine? Celebrity will only take care of you if you test positive once you are on board.  Not before check in.  

There really is no big issue if you do the test at home.  There's hardly any issue at all.  You do it the day before you fly--at home--and it takes about a half hour, soup to nuts.  I'm sailing on a Monday, flying on the Sunday before, and will test at home the Saturday before that.  The test is sitting on my counter waiting on that Saturday to come.

If you are flying two days from sailing, yeah, then you have some complications.  That said, you can wake up an hour earlier and do the test before heading out.  

4 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Will the app allow you to upload two pictures? With Ontario's full page PDF for each vaccination, the only way to squeeze both into a single photo would be to shrink each by 50% and print together on a single page.

You can upload photos of the front and back.  I suppose you could upload one page as "front" and the other as "back" since you are just printing them out.  Can't hurt to try, as long as you still have the copies with you.

3 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

So you exchanged your OPC for chips and now you want to reverse the process and exchange the chips back for OBC? I don’t think you can do that. (Although to be honest I never knew anyone who tried to do that.)

I haven't sailed, yet, but I was wondering if that even were an option when I do. 

36 minutes ago, gerig said:

Martinis are a little strong for me but I can handle 1

To paraphrase Thurber: one just right, two is too many, and three is not enough. 

22 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

5 martinis a day keeps the doctor away. 

That's only true if the doctor is the one drinking them. 😉

16 minutes ago, orville99 said:

And yet, I just received an email from RCL that final payment for our 1/9/22 Harmony cruise was due on 10/11. Go figure...

I got a similar email a couple days ago. 

Things change quickly these days. 

2 minutes ago, susiesan said:

So if I prepay for excursions with a credit card can I change the payment form over to OBC once onboard? What is the deadline to do this? Since I have the AI deal the only thing I would be using the $250 OBC for is shore ex.

I believe the cancel deadline is 24 hours once on board, but I'd take care of it as soon as I got on board (or just after lunch).

Yes, just hang in there.

This just in via email.

Dear Guest,

While we know you’ve been patiently waiting for protocols, our teams have been diligently preparing and working with our medical teams, government health authorities, and testing providers to ensure we provide you with the best experience before and during your cruise. Our commitment is to share all protocols for your January sailing very soon, as we want you to have ample time to prepare for an enjoyable and healthy sailing!

Additionally, we understand that the final payment date for many of our guests is getting closer. So, we’ve made the decision to push the final payment date for all sailings departing in January 2022. Guests on sailings departing between January 1, 2022 through January 31, 2022, will now have until 30 days prior to their sail date to make their final payment. Our hope is that this gives you a little extra flexibility when making the best decision for you and those in your party. Rest assured, no action is needed on your part, and no cancellations will occur until the new final payment date.

Thank you for being a part of our Royal Comeback. We can’t wait to welcome you back onboard soon!

Sincerely,

I've also spoken to X, and they are not mailing tags right now.  We all have to print them out.

12 hours ago, RichYak said:

I see the link for my upcoming cruise but the form doesn't allow me to enter anything into the "Country" field, so I can't submit it.

I had the same issue, and that's what prompted me asking about the mailing (I was already calling for something else).  I suppose that's one way of making sure someone doesn't think they are coming.

12 hours ago, lbryant said:

So when they re-opened check in for your trip, your Xpress pass reappeared and you had the same arrival time as before?

Yes. The arrival time was all set (also at 11:30), and I did not need to reenter my passport information. All that remained intact. 

However, I now also could upload photos of the front and back of my vaccination card. I would like to think that will make things go even more smoothly at the terminal. 

I've heard of it but not had it happen. Somewhere around here is a thread started by someone who recently was reassigned. 

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

That's a hard no on your scenario on Carnival.  You can in fact order a drink for yourself and 14 of your new found best friends, but you will be charged for 14 drinks and only your drink goes against your Cheers account.  The only line that allows you to order two alcoholic drinks at a time with their drink package is NCL.  So if you're in Howl at the Moon and you want to get a shot and a beer, no problem.

