Joanne G.

That farewell sounds like fun. I don't think I will change our cabin, but I will make sure we stake out a good place to watch that. Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. We are really excited about this trip.

Oh, no! We will be going to Olden, but we are in a starboard cabin. Is it enough of a difference that I should call to see if I can change it?

On any one-way itinerary in a balcony cabin, I think about whether I want morning or afternoon sun on my balcony. On a round trip itinerary, it doesn't matter. I'll get the sun both morning and afternoon over the course of the cruise. There is no way to know or predict how a ship will dock in any given port, so I don't pick a cabin based wanting a certain view while docked. Edited to add: I stand corrected per RoperDK above. I have been on 20+ cruises, but mostly other lines and not enough on Royal to state there isn't any way to know how a particular ship will dock. (Going on the Anthem next year to Norway, so I have started to read this board. 😀)

Thank you all for sharing information and your experiences. Going to Southhampton the day before is something I hadn't thought about. We are two nervous senior ladies, one with some walking difficulties, so anything to reduce overall stress is a good thing for us. What's the situation for managing luggage on the train? Do you have to keep it by your seat, or is there storage areas on the train cars? We will each have a 24" bag, plus our carry-on hand luggage. Thanks again!

A friend and I are booked on a Norway fjords itinerary on the Anthem out of Southhampton next June. We are starting to make our pre-cruise plans. Does Royal offer transportation from London to Southhampton? If so, is it from the airport only? An option from somewhere in central London, such as Victoria coach station as Carnival does, would be great, eliminating the need to return to the airport after spending a few days in London. I have researched public options by bus and train and private transfers, and we are considering those. But our first preference would be Royal transportation, for the security of knowing if we encounter traffic or other delays, Royal would know we are on our way on one of their buses. We are willing to pay for convenience, given the distance between London and the port, but returning to the airport on embarkation day isn't appealing. Thank you for any information.

It might. I received a coupon for a free drink with my welcome letter for the 2nd of my recent B2B cruises, and I was able to use it for a specialty coffee. Of course, this isn't the same as the platinum/diamond party drink perk, but it's worth asking.

I won't dispute that at all, having just done a couple of them. But you do get more time on these "on your own" excursions than you do on the structured excursions that say they include free time, which can be as little as 30 minutes, and you might spend half of that time looking for a bathroom LOL.

I find on longer cruises (I've done 14 and 21 days) I am more able to relax, knowing that I have more time to explore the ship, take part in activities, attend shows, and so forth. If I want to go to bed early or sleep late or take a nap in the afternoon, I worry less about missing something. I get less stressed about a bad weather day as there are more chances for good weather days on a long cruise. There was some repetition of menus and shows, but mine were back-to-back cruises; that's likely different on a single long cruise. On the last day of a longer cruise, I feel ready to go home rather than feeling sad about my vacation ending. I love long cruises, and I hope you love yours!

Thank you. I wasn't the person who requested the information, but a friend and I are looking at hotel options for one night before a cruise next year. This is useful information.

I was on this cruise (and the one before it) and was also very disappointed about missing Scotland. I had a ticket to visit the royal yacht Britannia, which I also missed on a 2020 cruise that was a covid cancelation. I think I need to plan a land vacation to Edinburgh. I enjoyed your pictures and reading how you made the best of the situation. I was onboard during the days of uncertainty, and I felt that those of you waiting to board the July 21 cruise had a much tougher time deciding what to do and making alternative plans on short notice. Thank you for sharing. I hope your next cruise is uneventful!

I am sure that would be possible. Just let the guide know so he or she isn't looking for you!

That sounds worth looking into. I did several walking tours on my recent Pride cruises in Europe, though not in Dublin, and I found them enjoyable and informative for my first visit to a city. Depending on the length of that excursion, you may be able to stay longer in the city and return to the ship on your own by public transportation or a taxi.

I don't know about the tendering process, but I have been to Dublin and have taken the DART to Dun Laoghaire, where the tenders come in. It was a short ride, like 20 minutes or less. On a Carrnival excursion you will be on a bus, but that also should be a short ride, as Google tells me the distance between them is about 6 miles. As for if the Carnival excursion is worth it, that's a tough call. You will be guaranteed a spot on a tender at the time determined by your excursion, but if that is after the tender line has opened for others, as you have said, it's hard to say if the excursion will give you the maximum time in Dublin. I can say that the DART runs frequently, like every 10 minutes, and is easy to use. My uneducated guess is that the stated excursion times of 10:30 to 4:30 could mean only about 4 hours in the city, allowing an hour on either end for loading up a bus, ground transportation, and tendering. Perhaps try to pin down the details with the excursion staff once you are on board. What time do the tenders start running? How long is the tender ride? How frequently do the tenders run? Where in town does the excursion bus drop you off, and how close it that to what you want to see? On your own, you can research the DART and city tram lines in relation to what you want to see. Enjoy Dublin, however you decide to get there.

On the Carnival's main page, go to Explore, then Shore Excursions. Pick the port, and they show up. I am glad you are taking the time to review excursions. I returned last week from B2B Pride cruises in Europe, and there were very few reviews of the excursions as I was making my choices. So, I plan on writing reviews of the ones I took.

