heatherb1958

8 hours ago, little britain said:

That question is still in the survey. Doesn’t seem to stop them! We are in AIG 

Well so far we have not been asked,  maybe because we eat early. 

Lovely peaceful location in dining room , no blaring music just entertaining wait team . We have the same table next cruise and requested same team.

I wonder if it is because the ship will soon be going around Africa without passengers to get to Dubai so they are trying to get their bonuses up in the time they have left here in the UK.

1 hour ago, little britain said:

It’s the second formal/ dress your best night. About 60% didn’t get the memo. 
 

For the 3rd time we get the blaring music and Begging for 🔟 at dinner…. Even when we say Stop 🛑 you aren’t meant to do this, they still continue with their speil…

we won’t get a day off if you don’t give us a 🔟,

I won’t get promotion if you don’t give me a 🔟… 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Which dining room are you in ? Remember when there was a question on the post cruise survey that asked " were you asked to give a 10 by any member of crew ?  " and " which department were they in and what name ? ". Sorry but if we are asked to give a 10 they'd get a big fat zero.

Our wait team are fab and don’t need to ask for a 10.

We haven’t cruised Royal in 18months.

We stayed onboard today.  Have been to Stavanger  countless times and in the month of April with clear blue skies and tshirt weather. Bbbbrrrrr today. Love Stavanger but not enough to freeze my bits off. There is a fab 'new to me'  clothes shop I can spend ages in looking at clothes you'll never find in the UK. Bought a scarf last time, they always fit ! 😂 

22 minutes ago, mil76 said:

Hope you packed for miserable weather, or as they say in England...Friday

Hey, I'm from Manchester , the joke is we all have webbed feet up here in the North 😆. 

Raincoat is packed plus bikini 👙 😳. 

We are all packed ready for tomorrow, hope to meet you onboard.  enjoyed your  pics and comments to while away the days . 

@mil76, we have been to IOW , easier to do Portsmouth on a turn around day  , see the historic docks which are right next to Portsmouth  Harbour train station , you get off at the end of the line not the station in the city which is Portsmouth and Southsea. Done the journey between Southampton and Portsmouth as tourists a couple of times . Plenty to see in Portsmouth and can highly recommend the pub on the seafront The Ship Anson for great atmosphere and fab food . 

Or you could go to Winchester , nearer to Southampton by train  if you have issues. We have been by bus from Southampton but much quicker by train.

Or go to  Brockenhurst in the New Forest and see the free roaming ponies . So much to do from Southampton 

@Bruin Steve- I feel your pain but GTY cabins are truly the luck of the draw.

If you go onto cruisedeckplans there are some photos of your exact cabin. I could only see one as I am not a member but it was of the view through the window which wasn't bad. We had a porthole on deck 2 very forward on Legend, long gone now, and it was like looking through a tube but we were fine. If the bed is  under the window we have it set up as twins so we can see out without having to stand or climb over the bed. I did once on Brilliance leave the bed as a double and physically pushed the bed sideways in the cabin so we had floor space under the window, room steward was OK with it, there was still room to make the bed. It worked for us.. My mantra is there is a solution to every problem and those were my solutions. Yours will possibly be throw more money at the problem and do Royal up. Good luck in finding your solution.

10 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

Well...

I just checked in for my July 26 segment of the Serenade of the Seas World Cruise (our first of two)...

Normally, we book balcony cabins or better...and we stay away from guarantees.  BUT, when we booked these, all they had to offer were insides or OV guarantees...So we took the OV guarantees.  

 

So, having now checked in, I did the barcode thing...and it looks like we've got #2018...Might be about as bad as one could get...There are only 14 OVs on Deck Two (Is the window even above the water line?).  The rest of the deck is crew space and the Med Center.  And, because of the Med Center, it appears there is access to only one set of elevators.

 

My wife said, "it's okay...we'll make the best of it"...I am hoping that since it still officially says "Guarantee" that it could still change...but I'm not counting on it.  Steerage, here I come!

We have stayed on decks 2,3 and 4 on Royal ships. 

Close to getting off the ship, when the lift arrives on your floor it will be empty 99% of the time ..

Port intensive cruise , you'll be fine.

36 minutes ago, mil76 said:

Currently in a van on the way west to Sintra and vicinity.  The person who planned our original cancelled tour found us another private tour for 6 people.  

You will love Sintra, another  World Unesco site. Enjoy your day. 

I am starting to pack for Friday. 😎 

Lanzarote 😆  , affectionately known as ' Lanza grotty ' by us  Brits and also the windy island . We have  holidayed there and visited by cruise ship, done the 🐫  ride. Personally we like Lanzarote, so much to see and a lot to thank Cesar Manrique for . 

@mil76 - have visited Funchal countless times and done island tours plus the cable car, refuse to do the basket 😂.  One of my favourite places to visit is Santa Maria Street, very famous for it's painted doors,  looks like walking through an art gallery with pavement cafes/restaurants/a few shops. If ever you are back there ...

Great review so far, been to all your ports several times. We did Sintra DIY by train, was very easy though it was from where the  cruise ships used to dock underneath the April 25th bridge, much preferred that location for  catching the  trains to Cascais too . To get to the station for the Sintra line was maybe a 15 mins walk. Once we got to the end of the line at Sintra we walked upto the village , had drinks then caught a bus upto the palace , we just paid for the garden entrance . Our day there was stress free , no clock watching as we were overnight in Lisbon which we have again in October.  We get onboard for your Norway leg, only new port will be Haugesund which as a keen walker am looking forward too. 

Fingers crossed for dry weather for us all. 

