General Immersion Thread (merged)

[Ms Understood]

Thanks cruisejunky, I will look into that one.

[Cruise Junky]

WOW thats some itinerary! I would love to do something like that in the future :)

 

I thought it was pretty close to what the OP is currently booked on, only they'll be speaking english :)

 

28-Feb Singapore

01-Mar Cruising

02-Mar Bangkok (Laem Chabang),Thailand

03-Mar Bangkok (Laem Chabang),Thailand

04-Mar Sihanoukville, Cambodia

05-Mar Cruising

06-Mar Ho Chi Minh City (Vung Tau), Vietnam

07-Mar Nha Trang, Vietnam

08-Mar Hue/Danang (Chan May Port), Vietnam

09-Mar Sanya, China

10-Mar Hong Kong, China

11-Mar Hong Kong, China

12-Mar Xiamen, China

13-Mar Cruising

14-Mar Shanghai, China

[Gixer]

Well looks like Im stuck with immersion whether I want it or not. If it was a cruise where the language was going to be a barrier then I would definatley not sail, but seeing as everything on the Indy out of Southampton is going to be in English then I am going to carry on with my holiday plans. Im not happy about it though - as another poster said, if I wanted a British imersion cruise I would have booked the Ocean Village :mad:

[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. ;)

[Gixer]

And the best one your all forgetting which always has my kids giggling is - FANNY PACK :eek: :D

[Ms Understood]

I agree with Mydnite. If the Asian pax on our cruise wanted to be on an "Asian" cruise, couldn't they have booked one? Why change this? In fact our cruise had all its balconys sold out within 1 week of the schedule coming out, obviously quite a few people of whatever ethnicity wanted to go on the cruise that was advertised. Of course, my bottom line to the poll question is "I don't know" :-(. My first reaction was "no way, cancel us" but it was/is such a great itinerary that I can't decide what to do.

[cruisenfever]

Hi Patti, now we know what it was and at least some folks are finding out ahead of time. Do you think all our complaints to RCI might have influenced them to announce ahead of time? I don't think we would have canceled, but it would definitely affect our decision if we were just booking.

I think you might have hit on something jb. It sure would have been nice to have known what the "cultural" mix was going to be on our cruise so that we were prepared or could have made a decision on whether to remain on the ship or not.

 

If it was our complaints that influenced RCI to now inform people...............then we did accomplish something.

 

Guess everyone learns from mistakes made.

[Gixer]

Just thought of another one, I will never forget the look on my 12 year old daughters face one day in Epcot when she heard a woman ask her husband, a grown man in his middle years if he ''wanted to go potty'' we heard it all the time afterwards but it was a bit of a shock at first LOL :D

[Ms Understood]

The Princess trip is all waitlisted! It was a couple of days longer than RCL's which was really my outer limit timewise since I do still have to go to work to pay for my travel compulsions but I do really appreciate the suggestion.

[marci22]

Just thought of another one, I will never forget the look on my 12 year old daughters face one day in Epcot when she heard a woman ask her husband, a grown man in his middle years if he ''wanted to go potty'' we heard it all the time afterwards but it was a bit of a shock at first LOL :D

 

um, we don't all ask our husbands that.

[Mydnite]

I had been thinking of booking independance out of Southampson, but now I woukld def not. If I sale out of southampton then I'll go fora Briths cruise line, at least I will know what thier idea of British is, as that is yet to be seen with RCL.

 

More to the point I may choose a different US cruise line where I know what I will get.

 

I may be in a minority, but most Brits I know that cuise and cruise on RCL do because they like the onboard experience, not just for the ports of call, otherwise we may as well choose a chepaer cruise like like Ocean Village. The problem is that this is chaging the experience.

 

Please don't do this RCL!

[CruzinCruzan]

Maybe not enought Westerners ( Americans/British/Europeans) are traveling to Asia...specifically Americans due to our economy....

 

We were/are traveling with Ms. Understood....on the immersion cruise to Southeast Asia...I called the Crown & Anchor and was basically told that menus, pa announcements, entertainment, excursions, retail sales and the language will all be Asian...from that part of the world as in Chinese...We don't speak Chinese and don't plan to learn it soon, food is not an issue to us but knowing what, when, where is...imagine going on an excursion were you have no idea when, where to meet or what you are seeing...RCCL could not guarantee excursions in English though they said that there would be English "helpers"...enough to baby sit how many Americans/British/Europeans?????? Who knows...

 

I was basically "told" by the Crown & Anchor Rep...to cancel that this cruise was not for me...

 

Sounds like an adventure which could turn into an expensive nightmare!

 

As for AZAMARA...theirAsian itineraries WILL NOT be immersion...I think that they just got my booking!!!!!!

