sgmn

Just off Spectrum. Had my time dinning. Booked all my slots in the cruise planner prior to cruise depending on what we had planned in port and estimated time of reboarding after excursions, and depending on shows. 

Once on board we had a letter in our room stating we had been booked at 6.45 eavh night and the actual table number. This time and table number was also on our stateroom card.

If we didn't make their preferred time we were randomly sat elsewhere 

3 hours ago, Thisguylikestocruise said:

What would a 9 night Greek Isles cruise from Civitavecchia in late September be like? Already have it booked, wish I would’ve picked Celebrity for this itinerary instead.  

We've done 10 day Greek island cruise before, though on Jewel OTS.  It was great 👍 

Also did a Celebrity 10day around  Med and Malta , also great

We're travelling on our airline staff tickets and Gary's direct BA flight is full so we're probably going back on Emirates via Dubai. Flight is tomorrow night and I've booked us into a day room at a hotel so we can relax before the night flight to Dubai

Zoom in for floating village

Interesting tour of Penang,  it was a walking UNESCO heritage tour. 3.5 hours in very hot humid heat. Learnt a lot, very informative. We didn't have long in port and I would of wanted longer to wander by ourselves  

Yesterday was a long day in Phuket. Meeting time of tour was 7.30am .  Two hour bus trip  stopped at Buddhist temple in amazing cave, lots of monkeys in the Park. Main focus was a boat trip to the James Bond islands in Pang Nge Bay , 'The Man with the golden gun'. In the bay there's a floating village where we had lunch. The village has a mosque ,school, shops, restaurants and a health centre , all floating. 

Penang 

Sunrise

Phuket 

Buddhist temple in caves and monkeys 

Pang Nge Bay and floating village 

On 2/26/2024 at 1:26 AM, Luckynana said:

@sgmn  Bon Voyage, Sue and Gary!!  Have the best time!!🛳️

 

Beautiful pictures of Singapore.  How was your Singapore Sling?  I haven't had one in over 50 years now!  I'll have to remember to order one on my cruise in two 

 Dup

On 2/26/2024 at 1:26 AM, Luckynana said:

@sgmn  Bon Voyage, Sue and Gary!!  Have the best time!!🛳️

 

Beautiful pictures of Singapore.  How was your Singapore Sling?  I haven't had one in over 50 years now!  I'll have to remember to order one on my cruise in two weeks!😉

It was delicious 😋 but at almost SGD$40 we only had one each.  Huge bag of roasted peanuts in shells at each table. Everyone throws the shells on the floor, felt very naughty 😜 Cocktails at MBS top floor bar were cheaper and had great views

On 2/26/2024 at 1:12 AM, Luckynana said:

Wow, Sue!  Thank goodness you are okay.  How frightening for you, and for Gary, as well!  Have a great time on your cruise!  When do you sail?🛳️

Thanks 😊 all OK now, have done over 22000 steps a day in high humidity and heat of day with no issues. 

We boarded on 26th. Last day today. Only four night cruise to Penang and Phuket. Very interesting ports.  Ship very crowded with over 5000 on board. Nearly 1000 children. Big family groups . 

Ship is nice but only quite areas is our balcony.  Crown lounge is open for Diamond and above all day. Quiet even during happy hour.  

8 hours ago, Td6462 said:

 I'm not surprised. It is designed for families..... 

Everyone's money is good. It should be a cruise for all. Very shortsighted to exclude a high spending demographic who may cruise multiple times a year IMO. 

Would be nice to try the newest and the bling-y-est but unlikely we will unless they have a season in Europe 

2 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

Diamonds are no longer permitted in the Crown Lounge during the cocktail hour.  They can (and must) however use their vouchers at any other bar on the ship (other than the Bionic Bar) during those hours. It is now a lounge reserved during those hours for D+ and Pinnacle - regardless of numbers on board.  D's still have access to the Crown Lounge and the Concierge at any other normal lounge and Concierge hours during the day.  And this is on all sailings, not some, and was being enforced on our recent NYE Oasis cruise.

