jomf

We tend to think you Americans are pretty ok as well.

we've had great fun on our trips and there seems to be Americans involved at some point!

P & O would be a good fit for you I think.

21 hours ago, Yogi21 said:

We have today been told by our T/A  in UK that because our Indy cancelled cruise was a " group booking " by them, RCI will not be giving the 25% compensation via them to us.We understood that the compensation was to be given to all affected cruisers on the cruise element of their booking, Our refunded deposit arrived without problem.

 

Anyone else told no compensation ?

 

We don’t get the 25%FCC, because Royal cancelled our cruise (26th sept Med cruise) before they had announced the redeployment! 

Obviously a cancellation for charter reasons doesn’t warrant the same compo!

The prices have possibly been increased to cover the 25% FCC some cancelled passengers received. Royal need to get that back somehow!

I’ve also received a reply, in the form of a phone call, trying to explain to poor Old dumb me that they do care but when they cancel a cruise for reasons of a charter that means they don’t have to give stupid folk ( those that book in advance for some idiotic reason) the same compensation as they give those whose  cruise they cancel for business reasons!

It really helped my day get so much better knowing they care. 

I feel that that the time has come for cruise lines to be held responsible for changing ports, time in port, cabin grades or cancelling altogether. There should be a set amount of compensation, not just more for purposes of good publicity. 

I have lost faith in the industry, after the two cruises we have booked ( can’t cancel as we lose our deposit here in the UK) we will look elsewhere for our hard earned holidays ( vacation).

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

I would book a cruise now and as long as you aren't near final payment just wait until they issue the FCC. I would definitely keep on them to send it. Also, I don't think I would book a non-refundable deposit in case they don't get the FCC to you soon enough.

 

 

 

We have been informed that because Royal cancelled our cruise for The Indy to be chartered we are NOT getting any FCC!!

how wrong is that?

Because Royal cancelled our cruise before the news of the Indy moving area we get No FCC. 

So they might have done good by some but we were truly let down!

12 hours ago, DJLDRUMS said:

jomf, I just viewed your posting. Did RCI offer you three other sailings in the US or over there in Europe?  if it was from FT. lauderdale can you tell us what they were. I was seeking information whether or not WHEN it gets positioned at Ft. Lauderdale at some date to yet be announced, that if it will follow the trend of the Mariner and Navigator and only do three and four day cruises to the Bahamas to get in CocoCay. Personally it would be nice to see it do at least a seven nighter in addition to the Oasis Class ships that have the Florida market sewn up.

European cruises only, one round the Med and two to the Canary Islands. Obviously if we had chosen one of  them then we would now be getting the compo as The Indy would not have been doing those cruises either!

37 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Yes it is a strange feeling,I haven't set foot on an RCI ship yet but I feel like I hate them already!!

 

Having said that we are very much looking forward to our Quantum cruise,it is her repo cruise from China to Singapore & calls at many places that we haven't been to yet & are unlikely to get to again,but even that has already been hard work with changes & getting info about Quantums' cruises out East has been like getting blood out of a stone,it is as if RCI have no idea what is happening out there,very strange.

We went from Singapore to Shanghai, brilliant cruise ( Celebrity not Royal) very interesting, enjoy yourselves 

33 minutes ago, snaefell said:

Yes if they hadn't used such a stupid excuse for the change I guess we probably would feel better,it really is like rubbing salt in the wound,& to be fair they did say something like the change resulting in a more relaxing cruise!!!

I was already well aware of Anthems 'scare' a few years ago which happened in July I believe,it is a wonder they allow her out at all,are they suggesting their ships are somewhat lacking in the seaworthiness stakes?

As I mentioned we had been to Ponta Delgada on our last cruise,that was a Transatlantic in March so this cruise didn't seem that much of a risk!

The fact that RCI seem to be reluctant to reply to any messages I send them doesn't help.

I also can’t get an acknowledgment, let alone a reply from emails!

They have lost us as customers before we even managed to get on a ship! Way to go!

5 hours ago, jomf said:

We were told on the 11th April that our sailing ( Sept 2020- med cruise) had been cancelled as the ship had been chartered. 

We were offered three other sailings, all on the Independence, none very good.

we had no option other than cancelling. Our deposit was returned after many, many phone calls. We were told that they would offer no other compensation as we had turned down the three alternative sailings!

After finding out the ship was being moved from the Med ( via cruise critic) not chartered, I requested the same FCC as other passengers, I have been promised it, but after yet more phone calls, nothing has materialised! 

