General Immersion Thread (merged)

[Elizanessie]

Here is something else to think about (much as I hate to bring this subject up but) smoking rules will be different for those on the Indy from Southampton,this is due to UK smoking rules.

Smoking is only allowed on deck 4,11 & 12 (portside if I remember correctly) and on deck 4 of Disco and of course balconies. There is no smoking in any of the lounges or bars (Connoisseur Lounge is exception at certain times).

[cruzeluvr]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]We cruise every summer and I usually have a cruise booked at least a year in advance, but with the "My Time Dining" business and now this immersion thing I'm hesitant to book anything with RCCL until I hear more about how it all plays out. I'll be looking at other cruise lines for next year.[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue][/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=blue]The "My Time Dining" I could deal with as long as it doesn't change the ambiance of the ship or my personal cruise experience and I could still have my traditional dining. The immersion thing I don't think I want any part of. I like to cruise on lines that cater to people like me. For the price of a cruise, I expect to be catered to and somewhat pampered - which is what I have always loved about RCCL. If the immersion cruises are not going to be geared towards me, then I'm not interested. I'm all for experiencing new cultures, etc. but that is what I do on shore excursions or land vacations.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[cruisingjon]

Royal Caribbean seems to be He$$bent on doing everything they can to kill their company.

They have done some pretty bone headed things, particularly in the past 2 years, but this one takes the cake.

We gave up RCCL this year because they simply priced themselves out of our reach.

Now, we pretty much cruise, Carnival and Norwegian now, which we are happy with.

This just gives us all the more reason to stay away.

[cullinp]

[quote name='PaulandSueUK']OT I know but just interested.. Why United ??

Also, I am a HUGE Mets fan (probably one of only a handful in the UK) and we get 2 games a week over here on TV. Who is your baseball team..? (I picked the Mets years ago cos they kind of remind me of CIty - They have more succesful cross town neighbours, less international recognition but MORE local fans etc etc)

Paul[/QUOTE]

Big thumbs down to Royal Caribbean from another Manchester based loyal customer! I prefer to cruise out of the States TBH though so hopefully I won't feel the effects of this too much.

P.S. Chelsea were robbed - MUFC still in our shadow.......18 Titles 5 European Cups...Liverpool FC.....YNWA!

[Mark_K]

[quote name='cullinp']Funny accent.........!!??? Its English...............it's our language, this is how it's supposed to be spoken!!??:)[/quote]I recently read an interesting article written by an etymologist. He compared current American English and current British English to Elizabethan English. He concluded that in many ways American English was the truer English (i.e. had changed less).

[cruisePRN]

WHO"S GONNA TIP if the passengers are mostly British? I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.

[Gonzo70]

[quote name='cruisePRN']WHO"S GONNA TIP if the passengers are mostly British? I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.[/quote]

So far as I know they generally do tip on cruise ships since that is expected.

[heatherb1958]

[quote name='cruisePRN']WHO"S GONNA TIP if the passengers are mostly British? I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.[/QUOTE]

It is in our 'culture' to tip, just not to every Tom,Dick or Harry who just happens to smile at you and say " have a nice day" !!!:D ;)

[coxswain]

[quote]I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.[/quote]


Well your wrong lol lol

I always Tip and so do most UK'ers





jj.....

[spirite]

I think you'll find most Brits tip according to RCCL guidelines.

[uksimonusa]

[quote name='cruisePRN']WHO"S GONNA TIP if the passengers are mostly British? I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.[/quote]

Most UK Travel agents price cruises with recommended gratuities included in the price

[ddean52]

[quote name='dathy']and of course i'm going to respond since i'm the one that created the heat:)

i have always been the type of person that has said give me any voyager-class or any freedom-class ship and i would go anywhere and not care about the destination or whatever.

well, the "whatever" has just hit the fan when it comes to this immersion thing. 14 days is a long time to spend on a ship, not long enough for most of us, of course, but long enough for me to give this some thought.

here's what the problem is: i have no idea what rccl's idea is of a "british" immersion. in fact, british people probably don't have an idea of what this is either. all i was told was that the food, entertainment and even the shopping on board would be altered to suit the specific tastes of the british.

rccl told me that i would DEFINITELY notice a difference. in fact, the difference has got to be dramatic for the cruise line to pick up a phone and call me. i'm sure they probably called every single person on the cruise without a UK passport. If the ship holds 4,000 something and the ship is 80% british booked, my math tells me they called at least 800 people for my sailing. they probably called at least 800 for every single british sailing. that's a lot of people to call. in plain english, i certainly don't think that i would have received a phone call (how important am i?)UNLESS there is a MAJOR difference on the ship.

the biggest problem with this is that there are not enough reviews posted for me to make any sort of judgment as to whether or not this immersion thing would suit my ENTIRE FAMILY, not just ME.

look, this is why there is chocolate and vanilla in this world. not every cruise is for every person. our family would not be happy on this cruise. maybe another family would go and jump for joy. we have way too much money invested into this going on the ship with a big question mark on our minds. i have no intention of sitting on a plane for 11 hours, going to london for three days prior and then getting on a ship not knowing how rccl defines british immersion.

just my 2 cents.[/QUOTE]

look, i think the key point is that if this was a 'immersion" cruise then it only had to advertise itself as such! this way no harm no foul". my 2 cemts.
Dean

[Gixer]

The problem will be with the all British staff not the guests, the staff wont have a clue as to why you are giving them money for doing their job ;) :D

[cruisePRN]

[quote name='heatherb1953']It is in our 'culture' to tip, just not to every Tom,Dick or Harry who just happens to smile at you and say " have a nice day" !!!:D ;)[/quote]

I must have some british blood because I agree on this point.:D

[hcat]

I'll have to find the original post on this--still not sure what is going on.....will these trips be clearly marketed as such--I just want a cruise not a forced experience.. if they are marketed with discalimers then no problem trying tomarket it--so those not interested are not snagged..

