Mick B

Hi, Just one thing about Spectra. If you can, try to get a seat upstairs (If you are D+, Pinnacle or in a Suite then there are seats reserved for you) and remember all seats become available just before the show starts anyway. The reason I suggest this is because of the layout of the 270, some of the downstairs seating may be in areas where parts of the show occur at the side or behind you causing you to have to keep turning and missing other parts. This show not only has multiple people on multiple stages, but also has those large LCD screens displaying stuff too. Also, the show is quite loud so sitting upstairs is just about right. Like I said in a previous post, the show makes no sense, but it is entertaining! No spoilers here! IIRC the quickest way to get upstairs is to enter with the main downstairs seating and then take the stairs to your left as you enter. Enjoy! Mick.

Well, I can tell you this, my wife and I enjoyed our TA last October on the Anthem. I can see why some UK people may be unhappy, my main reason is that although I think the Anthem is a OK ship, she is not as nice as the old Indy was and I do miss that ship. Now although the Anthem is bigger and more modern, there was always something special about the Indy. I do enjoy Spectra's Cabaret and have seen it many times and still don't really get it, but I don't care, I just find it highly entertaining if also a bit weird. Now the only issue I have with "We Will Rock You" is the length - it is nearly 2 hours compared to other shows on other ships which are less than half that time. I have seen this a few times on the Anthem and also Grease on the Indy and I seem to prefer Grease due to its running time. I know they sometimes put "We Will Rock You" on during the day to allow everyone to see it but that then means you miss out on the lovely weather (if somewhere far away from the UK that is!). My first every RCL cruise was on the Indy back in 2008 when she was still the biggest ship and I have been on her more than any other ship and miss her so. I have been on the smaller ships too, but I just prefer the layout of the Indy to the Anthem. Maybe that is a reason why so many UK folk are unhappy, maybe they want their old friend the Indy back! Also, I preferred the Diamond lounge on the Indy - on top of the ship with great views and a outside section too compared to the Anthem which is a fairly smallish room near the Theatre with a few windows. Although the Anthem has the Ifly and Northstar, these can prove difficult to book and are also weather restricted (and weight restricted too so don't wait until the end of your cruise to try them!) and do at times have a cost to use them (depend on the homeport I think). The Indy has (or did have) Golf and the Ice Rink. You used to get a couple of nice Ice shows per cruise and they did the Quest in there too. Food wise, My TA was in an Interior so I had dinner in one of the MDR's and the food was much better than the first cruise I had on her in 2019. In 2021 I managed to bag a JS so go the chance to eat in the Coastal Kitchen for dinner and did so every night and that was excellent. This was due to the cruise being a UK only cruise with basically UK only cruisers and running at 25% capacity due to you know what!. I doubt now we are back to normal booking a JS would guarantee entry to the Coastal Kitchen that much (due to Pinnacle and GS guests) and this restaurant was the best thing I found on the ship. Another thing is the Schooner Bar - is it just me or has anyone else every noticed that the bigger the ship, the smaller the Schooner Bar is. On Vision class it is a long room with many seats. On the Indy is was near the front between the Casino and the Theatre, but the one on the Anthem just doesn't feel like a Schooner Bar compared to the others and seems to be far away from anything else that happens. As for sunbeds, I don't like the sun (or should I say my skin doesn't) so I don't spend too much time in it. However, when the weather is nice, I do like to have a drink at the North Star Bar but trying to get one of those nice cushion seats is almost impossible as there was always someone hogging a whole load of them or they have stuff left on them. I do enjoy the Dodgems (sorry Bumper Cars) but as I am now approaching 60, my body may not take too many bumps! I also like the Solarium on the Anthem too but even though it is quite large, getting a bed in there can prove difficult at times too. I think the Royal Promenade on the Indy is better than the Anthem and I always enjoyed the 70s disco night there. The inside of the Anthem reminds me a bit of a shopping centre, but without the shops - although there are a few nearer the Theatre end. My favourite bar on the Anthem is the Vintages near the 270 as the staff are great and I have met some really nice folk in there. The version on the Indy is not as good and the last cruise we were on result in people pushing and shoving, so I enjoyed the Champagne Bar more on the Indy as there were fewer rude people in it. That now brings me to another thing. It doesn't matter what the ship is, doesn't matter where its going, doesn't matter what it cost as these 3 things are controlled by you. The one thing you cannot control (unless you buy every ticket) is the other cruisers who are joining you. Maybe its just me again, but I actually enjoy cruises out of the USA and Spain and Italy more than the UK. Is the the people? Maybe, Is it the weather? maybe. Is it because they are normally cheaper? maybe. It is all of these reasons? Possibly! I am usually just happy to be on a ship sailing somewhere and happy that I can afford to do it and happy that I have my health to do it too. I just hope the cruise lines keep the prices low enough for others like me to enjoy this type of holiday and not return cruising to just the well off. I have encountered my fair share of rude/sad/abusive/entitled etc people on my cruises but I put that down to maths. If 1% of the population are ****heads then if I sail with 4000 people then there will be approx 40 such people on my cruise. Why they all seem to go and find me is what I can't work out! No, seriously, we should all try to enjoy our short time together on board more. There is no reason to be so upset with cruising. Look at all of what you get on board and then tell me where you can find all that on land for the same price! Lastly, I just found another reason why us Brits are so upset and moan all the time - it's part of being British! It's what we do best! Mick.

