English Tim

Interesting that the social media page cannot be named, yet on that page cruise critic roll calls are often referred to.

Presumably, this weekend was the first of the new luxury charter flights from Gatwick to Barbados. The ones with no in flight entertainment, so hopefully someone would like to post what their experience was really like.

Last year, we flew back from Barbados on the same day that Arvia finished its cruise, and Barbados airport was absolutely chaotic with long queues snaking all around outside the terminal, so it suggest that maybe the airport is struggling to cope with the large numbers.

Thank you for all your prompt answers. They’ll be happy to be fed and watered even if they can’t watch a video.

Friends of mine have booked a P&O cruise. I’m sorry I don’t know on which ship but from the Caribbean. I am told that the aircraft was overbooked and so they are being put in an alternative, which doesn’t have catering or in-flight entertainment. it seems a bit far-fetched to me, but they are good friends and I trust what they say. Is anyone else able to shed any light on this topic?

How do you know what other companies have done? Maybe people have said things, but it doesn’t mean it has actually happened.

We’ve just enjoyed a wonderful cruise, where favourite ports were exchanged due to the unfortunate conflict in Israel. I spoke with a lot of people on the cruise and they all understood the situation and were happy they were not in Israel. There would appear to be a good number of people on this forum who are not giving enough consideration to the many thousands of people affected by this war. No cruise is a bad cruise, they may not go where we want them to go but the service is always fantastic as are the facilities. The weather will still be decent and God willing you’ll be alive at the end of your cruise. Cruise lines are still recovering from the losses of Covid and everyone needs to give them some slack. So cut out all the moaning and groaning and look forward to a different voyage.

We had a lovely day on a Turkish boat, I’m not sure of the type, but we laid on cushions, did lots of snorkelling, talk to some very interesting people, a couple of whom were on the Seabourn encore, and the desperately worried that we weren’t back at 5:30 when the ship was about to sale, unfortunately it didn’t leave until 6 pm and they waved to us as we drunk our champagne. What a grand life. we had hoped to dine in Silver Note, but they rang us to say they were full, so hopefully in two days time on my wife’s birthday, they will be more accommodating. We also missed being on Seabourn encore, but we are very happy here and on any cruise ship, particularly when we like the champagne and it’s free.

Thanks for all your input and reports, and I agree with your judgement that the line is promising and luxurious experience with top food, which they appear to be delivering. I was expecting this to also include top quality wines and spirits and so far I’ve only seen an 11 page list of expensive additional cost wines and champagne. Are you able to provide a list of included wines and cocktails, please?

We are fortunate enough to be taking town Silversea and one Oceania before then, so it should give us a good degree of comparison.

I’m delighted to say that as a result of them cancelling my cruise from LA to Miami, They have now booked me at no further cost on back-to-back cruises from LA to Panama, then Panama to Miami, with three days extra on board. Result. Still banned from FB group.

When I check my online account, it shows no bookings, yet I have a booking reference. Has anyone any experience of being able to access their booking on the Explora website?

I always travel with an open mind, but all the marketing information suggests that it is all inclusive apart from the very few premium, spirits and champagnes. Reports that I have read in social media suggests that many more drinks are extra than would’ve been expected. If there is false marketing, it would seem unwise as the line will be looking for repeat business. I recall when Azamara promoted their all-inclusive product and when we got on board, most of the bar menu was for premium drinks, and there was a small list of included products. there was a good deal of this quiet on social media, but the rest of the product was so good that the dissent was masked.

So do we!

If I hadn’t read about this on cruise critic, I would’ve been none the wiser, Nor would my travel agent, and as a result, I will have to do something about my amended itinerary.

In recent times we have found spa prices to be exorbitant, so we stick to the included stuff and if we feel the need we book ashore.

Would I stop at two cocktails, probably not!

It should work for us, as we like champagne or wine with our dinner, but probably not lunch, and it will encourage us to drink less, due to the high prices of the cocktails. We might upgrade our drinks package for the last two sea days. What they give with one hand, they take with the other!

Wow, I haven’t cruised with O for quite some time and I thought I’d just look at a few threads and having seen similar judgemental posts on other cruise line forums, I shouldn’t be surprised. The original question was how much gratuities are and there are six pages all about the ins and outs of gratuities. I think that cruise lines are now trying to make things as confusing as possible in order to make maximum revenue from innocent customers. We originally booked cruise only with $300 per person OBC. We thought we would try having a cruise without a drinks package and only drinking alcohol in our suite, and at the various included cocktail parties. We would no doubt drink a few cocktails ashore when the prices were more reasonable. We have now been given the opportunity to change our booking to the simply more promotion, losing the $300 credit and gaining a basic drinks promotion and $400 per person excursion credit. The whole business is extremely confusing, but being fortunate enough to travel on many cruise lines. We have got used to this situation or one like it. I look forward to many replies, giving good advice from many seasoned O customers. We are from the UK.

That would appear to be the arrangement.

When I paid for my upcoming Explora cruise, I was surprised that the gross payment was going direct to the cruise line, and was told that my commission would be returned by the TA after the end of the cruise, rather than paying the net amount now.

It is a way to go before we will need these services, but it’s useful to know how it works. We will be leaving a hotel near to Miami airport and going to the cruise port, so that should be an easier transaction. It would seem that you set up an Uber account in your own country and use that anywhere in the world?

We are from the UK, and have never used either of these services and have no experience of them. Is it easy to set up an account and indeed is it worth doing so or should we just take a cab?

My wife and I booked this cruise last Autumn, but it was recently cancelled and we were rebooked on Scenic Jade from Amsterdam to Budapest, departing August 17. We flew British Airways from London Heathrow to Amsterdam on an early flight, which meant leaving home at 04.00. Now that we are Scenic Platinum we are entitled to free transfers from our home in Dorchester to any airport. The journey was quick and being BA gold, we could check in at the First Wing, which meant were soon in the lounge having breakfast with champagne. The plane was late leaving and arrival at Amsterdam was delayed, plus immigration was delayed, meaning a slight delay in arriving at ship, in pouring rain. When we arrived at our cabin our shoes and socks very wet! After a quick buffet lunch we went in search of a canal tour from near Central Station. This cost 10 euros each and was very informative. We decided not to fully unpack our clothes, as we are due to change ships due to the low water levels on the river Rhine. Dinner was very good, but portions were small. Austrian wine was excellent. We had an early night as it had been a long day.