gumshoe958

It’s pronounced ‘pucker’ and as well as genuine it can also mean excellent, as popularised by the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

Many of the ports you mention are in small towns some distance from the cities they claim to serve and will require catching a train or bus if you want to experience anything more than a few local shops and restaurants. Inverness: the port is in Invergordon, which is about an hour north of Inverness itself (and longer still from Loch Ness). There’s not much to do in Invergordon so you’ll need to catch a train or bus into Inverness, or take a tour if you want to explore Loch Ness. Invergordon’s train station and bus stops are easily walkable from the cruise terminal. The trains are infrequent so check times carefully. Glasgow: the port is in Greenock, which is about 45 minutes west of Glasgow and again there’s not much of interest locally so you’ll need to catch a train or bus if you want to explore the city. Trains are cheap and frequent (normally 2 or 3 an hour) and the station is walkable from the cruise terminal. Belfast: the cruise terminal is in a very industrial area out to the east of the city and while the centre is technically walkable it’s not pleasant and isn’t really recommended. There is a limited bus service on the road adjacent to the terminal but it’s VERY infrequent so this is one port where I’d really recommend booking a tour or a cab. The Titanic experience is excellent and mustn’t be missed, and if you want to explore Belfast’s troubled recent history and famous murals there are several bus tours you can just turn up for and buy on the day. The Giants Causeway is a couple of hours away and really requires an organised tour. Holyhead: it’s a small, not very nice town with very little to do! The station is right by the ferry terminal though and there are trains roughly every hour to places like Bangor, Llandudno (seaside resort) or Conwy (beautiful castle). Or book a private tour if you want to explore Snowdonia. Cork: the port is in Cobh which is another small town with not much to see. But the rail station is right next to the ship and an hourly train will take you into Cork in about half an hour so that’s a no-brainer really! Dover: it’s a reasonably big town but not a particularly nice one although its saving grace is its castle which is worth seeing. The town centre is walkable from the ship as is the rail station from where you can catch an hourly train to Canterbury.

Izumi doesn’t just serve sushi. You can easily have a very nice three course meal without it. See the menu in the post above by@DaKahuna. No sushi there.

Surf is, or was, reportedly still available to purchase on board - but obviously at the higher on board price. So it may work out cheaper to buy Surf & Stream upfront. Or if it’s not, there won’t be much in it.

As far as I can see @baw53 spent most of this thread telling us how wonderful the service was while she was confined to her cabin. It was only in the last 48 hours, when apparently she wasn’t tested when she hoped she would be, and didn’t get the required letter when she wanted it, that things didn’t quite go to plan. But both issues were sorted in time so, while not perfect, it seems to me that overall Cunard did pretty well in circumstances that clearly no-one would wish for.

As @crzndebsaid there’s absolutely no point in speculating about this now. The eastbound TAs aren’t for another 3-4 months and Royal won’t even start thinking about the rules until much nearer the time. The current published rules applied to the westbound TAs in September/October and simply haven’t been updated.

Avoid the late night comedy then! The ice show and Aqua show (InTense) are brilliant. In the main theater there’s Voices (standard production show, not bad) and Effectors 2 (amazing tech but nonsense story aimed at kids). Also, unless you really detest country music, don’t miss the live country trio playing in the Mason Jar every night.

The beds are considerably wider than a single, but nowhere near king sized. (In fact I see Cunard advertises them as 120cm, which would make them queen sized). They’re fantastic cabins.

Strange, it’s always worked fine for me. I just tried doing a dummy booking for that Adventure TA in Nov 24 and it’s letting me with no problem. So I’m not sure it’s a Royal issue.

@Jack E Dawson I believe you’re a fan of Cunard? I see you posting quite frequently on that board. So let me put it this way: If you’re in the ‘Cunard is dumbing down by no longer insisting on ties at dinner’ camp, you’ll absolutely detest Royal. If not, well maybe you’ll be just fine. But be under no illusion: they cater for very different markets and if you’re expecting afternoon tea with a harpist, ballroom dancing, daily lectures and connoisseur cocktails in the Commodore Club, prepare to be disappointed. (For what it’s worth, I like them both. But I can only take Cunard in small doses before the over-formality starts to get to me. I find Royal more relaxed and fun.)

You do know you can book it on the US site, at the US prices, even though you’re in the UK? Even better, find a North American travel agent who offers group rates.

People can and do cancel last minute or no show. Royal doesn’t want empty suites. RoyalUp means that won’t happen - and Royal makes more $$$.

The stand-alone Starbucks stores aren’t included but the Starbucks coffee sold in Cafe Promenade is.

Don’t think for one moment that Royal is the only line looking to cut costs. They might do it in different ways, with varying impact on the guest experience, but rest assured they’ll all do it. So don’t assume the grass is greener on the other side. Like it or not, Covid and Ukraine have been a turning point for the cruise industry.

Graciously accept their apologies and appreciate that these things happen.

Transatlantics are your friend.

Like any Royal megaship, she’ll be overrun with kids when school’s out and much calmer when it’s not. And like any Royal megaship, she’ll have plenty of places where you can get a respite from the kids. Ultimately, Royal is a family line that has made a business decision to appeal to kids. If Icon’s not for you, that’s fine. Other ships and lines are available. Royal has 5, soon to be 6, classes of ship. All different, catering to different tastes. Why do people expect every single ship to be designed just for their tastes? I don’t really like burgers. But I don’t moan about McDonald’s or Burger King not catering for me and demand they change their menus. I just don’t go there. Other restaurants and foods are available.

Yes, it’s been on sale for a week. There are/were some amazing group rates if you have a TA who’s signed up for them.

Exactly. And it’s even more vital if flights, hotels etc are non-refundable and the trip is a long way in the future. Anything could happen in the next nine months. There’s always a chance a cruise will be cancelled for any number of reasons. In this case, the bottom line is money talks.

Jewel has two production shows, City of Dreams and Tango Buenos Aires. Otherwise it’s guest headliners in the theater, movies (there’s a nice little cinema on board) and live music in the Centrum, Schooner Bar and Safari Club. Not a patch on O, Q or even V class ships - but I guess most people sail on Jewel for her itineraries rather than the entertainment.

NCL have also started charging for room service continental breakfast this week. Let’s see if Royal does the same. Face it, prices everywhere are rising fast. Cruise lines aren’t immune. We’ve already seen Royal trial cuts to MDR menus and cabin cleaning. I doubt very much that’s the end of it. I would guess every department’s been told to make savings and they’re starting to filter through to the passenger experience.

Check the app; if nothing’s showing for your sailing yet you can change it to show the current sailing which will give you an idea of what’s on offer.

Obviously couldn’t wait for that first free Diamond drink of the day 😂

Quite a bit better as the headline price on the website will be for a neighbourhood balcony.

Assuming you didn’t book with a big box TA that doesn’t take part, you can always try bidding for an upgrade with RoyalUp. Look out for an email nearer the time (usually about a month out). Upgrades from insides to balconies tend to be the easiest to get so you may get lucky, and get a relative bargain.