Yes, the distance from Venice to Trieste is about the same as Ravenna, however, it is just a single train journey between Venice and Trieste and although it takes roughly 2 hours it only costs on average £14 pp (and some of the trains even have first class for just £19 pp) meaning you can get a train at say 10am from Venice and be at the port at around 12 noon. Going from Ravenna means a train from Venice to Bologna very early and then another train to Ravenna which takes about an hour and then a bus or taxi to the ship (which takes about 30 minutes) which in all means this journey takes much longer than the single journey to Trieste and you would be lucky to get to the ship for late lunch! And if one train is late, then you may find having to pay for expensive taxi's to get to the ship in time. I know what it is like as I just did all this a few weeks back and I can tell you that the stress of it was something not needed when going on holiday! I did hear some time back that there was a plan to build a new cruise terminal on the mainland close to Venice, but I think that it would use the same body of water as the lagoon and therefore may cause environmental issues. If anyone else knows anything more about this then please let us know. The sooner we can sail from somewhere closer to Venice as possible the better. Mick.

Hi, I did the opposite at the end of May, Got the train to Ravenna and then got the No.90 bus to the town near the port. I can tell you this, the bus left at 1035 and got me to the port town at 1058. I believe the bus timetable for going the other way is not very good. Although there are many stops listed, my bus did not stop until we got to the port town and moved quite fast, so based on that I can not see how you would make your train using any type of bus as you would also need to find which platform it is going from too which adds a few more minutes, then they sometimes change it at the last minute and only announce it in Italian. Another thing to remember is that some of the roads in Ravenna are one-way, so your bus may have to go further to get to the station than if you were going from it. I have to say that so far, this has been absolutely the worst port I have sailed from (in order to get to). It is just a shame that there isn't anywhere else closer to Venice that is more accessible. Shame somewhere like Trieste couldn't be used instead. I was lucky the other month, Ravenna FS had only re-opened on the day of my cruise and the train was late and got later but I managed to catch my bus with just a few minutes to spare, but this is not the way I want to start or finish my holiday as it adds stress and spoils what should be a great time! Mick.

