mat5664

I have just earned a Certificate for a Junior Suite.  I know that it's limited to certain cruises, but I was very surprised to see the first 10 cruises were for dates already past and the list only went up to March 2020 all ex US (I am UK based).  Even worse, when I called up, virtually none of the cruises listed had JS availability so I would have to downgrade or pay for an upgrade.

Is this usual - the casino manager onboard Explorer said he didn't understand why there were so many cruises listed in the past.  When you add in that I can't just take another vacation straight away, and JS availability was very rare, there really is very limited choice at all, other than to use the trade in value.  Doesn't seem right at all.

I saw some reviews before I went that the ship was looking worn and tired.  That was not my experience at all - everything was fine.   Cabin was clean and comfortable and generally the ship seemed in decent condition -  can't expect a new ship/new refurb all the time.

Food was generally ok.  Had one inedible main course in the MDR but that can happen.  Service first night was very slow but after that fine.

Very disappointed in the Formal nights.  At least half didn't bother first formal night - and there were guests in the MDR in t shirt and tracksuit bottoms.  We didn't bother dressing up for the 2nd formal night (although still proper dress) and a lot of others seemed to follow suit.  If people don't want to participate, there are plenty of other parts of the ship they can go to.  It's a shame there was no enforcement at all.

My mother had some service issues.  Her suitcase was put on arrival in a different corridor from where her cabin was causing some panic.  Guest services just said (at 6pm) to wait until 8pm and then ask again.  I found it by wandering around her deck.  Also, her Cabin was not turned down the first night and twice her breakfast never arrived.  These may not seem big things, but when you are 83 it does cause some upset.

Casino was very good (and very busy every night) and the staff helpful. One passenger won a £13k Grand jackpot on one of the slots.  I earned a Certificate for a free future cruise.  Sadly the options for the cruises are quite limited -  all US based, with 10 of them from dates already passed.  I probably will only therefore be able to use the trade in value.

fair enough.  Why bother putting times in and why worry my 82 year old mother by starting at Deck 10 and pretending Deck 12 does not exist.

My mother is on deck 12 for a cruise next week on Explorer of the Seas,.  In the ticket booklet it gives the check in time from deck 10 downwards - deck 12 is not mentioned. I assume it has not been updated since the cabins on deck 12 were added even though this was a a few years ago.

So I phone the call centre to ask about check in for deck 12.  The first agent just couldn't get what I was asking and eventually came back saying Royal Caribbean. never board by deck number and therefore my question was wrong.

The 2nd agent understood the question. but didn't have any answer (after putting me on hold for 10 minutes).

I assume the check in time will be the same as deck 10?

This is not the first time I have had problems with their offshore call centre.  Oh to be able to speak to someone in Southampton as used to be.

5 minutes ago, ocav said:

The current code I used was summer2019

thx v much!

1 hour ago, ocav said:

Thanks all for your responses,

 

ive booked with ABParking as I managed to get a 10% off code, and honestly, it’s not worth the hassle anymore.

Hi.  Can you please point me in the direction of the code (the one above does not work).  Thx!

9 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

According to Cunard's website corkage is now $25.

It was $20 on our cruise.  

have arrived back.  Self disembarkation as easy as the embarkation.

Overall, Cruise was excellent.  Ship is very nice - cabin was clean and comfortable.  

Staff were very good and fellow passengers (mostly British) were friendly, although average age was 70+ and I felt rather young at 54!

Some points:

- Food in the Britannia was very mixed and portion sizes were at times ridiculously small.  Towards the end of the cruise (although we hadn't said anything) we were routinely offered double portions of the main course  - so I guess they had received complaints.  

- Internet prices are absurd. As someone who had to check work emails on board, $49 for 2 hours was just crazy and not justifiable, especially as it didn't work very well some of the time.

-Drink prices are similarly high and can easily add up.  I would recommend if on a budget taking wine on board and paying the $20 corkage fee.

On the other hand, we ate in the Veranda (now a Steak House) and it was pretty decent.

