Cruisers47

Hi this topic reminded me of our MSC cruise, probably more than 10 years ago from São Paulo to Venice. It cost us more to fly to South America than the cruise. The boat was lovely and we were given a cabin on the 13th level with walk in robes! But seven different languages before and after each show was tiring. The ship took our passports and on the last day the announced we had to line up to collect our passports on the day we docked. People had trains to catch in Italy and were very angry. 2000 odd people lining up when you want to get off the ship does not make for happy passengers! All makes for laughs now! RC now at Diamond status has been lovely! Eileen

Hi just finishing two RC cruises. Wonder and now Odyssey in the Med. I booked our excursions very early and that was a good idea because a lot of them were full by the time we got on the ship. being diamond has been lovely. 4 drinks a day is more than I want and the price of of the package is really high. Our bill is very little because of this and I have actually had my washing done a couple of times as no drinks bill! the Wonder was a lovely ship but Odyssey is better. Brighter and cheerier than Wonder. met a couple of CC on this cruise. Ausmann and Aussiecruiser. eileen

I have some photos of Wonderland but tried to upload but was not successful. I went to Wonderland but it was empty. The cost of speciality restaurants can be $100US pp. I think it is too expensive for most people. Eileen

Chilli, we were not able to get the App for this cruise..something to do with the fact that they offered this cruise in Two parts. We got on for 7 days from Rome and others got on previously in Barcelona. They had problem with the App in Italy but the App is available for our next cruise on Odyssey and that is also from Rome!! Sorry BecAus. Can’t answer your question as we just got a car to take us from Rome. must tell you all we went to the Aqua show last night and have never seen anything like it…absolutely marvellous. They have a pool and lots of swimmer doing enormous high dives but also they fly over the top of the audience. This show is worth doing the cruise alone. Everybody was in awe of it. I do not know how they do it all, lights , sound and marvellous show. eileen also we got two bottles of champagne delivered to us. Don’t know how we can drink it. We get four drinks a day because we are diamond! We will take them to our shared table to use them. Having a lovely time. Thanks for all your thoughts. eileen

Hi Marion, the cruise is only 7 days from Rome to Barcelona and various ports and back to Rome. We are having one day in Civitavecchia when we get off the boat and then on Odyssey to Israel and back to Rome. Can’t go all this way for 7 days. we have been told about 5000 odd passengers but I don’t think there is that many. Went to a show tonight that we have to book for and only half full. Absolutely marvellous show. Such a production! Not your 60s songs which I love, more for a younger audience, You can’t blame them trying to get younger people on the ship. This is the end of season so probably the reason why not full. a lot of Spanish speaking and quite a few excursions for Spanish speaking. A few Poms. Met one women who said she got a package which included a flight for 95 people flying from Glasgow. I bet it was a good deal. Wish Aussies got that! been to Central Park..,lovely..I think by the end we might find our way around! Eileen

The bus was from Civitavecchia. I heard the train from Rome is very good but we had a car to pick us up. After the flight from Melbourne via Bangkok to Paris and then on to Rome we were very tired. Our flight was from Melbourne to Rome in 2020 when we booked originally . Now Thai do not fly to Rome at this point. but we made it and now have a cruise on this lovely ship. It is Amazing. won’t be doing any speciality restaurants though! Unbelievable prices. I will see how many people are in them. eileen

We were in Civitavecchia today and got on Wonder at lunchtime. got the bus from the station to the port. We were the only ones on the bus! very smooth getting on. Lunch in Windjammer easy. Plenty of room. have not been on a ship where we have heard so many accents., except when we did a cruise from South America to the med many years ago. one good thing we have discovered you can book all the entertainment at a booth. did not take long and we are booked up for the skating show, the nighttime shows, and the Aqua show. Very easy. eileen

Hi we completed a RCL cruise in July around the UK. Unfortunately I can’t remember what we did regarding uploading our Vaccination certificate! We have our on our Apple Wallet but also took paper copies so we did not have any problems. they did take the information on their iPad when we entered the ship. we are off on two RCL cruises in the Med in a couple of weeks, One is on Wonder and they haven’t got the App sorted yet because it is seemingly a cruise that starts in Barcelona but we booked as it was advertised to start in Rome..,don’t know what the problem is. It is good having the App because we could book our dinner time and other entertainment. Luckily we are Diamond so we will just get the diamond club to organise things for us. I am sure you will not have any issues. Enjoy. eileen

Hi thanks for that, I have had a look at Qantas and noticed that cruising was not mentioned. The thought of phoning and being on hold for ages was so off putting. Lazy on my part. I think I might follow your lead! thanks Eileen I had a look at NIB and it was more than Qantas although Qantas is wit

Hi just had a look at 2022 Christmas cruise and it is a fair bit cheaper with the same TA. I should have added that the cheaper cruise I have booked for 2023 does not have a $25 deposit but I feel pretty certain that we will do it. we are booked on a different cruise this Christmas with Azamara. eileen

Hi interesting discussion! Since Covid I have booked direct with RCL as now we are Diamond the freebies are worth it. on the cruise with RCL we are doing next month the price has been reduced a few times and I phoned and they reduced our cost as long as we had not paid the final payment. Very happy. I have booked a Christmas Cruise with celebrity for 2023 with a online TA for $25 deposits. It was cheaper than booking direct! If I change my mind I have only lost $50. But they have now had a special on this cruise $1500 cheaper so I cancelled my previous booking..lost $50..and rebooked the lower priced one. No issues, Happy cruiser.