Hi all, Can't tell you the difference between Carnival and RCL as I have not cruised Carnival. I can tell you that I have cruised RCL 25 times and never had a complaint about what they did. However, having only done 1 P&O cruise to compare them with may explain that. I do, however, have a theory about why RCL is more expensive than other cruise lines - their loyalty program. To give you an idea, I have just booked a 15 night TA next April on the Jewel from Florida to Southampton and it has cost me less than £2000.00 for us both for an Interior cabin. Now as we are both Diamond plus, we get 5 free drinks a day up to the value of $14 and we have 15 nights, so when you do the maths on this (14*5*15*2=$2100 which about £1600), you can see why we don't buy (or need) a drinks package and why we don't sail with another cruise line for now. Now someone has to pay for this, and that is why the prices for RCL are higher than other lines. As far as I know, no other cruise line offers the perks up to the standard that RCL does. In fact you only need to have cruised 80 nights to get to Diamond and get 4 drinks a day. Now if you are not an heavy drinker or you partner does not or cannot drink then a drinks package is a waste of time. If you can manage on 4 or 5 drinks a day (or 8 or 10 if your partner doesn't want them) then what Royal offers in loyalty is a no brainer. You can get up to this level easy if you book a suite and get double points. Although we never cruised for that reason, we did it to enjoy the ports. Now with the new ships, I guess people do it for the ship as well! For now we are happy with what RCL does, and yes there has been a change in the food menus in the MDR but both my wife and I have both just managed a 7 night cruise where we both found something we liked. The food was hot and served promptly with no issues. Entertainment wise, this depends on the class of ship. Oasis have Ice shows and Aqua shows and Quantum have things in the 270. There are also water slides and other outdoor sports stuff which is mostly geared to the younger person/families. The smaller older ships may only offer Golf, Climbing wall and some have a Flowrider. These smaller ships still offer good value and can get into ports that some bigger ships cannot. Again, are you cruising for the ship or cruising for the ports of call, or both? Does the cruise line you prefer go to those ports and if so, what is the price difference with other lines? I have seen some nice cruises for Europe advertised by P&O and at the very low price. Sadly for me, when I factor in what the drinks onboard would cost, that low price suddenly doubles and now I find I am better off with RCL due to my status. Now this won't affect every cruiser, but if you are part of a loyalty program like Royal's then surely that must play a part in your decision making. I have heard both good and bad things about Carnival, but at the moment, have no plans to switch from Royal. However, if at some point in the future the perks go away and ports of call I want to visit are no longer available with them, then I may try another brand. Hope this helps and explains why I think Royal is more expensive.

Hi, Now back in the UK and got access to a keyboard to type. yes, I made the cruise, in fact I was onboard for just after 11am on the Monday. A grand miracle! Firstly, TFL shut the London Underground between Acton Town and LHR so had to change to a bus service with cases. Secondly, my flight to Bologna had a technical issue and we were delayed for 3 hours and didn't get to our hotel until 2200. Luckily there was a nice restaurant round the corner still open on a Sunday night. I went to Bologna Centrale for my 0905 train to Ravenna which was running as the train company said they had just opened Ravenna FS that morning. However 2 minutes before the train was due they switch the platform from 8 to 11 but only announced it in Italian and we only knew what was happening as we watched everyone else on the platform vanish. We made it to the train just as the doors were shutting. The train was running slow and built up a delay (possibly due to track issues from the floods) and pulled in to Ravenna 10 minutes late. I found the ticket office for the no.90 bus and paid the Euro 2.10 each for us. I shown the lady my cases and offered to pay extra for them but she said we would be OK. The bus was in and there was just enough room for all of us. About 4 other couples had chosen to do this bus too. I had googled the roads leading to the port so knew where to get off as a local Italian lady had told some of the other cruisers to get off at the wrong stop and I knew we had to go round the corner. It was a warm dry day and the walk to the ship took about 15 minutes. We entered the terminal and hardly any other passengers were there so walked straight on to the ship. I am sorry if I missed anyone at the Schooner Bar but we normally go there just for the quiz, but all the quizzes were in either Centrum or Spotlight Lounge so only passed through the Schooner to go elsewhere as only a Piano player was on each time we passed through. I was told the ship was full and there were no rooms spare so all my attempts at at a Royal Up were declined - not surprised and not too bothered either as our room was quiet and we managed to get around the ship without any issues. The ship was now starting to look a bit run down in places. The Diamond lounge was never full and we actually went in there for several breakfasts and several happy hours and got the same seats each time. Never been able to do that before. Finally got to get inside the Vatican (via RCI trip) after nearly 20 years of trying. Nice to pay for VIP jump the queue as we could not have waited in the long lines outside. This was the only trip we booked and for that reason. I have now booked a 15 night TA next April on the Jewel from Ft Lauderdale to Southampton for my wife's 60th. I have got my TA to sort the flights, hotels and transfers as I do not ever want a repeat of all the stress sorting this holiday out has caused. Anyway, now things are running correctly again in Italy, It is possible to get the local trains to and from Ravenna FS and Bologna Centrale and get the local no.90 bus to and from the port and Ravenna FS with average sized suitcases. Hope this helps someone else in the future. Mick.

Hi Yes believe it or not but I did make it I will give full details later this week when I get back from Barcelona Mick

Ready for a laugh Royal have now come back to me ref the email I sent them earlier today. Here's the funny thing... At 1656 I got the "Important information about your upcoming Ravenna sailing" telling me about the shuttle transfer service they are now putting on for us on Monday 29th at Bologna Centrale Station. But now at 1732 I have received a email from royalcustomerserviceuk telling me that "We are very sorry to inform you that the reservation is already close. We may not do any changes or add transfers to it" etc etc. Well, before Covid I would call this incompetence or the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing. But post Covid I expect and except that this is the kind of service I am now going to be getting. I am in the process of booking a cruise out of Miami/Fort Lauderdale next year for the wife's 60th. She is not well and gets upset quickly, so a nice relaxing holiday is what she needs because looking at whats going on with next weeks cruise, I doubt that is going to happen! Mick.