Currently on Spectrum. Diamonds welcome at all time, even during happy hour.  Was also welcome on Serenade last September.  Very much depends on how busy and how many diamonds and above on board. 

Cruise by cruise basis 

33 minutes ago, cr2000 said:

 

It's a family cruise line, singles or couples without kids ARE NOT the target demographic. Royal does not care about your experience as the majority of income derived from sailings is from family passengers. You just have to accept it and move on, don't complain about it.

Very much agree ,  but companies change direction and target markets over time.  When we started cruising Royal Caribbean I don't remember any particular group being their focus market.  Seems to be a shame that they are no longer catering to everyone.  

We will contine to cruise longer cruises on smaller RC ships but will start looking at other lines too.

We cruise for itinerary not ships and often RC just do the same old, same old itineraries 

Currently on Spectrum. Checked before we booked it wasn't school holiday in SIN, UK or AUS, didn't check Malaysia 🤔  

There's over 5000 people on board and nearly 1000 children.

Both pools packed with kids. According to people on board the previous cruise was much quieter with hardly any kids , so it's almost impossible to plan a quiet time. It's always holidays somewhere 

7 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Plan for kids, unless you are on Virgin. Trans-Atlantics have less of them, smaller ships and longer cruises but that’s no guarantee.

 

All I can say is expect the worse, and hope for the best. 

Two other UK cruise companies have adult only ships, P&O (only two ships are adult only) and Saga is age 55 +. Never been on either though friends who have been on Saga rate it highly 

1 minute ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Omg Sue, that had to be scary to open your eyes and find yourself on the floor with FAs looking at you.   Thankful you are OK now.😊

Thank you Debbie, I can only remember feeing I was really comfortable waking up from a deep sleep,  weird but bought some hydration tabs and am drinking lots of water. Fingers crossed 🤞 it was a one off

Today is cruise day !! 

We've had a very enjoyable four days in Singapore. Weather has been humid but often with cloud cover so doesn't feel too hot. Lots of walking, over 22,000 steps yesterday.  Near us is Clark Quay so we have enjoyed that area, lots of Riverside restaurants and did a mini river cruise. Also next to hotel is fort Cannjng Park. Really enjoyed the beauty and Serenity of the park with all the different vegetation and trees, plus the history of the bunker where Singapore was surrendered to the Japanese during WW2 (thanks @aussielozzie18for the suggestion). 

Had to have a Singapore Sling at Raffles. Very expense but enjoyed the experience, thinking about all the famous people and history that went on in the Long Bar during the beginning of the last century.

Also went to the 57th floor of Marina Bay Sands Hotel for cocktails,  great experience and was there for the light show right in front of us. 

Yesterday we went to the Gardens by the Bay

 The cloud dome was fascinating. Huge great indoor waterfalls, tropical plants and big variety of orchids, some so tiny you could only see them through a magnifying glass

Enjoying a Singapore Sling at Raffles Long Bar

Fort Canning Park

Floor 57 of MBS

Olive tree in the Med section of the flower dome, Gardens by the Bay

waterfalls and orchards in the cloud dome

Super trees 

MBS at duck. The hotelvis built to resemble a ship on three pillars

3 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

We took Charlie to the emergency room.  He wasn’t feeling any better, arm and leg were giving him problems.  He think his arm was broken but have not heard any news yet.  Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers.  We really could use a little less drama!

Sorry to hear about Charlie's fall. I hope they get to the bottom of what happened. 

Something weird happened to me on the flight to Singapore a few days ago.  I'm normally pretty healthy, but I got up about 3 hours into the flight to go to the bathroom. Waited for the toilet to be free and next thing I knew I was on the floor coming round with two or three flight attendant around me.  I had no feeling of being dizzy or that I was 'going'. Have never fainted in my life before.  Apparently the FA told Gary I had 'gone' three times .

