Cruizeee

Is there a bank account that doesn't charge any overseas transaction fees? Not looking at credit cards, but a visa or mastercard debit card would be a welcome bonus.

I just swung by to confirm to you that nothing of significance has been announced.

 

I cringe to think what people may have found to post about in the last 24 pages since anything official was announced.

 

Yes, we are rocking some but, honestly, it is really not very much worse than any other sailing out of New Jersey/baltimore where you're getting through the Atlantic to the calmer southern seas.

 

The mood of the ship is good. Of course, we are disappointed that we are not able to complete our cruise, but there has been no outcry of "Not Fair". The guest services lines have in no way been inundated today, a sure sign that people are, for the most part, understanding of the situation.

 

The crew spent the day cleaning and repairing and will almost certainly continue to for the next few days. I assume that there will be a complete inspection of the ship's structure when we get back. The ship, however, does not feel stressed or out of kilter.

 

Clearly, I am not an expert. But, I do feel some sense of balance must be maintained given the prevelance in the media of quotes by "someone" who felt the need Sunday night to make incorrect pronouncements about our state as if they were official. Someone, who if I knew what they looked like and saw them on the ship, i would smack.

Thanks for the always honest updates, safe travels now and always

Yes, just my opinion walking around the ship. I was on a 16,000 ton ship in the 1992 hurricane that hit Hawaii and this was far worse.

I question whether you are even on board - everyone seems to be confined to their rooms but you seem to be walking around freely and you know what's happened to the roof on deck 14 and that people are clutching cushions on deck 4. You say you're taking pics but not producing evidence. I smell a sensationalist troll.

Attitude? I was polite and got accused of attitude from the get go and you wonder why I have attitude?

 

Seems some like to think they are sweetness and light but fail to understand cause and effect.

Adi don't take it so personally, you both imparted some valuable info, some times words read sound harsher in ones mind than intended. Not worth the hard feelings.

Don't worry people, next week Getaway will have an unbeatable cruising experience to showcase along with a special discount for the first 50 to book. Bad news is always replaced with a good promo

My 80 year old mother came off this cruise. She started to feel ill a few days before arrival in Sydney but put it down to her heart/lung condition. She stayed in her cabin and took it easy, her travel companion taking food to her so she could rest. Mum ended up in the medical centre the last evening on oxygen and being told she had the flu. Over $350 later she was given cough mixture and sent back to her cabin. Within hours of leaving the ship she ended up in the emergency dept of our local hospital, after tests she was diagnosed with norovirus and admitted into quarantine for 3 days and two nights. Her respiratory specialist told mum the virus can be in the body for 4 days before you become ill. So there may be many others out there who have come done with Noro since leaving the cruise. Not to mention the people who have been in contact with them since.

 

She is still very weak from the ordeal. This was supposed to be a 'dream' last cruise as she feels she is getting too old and sick to take any more. Very disappointing and a huge downer on her memories of this trip, particularly since she had observed people who were obviously sick wondering around the ship including the buffet and announcements coming over requesting particular passengers to return to their cabins immediately - very selfish people, you could have killed my mother with her existing health conditions! The medical staff should have taken precautions to eliminate the possibility that mum had the virus and not the flu as they had suggested.

That's so sad about your mum, I hope as time passes she remembers only the good. Perhaps as your mother had respiratory symptoms, they focused on that being more flu like rather than the noro, particularly if she wasn't vomiting or had the runs. I hope she regains all her strength quickly

Gee's - what's an apology with no sparkle or lights 😆 thanks for the info on novovirus - i am now en'light'ened

One passenger who was interviewed by Channel 7 said "I won't be going on that ship again". Hello!! Doesn't she realise it's most likely not the ship but the passengers with appalling personal hygiene habits.:confused:

So true, some people are just grots

Passenger Stephen Dinale had this to say to news.com.au:

Passenger Stephen Dinale, from Sydney,*told Fairfax that people were vomiting in the pools*and running down corridors covering their mouths.

“You would be [in] the elevator and I would be hitting the button with my knuckle and other people would be running down the corridor holding their mouths ... a lot of the staff would be wearing face masks, gloves,” Mr Dinale said.

Bit sensationalist perhaps?

