EmilyJay

Hi, hoping someone can shed some light on this... Booked a cruise (woohoo) and chose MTD, always done it and love it. However, the times are not what they used to be and on our specific cruise MTD doesn't start til 7pm which for us is a little late/ clashes with some shows. I e-mailed RCL dining and asked to change to TD (we don't have a TA, we did a DIY jobby) and the response I got was explaining how MTD dining works and you can't reserve a table prior to sailing ... Which isn't the response I was expecting nor a reply to the question I asked. Is e-mailing the right way to go about swapping, I'm sure I've read on here you can do that? Or will I need to wait it out until we board and go to the dining room then and hope there is space to swap? Thanks all.

Hi, 1. Yes RCI do have promotions for UK sailings, it's a case of looking out for them or going through a TA who can find them for you or offer you an incentive. You can wait for Black Friday, I have seen many offers however it just depends whether you want to wait and hope something comes up. But overall, yes there are offers. 2. B2B should be easy enough to book. As UKWLDCruise said they are marked as Cruise A + B and this is true of a brochure I picked up from my local TA it's all labelled and clear for those wanting to book a B2B. Again, less hassle book via a TA for this type of cruise, they'll sort you out and try and get you the same room if possible. 3. Flights again it's up to you. That's a personal preference I think and whether you want to search for best prices/ times etc. 4. Yeah drinks package is expensive I totally agree.... I've a cruise booked and the price of the drinks package has gone up and down massively depending on sales/ holidays etc. The lowest I've seen was $63 so far ... Best time to book drinks packages is Black Friday / when there is an American holiday. As mentioned if you book it at 1 price and see it lower you can cancel, get refunded and rebook at a lower price. Onboard drinks vary in price a cocktail is around $11-13 onboard so it's working out roughly if you'd drink more or the same as the drinks package price or much less and buying 1 drink at a time would be more cost effective. We've decided to not buy the drinks package on this cruise. If you book through a TA you could see if this is an incentive they offer? We booked our last UK cruise through a TA and they were amazing, they sorted everything and answered any questions we had.. We sailed during Covid as cruises had started up and they just made life so much easier. Usually I book myself and sort everything myself, but I would definitely go through a TA again.

Thanks for your reply... I'm 100% with you on this in the fact this trip is for the place more than the ship. My previous cruises have been more about the ship.

Hi, Happy 4th July! We are looking into our first Alaskan cruise in 2023 and are debating between Ovation or Enchantment. Both have good itinerates which doesn't help make the decision any easier, I've only sailed the larger ships... Navigator being the smallest I've been on and the other person is a first time cruiser. I guess I'd like to know if anyone has sailed Enchantment lately and know whether it's in good condition/ what are the onboard activities like? TIA.

Hi, We are planning an Alaskan Cruise.... The only months we can go are June or September 2023, with September being the better month for us to travel. We had finally picked the cruise we wanted which falls in mid-late September when I discovered some "horror" stories of sailings in September and people warning you off it. Can anyone shed a bit more light on what it's like to sail Alaska at this time of year? Sailing from/to Seattle... Rain and cold does not bother us at all, we're more concerned about very rough seas and the chances of missing ports. Weather is unpredictable I know and there are always chances of missing ports.... However, if anyone has sailed at this time of year what was your experience, if you missed ports were they replaced with a different one? Our other option is a beginning of September cruise or 2 in June with slightly different itineraries than what we ideally wanted. Just trying to weigh up what's our better option but in need of some help. TIA.

Oh no! How many ports has this specific cruise now had cancelled? I have family members onboard (they don't have internet so can't get updates) but I know how excited they were to explore this itinerary, as I'm sure everyone was. Totally understand weather problems and that can't be helped but gutted for everyone onboard at missing so many ports.