Tin can

I've also found that to be the case previously, stateroom only for football, but on our Explorer cruise last August the majority of passengers were Italian/Spanish and UK Premier League and European football was shown continuously at all the bars. I bumped into some disgruntled US guests who wanted some baseball highlights but the football won and remained on in the sports bar type place (I forget its actual name on Explorer)

Not been to Ensenada but it has to be more popular than Nassau. We are from the UK but our last few cruises that stopped at Nassau virtually no US folk got off the ship.

We stayed in Venice two nights and got the train from Venice to Ravenna changing at Bologna as the post above and spent a night in Ravenna which was great. The train was so easy and we booked Tranitala 'Executive' to Bologna (google it 🙂) which is like first class on a plane and we had lunch and drinks served at our seat for I think about 55 Euros each. The following morning in Ravenna Royal laid on coaches to the port and we just gave our name and it was charged to our room, I recall this being about $10. On our cruise FB group there was a lot of panicking about a Venice pre cruise stay and then how to get to the port. We were a bit worried but we booked a hotel opposite the train station on the Grand Canal in Venice which was an easy walk from the bus dropping you off from the airport and then after our stay in Venice it was easy to get the train. Overall the train was so easy and I think better than a 3 hour RCI bus transfer from Venice. The cruise was great as well 😀

Any new ship from Royal in my opinion has insanely high prices. The market for these high prices is obviously there as people are booking them but it isn't as big as the average Joe market (for want of better expression). Are very wealthy cruisers going to return to the same ships and itineraries time and again when they can always afford the next new thing? I have never sailed with them but I just find it interesting that MSC adopts a completely different business model and is completely and very aggressively in 'average Joe' territory with regards to pricing.

Thats interesting, is the smoke free casino a new development. We last sailed from Southampton in 2022 and I'm sure the casino had smokers in it.

We have taken the train from London Waterloo to Southampton before, no changes and took about one hour and twenty minutes from memory. Just my opinion but it is a more comfortable option than 2 hrs on a National Express coach where actually getting out of London and on to the M3 can be very busy but the train will likely be more expensive.

Thats an interesting move Not just in the UK, we were in New York last Easter before a cruise on Anthem and MSC advertising was everywhere. Every time we turned the TV on in the hotel there was an advert, they had the biggest billboard in Time Square and they sponsored the Knicks basketball game we attended. We were all given MSC hats and our son was given MSC chocolate. They even had adverts on the side of the road to Cape Liberty....

We have done things slightly differently a couple of times. When we have had a long wait for an international flight we have got an Uber to Manhattan and a left luggage office near Times Square I think it was. Left our bags and spent the day sightseeing in Manhattan and even the taxi there and a taxi back to Newark was a lot cheaper than Royals ‘airport drop off’.

I would expect the majority of the passengers to be European, probably a real mixture from all over Europe and the the UK. The majority of passengers will probably dine later than a Caribbean cruise and I would expect dress to be more formal. European cruises are more port intensive so it will be a different pace and vibe to a Caribbean cruise. June is a good time for you to go as it won't be so hot or crowded as July/August.

Thanks for that, appreciated.

We are definitely going to walk in to town when we are there and are expecting company when we leave the port area. Would you mind letting me know please what you tipped him.

I’d be amazed if people aren’t starting to leave the ship an hour after it docks in Piraeus. I don’t think I have ended a cruise anywhere in Europe where it has taken the 2+ hours mentioned above so maybe that was US port specific. The port is large though so it could take you half an hour to get to the berth for your ferry.

Interesting, I’m from the UK and found New York departing cruises lively with a crowd out for a good time but never experienced any overly rude behaviour. I’m not saying folks don’t wear shorts on any North East departing cruise but the standard of dress (for want of a better word) is significantly higher from New York than typical Florida departing cruises. Not that it matters and I’m not concerned either way but that’s always been our experience.

Not completely true in Europe and certainly not in the UK. Any Royal ship sailing from the New York area we have always found quite formal as well.

That is very unfortunate, we tend to cruise popular times and have got a reservation every night as long as we are totally flexible and can work around suite/pinnacle bookings. One night we can be the first in and the next the last table 😀 which makes it interesting.

We were on Explorer over the summer (same itinerary as you by the looks of your signature) so you got me wondering if we actually missed free breakfast 😀

I'm not sure they do breakfast on Explorer, I think that is just on Oasis class. The cost is reasonable though as you say and Diamond drink vouchers work for the milkshakes.

Just for reference it is one bottle of wine per adult of 'drinking age'. Obvious I know but I once caught the tail end of a conversation someone was having with security where a Mum and Dad with a couple of kids around 14 years old were trying to take four bottles of wine onboard. They were arguing that the two kids being over 12 are classified and charged for as adults by Royal. Some people 😀

Yes agreed, it's a very quiet afternoon at my business here in the UK and I have looked into this. I genuinely thought if the seven short one long alarm went off it was abandon ship but as you rightly point out it is to round us up for further instruction. I clearly need to pay more attention to the muster drills 😀

If it went off in a real emergency surely if you are being summoned to leave your cabin and attend your muster station it must be a consideration by the Captain otherwise why would he/she sound the alarm. To be honest though I don't know, its not something I have ever thought about before this thread..

I think it might be a possibility if you are being summoned to your muster station.

I disagree slightly, abandoning ship is that serious I would expect the Captain to have to consciously unlock something to activate it after reviewing the incident, consulting the coast guard and emergency services and probably Royal Caribbean HQ. Perhaps its me but I dont expect it to be an easily accessible button that someone could get mixed up with something else or your could accidentally activate it by leaning on it for example. Who knows though.

Mind boggling to think it can go off by mistake, I would have thought that with something as serious as 'abandon ship' that there would be a very strict procedure to activate it and it you couldn't do it accident.

I've never sailed with them but I think it's more a case of the problems that MSC are posing Royal in Europe with regards to pricing and itineraries. Just my opinion but this is coming your way in the States, I think it's obvious the ultimate goal for them is dominance in the US market.

Yes Royal will make an immediate return on a fleet of Utopias doing three nights to Nassau and Coco Cay but people will get fed up of that. I see it now in Nassau, on Anthem last Easter most of the New Yorkers couldn't be bothered getting off the ship. Just my opinion but this type of thinking is seriously leaving the door open for MSC.