Raddo

Another perk of travelling solo with RC is finding the ships that do the single balcony cabins!! I have overnight booked a 7 days Japan cruise sailing from Shanghai for March 2026 and got myself a Solo Balcony cabin. 😊

Thanks for all the feedback.  I was planning to do a B2B for Queensland and South Pacific from Brisbane in March 2026 but in the end, I found a much cheaper cruise! I'm now doing a 7 nights Japan cruise sailing from Shanghai on Spectrum for same month and managed to secure a solo balcony cabin.

I have booked a 7 nights Japan cruise sailing from Shanghai for March 2026 and did well to secure myself a solo balcony cabin in the process.  Sure the ship is geared to the Asian market but the food does have its western choices!! 

I would personally consider deck 3 cabins as they can be midship (my prefered location) and noise is not an issue for me as I'm deaf so hearing aid is off when I sleep!! 😉  This year for the 1st time, I'm trying out a Promenade cabin.

As a solo cruiser, I have always prefered to eat in the MDR and I have always been given a table to myself (a 2 seater) when I have requested it. This way, I can avoid the problems in the Windjammer where by getting up to get next course, I could lose my seat and table.  If the MDR is closed for lunch on shore days, my 1st choice away from Windjammer would be to try alternative venues like Park Cafe, Sorrentos or just go for sandwich rolls at Latitudes and Promenade Cafe etc.  I only hit Windjammer at quieter times like opening times or when the shows are on!!  RC are good for solo cruisers in that you can eat alone if you wish in the MDR.  Unlike MSC, who intends to put solo cruisers at a big table with others!  This is unsuitable for me as a deaf person.  The last MSC cruise I took (Europa) was the exception as I was transfered over to the Aurea cruisers restuarant where I had a table to myself and the next table to me, also had a solo cruiser and we ended up talking!!

Solo wise, I prefer to do my own thing but is happy to have a conservation with other cruisers if approached for a chat like in the Diamond Lounge.  You can make the cruise how you want.

Thanks OCSC Mike for the clarification.

I have done 19 cruises so far but never done a back to back.  Would I have to book the two cruises separately or would I get a discounted price overall if I ring RC to make it a single booking but both cruises?  Any advice on this by those who have done them would be much appreciated!! It just that I got my eye on 2 different cruises from same port but together makes a back to back.

On 8/15/2022 at 2:44 AM, jsn55 said:

Small Claims Court would be the only way to go.

It's the Small Claims Court route I'm taking and thankfully for me in the UK, they have an office registered in the UK that I've used for them in my legal action.  I've kept all correspondence including the postal receipts for the International 'Track and Signature' that I had sent to NCL head office in Miami and which were signed for.  My legal action has already provoked a response from NCL via their European Resolution Team.  They say they are ready to transfer my FCC to my September booking but one small problem - they have already cancelled my cruise!!  Too little, too late for that reply.

My Greek Isles cruise for next month got cancelled by NCL when the final balance due date passed by without my FCC having being applied to the booking which would have paid it off in full.  NCL had SIX MONTHS to action this yet kept telling me that it was still being processed.  Two letters to the Vice President - Guest Services to resolve this issue went unanswered.  In cancelling my cruise, NCL levied cancellation charges on me.  As far as I'm concernced, NCL had breached their contract with me by failing to transfer my FCC to my booking in good time and have my cruise paid off in full.  I have started legal action against them on this and require all my money to be refunded back to me that I paid them. It was their error to cancel my cruise without applying my FCC to pay the balance off.  I have now booked an alternative cruise with another cruise line and will never use NCL again!!

I do think it's strange that MSC are still insisting on a negative test result within '48 hrs' to sail with them because my cruise from Southampton to Norwegian Fjords are countries that has dropped all testing requirements to enter them.  Even face masks rules are gone for public transportation places and the EU has done so too!!  The cost of tests has gone up considerably high as 'test centres' scale down their operations overall. 

On 7/8/2022 at 12:42 PM, johnnylincoln said:

Four years ago I booked a Royal Caribbean cruise from Southampton on the Independence of the Seas...two weeks after booking they decided to pull Indy from Southampton and put Anthem of the Seas there instead and double the prices. My two choices were a refund or pay the increased price. 

 

All cruise lines are as bad as each other. 

I had the opposite effect from RC as I was supposed to be on a Norwegian Fjords cruise on Anthem that was changed to a UK cruise only.  The prices did changed to a higher price but RC informed me that if I accept this change, no additional charges for me.  They have changed two of my ships for next year but the itineries remains and no change for me. 

