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Yes. Most definitely.  It's not only the prices, it's their deposit policy.  If I want a refundable deposit on (for example) a sailing in January, 2026, on Independence of the Seas, it's an additional $2,016 tacked on to the price which makes the price for a Sunset Junior Suite over $6,000.00. I paid less for that for a full suite on Princess for a 7 day sailing on a brand new ship with only a $200 fully refundable deposit.

Every time I do a mock booking on Royal, I get to the last step, and it's like, nope, that's too much money for what I'm getting.

28 minutes ago, Pixelskaya said:

I’m booked with 6 friends on the Sun this Summer. We would all hate this balcony 🤣 We can hang out together anywhere in the ship; balcony time is private.

 

It miiiiiight be cool for family? Nah, not really. 

I agree - I would never book this balcony. I mean it's huge, but zero privacy and that's not for me.  I feel like there's a lot of other choices that have more privacy.

I was browsing Instagram and found this reel that  appears to show a partial  balcony and a better view of a premium deluxe balcony which is huge, but looks pretty exposed.

Count us out on this one for now. I think they've lost their minds. Over $10k for a grand suite in the "off season" for a 7 day sailing?  Not happening. 

My son and I did the "Gone Turtles" excursion with Gone Caribe on June 2, 2022. I cannot say enough good things about this.

Our guide was Jessica (one half of the husband and wife team) that run Gone Caribe. She took us to Shete Boka State Park, and as she is an avid hiker/explorer herself, was able to take us to some of the spots there that were off the beaten path.  Next stop was a lovely local restaurant, but unfortunately, the name escapes me, but the food was wonderful and the views were amazing.

Next stop was swimming with the turtles - amazing. We saw lots of turtles and Jessica had snorkeling equipment available for us to use.  Then it was back to the ship, with a bonus stop to see flamingos.

We learned a lot about the history of Curacao and saw much of the island along the way.  I cannot recommend Gone Caribe enough. They have other private tours available, but we had chosen the turtle tour so we could swim with them.

We'll be wearing our masks to protect ourselves and those around us. It has never been an issue for us.

22 minutes ago, Ms Jo UK said:

that are offered  in  ports without actually  booking the cruise.

You can try this page. I've had some luck with it:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/asr/buildSearch.do?componentType=shorex

6 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

  Fellow Californian here.  “No Matter What !!!!”

  Disagree totally.

Hopefully, there are enough people who wear masks to protect other vulnerable members of our society. 

It’s called being compassionate.  

🛳🛳

Bobbi 

I'm with you.  I will also not be shocked if cases go up on ships given the much looser mask requirement on board and the lack of a mask requirement in the terminals (and other public transportation).

8 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Just heard the Biden administration IS going to appeal the ruling🙄

 I'm really happy to hear that.  There's a whole lot of folks (kids under 5, immunocompromised people) who are at much greater risk with the mask mandate not in place when cases are rising.

2 hours ago, drdestructo said:

Historically, as koxler has indicated, we have been able to host family or friends who were not in a suite if I who made the reservation was in a suite.  Anything else would be a new policy.  It would help if you all arrived at the Barefoot Beach Cabana host station together.

Allowing guests who aren't in a suite access to Barefoot Beach would seem to negate some of the benefits to those who are booked in a suite.  That doesn't seem right to me, so I hope this is a new policy and only suite guests have access to Barefoot Beach.

34 minutes ago, robyn206 said:

Well now it's two completely conflicting reports, so I guess I'll just have to wait and ask the concierge.  I thought it would be up to any 8 people I wanted to share the cabana with as long as I was in a suite and paying for it.

It looks like someone asked Royal that question on Twitter this morning and the answer was that everyone had to be in a suite.

Only people who are traveling in a suite have access to Barefoot Beach. If your guests are not in a suite, they will not have access to Barefoot Beach or a Barefoot Beach cabana. 

We sail on Allure in May.  I called a few weeks back when my return flight was changed to an earlier time to confirm that we could still use luggage valet and I was told it was offered for flights out of FLL after 11:30 a.m. 

Yet they're not requiring boosters and still requiring that those fully vaxxed and boosted show a negative test to board - which means we still have to muck with pre-cruise testing. I'm not quite sure that makes sense to me.

You could also try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. I've had that work for  me.

We are sailing on Allure in May.  Personally, I'm glad it's not amped.  We'd make little use of the added bells and whistles that are on amped ships.  Really looking forward to a view not cluttered by the purple monster at the end of the boardwalk.

Going to be interesting to watch what happens over Spring break when they're only "encouraging" masks for 5-12 year old unvaccinated kids. 

A couple of comments. First, masks being "encouraged" for unvaccinated kids is basically masks on the honor system and that does not work. Remember when the CDC changed the mask guidance last May and basically said masking was on the honor system? Cases went up. If Royal does not change that policy, I think they might have problems. Kids may not get as sick as adults, but they CAN carry it which means it can spread.

Second, if masks remain optional for vaccinated people by the time we sail in May and Royal is NOT requiring the booster, I think that may be a problem.  The fact that effectiveness wanes after two shots makes me nervous about being in close quarters with those who haven't been boosted.  I'm also hoping that a requirement for 5 and over to be vaccinated is coming.

Third, we're pretty much locked in for our May sailing. So, we will continue to wear our masks in indoor areas on the ships. Small price to pay to be safe and I've gotten so used to wearing it that it just doesn't bother me anymore.

Like I said, we're locked in but this change in policy makes us feel decidedly less safe and I sure hope they tweak it.

If they change policies, they should also require that kids 5 and over be vaccinated.  There's no reason not to since it's available for them now.  I would also hope they'd require the 3rd shot/booster.  I think that's safer, but unfortunately unlikely.

I've never used them, but I got a quote for a private tour for our upcoming May sailing in Aruba. It was basically a ship excursion with a private driver. They wanted $1,470 for two people for this. I almost fell over.  I've looked and I can book a private jeep tour with a local operator for less than that.

I certainly hope Royal doesn't follow suit anytime soon. It's too early IMO when there's still widespread transmission. I have no issues with wearing a mask. Not my preference, but if it helps keep me and others safe, I'll wear it.

Starting to research private tours in Aruba. Some of the companies I've come across seem a bit sketchy.

Anyone got any suggestions or recommendations for a half day private jeep or vehicle tour in Aruba?  

Bumping this. We sail in May on Allure and we're trying to decide between the schooner and catamaran sunset cruise.

Pros and cons of both?

Best I ever got was $250 each for a balcony room on 5-day Eastern Caribbean on Liberty right before Christmas 2013.   

I certainly hope so.  As far as boosters, I think there maybe needs to be a change in what the definition of "fully vaccinated" means as far as for public health purposes.