Pee0305

Great, thank you for your replies. We are now sorted and looking forward to our first cruise with RCI

Hi, I am in the process of checking in for our forthcoming cruise and have arrived at the on board account section. I am very unsure which option to go with - A) RCI exchange rate or B) credit/debit card rate. What is the general consensus please? What is the RIC exchange rate like? Thanks

It was an online travel agent.

Hi, Just this morning I found a great deal sailing with RC to the Fjords. It was an online price and as far as I could gather I reserved the holiday at the price given (no money changed hands but an email confirmed the holiday and price). 2 minutes later I received a phone call from an agent at the website saying that the price shown was wrong by £200 per person. Are they able to do this? I always understood that the advertised price was the price you got it for or is it different if buying online?

Disappointed :(

Thank you English Lady. Yes it looks like the sofa beds are comfy, however when I phoned P&O she said it would be a single and all I can find on the booking system are doubles. Wonder if she made a mistake :confused:

Has anyone used the single sofa beds? We are considering a short cruise as a group of lady friends so one of us would have to sleep on the sofa bed. I'd like to know how comfy and roomy they are before booking as there's nothing worse than an uncomfortable nights sleep.

Thanks.

We have just returned from 2 weeks on board Oceana. The only complaint we had about the food was on the morning we breakfasted in Ligurian. Everything was served barely warm. Not an experience we risked again so had breakfast every other morning in the Plaza where everything was hot, including the plates and cutlery. Meal portion sizes, in our opinion, were just right. We prefer to have smaller portions with the option of asking for extras rather than large meals and seeing a lot of waste.

I have just submitted a full review if anyone's interested :p

Packing our cases ready for departure this Wednesday (whoop, whoop) and interestingly notice on our Air Notification from P&O that luggage allowance is 23Kg yet on our case labels it states 20Kg. Can anyone clarify? Obviously don't want to exceed 20Kg and be stung with excess baggage but also don't want to miss out on the extra 3Kg. FYI we are flying with Thomson to Genoa. :confused:

Hi, can anyone tell me if there is a chapel or place of worship onboard the Oceana? We have just cremated my Mum and her ashes are being scattered while we are away. I would like to just stop a moment and offer her the respect she so deserves at the time the ashes are scattered.

Thanks.

Hi all, Looking forward to our forthcoming cruise aboard Oceana despite the negative reviews. It is what you make it and we plan to enjoy ourselves :D

Anyway, I saw a post on here some time ago regarding where plastic luggage tags can be purchased to slide the paper luggage labels in. Any idea anyone?

As has already been said Rome is a fabulous city. I can't guess at how busy it will be but just as a word of warning the last time we went I was desperate to see the Sistine Chapel. We were unable to purchase fast track tickets so had to queue. 3 hours later (yes 3! ) we eventually got in. We weren't disappointed - IMHO one of the sites not to be missed, so if the organised tours offer fast track entry it's well worth it. Enjoy :)

Yes thats what I thought Jean. Just made me wonder when the flight confirmation stated 4 hours check in :rolleyes: I thought perhaps there may be some reason for it but obviously not. 4.15am arrival at BHX is early enough I think!

Thanks for the replies folks, I feel that we can get at least a few hours sleep before our flight, followed by a leisurely brunch once on board ... mmmmmm can't wait :)

Hi, we are flying from Birmingham to Genoa on 4th May. The flight is at the awful time 6.15am and on our confirmation it states a 4 hour check in. Is that just if you haven't checked in online beforehand? Can't believe that they would want us at the airport at 2am!! Also has anyone used the bag drop the day before? We tried it the last time we cruised (with Thomson) but they wouldn't accept them until the day we flew :confused:

I have to agree Rookery. I had an email from them yesterday telling me that the case has reached deadlock so I have completed the arbitration notice. Thomson have never addressed the major issues of the complaint but at least I know that I have followed the complaints procedure to the letter so if needs must and they offer nothing I will look for a solicitor to take the case to court - no win, no fee obviously :( FOD1984 I would consider you a winner!

Thank you for your replies. I don't hold out much hope but it's the principal now :confused: Will post again if/when there is a final outcome, fingers crossed.

