TX.Mameow&Papeow

Just a little FYI, we are very close friends with some of the current cast of "Mamma Mia" and the current cast came onboard March 19, 2023, and there first performance was the following week March 26, 2023. Their contract ends in December. Currently on Allure out of Galveston they do 3 performances of "Mamma Mia" and 3 Performances of "Blue Planet" which began during our cruise April 30 - May 7. Their schedule changes and some weeks they have done 2 Mamma Mia's in the same day, and also 2 Blue Planet's in one day. Mamma Mia is usually near the beginning of the week and sometimes a matinee on Saturday. Blue Planet is usually during the end of the week. Not sure about the scheduling for the shows from Cape Canaveral, but the cast should still be on the ship so I would assume the shows will continue. We booked a b2b, 5 nights on Oct.25, and 4 nights on Oct.30. Hope this is helpful to those with questions.

On 5/24/2022 at 9:01 AM, quicklabs said:

We plan to do an Emed test from our Amsterdam hotel as well.  What happened when you got cut off?  Assuming you had to log in and get another proctor?  Was the test still valid or did you have to use another test kit?  Thanks for your reply.

I did mine first with no problems. When my hubby did his, the lady said to turn the phone sideways . When he did that something happened to the camera and they could no longer see him. They switched him to another person who could not see him either. At this point the original lady had already had him open the box and checked his ID but we had not started the test. The third person said we would need to restart again. I guess they noted his account because when we finally got the final person who could see him, he allowed him to proceed with the same test kit. We had 2 extras just incase something went wrong but didn't have to use them. We went downstairs to the lobby computer to get a print out from our emailed results. The lady at the hotel desk had us forward the email to the hotel and she printed them off for us. That was our first time to use the Emed test so we were a little nervous, but it all worked out.

6 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

That would depend on the cruise line. Holland America DOES  (and has since resumption of cruising) test for international flights home, except in Canada. Why would they need to test for domestic flights?

Sorry , guess I didn't say that correctly. I was referring to Royal Caribbean but sorry, didn't say that. You would not need a test for domestic within the United States. We are leaving for our 18th cruise since the restart next Sunday and in the beginning Royal did test people to fly home to other countries as well as B2B or side to side cruises but rules are forever changing. At one time Canadians were upset because they had to find other testing. Can't speak for any other lines because we have only done Royal since the restart. We have cruised most of the others in the past but have actually never done Holland American. Maybe someday. 

14 hours ago, Trekker954 said:

But right now we need a one day prior negative covid test, its my understanding the ship will test those flying home the day before we disembark.    decisions decisions.

 

I don't want to burst your bubble, but the ship has not been testing cruisers to fly home domestic or International for a few months. That will be your responsibility weather you  do it onboard with an accepted proctored test that you provide or at the airport or a testing site in the city you are flying from. Always have a plan "B" incase plan "A" doesn't work out. We did the Emed test from our hotel using our phone in Barcelona earlier this month with no real problems other than we got cutoff once.

I would say definitely No. We wanted a NS flight at 10:50am but knew it would be impossible so we are staying 1 night in a hotel and and taking that same flight the next day when we have better control of the time we arrive at the airport.

Rules for a TA are different. If your original vaccination is more than 270 days old you do need the booster. We had the 2 shots of Pfizer and now 2 booster shots. When I entered the dates of my 2nd vaccine shot and the photo of the 2 shots it was not accepted. Royal called me from Miami today and said we would not be able to do the Wonder TA because our vaccines were more than 270 days old. I told him we had gotten the 1st booster Oct.5, 2021 and the second booster March 30, 2022. I had to resubmit our info and pictures of our vaccine cards and both boosters to prove we were current. He called me back after I followed his instructions and said everything was correct and approved. My mistake putting the wrong date in  but I was happy they called to follow up on my mistake. We are on the 5 night before so this would have been settled on the ship but I'm glad they caught it in advance.

We wanted a nonstop flight back to the US and it was around the same time. Because of all the unknowns we decided to spend the night and leave early the next morning where we could control what time we arrived at the airport. We have been to Amsterdam a few times before but were extending our land time to other parts of Europe so didn't fly back to the US from there, although we did fly to Milan after spending 4 nights there.