Hi all, just received an email from Royal. It now says that there will be shuttle transfer on Monday 29th May 2023 from Bologna Centrale to the cruise ship every 30 mins starting at 10am for $30.00 pp which will charged to your account. So the good news is here that if my train tickets turn out to be worthless at 0905 then I can catch the shuttle later. I suppose this saves on using the no.90 bus as well as knowing my luck the trains will be running to Ravenna and then the buses won't and taxi's will probably cost more to the port than the shuttle service! Hope this helps out anyone else in the same boat as me (sorry again about the pun!) Mick.

Hi all, I have just been in to see my TA with a copy of the leaflet from the ship. My TA contacted Royal (as it could be up to 7 days before they respond to my email I sent them) and he was told by a chap called Brian that there are no issues with public transport or trains at Ravenna at this point in time. My TA agrees with me that the memo sent to passengers possibly may be a simple way to advertise their shuttles to Bologna etc. I will let you know if and when RCI get back to me. I have had no emails from the company I booked my trains with with regard to issues with travelling Monday morning and cannot find any information that either confirms trains are cancelled or running properly either. Mick.

Wow!, thanks for the heads up. I have now emailed my TA yet again with ref to getting from Bologna to the ship as I first asked Royal this question back in November and they said transfers were available but because I had used a TA I needed to go through them and after months of popping in to see them with no result I booked my train from Bologna to Ravenna with the hope of getting the 90 bus to the port. Strange that neither Royal, my TA or the Italian train company have emailed me with regard to changes to Monday's train service. I have logged in to my account with the train company and see that my tickets have not been cancelled. I have checked the trains and cannot find any on Monday to Ravenna before 1650 which is too late and cannot tell if that's because all trains are cancelled or because all the tickets have sold out as there are a load available for tomorrow which I assume means the line is open? There are trains scheduled today from Bologna to Ravenna and tomorrow, some are direct and others have a change at Faenza, so gods know what to expect! Anyway, there are some trains running from Bologna to other stations on Monday such as Faenza and Forli and both these stations seem to have bus services to Ravenna. It will just take a lot longer. Also, I see the bus 90 is timetabled as running as normal on Monday from Ravenna to the port. Also I see there are buses scheduled from the port to Ravenna at 0636, 0825 and 1120 plus others, so whats going on. Have the bus company not updated any cancelled buses or does Royal know or not know something else? In all my years of travelling and cruising, I have never had such a load of trouble with the simple task of getting from a port to a ship as I have with this one. I will let you know what my TA says. Not only have I emailed them, but I have told them I will pop in to see them at lunch. I bet they all go out for lunch at that time! Mick.

Hi, After doing my research for getting to Ravenna, I can tell you getting to Venice by yourself will include having to get either a bus or taxi from the port to Ravenna Train station which could take up to 50 mins then a train from Ravenna to Bologna which is just over an hour and then a train to Venice which is approx an hour and a half, so not really an option if you just want to go there for the day. However, if your only option other than the cruise companies drop off at Venice city centre is the cruise companies drop off at Marco Polo airport, then as someone who has flown into it many times, I can tell you that you have the expensive option of water taxi to the main island or the local taxi/bus service. The bus service goes 2 ways, one via Mestre which takes about an hour and gets very busy at times, or the other which skirts around the south east side of the town and gets you into Venice in about 25 minutes. The only problem you have if you are not staying in an hotel is what to do with your cases. You won't want to take them with you onto the island as there are many many steps and bridges and you may not be able to leave them at the airport. If your airline will allow you to drop them off early this may still leave you without enough time to get to the island and enjoy it unless you pay for a two way water taxi. I don't have the price but it will be a lot. Not bad if say 8 of you are going and all contribute. I have to say this, but this is the sad result of cruise ships over a certain size no longer being able to leave from Venice as I have done it many times and you got such a great view unless it was foggy or you got delayed due to the regatta stopping cruise ships leaving, which may also have played a part in the changing of port to Ravenna. Please, please, please remember Ravenna is approx 80 miles south west of Venice as the train(s) go and anyone wanting to spend any quality time in Venice needs to book a few nights in a Hotel either on the island (if you have the money) or in nearby Mestre if you are on a budget. Trust me, you cannot see or do all Venice has to offer in just a day yet alone a few hours. It is a magical place that never changes that much no matter how many times you visit and I have been there almost every year for either a few days stay or for several cruises before Covid stopped us. Hope this helps someone in the future who wants to cruise and also see Venice. Mick.

