cruisekmc

A cruise is merely a vacation. The "service" should be just fine! More service than you'd get at most hotels!

 

Stop reading reviews! Folks with complaints are ALWAYS more vocal than those who had wonderful trips!

 

It will be great!

You are exactly right! The people that enjoyed it don't always comment.

The more you travel the more you learn to roll with it. Things happen, but don't let it bother you, you're on vacation!

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DH and I fancy a cruise in January 2018, but the price is just tantalising out of what we call our 'comfort zone price'. So, do we

 

 

 

1) Forget it and look for something within the 'zone'

 

 

 

2) Wait in the hope that the price drops

 

 

 

3) Completely denude our holiday account and go for it. Even I'm not too keen on this.

 

 

 

It's a what I call a 'put together cruise' and at the moment only the one travel agent is offering it. It has the advantage of ticking two items off the bucket list.

 

 

 

Be kind to me with your advice because today is my birthday :D

Happy Birthday!

If you book the cruise and the price drops before you pay your balance you can usually get the best price. Just be aware, that if you got an incentive like the Free Beverage Package and the offer of a lower price comes up, you might lose your original incentive. You can register on websites that will notify you of a price drop. Hope you go for it!

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Earlier today:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2444828

I would like to add that the ship makes all the difference as well. That is with both lines. Comparing NCL Spirit to the NCL Breakaway, two totally different ships, but we enjoyed both. We always make the best of each experience. The only ship we weren't crazy about was QM2. Other people love it, it was just a little too stuffy for us.

We are going on Royal's Anthem of the Seas soon. It's a beautiful ship and the technology on it is amazing.

Have fun with whatever you decide!

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I was having problems with my iPad after an update and thought maybe it was that. Yes, I was having problems yesterday. I couldn't get to the "trending" page and it was very slow.

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Wow, I didn't think it really happened. Enjoy it!!

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Someone from our cruise was going to take a trip from Venice to Ravello, which now seems to be on some itineraries.

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We did a 12 day cruise from Barcelona to Venice. We added pre and post days to our cruise. I did all of the arrangements myself. We stayed at a smaller hotel in Venice called Hotel San Sebastian. The one thing I would recommend is to have transportation arranged getting to your hotel. We thought we could wing it, but with all the stairs/bridges, even though the hotel was not that far, we could not manage. We went back to a kiosk and made arrangements. Maybe the larger hotels will have transportation from the cruise port area.

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Why wouldn't you get her a passport?

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While in Venice, be sure to visit the island of Burano. It's so charming. Get lost in Venice...we've visited Italy multiple times, but had the best pizza ever in Venice. What a nice age for your daughter to be visiting such wonderful locations. Enjoy your trip!!

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We did the most remarkable cruise in June on the Spirit, which we love. It went out of Barcelona, Toulon France, Florence, Civitecchia, Naples. Mykonos, Athens, Kotor, Montenegro, Dubrovnik and ended in Venice. We loved the cruise so much that we keep talking about doing it again. The Spirit is smaller, but such nice outdoor seating in the rear of the ship. I like smaller ships when sailing the Mediterranean. We had two days at sea that we really enjoyed. Another thing we like about NCL, is Free Style Cruising. With the airlines having weight limits on luggage, we do not want to bring formal clothes. Whatever you decide, enjoy it!!!

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We love the Spirit. It's a wonderful ship to sail the Mediterranean on. Our cruise in May/June was so wonderful. We can't decide what to do next. Enjoy your trip!

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How rough are the seas from Jersey to Canada in early September? We'll be on the Anthem right after Labor Day and have never sailed the east coast.

We have been on many cruises and have to say that the roughest seas we have been in was a storm in the Caribbean. We sail from NY to the Caribbean every year and have sailed from NY to Canada as well. We were on the Anthem this winter that missed two ports in order to miss bad weather.

You have gotten great advice with the previous posts. Have a wonderful trip!! Anthem is a beautiful ship!

It must have been a daunting task when looking at all of the ports on the WC and think about planning your time. I think you have done an exceptional job of really enjoying ports and not being treated like a herd of cattle. You will probably do this at the end, but I would love to know if at the half way point there is less excitement, you become a bit weary, or it is as wonderful as the day you boarded. From your posts you seem to fall in the last category.

 

 

 

Looking forward to your reports on India. It seems like a place like no other, where the sights, sounds, and smells assault all senses. I mean this in a very positive way. Thanks again for letting us travel with you. Cherie

Great question!

I've spent the whole day reading this! I'm finally caught up. I love it and I'm looking forward to following the rest of this incredible trip.

Weird question. Do the mini bar refrigerators have a little freezer in them? I need to have ice packs at the ready due to chronic migraines/headaches.

 

Thanks!

Our balcony room did not have a freezer in the fridge. You could request that your cabin steward bring you an ice bucket each day. Maybe you could pack some ziplock bags.

