Lindypops

We arrive on maiden voyage on 10 November, so will let you know how long it takes.

In my experience immigration can take up to 2 hours so hope it will be better in this new terminal. Hopefully they will have more than 2 officers working. 😳😳

Linda

Being from the UK this tipping business is confusing.

If you tip in cash does the server get to keep the cash or do they have to hand it in?

Do they have to pay tax on the tips?

Linda

We felt it harked back to the us and them days of sailing.

Lots of places where you were not allowed to go unless you were the correct class.

Also as was pointed out to us on the transatlantic you are not a guest you are a passenger and this is not a cruise it is a voyage.

It did feel a bit like a care home.

We did the QM2 transatlantic back in January this year and did not find it difficult to go back to RCI and Celebrity.

We found the QM 2 to be very grand decor wise but very sedate. The layout of the ship was very confusing lots of little alley ways and steps to get from one end to the other, very hard for anyone with walking problems, and there were a lot on our sailing.

The age range was 70 plus in the main . Entertainment was OK in the theatre but in the bars it was a string quartet or a harp and most people were asleep anyway. The ship was virtually empty by 9 pm most evenings .

The staff were very unhappy and sometimes very rude, we got the impression they were coming to the end of their contracts and just wanted to get off .

We never saw any officers walking round the ship or even the captain.

We loved getting dressed up every night and found people dressed up even on non formal nights. Men needed a jacket to eat in the MDR every night.

QE may be a different ship but I do think Cunard attracts an older clientele .

Our expectation was that Cunard would be a step up as far as service, luxury and quality of food, but to be honest we have had better on RCI and Celebrity.

As for the weather in November it will be cool/ cold maybe 10 C during the day and you may get rain, there should not be snow but who knows.

Firstly we are from the UK and things may be different here than in the USA.

Here is my experience trying to use a future cruise voucher.

In booked a decide later future cruise on a previous cruise paying 75 USD.

Back in February this year I rang my TA and got a price for a cruise when I mentioned the future cruise voucher she said it could notbe used as the price they had quoted included other offers including 100 USD on board credit. I then called RCI and the price they quoted using the future cruise voucher was the equivalent of more than 200 USD more than the TA.

I recently did the same exercise for a cruise next year and the TA price without the future cruise voucher and RCI price with the voucher was exactly the same with the same on board credit . Also I still had to pay the balance of the deposit of GBP 150 per person.

I can see no advantage in spending USD75 upfront as there does not appear to be any benefit.

In my experience here in the UK you get abetter deal from a good TA, as they will usually split their commission , rather than the cruise company.

Linda

I love the idea that once you have paid a deposit you can change your booking if you see a price drop.

I have never heard of that in the UK , has anyone from the UK ever done this?

I was under the impression once you had paid the deposit your had entered into a final contract , is that not the case?

I know if you have to cancel you do not get your deposit back , that is what you need travel insurance for right from when you book.

Also I would be interested to hear if anyone from the UK has tried to us a future booking certificate bought on a previous cruise when they have booked another cruise.

Every time I have tried to use mine the travel agent comes up with a better deal than if I had used the future cruise certificate.

Thanks

Linda

Small world I know the business but not the owners:D

Have you been invited to the pre maiden on 31 October?

Linda and mike

Should say

Loving all the pictures on other threads:rolleyes:

Linda and mike

I also am on the 2 nov 2014 maiden voyage and have been able to book shows, dinners and character breakfast.

Loving all they tires which are on the other threads, I think we will have an amazing time.

Just our of interest where are you from heatherb1958?

We are in WhaleyBridge.

Linda and Mike

Is a taxi the only way we are going to get from the ship into Manhattan?

Are there shuttle type vans at the port or any larger vehicle which we could share with another couple?

Thanks

You got that right.... One time at Bayonne, we were apparently too slow with the tip.. The porter reminded us in his heavy NY/NJ accent that they work for tips.... :rolleyes: Besides, if you did not tip them, you luggage "might" get mis-placed..... :eek:

We are arriving in NY on Quantum of the seas in November and would appreciate some advice on tipping.

Do the porters get a wage or do they only get the tips?

If they get a wage what amount per hour is it likely to be.

The same questions also apply to servers in restaurants and bars.

You help would be appreciated.

In the UK we do not have the quite the same culture. Anyone in a job has to be paid at least the minimum wage which is around about 9 USD an hour. So if the service is good a 10 % tip is the norm.

thanks

I just booked the maiden voyage on Quantum in November.

I contacted 3 travel agents and they all said the price they were offering was much less than the price I would have to pay even taking into account the on board credit, if I wanted to use the future cruise certificate.

I also looked at the price RCI were asking and that was about 30 % more than the travel agents were asking.

Why did I buy the future cruise certificate? looks like it is worthless.

