ShazM

We were booked in 1554 for the transpacific from Sydney to Honolulu on 18 April 😢

11 hours ago, csnarpy said:

I can’t really say but I do know that the Cali relocation is for this year now. 
 

but again until it’s official...

It would be nice if they let us here in Australia that are booked on it from Hong Kong in October know about this.

1 hour ago, Marilyn Johannes said:

Just got email from my travel agent that Royal canceled March 21 Shanghai to Shanghai cruise. 

Spectrum is coming down here to Australia for a couple of months at least as I think most of the Asian ports are now closing to cruise ships due to this virus and until they know what is happening with it. I imagine it is a bit of a logistical nightmare trying to arrange ports at short notice with so many other cruise lines around at the same time, this would be happening with any ships that usually do the Asian trips.

7 hours ago, suesnake2002 said:

I do not fault RCCL for changing itinary. It happens, but there is a common theme that well actually makes me so angry. They show up at port and were told of itinary change. 

What happened royal?? You decided to change itinary hours before sail away?? 

Once again the last minute advisement and disregard for families is huge. 

You can not not tell me that they couldn't notify family before travel. 

This policy of we will give you info whenever we feel like it is crazy. Especially when we have had proof of rccl decisions being made days earlier on other sailings. 

Yes, it was literally made hours before sailaway. Ovation was due to leave that afternoon and as this cyclone unfolded the decision was made. They stayed at the terminal until something like 3am the following day and then had to move over to the other side of the harbour near Mosman to allow the other ship due to dock at the terminal. They stayed over there "at sea"  until late yesterday afternoon.

3 hours ago, compman9 said:

More disgraceful behaviour from Royal Caribbean - This is what happens when you empower massive global tax avoiding corporations with your loyalty. They use you up and throw you away

 

We were on the Jewel last week and they cancelled the stop we booked the cruise for (Bahrain) on some flimsy - troubles in the region, nonsense - THERE IS ALWAYS TROUBLE IN THE REGION

 

On one day we travelled at less than walking distance for this skipped port, and it sounds like the OP's ship could have fit another port in if it cared about its customers. How much will they save on fuel costs?

 

Turning people away from the port for an avoidable reason that benefits them financially is disgusting and shame on you cheerleaders for defending them

Don't know where they could have fit in other ports. Some of the islands are closed to cruise ships as the island chiefs don't want to take the risk of coronavirus as they don't have facilities to deal with an outbreak. On South Pacific cruises if there is a medical emergency the ships usually divert to Noumea and the whole itinerary changes. I think Voyager's current cruise has totally changed from the islands to Fiji, New Zealand and Eden on the south coast of NSW. There are also other cruiselines with ships in the area and they won't allow more than one in at a time on the smaller islands.

It is because of the weather. Yes there are islands closed due to coronavirus because island chiefs realise that some of the islands don't have the facilities to cope with an outbreak which is true. Ovation was going to move at around 3am over to the other side of the harbour at Norman as another ship was due in and they will leave tonight. South East Queensland and northern NSW are being pounded by this small cyclone that is moving down the coast. Better to be safe.

I am on Voyager and we went past Ovation yesterday afternoon on her way to Sydney. Voyager left late because there was apparently a gastro bug going around and they had to do a thorough clean first. Didn't board until 12. A lot of us thought it was due to the coronavirus and they have been cleaning even more than normal.

Yep, like M-H-B says it is going to be hot, hot, hot here in Sydney on Friday and Saturday especially. If you are doing the Bridge Climb maybe try and do it early morning or very late afternoon/early evening if you can. If you are doing it Friday you can watch me sail out on Voyager at 4.00pm or on Saturday Noordam leaves at 5.00pm. Nice view of the ships leaving from on top of the bridge.

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Perhaps that cruise is not eligible and Royal IT has not programmed the website to respond with an accurate message.

OK, fair enough. There are still about 9 GS and 5 or 6 OS available so thought it was worth a try, might give them a call.

29 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Not everyone gets an upgrade email, but anyone can try by going to:

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

I'm going on a short cruise on 31 January and every time I try to do this it tells me to make sure the cruise is within 30 days and that the details are correct, which I have done numerous times.

We were on in March and loved it. Every crew member we had anything to do with were second to none, but there have obviously been crew changes since then. We had Clo O'Connor as the CD and she was brilliant as were all the entertainment staff. Jorge was the suite concierge and also went out of his way for everyone he had anything to do with. The food in the Windjammer we had nothing to complain about at all. We actually liked Giovannis way more than Chops. Sounds like there has been a massive crew change since we were on.

