clairebearinaus

I hope you feel better for unleashing your frustrations on us. Are you aware of how your own government treats visa applicants, especially those with criminal records?

For me, there just wasn't enough to do on the ship. That's not say there weren't things to do, but they didn't appeal to me. I'm early 50s (though fairly immature, admittedly 😄) and would say the 'vibe' of the ship is a lot older.

It's such a personal thing - after 2 nights on Cunard I felt like I'd seen and done enough, and I definitely wouldn't want to be in an interior for a cruise that length on any cruise ship. I've also sailed on P&O, there were hits and misses with the food and service on both lines. If you are a drinker, factor in that alcoholic drinks on Cunard are VERY expensive.

Royal's website lists a dedicated check in queue and priority boarding for all suite types (including Junior Suites) in Royal Suite Class, which covers Ovation. So it doesn't specifically say you can check in whenever, but it looks promising. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/aus/en/cruise-rooms/royal-suite-class

I usually go to the steakhouse-but-with-silver-service option once on a cruise, in the $50-65pp range and I find it worth doing just as a change from MDR - and I don't eat steak. Carnival's version is always good just for their lobster bisque, and I had my most enjoyable cruise meal ever on Celebrity Solstice. The free food options are fine otherwise. We are trying Chef's Table for the first time on our next cruise, that's a little birthday treat though, which I've paid over the odds for as it is priced to include wine and we have bought a booze package.

It just appeared in my planner today for a cruise on April 4.

Poor Vanuatu was smashed by two cyclones and two earthquakes in a matter of days. Last I saw, there's significant infrastructure damage in Port Vila, though Mystery Island wasn't hit too badly. I have a cruise to both in early April and thought I'd start a post so others in a similar situation can share any information they receive from their respective cruise lines. RCI pulled a last-minute switcheroo last month and an island cruise ended up going to Hobart. Guess we'd better pack for all eventualities!

There's an Indian restaurant on the pool deck of a Carnival ship I'm going on later this year, and I hear it's very popular, long queues at lunchtime. It has a tandoori oven so serves things other than curry. I love Indian food and the menu looks quite delicious so I'll be making good use of that offering, but I don't think I'd pay extra for it - for us it's just everyday food that we prepare at home, like Italian.

Thanks for the latest tips - I don't eat red meat at all so it'll be shrimp tacos all the way for me - the better half will happily eat faces and feet though!

What do you mean by 'kids food' though? When mine were younger, they just ate smaller portions of what we ate. (Now, much bigger portions!) Understood yours don't eat fish but would they not eat some meat from the carvery, pasta or rice, potatoes or fries, vegetables? Some bread and butter?

I couldn't decide either - early was too early, late was too late. We chose My Time Dining and then went online to book for 7.30 every night, before we boarded.

My teens loved all the cruises they've been on. We haven't been on those specific ships but have done week + sailings on both Princess and Royal, they found much more to do on Royal. Neither were big users of teen club other than as a meeting point (and to play Xbox 🙄). Again without knowing the exact details of your ships (or having the time to look up the respective websites) I would say overall Princess is more price inclusive than Royal, but there are still lots of activities on Royal which are free.

Clean hands! Every time you touch something that someone else might have touched - a handle, rail, lift button, serving tongs - you need to clean and/or sanitise your hands before you touch your face (or your fork, phone, etc etc) So - touch as little as possible. Sleeve over hand, use your elbow, go back to your cabin for the bathroom. And carry sanitiser everywhere. It's very very difficult, which is why covid and noro spread so easily.

I'm very happy about this. I've switched to digital for nearly everything, but sitting down over morning coffee (or mimosa) with the newsletter and a highlighter pen is a little cruising pleasure which just can't be replicated with the app.

Same, I tested the theory on a QE 2 nighter - the bar tab was higher than the cruise fare yet I still caught covid!

Thank you both!

I have a related question - so sorry to hijack this thread with it but I didn't want to post a new one on a very similar topic. I've heard it's possible (though unlikely) that a Royal UP offer could come on embarkation day. Does anyone know if RCL would allow such a late cancellation and refund of any DBP, Key etc that would become unnecessary as the result of an upgrade?

We had no problem getting a table for 2 in any of the restaurants.

Last time I looked there were reviews of the excursions on Carnival's own website. (Perhaps in the general website and not under your actual booking, from memory.) I decided against the dolphin feeding as the reviews were mostly negative, along the lines of what Sinbad said above - lots of money for a few seconds' interaction and there's a long conservation presentation beforehand, which might be a bit boring for the little ones.

I did a cruise on Encounter last year (I think they're very similar?) having previously cruised on Princess, Celebrity, Royal among others. We like to spend our days relaxing in a quiet spot on the deck, in the sunshine, with a cocktail or 2. Jazz ourselves up early evening and head downstairs for dinner, maybe a show or some music, a few more cocktails. We had very low expectations of P&O but honestly? It was absolutely fine. The adults only area and sun deck above it at the aft were lovely spots to relax and read. The food was fine, nothing set our world on fire but the choice of 3 different MDR cuisines kept things interesting, and we had a lovely meal with wonderful service in the 'fine dining' restaurant. One of the bars was pretty rowdy of an evening but there were more relaxed alternatives, and movies showing on the pool deck. There was a wonderful little gin bar on Encounter, I don't know if it's on your ship though.

I haven't been myself but have read lots of information on this ahead of my own cruise next winter. The general advice seems to be that it will be cold on boarding day and the first sea day, and turn nice over the course of the second sea day. Lovely and warm in Mexico then cold again by the time you wake up on your final sea day. So I'll be packing a bit of everything, and things that can easily be layered.

Thanks chengkp75, I really appreciate the time you took to look into it and reply again.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like it's more complex than we hoped. We're travelling in Sri Lanka, I'm quite confident that the logistics would work re: land travel but it's a moot point if the cruise line isn't going to allow it. I'll have another look at private tours and see if we can make something work. It's just a little annoying as we'd be headed halfway to the next port stop then have to double back on ourselves to return to the ship, when we could have relaxed, stayed the night, travelled the rest of the way at at a leisurely pace the next day.

Hello, I'm hoping someone will have advice or, even better, experience of this. My upcoming cruise stops at 2 ports on consecutive nights which are in the same country and about 4 hours apart by road or rail. We are particularly interested in a place about halfway between the two. The ship doesn't offer an excursion there and we feel it's a bit risky to travel that far and back in a day. Would it be possible to leave the ship behind at the first port, stay overnight on land and then join the ship at the second port the following evening? I understand I'd need permission from the ship, does anyone know what the process would be and how likely it is to be approved? I imagine we could 'accidentally on purpose' miss getting back on the first port but do not want to do that! Thank you.

There are ATMs at the airport.