On 7/29/2022 at 4:46 PM, defbref said:

 

I see this a lot for all cruise ships, but I very much doubt any cruise ship will hit 100% capacity. The capacity is based on every single berth in every single cabin being filled, as most cabins can take 3 or 4 and most people book cabins with a occupancy of 2, its never going to happen. Yes there will be 3's and 4's but also singles only, and I still believe the most common occupancy will be 2. I have no proof to back this up! However I would say the true capacity is about 2/3rds of the actual capacity and is what the cruise line will base its staffing level upon. I guess school holidays would be the time when more cabins are filled to capacity but every single one? surely a rare occurrence.

I'm cruising on MSC Virtuosa 3rd September and travelling solo.  MSC had allocated me a 4 berth cabin so is not at full capacity!! 

That's a bit of a bummer for me as on the MSC website, they still have a link to taking their extended Covid insurance and I purchased it.  They should remove this link as this requirement been dropped or is there the commission to be earned by MSC in keeping the link?

On 7/13/2022 at 10:54 PM, KINGBOBOFTHENORTH said:

Nearly every cruise line charges 2X for single cruisers. I know some NCL ships have some inside cabins for singles that they charge somewhere between 1X and 2X for.  Two single cruisers on our last MSC cruise said they chose MSC because they were not charged 2X. Not sure if that's true or not but if they don't charge double for singles, that would be huge.

I have booked 2 MSC cruises as a solo traveller and the cruise fare stayed the same with no additional charges and that's for a normal inside/ocean view cabin.

I'm sailing on MSC Virtuosa on 3rd September from Southampton and I have noticed that via the MSC website, there is a link to Prenetics for purchasing home PCR test kits that can be sent off by post with results given 24 hours from lab receiving the sample.  I used to have my tests done in store in Boots Pharmacy with result within an hour but the price has shot up a lot so I have opted to use the Prenetics service (UK Government approved) as its cheaper than Boots!!  The service would fit in the 48 hours period required. 

I'm doing the cruise on Voyager from Copenhagen on 24th April and the requirements is for an antigen test 2 days before my cruise.  I usually book my pre-cruise tests via Boots chemist and results are always back in good time.  My antigen test is £30 with Boots and being done in store with results in an hour.  I choose Boots as it's a national chemist chain and approved by the government.  You order the test online then make the appointment for the Boots store near to you that are doing the relevant test.  Payment is taken when you turn up for your appointment.

I requested NCL to send me an email with the password reset and it came.  They have automatically changed my user name to my email address and I just did a new password to that and it works fine now for login.

3 hours ago, Jimbo said:

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=PC01&DestinationCode=

 

Option if available should be in your cruiseplanner for last day of your  cruise.

 

Your flight needs to be 5pm or later.

Thanks for that.  The cheapest flights to UK from USA are usually evening flights so a trip to KSC can be considered.

I'm weighting up the options myself of Miami vs PC as I have come across cruises with same itineraries but PC would allow me the opportunity of seeing Kennedy Space Centre.  Are there any shore excursions being offered at end of cruise to see KSC before an airport drop off for flight home? Would I be better off staying overnight at hotel in PC after cruise in order to do KSC?  Any advice would be much appreciated.

I had the same issue today with incorrect username or password.  The password reminder e-mail was sent to my 'spam' folder but looking at it, I'm not convinced it's from NCL because the email address shown does not show up on their 'contact us' section of their website.  I immediately deleted that email on my spam folder in case its the action of hackers trying to get our details.  I will probably ring them or use the email addresses that is on their website for help on the login process.

On 3/3/2022 at 4:16 AM, whitshel said:

And what about the ships that dont have a stand alone Sorrento's Pizza?  Where will people get their Pizza fix?

On Grandeur, the Garden Cafe in the Solarium did pizza in the evenings when WJ was closed.

On 3/4/2022 at 11:09 AM, Akkers said:

Whats the link Raddo.

It's on the CC reviews for Grandeur.

Yes, Grandeur had art auctions going on the other week and including private ones too where the champagne flowed!

I was on Grandeur the other week and on my first evening to the MDR, I was asked as a solo guest whether I wanted to sit close up to other tables or have a table to myself (the 2 seaters) that is socially distanced from others.  I chose to be on my own table away from others and it stayed that way the whole cruise.

4 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

Great link.     I travel solo.  But really enjoy the double a&c points.   
May have to look at the difference in $$$. 
but I need balcony’s so.    

Some of the single cabins on RC ships like Quantum have these with balconies too and are midship being placed on decks 6 and 7 but beware, some ships with single balconies have obstructed views (eg lifeboats).