Korianto

One of my TAs thought a Full Ship Charter too. But like you, I never heard of one for that long, nor a Transatlantic. Some company must have done well!

TA was certainly surprised at getting the letter about the Redeployment and getting reaccommodated. And its nice getting the extra OBC. I'm glad we had lots of time.

And like others have said - prices on the Jewel were substantially reduced in the past two weeks. And thanks to Royal Caribbean's Captain's Club Balcony Discount - Balcony Cabins were LOWER than Oceanview! Still are too.

We were able to book an Aft Balcony for less than the price of some Oceanview cabins - just amazing - and since we originally booked before the Gratuity increase, and had designated My Time Dining, we weren't hit with the new Gratuity Rate either. Thank you Royal Caribbean.

Now we have to look for a different B2B.

K

Hi do you know if they had video poker machines and if the pay schedule was fair?

For example, last year in Oct we did a cruise on RCCL Serenade followed by a Transatlantic on Celebrity Silhouette.

On the Serenade, for Deuces Wild, the payout for a wild Royal was the standard 125 coins. But when we played on the Silhouette, the payout for the wild Royal was only 100 coins, and other pays were dropped too, also in other Video Poker Games.

A group of us complained to the Casino manager, who claimed he didn't know nothing, that the schedules were set by the Corporate folks. But I pointed out that on the RCCL ships theyhad standard payoffs, and that they were all basically under the umbrella of RCI. I said it really makes a difference when playing. He said he would let his corporate folks know about our complaint.

Just want to note that while on the Serenade, for a 9 night cruise our Bankroll was o lyrics down $50 when we disembarked. Not bad for playing every night plus sea days. But on the Silhouette it was a different story - we were down 80% after 15 nights :( at least it was budgeted as play money......

K

Hi Guys!

I'm Ken, my husband Dan and I booked this Transatlantic cruise last week. We saw a bargain fare for an oceanview cabin we couldn't pass up. And we booked the April 22nd 12 night Anzac Turkey and Greece cruise following this one, so it will be a back to back.

We're from Westminster Maryland, it's in the north central part. We're both retired federal civil service. I was a system's analyst and Dan was an RN. Last Fall we ccelebrated 25 years together (but only married in June 2012).

This will be our 4th TA, the last two were fairly smooth, but the first one, on Vision of the Seas, the first 2 days out of Lisbon the ship appeared empty because people were afraid to come out of their cabins. The Vision is a smaller old ship that really moved with the ocean waves - I enjoyed the rocking and rolling, hey, as long as you know that you're safe, thst your vessel can handle it, you just go with the flow,right?

Anyway, whats everyone doing at the ports? On your own? Ship excuRsion? Should we organize our own?

Hotkey,

You'll have no problems. All ships usually hsve a message board near Guest Relations. There's alwsys one for the Friends of Dorothy, but of late its just LGBT meeting at such and such time and a place.

Usually easy to spot, look for the Gay Senior citizens

Georgiaguy - you were on the Galaxy? That was one of my favorite ships in Celebrity's fleet. I was on it in 2002 with my husband. There was this wondrous German girl Sommelier, i wonder what t ever happened to her. we called her "Ya-Ya German Girl" the entire cruise, she was sweet and funny.

I'd call Celebrity direct and ask them, in fact call their Captain's Club phone number, youre members and thry should take care of you.

If they won't provide transportation, take a shared shuttle to the airport (miami), then tske a shared shuttle to the port.

Still, i think Celebrity will take care of youb youre spending enough on the two cruises, right?

What happens when you book a future cruise on board and receive the OBC's offered and then Celebrity offers 123 GO or 123 Go all inclusive promotion for the same cruise. Do you receive all benefits when you make final payment?

It depends on if your fare contained a combinable discount with the 123 promo.

Why? We were told you cannot receive more than Two type of offers from Celebrity.

For example, we did an advance booking last November that gave us $300 OBC, plus the 123go offer for an Oceanview. Had to pay nondiscounted fare. That was two offers, the OBC and 123.

But we just found a better deal on a Spring Mediterranean Cruise, a veranda with all inclusive 123 go, plus it had a discounted fare of $200 pp (combinable with 123). So we transferred our Fall booking to the Spring booking.

Now we thought we could combine both of those promos with our on board booking bonus of $300 OBC, but Celebrity told our TA no, we're only allowed a maximum of 2 promotions per cruise. So there was no advantage to booking onboard in this situation.