Hi All, My TA has just come back to me with... "I have just spoken to Royal who said the cruise is still going out of Ravenna. If things change we will contact you ASAP." So lets hope there is no more heavy rain or flooding anytime soon in that area. Mick.

Hi all, Choosing your room or letting Royal depends on a few things. I would sometimes select a GTY if the price is considerably lower than picking my own room if the ship is smaller one where things are not too far to get to and if I will be sailing somewhere calm. You see, on a bigger ship you have to factor in that you may be put at the very back and there is then quite a walk even to the aft lifts, and if you are at the very front during say a TA or rough seas, then motion and wave noise may come into play more than before. Also, it is pot luck as to where they will put you in terms of things like being under the MDR with tables being moved above you at all hours or below the pool deck with runners jogging at 6am or equipment starting up or staff banging doors using a crew cut-through next to your cabin. If you are really not bothered where you are going to be put and don't get upset or disturbed easily by noise and also have good health and are OK with walking, then a GTY is probably a good bet for you. However, if you are going to be bothered by some or all of the things I have mentioned above, then booking your own room away from all those things will be wise. Remember, you can always go to guest services if you are not happy with where you have been put and I am sure they will do their best to move you if a better room is (or becomes) available. However, with ships now running back to pre-covid capacities, if not greater due to high demand, then the chance of bagging a better room once on board is going to be tricky. I would suggest the following, wait until the ship has left port as by this time guest services should know who has not made it to the ship and what rooms are available - but remember we now have this Royal-Up program in play, so that may take priority in shifting people around first before guest services can give you a answer. If you can survive in your room for a couple of nights, then go to guest services on day 2 or 3 as there may now be in a better place to move you to as someone may have been arrested and removed from the ship at the first port of call or got left at a port after a bad accident or got helicoptered off the ship to a hospital on land or even died in the MDR and their rooms may become available - and yes I know all this sounds bad, but I have been on ships where all the above have happened, but not all on the same cruise! Mick.

I am now hoping all is going to be well for our cruise from Ravenna in a weeks time. There is another post on the forum ref Explorer change of Itiniry with the ship going to Trieste. Not sure yet if the Explorer will go from Ravenna on the 28th, but if it does then that should be a good indication that our cruise will leave from there too the following day. One good thing here is that at least we will be cruising to Barcelona so if more floods take place (and I really hope they don't for the poor people of Italy's sake), then at least we won't have to worry about wasting valuable time whilst onboard stressing to figure out how to get home at the end. If anyone has read my posts, you will know I chose to fly to Bologna as this put me closer to the port than Venice with the time restraints we had getting from the UK. This was my choice and I hope I made the right one as at the time of booking the flights RCI could not confirm shuttle from Venice to Ravenna. I have sailed and stayed in Venice more times than almost anywhere else, so although I will be missing it badly here, I will return to it at some point soon I am sure, but probably not to cruise. Anyway, from Bologna Airport I will be taking the monorail to Bologna Centrale (costs about 11 Euro each) and I have a room at a nearby hotel booked for the night before the cruise. I have train tickets for the train from Bologna to Ravenna station (which is currently closed but due to open again tomorrow I believe and I will be watching reports about this as I am not sure if the station is flooded or if the tracks have suffered damage from landslides) and from Ravenna I plan to either catch the no.90 bus or take a taxi to the port. Now, if the ship is diverted to Trieste then it looks like it will be from a cargo port with no check-in facilities and check-in looks likely to take place in Venice (and I assume at the cruise terminal there) and then it looks like Royal will take you by coach to Trieste. One question I have asked my TA is if Royal are going to shuttle us from Bologna to Venice and if so, then is that from the Airport and/or the Train Station? For anyone is the same boat (excuse the pun), there are trains running from Bologna Centrale to Venice Santa Lucia station (just a small walk from the cruise terminal monorail entrance) on May 29th. There is a slow train at 0812 that takes 2hrs and 8 mins that gets in to Venice at 1020 for £12.87 or the faster train at 0921 that gets in at 1055 (1hr 34 mins) at £18.16 and also offers £24.55 for 1st Class and I would suggest paying the extra as Italian trains normally give you free drinks and snacks in 1st Class and Business Class carriages for just a little bit more!. Obviously, before forking out for these new train tickets, I will be pressing my TA for an update with the ship. Once I know anything, I will let you know. However, the train times and fares above should hopefully help anyone else who is waiting for news as they may be far cheaper than what RCO offers if they offer anything as the cruise is billed as being out of Venice (Ravenna) so they may not offer anything from Bologna at all. Bon voyage! Mick.