[Mydnite]

LOL, does this mean ties will be compulsory on formal nights. One night when we were in Disney (going to Victoria and Albert's) we were walking from the dock and we heard "Geee... they must be British, he's wearing a tie!"

[truffles2]

I think I would go for it. Definitely would go for British immersion. I'm sure announcements, etc. would also be in English....and how bad could the food be? Maybe only gain 5 pounds instead of 10!:D There were plenty of British favorites on the Brilliance transatlantic--especially at breakfast and also all the old American stand-bys. It is fun to try new things.

[celebhol]

Wasn't it Churchill who said we are separated by a common language?

 

Lift = elevator

bonnet = car hood

boot = car trunk

car park = parking lot (americans drive on the parkway and park in the driveway!)

and we don't even want to get into what's in Haggis! But that's scottish anyway. and scotch is whisky (no 'e') while rye is whiskey. sheesh.

[cruisenfever]

After just doing a 14 day TA on Splendour with 1500 Brazilian pax and having to eat Portuguese food for 14 days..............I would not do it again. I mean, I like black beans and rice.........but almost every day??

 

Entertainment was in Portuguese, photographs printed in Portuguese, announcements were made in English (for the 450 English speaking pax on board), Portuguese and German.

[madra2112]

Coxswain, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the most beautiful and delicious "heart attack on a plate" ever concocted -

 

The Ulster Fry!!!!!!!

 

It's a breakfast guaranteed to up your cholestrol level by at least 2 points, and have your health insurance company calling in the actuaries.

[Cruising89143]

After just doing a 14 day TA on Splendour with 1500 Brazilian pax and having to eat Portuguese food for 14 days..............I would not do it again. I mean, I like black beans and rice.........but almost every day??

 

Entertainment was in Portuguese, photographs printed in Portuguese, announcements were made in English (for the 450 English speaking pax on board), Portuguese and German.

 

Patti, I have to agree with you. Does not interest me in the least.

[sas80]

See, I think I would enjoy a 7 night immersion cruise. I'm very interested in different cultures and like to be able to ask a lot of questions.

 

14 nights might have me feeling like the cruise is tired, old, etc. But 7 nights I could do!

 

I also think that ECCL, like any other company, has to cater to their current clientele. It feels like RCCL might be testing the "waters" so to speak. Would Asian and Brits, etc, become repeat cruisers if they culture on the ship was more accustomed to their own lifestyles? They are a company, after all, trying to make money....

[Mydnite]

I think I would go for it. Definitely would go for British immersion. I'm sure announcements, etc. would also be in English....and how bad could the food be? Maybe only gain 5 pounds instead of 10!:D There were plenty of British favorites on the Brilliance transatlantic--especially at breakfast and also all the old American stand-bys. It is fun to try new things.

 

 

I agree totally, It is fun to try new things, that is why, as Brit I do not want a British immerision cruise. I cpuld understand it is it was being marketed to a different market as an experience, but if the reports are right it is being done because there are a lot of Brits on the sailing.

 

To be honest I am really dissapointed as I wanted to do an Indy cruise out of Southampton, but at last I have found out now before booking.

 

Oh well, I'll have to wait for my Sept Mariner, and not use RCL when looking at sailing from the UK. I do hope that those who are on the cruise like it.

[nellydean]

A word I see crop up time and again is Capris, as regards women's clothing - are they casual slacks- type trousers?

[kehlx2]

As we will be leaving out of San Juan in Sept--I know alot of the Spanish come along anyway--which is fine with me, now if they change EVERYTHING to Spanish we could have a problem..at some point will they make a master list or something? WOW--good thing I haven't been able to talk DH into a Greece cruise for 2009..he eats pretty much meat & potatoes--I will try most things.

So if we add this to the +$$ for 1st luggage--now my DH says he ISN'T traveling anymore anyway then. I might just not be able to coax him into going.

YUK!!! TWO big announcements today to ruin all of our travels..perhaps.

[JennyMominRI]

Pretty much everything we ate on a cruise out of Miami could be found in a UK hotel. (Maybe with the exception of biscuits and gravy and grits for breakfast but they are just as peculiar any any traditional British dish!)

 

Cancelling a 14 day vacation because we don't deep fry the bacon?

Who deep fries bacon?

 

BTW, I'd love a British Immersion cruise, but seeing that Doctor Who, the real one, walked me down the aisle, Im a huge Anglophile

[sea-cruise]

Yes, the hem is just below the knees. Very chic. :)

[horsegal88]

I went on the web site today to look at all of the sailings out of Southhampton, as we are booked on the transatlantic in Nov. 2009.It looks like the transatlantic cruises are not going to be immersion cruises. The notice is only on the cruises that are staying on that side of the "pond", so maybe some of us don't have to be too concerned. I really don't have a problem with British immersion, but I still think RCCL is making a big mistake to do this! Cindy