Sancho_proudfoot

It may be different on cruises out of the US,  but for our upcoming MSC cruise all gratuities are included in the cruise fare  and seemingly MSC discourage further tipping. 

Just booked our first MSC cruise, after years of being 'loyal to Royal '. What's tge muster procedure,  please? ( on Royal last  month, you watched a video,  on embarkation day ( not necessarily  onboard) then went to a designated spot, where you were logged as having completed it)

12 days on the * brand new, straight out of the box* Independence of the Seas.  A trial for us to see if we liked cruising.......

This thread quite intrigued me; I knew the blocks existed, but never looked into it, as I thought they were issued to C&A members with huge totals, like 500+ or something,  so I was surprised to see you earn one at 140. (That, in itself,  is odd, falling somewhere  between Diamond and Diamond +). Still,  we'll get on on our next RCL cruise- it can go on the shelf in the downstairs  cloakroom with this one:

We tipped our room steward extra as he had found a tiny piece of jewellery  we had lost. We asked him if he could keep it all, or if he had to pool it with other crew . He said yes, he can keep it, BUT he's  supposed to declare it, and an equivalent  amount is deducted  from his wage! ( With a knowing wink he said they don't declare every cent....

)

Brilliant,  that's exactly what I was thinking of, wish it happened on more ships!

I've been watching some really fun Flashmob videos, at weddings, in shopping malls and so on, then I thought " wouldn't a passenger Flashmob on a quiet sea day be fun?"

I seem to recall on previous  cruises there would be a passenger choir, or a performance (like Thriller). So, with the connivance and assistance of the CD, you could gather some passengers who can sing well, have a few rehearsals somewhere out of the way, then at, say, 3.00pm on a sea day, get the music playing and (seemingly) random passengers start singing ("One Day More" from Les Mis is a good one)

Up until this year, I always used a lanyard.  On Anthem of the Seas last month,  l didn't as it would have proved awkward to get a hole punched in the card that didn't interfere with the electronics.  As the onboard  app was used, l kep my card in my phone wallet. 

Just back off Anthem.  Chair hogs in abundance.

Arrived in Madeira,  a port stop. Went up to deck 15, at 08.45, and there was a row of 5 chairs each "reserved" with a towel.

By 10.30 still unoccupied.  Went to the towel station and they came and removed the towels.

At 3.30 a woman appeared, wondering why "her" seats were occupied. Stomped off to complain,  and had the large sign alongside the towel station  pointed out to her.

First off, let me stress this is second-hand heresay.  People on the Anthem right now are reporting that  from arrival at the car park alongside the terminal  to being on board is taking under 20 minutes 

Terminal staff check vaccination papers, check the Antigen test ( in whatever  format) ask the 3 health questions  again, and wave you onboard.

I've found this depends on where you're sailing. From cruises out of US ports,  yes, anything goes  ( and I've seen flip flops,  shorts, vest t shirt and back to front baseball cap in the MDR on formal night).

However, on cruises in Europe and out of Southampton  in particular,  formal, for many people  still means formal.  There's a group on the book of the face for our upcoming cruise (Sunday, yay!) and  a great many folk are packing tuxes and gowns.

There would appear to be no rhyme or reason as to when, or what,  bids are accepted. Your chances range from 0% to 100%.

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

We completed our Health Questionnaire on the app in preparation for today's sailing. There were three questions:  

 

1.  Are you fully vaccinated for COVID-19?

2.  Have you received a COVID-19 booster?

3.  Will you be more than 23 weeks pregnant at any time during your curise?

 

Whether or not there will be more or different questions at the pier later today when we board I guess we will find out when we get there. 

When I checked in online and did these 3 questions, I stupidly clicked all "yes" answers.  So, according to RC l have declared that,  as a 69 year old man, I will be 23 weeks or more pregnant at sail date.

I rang RC......Once the lady at the other end  stopped laughing,  she told me they will  ask the questions  again at quayside.....so get it right this time!

