North of 60

On 8/3/2022 at 2:59 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Having finger bowls presented  before dinner has been in my memory ever since.

Those were finger bowls?

No wonder I thought the lemonade was weak.

2 hours ago, kwis29 said:

DH just confirmed that diet tonic is available. Canada Dry.

 

Sad news: Aperol and sparkling rose not available 

That is great news. Now I won't have to bring along the spare straps to tie a case of diet tonic to the already growing sherpa load.
 

Chris in Inuvik, NWT, Canada ---> One Sherpa who is happy to carry less!

52 minutes ago, santa24 said:

I was really excited to follow the OP’s review. I was enjoying her writing style but it looks like others have maybe taken over the review. I’m hoping she returns.

Probably unable to post due to spotty / poor internet. That has been an ongoing problem, not only on Celebrity, but pretty much every other line.
Remember the "good old days" when going on a cruise meant being completely out of touch with the rest of the world?

Chris in Inuvik, NWT, Canada --- Less than 40 days til our Equinox ABC Cruise (Sept. 8 )

1 hour ago, weregoingcruising said:

For some it's "Got Rid Of Wife,Now Happy Life"

I just keep remembering a couple of things:
1) We are in a balcony cabin; and
2) SWMBO watches Dateline and 48 Hours --- AND TAKES NOTES.

Nuf said.

Chris in Inuvik

13 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

Ahhhhhhh🤔  She want's  🥤; she Schleps 🧳

I have learned to live by the motto: "Happy Wife, Happy Life", to which I would add "and living husband".

Chris in Inuvik

We are on Equinox in September (lowly balcony, not a suite).

My significant other, hereinafter referred to as "She Who Must Be Obeyed" or "SWMBO", likes the odd Gin and Tonic. But she is currently doing the weight watchers thing and is obsessed with asking "how many points is that?".

So - can you check if they have diet tonic on board, please?

If not, I will be relegated to schlepping a case of it onboard when we board.

Thanks for your help in keeping this Sherpa under-employed.

Cheers, and thanks!

Chris (and Bev) in Inuvik, NWT, Canada

Just saw this thread, and thought you would be interested in two sites on YouTube.

First off is the Emma Cruises channel. Although considerably younger, she does a great job explaining about cruises for UK residents, especially for those on a smaller budget. Her channel is at https://www.youtube.com/c/EmmaCruises

The second is my own channel, aimed at new and older cruisers, but unfortunately primarily North American cruisers. I call it the "Cruising Old Farts" channel - and it's at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUmrOb9NnJjHIBgqEcHSgQ

You may have to copy and paste those links into your browser, as they are to the main page of the channels. I didn't want to paste a specific video and CC doesn't like non-video links.

Whatever you choose - research beforehand. The suggestions so far in this thread have been great.

That's why I love Cruise Critic!

Have a great time on your first of many many many cruises.

Chris in Inuvik, NWT, Canada

8 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Vaccinated delegates, appropriate distancing, wearing masks, testing, etc., etc.. There won't be any super-spreader effects brought back by the Canadian delegation. Just as President Biden and the rest of the US delegation shouldn't be considered suspect super-spreaders upon their return.

 

LOL. Yeh, there are days that I feel that way too! 

You took the words right out of my mouth - is a politician (regardless of position) ever really "essential"?

I think one of the bigger factors would just be the optics of the whole thing - the "do as I say, not as I do" aspect would not go over well with the voting public.

On 6/5/2021 at 2:00 PM, 3Shelaghs said:

 

As to the borders? I've heard through the grapevine, that US/Cdn border will not be opened until after the summer. Hopefully the quarantine hotels will be abolished too.

 

Our Prime Minister (and other government officials) are travelling to the G7 meetings outside of Canada.

If they play by the rules they have instituted, all those political types will have to stay at a government approved hotel for 3 days on their return to Canada.

In light of this, I can see the required hotel stay being abolished very very soon, but the "non-essential travel" restriction staying in place until the fall.

9 minutes ago, Eddie Wilson said:

 

Then there is always Presque Isle Maine,  (which is not an island)

 

Eddie

That is exactly what it says ... Presque is french for ... wait for it ...

..

..

..

Almost.

8 hours ago, ramja96 said:

 

I'll bet "irregardless" makes you really blow your top! 😤

I have conniptions when someone says something like "The car was green in colour".
Well, it wasn't green in F'ing SIZE, now was it?

Thanks for the response.

My TA is working on this with a slightly more senior person at X.

Will see what happens!

Chris in Inuvik

21 minutes ago, anna5545 said:

Hi. I just did a lift and shift and they took my original $50 deposit and applied it to the 2021 cruise. My confirmation did state the original $900 deposit was due on May 14; however, my TA said that I could just ignore it. That deadline has passed and we are still confirmed. 

Thanks for the response.

I will pass it along to my Travel Agent.

Have they said they will reissue the guest confirmation with revised deposit terms?

My worry is that the computer system will automatically cancel the booking with no notice.

Chris in Inuvik.

On 5/17/2020 at 12:04 PM, CarolRoy said:

We also moved our October 2020 cruise to October 2021 - Connie out of Venice.  We only had a $50 deposit with free grats and OBC, so it was a no-brainer to switch.  Also our air was not showing any more - either with X or  with the airline.  We, like you, don't know what will happen on the ships.  So waiting until 2021 makes us feel more comfortable.

