Aulanis

I have read a lot of this thread ( Must get a life) Bottom line is the bottom line only a few have mentioned it but I suspect the change has been rushed through without adequate notice as Carnival are being hit hard by increased interest rates on debts. I doubt if fixed rates are applicable. Carnival long term debt for the quarter ending May 31, 2023 was $31.921B, a 9.08% increase year-over-year. Carnival long term debt for 2022 was $31.953B, a 12.08% increase from 2021. Carnival long term debt for 2021 was $28.509B, a 28.83% increase from 2020. So say $30B debt Fed rates March 2022 were .25% and now are 5.5% Just using those rates Annual Interest charge pre March 22 would have been $75,000.000 but due to rate rise is now $1,650,000,000 ( if I got the math right) Even ignoring the lenders margins thats a helluvalot of Pizzas !! Next up charge for entry to the shows?? Trivia $2 swipe medallion on entry to venue Prize 1 Pizza per team As for oldies v newbies if the oldies are like us, this year we will have cruised 90 days and last year we did 72 days all but 13 days were with Carnival group. Are there many younger cruisers out there that will be managing to fit that in? Its ok trying to change the demographics but that will take years (even more years if retirement age continues to rise) and if they force the oldies out and not replaced by newbies they will have half empty ships? or will have gone bust!!

Our cruise choice is largely based on destination and as long as we get something edible to eat at every meal we are usually happy enough on any line/ship. Elite on Princess and a smattering of other lines we do compare, but wouldnt book a cruise based on how good the buffet service is. We have rarely used a buffet for dinner. We have never used room service or OceanNow and dont drink enough to merit a drinks package though we occasionally have a package if it is included in the original price of the cruise, not as an add on. All in all we think Princess has been going downhill for years and I think they found some difficulty in staffing the ships after Covid. We went back to P&O this year as the food and service on our early cruises with them was better than we were experiencing on Princess and we reckon that is still the case. They have also been chipping away at the elite perks and at the same time increasing the prices of add ons. £65 a day for stuff we dont really need!! We have one cruise next month that is 23 nights and the add on would be more than we paid for the cruise. Based on the itinerary we took a "Trial" cruise on a new UK based line Ambassador ,ship was old but refitted and the meals in the MD were better and with more interesting choices and better presentation than P&O or Princess. Sadly some other aspects of the cruise were not to our liking so will be sticking to what we like.

The north west is also served by coaches we looked at it more closely because of train strikes and the hotel prices in Southampton seem to have rocketed. We are going with Eavesway. same day service, seems expensive but by the time you add up train fare hotel and evening meal its about the same and no worries re strike and no heaving luggage through London. I also think that if a coach was a bit late the ship would be more inclined to wait a bit. Another we have used is Intercruises.

We were in the late shows , not by choice, and there was room for all. One crazy thing is]that there are several levels and each has fixed bench seating then on the same level they have a row of movable ( if you can lift them) swivel chairs that are the same height. The bench seating is more comfortable but you risk a tall person sitting straight in front of you. If it is a show that you have to see as well as hear we found it better to suffer the discomfort. Occasionally there were no fixed seats and we just had to sit in front of someone else. There were also the types who take a comfortable back seat and put an article on the seat in front. Witnessed a group of 4 who initially had 8 seats then maybe decided 15minutes in they didnt like it and 2 of them left so there were then 2 people with 8 seats !!! As to the sickness I was surprised we didnt have much as whilst self serve was out they did not really police the hand washing as I have seen on other ships and people just walked into the buffet without washing or even using the sanitiser. Another anomaly was you couldnt press 2 buttons to get a cup of coffee but if you wanted any sauces you were directed to a tray of various bottles to help yourself which of course meant picking up the bottle opening the cap squeezing it replace the cap and return to the tray. Hope you cruise says clear it can of course depend on where the cruise is going and if people pick up a bug eating while ashore.

You would be better posting this in the Roll Call for that cruise. Roll Calls for "other" lines are not that easy to find, so it is here. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2853443-ambassador-cruise-line-around-the-world-2024-roll-call-january-6-2024-london-tilbury/?do=getNewComment Also in order that you get notified of replies you should " follow" the thread. Scroll up to the top of a thread you are in and click where it says follow and say how you would want informed. This changed on CC about 2 years ago I think before if you posted you were automatically following.

Thankyou all 😊 All done ! booked 4 we really wanted to do and as you have said it does carry forward any unused balance. So its not as the wording suggested 3 trips from the credit. We have $0.20 left couldnt find a trip for that LOL. We will maybe look at others now and see if anyone is putting together diy trips. Bit early to start packing!!

