ClawhammerBanjo

Thanks for the helpful replies! I hope I can make this happen. Next step is to measure my dogs!

Thanks!

Does that mean crossings for 2019 will go on sale in September 2017?

I have had a crazy dream for several years now. We live in the UK and we want to spend three months of each year in the US... with our dogs.

We have flown with our dogs TA before and it was incredibly stressful. We had to drop them off at the cargo terminal in DEN to strangers and the plane had a very hard landing at LHR. They were fine, we weren't!.

So, crossing twice a year on the QM2 looks like the best option, but kennels are booked 12 - 18 months in advance.

What I am trying to understand is the schedule or pattern that Cunard uses to make TA crossings available, so that I can book as soon as they are opened.

For example we need to go westwards in Sep/Oct and eastwards in Dec/Jan. When do Sep/Oct crossings go on sale? Is there a predictable pattern or some way of getting Cunard to tell me the day they are available?

Any general advice, thoughts, pitfalls, strategies?

Thanks!

I think the difference in your price and mine must be because the $81.81 I paid reflected a 30% discount for buying it online before the cruise started.

The WI-FI offer is shockingly expensive (I get phone separation anxiety!) , so in retrospect as this tour meant we'd be on shore or close to a network every day bar the sail to Marseille I would buy extra international credit on my phone and use the local network. (My wife did she spent £7 in the week, as opposed to my £100 for the week.

Not sure what you mean. I was on the same cruise (but a couple of weeks later to yours). I paid $81.81 for seven days of on-ship unlimited high-speed wifi. Much cheaper than your £107. The connection worked great 95% of the time and had no issues with it.

So our suspicions are confirmed when our disembarkation time is given as around 08:00-08:30.

We were given a form by the cabin attendant a few days before the end of the cruise with a list of choices of disembarkation times. We could have chosen 6:30am if we wanted. Based on that they then give you luggage tags with a number on it that relates to your chosen time. The form is either taken by your cabin attendant or you can drop it in the box next to the post box at guest services. This was for Barcelona - I guess it works differently for Rome?

I'm having a hard time with this math. Are you saying that the lifeboat capacity is not enough for a max capacity ship? Or are you using the 'max berths' number to represent max capacity? .....I think it's the later but just checking...

This ship has two types:

- 18 large, rigid, yellow lifeboats, 370 capacity each.

- unknown quantity of inflatable life rafts

The life rafts are stored in canisters and have an inflatable chute to get into them from deck five.

The yellow lifeboats just about cover the passengers, but not the crew. I presume the crew would use the inflatable rafts.

380 miles to Civ. (have to go around Corsica)

25 MPH max cruising speed.

380 / 25 = 15.2 hours

My guess: to arrive on schedule at 7am need to leave by 3:30pm.

With the sad news about the crew of the ship right now I thought I would post something positive from our cruise that just finished on Sunday.

We were eating in the Windjammer one evening and we noticed our waiter doing a little dance to the music as he was clearing a nearby table. My wife loved that and told him how good he was at dancing.

A couple of nights later we were hungry early so we were entering the Windjammer at opening time - 6pm. We washed our hands, turned the corner and the same waiter was dancing to the music with eight to 10 wait staff all watching him.

He saw my wife, turned and started dancing at her, so she reciprocated and they had an impromptu dance-off with the staff as an audience! After a couple of minutes we went to eat and he went to work.

:D:D:D

Thanks for the feedback. I've booked it as it sounds perfect for us. :)

My wife has limited walking ability, so she wants to save as much energy as she can for Pompeii itself (Piazza Anfiteatro entrance), and not spend all her energy walking from the cruise ship to the train station, train station to entrance, etc.

So we are looking at a taxi from the ship to Pompeii, waiting for us for four hours or so (so she can take it slowly) then take us back.

I've found a taxi company that offers what we want for EUR 105, which seems pretty good to me. Has anyone used them?

http://www.taxiairportpickup.com/pompeii-limousine-taxi-van/book-transfer-from-pompeii.html

Is it a good idea or a bad idea to pre-book the taxi?

Thanks!

Many thanks! This is exactly the information I was looking for! :)

Hello,

I am looking at this tour (code MR93). My wife can do some walking on level surfaces if she takes regular breaks and goes at her own pace.

Has anyone been on this and can describe the walking involved to me?

For example it says "In Cassis, take the petit train touristique (little tourist train) to the Vieux Port for an enchanting guided stroll." Is that optional? Part of the structure? Or perhaps just a suggestion to spend our time?

Thanks! Andy

I found online a sheet of all the shuttle buses laid on by RCCL in the various ports we will be visiting (Palma, Marseilles, La Speiza, Civitavecchia, Naples).

The sheet mentions that these shuttles have a luggage compartment that can be used for strollers and folding wheelchairs.

Can we take my wife's travel scooter on these? It breaks down into four pieces in less than a minute.

Is it a massive pain to do that?

Should these shuttles be avoided in general?

Note that I am asking about the shuttles arranged by the cruise line rather than the city or the port.

Thanks! Andy

Hello,

I am looking at this tour (code MR93). My wife can do some walking on level surfaces if she takes regular breaks and goes at her own pace.

Has anyone been on this and can describe the walking involved to me?

For example it says "In Cassis, take the petit train touristique (little tourist train) to the Vieux Port for an enchanting guided stroll." Is that optional? Part of the structure? Or perhaps just a suggestion to spend our time?

Thanks! Andy

Many thanks! This is reassuring. :)

I've been reading this thread with interest. A couple of people have posted the Harmony of the Seas room service menu online and it doesn't seem to match up at all with what is in this thread. Looks quite lame in comparison. No Bistro burger that everyone is raving about and there is a charge for burgers? Have to pay extra for a hot breakfast? Only two sandwich choices? Is that right?

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/2016/05/25/harmony-of-the-seas-room-service-menu/

My wife is disabled and has a mobility scooter. We will be ending our cruise in Barcelona. Harmony of the Seas, Sep 11th.

I have found a taxi company that handles scooters but I need to book. I've just found out that you are assigned a disembarkation time the day before.

So how do I book the taxi? What time?

Also I have to book a flight for the same day. What time is safe?

Thanks!

Hello. Never been on a cruise but looking to book one.

I'm in the UK and I am looking at Mediterranean cruises without a flight. I.e. drive to the port. Seems prices are cheaper in the US in US$, but with the small print "must be a US resident", etc.

I am a dual UK/US citizen. I have a US passport, driver's license, bank account, credit card, phone number, mailing address, plus the funds for the cruise are in my US bank account. But... I don't live there anymore.

I presume the travel agency wouldn't know I am not living in the US, so they would honor the booking and get their commission. But what about boarding? I will have to show my US passport, right? Is there a risk of being found out and denied boarding? Do you get grilled?

Thanks!