What We Found Travelling

Just received an email advising the cancellation of my Melbourne Cup cruise on 30th October 2021.  

P & O are giving me a full refund of all monies paid, but, it’ll take up to 40 days to get back into my account.

Med cruise July 22 NRD $1,418, Refundable $2,034! Yikes!!!!!  I may have to book with the opposition.

We did Vision Med back in 2019 & it was fantastic.  
We took the express trains from Livorno & Civitavecchia to Florence & Rome, very easy & cheap.  We then did our own Rick Steves walking audio tour of both cities.  Highly recommend Rick’s audio tours!  
 

A floating block of flats or amusement park ship is not suitable for a Med port intensive cruise.  Way too much to do & see on land, hence, no time to do things on the ship. 

7 hours ago, jakeil7 said:

Are you a US resident?  If you are, the debit card is ALOT more dangerous, especially overseas as your money is gone until the bank decides to give it back. You have a lot of protections with a credit card in the US - basically you are not responsible for the charge or interest while disputing the charge. 
 

just letting you know. 
 

As others have said, never provide a debit card for future possible charges (rental car, hotel, ship account, etc) due to the hold issue. 

Not a US citizen.  

In fact my experience has been the exact opposite, my debit card is much safer than my credit card. Previously when my credit card has been skimmed/hacked it has taken weeks to resolve, but, more importantly the card had to be cancelled to stop any further charges applied to it.  This is of great inconvenience, especially when the card it is linked to subscriptions & automatic payments etc. Also, when using the credit card the fees & charges mount up very quickly.  Debit card zero fees & charges! 

If my debit card gets skimmed/hacked or stuck in an ATM I just cancel it, contact the bank & always within 48 hours the unauthorised charges/withdrawals have been returned into my account.

With pay wave/tap & go being so popular nowadays, hopefully, I won’t need to ever hand over any cards for payment & skimming/hacking is now limited to ATM use.  Unfortunately, on RCI they would not accept payment via my phone they demanded to take a physical copy of my card to keep on file for the cruise, & if anybody knows the CCV number on the back it’s open slather for illegal use.

The way cards are now set up & loaded onto smartphones with banking apps, the ability to do on the spot bank transfers, set limits & set notifications it’s extremely difficult to get skimmed/hacked.  However, cancelling my credit card & having to set up all the subscription/automatic payments is a massive task & a pain in the backside when on holidays.  Hence,  I’ll stick to the debit card for travelling overseas it works perfectly for me & provides me with peace of mind.

On 6/16/2021 at 11:24 PM, matj2000 said:

 

Why in the world would you use a Debit Card???

 

That is just asking for problems....

 

 

A debit card allows me to withdraw many different currencies from ATM’s all around the world with zero fees & charges.  Essentially, it is like carrying cash around.  Also, if it gets skimmed or hacked I don’t have to worry about someone wiping out $1,000’s from my credit card account, thus putting a hold on the account & causing grief whilst on holidays.  I generally only load up enough cash for a day or two whilst travelling. My wife & I normally travel with 4 debit cards & 2 credit cards.  When travelling overseas we only use credit cards in hotels & upmarket shops.  Debit card everywhere else.

Done it & loved it on Vision, definitely worth it.  We had it for a 12 night Med cruise.  We also had 4 sea days which allowed us to dine in all the restaurants lunch.  We did eat in the MDR on lobster night then went to a specialty restaurant afterwards for another meal.  For us the good thing was we ate whatever we wanted & whenever we wanted.  Generally the specialty restaurants were never more than half full the atmosphere relaxed & service fantastic.

On my last cruise, RCI would put daily pending charges against my Citibank debit card.  After 12 nights I had charges totalling over $1,500 dollars.  Then on the last morning they charged the entire $1,500 on the card again.  Effectively they charged my card twice!  It took many phone calls & emails to get the pending charges removed & it took nearly 3 weeks.  Hence, I was unable to access my cash on the debit card until RCI emailed Citibank saying they can be removed.  It was a massive inconvenience not being able to access my cash on the debit card whilst holidaying overseas.  Cash account is the only way for me on future cruises.

P & O believe cruising will resume in October this year for large ships with only Australian & NZ passengers.  I have a late October Melbourne Cup cruise booked with them.
If Covid19 has been well controlled & most western nations highly vaccinated & at the so called herd immunity level, international passengers will be allowed to enter Australia & cruise - April 2022 at the earliest...

A lot will depend on how cruising goes with Covid19 over the next 6 months in the USA.  The Australian authorities will be monitoring that situation very closely.

Izumi signature rolls!

With the UDP we ate in Giovanni’s & asked them to get us a dessert from Chops & they did. Also, we had lobster in the MDR & then headed off to Izumi.  One night at Giovanni’s we ordered 4 entrees between the two of us & then ordered 2 appetisers.  With the UDP you pretty much can do whatever you want. Well that was our experience on the Vision in the Mediterranean.

SS7777,

If you’re a foodie & love your food it is money well spent buying the Unlimited Dining Package.

The quality of the food, service & ambiance in the specialty restaurants are definitely a notch or two above the main dining room, & a totally different experience to the chaotic Windjammer.
On our most recent 12 night Med cruise we actually ate in the main dining room on two occasions, one being lobster night, we then went to Izumi for a late night snack.  Also, the fantastic lunches which are included in the specialty restaurants on sea days are a real treat when you have the UDP & much more relaxing than all the other food outlets with a full ship people all wanting lunch around the same time.

