daveb714

I can’t say for sure but when I took the cruise starting in Japan, they did check our Vietnam visa before boarding. 

For residence address I put Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship. The things RCCL said on their email don’t seem to completely match what was on the E-Visa form but the visa was granted to enter Vietnam.  If I remember correctly the form said entering at Nha Trang Seaport and leaving at Ho Chi Minh Seaport but I could be mistaken about the exact names.  

I was the one that asked the original question and I wasn’t willing to risk showing up without a visa. I did the E-visa. It was a simple online process and I had my visa in 5 days. 

In August I am traveling on a Royal Caribbean Cruise that stops in Vietnam along with several other countries.  I know that Vietnam requires a Visa for US citizens but I am trying to determine if this will be provided on the ship on arrival to Vietnam.  I found one topic on Cruise Critic that says it will be provided on the ship but I really want to see something in writing from Royal Caribbean.  I called Royal Caribbean and they referred me to Visa Central.  Visa Central said the Visa would be provided on the ship but I still have nothing in writing.  Is anyone able to point me to something from Royal Caribbean that specifically says they will provide a Visa.  If I can't find something in writing, I feel like I need to apply for a Visa through normal channels.  Hopefully someone can help.

I was looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise next year leaving from Tokyo and ending in Singapore.  Before I had the opportunity to book the cruise most of the cruises on the ship (Spectrum of the Seas) disappeared from the web site.  I called Royal Caribbean and they could not explain what happened and they noted that there was now an 11 month gap for cruises on this ship.  He just recommended I keep checking back.  Can anyone give any insight on what might have happened to all those cruises?

In the event that they do reappear, I was interested in hearing from people who have done a cruise like that.  I believe the ship is permanently based in Asia and I'm wondering how different that experience will be.  Are the food choices and entertainment different than ships based outside of Asia?  Will I find it much different than cruises in other parts of the world?

I was looking into a Royal Caribbean cruise next year leaving from Tokyo and ending in Singapore.  Before I had the opportunity to book the cruise most of the cruises on the ship (Spectrum of the Seas) disappeared from the web site.  I called Royal Caribbean and they could not explain what happened and they noted that there was now an 11 month gap for cruises on this ship.  He just recommended I keep checking back.  Can anyone give any insight on what might have happened to all those cruises?

In the event that they do reappear, I was interested in hearing from people who have done a cruise like that.  I believe the ship is permanently based in Asia and I'm wondering how different that experience will be.  Are the food choices and entertainment different than ships based outside of Asia?  Will I find it much different than cruises in other parts of the world?

I know there are a lot of posts about Coronavirus but I thought I’d throw my question out there to get some opinions. I am scheduled to cruise from Vancouver to Japan in September 2020. Obviously nobody knows what the progression of the disease will be but I’m curious about everyones opinions are on whether they’d still plan on taking the cruise. If it came time to make final payment  and the disease was still an issue, what would you do?  My cruise is on Royal Caribbean and so far they haven’t canceled out that far but who knows what will happen. I know nobody has all the answers but I’m wondering what others think. 

Next year we will be taking a cruise from Vancouver to Yokohama Japan.  When we leave the ship in Yokohama, our plan is to take the train to Hiroshima and later back to Tokyo.  We are planning on purchasing a Japan Rail pass for our train travel.  We understand that we need to purchase the rail pass before entering the country and picking it up when we arrive.  Can anyone give me information about where I can pick up the train pass near the cruise terminal?  Also, can anyone tell me where we would be able to board the train?

Did you run into an issues on your cruise? I really hope not.

Not at all. We would occasionally see contractors walking around but they were not disruptive. A couple times I heard power tools but that could happen on any cruise. Based on the amount of trash they were dumping at our ports, there was work being done behind the scenes but it did not cause any problems.

I am sailing on the Mariner of the Seas out of Dubai on April 22, 2018. After my cruise, Mariner of the Seas is going into dry dock for a major refurbishment. I just received an email from the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Member Director regarding my cruise. In addition to providing some information about the Crown and Anchor benefits, they said:

"Lastly, we will be getting a head start on Mariner’s makeover, so you may encounter some work underway on the last voyage before arriving in Barcelona. While this should not impact your vacation, we wanted to make sure you are aware of our plans. Our staff will do their best to accommodate you while onboard, and if normal operations are affected, we'll make sure you know as soon as possible via detailed in-stateroom communications. In the meantime, you can visit our Crown & Anchor Society website to review your member benefits. Thank you for your understanding."

At the time I made my reservations, I had done some research and according to Royal Caribbean's website, Mariner was supposed to be refurbished in 2017 so I had no idea this was going to be going on during my cruise. After seeing the recent news stories about the Norwegian Sun, I have some real concerns about the "head start" they will be getting on the refurbishment.

Has anyone had any experiences with this type of work on a cruise?

QUOTE

I am sailing on the Mariner of the Seas out of Dubai on April 22, 2018. After my cruise, Mariner of the Seas is going into dry dock for a major refurbishment. I just received an email from the Royal Caribbean Crown and Anchor Society Member Director regarding my cruise. In addition to providing some information about the Crown and Anchor benefits, they said:

"Lastly, we will be getting a head start on Mariner’s makeover, so you may encounter some work underway on the last voyage before arriving in Barcelona. While this should not impact your vacation, we wanted to make sure you are aware of our plans. Our staff will do their best to accommodate you while onboard, and if normal operations are affected, we'll make sure you know as soon as possible via detailed in-stateroom communications. In the meantime, you can visit our Crown & Anchor Society website to review your member benefits. Thank you for your understanding."

At the time I made my reservations, I had done some research and according to Royal Caribbean's website, Mariner was supposed to be refurbished in 2017 so I had no idea this was going to be going on during my cruise. After seeing the recent news stories about the Norwegian Sun, I have some real concerns about the "head start" they will be getting on the refurbishment.

Has anyone had any experiences with this type of work on a cruise?

We sailed between Dubai and the Med four times on the Ocean Princess. We never had any problems. We did have a Pirate Drill prior to entering the area where there are pirates.

 

We did not have to blackout like one person reported on this recent cruise.

Hi Paul, I'm wondering when you sailed to the region. Has the environment gotten better or worse since you were last there?

We are currently booked on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas on a re-positioning cruise. It begins in Dubai and goes through the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean. It ends in Barcelona. Now we saw the recent story in the news about the Princess Cruise where they were blacked out every night for 10 nights because of the threat of pirates. We also read a story about an incident in Israel where shrapnel ended up on a cruise ship while docked there (where we also stop). We are now considering cancelling and taking a cruise from Sydney, Australia to Fiji. We think the mid-east cruise would be fascinating but we are now worried. Any thoughts on what we should do?