Hi all, thanks for all your replies and help with this. I have now also emailed my TA. Issue is if the local buses and taxis can get from Ravenna to the cruise terminal if the roads are flooded deep or bridges have been made unsafe. I will keep an eye on the news. One would hope that RCI will sort something for the cruisers if they stick with this port and things remain bad. Hopefully, with over a week to go I can only hope the waters subside and things get back to normal. It cannot be very nice for anyone caught up in this and I am very sorry for all those who have lost their lives. Mick.

Dare not tell the wife about the floods. She already thinks the cruise is jinxed since they took the Brilliance and swapped it for the Enchantment. Anyway, I have just emailed RCI to ask them if the ship will still be going from this port and how can we get to it by Bus/Taxi if the roads are flooded etc. Can't wait for the reply. And, yes, if all is back to normal and the Bus is running, I will post here what the procedure is as I believe they have a limit on the size of cases and you can pay extra for them which is what I am going to ask at the ticket office. You would think that the one bus going close to a cruise port would cater for tourist with suitcases. I would even think that they should put on a bus with extra luggage space and maybe charge a bit extra for it - even if it only runs on cruise days, it would be nice. At least Barcelona has both a good bus and train service from the city centre to the airport. I know Barcelona is considered the cruise capital of the med and that is probably why, but come on Ravenna, at least try and do something better for cruise ship passengers! Mick.

Hi all, with less than 2 weeks to go to our cruise from Ravenna, RCI have now got back to me with an update for transfers. Here is what they said... Dear Mick,Thank you for contacting our Customer Service Department regarding your upcoming cruise.Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean for your holiday, we offer tons of experiences that we hope you enjoy onboard!Please be aware that the transfers we offer are from the Bologna Airport, Venice Marco Polo Airport or the Venice City Centre to the port of Ravenna. We don't have transfers from the Ravenna Citi Centre.We would recommend checking options for public transportation, taxi or Uber services beforehand to avoid any issues on boarding day. Well...We are actually flying in to Bologna, but the night before and I now have an hotel booked for the night and train tickets to Revenna sorted for the morning of the cruise. I have managed to find a bus from Ravenna to the port for a few Euro's, but if Royal had informed me of the transfers from Venice when I originally asked them then I may have opted to fly there on the Saturday before, but because they didn't we chose Bologna as a fail safe. I have suggested to my wife that we could go back to Bologna Airport on the day of the cruise and take the transfers with RCI from there to the ship, but he has told me that she does not trust them as on our last cruise transfers were cancelled at the last minute. It was much simpler when the ships left from Venice. A couple of Euros on that overhead train, but sadly those days are gone. Which brings me to my next point. Why then if Ravenna is going to be the home port for cruises around the Adriatic, hasn't something been put in place to give customers the facts about getting to the ship beforehand, instead of just a couple of weeks before when we have made alternative arrangements. I have also been to my TA several times about this too and all they can say is that I should be fine with the local Bus! I will be writing a review about my cruise upon return in June and I will also let you all know about any issues with getting to the ship, so that I can help anyone else in the same boat (ignore the pun!). Mick. BTW If anyone is on the Enchantment on 29th May and they want to meet me for a good old laugh, then I will be the big ginger/bald/grey brit on deck with the Kraken-colada! and possibly... also at the Schooner Bar for the oldies music quiz!

Hi, Sorry, all of my cruises were booked sometime back and it now seems after checking on Royal's booking site that you can now select MTD without paying the pre-paid gratuities. Things have changed and I was not aware, so thanks for pointing this out. Sorry again if I have mislead anyone, that's not what I want to be doing here. Mick.

