charlesspinney

It's NOT reliable!  For six months we were number one on the waiting list for a paid upgrade to a Q4,5 or 6 from a Q7.  Now when I call we are number two.  Cunard travel advisors can't explain it saying it's all done out of the UK and they have no control. 

3 hours ago, frankp01 said:

I'm aware of that. Anything electrical I carry is completely non-surge protected.

 

Ouch. That's an aspect I hadn't considered. When our friend's kitchen knife was confiscated, she simply retrieved it from one of the security desks at the same disembarkation line everyone else was using.

Seems so ridiculous!  Swiss army knives and Leatherman tools are a danger to the ship.

This was an unusual disembarkation because we were late arriving at Red Hook and the walk off line was huge. 

Watch out for surg protect plugs.  They took ours along with a pair of scissor (much smaller than the knife selection at Verandas).  They gave us a tag to present to security when leaving the ship.  We were in a hurry and didn't take time to leave the long disembarkation line to claim them.

I have just heard from my NCL travel advisor that the Oct 23rd sailing is the last that H2O will be closed.

Can anyone confirm this?

I wonder if a refund will be issued to those who choose to cancel because of this integral part of this ship not being available.   If not opened by next month, I'll seriously consider canceling before I make the final payment for the TA in April.

Queen Elizabeth going under the Lions Gate Bridge, arriving Vancouver June 14th. 

15 minutes ago, CoolChange37 said:

You might want to check out the Epic.   On all the cruises I have been on, this was my least favorite ship.    The layout is horrible and if you were booked in the grand suite, you are going to be really disappointed.   

I did check it out and I would much prefer the Serenade but the price was just too much.  We did a TA on the Jewel in 2019.  One of the best cruises we were ever on.  Our expectations are not high for the Epic.

1 hour ago, charlesspinney said:

Thanks for the information.   I just tried to book a GS on the Miami to Copenhagen sailing.  We were booked on the canceled Tampa to Barcelona.  Total cost $4800CAD for GS cabin 1550.  The same cabin is now available for $17,600CAD.  

We're not re-booking.

Sorry I was looking at the JS we booked first.  The price for the GS was $6500CAD.  Still over $11,000CAD more.

15 hours ago, katpt said:

Sometimes, Royal Caribbean does things in an order that causes confusion. In this instance, the OP received notification of the cruise cancellation and tried the same day to book a GS on the new cruise from Miami. No GS available. Sometime later, RCI added all the rooms for the cruise and voila GS are now available.

I’ve just checked for this cruise and there are now 14 GS available. Perhaps, if the OP isn’t TRULLY against RCI, they could go look at this cruise again and find a nice GS.

Good luck.

(This happened to me when Harmony was swapped out for Wonder at Port Canaveral. It took RCI a good month after they notified me of the change to make all the suites available. But eventually, there were many from which to choose.)

Thanks for the information.   I just tried to book a GS on the Miami to Copenhagen sailing.  We were booked on the canceled Tampa to Barcelona.  Total cost $4800CAD for GS cabin 1550.  The same cabin is now available for $17,600CAD.  

We're not re-booking.

Tried to rebook the same day I received the notice.   There were JS Cabins available but the cost twice what we paid for a GS.

On 4/8/2022 at 1:51 AM, SNJCruisers said:

 

1 hour ago, Seville2Cabo said:

How long between the cancellation and the time you tried to book the Copenhagen option?  We considered Booking the TA to Copenhagen and there were plenty Jr suites for about $2K PP.  Grand Suites were available.   We decided to book the Panama Canal cruise when it was announced on Radiance instead.  

 

Just thinking if the ship was redeployed, the canceled cruise would happen about the same time as the new itineraries were available and GS's would be available.  Did the OP wait too long to try to rebook?

Tried to rebook the same day I received the cancelation notice. 

Myself and brother are long time passengers of Royal Caribbean.   During the pandemic we took advantage of the excellent fairs for transatlantic crossing and booked grand suite cabins on the May 6th crossing from Tampa to Barcelona.   We were booked on the Serenade of the Seas.   Yesterday we received an email from Royal Caribbean saying our cruise was canceled!  They gave us three options.  The first was to rebook on a cruise to Baltimore,  Maryland on the Vision of the Seas.  The second was to book any other cruise,  but pay any difference in fair. The third was to refund our deposit. 

We looked to rebook and discovered our ship, Serenade of the Seas,  was sailing from Miami to Copenhagen on the same dates.  Why were we canceled?  We liked this itinerary much better!  I tried to book but all Grand Suites were sold out and Junior Suites were twice the cost we paid for our Grand Suite. 

I called Royal Caribbean and spent three hours talking to a half a dozen different agents,  half said they were supervisors.   Only the three options stood.   Most of the agents I talked to didn't know where Baltimore was and couldn't relate to my reasoning that we were not being offered another transatlantic cruise. 

