LEtue

Hi Linda, thanks...I will move forward to my upcoming cruise to Alaska

in May. I think it will be more of what I am accustomed to (one can

only hope).

But yes.....this one was very, very disappointing.

Have a great time!

I am hoping to get an Alaska cruise in this fall. We'll see if I can keep work from getting in my way :) Otherwise, I have a long wait until the Equinox!

We booked the Solstice RT out of Seattle for May 2016 and it does stop at Ketchikan. Hopefully it is the same for royal

Oh, I hope so!

I like to do a RT Seattle once in a while and it would be nice to have a RCI option :D

I really hope that the RT out of Seattle is better next year. An itnerary without Ketchikan doesn't make sense :(

 

It appears RCI have solved the problem faced with passenger movement at the port of La Spezia as they seem to have returned and not moved to Livorno for the 'Florence' port as was originally planned pre deployment with port bookings.

 

La Spezia involves an 'industrial port' where passengers were not allowed to walk previously from ship to port entrance and required movement by shuttle. It is unclear how this 'problem' has been resolved when looking at the La Spezia port

Interesting. I have been advised that this is the case in Livorno too and I contacted our independent tour operator to make sure they could meet us at the ship.

Obnoxious drunks? That is putting it mildly.....they were totally

disrepectful.....running around with no shirts on/no shoes on/ like a bunch

of idioits.......they took over the ship.....I am not going to speak for

anyone else....I felt VERY UNcomfortable on board.....as in, avoiding

areas I usually like being in......because they were in packs, all over

the ship:rolleyes:

I know they spoke to the staff crudely and rudely........if this is

"youth of our future"?.....I want no part of it.

What a shame and I know you were looking forward to a wonderful time on board :(

Starting to look into my 2016 cruise. I'm considering Europe, but I think we're going to end up going to the Caribbean. I have a few options, with Navigator and Jewel being the top choices at this point in time...

 

Navigator of the Seas

8N Eastern Caribbean - Labadee, San Juan, St. Kitts, St. Maarten

We'd stay a night before in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Jewel of the Seas

7N Southern Caribbean - Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Maarten, St. Croix (new port for us!)

We'd stay a night before in San Juan.

Having sailed on both ships I would pick the Jewel. I love the radiance class too and the itinerary is so much better.

But it is a very personal decision and more sea days rate high with some people. No matter what you decide be sure and book your pre-cruise hotel early for March dates ;)

We compared a 7 night Bahama cruise from NY for a family of 4. Breakaway vs. Anthem. Breakaway was $2,347 total including all taxes and port fees for 4, including Ultimate Beverage Package. Anthem was $ 5,265.12 for 4, and did not include any beverage package.

 

Big difference - almost $3,000 and no beverage package on RC (around $800 value).

 

Just cruised Norwegian Breakaway a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! It's the largest cruise ship sailing out of New York, holding over 4,000 passengers. It was just built 2 years ago in 2013, so it's not far from "New."

 

A family of 4 could do 2 cruises on the Breakaway and spend the night in a nice NY hotel, and have dinner and drinks for the price of one Anthem cruise (Which you would have to pay for all of your drinks on board.)

 

No Brainer....

Wow, that is an astonishing difference :eek:

Even though I only pay for one and travel with friends and family members we are all watching the bottom line especially with vacation $$$. RCI is going to lose more passengers - no doubt.

They charged our credit card immediately when we booked back in August. My husband spent almost 2 hours on the phone with a supervisor in the resolutions department. Very disappointed--this will almost certainly be the last time we cruise with RCI.

Not good customer service at all and I wouldn't blame you for not cruising with them again.

I think you should try an independent excursion. If you post what it is you're looking for maybe we can all help you find something you are comfortable with? I only book ship excursions on rare occasions anymore and there are a lot of experienced cruisers here that can offer recommendations. :)

If you reserve before you cruise they will charge your credit card immediately.

I know! So it is paid for and the price shouldn't go up. That is my point......

They quoted a bunch of legalese to my husband and basically said "times and prices subject to change."

Huh? Maybe if you just reserved and didn't book and pay for it!

Time to call back and ask for a supervisor or the resolutions department :mad:

I will have to try to catch those. Thanks for pointing them out.

 

While you will always hear mixed reviews about MSC and I certainly do not promote them to avid RCI loyalists, they certainly have some things they really know how to do right.

 

I have enjoyed over 20 sailings with them in the MED and while not always perfect, have been for the most part satisfied.

 

It is always great with options.

Interesting. I love my RCI cruises but I must say that the Divina has gotten my attention more than once. Plus on Med itineraries I rarely use the ship facilities - just eat and sleep. I really think I will be trying MSC in the future. There are so many ports that still need to explored and they offer RT from Genoa :)

I just stumbled upon this show about a month ago and I really enjoy it. Last night it was the Navigator in the western caribbean.

