Ergates The Ant

I think Kurt Russell is still looking pretty good!

This has to be a windup? If somebody approached me on a cruise trying to sell me a product not being provided by the cruise company, I’d be straight to Guest services to complain. It’s bad enough being pestered to buy drink and dining packages. I’d expect your friend to be asked to desist immediately, or be put off the ship at the next port if he didn’t. If he had got into conversation with another passenger, discussed his occupation and been actively asked for a card, that would be entirely permissible. As for dressing up, is he trying to look like a spiv? I would expect any of the ‘high value’ customers he is seeking would already have all their financial arrangements in order, and suspect anyone bringing up such matters over dinner on a cruise of being a crook and a scam artist! And of spoiling their vacation time.

Big jump in the price, the older you get. We are in our 70s, 1 week Europe cruise well over £300, with multiple, but stable, pre existing conditions. (That’s with Staysure, who paid out promptly five years ago when we had to cancel at the last minute.) Premiums have gone up every few years, plus as our medical issues add up. Do lots of travelling while you are youngsters of 50!

On Apex in May, saw quite a few ‘British’ type dishes, I think there was also a uk themed day in the buffet. Don’t eat lamb, so didn’t notice it, although I think there were shepherds pies ( traditionally made with lamb) and possibly some lamb curries. Plenty of British options at breakfast. Fish and chips available a few times, but not as good as on shore versions. In fact, we were very disappointed that there were freshly made cinnamon buns in the buffet only on the first day! Didn’t see them again. I thought they would be a breakfast staple! There were alternative cinnamon buns every day in the Eden cafe, but they weren’t so nice, and the woman in charge there was grumpy and unfriendly.

I’ve certainly been offered some very odd looking scones in the US, more like rock cakes. And then very surprised to see what looked just like scones (although a bit saltier) labelled as biscuits! As for the Yorkshire puddings on our last cruise, quite weird! All they needed to do was follow an American recipe for German oven pancakes, or Dutch baby pancakes, but leave out any sugar. Very similar to a properly cooked Yorkshire pudding.

Thanks, all. I’ll take our spare sensor light like the one I already use in our bathroom at home. It’s quite small, so at least I’ll have it if I need it. We always leave the curtains open so shouldn’t be completely dark in the cabin.

Just finalising packing lists for upcoming cruise on Anthem of the Seas. Booked in a balcony cabin. Does the bathroom have some sort of nightlight to save having to put on the main bathroom light during the night? Otherwise I might have to bring a small battery sensor light to save waking OH, or risking knocking into stuff in the dark. Thanks for your help

Looks like a lot of shared tables? Are tables for two available?

We are Platinum level, and some of the loyalty benefits included discounts on coffee and drinks, and refers to vouchers. Do I get physical vouchers to use? It sounded as if the discounts are somehow ‘loaded’ onto my cruise card. How do I keep track of whether I’m getting the discounts, and how many I have left? And do I need to ask for the discount when ordering the drinks, or will it be applied automatically, until I have none left. Rather confused and would hate to miss out!

Just seen an interesting itinerary on Balmoral. We have never sailed with Fred Olsen before, mainly put off by the smoking policy. We usually eat in the buffet for all our meals, as we prefer to eat at a table for two, and to choose where we sit. What are the arrangements in the buffet on Balmoral? I thought I’d seen somewhere that passengers would be seated by staff at the buffet. Is this the case? I do enjoy choosing where I want to sit, ( preferably by a window!) and have never had to share a table in the buffet for dinner. Is it going to be very different from our usual lines ( Celebrity, RCCl and a few P and O)? Thanks for any input.

The autogratuities are not tips, in the UK sense. It’s part of the cruise fare, which mainly US businesses separate out, I think for tax purposes, so the customer pays part of the service cost directly as a ‘tip’. Unbelievable to most Brits, it would be like staying in a hotel and being asked to pay seperately for an employee to make your bed, or paying the usual high price for a glass of wine in a restaurant and being told that the markup doesn’t include the cost of a waiter pouring out the wine and bringing it to you! in the UK, it would actually be against some consumer and employment laws. However, cruise lines seem to be able to get round this, even sailing out of the UK, although I understand Australia and New Zealand have the ‘gratuities’ included in the fare, as they should be, in my opinion. I don’t understand the supposed argument that the cruise fare will go up if they include the gratuity, of course it will, but you’ll be paying both anyway. Maybe the only people who are taken in by the ‘cheaper’ fare are numerically challenged? Or easily taken in by a click bait low cost headline? We just pay the autogratuities and treat it as part of the fare, and usually in advance, so we don’t have to think about it. I’ve never asked for service above and beyond what I think should be included, or asked for additional requests, so haven’t felt a need to tip extra. We prefer to eat in the buffet rather than the MDR.