Was your $50 deposit carried over, with no requirement to pay the full deposit ($900+/-)?

My sister and brother in law are on the same $50 deposit deal, but when their L&S came through,, the booking confirmation says they need to pay the deposit by 5:00 PM today.

Final payment date changed to 2021, but not deposit.

Thanks

On 5/8/2020 at 9:09 AM, Livin Life said:

We were able to make this switch for Equinox 10 night 9.4.2020 to Equinox 9 night 9.17.2021 so you should be able to get this done.

I was able to do this for my wife and myself on the same cruises - same perks, same price (approximately).

Things show up a little differently on the Booking Confirmation, but it works out to $60.00 less for both of us than what we had booked originally.

It is not as rosy a picture for my Sister and Brother-In-Law. They had a reduced deposit, which didn't move over, X is saying on their booking confirmation that the full regular deposit is due today.

Our TA has escalated this, and asked that the booking NOT be cancelled until this issue is resolved.

We'll have to see what happens in the next 24 hours.

Chris in Inuvik

I have a copy of my passport, scanned and printed on cardstock paper, that I take on my cruises.

I modified the cover slightly, so it is distinguishable from the real passport.

If I can find a place in a port to get a stamp (sometimes just a post office stamp), I will get a stamp from that place.

Haven't been able to do it everywhere, but I am getting there.

Thanks for quick reply.

Never seen these - and I am not an RCL newbie!

But then, we tend not to over indulge on liquor anyway.

We used to get wine packages when they were available. Now that we are D+, we find we don't really need those either.

Cheers

What are "drink cards"? Haven't seen these, or heard of them before.

I guess I will have to figure something else out then.

I wanted to get my wife flowers for our anniversary.

Any ideas how I can do this, and get them delivered to the stateroom on or before the day?

Did they take the florist out in the latest renovations?

We are on a B2B Nov/Dec this year out of FLL.

Can we bring 2 bottles on for our first cruise, then on turn around day (FLL) bring two more bottles on?

We will probably have our sea pass cards when we get off the ship (that's how it has happened before), so what do we do when "re-boarding"?

Thank you for your comment. The actual fact is they denied it happening basically calling me a liar. At no point did anyone from royal say that they are allowed to do this or well within their rights to do so. Just I’m sorry, it never happened, here’s some roses......

 

 

When I gave the original rep on the phone my original stateroom number she said they booked the same day I did, just after I did.

I think this says a lot.

You booked a guarantee, and had the GS assigned right away. Then someone called and wanted to pay outright for a GS, so the line said "hey - look, we're getting more revenue than if we gave this to someone who booked a guarantee suite."

The person who booked and paid for a GS is getting what they paid for.

The person who booked a suite guarantee (you) is getting what they paid for.

Yeah, it's kinda crappy that you saw the original cabin assignment and then saw the JS assignment.

And yeah, they could have offered nicer compensation, especially as this is your honeymoon.

But in the long run, I am sure you will enjoy the cruise.

Interesting ... no mention of drinks on your card, and the only things that do not require a purchase are the spin to win, 2 days internet, 1 bag of wash and fold laundry and a photo.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Forums mobile app

So, this is both good and bad.

If my wife and I go on a 7 day cruise, paying $1520 for an oceanview cabin in September (I looked this up), we would lose 25% of our fare if we cancelled at say 83 days out. That would be $380.

The deposit is $500. Under the old system, I would have lost my deposit of $500.

It gets bad if we cancel 74 or less days out - then we would lose 50% of the fare, or $760, whereas previously we would have lost the deposit of $500.

Hmmm

Royal Caribbean International is tightening its cruise cancellation policy, making passengers more on the hook for a larger portion of the fare if they decide not to go before sailing.

The policy has multiple changes. Chief among them: the cancellation window during which you would only lose a deposit is gone.

Canceled cruises of one to four nights (including holiday sailings) will be charged 50 percent of the total cruise fare if canceled 74 to 61 days out. Previously, these short cruises could be canceled 74 to 43 days out with just the deposit lost, and 42 to 29 days out with 50 percent of the fare lost. Under the new policy, cruises of four nights or less canceled 60 to 31 days out will be charged 75 percent of the total fare (previously 28 to 15 days out) and 100 percent of the fare will be sacrificed if the cruise is canceled 30 days or less before sailing (previously 14 days or less).

For longer cruises (five nights or more), the new policy is as follows: cruises canceled 89 to 75 days before sailing will be charged 25 percent of the total fare; those canceled 74 to 61 days out will be charged 50 percent (previously 56 to 29 days out); cruise canceled 60 to 31 days out will be charged 75 percent of the cruise fare (previously 28 to 15 days out); and all cruises of five nights or longer canceled 30 days or less before sailing will be charged the full fare (previously 14 days or less out). The previous policy had no 25 percent level, but cruises canceled 89 to 57 days out only lost the deposit.

The new cancellation policy goes into effect on all bookings made on or after April 8, 2018.

According to an article on another blog site policy was changed as a way of encouraging cruisers to finalize their bookings earlier.