zap99

Hi all,

 

Off on my 2 week cruise on the 27th Novemeber with P&O.

 

Quite a big event for me, never flown, never left British shores so it's all new to me.

 

The islands I will be visiting are:-

 

Barbados, Aruba, Grand Caymen, Ocho Rios, Amber Cove, Tortola, St Maartin, St Luciaand Grenada.

 

What currency should I change to before I go for these islands?

 

Many thanks,

 

Stuart

You won't need any money ( At least that's what I tell the better half ). US Dollars all the way, but try not to get too much change, or you will bring home lots of momento's.

Sorry to interject here; but the uncontrolled children you mention are not the responsibility of cabin crew unless they are UMs. It is parents who should control their children's behaviour not TC employees.

The Cabin Crew should lead the naughty children to the outside play area.:D

Only 4 invoices?

It took 7 (yes seven) invoices to finally get our cruise back in May right.

 

I just cannot understand why free drinks and free grats promotions cause so much confusion and have to be done manually. (Then again, this is the RCI IT dep't we are talking about, which doesn't seem to have a good reputation).

Various excuses were given regarding one promotion in their system overriding another which caused incorrect pricing, resulting in invoices with refunds showing and then invoices with balances outstanding....etc...etc...

 

At least it all worked out for us in the end.... finally!

We booked IOS in April for June 2016 and got the correct invoice yesterday. Only 2 invoices and less than 3 months. Is this the record ?

DW got one of the C&A Pendants this past Spring. There were several options with no diamonds to many diamonds. We bartered the price down a bit from the first price quoted on the one that DW wanted. During this process the sales lady brought over a pair of C&A earrings that matched the pendant DW was interested in and offered a discounted price for the set. We opted for just the pendant and got the discount offered for the set of three. Of course, they tried to sell her a gold chain to use with the pendant.

I have C&A dinner suit. They used to be available on the High St in the UK, but you need to go to mainland Europe now.

If it were that natural why would you not walk down the high street like it.

I have no objection if it was on the top deck.

Why on earth people think everyone else wants to see their wobbly bits is beyond me, especially after all the recent news about cancer. Is it really worth getting that tan in those places , when skin cancer awaits you round the corner?

Can you catch cancer by just looking.:confused: ??

I booked ours in January for a September cruise and on the invoice the drinks package showed as included but not the gratuities. I called and a new invoice was issued with both showing.

 

 

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We booked direct with RCI in April for June 2016 cruise and were told the free gratuities and drinks package would be on a second invoice sent in a couple of weeks. After 4 weeks still no second invoice, phoned and told due to high demand they were running behind.

Need to chase again. That shouldn't be necessary. Don't they know who I am.

:D

I've seen pier runners, jellyfish, sea turtles, Dolphins.

Seen all of the above+ Welly boot ( british thing ) Plastic chair and if you turn your back to the rail, you can see.................your cabin.:)

Nows the time to cruise on Indy guys . . . . . While Rock The Boat AREN'T on there !!!!!

 

Get that credit card out !

Au Contraire. Hopefully back on indy in 2016. What a great band .

People pay 1000's on cruises but don't own a dinner suit when that's a big part of it, you can get them so cheap and you wear it 4 times so it's a bargain...not to mention when you go on the next one!

I got mine about 15 years ago and only wear it on New years eve and Cruises. I think it has shrunk a bit over the years. When we are on American Cruise ships, particularly RCI it is amusing when the American guests show their loyalty pins. I just open my jacket and flash the C&A label. Jees, where did you get the Crown and Anchor tux? :D

Good job we are all different sounds fantastic and cannot wait to eat in Epicurean to celebrate my birthday on Maiden cruise.

It's my birthday when we are on the Maiden Caribbean. I imagine the DW will treat me to all of the speciality resturants at least twice. I think she will, probably, perhaps.

Menu's look interesting.:D

Wasted oportunity IMHO. The James Martin Bistro on OV1&2 seemed to be popular, we even had James Martin in there one evening. Good food at a reasonable extra cost. Paying £100 each to be in the kitchen whilst meandering around the Caribean isn't top of our bucket list.

You mean I cant sit at the bar with my bottle of Tesco Value Vodka, 2L bottle of Rola Cola and use my own plastic cups to drink it from while asking the bar man for some ice?!

The're ok with Waitrose Vodka, but not Tesco's ( branded purchased from Tesco is ok )

I am pretty sure Antigua had a small runway too, we did the tour of the island then we head to some shops and a bar, all wooden and sat out

Pretty sure you mean St Lucia. The Airport at Antigua is a fair way from the dock, but at St Lucia there is a small local airstrip and a small selection of shops and a bar or 2. If Rum was a dollar a bottle I wouldn't have made it back to the ship. :x:-y> ( work that one out ):D

I am thinking of visiting Oistin's Friday Night Fish Fry in Barbados whilst overnighting on the Ventura, has anyone been there and is it worth a visit?

Just lost my post. Fish fry at Oistins is a great evening. Load music, packed solid and very friendly. Brilliant.

I'm interested to know this too. We love to have lots of music to dance to.

 

 

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In September there was a pianist, or Duo in the Champagne bar and a Guitarist/singer most nights in the Pub. Nothing outstanding, but quite pleasant. The house band played in the Disco and they were quite good.

We are doing the Grand Med itinerary that goes to Barcelona, Provence, Florence/Pisa, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens, and Venice. Does anyone know which of these ports require tenders or where I can find this information? I'm trying to give pick up times for all of our private tours. Thanks!

