firstcarib

We took wipes & used them all around our cabin-especially the TV remote & telephone-but both of us still got awful coughs/respiratory infections-& they lasted ages!

I think using the stairs/handrails doesn’t help, when you see so many people coughing/sneezing then holding on to the rails?  

You can’t really wipe these down yourself each time!
Yeeuk -a good reason to take the elevators??( but get someone else to press the button!!)

I agree totally! Maja from Serbia was on Davina last Xmas  & was a great hairdresser. I was hoping to see her on my Meraviglia t/a in Sept but heard she’s now on Seaside. But her friend Georgi was fantastic also! 2 very talented hairdressers. If I won Lotto I would buy them their own salon- near me!!!!

On 11/4/2019 at 8:54 PM, nikkiw60 said:

We had our Aurea inclusive massages earlier, we were not given a choice and had the Bali massage, this is now 50 minutes only. It was very good but the end of massage upset was a prescription for a hot stone massage for the special price of $133... I pay less than $40 for this at home! Matt was also prescribed this same one..

Also we pre- booked hair salon appointments before boarding for what I thought was a good price of £24 each ($30 ish) today in spa for men $15 and I think it was $24 for women.

The hairdresser (Georgi? from Serbia I think) is one of the best around! I had a great cut, colour & finish-better than I get at home 

On 10/30/2019 at 1:49 PM, trainbuff said:

My post was in no way attacking the OP. It was merely stating the real reason we left Quebec early as told to me by the cruise director.

This story of whales is bizarre! We spent ages hopefully looking for a whisker of one! Only saw a flying fish. I feel the whole fishy story was made up-it would have been so much better just to have told us the truth-the real reason-whether it was stormy seas, the need to get back earlier to NYC or whatever. It was the total lack of info that annoyed me & many others on the NYC-Canada cruise.

9 hours ago, sidari said:

When the buffet windows are washed the water runs down onto the balconies, we had a Deck 10 balcony on the first TA to Miami, there was an issue with the Aft pool which had been over filled in St Maarten and not drained back before we left, water cascaded down onto the balconies until the pool had water drained from it.

It did occur on other occasions but not heard of anything recently.

Didn’t really know where the water came from-window washing or pool -but it was a real p—-in the a— to walk out into a puddle in the mornings! Guest services were pretty poor when we reported it for the second & third times. Our cabin guy cleared it as well as he could but it came back & he was soooo busy with other cabins( lots of very full family cabins as Xmas cruise!) so we didn’t like to keep bothering him! Thus we paddled or avoided using the balcony. Shame really.

5 minutes ago, TITACATS said:

Thanks for the replies. Good to know that we can book these cabins without worrying about that. 🙂

We did have a problem with water on the balcony too-we called housekeeping a few times but they were slow in responding so we gave up in the end! 

We had an aft balcony on deck 12 over Xmas on Divina. I’d wanted an aft for ages but was rather disappointed. There wasn’t any extra balcony room really. Lower decks seemed to have more space-but Beware!-the balconies on the deck above us were awfully small-hardly large enough for a chair! There was often an oily smell from the funnels ( also noticeable at the aft adult pool) & we noticed more movement than we had experienced in a more mid cabin. It was nice to watch the wake & we could use the “secret” staircase leading upto the buffet restaurant (if we wanted to go there!) but I think that box is now ticked. 

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

In addition to the OBC, aren't you also getting a 25% FCC?  The downside is that 25% is off of your current price, not the next cruise you book, and the current cruise is probably fairly low price. 😉

Why would we want to book again with RCC.? There are so many other cruise companies out there to choose from. We only booked this cruise because of the itinerary, not the company. The offer of 25% FCC does not really interest us.

It expires quite quickly & we have 3 other cruises( not with RCC!!) booked already for the next 12 months.

6 minutes ago, Proplayer said:

No, the cruise before had issues. The 11-5 TA sailing is because of weather.

The broken stabiliser issue from the previous week has not been fixed to be fully operational, therefore it can only compound the issues of bad weather in the Atlantic. Hence we are skulking in the English Channel/ around the industrial port of Le Havre until Thursday. Certainly NOT what we had booked for.

Safety is paramount but I feel RCCL are hiding mechanical issues behind using the weather issues as an excuse.

4 hours ago, hova said:

Boston and New York cultural and enriching?   Not in my books.  I would take the Valencia and Lisbon stops any day.   I guess it depends what side of the pond you live on and what you want to see!

Irrespective of which side of The Pond you live there is surely no comparision whatsoever between the ports we are missing( Boston & NYC) & the ports we are now visiting( industrial areas of Zeebrugge in Belgium & le Havre in N France) 

If Valencia or Lisbon had been offered to us I would not feel so aggrieved but sadly they are nowhere near our departure port of Southampton, so have never been part of the discussion for Navigators changed t/a itinerary.