Hi, Not sure what the rate is as my wife sorts it all, but if you pay your gratuities in full beforehand then you pay slightly less than if you pay at the end of your cruise. I think you save around 4% and like I said, if your room steward or some other crew member goes above and beyond in their duty then you can always slip them an envelope with some dollars in it at the end. That way if you have had an excellent cruise then the right people get your money. But if service is bad, then don't tip any extra and you have saved 4% and this way you avoid going to join the long queue at Guest Services wasting your valuable cruise time when you could be enjoying your holiday with a beer!. Unless its really bad and you really want to remove them. We have never had to remove ours in over 25 cruises and some have been better than others but with no cause to complain that much as most things can get sorted if you keep calm and speak to the staff nicely. BTW Paying up front pre-paid gratuities also entitles you to My Time Dining and I do believe you cannot get this service without paying up front. So you save on gratuities and get a meal in the MDR at the time you want to eat too! Mick.

Hi all, I will be on the Enchantment at the end of the month and this will be our first cruise since the change in both Cleaning and Dining policies have changed and I will let you know what I think afterwards. In the meantime, I can only suggest the following... Pay you gratuities up front as you get them at a cheaper rate and if a employee excels and you want to reward just him, then slip him an envelope at the end of the cruise with some cash in it). As for cleaning the room, well, my wife and I had been saying for some time that somethings got to give at some point and then Covid came along and we both thought more would be lost than just a reduction in cleaning and a change to the menu in the MDR or a slight increase in Gratuities. There are also lots of things C&A members get given that could have be taken away, but haven't. So we prefer the cleaning of the room to take place in the morning when we have got up, had a shower and gone out for breakfast and/or ashore etc. If it is going to be a sea day and it is known that the weather is going to be bad then some time in the Gym may be called for to burn off that food, but remember, there are normally showers and fresh towels in the Gym for you to use, so you really don't need to return to your cabin for a shower if you can avoid it. Now, if its going to be a sunny sea day then that may call for a dip in the pool etc. Now you will need a shower probably in your cabin, but... if you know in advance that this is what you are going to do, then you can always explain this to your cabin steward the day before and ask him to supply some extra towels for you to use and I am sure he will comply as he will want to do almost anything reasonable to please you in the hope of getting more gratuities from you at the end of your cruise. As for the cleanliness of your room, some of you won't like this, but try treating your room like you would your own house, it is your room for a week or two so get unpacked and keep everything nice an tidy if you can. I know if you have young kids with you this may be hard, but we should all try a little harder to treat things on the ship like we would if we were at home. At the end of the day, things in the world have gone up (no use trying to point the finger as it is what it is and we can't change it) and we just have to make the best we all can of things. Cruising is still one of the best options for a holiday when you take into consideration all the things you get such as food, entertainment, leisure/sports and if you are Diamond or above with C&A then free alcoholic drinks too. Has anyone seen the prices for a week at Disneyland lately or what it now costs to stay in somewhere like NYC for a week when you have to pay for a hotel, city tax, food and shows. It is no wonder so many people are choosing to cruise! Some of the nice C&A perks may also be a reason for repeat cruising too of course! Please, just enjoy it and make some new friends and enjoy everything cruising has to offer. We don't know how lucky we all are. Mick.

Hi All, Don't forget as Diamond members you now get 4 free drinks per day to use at almost any bar at any time (except Bionic and Rising Tide IIRC) and these are limited to $14 which means you can have the drink of day cocktail and anything else on the shelf within the $14 limit instead of a small selection between 5pm and 8pm (when you wanted to get ready for dinner!) There is not another cruise line that offers this sort of perk that I can think of and it is possible if you are not a big drinker and don't buy the drinks package then you can actually drink nearly $400 worth of drinks on a 7 day cruise alone for Diamond members and $490 for Diamond Plus members. Don't forget the welcome aboard meeting and other top tier events throughout the cruise too that give away free booze!. I say let the rich have their grand suites (if that keeps the prices down for the rest of us) and let the Pinnacles join them in the Concierge lounge as that makes more room in the Diamond lounge for Diamond and Diamond Plus members to meet up for a coffee and have a nice little chat with some nice ordinary people who are happy to be away cruising and happy to be part of a great little group called the C&A brigade!. With regard to drinks, if you now use the drinks vouchers at bars, you can normally see what they are doing. If you have any suspicions and really want to test them out, ask for a Jack Daniels (or something like it) neat and see how they react! Don't forget as Diamond members we also get 1 free photo each worth $20, something that can get overlooked, but always worth having some nice photo's taken and we normally try and find a photographer that will take our picture against part of the real ship instead of fake backgrounds, but its up to you, but remember you get a free photo from Diamond onwards and not Diamond Plus as some have thought in the past. Bon Voyage! Mick.