We're not complaining as our TA is giving us an add'l $300 OBC, so we'll have a total of $600 OBC (we'll need it too, Shore excursion prices have dramatically increased over prior years - I guess they have to get their money somehow).

K

We just scored another good one, $519 pp Oceanview on Celebrity Constellation- the April 9th Transatlantic from Ft Lauderdale to Rome. It's 13 nights. Sure you have to add in $156 pp in tips and $86 in taxes, but hey, it's great. We're going to do the one after too, a 13 night Anzac turkey, Greece round-trip from Rome. They have guarantee balconies for $1599 pp with their 123 all inclusive! That's classic beverage packs, tips, and $300 OBC. If you book be careful, you don't want exciting deals - that's excluded from 123go.

We were going to do the two Fall back to back Transatlantic (and before), but we canceled them - this one is $3000 less total for us. Choice Air from Rome to Baltimore is still $424 pp one way.

Love these last minute deals.

And I found these by looking on their website then quickly call my agent at Crucon.

My husband and I are sailing on a B2B next week. A transatlantic followed by a Norwegian fjord cruise on the Legend of the Seas. We'll have an oceanview going across, but will be switching to an aft balcony for the fjords.

When I asked the Crown and Anchor reps how it would be handled they said our new seapasses would be delivered to our staterooms about two days before the end of the first cruise. Along with them would be instructions for turnaround day. The rep I spoke with said our ship had to be handled special because there were so many passengers doing a consecutive cruise, a couple hundred in fact. Reading the forums on here it seems that many people are doing three b2bs - before the transatlantic, they're taking the Panama Canal cruise from San Diego right now. I can't see being away that long, gosh my two cruises are a 16 and an 8 for 24 days total (and add in a day before to get to ft Lauderdale, plus 5 days after the cruise to tour Copenhagen, so we'll be gone a month).

Anyway, when we do get to Copenhagen on the b2b turnaround day, many if us are hoping we can go to the center city to visit/tour for a few hours. I do hope we'll get that chance.

Last year, October on the Vision of the Seas. It was a 13 day Transatlantic. We had a oceanview that went for $499pp, a military discount brought it down to $429 pp, andvthen RCI offered a discount certificate for an additional $225 off. Total price per person ended up as $316.50 each.

Next week we start two back to back cruises on the Legend of the seas. First cruise is a 16 day transatlantic to northern European capitals in an oceanview. We're using our two Grandeur of the seas fire credit certificates. So that trip is only costing us $1478 total, we're following it with an 8 day Norwegian fjord cruise in an aft balcony. We're paying for that with our refund from RCI for the fire cruise, plus we get gratuities paid for, $300 obc, dinner for 2 in Chops, $100 spa service, and since RCI was running their balcony/choice air special, we get $1000 off our air fare (so air back from europe only cost $80 for both of us). All together, the Norwegian fjord cruise is only costing us around $838 total. So out of pocket for a 24 day cruise is running us about $2300 - and that's for everything, transportation to/from Europe, tips, taxes, etc, that's less than $100 per day for both of us, and we get to see paris, amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, and Norwegian fjords!

we're happy travelers

I didn't see any prior thread, nor read anything about it.

If you want, just leave the first part and delete the second.

Orr delete thecentire post and I'll repost just the first part, okay?

This is important, the cruise lines should not be supporting the russian economy at this time. Would you have supported Hitler when he invaded Poland? I think not.

K

With Russia's illegal takeover of the Crimean Peninsular from Ukraine, western nations have called on Russia to remove its troops from Crimea, and to return its control to Ukrainain authorities.

Because Russian Leaders have not done so, and the fact that Russia has amassed over 40,000 troops along its border with Eastern Ukraine, the European Union, the United States, members of NATO, have all imposed economic sanctions on Russia and President Putin's inner circle.

I cannot see any American nor European based Cruise Line not supporting these economic sanctions against Russia. To that end, will the major cruise lines be removing Russian Ports from any of this year's itinaries, until these sanctions have ended?

Note: Cruise Lines visit St. Petersburg as well as two ports in Crimea.

Personally, I thought the cruise lines should have boycotted Russian Ports beginning last Summer - when Russia passed that horrendous law disenfranchising their Gay and Lesbian Citizens, making it a crime to portray anything related to being Gay or Lesbian.

Do you know that law made it possible to arrest Cruise Ship passengers visiting St Petersburg who happened to wear something LGBT related, for example a rainbow flag, or a pink triangle, or a Lambda Greek letter on an article of clothing. I know that a few might say "don't wear those symbols", but you must realize that to LGBT people those symbols represent civil rights, our equal rights, our pride, something that has been fought for over the past couple of decades. To Gay Americans such as myself, a Rainbow flag almost means as much as an American Flag. I am proud to be an American, I am proud to be a Gay American, and no one is going to tell me that I cannot wear a symbol of my pride on my person.