Regular coffee ( black americano) at Il Bacio was $5 each. Glass of basic wine started at $10, I think cocktails were around $14 and upwards. That was out of Southampton, so the ‘gratuity’ on the drink was included in the price. I thought the drink package prices were extortionate, so we pay as we go. We would have spent more on coffee on board, but very often, we couldn’t find any unoccupied chairs in il Bacio, although they did direct us to empty tables in the nearby bistro before they started serving lunch. As our cruise was port intensive, we had our caffeine fix ashore instead, at half the price and twice the quality! We also brought onboard a bottle of wine (I’d have brought two but that was a bit heavy) plus some cans of our preferred caffeine free Diet Coke, which I didn’t see on board. We otherwise drank plain water from the tap or dispensers, used the good selection of teas in the buffet, and made our own hot drinks in the cabin. We only had juice at breakfast from the machines in the buffet, I don’t drink fizzy drinks, and husband only drinks one can a day. I know some people prefer the freedom with the drinks package of not having to worry about totting up their expenditure. I’d be doing the opposite, doing all the adding up while worrying whether I was getting my money’s worth! Also I’d struggle to pay such a big mark up over the cost of a whole bottle of wine at home. Hope this was of some help. We are not heavy drinkers, dont drink bottled waters or multiple fizzy drinks, so not worth it for us, and I didn’t keep note of the other prices. If you are into milk shakes, multiple cans of fizz and pretty cocktails, the package could work for you. Hopefully someone can help out with more prices.

The Luminae menu would be enough to dissuade me from booking a retreat cabin. Having to go to the MDR for alternative offerings would even further reduce the value.

Thanks for a really enjoyable review! Did Norway on the Apex in May, and it was interesting to compare and contrast your experience of the ship and the ports. Hope you have just as much fun on your anniversary cruise.

Can’t remember the last time I ate in the MDR on a cruise! Much prefer the relaxed atmosphere in the buffet for dinner, pick and choose what I want to eat, and how much, at our own pace. And at a table for two, so not hanging around or inconveniencing anyone as we don’t eat starters. Perfectly acceptable. Bear in mind that the choice at dinner in the buffet is not as extensive as the lunchtime offering, but it is a lot quieter. ( disclaimer, I do like to dress up a bit, but OH hates it, so he wears his usual casual stuff, chinos and a shirt, and I wear a frock or sequins on formal night!)

We have always cruised in balcony cabins, but there were none left on our most recent cruise, so we booked an IV. We did our research, and knew exactly what the IV looked like, so well aware that it wasn’t like a traditional balcony cabin with an inner door. It seemed comparable with a French balcony on a river cruise, or a Juliet balcony in a house. We loved it for the following reasons. Because the AC went off when the window was open, we could have the window open at night without causing AC problems for neighbouring cabins. There was much more privacy by the window than there is on a balcony. Didn’t hear or see either of our neighbours apart from in the hallway. The view out from the room was virtually unobstructed in the IV. On a cooler weather cruise, it was possible to sit right by the window with a panoramic view. In a regular balcony cabin, you would have to go out onto the balcony for a similar view. We found the chairs perfectly comfortable despite our creaky joints. We never close the blinds, so didn’t have the problem others report where one occupant wanted to sit by the window, and the other needed a darkened room to sleep. If we were booking another Edge class ship, we would definitely book another IV cabin. However, there was a lot we didn’t like on the Apex, so would favour an S class ship in the future.

We use parking at Southampton where the luggage is collected from the car, and has gone off to be loaded before we even get to the terminal building. I’m not sure if the staff directing the parking have blank luggage tags to complete for you, or whether you would have to lug your cases to the terminal? We print our labels at home, but we only have a black and white printer! If I have time, I will colour in the labels with coloured pencils! Quite therapeutic, even if the colours aren’t quite accurate! Our bags have always arrived safely at our cabins.

What does NA mean, apart from not applicable?

I booked on the RC UK website. Gratuities added on for My Time dining, taken off for fixed dining. No idea why, but that was definitely the case on the UK website. For my recent Celebrity cruise, we booked late and the only availability was for fixed late dining. I could tick the option to prepay the gratuities but it wasn’t required. It doesn’t matter to me usually, as I can’t remember the last time we ate in the MDR. I’d usually just select MTD if available, and pay the gratuities in advance for convenience, but as I’ve explained, there are financial reasons for me wanting to settle my on board bill in cash. So it’s really about whether I’m inconveniencing anyone by just not showing up. Probably the best thing to do would be to approach the Maitre d’ on boarding and get transferred to MTD if they have capacity. And then we’ll eat in the buffet!