After our cruise in January this year we complained to Thomson (won't go into the details of the complaint but if you read my previous posts you will get the gist) and received the standard initial correspondence from them saying that they aim to respond within 28 days. The 28 days came and went and after various IMs on FB to customer services we eventually had a response to the complaint 50 days later basically saying that they would investigate. Anyway, feeling that this had already dragged on long enough we gave them an ultimatum which they did not meet and at the beginning of May we took our complaint to ABTA. Since then we have had a further response from Thomson - just the standard response saying they appreciate that we were disappointed with the holiday, they take customer feedback very seriously, blah de blah ….. BUT they do not appear to have considered the main issues we raised. We responded back via ABTA stating that their reply is unacceptable. ABTA have responded saying "Upon their (Thomsons) response to your further correspondence if the matter remains unresolved, we will be able to provide you with details about how to take matters further." Can anyone tell me what happens at that point? Do ABTA wash their hands of the case? Will we be advised to go to arbitration and if so what will this involve? This has been going on now for 5 months and we feel we are banging our heads against a brick wall. Any advice/previous experience of complaints to Thomson would be gratefully received. :o

When we did the TA last year we put the clocks forward at 2pm each day. Didn't know if we were eating breakfast, dinner or tea :D Enjoy!

Same problem with phone number. Tried mobile and landline, run figures together and with spaces, added national code, just wont recognise any of them. I have now given up! :(

It certainly was a relief Skioncruises. It didnt happen on the TA though, it was on Pride of Panama/Cuban Fusion. I hope that your crossing goes well next April, for us though it's put us off cruising for a while :( If/when we look for another cruise in the future it wont be with Thomson. Sad as we have enjoyed all other cruises with them. This one was such a poor experience for us and we just feel that generally standards are declining and for the same money we could find better.

Thank you for your good wishes ;)

If you're referring to the 'ps' on my post - I only asked out of curiosity to see if it was perhaps still the same doctor from April 2014. :)

We were also on the Transatlantic last April and yes it is still the same Dr. She told me in the course of conversation that she has been on the Dream (on and off) for the past 18 years! Perhaps she knows a good thing ....?

So the point is ?

Don't go to the Ships Doctor ?

If your on the ship and collapse there ain't much choice is there.

Next cruise and the OP is ill, what are you going to do.

You pays your money and takes your chance.

Sorry of it sounds insensitive, but that is the the way of world.

Glad your fine when you got home.

You're missing the point 1160451. Yes, we thought it pretty expensive but what the heck - that's what travel insurance is for and they can fight the bill out if they choose. The point is the ship's Dr put us through a great deal of unnecessary worry ... thats what I object to!!

Thats interesting Vitalsign. We had no idea, neither did friends, that there was norovirus onboard. Perhaps it would be a good idea to make it public knowledge when there is an outbreak. It might encourage more people to use the sanitizer. Some people are so unhygienic, we saw one passenger sneeze all over the salad bar and several people coughing without covering their mouths ... yeuuuch!!! I am glad that you enjoyed the cruise. For us however it left a lot to be desired other than the weather which obviously we can't do anything about :rolleyes:

Some interesting replies on here. I can understand people defending the ships Dr and I totally agree that they should err on the side of caution, however she TOLD my husband and I, both on separate occasions and at different times, that I had had a heart attack. When I took the paperwork with all of the test results and jargon to A&E the Drs there said that none of the results indicated a heart attack. Stamped on the bottom of the notes was a big fat "Fit to Fly". The invoice ... well ok, I understand the need for the tests and consequently the cost involved. What I am finding it hard to forgive is the worry she put us through!!! :mad:

Here's a story for you … when we joined our last cruise on 27th Jan (Pride of Panama/Cuban Fusion) we attended the lifeboat drill and I collapsed. I was taken down to the ships hospital and received treatment - oxygen, drip, ecg, blood tests - and after 3 hours the Dr told my husband and I that I had had a mild heart attack … whaaaaat??? Well, who am I to argue but I didn't feel as if I'd had a heart attack (not that I would know what it feels like but no chest pain). Anyway, I was released to "enjoy" (that's another story) the holiday but, obviously was pretty worried about my state of health. I was presented with a bill of £1500 which thankfully (hopefully) the travel insurance will cover. Anyway - and this is where the story becomes interesting - when we came home I wasn't sleeping at all well and feeling my heart pounding I went straight to A&E really thinking that my heart was going to give up the ghost. After spending the whole day there and after tests was told by the Dr that there was no evidence that I had had a heart attack and that I am perfectly fit and healthy!!!! Pounding heart = anxiety :eek: SO we cant help but wonder did the Dr exaggerate to claim more from the insurance? I am happy that the ship has this facility and, no doubt, it has been extremely useful in the past BUT to put my husband and I through all of the unnecessary worry is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. :mad: The moral of the story … be aware if you find the need to use the ships hospital on Thomson cruises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!