StLucia

We are due to go on Oceana Genoa to Venice in July. I really regret booking this cruise, no we did not book a late saver, made the mistake of booking early. Have thought of cancelling but now it's to late. Will never book early again as there are much nicer ships doing similar ports.

We will make the best of it and hope to have a better time than we did last October on Brittania. At least we know the ports will be lovely and the sun should be shining.

We found the atrium resembled a retirement hometot, also a lot of the Glass house was taken by people reading all day, very frustrating when you wanted to eat, drink there, we went to the Crows Nest one day for a drink and couldn't find a seat, once again not drinking just reading, really missed the afternoon quizzes there, no atmosphere at all.

Totally agree, the atrium is a waste of space, no atmosphere at all. The lounges are always so busy you can never find a table. The entertainment on Brittannia needs shaking up, very poor overall. The most boring cruise we have ever done. Never again on her.

I thought that looking at the various area's of the ship (excluding back stage) the Regal Princess had the wow factor versus Britannia's ok but nothing special and made Britannia look like the poor relation. It certainly looked as though Britannia was fitted out on a far lower budget when looking at some of the areas on the ship especially the theatre where the seats looked far more comfortable on the Regal Princess.

I agree, this Regal PrIncess has personality, Brittainnia is dull......

We have used Tesco vouchers to book a number of our cruises but you have to book through a special number and pay over the odds so not always worth it. Was good when the vouchers were 4x face value but now only 3x not always worth it. We now use them for weekend breaks, a much better conversion value.

This could be inconvenient for me, if it is true I am due to cruise on the Britannia in April with a CPAP device. I will have to look to bringing along a surge protector to help prevent any damage.

 

It would also help protect any other devices that need to be charged or plugged in.

We have just returned from Britanian and had no problems with electrics including a cpap.

Dog sledding in Skagway is in the snow even in these pictures from July, 2015. For more pictures of my dog sledding in Skagway:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/skagway/dog-sledding/

 

We did this trip out of Juneau, had a great time.

I looked at booking reflection for September 2015 with this deal and the prices were inflated, we did not book. One TA agreed and said we would be best waiting a couple of months to see what other offers come up.

We were on Azura's maiden Transatlantic and were the first ship to visit St. Lucia after a devastating hurricane. We had a private tour and were taken into the area badly affected, it was dreadful, rivers re routed with roads damaged or non existent and worse of all a bad mud slide that took away a village. We visited again last year and did a tour with the same Company, Cosul.it was good to see the island had recovered.

We were unhappy with the early dining we were given on Arcadia, we went straight to rest manager s baking for a change to lat but never got it. Ended up eating in speciality restaurants. This is the big risk you take when booking the deducted rate.

We had a bad experience in Murano on Eclipse. We were served a burnt main course, returned it and left. The next day we got a call from the maitre'd asking us to return for a complementary meal to make up for what they agreed was food that should not have been served. At first we thought no but later thought why not. We were treated so well on our next visit it ended up being one of the best meals we have ever had. Apart from beautiful food we had the best wines and champagne paired perfectly with each course. So if they offer to make up for a bad experience go for it.

We were in the same position as you but with a 3:45 pick up and there were 6 of us. We got to the venue where the tender tickets were being issued early and got on tender no. 3, short tender trip and we got there on perfect time for our wonderful excursion. Like you I was worrying befor but in the end it was no problem.

Enjoy your trip.

We cruised on Infinity in June and found the entertainment to be the worse we have ever experienced and we normally love the shows. The cruise director was dreadful, really annoying. Sorry not to be more positive if you are planning a trip.

We have just returned from Alaska on Infinity and loved it. We were unsure about the ship before we boarded as we have been on a couple of the solstice ships but she was in great shape. We had calm seas all the way causing the inside passage and Hubbard glacier was amazing went really close in. No problem with tendering at icy straight got on no. 3. I have heard the Seattle departure can be rather rocky so may be a consideration if you suffer.

We had an aft on Arcadia lovely view but suffered badly with soot so watch your clothing.

Thanks for you photos of 7080 we are in that cabin for our Alaska cruise in a few weeks time.

Hand gels are not effective against norovirus, the only way of prevention is thorough washing with soap and running water. The problem is some people think gel can take the place of good hand hygiene, it cannot.

Thank you Andy and Paula

You do make it sound very tempting, but can I risk it!

Janet

I am UK based and need to order some US Dollars to use on board for tips etc.

 

Does anyone know any foreign exchange companies where you can request $1 bills rather than a mixture?

We always order our dollars in advance and request 100 x 1 dollar bills. Never had a problem doing it this way. We normally use thomas Cook and they will always match the exchange rate. We either drop into our local branch or give them a ring to order.

Thank you for your replies and advice.

I do not think we will go for a suite, as I said before I do not want to set a precedent.

We had an aft on Arcadia and liked it except the balcony did suffer badly from soot.

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has had a standard balcony that they particularly enjoyed.

If you can stretch to a mini-suite the ones on Oceana are lovely, they are a double balcony. I don't think there are any like the c deck ones on Azura which are 9 foot square.

Thank you for your quick reply. We were upgraded on one of our early cruises from outside to balcony and that was it, hooked and we now always want a balcony. I will check out those suites but I don't want to get used to suites as we would not be able to travel as often as we do now!

We are thinking of booking a fly cruise for next year. Oceana would be a new ship for us. Are there any balcony cabins with larger balconies, like the c deck on Ventura and Azura. Or are there any balcony cabins that you would recommend.

Thanks for your help.

I would wait until on board so that you can use the OBC.:D

Thank you for your advice. We always have a premium drink package as we like to enjoy nice wine. Our OBC will easily be used up paying for gratuities.

Ours disappeared with internet plus a few drinks out with the premium package.

 

We did the premium upgrade in advance as exchange rate was better that way.

We want to upgrade our classic to a premium before we board. How did you do this, did you ring Celebrity or did you do it online and just pay the difference, can you tell me what that is.

Thanks

Hate to disagree with some folks here but AI CELPRAL definitely stands for the Premium Alchohol Package.

 

I booked a cruise with the Classic Alcohol package and have the code AI CEL CLAL showing with a $0.00 charge. I upgraded to the Premium package a couple weeks later and the code AI CEL PRAL now shows directly below the Classic code showing the $ amount I paid to upgrade.

 

So, I can't explain how/why you have that code but it does stand for Premium alcohol.

We have the classic package and want to upgrade to premium. If we do it online will we just be charge the difference, can you tell me what that is, or do we need to ring celebrity. We booked via a TA.

Thanks for your help.

We have Samsonite Spinners, light weight and easy to manoeuvre. Make the most of your hand luggage to avoid excess charges. We always take 2 rollers for our hand luggage, more than once when checking in they have put one in the hold free of charge. just be carful not to carry sharps or liquids in your hand luggage though.