I would definitely avoid both the soft drinks package and the coffee package.  You can get unlimited coffee/tea and some fruit juices any time of day or night in the buffet.  

I think next year we will go back to P&O which I think is better value but I would go Cunard again.

Start of 12 night Canary Islsnds cruise with my 82 yr old mother.

Arrived 1pm even though our official time was 2.30pm (no traffic) and they were only too pleased to check us straight in and straight on board.  Check in was pretty deserted.

My first Cunard experience.  So far so good.  Our 2 cabins are decent, lunch in the buffet was nothing special but ok and we have been allocated our requested table for 2 in the Britannia.

Off to the drill.....

That was a fairly speedy 'refit' then - Am on the 12 night Canary Islands cruise leaving on Sunday.  There's a 2 nighter before then.

if they are downloaded you can watch them regardless of where you are.    

on both the cruises where I needed to book single cabins (one P&O and one Cunard), single cabins were available but more expensive than booking a double cabin with single occupancy. It's pretty outrageous really.

I do enjoy spending an hour or two in the casino if my other half (or in the case of my next cruise my mother) is in the Spa or doing a dance class. I play a few slots -I realise it's not for everyone and there are many other things to do! Actually, my mother also likes to play a bit.

Anyway, as I am going on the QE, I checked out a few recent pictures of the casino and noticed the machines looked really old and out of date. I then looked at some pictures from the launch in 2010 and they were the same machines.

I asked the Cunard twitter feed if they had every been changed and they replied that they were the originals from 2010. Technology has changed hugely in the last 8 years and the machines are so much better now (and you can fit a lot of games into one cabinet so it increases choice without taking up more space).

It's not a big deal but still very strange and I've not seen it before on any other cruise line where machines are replaced fairly regularly. I can only think that Cunard clientele don't have much interest in the Casino so the company have not bothered putting any effort into it.

Not sailed with Cunard yet (going in December on QE) but I've looked at the prices and compared both with other cruises I've been on and with decent hotels, the prices are not too bad at all.

I think the point is if you want cheaper drinks prices, go on a cheaper cruise line.

Interesting, in the US if you have a cancellable fair and the price drops you can usually get the difference back if it is before final payment date.

Not in the UK. T&Ca are clear - also if you cancel however far out before final payment you lose your deposit.

A few days ago, I booked 2 balcony cabins for a 12 night cruise in December for my 82 year old mother and I. My mother is an experienced cruiser but had never been on Cunard and wanted to try them whilst she can (she used to cruise every year with my late father). I on the other hand have not been on many cruises and am not used to the vagaries of cruise bookings.

Anyway, as I have now found Cunard is fairly expensive and with the single supplement/premium it adds up. I needed to book the Cunard fare to make sure we had confirmed cabins nearby each other.

I phoned up Cunard for a quote and whilst I was going to think about it, the agent suggested I pay a deposit straight away 'as prices could go up' in the next few days. Which is what I did. (My mistake).

The next day the price for each cabin went down by £150.

£300 given what we paid may not seem so much but this was a real stretch in the first place and it really was only a few hours after the agent suggested I paid as prices could go up.

So I called Cunard. At first they suggested that prices go up and down and that was it - there was nothing to be done. Then when I explained how the call went they said they would listen to the tapes and if it was exactly as I said they would see what they could do. When I agreed to that, the line went quiet for a while and then the lady came back and said that as a one off act of goodwill they would credit the difference in on board credit.

So all's well that ends well and it was worth a call. I appreciate they didn't have to do anything under the terms but on the other hand the original agent also shouldn't have incorrectly suggested that prices were only going one way in the next few days and I should pay a deposit immediately.

thanks Joan. I had heard there were new packages being phased in, but CS were not able to say if they applied to Britannia or not! Guess I'll find out tomorrow!

I am taking my mother on Britannia tomorrow for her 80th birthday.

Unfortunately, I will have to do some work and will need internet access.

Can anyone advise me of whether there is wifi in the cabin and the costs? I did call CS, but they gave me a boiler plate answer read out from a crib sheet about P&O currently changing their Internet packages and they can't give me any information on services or cost!