RCCLs paltry offer of 100$ obc ( or less depending on cabin grade) is actually somewhat insulting.

I would like their written reassurance they are being totally open & honest with us & that the failed stabiliser issue from last weeks sailing is not affecting our itinerary, coupled with the storms.

Safety is paramount, but honesty & integrity are also a requirement from RCCL to their customers.

On 3 November 2018 at 11:21 AM, kernow said:

We're on Jewel TA leaving Monday and have also had a complete change of itinerary with stops in the Canaries rather than Lisbon and the Azores. No compensation offered for us though so people on Navigator have actually done well!

 

Julie

You jest! Done well!!!!?? Exchanged Boston & NYC for Zeebrugge & Le Havre!!??? Plus a paltry 100$ pp or less OBC!!!???? I will exchange Jewel for Navigator & chuck in a RCCL pen as well if you like as further compo!

😡

3 hours ago, hova said:

 

Actually Navigator passengers did find out their itinerary changed before they sailed.   In fact, the TA doesn’t even start until tomorrow (Nov 5).   I also see no difference between those two sailings.

3 hours ago, Katie H said:

The two TAs which both start tomorrow are the same exact situation.  It is the current cruise on Navigator which is different and, in my opinion, deserving of compensation.  I don't know what they are receiving.  I don't think the TAs really deserve anything for itinerary change but those of us on Jewel are wondering why Navigator is getting it and we are not in the same exact situation.  Just seems odd.

If you see no difference between having booked a cruise to visit Boston & NYC & instead having a changed itinerary to visit 2 industrial wasteland ports just over the English Channel- then I wish I had your rose tinted specs on. I will exchange Navigator for Jewel if you like! You can even have my paltry OBC of 100$ 😡

I fully understand adverse weather conditions can alter ports visited, but after all the mechanical issues with the stabiliser Navigator had last week I am left feeling that RCC are not being totally honest & open about the need to stay in the English Channel from 5th Nov until Thursday 8th (including staying in Le Havre overnight) 

Hopefully someone from RCC reads these posts & will realise that customers need open & honest dialogue in events such as these. If there is still a problem with the stabiliser that could compound the rough sea conditions then for goodness sake be honest about it please. Safety is paramount, but so is honesty!!!

Celebrity Eclipse cancelled similar Northern T/A route 3 or 4 yrs ago & went via south via Caribbean. Lots of disappointed folk then too. We were on the same ship & taking the same N Atlantic route exactly 1 year later & it was like a Millpond-warm & sunny in Boston & NYC even in November. It’s a chance you take. Other ships are changing their T/A itineraries also for this weekend & next week. Who wants to risk dangerous storms mid Atlantic? Not me!!!

10 hours ago, SteelMagnolia9 said:

If one was expecting to visit the U.S. ports, the disappointment is understandable.

Yep, the ghastly industrial port of Le Havre is no compensation for Boston or NYC. Understand safety issues, but really, an overnight stay in Le Havre!? Surely there could be somewhere better than that to go to. Please do not think it is near Paris as some folk believe, it's 3.5 hrs away on a coach.

Zeebrugge isn't a brilliant port either, but at least it's near Bruges.

6 hours ago, Johnamac123 said:

^^^^ This. Le Havre, Fr is a major ship repair facility port. RCI admits they are spending two full days there to do further stabilizer repairs. Weather issues?? You gotta feel for anyone who made plans for NYC and Boston. I'm just want them to get to Miami on time.  

15 hours ago, heatherb1958 said:

 The cynic in me agrees with this.

Just checked Accuweather for next week, the only storm of any significance is Oscar and that will hit the UK tonight.

Accuweather actually says the rest of the Atlantic will remain quiet through the middle of next week although I know you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet. 😂

On the plus side it will be quiet for the crew for a crossing if a lot of people cancel.

Check the navigational weather charts/storm forecast again! Looks pretty bad to me...35ft waves, no thank you! Dont want to spend any time in Le H but ratger that than be in those conditions. Jewel & Silhouette have also changed their transatlantic itineraries, so there must be some dangerous conditions coming.

7 hours ago, m4rcu5 said:

 

 

Well, some people myself for one choose to disembark in Boston or New York... so yes I'm part of that contingent who isn't happy and who is complaining. 

I have done the Transatlantic crossing on both RC and Cunard. Queen Mary 2 managed the crossing even during Hurricane force winds. 

And the previous RC trip managed stormy swells fine. 

To that end I took RC up on their offer to cancel the cruise with 100% refund, and booked myself onto the QM2 departing the day earlier on the 4th. 

