snaefell

We have only done one RCI cruise so far,the itinerary for that changed soon after we booked it,before we sailed & during the cruise! We booked another TA calling at Halifax,that was dropped soon after booking,another 6 night cruise we booked evolved into a Singapore to Tokyo repo cruise. They do it on a regular basis IME,swore we wouldn't book with them again but we will be sailing with them in a few weeks,until today that cruise had been unchanged,the cruise schedule hasn't changed but our cabaret booking has been changed,they just had to get us somewhere or other!

Computers weren't around when I started work,but I became pretty heavily involved with them when they came along supposedly ' to make our jobs easier',sadly there was never enough time & money put in to make the systems fit for purpose,IME that happens so often. you could be right,done properly they may be useful but..........

Love new technology!😆😆

We were on Arcadia last year,embarkation day was my Wife's Birthday so I was keen to book a table in the Ocean Grill for that evening,unable to book before boarding once in the cabin I tried the app with no luck,a phone call to Guest Services gave me a message to go to Reception,after reaching the front of the queue I was told they couldn't help,I wasn't taking no for an answer & after persisting a phone call was made & the table booked....couldn't be easier!!😒😒 The app,IME,was very much up & down,working great somedays,others not,after 3 consecutive days of it being dead as the proverbial Dodo I went to Reception & as soon as the young lady touched the screen it sprang into life....typical!😆😆

I wonder how much this will vary from Line to Line or even ship to ship,maybe depending on what happened to them during the pandemic. We were on P&O's Arcadia last year,OK she is an older ship,I haven't seen quite so much major work going on during a cruise before,replacing pipework,cutting out steelwork,,not just the usual painting. We were told by a member of the crew that nothing had been done for two years during the pandemic due to lack of money coming in,they were trying to make up for lost time! I know people who expected ships to have been refurbished while they were 'idle',obviously not!

I have no complaint with the cost of the actual cruise that we will be taking with RCI in a few weeks,what shocks me is the cost of 'extras' like drinks,specialty dining & shore excursions which are so much more expensive than we have been used to.

Our one previous TA was at the end of March from the Caribbean to the UK,stopping at the Azores. We didn't experience any really rough weather,the big thing was the drop in temperature during the last couple of days as we neared the UK which had experienced mega blizzard conditions,happily the worst had gone by the time we arrived! We had an aft facing balcony which with being sheltered by the superstructure meant we could sunbathe comfortably while the towels & beds were being blown about by the pool. My overwhelming memory of the journey involved the very talented Caribbean band that made the journey to the UK with us,they played by the main pool late each night but didn't seem quite so colourful & magical during the last few nights as the temperature plummeted,the crowds dwindled & they performed wearing coats,hats,scarves & gloves!😆😆

We were on Arcadia last year,there had been reports on these forums of Norovirus on the previous cruise,three days into our 19 night Med cruise it was announced that Gastric Enteritus had broken out,for the rest of the cruise the crew served on the buffet which was a pain,especially as some obviously didn't want to be doing it! They tried to stop people from entering the buffet without washing & sanitizing their hands but some just pushed their way in & helped themselves,I guess they knew better?!?!😒😒

We have done one TA with P&O & are about to do another with Royal Caribbean,both Westbound,we feel that we have had enough of flying so getting it out of the way early on is nice! if it is important to you P&O tend to be a fraction of the price of RCI when it comes to things like drinks,specialty dining & shore excursions,several days at sea give you nice 'chill' time!

I can relate to that,I had a knee op back in December which has temporarily(I hope!) left me needing to use,first crutches & now sticks,it has shocked me how few people seem willing to accommodate people with mobility problems.

We have been seriously tempted by a Med cruise with RCI,we can get the cruise for a very tempting price but it is the 'extras' that put us off,in a few weeks we will be sailing on Anthem & know how expensive speciality dining,shore excursions & drinks are compared to a recent cruise with P&O,drinks with P&O were similar to local pub prices while the other two 'extras' are around three times dearer with RCI.

Almost sounds like an invasion of your privacy,do you have any choice/input into what appears on the screen?

The constant threat of industrial action has IMO made it difficult to book train travel with confidence these days,we have twice booked to travel by train only to see strikes announced nearer the travel date

We were with P&O last year,they are down to once a day BUT you had to put the Service Room sign on the outside of your door before 1.30pm,no sign no service,many had a problem with that,there were many raised voices where people wondered why their rooms hadn't been done! Also we stayed in a Best Western last Ssummer where room service was every 3 days.

Our only RCI cruise so far was in 2019,a near 3 week repo cruise on Quantum,for a while I did get C&A emails but they seem to have stopped,we are on Anthem next month,our cruise record shows no previous cruises & obviously no points,I was beginning to think our cruise was too long ago but reading this thread makes me realise different!😎

Came in handy for fetching a bottle of Jamesons when required!🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀

We were on Britannia in her first Summer & saw peeling wallpaper,unpainted wood & tarnished chrome so that doesn't surprise me! In contrast we were on RCI's Quantum Of The Seas on a repo cruise as she headed to Singapore for her 5 year refurb & she seemed as good as new!

Now that has either got to be drinking one check of a lot of expensive drinks to make that work out surely!😕😕

On our last RCI cruise on Quantum in 2019 there were certainly quite a few that seemed to qualify for that description. Drunk by mid morning on sea days,as for shore days the bars were busy once people were back on board,they just had to drink their days quota!😆😆

Last year we cruised on P&O's Arcadia,loved the ship,more like a proper ship instead of a floating hotel AND adults only,wonderful BUT there were quite a few rude passengers & on a small ship it is difficult to get away from them,at the end of nearly 3 weeks we just couldn't wait to get away from them!😎😎

We are all different,we have never found a drinks package to be worth the expense for us. We both enjoy a drink although I don't drink tea or coffee,neither of us drink soda & are both happy drinking the water out of the tap. We certainly don't go short when it comes to drink & always end up with a bill way short of what we would have paid for a drink package.

They did when we were on her in 2019,didn't think it worth the money,IMO the quality really wasn't good

There are variable speed limits & 50mph speed limits all over the place these days so I guess it is possible

We have used the Ibis by Birmingham New Street,in Chinatown,clean & comfy,close to New Street Station which is only a short distance by train.

We have travelled down from Cheshire a number of times,coaches were clean & comfy,drivers were excellent & yes there were ample stops. As for how long,so far our trips down were around 4 hours,last year we arrived early &,like others,were led straight through & on board in double quick time. Our return journeys have been more mixed(cue jokes about it being uphill!),taking a lot longer,last year we were the first coach away from the ship at 0900hrs but didn't get back to our drop off point until near 1900hrs,,our previous return trip took over 7 hours,every motorway resembled a car park! Needed a holiday after both!😁,