Can I suggest something. I took my family on a carnival cruise and used my email address to book them in. I kept getting these terrific offers and when I click in they didn’t come up with my number! somebody on CC gave me the phone number of a person to ring from Carnival. I rang him and he said that the offer was for my daughter! And the reason she got the offers was because she had used the casino! When I asked her how much she had used the casino she said they used to buy their drinks there but never bet anything. she is not interested in a cruise at this point and I can’t use the offers as they are in her name 😩. a bit silly as I have used Carnival more than she has and am more likely to take up the offers!! eileen

Hi i think that probably is a worst case scenario as has been said. probably based on Oz previous lockdown measures. we have been on RCL in the UK (I know they said this is only for OZ) and had no trouble, We flew into Paris and went by train to Amsterdam. We read that in the EU we had to fill out an online form stating where we were arriving and staying. Nobody asked for that and we had our Covid jab information on our phones and in paper but nobody asked for that either, except when we went on the ship. if things are that bad that they have to end up following those rules, I would think that the cruise would be cancelled. we have a short 5 day cruise from Sydney in Feb 2023 on RCL but have not receive anything like that but will advise CC if we do! be positive…all will be well👵 Eileen

I entered our details on the EU information but nobody asked for anything. I printed all our Covid testing but nobody asked for that either. we wore masks in the airport etc but very few people did. I was worried that we would get Covid before we got to the cruise but we were ok. we did take precautions and we are flying back with Emirates , we are in the lounge just now, and they require masks on the plane. enjoy your trip. I am sure you will. eileen

Jewel of the seas. An older ship but pleasant. I think it was only 3/4 full. Many US people.

Hi fellow cruisers, though I would drop a note about our cruise with RCL IN UK. First since Covid struck! We did a 12 day around UK. had a lovely time. We were Diamond for the first time and had our four free drinks each, every day so no drinks bill. enjoyed meeting all the others in diamond and above, really different, everybody very friendly. was worried about losing our cases so we had a carry on which held 3 days clothes, but no trouble. Emirates got all our cases at the final destination in Paris. we went to Le Train Bleu in Paris…so lovely….Highly recommended..,sat next to a young couple from Brisbane! we travelling from Paris to Amsterdam…fast train…booked three months ahead and it was terrific. Quite cheap if you book early. was worried about our flight home from Amsterdam to Paris. Separate flight. Had a One and a half hour trip through security …started outside the airport but moved quickly and no trouble! Downloaded all our Covid documents and EU stuff but nobody asked to see anything. prior to cruise we needed a negative test! Every pharmacy seems to do Covid test and only €20 in Paris, cheaper than Amsterdam. Only took 30 minutes. Negative! Such a relief! very few people on the cruise wore masks but we did in the theatre and buses! as long as you are patient and accept that there are lines you will go ok with travel! looking forward to our next trip in September…back to Europe on RCL. we will be home soon. Eileen

I think that the credit card insurance, which I have always used in the past, does not cover cruises now. At least at this point of time! eileen

Hi we are heading for a cruise from Amsterdam with a couple of days in Paris before the cruise. The cruise is around the Uk.we got a cruise from Southern Cross. It was about $450. We are 76 and 75 with no pre-existing. We have credit card insurance which we have always use, but now it seems to cover very little. Ask for a quote! Eileen

Hi I have followed your travels with much enjoyment. we have been locked up in Victoria australia for a long time. It’s been wonderful following you. we are off on our first cruise in July . From Amsterdam around the UK where we originally come from.. have a safe trip to your home. enjoy your next cruise❤️❤️ eileen

We have used China Southern before Covid. I guess that is no longer a viable option. They were very pleasant and the price was under $10,000 for two business class seats to Europe.. we are flying to Europe later this year with Thai business class with the credit from 2020. I think it was about $11,000 but doubt that we will get anything like that in the future! Eileen

Since we have been in Paris and had dinner at the Eiffel Tower a couple of times. I have booked dinner at Le Train Blu. It looks lovely online and was surprised that I could book without having to pay a deposit! Really looking forward to our trip. time to start life again! eileen

Hi i have been thinking about packing as we are three days in Paris before joining a cruise in Amsterdam which is going around the UK. I bought a reasonable size case from KMart which had a smaller case inside. I did a trial pack of the carry one and have found it holds enough for my three days in Paris. It was under the 7 kilos. That means if there are problems with my larger case at least I have some clothes! ofcourse husband never takes advise and will do with his large case! eileen