We have had 4 arrive here in Sydney last night with 3 taken to Concord Hospital which has been the major burns unit here in NSW and 1 to Royal North Shore burns unit. I believe another 10 will be transported on air force planes over the next 24 hours, depending on their status at that time. The first one that arrived last night was obviously ventilated and came under police escort and staff were holding sheets up because the media had camped out there. Good thing here is that the media aren't allowed past the front fence/wall of the hospitals.

They reported on our news that as soon as some are stable enough they will be brought to the major burns units here in Sydney and I would assume Melbourne as well. The hospitals these people are in are inundated.

4 hours ago, HappyEmeritus said:

If you are in the crater of an active volcano and it has a gas event you will die.  It does not take an eruption.  What you call a gas mask is a filter mask.  It is useless if the air is unbreathable.  Fire fighters wear breathing apparatus not gas masks.    I’m a diver, been to active volcanos, published on volcanic ash and flight safety, done risk analysis and worn breathing apparatus in fires.  This was an uncontrolled, unpredictable and extraordinary risk.  

I was only just repeating what I had read and been told by others I know who have done this exact tour and fortunately for them this didn't happen. 

3 hours ago, K32682 said:

 

Yes, the facts are not yet understood.  So in the meantime thoughts and prayers and let RCI get it's damage control plan into place and come up with a rational explanation why passengers went on their excursion when the alert level had increased the month before.  At some point they will have to answer two important questions:  What did they know and when did they now it?   

It was only at Level 2 which it has been at hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the last 10 years. Level 4 is eruption. People that go on this excursion are given gas masks to wear. If you read StuffNZ there is a pretty good explanation from the tour company of how the tours proceed, or don't, depending on the level it is at and that they send people ahead before the tour groups get there to assess.

Apparently they have flown over the island and there is no sign of life. So so sad.

Like Queen P said, we just had a report on A Current Affair here saying 5 were deceased and many more with burns. There are still many unaccounted for and it is too dangerous to access the island at the moment or to even fly over it.

One crew member involved as well. I'm following a facebook page that is getting updates by a passenger on the ship whose name is Sylvain Plasse from Montreal. Apparently a couple of ambulances have also now pulled up at the ship as well and according to other passengers currently on the ship the mood is very grim.

She is currently sailing down the east coast of Australia on the way to Sydney to start her season. Haven't been on this one before but we are going on 31 January for a 3 night and then in October 2020 to bring her back to Sydney from Hong Kong. Looking forward to it.

On 10/8/2019 at 4:10 AM, Samanthac25 said:

 

This looks fantastic! I wish my WJ plates looked that pretty 😜 

We also loved the Windjammer on Explorer

You should come down to Sydney and visit us here. I enjoy reading your reviews and the photographs are fantastic. Both Radiance and Ovation are on their way. Radiance is nearing New Zealand and they have had 10 metre waves today. Ovation has turned around and is on her way back to Honolulu for a serious medical emergency, think they had somewhere around 8 hours travel time to get back. Apparently they were going to go to the big island but the passenger is too ill and they will get to Honolulu at 1.00am their time. We are doing the transpacific from Sydney in April so can't wait as we haven't done one before.

6 hours ago, slyster said:

wow okay thank you very much.  Is the behind the scenes tour free to suite guests?  I was also wondering if there was a dvd player in the suite? 

 

Room service...does it come quickly or do you have to wait a while?

 

Oh!  and I thought of another question.  I read that you get private breakfast and lunch in one of the restaurants.  I never understood that for suite guests.  Do they get their food from the windjammer and then have easy access to tables or do they have their own separate menu or something?  I love the buffet!

We were on Explorer in March and gold card holders had breakfast in Chops every day

I found two on Explorer in March and brought them home. They will be coming with us next April on the Radiance Transpacific and will be hidden and hopefully found by someone that will take them on to Vancouver and maybe even Alaska and who knows where after that.

We were on in March out of Sydney for 12 nights and had a great time. The ship looked in great shape from what I saw. She will be getting spruced up next year. The crew were great, the food was great everywhere we ate and we had nothing at all to complain about.

We were on in March out of Sydney and saw none of the things shown in these photos. We had absolutely nothing to complain about. Cleaning and maintenance was ongoing throughout each day. The food was great everywhere we ate and the only place we didn't eat was Izumi just because I am not a fan of Japanese food, hubby could have gone by himself but chose not to. We didn't have a bad meal even once. We ate at both MDR and Windjammer, Johnny Rockets, Giovanni's and Chops, I preferred Giovanni's out of the two specialties we ate at. Chops had a great breakfast for those in suites. Our room was spotless, as were the hallways and everywhere else I happened to see. For me the best coffee on the ship was from the bar in the Windjammer where they also do fresh juice as well and there was a long queue every morning for the coffee.