Carnival, RCI, MSC and Celebrity all only allow 1 drink at a time.

Thanks for clearing that up. I've heard differently from a good number of others, but perhaps they made some friend$.

In addition to just the straight transfer, there might be an excursion or two that you can do that will drop you off at FLL (there are for my upcoming Summit sailing).  That's just another option if you are willing to spend your time and OBC in that manner.

If you are stopping in Aruba, I highly recommend Trikes Aruba.  DW and I had a ball, and I have no problem imagining a 19 or 20 year old enjoying it.

Your son is invited to all the "adult" functions (without drinking, of course).  On our recent Summit cruise, they still had trivia twice per day, silent disco, fitness classes, and a number of other things that I don't recall.

It's always a bit of a crap shoot to find passengers in that age range (or even in their early 20s, unless they are on a honeymoon) unless you're on Carnival.  The exceptions are Spring Break and (fortunately for you) holiday cruises.  Here's hoping the fellow 18-20 year-olds are there.  If they are, they tend to find each other and find things to do.

I know a bunch of folks are recommending RCCL, but I can tell you that our 18 and 20 year old sons had no desire to go on a RCCL cruise, even though they've sailed on so many RCCL cruises that they are Diamond cruisers by their own right.  Once they aged out of the teen lounge, they lost interest.  That's not to say they would not come if we were having a "family trip," but it would not be at the top of their lists.

As mentioned, it's not unusual for cruise lines (or any other outfit) to have different promotions for different parts of the world.  It's targeted marketing.  

14 hours ago, CruisinCorey2525 said:

Searching didn't bring anything up. For those who have been on Celebrity recently, or are familiar with the current wine offerings, are there any that stand out? I prefer red, but white is okay. 

Just seeing what is worth getting, so I don't either pour a glass out, or drink something that is vinegar. 

TIA!

Just keep in mind that selections can vary a lot from time to time and ship to ship, especially the way things are right now.  Some outfits are having a hard time getting some things they could load by the boxcar pre-Covid.

11 hours ago, George C said:

Cellars had a few scotch’s and wines above the drink package limit , which we would order and just pay the difference.

That was one of the reasons I stopped in there a couple nights (or few or so?  who's counting?)  Give me my Lagavulin, and I don't mind if you hit me up for a couple bucks more.

2 hours ago, bac513 said:

If in a wheelchair accessible S2 cabin, are you precluded from bidding on higher level suites? The higher level suites (RS, EV) have plenty of room for a mobility scooter as well as walk in showers. The EV has outside accessibility to both levels.

 

Thanks.

You might want to make sure you can get an accessible cabin.  The RS we've been in may have had plenty of room to get into the room, but you might have some trouble getting around the bedroom, and the bathroom would be a nightmare.  Other ships may vary.

Frankly, if you are interested in an upgrade, it would be worth calling the Retreat line and seeing what your options are.

4 minutes ago, lovrccl said:

I guess I should have said should we order the kits online and do it that way or get the testing done at a drugstore.

Frankly, if they are going to let me do it at home, then I'm going to do it at home.  I don't much care if I have to buy the tests.  I have them in hand.

1 minute ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

RCCL announced a few weeks ago that cruises between Oct 1 and Dec 31 final payment will be due 30 days out. 

Again, we're January.  While I would like to think they would extend it, I ain't counting chickens yet.

I'm also betting on a maintenance issue.  It's not likely that they'll tell you that, though.  Be glad that you aren't the one who discovered it, or you would have larger problems on your expensive vacation.

I do agree that you should have an opportunity to choose your new stateroom.  If you wanted that S1, the least you should be able to do would be to pay the difference between S2 and S1 to get it (and, frankly, they ought to put anything they charged you back into your account as OBC.)

For our cruise a couple of months ago, we scheduled same-day PCR tests.  That was more expensive ($89/person), but it was nice to have that all done.  At the time, the lines were not accepting tests conducted at home.

For the upcoming sailing, we're going with the at-home kits.  We've seen a number of CC folks give them good remarks.