I have another HIA query. HIA is included in our package and we have 3 excursions. We dont go until november but want to book in case they fill up. Question is how/ when is the HIA credit applied? As far as I can tell when booking an excursion it says your credit card will be charged straight away. I have not actually tried a dummy excursion booking so it may be obvious when I get in there but dont want to book something and find they only apply the credit if booked on board.( it is less than the $100 so I know we will only get say $80 but does it get credited to the on Board account or the credit card? and if the latter presume not until after the cruise. TIA

I think the perks offered by US agents are there because the Lines allow it. For many US is their main market and their international marketing strategy doesnt cover perks for brits. We tend to use a agent as it gives us someone to blame if it goes wrong rather than blaming ourselves. 😉 We also use an agent when long flights are involved as our experience has been that I can never find flights cheaper than the agent, usually significantly more expensive. When we got stuck in OZ when covid broke out it was good to have an agent to fight our corner. Having an agent does give other avenues of enquiry we hove found it very difficult to contact Holland America and the agent seemed to have on screen access. Against that some lines Ambassador for one dont really want ANY contact if you have booked through an agent, though their whole set up doesnt match the service we get elsewhere. Before covid we could usually get to deal with one person at travel agencies or even at the cruise line at least for the cruise but now I think both the large agents and lines all have as many staff working from home as possible and contact is totally random , responses scripted and sometimes dubious. So you pays your money and take a chance however you book.

Refer a friend - No chance! -

Yes, that's the problem . Thanks for the update 🙂

If you get the chance can you post back how it is in a few days. Hopefully they will enforce sanitising at the dining areas do they have wash basins there as well as sanitiser?

We are sailing on 8/8 hope they have it cleaned up by then and are enforcing hand washing at the buffet / dining areas

Looking at this from another perspective does anyone know why Ambassador is not a CLIA Member? Is it simply because they have to trade for a period before being allowed to join or is it that they dont meet the standards required. As a step further Should travel agents or Ambassador be advising us when making a booking?

Thanks, great comprehensive review 🙂

@Hlitner Thankyou. since I posted a roll call has been started and someone else has been researching this and drawn a blank. Rather than miss out we have booked the ship trip. I was aware of the house & contents. I read some time ago a review by someone ( not on CC) they had gone when it was quiet and they allowed them to take pictures which were in the review. I am uncertain if an additional ticket is needed as ship description says there will be time to visit the house "on your own". Will look into it, the garden ticket site does not mention that entry to the house needs another ticket .

This is getting a bit too in depth for me and I wouldnt like to give you duff advice so my suggestion is that you join this forum damn its blocked ! anyway google railukforums and it should come up. They have a full section on ticketing queries. They have experts on there that collectively know everything about uk rail.

Hi - Its a minefield, but looks like you have done the "due diligence" on this. We have done waterloo to Soton several times advance fares were good. I am therefore amazed at how much the standard fare and super off peak fare ( which appears to be the one on offer) are now. Advance is still cheap. I think you will have noticed there are 2 stations in Windsor & Eton Central & Riverside. Services run by different companies. Both have manned ticket offices at the moment. My first thought to keep it simple was to suggest Windsor to Waterloo Waterloo to Soton but if not using advance tickets that seems expensive.( to Me) Next up is your plan W&E > Slough>Reading> Soton. You can book tickets with any company This is a link to a suggested route on Cross country trains which is £71.20 for 2 pax. These show as off peak which are usually refundable and also mean you could set off at 10am 11 am or 12 am so if first train was delayed or missed you could pick up later service on second/third train at no extra cost. https://www.buytickets.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/book/results?origin=dfb79efbaae393df35945001df8b3d5e&destination=4ec8cbc9b7487a526f2ffa5be9ff110a&outwardDate=2023-08-19T13%3A00%3A00&outwardDateType=arriveBefore&journeySearchType=single&passengers[]=1993-07-01&passengers[]=1993-07-01&directSearch=false&selectedOutward=QWMXoT0UwG8%3D%3AFg%2FHzRr8oq0%3D&temporalDirection=previous&transitDefinitionDirection=outward&paginationPriceDisplayed=false&searchId=48532b4e-fe81-40ba-83d9-8ce5cffe690c As well as being able to buy all the tickets at the station you can buy them online and pick up from a ticket machine in the station. When you buy you will be given a number to collect the tickets which is different to the booking confirmation number. You also need the credit card you used to book with you. One thing to remember is not to board a train that doesnt have touch in /out WITHOUT tickets as they dont like selling tickets on the trains and the Penalty charge is £100!! Maybe others who live locally and use those routes regularly will have some other ideas.

We are booked on an Ambassador cruise that has an overnight in Rouen. Whilst there is plenty to fill the time in Rouen we have been thinking that while we are so close maybe we could fit in a trip to Monet's Garden. It looked doable, and we have a bit of French!! train then a bus 7km is a bit far to walk these days. Then when looking more closely at the Garden ticket booking realised that you probably cant just buy a ticket when you get there (August will be busy) as they seem only to have timed entrance tickets. Makes sense I suppose but for me it means the variables in getting there could make it difficult. Have has a quick look but havent spotted any organised trips so wondered if any one has been there done that?

