seb530

On 4/11/2024 at 1:17 AM, ldubs said:

 

At first I didn't understand your comment about it being risky.  Now I get it.  With missed connections that are the airline's fault, they will put you on an alternative flight.  That doesn't mean it will be the best alternative or get you to your destination on time. Is that different than if booked through your TA?    

 

Out of pure curiosity, in your neck of the woods, when booking an international flight (not with a cruise) do you normally use a travel agent?   

Hi sorry for the delay. No, i wouldnt necessarily book just a flight with a TA but i would probably consider it if i was looking for accommodation (same as  a cruise really) as if there are any issues then the TA is responsible for sorting things out and the costs.

 

Thanks, some companies already bundle other cruises (e.g celebrity for asia) and just wondered how people did it.  In the uk i guess if you dont purchase through a TA and anything goes wrong with connections etc you are on your own and down to your insurance

We are looking at Asia Jan 2026 but how do people work it with flights as Princess dont seem to have them included.
Do you wait and book your own (risky?) or do through a TA?

17 minutes ago, Ilovemygarden said:

Azura offers both. Two dining rooms for freedom and one for fixed where the latest sitting is 8.30pm. 

Thanks

Can someone confirm if azura has fixed dining or only freedom?  If fixed what might be the latest slot?

thanks

Looking to possibly book discovery 2 for asia 25.  Whilst its a while away looking at all the youtube videos the cabins look a bit dated - anyone know if/when they are due a refurb similar to discovery

thanks all, will take a look as entertainment is also a big consideration along with ports. Celebrity seem to be the only line visiting both Hong Kong and Singapore

Hi all, never sailed with Celebrity before but have done so with Princess/P&O and Marella.
We are currently booked on RCL Wonder of the Seas for caribbean  Jan 2024 but its very expensive (£8k for inside, 14 days from UK incl drinks) and whats concerning is come recent report of degradation of quality of food and service,

So... we are looking at options and considering switching to Asia for Jan 2024 which would be aboard Solstice.
Main concern is the number of "tiers" in teh booking system (like a "class" system!), the Celebrity video focussed on those plus paid restaurants etc!).
There doesnt seem to be many entertainment venues for live music - just the theatre and potentially one other.  Is this right or is there plenty entertainment during  the evenings?  Does this ship/line have a different clientelle to, for example, Princess?

13 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Multiple thoughts: 

- Keep watching the price.  It may go down (or up -- yikes!). 

- Ignore the 20% discount; pay attention only to the final price. 

- Remember that you'll need to add 18% mandatory tip to whatever cost you see, and that adds up to real money.  

- Since you're looking at B2B cruises, I'd ask if you'd really drink heavily enough to justify the cost for two weeks in a row ... I say this because a lot of people "burn out" on drinking that much after a couple days.  You might "win" by opting to buy the drink package for the first week, then paying for individual drinks for the second week.  

Cheers - i read some posts that suggests that the 18% tip is included int he price that we see in the UK hence the higher amount but i havent gone through the checkout to find out!  We arent big drinkers but cocktails at $14 doesnt take many to get near the package - may need to switch to beer 😉

1 hour ago, Pandamonia said:

Everything on Royal is more expensive and MUCH worse than it used to be. 

 

Speciality restaurants couldnt cook a medium fillet steak. Also no staff and 80% empty tables on wonder in speciality. 

 

Drinks packages are a rip off. Drinks prices are a rip off too. Service is pretty bad never see a waiter walking around. Cruise prices are sky high and they would rather sail empty than discount. Wonder had entire blocks of cabins empty at back of the ship in October med cruise. 

 

I just got back from a P&O cruise which was so cheap i couldnt believe the price. 40 quid a day drinks package but limited to 15 alcoholic ones at 7 quid max spend. Peroni was 5.25 a pint cocktails 6.95 GBP. Best bit was that i NEVER went to the bar as a waiter fetched every drink for me and best bit NO STUPID 18% TIPS!  How amazing that the staff are paid a salary by the company and not the customer directly! Contrary to my last 5 Royal cruises where i mostly found myself stuck in a queue for a drink and then had to pay 18% for someone to pass me a bottle from the fridge. 

 

Royal is basically chasing profits by increasing prices and providing less which is short termism and will ultimately damage the brand longer term. Had i now not got free diamond drinks and 40% off bottles of wine i dont think id even sail royal any more. No way am i paying 100 GBP per day for drinks package which a few years ago was as low as 27GBP per day for beers, wines and spirits. Even at 50 GBP i dont think ill be paying it any more. Royal has simply put me off the whole drinks package thing now. 

 

Upside is that ill spend 1400-2000 GBP per couple for a 2 week cruise and i wont gain like 5kg in weight. Thanks Royal for opening my eyes and keeping me slim. Your greed has both made me richer and slimmer! 

 

 

yes we normally do P&O and the difference for drinks (both single and package) is staggering at the moment.  I dont think they bother about the 15 drink limit on p&o providing you are not showing too much signs of being the worse for wear.  I definitely cant see us shelling out £85 per person per day for drinks and , ill be honest, its making me reconsider RCL at the moment  as we have already spent more than i would expect even for an inside. We wanted to try the biggest ship but some of the other lines arent too much smaller so will need to have a think at this £££age  We really want to try RCL but everything has a price.
WHat i dont also get is it looks like we are being charged 1:1 USD:GBP from other comments when the rate is 1.2 USD per 1GBP - id like to pay in USD please!.