Just got off of a B2B on Oasis and saw Cats both weeks! They say you either love it or hate it and I loved it! Didn't really see anyone leaving and they got a lengthy standing ovation for both shows with what appeared to be an almost full audience. I think it is important to know the story line in advance to understand it. I thought the dancing and singing were amazing along with costumes, makeup, and props. Would definitely see it again when sailing on Oasis.

6 hours ago, Travlin grrl said:

Awesome. Are you doing B2B 3 days or 7 days? Right, Jimmy Hooper does not look like he would sing opera, lol. He can do it all. We really enjoyed him and hope to see him again. I'm thinking of booking a 3 day again in March and trying to get friends to jump on also, because we had such a good time. 

We are doing a 3n-4n-3n-4n, the timing of the 7n didn't work with our schedule. We have never been to Catalina Island so we will go twice. We have been to Ensenada once coming back from Hawaii several years ago so will check it out again. looking forward to enjoying Navigator again!

Loved your review! We have been on Navigator several times but not from San Pedro. We have 4 consecutive cruises on her in March and are really looking forward to them. We have seen Jimmy Hopper before and he is amazing! He doesn't look like someone who sings opera and is so versatile in his ability to sing and play so many types of music and instruments. I hope he will be on our cruises!

6 hours ago, SingBill said:

Can anyone advise what documentation you must present to Guest Services staff when requesting testing for. Side to side cruise?

Hi Mary, We have done several B2B and 2 side to side. We did one Allure to Odyssey with 1 day in between and we were tested 1 day before we got off and only needed our vaccination cards to present when taking the test. We didn't need anything at guest service, just told them and they setup our appointment. Our last one was Adventure to Liberty with 2 days in between. Still didn't need to present anything to Guest Services but did talk to them and they scheduled a 7am appointment for us in the medical office on the day we disembarked so it would be within 2 days of boarding Liberty. The nurse did the test and ask us to wait for the results which was just a few minutes. Be sure you request a copy of the results that you can present to the 2nd ship at check in. Allure delivered a printout to our room and sent an email. Adventure gave us a sticker with all the information. When we presented that at check in for Liberty the lady was not familiar with it and call a supervisor. They accepted it with no issues other than they hadn't seen one before. If you are boarding within 1 day your test is done in the conference room with all the consecutive cruisers. Hope this helps.

On our recent B3B on Indy in September they actually didn't have Formal night, it was called "Dress your Best" and you saw a little bit of everything. If you and your party want to dress in formal wear on your birthday and celebrate in a specialty restaurant then make your reservation on the first day and enjoy your special day regardless of which day Royal declares "Formal or Dress Your Best." Also if anyone is D+ or above you can use a BOGO and eat 2 for 1 on the first 2 nights. This may also apply to Diamond but I'm not sure. Have a great cruise !

Beautiful photos Karen, Everything looks so nice and the food looks delicious. Get some rest, can't wait to see you boarding photos tomorrow !!!

12 hours ago, Luv2Kruize said:

Any idea if the OBC is refundable?

Yes, the OBC from your RCCL Visa is refundable. OBC from RCCL is non refundable. They will use your non refundable first for anything on your Sea Pass card and the refundable last. If you don't spend all of the refundable by the end of the cruise they will refund the balance back to your credit card or you can go to Guest Services and get cash on the last night. The non refundable is lost if you don't spend it.

8 hours ago, Jimbo said:

So you can only move the OBC if you change to a new cruise if you select another cruise at the same time the FCC is issued, Is that how it works?

So if you are just holding 3 of 4 FCC and have yet to change them to another new cruises you lose the OBC, is thta corret?

No, If the OBC qualifies and your cruise has been cancelled you can have it moved to any cruise. I had OBC on 2 cruises 4/2020 that were suspended . I had  the OBC moved to 2 cruises in 10/2022 and used the FCC's on  3 other cruises on different dates in 9/2021 and 11/2021. The OBC does not have to be used on the same cruise as the FCC.