Linda

Everything I have seen or read indicates that the vouchers are intended to complement the Diamond Lounge, not replace it. There is more to enjoy in the lounge than just free drinks.

I totally agree that there is more to enjoy in the lounge.

I have also read that they will add all the benefits, which used to be in the voucher booklet , onto our Seapass cards.

We have booked the maiden voyage on Nov 2 and no one has told us that we need to make reservations for the shows or the complimentary dining.

I have only found this out by reading this thread.

I understand you can usually make reservation pre cruise for speciality dining but as this new dining system has only just been introduced I would have thought RCL would explain to us all what we need to do . By the sound of it information has been sent to USA and Canadian reservations but here in the UK I have received nothing. Also the phone number in the thread is a USA number.

If we do not make reservation does that mean we could be refused entry to every dining option as they are fully booked ,except the windjammer? I certainly hope not.

I agree with a previous post that we want a relaxing cruise ,one where we can please ourselves when we dine and which shows we see not one where our every move has to be booked in advance.

The show booking system just encourages people to book for everything and then probably not turn up for half of the booking. Presumably if there are spare seats at some point they let the folks in who have not booked.

It will be very interesting to see how it works out but I am a little apprehensive.

Thanks that is great

What will be the cocktail hours times ?

I think last RCL we were on they were 6 until 8.30 .

This has been discussed on several threads and has been in place on several ships for a couple of months now. It is expected to be rolled out to all ships by this fall.

 

Three drink coupons per day good during the normal Diamond Club cocktail hours are pre-loaded on your SeaPass card that are valid at any bar on the ship.

 

The thought is that this is a way to reduce the crowding on many ships in the Diamond Club. To date there is no report that I am aware of regarding any change to the unlimited drinks available in the Diamond Club.

 

We were just on Grandeur this past week and there were no pre-loaded coupons in affect on that ship yet.

Do you mean you get 3 preloaded drinks and unlimited drinks in the diamond lounge during the event hours?

Does anyone know if Diamond lounge will be replaced by the voucher system on Quantum?

Or does it depend how many diamonds and above are on the ship?

If they give vouchers does that mean there is no diamond lounge event in the evening?

thanks

thanks for the link Andy.

I was not really asking for recommendations but more for people's experiences getting last minute deals.

here in the UK it is often better to go through a local travel agent than contact the cruise line directly .

We live in the Uk but will be spending a month in Florida later this year.

What would be the best way of finding a last minute cruise deal when we are in the USA?

Should we call the cruise company direct or is there a good website we could us or should we contact a travel agent near where we are staying?

thanks

Thank you for your help. :)

We are arriving in NYC on 22 Dec on the westbound TA from Southampton and are going to do "self-disembarkation". We have a car booked to take us into Manhattan at 10:00 am.

 

We don't want to get off too late....or too early and end up hanging around for the car.

 

How long does it take to get off the ship and through customs & immigration?

Hi,

we are doing the reverse cruise on jan 3rd and I an having a problem finding a car company who will take us from NY to the cruise terminal in Brooklyn, a couple I have contacted were unwilling to do it.

Who have you booked with please

Thanks

linda

Still not working today cannot believe they do not have a contingency plan to roll back the system.

I worked in IT for 41 years and you never roll out a new system or a major upgrade without a back out plan.

They need to sack their IT provider :mad:

I have tried the .co.uk site and .com and both give me the same message

We are unable to handle your request due to system maintenance. Please try again later.

Is anyone else having trouble logging in to manage my booking on celebrities website?

I have been trying for over a week and keep getting a message saying system is under maintenance.

I have called celebrity and they say they had had problems with an new upgrade , that was wednesday last week, but it is still down today Sunday 3rd Nov.

Anyone else tried to look at their reservation?

We have been very impressed with the Diamond Club Lounges on RCL. Service and staff usually outstanding.

Have not been to a Captain Club Lounge yet

We will be on the Constellation in March. How do the Lounges compare? Celebrity as nice as RCL?

We have just returned from Equinox , our first Celebrity cruise! we are Diamond plus on RCL.

The elite lounge evening event was in half the Constellation bar on the top deck great views,but very cold and not at all social, people sat in small groups and did not mingle like in the RCL event. It happened between 5 and 7 pm RCL is usually from 5 until 8.30. We have never had to get our own drinks on RCL there has always been a waiter.

Michaels was reserved for special guests by invitation only.

the drinks list in the Elite evening is more restricted than the diamond plus lounge but better than the diamond .

We did not do the breakfast as it was only continental unlike RCL who have a full served menu in the diamond breakfast.

In general we found Elite benefits were not as good as Diamond on RCL.

However we have booked another Celebrity cruise in February on Equinox so that will be interesting to see if things are different on a newer and bigger ship.