This was totally and utterly uncalled for.

 

In the cruising world, tipping is expected. You may feel any way that you like about that, but ranting about it isn't going to change it.

Whose ranting - I'm pointing out that it's about time you caught up with the rest of the world where wages are fair and there's no need for the slavery you call tipping. You feel it's your right to pay someone according to how many times they yes ma'am you. Oh, and drive on the right side of the road because that's just what you've been conditioned to think is the right way. I would most certainly love to see cruise staff paid a decent wage and not rely heavily on tips.

I feel the same way when I drive in London.

 

After driving on the right side of the road in the states for 59 years it has served us all very well. Why can't I just do it when I go to London?

 

Bill

The rest of the world doesn't pull guns on each other because they don't like what you've said, do we really have to continue in this game of why Americans need to get back down off their soap box and adapt to how the modern world has made changes for the betterment of all humans? We no longer have slave labour.

Strange way to run a business, and it's not even the govt running it.

Like many things, if they are trying to prove it's a fruitless venture, lack of sales will see it disappear quickly.

This all reeks of slavery and bribery - why the staff aren't paid reasonably and tipping isn't abolished is beyond me. The rest of the world functions just fine without the agony and mind games associated with tipping.

I am an eager beever and was wondering when you can sign up for your cruises meet and mingle? I just tried the online registration and was told it isn't yet open for my cruise on 10 Apr 2017

Try this

Go to your network connection>modify network>change connection from DHCP to static>use gateway address same as ip address, use dns1=8.8.8.8 and dns2=8.8.4.4. ---------->now you should be able to get to the login page

Please add Syd to Qld and back on 10th April 2017 sailing on Radiance of the Seas for 8 days

It probably won't be anything too major if it's only for 2 weeks. Probably new carpets, furniture. Maybe an added restaurant or bar.

I was surprised to see how much they did when they dry docked for 21 days in 2011.

https://youtu.be/2DDji8-wNsg

Yeah, that's what i thought. Is it true the cocktails on board have a lot more alcohol in them than what you'd get at an ordinary bar?

First time cruiser, I'm not much of a drinker but knowing there will be cocktails on board, I'll be tempted to have 1 or 2 a night, no more than that. Would it be worth even looking a drinks package?

You know there are laundry facilities on board, maybe try eliminating a couple of pairs of shoes and a couple of outfits. No one will notice if you've warn the same thing twice.

You might be best off calling the cruise line directly to get your answers. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know and which excursions are for small groups

I did see somewhere it had max amount of people for the excursion - I'm pretty sure the reef excursion is 250 as we're doing that one

With airlie beach, as it's a tendered stop, it's safer to stick to the excurions offered on board as this will guarantee the ship will wait for you if your excursion is delayed returning.

These are the excursions offered at airlie beach from the RCCL website

http://www.royalcaribbean.com.au/findacruise/destinations/shoreExcursions/subGateWayByPort/search.do?LocationCode=WSY

A reason to keep cruising when we eventually get old

http://diply.com/auntyacid/article/why-was-this-old-lady-alone-on-a-cruise-ship

PS it's a joke but I think it has some merit too

We were on RC Rhapsody OTS in Mar/Apr 2011. The excursion was called something like Gt Barrier Reef. It was an all day trip, maybe 7 hours all up. We were picked up directly from the ship by a large catamaran that took us out to the reef and berthed at a platform, situated right on the edge of the reef. Snorkelling gear was provided, and each of us was allocated a seat in the small sub that passed underwater showing the reef and fish-life. Their was also a viewing area on the platform, from where you could view underwater. Lunch was served onboard, and as I recall also morning & afternoon tea. We arrived back at the ship just in time to sail :D

 

Oh just to clarify, yes pretty well everyone snorkelled, they even had those noodle things to assist those that weren't strong swimmers. There were staff around and about to assist those who needed some help. You had to swim maybe 10 metres in deep water to get over the reef itself, the catamaran berthed on the outside of the reef where the water was deep - guess it can't travel in just a few feet of water, which was the depth over the coral itself.

Sounds fantastic mr walker, I'll be doing exactly that next year. Cruising on Radiance of the Seas from Syd to Qld return on 10th April 2017. You should look into it cricketts.