clemcruiser

How much do you like being stressed on your last day of the cruise holiday? Do you like having a relaxed breakfast, and getting off knowing that if there is a bit of a line your blood pressure will not be going up?

You also need to consider the fact that it is probably cheaper as few others want to go at that time slot. If you miss that flight is it easy to get on another one without sitting around for hours waiting?

Call me a cynic, but if it costs a cent more then I don't believe they would be buying it. As far as sourcing supplies, there is a lot of food purchased locally when they are based here for the Australian season.

It would be more likely that a smaller specialty cruise ship line would be leading the way in being organic. Are there any of those higher end lines selling themselves as providing the organic ethical experience?

In the country we don't see many cruise ads either, although half of town seemed to be away on one at some time or other last season (me too!).

If you got some of the farming adverts, with lice, worms and other interesting subjects, you might find the cruise ads less annoying! ;)

My opinion - the cost of the flowers is a poor compensation, they owe you the cost to start with. Cost plus dinner maybe? If that had been offered very early in the piece it may have settled the issue for you.

Also I think the assistant manager was very gutsy to actually own up that they had stolen your flowers, and I totally agree, this "mistake" wording is bull. They stole them fair and square and I can only presume that they thought you might actually find out where they had gone. Denial is very strong on most ships from our experience, and to have done that is beyond the pale.

I hope you did enjoy the rest of the trip, but from someone that has had experience with what others consider something to let go, it can get right under your skin.

I think it is a pretty basic honesty issue. The cost of the flowers is not just what is at stake, it is the overall trust in a person that could blatantly do that without hesitation. What other actions are they involved in that "are not worth a lot"? Maybe the assistant manager didn't think through all of the implications of what has happened.

I think most of the crew on board all the ships are very keen to keep their jobs and are on the whole honest, and a bad apple like this is very bad for the reputation of the line.

Do let us know what the outcome is.

I don't know all the ins and outs of the rules for your example, but I would like to suggest some ideas to consider.

I AM TALKING FROM MY LIMITED EXPERIENCE WITH AUSSIE RULES ONLY.

I would book direct with RCI so that you are in control of your booking. Most (not all) travel agents here charge some sort of fee for making booking changes and cancellations, and Royal will not speak to you if your booking is with a TA. If the TA tells you that you can't have some sort of change/deal then you have no way of asking to be escalated to a higher level at RCI. You have to take what they say.

Be very aware of the difference between "final payment date", and "no penalty cancellation" dates. They are totally different.

Royal will usually not allow for a change of booking from one ship to another, they will insist you cancel your booking and start a new booking. Just in case you were thinking you could transfer your deposit after the no fee cancelation date. They are very uncompromising with us in Aus. This has also applied when looking at changing anything on a booking from my experience. Aussie rules are so different from USA rules. And they keep changing them.

Have you considered adjoining rooms instead. What setup is the Family Oceanview? Would all the adults actually be comfortable in the configuration? Two adjoining rooms can give you two bathrooms, and larger bedding if the configuration is for bunks/pullmans or pull our sofa beds? The children can sleep in their space without the adults waking them if they want to watch TV or whatever.

I think it may be an idea to book the grandparents in a separate room so that if your husband can come, they may still like to come as well? That is your call.

Sometimes the multi occupancy rooms are more cramped than people think, and the extra people in the room are not saving a lot compared to the extra space of even some being in an inside across the hall.

I was just doing a check of the prices as I am keen to go on the 9 December cruise

Thanks for the info. I have been keeping an eye in some NZ Solstice cruises also, but the cost of flying to NZ adds a fair bit to the deal. The NZ cruises that start and finish in Syd are so much more expensive though. Would like to spend more time in NZ if flying over there, but can't take the extra time off in the near future, maybe down the track.

I was hoping to see some change to the pricing with them maybe dropping the BBB offers and making available a flat price. I like the idea of the drink package thrown in, but would be interested to see the comparison without it if they ever offered it. Anyhow, we shall keep looking!

On the Celebrity Solstice 9 December 2016 sailing there is only a 20% single supplement on every Category. This reduced single supplement can be booked with Celebrity direct or with a travel agent within Australia.

That is a good special for single. Is it only that date where that single special applies? Where did you find out about that, if you can say, no probs if you can't. :)

I believe that over time and a quantity of cruises, things seem to go stale whether they actually are is a different story. Meaning, spice is the variety of life. When one repeats the same thing over & over, whatever it is, it can, does become mundane, old hat etc.

 

Just my thoughts.

Agree! No expectations on the first cruise, and then comparisons as time goes on. We have asked ourselves that question also.

Maybe that is part of the answer as to why we have started to feel like the new cruisers are more the target of the cruise lines these days. We call it "being cruised out" and think it may be time for changing it up a bit also. Might even go and stay with some family. That will get us back to appreciating a cruise again!

We were on a B-2-B aboard Explorer last year (out of Southampton), where they ran out of white Zin by about day 3-4 on each cruise. Even ran out of Jameson's by the end of the second cruise. :eek: Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. :)

 

N Ray H

Sometimes they do run out. That made me go a bit pale! Our two regular drinks :) We found on Voyager last year that Kahlua was not available at a couple of bars, which I was looking to pay for, not get as part of the C&A. There does always seem to be something else available that would be just fine though ;)

Bit upset right now.

BA managed to deliver one suitcase..... But not the one with the presents. It's still at Heathrow.

And their CS agent hung up on me.

And it's cold and raining.

In cab.

Sigh.

Oh dear :( Post cruise blues....A friend got me onto your blog, and I have so enjoyed it. I hope the other case gets home soon and that looking over this thread again will make you smile in a few days. It will be cold and raining here soon too. ;)

Have been looking a lot since seeing the week of 21st March somewhere, so I hope the mid April date comes up with something. They seem to muck around with this each year?

It will be interesting to see what happens next. We have booked a nice cruise with the 2 perks plus the balcony free upgrade offer the other week. It was to an obstructed, but it all added up pretty well. :)