By the time we get it we will be many days behind others in being able to pick cabins, get a good deal etc.

we are not happy, to say the least.

This would have been our, and our travelling companions, first Royal Caribbean cruise!

Just found out, despite Royal telling us we would get FCC, they now say we don’t qualify! Because Royal cancelled ours before all the others! 

Unbelievable.

September 26th2020 Med cruise

We were due to sail on this cruise, Royal cancelled it saying it had been chartered.

Were any of you booked to go on this cruise? Have you been offered compensation in the form of a future cruise credit or

obc?

We were told on the 11th April that our sailing ( Sept 2020- med cruise) had been cancelled as the ship had been chartered. 

We were offered three other sailings, all on the Independence, none very good.

we had no option other than cancelling. Our deposit was returned after many, many phone calls. We were told that they would offer no other compensation as we had turned down the three alternative sailings!

After finding out the ship was being moved from the Med ( via cruise critic) not chartered, I requested the same FCC as other passengers, I have been promised it, but after yet more phone calls, nothing has materialised! 

By the time we get it we will be many days behind others in being able to pick cabins, get a good deal etc.

we are not happy, to say the least.

This would have been our, and our travelling companions, first Royal Caribbean cruise!

We find the “is it worth it” limit to be around seven drinks per day. That includes non alcoholic drinks as well. If you feel you are likely to drink more than that, then it’s worth it.

We beat it even on port days!

4 hours ago, JerseyGuys said:

Thank you. Actually there is no dollar limit on celebrity on the premium package

There was a limit when we had the premium package on Celebrity. I forget what it was but we definitely couldn’t drink top end stuff ( champagne and the finest wines) without it costing extra.

We were on the 2018 sailing, it was mostly full. There were a quite few cabins available but these might have been because people were taken ill or no shows.

definately not full though.

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Interesting thread. We are on a cruise and arrive by ship from Vietnam to Nansha, China on May 7. Then cruise to Hong Kong and arrive May 8 and leave May 10 cruising to 2 ports in Taipei. We then cruise to 2 ports in Japan, then to Shanghi, China for 2 days. From there it's on to South Korea then back to Japan?

 

With that scenario are you folks saying we could have used the 3 country 144 hour rule and not have spent a ton of money to get the Chinese visas that the cruise line required us to get?

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm 

On 1/6/2019 at 8:44 PM, lucy239 said:

We are leaving for Shanghai at the end of January for three days before a cruise on Celebrity Constellation, and staying in a hotel booked through Celebrity.  We thought it would be best to get visas.  We do not have the Celebrity reservation confirmation yet and therefore, cannot complete the paperwork for the visas.  We are in a "time crunch" now.  Any suggestions?

Which is the first port after Shanghai? You might qualify for the 144 hour visa exemption.

so if you fly in from the UK, stay three days in Shanghai and then leave for a different country ( which can be Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) then you should qualify.

Great review, glad you enjoyed the trip. I agree with your comments about the promenade deck. We had a cabin under the deck ( we were moved to the cabin, noisy neighbours) and were woken from 6am by pounding feet above us. The gym is the place to run, a promenade to walk!

We had the room next to the laundry on the QM2, noise was definitely an issue! First we had the staff cleaning the laundry at 12.30/1am, banging and crashing enough to wake us up. We also were woken most mornings by guests talking outside the door ( too noisy in the actual room for their chats) from 7 am. Also no chance of a mid afternoon nap with guests again standing outside talking. 

Never again would I have a cabin next to a laundry!

Breakfast finishes early on disembarkation day, you will also need to leave your cabin around 8am.

There is an always available menu.

prawn cocktail

chicken breast grilled

salmon grilled

sirloin steak grilled.

Have a great time!

Look forward to your updates, we will join you in Southampton.

Is that primarily statistical, since 'O' neg/pos make up ~ 44% of people, while the other types are less common?

No, it was as a percentage of each blood type, not total numbers. It came true for the two of us!

Makes me wonder if a lot of the noro virus cases onboard aren’t that at all, but are down to people making themselves ill by eating like pigs, guzzling alcohol like there’s isn’t another day coming & spending far too much time baking in the scorching sun!! :confused:

There is a complete difference between norovirus and a hangover/ eating too much! My OH got the dreaded bug, was extremely ill, confined to cabin for 24 hours. Annoying as he is fastidious in washing his hands etc. Funnily enough I read a medical piece that said people with blood group O are far more likely to suffer the norovirus than other blood types. Weird but my OH is O whilst I am A ( and didn’t catch the bug).

I haven’t checked against the last one but it looks like there are a few more cheaper end wines available.