I would say to you - would you like to be told you could not wear an American symbol while visiting a Russian port? And by symbol, I mean the American flag, our Eagle, a drawing of the Capital, or the White House, or any State Flag, or any State name, or and pro sport team, any college, etc. There are many symbols that are associated with America - what if we Americans were told we could not wear any of them because they were against the law in Russia? This is how LGBT people feel about their symbols, and why we still question why the major cruise lines are visiting Russian Ports.

Maybe now with these EU and USA sanctions put upon Russia, the Cruise Lines will finally stop visiting Russian Ports.

Has anyone been on a cruise that stopped at St. Petersburg since the "Gay Propaganda" laws were passed in Russia?

I was wondering if any of the cruise lines warned passengers about the laws, or told them how to dress appropriately. For example, no Gay related symbolism on their clothing, or don't refer to their same-sex husband as their husband. All in the name of "Passenger Safety".

One must also remember that many cruise lines will cease stopping at a particular port if passenger safety becomes a problem. In other words, "Boycott" the port until that city/Country takes appropriate actions to guarantee the safety of passengers.

K

Many Cruise Lines visit St. Petersburg, Russia on their Northern European Cruises. They also visit 1) Sochi, Russia, 2) Yalta, Russia, and 3) Sevestopol, Russia (the last 2 formerly part of Ukraine.

It is my opinion that all Cruise Lines, headquartered in the United States or the European Union, should be joining the International Boycott of all things Russian.

Why?

For two reasons: 1) Because of the Anti-Gay Propaganda Laws that were passed last Summer by the Russian Legislature and signed into law by President Putin.

These laws are an affront to anyone Gay or Lesbian. They allow rampant discrimination against anyone who appears to be Gay, who wears Gay themed clothing, who visits Gay Bars, or who even carries or wears a Rainbow flag.

Regional laws were first put into effect by the Mayor of St. Petersburg, and they are a horror. Foreign Nationals caught under this Anti-Propaganda Act are subject to large fines and up to 15 days imprisonment. Just think of that - if you were to visit the port of St. Petersburg and wore your Rainbow flag sweatshirt or T-shirt, you could be arrested under this law!

If you even wore a Rainbow Flag lapel pin, or anything that they could consider "Gay Propaganda" you could be subject to arrest.

For me, I fought hard for my equal rights here in my home State of Maryland. I fought hard for the Right to Marry my husband, a law that was finally passed and implemented earlier this year. I for one do not hide the fact that I am in a same-sex relationship.

I really wonder that the Cruise Lines are advising their Gay and Lesbian passengers who are about to visit a Russian Port? Do they tell them to not wear any Gay themed clothing? Do they advise them to not act "Gay"? Do they advise them to not call their significant other an endearing term like "Honey"?

2) Because of the recent illegal annexation of Ukrainian Crimea by Russian leaders.

We're all aware of the recent events in central Europe. How the Ukrainian President was going to let his country join the European Union, but then backtracked and then went to align themselves with Russia's Eurasian Union. Mostly because of that, the Ukrainian populace overthrew their President and sent him fleeing to Russia. Then Russia sent troops into Ukrainian Crimea, and forced the people, at gunpoint, to vote for joining, and becoming part of, Russian Territory.

As I said, I think we as a group of Gay and Lesbian Cruisers should be asking all the Cruise Lines to begin Boycotting Russian Ports - and to give Russia the reasons - because of their passage of their Anti-Gay legislation - their violation of Human Rights, as part of the European and World community. And because they violated International Law when they unilaterally invaded Ukraine, and further caused a change in that country's national borders (that were established by international treaty).

Currently Cruise Lines visit St. Petersburg during Northern European Cruises, and during Black sea cruises visit 1) Sochi, Russia, 2) Yalta, Russia (formerly Ukraine), 3) Sevestopol, Russia (formerly Ukraine).

We need to let the Mayors of these cities know why they are being boycotted. I am sure that they realize how much money their city takes in as the result of Cruise ship visits. Let them know that discrimination against anyone has no place in today's society. Let them know that what their country did to Ukrainian National Borders violated International Law. That these are the reasons for the Boycott.

Boycott Russian Ports!!!

