Drazil65

I am really sorry for all the issues/sickness on your cruise and have no words for the accident on the way home. That being said, happy to hear grandma is on the mend and no significant injuries from the accident (car looks severe and I think you two were lucky for sure). Hopefully you will be over your stiffness/sore body from the accident by time you leave for next cruise in a few weeks. We headed ashore at 11:15 and our goal was to find the pharmacy to get mom some amoxicillin. This reminds me that each time we are in Amber Cove we head to the drug/pharmacy in port to stock up on Z-Paks ($25 a pak) to take home. So much easier to have them on hand and ready to go for sinus infections or whatever without a trip to the doctor's office for sure. Glad you were able to find something for her.

We did this a couple of times with no issues on MG this past December. The delivery came within 15 minutes of our requested time.

Mardi Gras!

What do you mean by FREE LAUNDRY? Platinum perk, you can have your laundry done (I believe its 3 bags per platinum person) by filling the laundry bags in your cabin, no charge. One of my favorite perks for my family for sure.

DH and DS think they are still good and they also agree that for some reason the best they ever had was on MG. They love them and eat their share anytime we are sailing.

Thank you for the update and you did a great job under the circumstances. This situation is the exact reason I decided many years ago that I would never again (one and done, lesson learned) actively put together and head the travel plans for a group of people. You will never please everyone and so many people have differing opinions not to mention the people that are not seasoned travelers. You will ultimately have a great cruise and I agree with previous poster than suggested for you to find some time in spa (or wherever for yourself, by your self). Have a blast and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

We are looking into getting the contacts of the departments you have listed but it's rather difficult to find them. I have a feeling, unless we take legal actions, those contacts are simply not made accessible to the public. I get it and you may need to get creative when finding people, that being said I think the first certified letter would be to the person that signed this letter you posted from VP Colleen Oliverio. When someone has to sign for a letter it usually gets more attention and you have proof of someone signing for it. Also, ask one of the people you know that were reimbursed with a check for the name of the person who signed the check. In many companies it is the department head that has check signing authority (or a name with a title). This may give you a name to start with for the finance/accounting department to send a letter to. (They can probably look at the cashed check online at the bank they use to see the signature line). The point is the more people that see the issue in writing the better and sometimes when they see how many people are getting involved it might get noticed. Or you can have your attorney do the letter writing but could be a lot more money.

Very strange CCL saying they cannot see the agent who authorized the cancel check and change of address. Anyone that has worked in a finance or accounting department knows that there are many quality control points when issuing refunds especially in form of real check. There is more than likely a digital trail (and in this case being a real check possibly a paper trail) that leads back to someone. Changing an address when a check is involved is typically a security priority and handled as such. Documentation in some form (notes, chat transcript, phone transcript etc.) would note where and who made the request to change the address. Seems a little coincidental that an address change (which apparently was not requested) was made just as a refund check was issued and timely enough so that it could be cancelled before it was cashed. It kind of seems that something doesn't pass the smell test somewhere along the line. Have you thought about sending certified letters to CCL corporation with copies sent to several different departments (dept. heads of finance, accounting, customer service, legal etc.) to see if you get a response from someone?

E-cards, usually receive an email with the instructions (link) to get the E-card within 15 mins or so.

So Nice! Enjoy the HC balcony, we loved ours on MG a couple of months ago. The patio was great and then the balcony off the patio was wonderful. It was so nice not to look for lounge chairs and be right outside our patio (great for making drinks in our cabin and our own restroom when hanging outside.

I agree with sticking to the bigger, newer ships especially if you are a regular sailing RCCL. I would choose Celebration out of Miami, I also agree with you to skip the Galveston port. That being said, my 2nd choice would be Horizon if you want to try something a little smaller and you are inclined to visit Aruba again. Have a blast on Mardi Gras, we love that ship!

I have a small, crossbody phone purse type of thing which fits my phone (which I also keep on me for pictures) and has a card area where I slip my S&S card into. The strap also has a clip on end (where it attaches to purse) that also can accommodate the S&S card and will hang outside the purse. I use it both ways being that it is a crossbody strap makes it very easy to wear and not worry about.

Absolutely hate the candy straws, we bring reusable straws as we use same at home so no big deal. On our last cruise in December on MG we watched a small child (maybe 4 or 5) going from empty glass to empty glass left on tables in center stage area. She was crunching and eating the straws before her parents (assumed they were) saw her and ran over to yank her away from another empty table. By then she must have had at least 3 or 4 discarded straws left in the glasses😱. Guess her parents should have been paying more attention to where she ran off to while they were talking to their group at another table. Thank goodness they didnt have those straws when DS (now 21) was young.

Whatever snacks they do come out with in the future just make sure it is not a community bowl thing. We have seen some disgusting habits on cruise ships when it comes to food and I mean by adults not just kids. We solve the lite snack thing by bringing our own gold fish crackers, pretzels and oyster crackers in the little snack bags. Great for grabbing something with a drink in the cabin or if one of us just needs a little bite of something before bed.

I think you have the right answer, I would not take an offer for a cabin right below lido.

Not sure this would help, under your profile on settings page, scroll to bottom of page. There is a drop down listed as "International sites", see if yours is on Australia (mine is on United States, maybe that is default or intentional for me?). Maybe changing it will help, if not then you probably need to call to see if CCL can assist. Good Luck as I know this would be a little annoying each time.

mmmm...dim sum in Chinatown, yes please!

We would choose MG or Celebration, love the excel class and if you haven't sailed on one yet, you should if you are interested. I would go for PC over Miami for sure as PC for MG is very easy on and off the ship (and parking is great for MG). Good luck with your options, these are good problems to have 😉.

We are not fans after trying one several years ago, way too close to water and salt/sea spray all over everything out on balcony every day (had to be wiped down each time we wanted to use it). I can def see how they would need to close them up if waves were big enough, even with what I would call regular size waves we could feel a mist when sitting out there. Just didnt enjoy it like a regular or suite balcony (we use our balconies) and def want to be several decks higher for the view. Just our perspective, we would never book one again.

We tend to stick with YTD (way more flexibility with some of the venues that require a reservation, we like to eat earlier) as we plan out our evenings with the events going on. We were on MG again last month and never ate in the MDR but if we had wanted to it would be easy to work around our evening plans with an early dinner. Our wait times were never more than 10-15 mins at the worst.

You can drop off for the most part (we have not had any issue with dropping our carry on items very early) but they say cabins not available to stay until 1:30. That being said, on our cruise on MG last month we had intended to drop off and go eat but our key cards were ready and in mailbox, cabin done and door locked. We grabbed the cards and left to eat anyway, just dont count on staying but can be possible cabin is ready.

Posted last November on CC, you can just do a search on CC for British Isle cruise reviews to get others...

Also, we had wifi in port as well so can figure those days into the decision.

More than likely if you search for images of Mardi Gras or Celebration (they have same layout as this new ship) you can pretty much see how the central stage area (3 decks high) is used at different times.

Thanks for the update and look forward to the rest of your review. MG our fav ship and we have been able to sail her twice in the past year, you will have a blast!