RosieCanberra

Oh I love this! Thanks so much for all the detail, I love Norway and looking forward to going back. 

And many thanks for the shot of Jimmy Perez's house 🙂

I really like Princess, food is better than NCL. Service is probably equal, but NCL entertainment is fabulous. 

Give them a try. 

We will keep the booking, also booked for the itinerary. I had a lot of Plan Bs worked out though, just in case. 

11 minutes ago, DCL2RCI said:

We'll be taking the refund. Just got off Enchantment and will not be going on that ship again.

I haven't been on Enchantment, what was bad about your cruise?

I find NCL to be similar to Royal. Great entertainment, food on par. We get Diamond benefits though, which makes RC attractive. In my future cruise bookings I have 5 NCL and only 2 RC because the NCL itineraries are wonderful. And one of the RC cruises is in Brilliance for next June, so that's likely to be cancelled. 

I haven't sailed MSC. 

Most of the roll calls I have joined are on the quiet side. Prior to covid they were busier. Not sure if it's because there are fewer cruising, or fewer on cruise critic. Most likely both. 

3 minutes ago, tonto524 said:

I agree. 

Actually it's over a week, I just saw someone had posted 16 July that the Brilliance cruises were missing from the site. 

It's almost a week since the cruises disappeared, I wonder when we will hear from Royal? 

36 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

I noticed on Cruising Power you can still book inside and outside guarantees, at least on the 10/9/23 sailing. That would support theory #4, that another ship such as Explorer is being pulled, since guarantees would still be easy to accommodate even after merging passengers. Pure speculation of course, but that’s all we’ve got. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I saw that V T G had all the cruises for sale, but only inside cabins. It's very odd.

@MamaDuckThe CruisingQueen

Many thanks for that update. I guess we will hear shortly one way or the other. We haven't booked our flights yet.

10 hours ago, little britain said:

Interesting… what port was changed as that may give a guide as to whether they are juggling ports? 

Messina, Sicily has been changed to Siracusa, Sicily. Minor change, blamed on a berthing conflict. 

Brilliance for 2023 still for sale here in Oz. I received an email this morning advising of a port change on 12 June 2023 cruise. 

1 hour ago, capecodmercury said:

Have you linked your accounts?   With linked accounts,  you will both be treated as having the amount of points of the spouse with the higher amount.

 

This requires a call in (frustrating that you can't do it on line).  When I called in to link our accounts, I had a laundry list of items to discuss including missing points.  Once I got through to someone, the rep was wonderful.   She resolved all of my questions  and as an end result, I was credited with 15 missing points.

 

As a side note, has anyone else noticed that the sales blurbs you are subjected while on hold are overwhelmingly focused on Suites and the Retreat?   Easy to see where Celebrity is focusing their efforts.

Oh thanks for the tip. I didn't realise we could link our accounts. 

That's what I love about CC, I learn something new every time. 

It is bizarre. My husband has 10 points more than I do, despite the fact that we have both done every power up opportunity that's been offered. 

It doesn't make any difference really, we are Elite, but it is just weird. 

1 minute ago, Starry Eyes said:

No FYI, NCL charges a corkages fee on every bottle of wine a passenger brings on board ($15 for 750 ml bottle).  There is no limit to the number of bottles a guest may bring, but no “freebie” bottle

Oh wow, they didn't charge me, how funny. I have a few NCL booked, but I haven't cruised with them since 2016. 

Incidentally I read on one of the roll calls that due to wine shortages NCL are allowing people to bring on bottles without charge at the moment. Everyone has an included drinks package anyway, so I guess they are saving money and keeping people happy. I'm not sure how long that will go on for though. 

Oh I like the DL coffee too, a great perk! I don't recall ever having a broken machine, just lucky I guess. 

5 minutes ago, soremekun said:

Thanks.  Very helpful information.  Why do you think Royal Caribbean allows this?

Maybe just keeping up with other lines? Princess, Celebrity, NCL and I think HAL all allowed us to bring on a bottle each. 

Oh wow! I'm a bit late to the party but thanks so much for all the detail luckybecky! Cruising Brilliance next year in the Mediterranean, looking forward to it. 

I haven't seen a drinks menu posted for a while, have the individual drink prices on board also increased?

Sounds like a glitch. Using an online agent would allow her to book today, there are several sites. Our dollar is very low at the moment, it might be worth her while to wait a couple of weeks. It's around .69 cents this morning (which is better than yesterday's .68 cents though).

53 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

Indonesian Explorer Cruise - I305N

Ship: Pacific Encounter  

Departure: Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Nights: 13 nights

Departs: Brisbane

Returns: Singapore

 

Interior Cabin: $899/person

Wow, I can't see that price anywhere.

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

G'day again, results were not good, plus ultrasound showed up bad kidneys. So my GP recommends I don't cruise or travel overseas with all my conditions, he is reluctant to support me that way. So my cruise career hath endeth. 😬

 

I suppose I may as well as hang around on CC to get my cruise fix, but I have booked my next two cruises anyway...Thank you for your concern.

Oh Uncle Les I am so sorry to hear that. What lousy news. Take care.

@jetblue you are a star for doing the right thing. Thank you and get well soon. 

I tend to lurk rather than post, and I do use CruiseCritic more when I have a cruise coming up. Mind you, I always have a cruise coming up.....

One thing I have noticed during covid is the number of cruisers on here who state while they don't believe they will ever cruise again they enjoy CruiseCritic so much they continue to post. 

On 1/25/2022 at 7:38 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

Only ever cancelled one excursion and on that occasion the money was back within a couple of weeks.

Our money was back in nine days. Pretty great service!