cublet

Hello, Thank you - it has only taken me 2 1/2 hours to catch-up. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Have there been any further developments on the possibility/probability of Independence replacing Anthem out of Southampton in the summer of 2025? Regards, Cublet

Hello, I wonder if X & Royal have come to an agreement as to who goes where. I've been to Iceland twice on X but never seen it advertised on Royal. On a different tack, whilst I've been enjoying the Baltic on Silhouette, the humour thread has gone missing - can anyone tell me where it is hiding? Regards, Cublet

Hello, My apologies to everyone - you are correct. Regards, Cublet

Hello (again), I see we corresponded in early/mid 2018 re Independence. Sadly there are no 'bars' on Anthem like the Champagne/R Bar on Indy, but plenty of 'pubs' with varying amounts of spit and sawdust. Vintages on 5 is probably the least worst. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Sorry for the late response as I've been on Celebrity Silhouette. Two simple suggestions (one strange, one not): Before you sail, familiarise yourself with Norwegian bank notes; take clothes for all weathers. On the first I was given a discontinued bank note in change and they cannot be changed in 'High St Banks' only at The Bank of Norway in Oslo or Bergen (or by post to either locations). Fortunately Bergen was on my, then, itinerary. I was not unique in the experience as there was a guy behind me in the queue to change his notes. You must be prepared for all weathers. I have been both burnt to death (almost) and drowned by drizzle in Norway. It was that horrible very fine drizzle that nearly found its way through waterproof clothing. You must be prepared to rise early to watch the 'sail-ins' along the fjords. For example we are due to arrive and Geiranger at 0700 - our passage will take about an hour. If it's the same captain as last year he will stop the ship at the 'Seven Sisters' waterfalls and do a complete 360 degree rotation on the ships axis to give everyone a spectacular view. You need to be on deck to get the best of this. Sadly the ports of call are too far south and the weather too late for Husky sledding. For reasons I cannot understand, tour guides are always keen to point out the various fire-stations and their dates/history. If you have any specific questions either about the cruise or the ship then please ask away. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I think the confusion is over the understanding of 'reciprocity'. The 'Status' will be reciprocated between the two schemes but the points will not. If you have 'reciprocal' status (from Royal) on a cruise, you can ignore whatever status your X points would suggest. Your Captain's Club points will only become important when/if you achieve Diamond Plus on Royal and you want to become Zenith on Celebrity as there is no reciprocity after that (D+) and you have to 'earn' your Zenith status. If you don't correct it before you sail you should see the Captain's Club Concierge as soon as you board. Regards, Cublet

Hello. I've chosen this post to respond to as it contains the work 'perks' - and more about that later. I can can foresee one or two things happening as a result of this policy: We play a game of 'chicken' and wait until we are as near as certain, even until after final payment date, that we will go ahead with a specific cruise to book it for fear of the loss of deposit. This may get Royal worried and increased numbers/reduced upgrade bids for cabins will appear on RoyaUp to fill the suites. Alternatively we may book any non-suite cabin and rely on the RoyalUp process to bid for a suite. What will flow from that will come the question of 'Perks' and what you get/don't get via RoyalUp and what you think you SHOULD get having 'just paid for a suite'. The rules say you get, via RoyalUp, 'amenities' but not 'promotions'. I don't understand what the differences are and, anyway, here an 'amenity' is where I go on a Saturday morning to take the trash the roadside collectors do not take away - including the contents of my cat's litter tray. I think the dust hasn't settled on this one yet. If I may mention MSC, you get all the benefits (I word I *do* understand) of the new experience via the upgrade process as if you had booked that in the first place. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I am pleased to have a TA to deal with all the stupidity that seems to be a requirement in Royal's customer service. Regards, Cublet

Hello, My Queen Victoria card worked in the power slot in April on Virtuosa. At the same time there was no mention of wristbands either in announcements or the daily paper. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Part of the problem is Royal's poor IT systems. Where an offer has 'x', 'y', and 'z' benefits they aren't automatically included in the booking but have to be added manually at the time of booking. If they are not, for whatever reason, and you are back on shore, you will have a hard job having them added retrospectively especially if, in the meantime, that offer has ended. Regards, Cublet

Hello, This is what I warn people about for all the dozens of times (at least) this question has been asked, and the equal and opposite about booking Royal on a Celebrity ship, and I have answered thus: The sales agents on whichever line know, or should know, all there is to know about THEIR line and its offers/benefits. There is no guarantee that they will know, or you get the benefits, of the other line. You need to do some gentle prodding to get that to which you are entitled. Even if they have not read or remembered it, there is a document that lists the OBC and deposit benefits for each. If in doubt - ask. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I think, in this context, a 'signature venue' is one that has someone's name above the door. Regards, Cublet

Hello, The day canned spray cream is put on the top of a cappuccino will be proof positive that the world has gone to the dogs! Regards, Cublet

Hello, But you need to chose your travelling companions wisely. Excluding the operator, out of the seven of us, two had a fear of heights and needed to be comforted by their companions. Regards, Cublet

Hello, The two things that stick in my mind and why I wouldn't order one are black pudding and baked beans. Eggs were either fried or scrambled, not poached - that may be just as well as my servings of poached eggs were more like cannon balls. Interestingly Ocean View cafe had chipolata sausages under 'English' and Banger (full size) Sausages under 'American'. Sadly the 'English Bacon' there, not MDR, was smoked and that put me off. Regards, Cublet

No, it was like an overflow library minus books. Having said that, looking at what few books there are in the library, calling that a 'library' is stretching the definition somewhat. Regards, Cublet

Hello, The Music and Mixology was on Silhouette last week. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Which is only fine if you are a spirits drinker. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Yes I find nearly *ALL* music too loud. But re your suggestion that 'louder = better', I think they think 'louder = you (we) are having more enjoyment'. Incidentally last month on Virtuosa I needed earplugs in bed to mask the sounds from the cabin itself - in particular the window/cabin door fixture. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Some muppet on the Indy, when I pointed out that he had put 'regular' beans in the 'decaf' hopper, said it made no difference as when you pressed the 'decaf' button, the machine would do the decaffeination of the beans. Regards, Cublet

Hello, And I would be in that half. It brings back memories before we became 'ground down' by tattooed barristas in hyped coffee shops, and a 'treat' was having individual coffee filters (a piece of plastic to sit on a branded cup with a section in the base containing ground coffee) and on the side a jigger pot containing half cream for coffee. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Regards, Cublet

Hello, Don't bother if it is, or very recently has been, raining. There are no wipers fitted and you cannot see a thing. Regards, Cublet

Hello, I think cabin stewards are on an unofficial competition to see who can give out the least number of bottles without any complaints being made. Regards, Cublet

Hello, The answer(s) depend on ship and class of cabin. For Silhouette class up to, excluding, suite, there is one Euro socket and 2 US sockets. They are close together and anything 'chunky' might foul use of other sockets. Regards, Cublet