We booked in Oct22 for the cruise following yours Deck8 inside. If you have had no contact with Ambassador or your TA you may get a surprise upgrade. We got an upgrade to a Deck9 outside and nearer the middle of the ship. Would not have known about is as no-one told us until we asked for OBC re price drop and they came back and said you cant have that as you have been upgraded. One simple email and they could have saved a lot of bother for me, and the TA and even themselves! Deep reading of all the blurb does say that if you chose Happy to upgrade when you book they MIGHT upgrade and you will find out 3 days before when you can get your "tickets" and labels. I have been trying to find out just when the upgrade happened but they dont seem to want to answer that. You can check in "My Ambassador sailing" as they have changed our cabin number in there.

It is to some extent whilst the "chain" establishments have the same or very similar menus the prices can vary significantly. Sometimes you can search deeper by specific property and a more useful menu can be found. The Giddy Bridge mentioned by @John Bull is such an example. Our hotels have been at that end of town though its a nice walk through the Parks from where you are. We have eaten there a few times I would say its cheap and cheerful though a bit noisy depending on time. Anyway I attach a copy of the menu from our last visit which should give you a starting point. We also used the slug and lettuce which was maybe a bit nicer and nearer the centre of the town ( two for one cocktail offer also helped!) and prices were similar to giddy bridge. S&L Has some prices you need to scroll down past the health menu link. https://www.slugandlettuce.co.uk/southampton/food-and-drink ALL prices it says are on their app which is what they all want you to get these days. Order from table on the app etc cuts down on staff MENU_701.pdf

LOL! I did look at what we were paying and adjusted our expectations accordingly. compared to our P&O 14 day cruise Tenerife to Malta in March including flights it was expensive but in view of the hype they give themselves offering Great food Great Entertainment Great Ports thought paying the extra for a Premium service acceptable. Presumably we now have to adjust our expectations to the price the cruise is now so are expected to accept Poor food Poor Entertainment and Poor Service. Fortunately the ports will be whatever we make of them.

That is usual for most cruises we have boarded in the uk however one of their "advices" say that it starts 4 hours before sail time which in our case Liverpool would make first embarkation at 4pm. I have also seen somewhere that the selection is not only by deck but also by whether you have booked Ambassador fare or not. Not sailed to or from Liverpool but have "walked" around it on googlemaps, its said to seat 400 and the same "building" handles both passengers boarding and leaving. Not sure if those getting off to visit Liverpool have to go through the "building" as well, but the total numbers are relatively small as against the big ships.

The options are endless? Southampton is a university town and major cruise centre so eateries are everywhere. It will depend on your budget and taste. There are many Pubs that provide meals and you are very close to the west quay shopping centre which does dining and snacks = https://www.west-quay.co.uk/dine/cafes-takeaways You can also open googlemaps and check restaurants for prices.

Ambassador pester you to leave a review on trust pilot - I recommend you read some of them. Interestingly they dont respond to bad reviews . For me it is so far so bad, we have no experience of cruising with Ambassador but the recent round of price cuts has meant we have paid well over the odds as a reward for booking early. Also mentioned in reviews on TP We have been away on a cruise and on our return thought we would get up to speed with Ambassador. Have to say I was shocked to find we paid around £400 each more for our standard plus inside cabin than they are now offering it at although the category is showing as wait listed??? So why still advertise it? That is more then I have ever seen in a price drop on our 30 previous cruise. I understand the price paid is contractual so as I have seen other lines sometimes cover the price drop with OBC or an upgrade I have asked our TA to see if anything is available. They say it is unlikely but will try- could take 7 days for an answer! Having since read TP I think I know the answer. Moving on from that I have been trying to find out when embarkation time is and find that the web site is pretty abysmal. 3 differing suggestions as to that! Not our exact time but just an indication of when embarkation might BEGIN would help. I have emailed them. Auto response suggests 14 days for a reply. Daft thing is it says I can request a callback within 2 days?? go figure! I might even try that. More great news Guest act ” Mr Showbiz ” Jimmy Nairn been in the entertainment business for 50 years ..... never heard of him, anyone else? So no good points so far including "for my convenience and comfort they are fixing the inside temperature on the ship at 21/22 deg " so doesnt sound ideal for sleeping. Anyway its not true according to several reviews of winter cruises. I think it must be ambassador speak for if its hot you cant cool it and if its cold you cant make it warmer. I am going to use this as the start of my review tho it will end up TLTR.

There are many schemes available for getting cheaper then standard price tickets. "Advance" tickets which are available in advance and are cheapest when they go on sale and the price increases nearer to travel date. These are normally non refundable should you decide not to travel or miss the train. There are also off peak tickets that may be nearer to what you have used before. What is classed as off peak can vary for different journeys. Might be cancellable/refundable. On some routes there are also split ticket fares where it is cheaper to buy a ticket from A to B and another from B to C ( Without breaking the journey) than it is to buy a single ticket from A to C. See here https://www.nationalrail.co.uk