Hi, Its a bit of lottery! Hopefully you will get notification before you set out for your holiday. That way you will know where your cabin is and where your muster for that cabin is beforehand. If travelling into foreign countries for cruises like we do from the UK, then our phones are off due to roaming charges so any updates on our cabins during this time are not going to be read. Hopefully under those circumstances we would find out at the cruise terminal as our set sail passes would be now wrong if things have changed. What has happened to us in the past is that we have bid a low bid to change from our interior and had not received anything prior to boarding so had gone to guest services to find out only to be told to wait until around 4pm. The problem with this is that the room we had booked had opened up and my wife had likes it and then the luggage had arrived so she wanted to unpack and get on with enjoying her first day of the cruise. I went to guest services and asked them to cancel our Royal Up as we were now happy where we were. I have 2 bids on my next cruise which is at the end of May on the Enchantment. RCI swapped ships from the Brilliance which we had a interior on the 8th floor and now have an interior on the 2nd floor so I have bided the minimum for a balcony and also a extra space ocean view. I do not expect to get either and my wife is not too bothered, so again, if we have not received a upgrade by the time we board and the room we have opens up and my wife liked it and the cases arrive, then I will go to guest services and cancel the upgrade as we will not waste time moving rooms late on in the day. If RCI wants our money (and I would expect they would as everyone else seems to want it), then they need to start sorting this program out so we know in advance (or at least a few days or even at the port) what our room is going to be. I know they probably wait for things like cancellations and people missing the ship, but I have just tried booking a balcony on this ship for my cruise and there are over 20 of them on 1 floor alone still available and with just 3 weeks left to go I can only assume these will be the rooms the Royal Up program moves people to. I will let you know if anything changes before I leave, but I won't keep my fingers crossed. Mick.

Hi, If you are sailing both out of and back into Bayonne and need to travel from Newark Airport both ends, then I would seriously suggest booking both journeys with the same cab firm. The one in Bayonne I have used is Archies Cabs, sorry don't have the number at hand. If there are 2-4 of you then it may work out cheaper than the shuttle anyway. I have been on several ships out of this port where the cruise line have cancelled shuttle buses on the day of dis-embarkation leaving hundreds of people queuing frantically for a taxi in fear of missing their flights. BTW If you want t tip, the local taxi firms may suggest dropping you off and picking you up just round the corner from the terminal and away from the main taxi rank to avoid hassle. This port has always been (and still is) a pain in the back side for me. It only seems designed for passengers who travel with their own cars and park up and has basically no infrastructure for arriving by any other means. Taxi is the only real way to arrive at this port if you don't have your own car. Hope this helps Mick.

Hi, I am from the UK, but one thing I have learnt over the years though, is to take US Dollars. When I first went to the Caribbean years back, it was to stay on land and my travel agent told me to take Caribbean Dollars (of some sort) which I did and then when I returned to the UK I had to sell them back to the travel agent at a loss as they were good for nothing to me. DO NOT DO THIS! The second time I went to the Caribbean was via cruise ship from the US and I had done my research (after the first time) and found that most (if not all) islands and countries around that area take US Dollars and one reason for this is because most of the cruise ships and cruisers are US and don't seem to want to change their money into what the islands/countries currency is, so the islands/countries have 2 choices, either refuse the US Dollar and have no sale or except them and have a sale. Guess what they did? The other beauty of having US Dollars is that not only can you use them in the Caribbean, not only can you use them in the cruise ships casino, but most importantly, you can use them in the US mainland before and after your cruise and also keep them for the next time you visit the US or sail the Caribbean instead of selling them back to the travel agent. BTW I still have a load from years ago when you got $2 for every £ and looking at the way the UK is at the moment, I am glad I did! Another way (and Cruise ships don't like this) is to have a win in the cruise ship's casino (that use US Dollars) and then ask them to cash your win out instead of having it as onboard credit. Now you can go spend your winnings! I have done this a few times. I would advise against using credit cards - not just due to possible fraud, but also because you get stung for transfer fees (which can mount up over the course of a 2 week cruise). Hope this helps Mick.