All I can say, goodbye Royal Caribbean,  never again. 

Now booked on the Epic.

Thanks to all.  A great discussion!  We have purchased the package for both European cruises in May and June 2023.  I don't think the price will go lower than $51.  Cheers 🍻

We always get the package.   We even got it on a Viking river cruise where the beer and wine is included at lunch and dinner.   The only thing I can add to 1Kaper's comments is at dinner you can pair each course with a different wine.  And at the end of the meal I enjoy port or a specialty coffee.  Not having a big bill at the end of a cruise is a plus.  Even grabbing a couple of bottles of water or energy drinks before heading out on an excursion is included in the package. So my advice would be, if you can afford it and enjoy a drink while on holidays,  get it!  Cheers!🍹🥂

KAPER1.  Cape Breton?

We're on our first Carnival cruise in May of 2023.  I received an email advertising a 15% discount on the full drink package.  I  went into our planner and sure enough the drink package was $51 each.  This is an excellent price compared to what we're paying for a package on our Royal Caribbean TA cruise.  I put the package in our shopping cart until I ask a couple of questions.   My first question is, if the price goes down can you cancel this package and rebook?  Are there any risks to paying for the package over a year in advance.  And finally,  we have had packages on Royal Caribbean and Cunard,  are there many big differences?

We have found that all the bartenders and sommeliers go out of their way to keep all your drinks within the limits of the package.  On our last western TA on QM2 the sommelier gave us a bottle of prosseco to take to our cabin so we could bring it to breakfast on our last morning to have mimosas.  There are no drink charges allowed on your debarkation day.  The staff cannot do enough for you.  Looking forward to our upcoming Alaska cruise on QE.  How is the bar service on the two open grill's decks?  Looks like a great venue for observing the glaciers. 

2 hours ago, kwokpot said:

I don't understand your question. If you're in the same room for all three cruises there's no need to do ANYTHING with your personal belongings in your cabin. Basically what happens is you'll be notified where B2B cruisers must meetup on disembarkation day. Usually the timeframe is towards the last group of disembarking guests. Once all guests have disembarked, the remaining B2B guests will be led off the ship in a group to clear CBP and once it's been confirmed that all prior guests have left we will be led back on the ship. In prior Carnival B2B's when we were led back on the ship we gathered at the Atrium bar and given our room cards and also given a free drink and were asked to gather for a B2B cruisers group photo at the Atrium Bar (1 free photo per cabin was handed out) An alternative situation could have the CBP officials come on board and clear everyone without physically getting off the ship. But to repeat if you're in the same cabin you don't need to do a thing with your stuff. 

 

For those who have to change cabins (We need to move after our 1st cruise) you packed up your stuff, leave it in the cabin, and the Cabin Attendant will move it to your new cabin.  It has been noted that clothes that are hanging in the closets can be left that way and the Attendant will just move the hanging items to your new cabin closet. Just check with your attendant to see if that's the case.

Fantastic!  Sorry, I  read my question and I added one too many b2's.  Only one b2b.  We cruise from Barcelona,  land in Dover, and then do the Norwegian Fjords cruise.  What a perfect system.   Thanks again for providing such a detailed procedure.   It's going to make for such a smooth transition, resulting in lots of time to explore Dover.

On 11/15/2021 at 1:04 PM, derby lover said:

We are Hazel and James from Abbotsford just East of Vancouver. Looking forward to this cruise. 

On 12/28/2021 at 5:37 PM, MrandMrsBeee said:

We are trying to work out of the drinks package is worth getting. Has anyone had it and did they think it was value for money? 
 

If we order a gin and tonic are they counted as a soft drink and an alcoholic drink or is it one drink that needs to be under $12? 
 

We usually order wine with dinner. We would usually order a bottle but if we had the drinks package would order it by the glass. Has anyone done this?

On 12/4/2021 at 2:51 PM, kwokpot said:

I'll be on a b2b2b next May/June on the Pride and very much looking forward to it. Never done Europe on Carnival but was on her sister ship to Hawaii and I agree this class of ship is a great size (actually the +/- 90,000 ton ship class of ANY cruise line is an ideal size and I venture to say all the cruiselines really, really did some great things with this tonnage!)

 

Craig0120: I'm looking at your past cruises from your signature and looks like those from three different lines are the same ship size as the Pride, so you'll know about the size and general amenities the Pride will offer. Looks like your future cruises again are on varied cruiselines but it seems you're moving up in size (but then again the Vision will be the smallest and oldest ship you'll be on)

 

The only thing I will say about the Pride and older Carnival ships has to do with the aesthetics. Older Carnival ships went kinda overboard with designing the interiors of their ships with a distinct repetitive and frankly gaudy themes. With the Pride you'll see giant silver urns adorning every surface of the ship. While lots of long time Carnival cruisers love the wacky themes of their ships I don't think the interiors age well as opposed to some of the design choices of say Royal Caribbean's older ships which relied on brass and wood as design elements. In any event other than the Interior decoration the Pride will be a great choice for a European cruise. Enjoy!