From other posts the gratuity is prepaid in the drinks package - im hoping that is the case but then it does make otehr drinks very expensive. Ive seen beet at $8.50 which makes it $10 after tips  which is £8.30 in GBP - I've never paid that for a pint in my life 😉

Can I check anyone who has been onboard is the price of package inclusive of tips?  I.e. if I stick to drinks within the package there’s no additional charge?
 

on the menus if I buy per drink do I need to consider the gratuity?  So a drink listed at $10 I have to remember a tip of $1.80 will be added?

£82 for caribbean next year!!!

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

There are multiple recent threads about the high prices. The americans are also complaining. 

cheers, may need to rethink as could get a cruise for this haha

Drinks package has just become available for our cruise in Caribbean next year at £81.86 pp per day - nearly $100 and they state thats a 20% discount - seems insane!... anyone know the USD normal for pre-cruise package? i wonder if we are getting stiffed on exchange rate/20% VAT or something or if this is what our UA friends pay also.

I realise to keep an eye on discounts  but it really is quite eye watering as it will amoun to 2260 GBP for our B2b Cruises - $2700!

29 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Remember you can always book items on cruise planner then hope for great sales on black friday.

Thanks, Exactly what we plan but not available yet which is surprising since excursions are

Hi all, putting aside how expensive drinks and the package are, how far in advance can you book the package?  On my planner for next Jan on Wonder it just says “still preparing”

1 hour ago, soremekun said:

Bat signal

@little britain

??? Dont understand 😂

3 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

The 14 day distance selling rule doesn’t apply to travel tickets or package holidays I’m afraid.

 

https://www.gov.uk/online-and-distance-selling-for-businesses

Cheers, not much we can so i guess. A bit to risky to take the gamble as to which days she will get off at the hospital

One for UK cruisers

We have booked b2b cruises for 2024 last week for 7th jan. but have only just realised that my wife isnt allowed to request the week (mon to sun) where new year falls.

completely out mistake and we could gamble but as we are only 3 days after booking i would expect the 14 day cooling off period under distance buying to apply but can anyone confirm?

We have booked b2b cruises for 2024 last week for 7th jan. but have only just realised that my wife isnt allowed to request the week (mon to sun) where new year falls.

completely out mistake and we could gamble but as we are only 3 days after booking i would expect the 14 day cooling off period under distance buying to apply but can anyone confirm?

HI, we are looking at B2B caribbean cruise for 2024 and the total saving going inside over balcony is significant (£1380) total.
Looking at insides 14227 and 14627  are available but these look unusually placed so looking for any advice or comments from anyone in the know.
From what i can make out they are below the pool deck and immediately below the lime and coconut bar but i could be completely wrong.
Are these decent? much noise? they look slightly smaller than the ones next to them ?

Hi all, new to RCL previously with Princess/P&O and a few questions from me and looking for some of your expert knowledge.

We are looking to book Back to Back cruises for Jan 2024 ish on Wonder of the Seas from florida likely sailing 7th followed by 14th.
We really want to try a BIG ship but icon seems a bit too family orientated for us.

•  there doesnt seem to be much in the way of "Black Friday" discounts.  More a statement than observation but saving on £5k of booking per cabin is only £260.
• there seems to be little availability which i  found surprising given we are a year + out and it looks like the same cabins seem to be available on many of the sailings which is a bit of an orange flag as to why: 

- 7564/7566 (these seem ok not sure)
- 9126/9128 & 8126/8128 (these are at front of ship and i cant work out balcony arrangement, can anyone enlighten?)
I cant work out if this is truly whats available or whether some are retained by TAs etc?

• CocoCay - does anyone know pricing of waterpark?

Our other potential consideration is switching to Symphony of the Seas for approx £700 less per cabin.  Are these ships virtually identical despite the age gap?

Any help appreciated
 

Thanks - looks like its worth a conderation we love to get away and we have a good time wherever we are/whatever we do. Short cruise, less risk 😉

hi all - we have been on most of the P&O fleet on the grand class ships and above but never on arcadia .
Due to bereavement we had to cancel our planned cruise in september and looking for a filler in november but due to my wife working for NHS theres a limited window and the only cruise available is a very short one on Arcadia.

The only thing thats in question here is whether arcadia has an older clientelle than the likes of britannia/iona etc - i.e. is everyone in bed by 10pm!?
My other half likes the onboard entertainment and if this cruise isnt really for us we would rather not go

hello, we are interested in doing a cruise with RCL in April 2024 on one of the big ships (Wonder looks promising).
However, being in the UK i have some questions having previously sailed with P&O and Princess:

1. Do RCL ever have any promotions in UK? ive been watching for a few weeks and never seen any offers yet? if so, any idea best time to look  (e.g. black friday)?
2. is it easy to book back to back cruises as they only seem to do 6/7 nights - i would assume you can get off and on at the middle port
3. How do you do flights - do you organise independently or have a TA that will put together a package
4. The drinks package looks expensive c$65-80 per person per day (albeit i know individual drinks are expensive). for 13 nights this is near £1500! is it just that RCL are expensive?

Any tips would be welcome.