Your going to have a great time, relax and enjoy it, the time goes by way to fast.

It's now March, 2016 and we are still reading your review! We are going on the same cruise the end of May. Sadly they removed the ports in Turkey for the time being and replaced them with Dubrovnik, Croatia and Kotor, Monrenegro. I'm excited to be going to those ports though. I've been to Kusadasi/Ephesus, but was looking forward to Istanbul. Another time...

I want to thank you for the great review. If I understood correctly, you don't have to use the PM in Venice? I'm so excited now!!!

When leaving from Bayonne is it cold on the ship? How long till we are in warm weather?

I was surprised at the temps on the Anthem. It wasn't bad! I never went anywhere on NCL Gem without a sweater. I even mentioned to my husband that I stopped bringing one with me after a while.

We have sailed out of the NY area many times. Last week, we were outside the next morning up to the afternoon before we docked. Other times it was even cool off Florida. Have fun.! Wishing you the beautiful weather we had. So happy they came home early, that ocean was a mess yesterday! Good call Royal!

Just got back from a cruise and used them. They were great. I always use two per bag. I used to use the tape and staples, but the staples can be sharp. These can be used over and over again, but please note that the different lines may require different tags. RCL is different from NCL. Enjoy your cruise!!

I have been reading one review after the other about how terrible the food is at the 4 complimentary dining restaurants. Hot food is cold, desserts are warm and runny, no taste, over cooked meant, etc... There has been so many that say the same thing that I am really getting worried. I never let a few bad reviews bother me but dozens saying the exact same thing about the food is scary!

 

 

 

Is Royal Caribbean listening I hope!!!

On the Anthem now and ate in most of the restaurants. The food was great...except for the scrambled eggs...you can get eggs made any way you like them. Have fun on your cruise...desserts were wonderful as well.

No. That is the problem of the lack of accurate communication.

 

Senior management does not discuss the number.

 

According to staff, we are at highest level of sanitation due to

 

the number of cases.

 

We are hearing and seeing the illness around the ship.

 

 

 

Just be honest about the severity of the outbreak.

Try turning on your TV the Captain and Abe have been constantly giving updates.

Question for CruiseKMC............How did the RCL Anthem staff know if people entering WJ washed their hands???

Did they send them to restrooms and had somebody watch them?

 

Hand Sanitizer is NOT a substitute for hand washing with any brand of sanitizer but particularly those like Purell that have glycerin (that sticky stuff that most sanitizers have) as a component

 

Confused about your comment

They have a washing station with 8 (?) sinks at the entrances. They have it roped off with numerous crew having people go in. No exceptions. Some people were using gel as well when they were done. Asked that we take 20 seconds while washing.

The ship did the best they could.

Have you seen anyone with the cooler bags for beer? just wondering if that is still available and if you know how much they are?

 

Thanks

Yes, I've seen them.

The information that you shared is startling..... And I hope you do not get dismayed by the RC "Loyalist" who are always in denial. (Shall not say anything negative about Royal Caribbean) The Loyalists feed into the lack of transparency that Royal Caribbean Public Relations dishes out as news statements. The local press is covering your dilemma and I would voice my story to them when you disembark in Hoboken. They will certainly be asking for statements from passengers. Just a thought.

 

Good luck with a speedy recovery and God Bless!

This is only my second cruise on RCI, I am not a "loyalist". I am on the Anthem and have been on 18 cruises. This ship is beautiful. The staff has been exceptional. We have had such a nice time. Viruses can happen at home too. Especially with school age children. We have seen viruses on other cruises. 109 cases reported throughout the week. Only 10 in isolation today. This is out of the total crew and passengers. This is not even enough to be on CDC's page. I don't mean to make light of it, just trying to put it in perspective.

I'm so sorry for the people that have gotten sick. It's not the ships fault. We were very happy with how they handled it. For the record...NO ONE WAS ALLOWED IN THE WINDJAMMER WITHOUT WASHING THEIR HANDS.

There is a norovirus currently on Anthem of the Seas and the ship is returning to NJ two days early for deep cleaning.

That is not why we are returning.

It''s clear now that they are being disembarked two days early because of noro. If it was weather that they wanted to get ahead of they'd let people stay on. Royal should just be upfront and say we're rushing to beat the weather, and noro's really bad on here so when we get back, get off.

 

 

 

Can anyone onboard say if Royal is helping with change fees for travel arrangements or putting anyone up in local hotels?

 

 

 

Side note: Does anyone else think it's a bit chintzy that they are refunding excursions for skipped ports as an account credit and not back to the original form of payment? Doesn't that put people in a "use it or lose it" case or did I misread the letter?

I think both issues are being handled. It's what needs to be done. Are you on the ship right now? I am. We are disappointed, but that is what should be done. We'll get over it and book another cruise! [emoji2]