We did this one in September. Only Mykonos was tender. That was good as the tender drops you right at the Mykonos Town Harbour ( not actually in the harbour !!, but on dry land). I think it's sometimes tender, sometimes it docks. Depends on how many other ships. Your tour company will know anyway. At all other ports the ship docked.

My husband & I will be flying to Rome & staying a few days then boarding our cruise ship on May 21, 2015 ( Allure Of The Seas-Western Mediterannian). Our first port stop is Naples; however, we are possibly thinking of going to Capri for the day. We are thinking of a tour & using the hydrofoil boat but it's quite expensive. Would it be wise to board the hydrofoil on our own then once in Capri, tour around on our own?? Are there stabilizers on the boat? Has anyone recently purchased tickets for the boat? Any help would be greatly appreciated

Robert & Debra

We did it a few weeks ago. Very easy. Tips we picked up here helped. We got the catamaran, about 10min walk from where the ship docked ( NCL Spirit), I think it was 9.30am and cost about 20 Euro each way and takes just under an hour. As you can only buy single tickets, best buy for the return Journey as soon as you arrive in Capri. Then straight to the Finicular to avoid the rush. Then just chill and enjoy. Not all the resturants are mega expensive, but a good few are. Ditto shops.

Plenty of boat trips from the harbour, if your still in need of even more sea air. If you leave enough time when you get back to Naples, a walk around the town is.............interesting

If you do Barcelona - Venice it IS an overnight in Venice. The ship comes into Venice during the early afternoon which is fantastic and then you can go into the city returning whenever. You have to leave your cabin and the ship the following morning. Having done it both ways I prefer Barcelona to Venice.

Maybe on Barcelona-Venice, but if you do Venice - Barcelona you Check in at lunchtime/early afternoon and the ship leaves at 1.00am

Threads concerning Portugal and Gibraltar, while sharing the Iberian Peninsula, are directed currently to the 'Other Mediterranean' section.

 

I think the moderators logic is that with Spain having so many significant ports including Barcelona, Malaga and the Balearic and Canary Island ports, that the threads are more balanced in volume by using the Northern, Western and Mediterranean headers.

Don't lump Gibraltar in with Spain. Spain have been trying to do that for 200 years :D

You have it spot on. Check in with your bags early then go back into Venice coming back up until 12.30AM. You will have a letter at your room telling you when you can make up not attending the safety drill.

Exactly. Naughty NCL, overnight NOT. Check in late morning ( can take 2 hours ) . Back into Venice for sight seing and get back late evening. If you haven't been to venice before, stay a night or 2 in a hotel. You will miss the muster drill and they will get you the next morning. You will find about 75% of the passengers did the same.

Thank you guys, sounds like it is worth it for us! :D

Roughly 2 is breakeven, 3 a profit, but the convienience of getting a fresh soda whenever you want is worth the cost. Top tip. Use the plastic NCL cup around the pool, but in the bars/resturants just ask for what you want and they give it to you in a proper glass, ice, lemon etc.

Unfortunately it seems that is too easy for most to comprehend. :(

How many post are there on all the cruise line boards saying " my husband/wife partner/...... ( fill in blanks ) doesn't drink. why cant I buy one package? why must I buy it or both of us ?.

Answer.

Because the cruise community is full of people who spend thousands of pounds/dollars on a cruise and smuggle booze on board, or cheat on the packages. I don't know if people just enjoy the " chase " or are just plain mean.

:D

We have only flown premium and apart from the hassle of having to stow the TV to get in andout of the window or middle seats we found it OK. The flight time was on average three quarters of an hour less. Will be in economy on our return trip from our next cruise all the premium had been sold. A problem because there are fewer than in the TC Airbus or Thomson 767's

Book them now with your TA there may be non left 9 weeks before your cruise.

 

Cb

We are booked for next November. I think Premium was £299, or so. We always use premium for long haul, to us it's worth it, but each to their own. if you don't book premium at the time you book the cruise, you will probably not get them. They WILL sell out. I didn't realise we landed 3/4 hour before economy .:D

His camo cargo shorts aren't the hunting type... think Old Navy or The Gap. But regardless, we'll just either leave them home or he can wear them strictly on the ship. Glad I found out now vs. when we were trying to debark in a port somewhere! :)

If they are really good, how will you find him?

We have done many cab tours in the ports.Many of the ports have a station where the cabs line up and the cab drivers stand behind a barrier with maps and prices.Know what you are interested in doing before arriving that way you won't waste your time on things that you could careless about.The prices can be lowered if you have a group of five to six people in the car.Try and stay clear of the tourist traps.Cab drivers will stop at souvenir stands of their choosing or stop for a photo of someone holding some kind of animal for $$.We stopped at this overlook in Jamaica to see the view once and 6 people came out of nowhere and surrounded the car pushing all sorts of items into any open window trying to sell us.The cab driver knew what he was doing.So much for his tip!We did brake down once on the road, but we were picked up by another cab when the cab driver called for assistance.Give yourself some wiggle room when booking a tour so that you have plenty of time going back to the ship.We have always felt safe but don't try and see everything.Save something for the next time you visit.

I seem to remember that just as you leave the port there is a kiosk with " unofficial" co ordinators. They ask what tour you want and point you in the direction of the correct minibus. This happens at most ports. They are very reliable and a bit flexible with the itinerary and very good value compared with the ships tours.