Fabulous97

True, in the UK/Europe you cannot give something away and then charge gratuity on top.

I assume you paid the £99 upgrade??? Then that is it, no more money.

The only thing extra is the daily gratuity fee, if you pay it with your booking it will be in GBP.

The rules for the US are completely different. It's a bit likes sales tax, what we see priced in a shop is what we pay at the till.

We went in the Haven on the Epic a few years ago. We were booked on a balcony cabin with myself, OH and my Mother. For some reason I looked on the NCL website about 10 days before we went and they had two bedroom/2 bathroom suites available for approx £1k more than the balcony for all three of us in total. I thought I would chance it and call NCL to see if we could change and pay the difference (nothing ventured, nothing gained).

They agreed and the cabin was changed. It was fantastic from start to finish, the bar staff were so attentive, it was quiet and the Haven restaurant superb. Mother loved coming back to the cabin to see what "treats" had been left for her. The staff made such a fuss of her and made her feel really special, it was the first time she had been cruising since my Father had passed away. It is definitely a ship within a ship. To be able to have a decent cup of tea is very important to us English!

Since then it has always been a bit too expensive to warrant the cost. I think that time the cruise gods were looking down at us. I think I literally had to drag my Mother off the ship!

If I could do it again I would. The highs are plenty of sunbeds and space, proper glasses in the lounging area. Attentive staff, Haven restaurant (lovely food and service) Haven bar, proper mixologist and Fever Tree tonic. Getting the best seats for shows, being escorted onto the ship and no queues. Sail away canapes, ice creams offered. I know some of these things seem very small we all just felt very spoilt!

Chlorine is nearly always used in commercial tubs, I use bromine at home as it is my choice.

I would ask onboard it is something an engineer can answer.

We are scheduled on that one as well. The deciding factor will be if we are allowed to fly from the UK to Rome plus also return home.

The rules seem tighter for men, I have been allowed in with shorts while a male friend had to go and put on trousers. As for pants, you should definitely always wear them 🙂 Means a different thing in the UK.

If you could just stop people wearing hats at meals I would be much happier!

I would say European cruises are better dressed than US ones. 

We are on the 7 July for 4 nights to nowhere. Didn't want to do MSC as you didn't have to have the two jabs. We had a lot of FCC to use that RCI may or may not given us way to much more than we expected 🙂

4 hours ago, Bobal said:

 

Is this shown on your NHS app? Mine only shows the date of my first vaccination - it doesn't even mention which type it was, let alone batch 🤔

Yes it does.

RC are only allowing British residents onboard from Southampton.

UK is no longer part of the EU. We will need to wait for Boris to announce the green/amber/red countries.

At the moment the UK requires the US to quarantine for 10 days in a covid hotel. Who knows what will be happening in September!

In the US you have the CDC

In the UK we have the NHS

They both have different guidance. The cruises from the UK will be advised by the NHS and the British government. All over 18s must have both vaccinations, under 18s a clear PCR test not lateral flow. We have an NHS app to show our vaccinations including date, batch and type. A piece of paper or vaccination card will not be accepted. Only UK residents are allowed on board as well.

We are restarting cruising.

Every country Cyprus, Greece, Spain etc will have its own rules.

Good luck to the US however you will have your government/boards to decide what is acceptable. 

In the UK we have the NHS (National Health Service) app on our phones. Every person young or old has a unique number so hospitals and doctors can see all your medication, health history etc. We also use it to order repeat prescriptions.

On my app it says when and where I had my vaccination, the version and batch number. Cards are not acceptable. 

I am on a four day cruise to nowhere from Southampton (UK) on Anthem in July. All adults must have received both vaccinations with the second one being at least two weeks before. Under 18s need to have a clear PCR test, not a rapid flow one. It's only available to UK residents so no flying in etc.

They are doing this all summer some are stopping in Liverpool, Greenock and Ireland.

The take up for vaccinations here is high and we are now vaccinating early 40s. Younger people with underlying health issues have already been picked up.

I am just very happy to be going away for four nights. Apart from food shopping we have hardly left our house for a year!

I have a NCL one booked for September from Italy, everyone including under 18s need to be vaccinated. Who knows if it will go ahead, it really depends on if we are allowed to fly from the UK to Italy.

Yes we probably do pay it! Pricing structure is just different here. 😁

I have never seen the drinks package that high! I thought RCI didn’t normally do the drinks packages on the short ones out of Southampton?

Maybe they are seeing at which price people will bite?

I looked at MSC which you don’t have to be vaccinated on which put us off. The other lines were too formal. Like you we+have had quite a few cancelled. We are on NCL in September and they have chucked everything in, drinks, dining, WiFi, OBC etc. We are not paying that much more for 10 nights compared with four.

we are looking at it as a treat, plus only an hours drive to Southampton.

Going to wait band see if they offer any reduction on the packages.

As it's four nights they don't want it to become a big piss up! As it's at sea all the time a lot of booze can potentially be consumed.

We are booked in 49 and 50 as will have our second jabs beginning of June. We haven't been anywhere for over 18 months. Just looking forward to a break!

Don't forget in the UK we don't pay any gratuity on top of drinks packages, in Europe it is illegal. You pay for what you get nothing more. If we get "free" drinks packages no gratuities on either.

In the UK we have a nationwide online system/app. This is not a vaccination passport but tied to the NHS (National Health Service) you can show/see when you had each vaccination, what type it was and batch number.

You can also see your medical health history and order repeat medication to be sent to your chosen pharmacy.

I can't see the laminated cards being accepted to easy to forge. Europe will eventually have a vaccination passport.