the penguins

if the tips go up after you have booked there is always a "period of grace" where you have the option to pre pay at the original rate.

X has lots of longer cruises just not from Florida. See Europe, Far East, Japan and the Pacific etc. Having to join cruises together also has some advantages especially if you are Elite and above as the benefits start again on each sector. Also the Shareholder OBC can be higher.

X will make any of the Cocktails as "Virgin" drinks. Cafe Al Bacio does a wide range of non alcoholic coffees both hot and iced, plus hot chocolate and speciality teas. Various fruit juices at most bars. Ginger Ale is the Royal Brand but some bars ( e.g. Casino Bar) have Canada Dry - just ask. Fruit smoothies.

National Express Coaches (bus) goes direct from Southampton (Harbour Parade not University) to London Victoria. Book online for the best prices. Cost from around £12 ($15) per person. From Victoria take the Tube of Cab depending on where your hotel is. Canterbury makes an interesting day out - train from several London Stations - pre book for best prices. A river cruise to Hampton Court gives you a unique view of London plus the wonder of Hampton Court Palace - full day needed. If you like Gardens then Kew is another great day out - easily accessible by public transport.

The answer is always the same - layers, with the top one being waterproof. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothing.

Well it kept us amused, gave our brains a workout and all without anyone being rude or aggressive. Plus I now know Anthem has a Deck 13. As an aside when I visited the Engine Control Room on Solstice it still had string of Garlic on a shelf - another tradition to keep the ship safe.

Fact checking is good. MSC owned by Gianluigi Aponte and his wife - both are Swiss. The company is also Swiss. The other lines were indeed founded as you state but are now nothing more than marketing divisions of Carnival (not Celebrity) with very little of their heritage left. Take Cunard: claims to be British but all it's onboard prices are in $. It says it's because it uses the Carnival computer system. Which might be true except that P and O, also owned by Carnival, prices everything in £'s. Take food meals in the MDR all are very much to American rather than British styles - i.e. big on meat and small on veg (both quantity and variety). Used to be famous for it's Silver Service i.e. meat on the plate with the vegetables served at the table. Now everything is pre-plated. Turning to Celebrity these boards are frequently awash with comments that X isn't like it was and how it it is becoming just like Royal. My original post about Deck 13 was intended to be a light hearted comment but perhaps I forgot to add the 🤣 😂

It’s a 100% Swiss owned. It’s about as Italian as Costa Cruises, or as British as Cunard/P and O, or even the famous Norwegian Line Hurtigruten which is British owned. Celebrity has lots of Greek Officers but that isn’t a Greek Line.

Nor on Royal.

Makes no sense as MSC is a Swiss company. However it is true that 13 is not unlucky in Italy. I believe Virgin ships have a Deck 13 but that maybe wrong.

7 and 9 are the usual start times with 9 the most popular time. We eat at 6,30 and see the 9.0 pm show.

Once at sea it's totally weather dependent therefore no way of telling. Perhaps you should also consider that all the time the window is open (even if you close the interior doors) the aircon in your cabin will be off. In port it's likely to happen if the windows are due to be cleaned.

that's sort of my point. I would simply have phoned the Credit Card company, explained the situation, copied them the paperwork from Celebrity and asked for an immediate refund - which it will do with the proviso that Celebrity can issue a challenge within 28 days. The CC Company would then have claimed the money back from Celebrity. We had a complex itinerary involving flights, cruise and The Rocky Mountaineer Train cancelled due to Covid. My TA refused to refund the Train as Rocky Mountaineer were only issuing Credit Notes. I said that as the booking was covered by UK ATOL rules i.e. if one part failed the whole lot was refundable and that my contract was with them not with Rocky. Again they refused. Called the CC company and the refund was made the same day. Needless to say the Travel Agent did not contest the refund.

X's excursions have Zero value for us. My wife has mobility issues and X's big busses and then having to trail along behind a guide make the whole experience pointless. By the time we catch up with the Guide they have finished their explanation and are ready to mov to the next stopping point. Then of course there is the "shopping" break and the Comfort stop with a snack. For us to be able to walk with the Guide (we talk as we walk so no stopping and starting) to have coffee/cake breaks when we want and to have a vehicle with easy access is priceless. Another advantage of booking through TBL which we know others use is that when you share a tour you can set up the payments so each participant can pay their share direct - uiseful when members come from different countries. Choice is always good

upper level on Reflection with access from both sides. You check in each time - if you have prebooked you will be shown straight to your table. If you haven't prebooked you may be asked to wait in a line or be given a buzzer so you can wait in a bar. You may also be seated quicker if you make it clear when you check in that you will be happy to share a table. We pre book and always share ideally on a table for 6 -

Correct but for what you save, in this example $150, you lose the security of booking through TBL including a free phone number if there are probems/queries during the booking and the guarantee to get you to the next port. The Guide benefits from TBL's extensive marketing system and is guaranteed their money if you don't show up on the day.

We confirm what what is due and that we expect the payment to be made within 28 days and if it's not we will go straight to our Credit Card Company. Even at the height of the Covid refund saga here in the UK when people were waiting for months all our refunds were received within 28 days.

Venting is good, and the OP got lots of advice on possible solutions. It's the title of the Post which, to me at least, is questionable.

I like the upfront payment part it sort of guarantees the booking. Guides through TBL also only get paid after they have done the tour.

Agreed - you can always borrow a phone.

Not quite the same but on Royal on the day after that the Cruise Director had said that it was very rare to leave anyone a group missed the ship. I say "group" it was actually the ship's orchestra. The crew were taking bets if they would be sacked on the spot or allowed back on board at the next port. They were let back on as the ship needed them for the show and as we disembarked the next day we never did hear what happened.

Our preferred choice is Toursbylocals. You deal direct with the guide, pay via the head office in Canada, full refund if the ship doesn't dock or your are refused disembarkation, you can pay extra for "cancel for any reason insurance" (if you take this option and don't cancel the premium is credited to your account to use on a future booking, if you miss the ship TBL will pay to get you to the next port. We choose a guide with a vehicle that holds 6 to 8 and share with one other couple ( we like the space).

I agree. we find what we want at a price we are prepared to pay and book it. After that we concentrate on the trip itself not on what may or may not happen to the price. We regularly book flights the day they go on sale.

I have been watching this debate with interest and I can't see how you were "ripped off". Annoyed I get, trying to get the lower price I get, but "ripped off" - no. You chose, the itinerary, ship, date, and cabin. At that point you had the option to book or wait to see if the price would drop. You chose to book so clearly you accepted price was fair. You could have waited and by so doing risk loosing the cabin you wanted or that the price might rise but you didn't you booked. Sales happen on all, well most products and services, all the time. Relax and enjoy your cruise.

Another issue for X could well be the marketing. When S class was introduced X proudly announced that 85% of the cabins had balconies. Imagine if they now accepted that IV's weren't balconies they would have to admit that on their new class of ship only around 10% of cabins had balconies - what a PR disaster that would have been.