Was fine after and can only think I was dehydrated 

Luckily no bruises or hurt from the fall 

On 2/21/2024 at 9:53 AM, aussielozzie18 said:

DD is planning on flying back home.  She has a fear of falling again with all the ice & snow.  She only had the operation on Saturday and I told her she must speak to her surgeon before she books a long flight home to Sydney.  I think there would be a risk with bloods clots on a long haul flight(s).

Sorry her adventure has been cut short. It won't feel like it now but shes young and has all her life ahead for adventures and travel.  I can understand her wanting to get home.

Great advice about checking with Dr's before travelling.  

Here safely in Singapore. Nearly didn't make it, last night our flight was delayed leaving LHR.  Captain negotiated a one hour extension to the 11pm night flight ban and we made wheels up with 12 secs to spare. 

The hotel receptionist said something about an upgrade, but didn't realise till this morning that its a club room with happy hour access to the rooftop bar

View from our room last night

MBS Hotel

day time View 

Spot the river

18 hours ago, h20skibum said:

 

What does it mean, if someone asks, “Are you hiding in my chimney?”

 

 I guess I need to see if I have been insulted, before I dive back in.😏  Went for a walk, and I am 50 posts behind on it already. 

Sorry never heard of it .

Some people on these boards are brutal 😕 

I've read that's it's because Icon has so many three or four bedded cabins that the two bedded are booked up, and therefore because of dynamic pricing become more expensive.

Would be interesting to know how many no-shows there are on Icon

My two pennyworth. 

 Not everyone likes the same thing.  There's only a finite number of people who:

A) can afford to pay hundreds of pounds per night per person on Icon class.

B) are happy with the same old same old ports/itinerary time after time that Icon and Oasis class go to.

C) enjoy the mega ships

If Royal wants to push loyal cruisers, who prefer smaller ships without the bells and whistles and which go to interesting ports, onto other lines then I guess that's the future as they see it.  

8 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Dental X-rays are normally done once a year.

Over here I have them every two years 

9 hours ago, FromSea2ShiningSea said:

Stork Update:  DIL1 delivered baby at 6:56AM. 2/18/2024 5lb6oz.  It was a quick & speedy delivery.  He was very eager to enter the world.  Thank God, he and his mommy are doing well.  Doctors are keeping an eye on mommy to make sure everything is stable.  We will go see them in a week or so.  Now we wait for DS2’s turn who is due in April.

Very Many congratulations to the wonderful newly expanded family and to the new grandparents ❤️ 

9 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

When do you leave for Singapore?    I wish you and Gary safe travels and hope you have lots of fun exploring with good weather.   Hope to see some photos if you will have internet.   😊

Wednesday!! A night time flight, so with the time difference we arrive their time the evening of Thursday.

We have four days in Singapore before our four day cruise. Just heard this morning we've got our RoyalUp 👍

 We had a guarantee and as expected we got a obstructive OVB on 6. I was ok with that but it was a connecting room and holds four, so potential for noise. Anyway I bid the minimum of £35pp for OVB and got a nice one on floor 8, NOT connecting , so happy with that. 

We should have Internet in hotel and our diamond allowance on board, if all else fails I'll update at the airport .

First time in our 37 years of marriage we've gone further East than Dubai.

Thank you for your good wishes 😊 

On 2/17/2024 at 7:48 PM, aussielozzie18 said:

Had another superb dinner on VV last night.  In the opposite to Tree Skier’s frustrating experience - I was treated like a VIP last night.

 

I was seated at my reserved table and my waitress had just left after we had discussed the best dishes for me and  taking my order, when the Restaurant Manager and Assistant Manager came over  and asked if I would give up my table as a gentlemen had come in who needed it.  They were both profusely apologetic and very appreciative that I said yes.  I just smiled and said it’s fine.

Anyways, from then on from my perfectly acceptable new table,I was treated like a VIP. My drinks were comped, I had the Mgr & AM come over and sincerely apologise again and then the the Restaurant Manager personally served me each course and then checked I was enjoying each dish which I was.  Never had this level of attention in my life and never will again.  And all dishes were superb.  

Glad you're enjoying VV, Aussie, it's on my radar