I've gone out wearing my smartwatch but leaving my phone at home.  It recorded  steps  heart rate etc. 

Tallinn is one of my favorite cities!. On a cruise stop, you will  want to visit the Old Town. The excursions  desk on the ship, and the tour touts by the gangway will tell you " it's too far to walk ". It isn't.  

It's on a hill (Tompea, iirc) and you can literally see it in front of you.  It's about a 20/25 minute stroll ( it is uphill, if you have mobility  issues ).

Once in the wonderfully preserved  Old Town (a UNESCO world heritage site) there's much to see and do,  especially around the medieval Town Hall Square. 

Plenty of places to eat and drink while there ( if you can find it, I'd recommend  the Hell Hunt pub (actually means 'pale dog') They brew their own beer here ( a light golden brew and a stronger dark beer).

We had booked our Antigen tests with DAM Health,  as, at the time  Royal Caribbean required the results of a supervised test before allowing you to board.

RC then changed  their protocols and the "supervision" bit was dropped.

I then cancelled the DAM tests. Initially,  they want to charge  £10pp "admin fee" (so still costing £12.49pp).

I argued it, and got a stock " it's in the t&Cs you agreed to when you booked the tests".

I reverted to them, stating that a) you cannot do anything BUT agree to the t &Cs as there is no provision to say " I don't agree to this bit" and (more importantly) b) under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a business must not include  in its terms and conditions anything that is "unfair".  (Specifically , it is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the detriment of the consumer ").

They refunded the full cost next day. 

32 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

A bad CD doesn't make a cruise experience worse, but a good one can make it better

Absolutely.   

We were booked to go on MSC seashore on a Barcelona 》》Dubai Suez transit cruise for 2019.  Of course Covid-19 git in the way.  We status matched to our RCL Diamond level.

Three years on, we still haven't  done the Suez yet, BUT have booked for October 2023, again with MSC and they have maintained our MSC status, despite not having ever cruised with them.

We stayed  at the Moxy ( as it then was  changed hands I gather) at Edinburgh Airport a couple of years  ago. Yes  quirky but with some nice features ( soft blue lighting around the bed when it senses your feet ) Great for overnight bathroom  visits........

When we first started cruising  it was "distribute envelopes on the last night" tipping,  which we went along with. We got irritated by the maitre d' who we hadn't seen all cruise, oozing over  to our table on that last night  seeking his envelope. 

When auto  gratuity kicked in, we tried having the maitre d' deducted from the distribution, figuring he was probably better paid than the assistant  waiter and didn't  seem to add anything anyway. 

Prices in Europe/UK for cruises are way higher than in the US, so just the cruise is expensive enough, without being asked to help pay the staff wages  too. 

We now remove auto gratuity and tip for  better than average service. 

Over here in the UK  a recent TV series ( 6 x60 minute episodes) was focused on the Scarlet Lady  doing its 5 night cruises. 

I watched all 6 episodes,  and saw absolutely  nothing to entice me to VV.

I've got all of my pins   from the second cruise  through to current diamond. 

Checked in online last  for DW and I for Anthem sailing on 11th.  We're (obviously) both on the same booking.

I checked myself in first, then DW.  As we're overnighting near the port we wanted the earliest available boarding time.  11.30 was available,  so chose that, grand!

Now I see DWs check in/wellness check is 11.30......but mine has somehow mysteriously changed to 1.00 o'clock. 

Surely they'll let us on together as we're  on the same booking, in the same stateroom?

Just watched the last episode.  Repetitive again, but it seems to have been the last episode  of the series. 

We're  most definitely  not their target passengers - We're not 30 somethings, noisy in your face types, who like dancing in any available  space.

At least the series gave reasons to strike Virgin off the possibilities list!

9 hours ago, skyking said:

Anthem is incredible and cruising from Southampton even more so. 

 

On the June 17th sailing we were Royal UP from a JS to OS and it was simply amazing. 

 

Fingers crossed for you!

When dud you find out about your successful  bid?