[fin]

I am reminded of the "new" coke caper. I wonder whether the cruise line did ANY polling of interest in this scheme beforehand.

[wvufan]

First, such a cruise would only be fair if folks knew up front what they were getting into. Changing it after the fact is a bad deal, and people who have booked should be given full compensation for all the related expenses.

Having said that, we would be interested in a modified immersion cruise. For example, maybe sea days would be in the specific culture. Or, what is even more intriguing but likely a logistical challenge for the ship, perhaps a variety of immersions. Monday might be Spanish, Tuesday Asian, Wednesday French, Thursday English etc. Or, maybe tie it in more to the port of call for that day.

Happy Sails to You

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[Pat&Liz]

It's considered polite to tip your waiter/waitress 10% of your bill in restaurants in England. Most people will also tip taxi(cab) drivers. I'd also tip a porter if I was ever in the situation to require the use of one.

Elsewhere in England, you'll find that gratuity (like tax) is included in the price you see. That's generally why things seem so much more expensive here (other than the fact we pay 17.5% tax to your average 6%!)



I tip according to cruiseline guidelines when I'm on a cruise.

Also, I can't speak for every TA or Individual in England, but at our Major TA company, tips are added automatically to our bill as 'pre-paid'.



As to your original question over who will tip, I imagine most people will!

[srlafleur]

While I agree that a cruise line probably shouldn't change their SOP completely on cruises that are already booked, until I hear otherwise from someone who has actually experienced this "immersion" as a negative, I'm going to assume it's not really going to be that big of a deal. In reality, one thing that's actually disappointed me on cruises is the total lack of connection to the itinerary and ports. It would be really nice to have local/regional dishes available to try at meals, local souvenirs onboard and local artwork, etc. And the shows could be really interesting if they actually did use talent from the region. imagine!
I seriously doubt that the staples like the chicken/salmon/baked potato choices are going away, regardless of how "immersive" they try to be...unless they reverse the menu and make those types of choices the "exotic/gourmet" choices and have "immersive" dishes as the picky-eater fare. :rolleyes: And I'm pretty sure there'll still be a casino, pool, spa...all the usual stuff.
I say, let's not panic, people.

[fin]

[quote name='CruzinCruzan']What do you say to excursions not guaranteed in English???
And being canceled because not enough English speaking passengers signed up???? The excursions will all be in the primary language, be it Spanish or Chinese....hmmm not looking forward to a tour in Chinese...are you????[/quote]

On the dozens of overseas tours I have taken, the tour guide almost always begins the trip with a show of hands as to who speaks what language. Up till now, I have never been on a tour where English was omitted.

[sea-cruise]

[B][COLOR=darkorchid]Our Red Hat Society club meets for Afternoon Tea once per month at different hotels or tea gardens, and they always offer clotted cream on the tables as well as many [/COLOR][/B][B][COLOR=darkorchid]English treats. I think it tastes like homemade whipped cream. [/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=#9932cc]The only time it wasn't offered was at High Tea which was later in the evening. Here's a photo of a club but it's not ours. The ones in pink hats are under the age of 50 so they get their red hats later. :) [/COLOR][/B]
[CENTER][B][COLOR=#9932cc][IMG]http://us.123rf.com/400wm/130/79/scrappinstac/scrappinstac0712/scrappinstac071200009/2221537.jpg[/IMG][/COLOR][/B]
[B][COLOR=#9932cc][/COLOR][/B] [/CENTER]

[Let'sGo!]

Wait, I'm confused... I thought the immersion thing was to cater everything to the majority of the passengers in the port of departure --- so they're saying the majority of the passengers leaving Los Angeles to tour Mexican ports are Latin American?

We're still a year out from our cruise - Mariner isn't even in the Mexican Riviera yet. I'm going to hold off and see just exactly RCCL does with this whole immersion thing before making any decisions. But if I'm going to be spending a week listing to Spanish and eating Latin American style food, then I'm sure I don't need to fly to Los Angeles first to do it! I'll fly straight to Cabo!

[hcat]

I hope these topic is not a late April Fools joke!
Hope you found out in time to cancel & make another plan--absolutely not anything I would agree to--why don't they just say this is what it is from the beginning so people will make an informed choice... if people want a foreign cruise they can book with another company-

I think there is a need for a cruisers' consumer list of rights--customers are pending lots of money & should be given facts about what they are spending it on...

[heathermk57]

[quote name='cruisePRN']WHO"S GONNA TIP if the passengers are mostly British? I'm not trying to be funny but we know it's not in their culture so it's a legit question.[/quote]

I think you'll find that it is 'in our culture' to tip but we maybe do it differently and don't like to make a song and dance about it (although that may be as much of a generalisation as your original comment).

I have always paid our gratuities up-front for our cruises and added extra amounts where we have felt that to be appropriate.

So I don't think there should be any worries about who is going to tip.:)

[srlafleur]

[quote name='jzygail']Okay, is it just me or is the very idea of "immersion" cruising just WRONG??? When I cruise, it's my hope that we'll not be immersed. ;)[/quote]


ROTFL!!!:p