Thanks for all the comments. I will probably find out if the table we are assigned to meets our needs, and if it does, will ring through nightly to advise the maitre’d when we won’t be needing it. If it’s a big table, I’ll let them know we won’t be needing it at all. I’d much prefer to pay the gratuities in advance and get that out of the way, but I’ve already paid an exchange fee when I bought the dollars, and I don’t want to have to pay more dollars on my UK credit card, and get hit with another fee when it is converted to sterling. I’d be even happier if the ‘gratuities’ ( I refuse to call them tips as they are not) were included in the fare and I wouldn’t even notice them.

When booking this cruise, I clicked on Anytime dining, and the gratuities were added onto the final bill. I clicked instead on one of the fixed dining options, and the gratuities were taken off, so I didn’t have to pay them in advance with my credit card. As I said, I have left over dollars, so I’d prefer to use this to settle my bill in cash on board, rather than have another exchange rate charge on my UK credit card. On my recent Celebrity cruise, I was allocated late dining as nothing else was left when I booked. However, when I got on board, there was a card in our room telling us that the fixed booking only applied to the first night, and thereafter to just turn up at an MDR when I felt like it! So we went to the buffet each night as planned. However, I haven’t cruised with Royal Caribbean recently so I was wondering what the situation will be on the Anthem. ( I didn’t ask about tipping, just what the etiquette is re the dining allocation)

We usually use the buffet for dinner on cruises, but had to specify a choice on main dining when booking. I’ve booked a dining time, rather than anytime dining, because I want to pay the gratuities on board, ( I have a load of US dollars left over from a cancelled holiday and want to use those up) Do I need to let anyone know I won’t be turning up? And if I did decide to eat in the MDR, how do I find out what table I may have been allocated? I would only be prepared to have a table for two, we rarely eat starters and usually go straight to the main course, which could be awkward and time wasting if sharing a table with others. Any advice?

Every time I look at the prices of the various beverage packages, it starts to look as if might be worth the cost until I remember that we both have to buy it, and that it’s double the amount! Having worked in dentistry all my life, we only have juice once a day, diet soda once a day, and still tap water rather than fizzy, to avoid dissolving what’s left of our tooth enamel! I can only cope with one caffeinated coffee a day, ( and that has to be in the morning to allow me to sleep at night) OH doesn’t drink alcohol, and I tend to just have a glass of wine with dinner. We didn’t have access to any lounges, so planned to have our morning coffee at il Bacio, but there was so little seating, we only managed that twice in our 8 night cruise. I took one bottle of wine on board with me, and a six pack of caffeine free diet soda, and our final bill on board was just over $20. We had a drinks package included in one cruise, so we went to town on cocktails for the first few days, but by the end of the week, we were drinking less and less, as it just didn’t appeal any more. I suppose it depends on your drinking habits at home, a big difference in a short space of time might give your body a bit of a shock to the system!

Not sure on Edge class ships, but on the S class ships, the Concierge class cabins were in locations that were less attractive to us than the cheaper regular cabins. I rather cynically thought that Celebrity were off loading the cabins which could be noisier or more prone to movement in heavy seas, by adding a few low value benefits and charging more. The size and layout seemed to be the same. I calculated that the saving by booking a regular cabin would more than cover buying some alternatives to the benefits I’d actually use ( taking my own luxury toiletries for instance, and I’ve never worked out what I could use a concierge for) and some cash left over. We tend to pick what area and deck we want to be on, then select the best (for us) cabin available, whatever class it is.

@Babynan, I know you and your wife have mobility issues, so although the main plaza by the river is a relatively short walk from the cruise terminal, this might be a stretch too far for you. Much of Lisbon is very hilly too. I suppose it also depends on which parts of the city you wish to visit. Royal Caribbean may have decided that distance wise, the beginning of the tourist area is near enough not to justify commissioning a shuttle service. Shuttles are usually provided by the port authorities only where it is deemed unsafe to walk across a working dock area, ( Bergen,and Zeebrugge for example), or in some cities as encouragement to visit tourist areas (Rotterdam when we visited - the cruise line doesn’t usually tell you about these as they want to sell their excursions) Hopefully someone on a current or recent cruise will be able to update you on the situation. Once you’ve decided what you want to see, you can at least check out the cruise excursion offerings and find out what else is available.