Great show and it has peaked my interest in MSC. They feature a lot of their ships on great Med itineraries :)

Thanks for adding the pictures.

We sail on April 20 :D

I thought the issue was you can't get diet Coke on board. My cabinmate couldn't find it on the Serenade in October. They kept giving her Coke Light even in the Diamond Lounge.

Was this because we were in the Med?

I am in agreement that $2000 is just too much of a difference and think of the things you can do ashore for that :) It might even cover all of your airfare since mine was only $848 from TPA to Rome.....

Two of my Med sailings have been in inside cabins and I have no regrets! Even when sailing in and out of Venice on the Splendour - I wanted to be on the top deck and all the way forward for the best view anyway. ;)

On my recent sailing on the Serenade (October 20, 2014) the weather wasn't great in the eastern Med and we missed Mykonos. For almost the entire day you couldn't walk on deck because of high winds and rain and the automatic doors to the outside were locked. Two of the ports were very cool and we had some light rain. So, the weather won't always be ideal in the Fall and the daylight hours are shorter.

Book whatever category you can afford considering all you want to be able to do on this trip. You will have wonderful memories no matter what the cabin category :D

On our recent Norwegian Jade cruise, they had a shuttle from the ship to the train station in Livorno for $12 per person. This made the train much easier to use. Not sure if all cruise lines offer this option.

Well that certainly makes the train more convenient doesn't it! I need to see if Celebrity offers that and explore that option more.

Thanks for posting the information.

I am cruising out of tampa in april on BOS and my return flight is 10:20am. is this cutting it too close i've never flown out of tampa so this is a first for me how early can i get off ship.

The ship does not arrive in port until 7 AM so you would have to do self disembark and walk off with your luggage. Make sure you arrange for that on the day you board the ship.

Assuming there are no delays and you are in a taxi headed to the airport by 8 AM you should make a 10:20 AM flight. Clearing security in Tampa is usually pretty quick. However, depending on which airline you are flying there can be some long check in lines so keep that in mind if you need to check bags.

I would love to sail one of the 9N ABC island cruises!

Me too! If they offer more sailings maybe the prices will come down. I should have booked one right away instead of hesitating! I won't let that happen again if offered :)

I would suggest that you find another cruise out of FLL or MIA that works with the one that you found. Or just book one longer cruise from south FL.

Yes, we can have fog here from Dec - Feb and that is a consideration when sailing in January and the weather is often very "cool" here in winter. So, just making things easier on yourself is worth a lot when you're on vacation. There are so many great options out of south FL and the itineraries are just better in my opinion. You are traveling a long way and combining short cruises and driving distance probably isn't the best option for you.

I will say that even before seeing this video I have been interested in knowing more about MSC. They offer wonderful itineraries and what seems to be great pricing.

I think 2017 may be the time to try them :)

Maybe for the nights they spent in a hotel that Rci are covering the charge for.[/quote

 

On Monday when they told us we would not be sailing that day they gave out lists of hotels and told us to "get a room and Royal would pay for it". This was stated more than once by the people at the terminal. We were even given slips of paper with the RCCI number to call for reimbursement.

 

Now Royal is saying that is not the case and only those who booked their air through them would have their room comped!!! I try to be positive in all situations but we feel like we were mislead at the port just to get rid of us.

 

To add insult to injury my Trip Insurance doesn't want to pay for the extra expensives we incurred by having to stay in Tampa for the extra time. They "may" pay for a very small portion but only if I provide them with a ridiculous amount of paperwork. I may not even bother because what she said they would pay os not really worth my time!!

 

But on a good note....we are home safely and we did enjoy our time in Tampa. We have another cruise scheduled on the Brilliance in April.......just praying it will go smoothly.

 

Glad you made it home safely and I hope you get things straightened out with RCI. Not sure why any of us ouw bother with insurance to cover these type of trip delays/cancellations either - if they really aren't covered.

 

Please keep posting updates and let us know the insurance company!

5:57

 

the pilots are talking to all the other ships ... the port is open but now there is a queue ....

 

BotS got preferred treatment . . .

 

signing out ....

Just listening to all the chatter too. The ships are moving again. :)

Linda, I think you're my new best friend! :) Go Blue!

It's greaaaaaaaaat to be a Michigan Wolverine :D

sing it with me now...............

You all do realize WHY the ship got stuck in fog don't you? Ohio used up it's luck in the game. They should have know better than to attempt a cruise:eek::D

Well when you put the hottest team in the nation out in cool air it was bound to happen. O-H

 

 

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I just love college football rivalries :D

we are moving at 14.5 kts and we are in the channel now coming up to edmonton key. I have an employee of mine at the tpa (just a vendor to them) but he confirms the bridge is open for transit. We are moving to pick up the pilot.

 

 

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yay!!!!!!