We lost 12 cruises so far, but have 22 booked between 9/2021 and 12/2022 so we have a lot of places to move thing around. 

@BirdTravels, Thank you so much for taking your time to share this wonderful review with the rest of us that are still at home. You made my day as well as many others, I'm sure. Enjoy your cruise, I hope it is perfect !

14 booked between 12/2021 and 12/2022. Lost 12  2020 to present.

My survey was for our Dec. 2022 sailing that I booked last week.  Had 9 others booked before this sailing and booked 2 more tonight. I think for most it was based on the most recently booked sailing.

We got our 1st shot (Pfizer) 3 weeks after registering. Walked in the clinic Jan.22, at our appointment time, no one in line ahead of us. Shot was painless, waited 15 minutes for observation and went home with an email to schedule our 2nd shot on Feb.12, which we confirmed. We never had any side effects, not even a sore arm. May not be as lucky with the 2nd shot but hoping it will go smoothly with little side effects. We were so happy to get the vaccination, felt like we won the lottery. The key here in Texas is to register if you are in the eligible category. We were 1b which covered 65 and older.

B2B on Majesty Feb. 2020 out of New Orleans.

Our last completed cruise was a B2B in Feb.2020. Since then we have had 6 suspended , 2 we transferred the booking that were later suspended and 2 that we did a Lift & Shift. Our next booked cruise is in Oct.2021 and an Oct. 2021 TA. We have 3 in Dec.2021, 1 in Jan.2022, 1 in Feb. 2022, a B3B to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and TP from Sydney to Hawaii in March and April 2022. We are booked in Oct. 2022 on Odyssey and hope to do the TA afterwards. So currently we have 11 booked and plans for 1 more. I'm hoping most will have a good chance of going, we will have to wait and see.

We just successfully transferred our Allure out of Galveston to Symphony for Jan. 2022. Same cabin and price protected, just small increase in taxes and port fees. Talked to Rudy at RCL and was on hold off and on as he had to check with another department. He made the transaction easy other than the hold time. It's done and we are happy. The price protection made the cruise about half the current prices.

Barbara

Too many cruises with too many changes. Totally forgot about Ovation going into dry dock before our B2B. At least that will account for some of the time the OP was questioning. We booked the first week it was out along with many friends because it was so cheap. We were originally booked on Celebrity with a similar Itinerary but more than twice the cost. They did change the itinerary and dropped a couple of ports, first cruise is a day shorter and second a day longer. Some cancelled because of this but we still plan to go if things are much better and hopefully a vaccine becomes available.

Barbara

Ovation is sailing Singapore to Japan on April 25, 2021 and Japan to Seattle on May 7, 2021. She was fully booked before Covid-19, but there may have been some cancellations. If I'm not mistaken she may be sailing from Australia to Singapore before the April 25 sailing. Not on that one , but we are booked on the Singapore to Japan to Seattle B2B.

Barbara

4 minutes ago, ARandomTraveler said:

I’d be nervous about having money tied up in that many cruises for the next year given the cruiseline’s apparent financial situation. Then again, if there weren’t people willing to leave their money with RC, they’d go bankrupt for sure, so I hope it works out ok for everyone.
 

I’m hoping for an opportunity to rebook the cruise we’re missing this year, but I won’t do it until 2022 at the earliest, mostly due to my own scheduling, but also because I’m not willing to put a deposit on anything as uncertain as next summer’s cruising season.

We are retired and travel a lot. We book most of our cruises 2 years in advance so we get a really good price most of the time. The FCC that we are getting from this B2B will actually pay off several of the cruises we have booked so I have to be very careful how I apply them. We have 5 between October and December for 51nights. I am worried that some if not all could be cancelled. No final payments till the end of July so I have some time to see how thing will play out. I have confidence in RCL even though things are difficult for them along with the rest of the world right now. The stock market used to make me nervous, especially in 2008, where we all lost. I guess it gave me more confidence this time because even though I am very cautious and observant , I'm confident things will come back after this pandemic is gone. In my lifetime we have never dealt with anything quite like this.