We found the UDP fantastic for us.  On more than one occasion we ate dinner in Giovanni’s & the had waiters bring us dessert from the Chops menu.

vw97,

We went on the Pacific Explorer & thought it was just as good as the Carnival Legend & RC Vision of the seas.  We’ve booked another P & O cruise for November this year.  If you’re happy with the price & itinerary offered by P & O... just book it.  I personally don’t think there is much difference with any of the ships that cruise out of Australia.  We’re also booked on RC Ovation of the seas next March 2022.  
My preference order for booking a cruise is:

1. Date

2. Itinerary 

3. Ship

4. Price

On 3/18/2021 at 8:42 AM, tribefan said:

Wonder if we will get 4 points per night for our B2B2B Australian, South Pacific and NZ cruises for Jan/Feb 2022??  We are booked in an owner's suite.  Would be cool if we did!!!  92 points....YES!!!!!

 

The way the Australian government is talking, it is highly unlikely any people that aren’t Australian & New Zealand residents will be allowed on a cruise ship that docks in any port in Australia in the year 2022. 

I’ve got an Australian P & O cruise booked for October 2021 that leaves Sydney & docks in Melbourne for 3 nights for the Melbourne Cup horse racing carnival. It will only go ahead if all Australians have been vaccinated.  The government is hopeful that by October our entire population would have had at least one vaccine injection.  Those that want the injection.

I’m also booked on Ovation in March 2022.  Fingers crossed the cruise goes ahead.

Booked the Melbourne Cup cruise leaving Sydney on 30th October 2021.  I’m feeling confident this cruise will go ahead.

Just out of curiosity.... as my previous posts have somehow vanished, what side of politics are the two politicians from?  I couldn’t be bothered reading this entire thread again.

Australian Prime Minister advised a few different vaccines will be available in Australia in the first quarter 2021.  However, only front line hospital workers, doctors, surgeons & nursing home staff will be eligible for a vaccine.  A vaccine will be available for all other Australians in the third quarter 2021.  This is Australia’s timeline, I’d imagine the USA’s would be similar or a rather much longer timeframe, definitely not quicker.

Especially with Sleepy Joe doing the wheeling & dealing.

No chance.

Biden is going to lockdown the USA.  He has talked to the Australian Prime Minister & is very interested in our successful response to Covid using lockdown & contact tracing.

I bought the DBP for $42US for our 12 night Med cruise last year.

A typical port day included morning coffee plus 2 bottles of water for the port. Late afternoon 2 cocktails.  Dinner 2 glasses of wine.  Showtime 2 spirits. Bedtime another bottle of water. Roughly $80.

A typical sea day included morning coffee, a fresh juice & a bottle of water. 2 beers at lunch time. 2 cocktails mid afternoon. 2 wines at dinner.  1 spirit at the nightly show.  Bedtime another bottle of water.  Roughly $88.  Also, I had two big nights out partying & in the casino where I had another 6 spirits or so. 
Summary port days 8 x 80 = $640

sea days 4 x 88 = $352

extra big nights 2 x 60 = $120

Total Value $1,112

Cost of DBP $504

Therefore I saved $608 plus tips by buying the package.

I liked the convenience of ordering whatever I wanted knowing there will be no bill to pay at the end of the cruise. If my beer was warm, I just ordered another. I never skulled my last drink before heading to bed, most times I left it half full.  Now... if I was paying for every drink as I went, I would’ve drunk the warm beer & skulled the last drink before bed, just to make sure I got my money’s worth.  So..... the DBP is definitely a winner for me.  
Also, my wife tried just about every cocktail on the ship & if she didn’t like them, she just ordered a different one.  Her costings would’ve been very similar to mine.

Finally, based on my experience if the DBP is under $70US I wouldn’t hesitate in buying it.

Any 14 day Mediterranean or Caribbean itinerary with no more than two consecutive port days, sea days are for relaxing & or enjoying the ship. Also, overnight stops in some of the bigger Mediterranean cities.

23 minutes ago, erby2283 said:

This was the first time we purchased the dining package. Couldn't pass it up for a 3-night package for $69 a person (I think that's what it was). I was always surprised with how empty the restaurants were.

We paid US$240 per person for 12 nights.  Great value!

We had the unlimited dining package on our Vision Med cruise last year in July & the specialty restaurants were never more than half full.  So nice to dine in a very relaxing & peaceful setting after a full day sight seeing.  After that experience, we’d always get the unlimited dining package on future cruises, money certainly well spent!

4 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Got my FCC for 2 Cruises and a Refund I requested last week, only took 3 weeks. Think they are getting caught up

 
In other words..... don’t hold your breath, the sun will rise eventually.

My TA advised me my FCC’s would be sent directly to me from RC 8-10 weeks after our cancellation date which was May 8th.  I’m still waiting been 13 weeks now!  TA advised I’ll have until April 2022 to use them. 

No!

I wouldn’t find it enjoyable not one bit.  

If Royal paid me to go on a cruise with masks & social distancing, I still wouldn’t go.  How the hell could you enjoy that experience?!  Imagine if an outbreak occurred!  No chance whatsoever of feeling safe & relaxed.

I’ll wait for the vaccine.......... thank you very much.