chiguypaul

4 hours ago, Airbear232 said:

We're still deciding given everything now happening.  Still hoping to go.

What would make you change your mind at this point? What additional information do you need?

4 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yes, a lot of ships have been sold at 90 to 100% capacity for holiday sailings.

My Jan 9th sailing was sold at 93% capacity prior to omicron and new mask mandate.  Lots of cabins in all categories have been opening up.

 

How did you find out that it was 93%?

22 minutes ago, taglovestocruise said:

I saw a post yesterday from a Royal Blogger who is on Odyssey this week.  He said the ship was at 96% capacity and would sail at 105% Christmas week and slightly more for the New Years eve cruise.  He said the ship is overrun with kids. His biggest complaints were that the elevators were packed every night and MDR was wall to wall people.

I don’t believe that percentage based on the amount of rooms open. 

52 minutes ago, clover18 said:

We are on Odyssey right now and will be back to back next week as well. It is MAXED out with passengers. Totally! Guest services not allowing any onboard upgrades. 

What does that mean - maxed out? Qualify that. There is no way you are at 100% of regular capacity. 

I’m on the NYE Odyssey sailing. Every few days I’ve been checking room inventory for multiple categories. In the past day there have been several more cabins open in all categories. I’m guessing that we’re starting to see the cancellations due to on the omicron concerns. 

Until the other day, I had no concerns about going on my New Year’s Eve cruise. Now I’m incredibly anxious about making sure I don’t get Covid before my cruise considering the transmission rate today. I am also concerned about having force isolation in an inside cabin. Not a big deal to me to wear masks in inside spaces. 

8 minutes ago, peasprout said:

You can do the video supervised home test kit:  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center/pre-cruise-testing

(or is this the Emed test you were talking about?  If so, I think this should be sufficient)

Yep. That's the one I'm talking about. I just need to get comfortable with it being sufficient, like you said. I feel like I need a backup process, when I likely don't.

I'm one of those people who show up at the port at 10 AM to be one of the first on with my Diamond status. I know that won't be possible with current protocols. For my upcoming NYE cruise I have a 1 PM check-in time.

With current protocols, if I have all of documents together:

• How long should I expect to get through check-in with a 1 PM check-in time?
• What is the realistic timeframe range for boarding? 
• It is worth trying to come early or am I just wasting my time?

Would like to run this by everyone here. I have a sailing on 12/26. That means I have to test on 12/24 through 12/26. I am traveling the morning and mid-day on the 24th. I am planning on completing my testing via the RCL approved Emed test and I plan on having extra just in case there's an issue with one of them. However, I feel like I need a backup plan and I'm concerned about finding somewhere that will have testing on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and on Christmas. Most locations have yet to posted availability that far ahead. Am I just being a worrier? Should I feel confident knowing I have a backup Emed proctored test? I have to imagine that others leaving the day after Christmas are going through the same process.

I'm created a separate thread for this for people who have this question. I have seen conflicting information on this question. I have a 16 and 19 year old. They are both Diamond. Will they receive the four drink vouchers for non-alcoholic drinks? 

You guys crack me up. All I'm saying is, I asked the RCL rep what the occupancy capacity is on the ship and they said this sailing was capped at 70% and they are no longer taking new reservations. Read it how you want. Do the math how you want. 

70% of pre-Covid

11 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

RCI's definition of "at capacity" may be different than yours.

Not sure what you're inferring. All I'm doing is telling people what they told me. It's not 100% capacity.

The New Year's Eve Odyssey is no longer available for booking. It was taken off line earlier today. RCL said it was at capacity.

We noticed the disappearance as well and ha e been very disappointed that the soups are gone. You are not alone.

Was hoping to have a few of you muse on what you expect in terms of what occupancy rates will be like for holiday cruises in December (xmas/nye). Will RCL hold back rooms to make sure the ship isn't at full occupancy at one of their busiest and most profitable times of the year?

I've found that the people I'm talking to on the phone are very accommodating at working through the vouchers, given you have someone who knows what they are doing. I would still strongly recommend people apply vouchers by phone instead of the site, even if you have to wait on hold.

On RCL's web site, they mention that you if you have remaining cruise credit unused from a voucher that you don't receive it until after the sailing you use it on. Others here and have said it can take about a month. Customer service told me it would be about three or four weeks. My recent experience was that I received the remaining money on a new voucher within ONE WEEK. Just wanted to provide that data point for people.

On 8/21/2021 at 10:00 AM, molly361 said:

It can only be used for cruise fare but part of your husband's can also be used for your fare or vice versa.

Royal does not make that clear on their web site and when you talk with support they don't provide confidence that this is possible. 

I fully regret trying to redeem online, specifically to applying the amount to a different reservation. The redemption team did not correctly apply it and customer service is telling me that it was an error and I have to wait 30 days for the remaining amount to be issued back to me, and then I have to call back to have it reapplied. I regret not doing it on the phone with someone the first time where I could discuss how it would be applied to someone. The 30 day way is completely contrary to the policy of waiting until your cruise is over to get a new voucher , but the support assured me I would be issued a new one within 30 days. Very confusing and frustrating.

Just now, Coralc said:

I totally understand. Lesser cabins were closed on our November 1 cruise so we couldn't downgrade. We new we weren't going. We cancelled for a FCC on the deposit and the cruise line cancelled 2 days later. Oh Well.

 

Is there anything that looks enticing to you for a Lift & Shift to next year? There wasn't anything for us, but there might be for you. 

We have a $1000 deposit. So with L&S can we move that deposit to 2021? I was going to call RCL this week to discuss these types of options.

Just now, BirdTravels said:

Or cancel and rebook as a last minute cruise if it looks like it will sail with some level of safety. 

Agree. That's what we were thinking. Even if we have to pay a little more...that would be the cost of having the flexibility.

So bummed about the ongoing covid situation. At this point, I just don't see cruises going in December and even if they do, I don't think I want to take a chance with my family. Maybe things get better, the CDC will give the OK and policies and practices will be solid. But that being said, I don't want to put down my final payment next week, have the cruise go and then decide I'm not comfortable going. I don't want to be stuck with the thousands of dollars of future cruise credits.....  And we so excited about having the Unlimited Dining plan this year. 🙂

7 hours ago, mira577 said:

I have family on Oasis now and they are having a great time!  The ship is skipping Jamacia and going to Costa Maya instead, which is just fine with them. They said everything is great and super clean. 

 

 

Did they happen to mention if they noticed a difference in crowd sizes?

On 3/8/2020 at 12:05 AM, PhoenixCruiser said:

Way to soon to anticipate what will happen in July.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

Totally agree. Even a month from now could be very different.