Ken

Wow, you were on the Legend for 40 days? Cool! Since Dan retired the end of 2012, I've been planning cruises, and searching for cruise bargains. Last year we were on four cruises. Two on the Grandeur, and two on the Vision. The transatlantic on the Vision was a bargain that I found. A 13 day with oceanview cabin for only $316.50 cruise fare each. I hunt for bargsins like that all the time and let my friends know about them.

We saw the Legend in December when we were on our second Grandeur cruise. They were both refurbished in 2013. And yes, the Legend is one of the first of the Vision class and I had heard that it had a small gym, steam, and sauna.

We did a transatlantic on the Vision last October, the first sailing after it was refurbished, and though the main areas looked great, the cabins were still a bit outdated. But not as good as the Grandeur. The Vision had a really nice Steam room and Sauna, something I do enjoy. The Legend has that great sitting area behind the fitness center though, right?

Well, each ship has its good points and its bad ones. Still I prefer that size ship and the next one up. They both have those Solariums while the bigger ships don't.

RCI doesn't have an official happy hour, but there will be something on the messsge board regarding "friends of Dorothy" and their meeting place and time. And those in the Diamond Club will meet in the Diamond Club Lounge during their daily Happy Hour.

Hi Roger & Martin,

My husband Dan and I are on this cruise and the one after, the 8 night Norwegian fjords cruise. We booked the transatlantic last summer, and the fjords one when RCI had their $1000 off airfare sale when booking a balcony.

We're from Westminster Maryland. Celebrating our 25th anniversary together this year, but only two years legally married.

See you on the Legend!

Ken

Hi Suzanne & Marilyn!

My husband Dan and I are doing both cruises also.

We have a third deck ocean view for the trip over, but were able to score an aft balcony on deck seven for the fjords cruise - that should be an awesome viewpoint for photos and looking out. Especially since the sun will be setting really late in May.

29 days to go!

When aboard a ship, we try to practice good hygiene. However, we're not obsessive/compulsive about it. We do try to be aware, but most fellow passengers are also concerned about germs. The one's we worry about are those from other cultures that might not follow the same hygienic practices that we do in our culture.

What do we do?

1. First off, we wash our hands - a lot. And we try not to use our fingers to touch/rub our eyes, our nose, or our mouth (that's how most germs are passed).

2. When we're on the buffet line:

I always take food that's not exposed. Why? I've seen too many people place the tongs, either all the way, or most of the way, into the food tray. That means the part of the handle that people have touched came in contact with the food, and the food could be/probably is, contaminated.

(On a recent cruise, I was in the buffet area when I heard something drop to the floor. A woman passenger had dropped one of the serving tongs to a food tray. As I watched, she picked it up off the floor, and placed it back in front of the serving tray. At first I was shocked, how could this lady do that? Then I went over and grabbed the tongs, brought them back to one of the food workers and told them what the woman had did. The worker shook his head and gave me a new set of tongs for that tray.)

For Bread, Rolls, or other Food that's easy to just pick up with your fingers - since most people who practice the finger grabbing method will take from the front, for these kinds of foods, I try to pick from an untouched area - mostly the middle area. But if I see a few people hand-pick, then I'll either pass, or tell one of the workers what people have been doing. Usually then they take the tray back to the kitchen (and hopefully dump it).

I never use the Ice/Water dispensers. Why? Even though they have a prominent sign posted that they are not to be used to fill personal containers (because of health issues), I have seen too many passengers filling up their bottles, containers, and bottle-bags, by placing the bottle/container's opening right up to the top of the dispenser, so the dispenser's tip is INSIDE THEIR BOTTLE. I've seen this over and over, especially on Port days when people want to bring water ashore.

As for the sanitizer liquid stations - I don't like to use them. It's a chemical, and I don't like to place chemicals on my hands. Plus, as long as one person who hasn't washed, goes through the line, touching everything, then when you touch those tongs, your hands will be contaminated anyway. So, the best time to clean your hands is right before you eat, AFTER you've gone through the Buffet Line. Either that, or don't use your fingers to eat any of your food.

That said - here's a way to check your cabin for Biologicals left by prior passengers - - >>>

Next time you go on a Cruise - bring along one of those portable Black Light fixtures. Either a small battery one, or a small electric one (but if you have an electric one, you'll need an extension cord).

To check for biologicals, (they will show up as bright spots under a black light), turn on the black light and turn off all the cabin lights, and then use the Black Light to examine the bed - the pillows, blankets, sheets, etc. All those items should be spotless, that is if the Cabin Steward placed clean sheets on your bed.