We are booked on that b2b2b as well.  We have the same room booked for both cruises.  Does anyone know if we can leave our luggage in our room while in Dover?

On 11/15/2021 at 1:04 PM, derby lover said:

We are Hazel and James from Abbotsford just East of Vancouver. Looking forward to this cruise. 

On 12/28/2021 at 5:37 PM, MrandMrsBeee said:

We are trying to work out of the drinks package is worth getting. Has anyone had it and did they think it was value for money? 
 

If we order a gin and tonic are they counted as a soft drink and an alcoholic drink or is it one drink that needs to be under $12? 
 

We usually order wine with dinner. We would usually order a bottle but if we had the drinks package would order it by the glass. Has anyone done this?

On 12/4/2021 at 2:51 PM, kwokpot said:

I'll be on a b2b2b next May/June on the Pride and very much looking forward to it. Never done Europe on Carnival but was on her sister ship to Hawaii and I agree this class of ship is a great size (actually the +/- 90,000 ton ship class of ANY cruise line is an ideal size and I venture to say all the cruiselines really, really did some great things with this tonnage!)

 

Craig0120: I'm looking at your past cruises from your signature and looks like those from three different lines are the same ship size as the Pride, so you'll know about the size and general amenities the Pride will offer. Looks like your future cruises again are on varied cruiselines but it seems you're moving up in size (but then again the Vision will be the smallest and oldest ship you'll be on)

 

The only thing I will say about the Pride and older Carnival ships has to do with the aesthetics. Older Carnival ships went kinda overboard with designing the interiors of their ships with a distinct repetitive and frankly gaudy themes. With the Pride you'll see giant silver urns adorning every surface of the ship. While lots of long time Carnival cruisers love the wacky themes of their ships I don't think the interiors age well as opposed to some of the design choices of say Royal Caribbean's older ships which relied on brass and wood as design elements. In any event other than the Interior decoration the Pride will be a great choice for a European cruise. Enjoy!

We are booked on that b2b2b as well.  We have the same room booked for both cruises.  Does anyone know if we can leave our luggage in our room while in Dover?

Is Attila still around?  Best ever on a TA western in 2018 in PG.

Does anyone know when Royal Caribbean will be announcing the 2023 repositioning cruises?

We always get it.  The waiters and bartenders know when you have the package and always keep it under the limit.   The sommelier will pair all your courses at meal time, saving you from having to buy several bottles.  If you look at specialty coffees,  freshly squeezed oj, beer, cocktails, wine and water, it pays for itself and you don't have that big bill at the end of the cruise. 

Great info about the Vancouver Port.  We were planning on bringing a couple of bottles of premium spirits for our cabin.  We'll put them in our checked baggage now.

We have traveled in grills our last trip and again in June 2022.  The drink package is included in the fare. 

We find the package excellent.   Never have we paid any extras.   On the last evening of our TA western cruise our sommelier gave us a bottle of prosecco to take to our cabin so at the last breakfast we could bring the bottle to the dining room and he would make our mimosas.  The reason being,  your bills are completed overnight and you can't purchase anything on the last day.  It's limitless what they do for you.

On 11/17/2020 at 7:05 AM, Craigrlewis said:

Was a right faff this morning
Got the cruise selected then it decided to change it all US$ not GBP
Cue various browsers used and the same result starts off in GBP then changes to US$

On hold to them for over 50 minutes on the phone
In the mean time website corrected itself but then wouldn't take my WC number
GRRR
Finally did it all online and was still on hold when I hung up

Q219 to Alaska 2022 - was supposed to be going June 2021 so pleased to book it

 

Have to say I guess they are under immense strain but can't say Im pleased that

• In June 2021 we had $640 onboard spending and now its $170
• Fact had to pay another £700 odd deposit. I thought the FCC was moved so you didn't need to pay more now - clearly Im wrong and misreading that someone where along the line
• Cant change my dining preference and they aren't taking phone calls now its "Sorry please call  back beep"

Moan over now Im going to count the days down!

 

Anyone else booked anything today?

We're booked on Q219 as well after our 2020 Alaska cruise was cancelled.  We booked P1 and it was a couple hundred dollars more but the cruise is going to Ketchikan and not Prince Rupert. That's worth the extra money.  We're down to $900 US OBC FROM $1300. We will no be going if  masks are required or excursions all have to be provided by the cruise companies.   Figures crossed!