TeDaKi

The reason for sailing east after Elephant Island was to go see the A23A iceberg. Friends of mine are on this cruise. They went to see this giant iceberg on the previous cruise as well. 

I'm loving your in-depth live blog and following along with you as I will also be cruising to Antarctica in January. The scenery looks amazing. 

12 hours ago, ScratchTheRat said:

Hey there,

 

looking to book first RCCL cruise and I’d like My Time Dining.

 

Ive noticed that if you book this you have to pay the gratuities up front.

 

can you remove these after?

 

im not wishing to start arguments over tipping , I’m just asking the question, as I know Americans don’t need to do this, just us! 
 

thanks all

Yes you can remove these after!

When booking any worldwide cruise from UK/Ireland, I've always found that the option to deselect prepaid gratuities is always greyed out when I select My Time Dining. 

However after you make your booking online, you can then call RCCL directly afterwards and they will remove the prepaid gratuities from your booking. Always works for me 👍 

I think this thread should stay on topic: Anthem's upcoming drydock!

Lots of other threads around to discuss covid. 

40 minutes ago, little britain said:

What does it show in your account if you go to pay off the balance? 

It still shows the original 

3 hours ago, soloadventurer said:

Still waiting on mine over a month lol 

😄 Great! Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer so! 

I called RCI UK last week about a price reduction for a cruise next May (booked directly with RCI) and the agent I spoke with said they would process the price reduction and that I would receive confirmation email within 24-48 hours, but no confirmation email yet. Does it normally take longer, anyone know? 

Today I received full refund for a 17th May cruise (Allure OTS), which was cancelled on 16th April. 

- 16th Apr: Cancellation notification 
- 17th Apr: Requested refund online
- 17th May: Original cruise departure date
- 17th Jun: Full refund received from TA. 

Anthem has arrived at Mumbai this morning. 

51 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

 

That's what happening. After that she will head without any further stops to Goa.

Anthem seems to have made a very brief stop in Santorini after leaving Piraeus

18 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Hi, what’s the dry dock for?

Ships must enter a drydock for routine maintenance and it occurs every few years. Harmony ots will have been in service for 5 years in April 2021 and needs to have everything checked out by then. 

The May 9-16th sailing is now available for booking. 

16 minutes ago, little britain said:

.... and yet when I suggested you L&S your Allure cruise just a few hours ago to avoid full payment....  I got the insulting reply:

 

"What planet are you on?

I dont want same fake credit or lift and shift..."

Exactly 🤦‍♂️

15 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Out of curiosity, do you use a TA or book through RC? I've not been able to find a good Irish TA for cruising. 

I find it easier to book online directly with the cruise line. Irish TAs are usually more expensive.....I can never seem to get a good or better deal with them. 

I'm always envious when I read about people in the US getting brilliant deals and discounts. We just don't get them here which is a pity 😔 
 

13 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

Its looking more likely that we're going to end up with FCC to be used next year. After an extensive search through the European itineraries for next year I've given up on them as either too expensive, too short, ship is too small / lacks facilities. We've only cruised in Europe and I'm clueless when it comes to US cruises. Since we're travelling from Ireland, we would be looking at 10 to 14 days either on a single cruise or b2b during June, July or August. To keep the kids entertained Voyager class ships or bigger would be preferred. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

I'm from Ireland too!

For me, the Caribbean is too hot and humid during the summer months. Plus you have the hurricane season to worry about aswell. 

- Adventure OTS has some interesting 10/11 night itineraries up around the Baltic sailing from Copenhagen/Stockholm. 

- You have Harmony OTS doing the usual 7 night Western Med from Barcelona/Rome. 

- Anthem OTS has some 12/14 night sailings from Southampton to the Mediterranean and Canary Islands. 

- Odyssey OTS is doing 7 night cruises from Rome to Greece. 

- Did you ever consider Alaska? It's fabulous!!! Been there twice! Easy to get a flight from Ireland to Seattle or Vancouver. If you want larger ships, 2021 sees Quantum OTS and Ovation OTS sailing 7 night roundtrips from Seattle. 

I'm on the Anthem T/A from Southampton to Cape Liberty also in November and optimistic that it will go ahead. Ports can't stay closed forever and cruise ships can't stay floating around either 🤞 staying positive! 

I'm curious too.

The T/A finishes in Barcelona on April 16th. 

Then there is a gap for 17 days (Apr 17th - May 3rd). I'm assuming this is for the drydock??? 

5 night sailing from May 4th-9th.

Then another 1 week gap from May 9th to May 15th....possibly a charter but I can't find any info. 

The weekly 7 night sailings seem to commence on May 16th.

Amazing pictures - brings back great memories from when I did a similar Viking Passage cruise on Eurodam 4 years ago. For me, sailing through Prince Christian Sound was the highlight of the voyage. And seeing all those high mountains, glaciers and icebergs...awesome!
 

1 hour ago, kruzerci said:

See attached. Hopefully these are helpful!

Oasis 5_19_2019 Compass.pdf 11.09 MB · 7 downloads

Thanks so much for uploading!

Yes I'd really like to see them please, thank you!

I was on the Regal Princess last week and the traditional dining times were 5.15pm (Concerto) , 5.30pm (Allegro) and 7.45pm (Allegro).

Really enjoyed your review. We were on this cruise too. We must have been staying close to you on Deck 12 because Savio was also our cabin steward! Thanks for bringing back memories of another great cruise! 
 

You will pass under the bridge around 30-40 minutes after leaving Brooklyn 

John,

Thank you so much for your detailed and informative journal! We are sailing on the Zuiderdam on the Viking Passage Aug 24 of this year on a similar itinerary. You have made us even more excited about our upcoming journey.

 

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

You're welcome! I hope you have a fantastic time. It's still my favourite cruise I have taken so far!

We did the Viking Passage on Eurodam in 2015 (Copenhagen - NYC) and it was my favourite ever cruise! We loved all the ports and as for Prins Christian Sund...breathtaking!

I actually wrote a report (with lots of photos) which might be of interest to you, the link is in my signature or click on the following link

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2265322