But sometimes. they don't always wash the blankets; instead they wrap them in clean sheets But tell me, how many of you do touch your blankets, because when you sleep, the cover sheets always come off, right?

You can also check the area around the bed for bright spots, check the room's carpet too. You never know what you'll find.

Then shine the black light on the sofa, chair, and desk chair - anything used for sitting. These items aren't cleaned, well usually cleaned by Cabin Stewards unless they're really filthy/dirty.

When examining the Sofa or chair, don't be surprised if you see multiple spots from past sexcapades. :eek:

Next, go into your cabin's bathroom. Shine the black light on the wall directly next to the toilet. Again, if the Cabin Steward doesn't normally wash the walls, don't be surprised if you see something that looks like a fireworks display on the wall. That's from urine being splashed up from the toilet. Yep, it's gross.

Now, if you find your bathroom wall like this under the black light- looking like a firework's rocket exploded, ask your Cabin Steward to wash down the wall(s). If he looks at you odd, just tell him you always wash the wall next to your toilet at home, and explain about splashes - they'll understand, and they might add that routine to their cleaning regimen.

Note: I recently sailed on the Grandeur of the Seas - 12/14/13 sailing. I had cabin 3606, an accessible cabin. After we checked in I noticed a strange stain/imprint on the edge of one of the room's sofa cushions. It appeared that a male, (probably a passenger on a previous cruise) had taken a shower, spread body lotion on themselves (covering their entire body, including their lower private parts), and then sat on the edge of the sofa.

Why do I say that? Well, at the edge of the sofa there was an imprint of a butt, and in the middle of that imprint one could see another irregularly rounded imprint, and inside of that, another imprint of two (almost) side by side longitudinal ovals.

Sort of like this: ( -----(0O)----- )

Yes, it was an imprint of a stranger's butt, bag, and balls. :eek: Kind of gross, right?

When next I saw the cabin steward I pointed out the stain and asked that it be cleaned, and that if it couldn't be cleaned that the sofa be replaced. The next day, the sofa was clean - no more butt print was present.

Your charge at a specialty restaurant, such as Chops, $30, includes gratuities.

The Chops Wait Staff also receive their share of Tips from the Ship's Gratuity Pool - the Gratuity Charge you pay each day, per person (currently $12.00 for non-Suite guests).

And, any drinks that you order in any of the specialty restaurants include a 15% gratuity charge.

I would only give an extra tip to the waiter if they provided exceptional, and I mean extremely exceptional service to my table.

Note: If you dine at Izumi, you pay a $5 cover charge per person - that is your gratuity.

Many Cruise Lines visit St. Petersburg, Russia on their Northern European Cruises. In my opinion All the Cruise Lines should be joining the International Boycott of all things Russian - why? Because of the Anti-Gay Propaganda Laws that were passed this Summer by the Russian Legislature and signed into law by President Putin.

These laws are an affront to anyone Gay or Lesbian. They allow rampant discrimination against anyone who appears to be Gay, who wears Gay themed clothing, who visits Gay Bars, or who even carries or wears a Rainbow flag.

Regional laws were first put into effect by the Mayor of St. Petersburg, and they are a horror. Foreign Nationals caught under this Anti-Propaganda Act are subject to large fines and up to 15 days imprisonment. Just think of that - if you were to visit the port of St. Petersburg and wore your Rainbow flag sweatshirt or T-shirt, you could be arrested under this law!

If you even wore a Rainbow Flag lapel pin, or anything that they could consider "Gay Propaganda" you could be subject to arrest.

For me, I fought hard for my equal rights here in my home State of Maryland. I fought hard for the Right to Marry my husband, a law that was finally passed and implemented earlier this year. I for one do not hide the fact that I am in a same-sex relationship.

I really wonder that the Cruise Lines are advising their Gay and Lesbian passengers who are about to visit a Russian Port? Do they tell them to not wear any Gay themed clothing? Do they advise them to not act "Gay"? Do they advise them to not call their significant other an endearing term like "Honey"?

Like I said, I think we as a group of Gay and Lesbian Cruisers should be asking all the Cruise Lines to begin Boycotting Russian Ports - and to give Russia the reason - because of their passage of their Anti-Gay legislation - their violation of Human Rights, as part of the European and World community.

Let the Mayor of St. Petersburg know this - I'm sure he realizes how much money his city takes in as the result of Cruise ship visits. Let him know that discrimination against anyone has no place in today's society. Let him know that this is the reason for the Boycott.

Boycott Russian Ports!!!

Ken