rocklinmom

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

I sat out there a few times and there were no smokers . From what I saw, the only official smoking area was the one in the picture I posted. The casino definitely smelled of smoke but I never saw anyone actually smoking there the few times I passed through.

Thank you! I am looking at Marina deck cabins right below that outdoor area (port side) so wondering if we would have a smoking area right above our balconies. Usually one side is smoking and the other isn't. It would be nice to be one deck below to run up to the buffet, just trying to cover all my bases. 

If you have a chance, could you please confirm if the port side outside eating area for Horizon Court is for smokers? Where you walk out of the buffet to the outside eating tables, near the Outrigger Bar. Walking out the doors next to the public restrooms. I am looking at cabins right below that area on Marina deck (cabins M706 and M704 specifically) and wondering if there would be an outdoor smoking area above them. And if you happened to walk past those cabin numbers and see if they have doors together or not...wink wink...if you're bored...thank you so much, only if you are able to. 🙂

On 9/18/2022 at 8:46 AM, ceilidh1 said:

Smoking area deck 16 aft

Hi again! One more question, you posted this as the outdoor smoking area at the back of Lido deck. Do you recall if there were also smokers allowed in the Horizon Court outdoor eating area? I am looking at some aft Marina deck cabins right below that (where you walk outside from the buffet) on the port side and want to avoid the smoking side.  

2 hours ago, bassmk said:

They were quick to drop the requirement for other places when they no longer required them...I'm more than hopeful they'll follow suit with Canada, too. Why wouldn't they? What would be the motivation there?

 

I'm vaxed (with the bivalent booster!) and I have natural antibodies so I'm really just hoping I'm good to go. I hate the anxiety around staying healthy for the pre-cruise testing.

 

Yes! It is the anxiety about staying healthy for pre-cruise testing that concerns me. Or one of us testing positive at the pier without knowing we even had it and being denied boarding. 

Thank you! I am looking at the first two cabins coming into your Lido cabin section from the Trident Grill/pool area. They are right across from the forward stairs and near the forward elevators, and can walk right outside to the pool deck. I imagine you guys walked by them many times (L301 and L235). I was just wondering if there would be a lot of noise and/or commotion being right there. 

I have a Lido deck forward cabin question for you, since you were in L221. Did you have any noise from above in the Sanctuary/Retreat pool area? I have read about a late night DJ dance party held up there (called Night Sky Lounge). Also, did you have any noise from MUTS or poolside bands? I'm considering booking in that area and wonder how loud it could be. 

Love the photo sitting by the pool with MUTS screen in front!  Question, is the MUTS screen above the poolside Trident Grill and Prego Pizzeria? Or is it above the area heading into the Horizon Court buffet?

Following along, thank you for doing this! Yes please post menus and food pics if possible. Also I am interested in what Dolphin deck looks like, particularly the aft cabins back by the rear elevators, and if that deck is still being used for Covid quarantine or not? They are showing as available to book for the Christmas cruise but I am wondering if they will be "normal" cabins or not. 

OMG I would be ready to throw that "friend" overboard by now

This is frustrating! So many inconsistencies with the Covid vaccination or not/testing or not rules. We wanted to start cruising again but don't want the worry of having to produce negative tests for all of us before boarding because many people test positive and don't even know they have it. We are all vaccinated/boosted so shouldn't have to test, but then I read things like this and it makes me not want to spend thousands of dollars on a cruise until the concern is gone. And until the Princess verbiage about it is clear! What if they suddenly change things once we are onboard?  That could happen too. I just want to be able to cruise again...

If someone is moved to Covid isolation, do the family members also go with them? I wouldn't want to be split up. And the family would already be exposed anyway. How does that work? 

Thank you for the bed set up photos! I wanted to see how they do it in Royal's mini suites. It looks fine for my adult children size-wise compared to the smaller sofa bed in the deluxe balcony cabins. And I like how it is against the wall vs. spread out across the balcony door area. It is always so helpful to see how the beds actually look at night time for those of us who need quad or triple cabins. 

And for the motion sensor lights, could you put tape over them? That might help. 

Good for you for telling the friend to stop her constant phone calls to someone else. That is rude if you ask me. She is there with you guys on a cruise! So many young people would love to be on a cruise. Hopefully it will be better now. 

 I noticed in your cabin photo that there is a connecting door. So Royal has connecting cabins? That would be great for us as we are 5 people. We have only sailed on the "smaller" Princess ships so this was never an option. 

Wait what? I thought the 15 day Hawaii cruise from San Fran didn't require Covid testing? Did they just change something? We are considering booking this cruise in December and that is something I would want to know! 

Thank you so much for this live thread! I love seeing every detail, from food pics to menus to the Elite letters and Covid protocols. We are still debating sailing again and it would be on the Royal so this is perfect. Keep up the great work! We are excitedly following along with you. 

Thank you for the reminder that Covid is still going around. Now I'm thinking we will wait until next summer to cruise again. Was thinking this Christmas but might still be too soon. I can't imagine spending our cruise in quarantine cabins and on meds (that require a blood test first?!) and feeling terrible. Prayers for your quick recovery. 

Well so much for an exciting new promo. It's just the same Plus fare with a shorex credit. And if you book Standard to save some money you don't get the shorex credit. Guess I'll have to wait until after final payment and see if they drop the fares on any remaining cabins...

Hoping that the new promo will be something like Plus perks at Standard prices. Anything to spur me to book...still on the fence. 

Ooh Christmas lunch too! Thank you! And thank you also to Yellow Fish for the 2019 ones as well 🙂

Thank you Coral for posting this menu! We are considering booking this year's holiday cruise so was excited to see this. 

I will miss the blue Princess bags and the Elite yellow bathroom goody bags. We  love the Lotus Spa lotion that it came with. 

I am also looking at Royal and researching the balcony cabins as we need one with bunk bed for a third person (adult). The sofa bed in the deluxe balcony cabins looks really small and pretty sure an adult's feet would hit the desk across from it. I am avoiding the balcony cabins that have the bunk that blocks the balcony door completely (What's the point of that? I mean who would not want balcony access half of the time when paying for one?).  That leaves me with quad balcony cabins and a double next door (there are 5 of us). I also am trying to avoid the ones under the buffet, as I would think there could be noise issues. So far I am not having much luck. This is for the 12/22 holiday cruise coming up. I've been doing this for years and this is the first time I'm having difficulty finding a good pair of cabins for us. 

Happy to read about a cruise going so well! Makes me think the days of "normal" cruising are finally here.