I looked at the City Stay options for my solo Med cruise next year September on the Equinox, Barcelona to Rome. The prices are jaw-dropping. I know booking hotels, transportation, and excursions through a cruise line is more expensive that booking those on your own. But for me, the convenience is sometimes worth it, especially in a city that is unfamiliar to me. But the option Barcelona for three nights single occupancy is over $5,000, more than my cruise fare. The two-night package in Rome at the end of the cruise is over $1600. What makes it so expensive? Does "private driver" really mean one person chauffeuring me alone around for two or three days? I guess that would explain the price, but it's hardly what I need or want. Years ago (2005) a friend and I did a Med round trip from Rome on the Galaxy, and we purchased pre- and post-cruise hotel packages through Celebrity that included transportation, but no excursions. I can't remember the price, but it seemed fair to us for the convenience. I would be interested in that type of package again, or even just transportation from Civitavecchia to Rome city center. Does Celebrity not offer any other hotel or transportation options besides the expensive City Stays? Do I need to call and ask, as the OP did for the hotel? If I need to make transportation and hotel arrangements on my own, I am able to do that. But my first choice would be something through Celebrity that was priced at a level I feel comfortable with, which is not the City Stays. Thanks for any information.

I had this offer, but I didn't read the fine print, which stated that the offer was good for one time use only. So, even though the offer hadn't expired, I was not able to use it for additional purchases after an initial use. Details matter! I will plan accordingly if I see it again.

Thank you! I also didn't know how to claim the FCC and missed that link. I am still unclear on whether it can only be used on a new booking or if it can be applied to an existing booking. How do you interpret it?

Keep checking regularly. The offers come and go, and people get them at different times.

There may not be a stated incentive to pre-book, but I have found on two previous cruises this summer and one more coming up in September that most excursion prices increased closer to sailing date, sometimes significantly, such as over 20%. My cruises were/are all in Europe this year. I don't know if the same pricing issues happen with Caribbean itineraries. I would assume so. Also, some excursions sold out while I was still deciding. My advice is to book when you see something that appeals to you and keep checking to see if other alternatives become available. I found it easy to cancel when I changed my mind. The refund was posted to my credit card account within a few days. Some people have reported issues with refunds if they booked with a gift card. I have no personal experience with that. As for Aruba, on my stops there, the ship docked close to town, and it was an easy walk to explore on my own. Assuming your ship docks in the same location, you don't need an excursion if you are fine with walking around the town. I don't remember anything particular about the town - typical Caribbean town with shops and restaurants. You could get more detailed information on the Aruba port of call board. My sister and I did a catamaran ride with snorkeling as an excursion in Aruba, even though we don't snorkel. The tour guide said when we told her we didn't snorkel, "We aren't going throw you overboard if you want to stay on the boat." We found it a great deal of fun and would do it again.

I recently returned from a cruise with port stops in the UK and Ireland. I know that tipping is more common and more expected in the U.S. than in most parts of Europe. But I did still tip tour guides and drivers on my ship-sponsored excursions. I figure the entire tourism industry suffered so much during covid, and the tips were certainly accepted graciously it. It is, of course, your choice. Some people tipped; some people didn't. I didn't consider the cost of the excursion as a factor in the amount to tip but went more by how long the excursion was and how good the guide was. Typically, I gave £10 or €10 to be split between driver and guide for a half-day tour and double that for a full day tour. (Yes, I know £'s and €'s are not equivalent in value, but I wasn't up to the mental math LOL, and I didn't want to deal with the coins.) On my tours, currency was the only way to tip. No cashless option.

I just returned from a cruise with port stops in the UK and Ireland. I agree with the responses that cash is rarely needed as contactless cards are accepted nearly everywhere. But since the OP mentioned tipping, I'll add that I did use cash to tip tour guides and drivers on my ship-sponsored excursions. Whether or not you tip is your choice, but if you want to, cash was the only way to do so on my excursions. As @Cotswold Eaglesays above, I am one of those who feels comfortable having a certain amount of currency. I have other overseas trips planned to GBP and euro countries, so I just keep what I don't spend for future use. If I have a lot left over, I use some for the taxi from my post cruise hotel to the airport.

I received a paper Fun Times every evening in my mailbox on my Pride cruises last month. But it was definitely slimmed down.

I was in aft facing 5268 on the Pride for my recent B2B adventure. I loved it. Watching and hearing the wake is so relaxing. And it can be particularly interesting when an aziopod fails and you see unusual patterns in the wake LOL. We aft dwellers knew pretty early on that something was wrong as we left Kiel. I enjoyed watching sail aways from my balcony. I never had a problem with soot. I felt vibrations at time, but not enough to bother me, other than immediately after the azipod failed, which hopefully will never happen again! There isn't much foot traffic past your door being at the end of the corridor. Maybe a downside - I don't know about deck 4, but there was a laundry room opposite my cabin on deck 5. It was a mixed blessing - convenient for me to use, which I did a couple times over my 21 days aboard. But sometimes people congregated outside the laundry room, causing unwelcome hallway noise. I hope you enjoy your aft cabin as much as I did mine.

My solo B2B adventure ended with a United Airlines computer system breakdown upon my arrival at Heathrow this morning. I stood in the line to drop off my bag for over 2 hours, most of the time moving at the speed of the Pride after our first departure from Kiel - meaning not moving at all. Eventually their computers came back up, I got thru that line, then the security line, then the loooooong hike to the United gates and arrived at my gate exactly 3 hours after the taxi dropped me off - and exactly when boarding was supposed to start. But the plane was delayed, for once a good thing. I had a whole 40 minutes to use the restroom and buy a bottle of water. But I made my flight; I expect some United passengers didn’t this morning. One agent told us the problem was across Europe. So it was kind of a fitting ending to my B2B cruises. While “dead in the water” in the bag check line, I did get to chatting with a few people nearby, and I shared my cruise story. None of them had been on a cruise, and I don’t think my story convinced them to try one! Oh well, their loss. I am on a bus now from O’Hare, the final leg of my journey home. It was a memorable vacation. 😃

Wow, that is quite a story. The language barrier was worrisome to me, too, when I thought I was going to be put off the ship in Germany. But I’m not going to quit traveling overseas solo. I am glad you made it onto your ship, and I hope it was a great cruise. Thanks for sharing.