cublet

Hello, Re "Unless you are of 'mountain goat' heritage, you will want to take a taxi TO the hotel but can walk back as gravity will be on your side" above - the journey back can be only about 50% of the journey to Reid's BUT should NOT be attempted if any of the party is in a wheelchair or electric scooter as it will sorely test the gears and/or brakes. The route is exit right from Reid's and follow the road 'Estrada Monumental' through the dual carriageway system until the lanes rejoin at 'Avenida do Infante', and after about 200 metres turn RIGHT down 'Rua Carvalho Araujo' - a one-way street and steep hill. At the end you will be at the roundabout at the entrance to the port. I probably over-dress with a jacket and tie but the most recent booking confirmation said "our recommended dress code is smart casual (to preserve the timeless glamour of the afternoon tea experience, sport attire is not permitted: including t-shirts, man sandals and flip flops of any kind)" Regards, Cublet

Hello, I'm afraid that I'm a bit late to this party. I always book independently. I ask for a table 'On the Terrace' that overlooks the gardens and (hopefully) the ship berthed in the distance! It is open air, unlike the inside room that is given to ships' excursion parties where everyone eats together at trestle tables. There are two 'sittings' - one at 3.00pm and the second at either 4.00 or 4.30pm (I've only ever done 3.00pm myself). Unless you are of 'mountain goat' heritage, you will want to take a taxi TO the hotel but can walk back as gravity will be on your side. The cheapest way to do this is take a ship's shuttle bus to the city's drop-off point and take a taxi from there to the hotel this avoiding the 'entering port area' surcharge on the taxi charge. Depending on the day, phases of the moon or anything else, expect to pay between 10 and 15 Euro one way. If you avail yourself of all the offered 'reloads & refills' you will not want to book any specialty restaurants that night and even MDR may be a course too far. As a further memento, there is a gift shop next floor down that sells Reid's branded goods. Regards, Cublet

Hello, That worked perfectly for both 2024 & 2025. Thank you. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Thank you. Might you have got your P and B the wrong way round? Either way both ways are coming up as 'invalid'. I have to book some B2Bs so I'll gently enquire then if there is a current offer. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I was talking about 'current' - or at least June this year. I was writing countering the statement "....with the exception of the first night of the cruise and the night of the senior offers gathering" as my experience in June was that the night of the senior officers' gathering was not an exception. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Does anyone have a current discount code for MSC & RCI/X parking with ABP at Southampton for 2024 & 2025? I have one covering 2024 but it says to be used by end July 2023. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Does anyone have a current discount code to book MSC parking at Southampton for 2024 & 2025? I did a search but the results don't state the year and having put a time frame of 'within the last six months' and got some results from 2018 (!), I decided a simpler approach was in order. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I was told on Silhouette that the CC HH is every day apart from the first - ie includes the night of the senior officers bash. I made use of that fact twice in the Passport Bar. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I am only theorising as I have no first hand knowledge, but my theory is this. You have Elite status on X and therefore Diamond status on Royal but whilst you have the STATUS you don't have the POINTS. The on-line booking system is looking at the C&A points to apply the discounts, but as you don't have the points it is not applying the discounts. But as I said, this is only my theory and others may know more. But whether right or not, best you contact Royal or use a good TA. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Based on experience, I very much doubt they would put (genuine) Prosecco in a mimosa - or anything else for that matter. Again, based on experience, the only way you can be guaranteed being served Prosecco and not the cheap swill they serve as such, is to buy it by the bottle and have in kept in your preferred bar. The motto of both X and Royal is 'serve cheap, charge dear'. This is a problem I never have on MSC. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Yes. You will have to pay the going rate for Royal's NCC/Deposit and not any concessionary X rate that it may be offering for its own NCC/Deposit. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Anyone coming along to the longest Royal Caribbean cruise from Southampton in 2025? It's only 12 nights, but with the right company could be well worth it!😁 Regards, Cublet

Hello, Flair for what, I ask myself. Perhaps someone will come along to explain it to me? Please?😧 Hope to see you on board, Regards, Cublet

Hello Folks, Anybody coming too? One of my other Roll Calls has got 661 views but zero posts😭 - lets do better on this one. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Can I ask a tangential question? As I prepay gratuities at the time of booking and then 'actually pay' 70 days out, when do the bar/waiting staff, cabin steward et al get the money? Regards, Cublet

Hello, Yes, I am saying exactly that - for the UK at least. Though there is an alternative - the agents don't know about, or how to use, the DP340 code. [Refer to an earlier post somewhere on a lack of documented processes.] As a lapsed accountant, I was expecting there to ge a giant formula that worked-out the prices based on the standard, but I was told that each and every possible permutation/combination of sub prices are worked-out individually and input manually. One of the many things this tells me is that Royal is only really interested in the 'hardware' ie ships and anything that supports or underpins the ships, 'software', comes a distant second in terms of both money and effort Regards, Cublet.

Hello, My latest booking required someone at Royal to work out a single special price - it was quite simple - they just halved the couple's price. Regards, Cublet

Hello, This side of the pond, the DP340 code produced 'Not applicable' until a week or so ago for all weeks inside or outside the 'blackout dates'. Now the code is recognised and produces a message that the discounts will be applied at checkout but when you get there the discount is a nice round Zero. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I went into a pretentious cocktail bar in Bristol and ordered a vodka martini - shaken not stirred. The barman refused saying he could not do it as shaking would 'bruise the alcohol'. My friend, a university scientist and 'President of the Academic Board', near collapsed in a fit of laughter. Being less demonstrative, I just shook my head in disbelief. Regards, Cublet

Hello, There used to be a cargo line that had both a sea-going captain and a port captain. The port captain was a retired sea-going captain and lived ashore. When the ship arrived in port, the sea-going captain left for whatever jollies sea-going captains enjoy and the port captain boarded, along with wife and a short-haired terrier dog that I remember was called 'Mandy.' I cannot remember any formal procedure, if any, that had to be gone through to accommodate the dog. On the day the ship was to sail, the above reversed. Regards Cublet

Hello, When Eclipse first arrived in Southampton, Cafe al Bacio served 'finger' sandwiches and filled savoury croissants in the mornings and cakes/sweet items not until the afternoons. Biscuits were always available. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I agree with you - but sadly Royal does not. I posted somewhere this week that training, if any, of new recruits post-covid has been pitiful and this is a prime example. The knowledge of the difference and the reason for the difference seems to have been lost and no amount of arguing will shift them.What it needs, if anyone has it, is a print of the C&A Benefits that shows the difference for UK sailings. Regards, Cublet

Hello, The only time I've ever seen Senior's Discount is when we had covid restricted home waters cruising a couple of years ago. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I'm afraid this confirms what I have said for months: The training, if any, post covid has been pitiful. If full T&Cs are not documented fully then 'word-of-mouth'/opinions will fill the vacuum and things will get lost. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Me too. What annoys me additionally is there is only one ex Southampton cruise in 2025 longer than 10 nights so the opportunity to max-out my OBC from my 2 x NCC is sadly diminished. I might only buy one next year and not two. Regards, Cublet