On 5/29/2024 at 7:21 PM, 3yorkies said:

What is google lens?   never heard of this

Hi there , I  back up my photos to Google Photos. There is a tool at bottom of the photos called Google lens , great if you don't know where the subject is or as LB explained what a flower is. I find it simpler to screenshot then use Google lens than her explanation.  As a random example here is a photo from yonks ago,  if tapped on Google lens it will tell me where the place is 😆. So for finding out cabin number I screen shot set sail pass Google lens reads the barcode. 

I don't have an Apple gadget so couldn't do the Apple wallet hack but saw on our social media group another hack which was to screenshot the setsail pass , it was showing deck and muster station but not cabin number , then use Google lens over the bar code which will read it , et voila , cabin number shown. 

It isn't a safety issue , it is a cost cutting issue . The lack of a settee/couch didn't bother us on Meraviglia or Bellissima when we had the inside cabin, they just end up being dumping grounds for bags,  coats , etc. We found the room to be spacious without one and you only use an inside room for sleeping and showering . Now the Ocean View on deck 8 we had on Virtuosa was teeny compared with the inside cabin on M and B. 

We had an inside in YC on Grandiosa and quite frankly the added seats and table just got in the way, I  moved the table to under the TV and put the seats side by side. 

I would never book an OV on deck 8 again , I'd rather  have the inside cabin .

1 hour ago, Homosassa said:

Many cruise lines now have any type of blow up pool (including small bath tub size) on the prohibited list.

 

Check with MSC before bringing one.

Really ? Never ever seen that , for what reason do you know ? 

Well the solution to that problem is a collapsible bucket , babies just want to splash , doesn't matter if they are fully submerged or not. A bucket full of water and some toys they are happy. 

23 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

I think your feelings are misplaced. We have been on one cruise with a baby, where he was allowed in the same pool as everyone else and no-one.... No-one had an issue with it.

 

I didn't say I was doing it - I was simply asking.

Have you considered taking a small blow up baby paddling/splash pool . You could check with the pool deck attendants where best to place it on the deck for emptying,  there are plenty of grids/ washaways . 

I have seen that tip for others with little ones .

It also comes in handy in the cabin for giving baby a bath when you only have a shower available . 

52 minutes ago, amurray88 said:

Nice!

Well, we're booked up for Virtuosa now so onwards and upwards!

Well done, good  choice. We love L'Atelier bar on the lower level of the Galleria for the cocktails and people watching.

We love the mezzanine level/outside pub for watching the parties on the Galleria though depending on time of year/weather yours could be on the pool deck,  White night for an example. 

The cabins are lovely unless you went for an Ocean view on deck 8 midships, too small with a baby, just big enough for 2 ! 

We like MSC as they still do traditional dining at set times . You'll know that from Seaside . 

Virtuosa is big but we never had a problem getting seats anywhere .

Have a fab cruise .

On 4/24/2024 at 11:13 PM, amurray88 said:

Or do you mean New Year 2022 into 2023?

 End of 2022 into the New year of 2023, we were on Iona for end of 2023 into 2024. 

1 hour ago, amurray88 said:

We did Azura in January that required a 4 and a half hour train to London, an overnight then a 4 hour flight 🤪 we're used to the no pain no gain approach... although we were able to take loads of luggage which was great.

 

This time we would be substituting a flight for a LONG drive to Southampton. We have family in Cardiff so would probably try and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Interesting comparison you make... for me, it's going to take something very very special to beat Symphony. I don't really want it to beat Symphony, I just want to know that it'll fit our needs. 

 

Azura in January was nothing special but it was perfect for us. He was among 4 or 5 other babies onboard and that was it for under 18's. We realise during July it's going to be a different ballgame. Just saw horrific pictures of queues and I think that would kill us!

We did New year 2023 on Azura , 14 nights. The ship served a purpose as we like to go away either over Christmas or New year. I wouldn't go back on Azura though we like sister ship Ventura,  been on her 3 times and back again in December. We are not flying anymore and always do the coach down to Southampton from Bolton. No stress, someone else doing the driving,  once your cases go on the bus you don't touch them again and next see them outside your cabin door. We had a family with a baby on our New year Iona cruise. You don't have to worry about the size of your car boot snd can have 3 cases per person.

We have been on Virtuosa 3 times but we love MSC anyway and go on all their ships, last one was Euribia in March. Been on 9 ships eith MSC.

We are a lot older than yourself 😆 🤣.  Our grandson is 17 ! Will do anything for an easy life 😆. 

We have been on Symphony, Seaview , sister ship to Seaside and Virtuosa.

If travelling with a baby I would go for the cruise without flights and no limit on luggage .

No pizzeria??? MSC have the best pizza at sea and is available in the buffet from  lunchtime to the small hours . Love MSC pizza. 

Symphony has the best theatre shows though Virtuosa's are short and sweet in the main theatre,  ideal if you have a small child with a short attention span plus there are 2 shows for an extra small fee in the Carousel lounge, if you pre book in your planner it is half price. 

Virtuosa has a Galleria similar to Royal promenade but there are no free snack places on it like Cafe promenade , all speciality restaurants and bars but we love it.

We had cabin 8204 on Virtuosa , the teeniest Ocean View cabin we have ever had on any cruiseline even the bed was a small double.  Worst cabin for comfort but a great location. 👍. 

I am in the UK and just watched the video,  wow, looked just like a pack of cards bridge collapsing.  What is the next nearest port to off load cruise passengers if needed ? 

Hope the casualty figure is low 😔. 

When we have an inside cabin we always have twins , rather have more space between the 2 singles than squeeze between the bed and the wall. Same for an OV if the bed is under the window,  much easier to look out of the window sitting on a single bed with the floor space in the middle than clamber over the pillows to look out. 

For all other cabins we have a queen bed .

It is usually available to upgrade a drinks package online through your booking and cheaper to do so before the cruise .