 

Cunard/QM are liners, different vessels to ordinary cruise ships. Liners are designed to go to & fro across Atlantic all year long. I am certainly happy we are not going to face 35ft waves, but very unhappy with staying in Le Havre, its a dump.

14 hours ago, CruisingMarch2016 said:

Travel Insurance--I understand it some policies will pay up around $ 1k when a itinerary is changed, so those with Insurance should be happy campers along with some great ports of call.

Safe travels!!

Not paying out for storms /bad weather/acts of god!! Other ships ( Jewel, Silhouette) have also changes routes so there is definitely bad weather coming in the Atlantic. Its November, it happens!!!!!

Navigator totally changed route too. Missing Boston, NYC & Pt Canaveral. Substituted  Zeebrugge, Le Havre overnight & Gran Canaria. Horrible industrial ports of Zeebrugge & Le Havre certainly no match for Boston & NYC😩😡

Lots of anger on FB, mainly due to theory about the broken stabiliser issue, added to the storm brewing. Of course we fully understand that safety is the major priority, but most passengers are very unhappy about staying in Zee & Le H.

1 hour ago, snaebyllej said:

Has anyone seen anything about which stabilizer it was?  Problems with the aft port stabilizer on the spring 2008 TA resulted in an "ineresting" cruise, with 2 ports canceled and near riots on board as a result.  They ended up cutting off the stabilizer fin; makes me wonder if there could have been a problem with the repair.

 

Do you really mean stabilizer issues since TA in spring 2008? Or did you mean 2018?? Surely this ship has been in dry dock & checked since then??

We went on the North Sea to Norway on her 2 yrs ago & all was smooth as a babys posterior!

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Navigator's TA starting this weekend has been re-routed from northerly route (Southampton - Boston, NY, etc), via a southerly route (drop down to med, then cross) - one would have to assume due to the issue.

The Nov 5th TA crossing has been altered due to weather warnings of severe storms with waves up to 35 feet in N Atlantic. I have checked out  the forecast!

As much as I am not happy with the alternative ports I'm with the Captain's decision on this one. Safety always comes first, ports to be visited come second. If there really was a problem with the stabiliser still do you really think the ship would sail, even on the southerly route?

Just wondering if there is anyone on board with an "Emotional Support Animal" ....perhaps they would have to disemBARK too😝😜😱

4 hours ago, BillOh said:

Well, that article seemed a little more comprehensive (at the time) than some I saw, they at least did some research of their own rather than regurgitating some internet report which seems to be the norm for today. Thanks for posting that one. I use to really like Newsweek back in the day when I bought Magazines. 

Read the Newsweek article, it still seemed a bit " hearsay" especially the quote from a passenger about staying in flooded rooms....just as if! Article not given more credibilty by Newsweek adding a pic of Navigator taken in Majorca in 2009! 

Really hoping all is fixed to 110% safety as we are going on her 5th Nov from Southampton on the transatlantic to Boston etc & it may be a tad lumpy! Or even worse...bumpy, so we are gonna need those stabilisers in full working order.

Plus we really do need a totally waterproof hull😱

28 minutes ago, SuiteLady said:

Depends on the ship....Went on Harmony and they served pro-biotic drinks/ juices at the Vitality Spa Café.  Not all ships have a spa café...what ship are you going on?

Navigator...don't think there is a Spa Cafe on board? 😩

2 hours ago, dgakers said:

Karenlovesparis - notice I didn't comment on the immigration piece.  I have never had to experience that.  It sounds like a horrible incident and I agree everyone should have been notified about the procedure. 

 

I do hope there were some good times during your cruise.  Keep the faith with MSC.

We had an awful immi problems 3 years ago on Celebrity Eclipse after our T/A from UK to Boston. Absolute total chaos, not sure who was to blame, the ship's officers or the very slow immi officers. Or even the passengers, who all turned up en masse even tho we were all given timed immi appointments. Many people missed their Boston tours, even those booked on ship's tours. We made ours by the skin of our teeth, after literally begging several officers to let us jump the queue & see immi as per our original appt time.

So it is not just an MSC issue! 

Thanks for the info, we were wondering whether it would be worth it, but as we will be in the Caribbean we probably wouldn't get full use. If it was on the chilly transatlantic then possibly we would go for it. 

10 minutes ago, gerif said:

They definitely have yogurt at breakfast. Does it have to be in a drink?

Thanks gerif, it needs to be a probiotic, either as a food or drink. I’ve had “yogurt” on board before & it’s commercial stuff full of sugar & additives-not the pro-biotic good stuff that has heaps of natural good bugs in it. Kefir is a fermented culture that you can drink like a yogurt drink. It tastes pleasant & puts back all the good bugs your insides need if you’ve been taking antibiotics or been ill with anything digestive related.

In the UK we can get little bottles of “yakult” which do a similar job.