Wedgeh

I would consider myself a stellar drinker, but not a stella drinker I'm afraid.

Another 30 something cruiser who'd recommend celebrity - though if princess has an itinerary that appeals more I would, and have, booked them instead. Celebrity's bars in particular have a vibe that I prefer.

On 10/16/2021 at 2:53 PM, alexgtp said:

Were all the specialty restaurants opened for lunch on embarkation day? Specifically Jamie's? Thanks.

We ate at Jamie's on embarkation day.

As others have said for a sailing that was half full it certainly felt fairly packed most evenings. Having a cocktail selection which didn't try and knock you over within three drinks was a welcome change after our nights on Celebrity Silhouette 😆

 

17 hours ago, gavvy said:

I am tempted to bid on a spacious ocean view- least then I will hopefully not get a restricted view room, what do you think?

 

That would be a room without a balcony right?

51 minutes ago, Minnie29 said:

Does anyone know what the first cruise capacity is? Assuming it’s 1000 passengers as per government guidelines? 

When I got told by MSC that I couldn't cruise on the 17th as I wouldn't be fully vaccinated, they were making that change so they could go from 1000 passengers to 50% capacity so I believe, before the 19th, that's the limit.

After the 19th I think most lines will go closer to full capacity, but leaving some space for quarantining if required so maybe 85%

I'm pretty sure the testing regime mirrors what RC did in Singapore and it feels a bit overkill for a fully vaccinated cruise. I sailed on MSC in June with one dose with just a (self administered) lateral flow test beforehand, then one before boarding.

Mostly insides, an occasional balcony if it's a good value for us.

2 hours ago, kernow said:

The thing is, are the other cruise lines any better?

 

 

They've all been upfront about the vaccination requirement (hence why we booked MSC) which is quite different from having the rug pulled out from under you pretty last minute.

13 hours ago, CaroleC said:

A lot of NHS staff who booked this sailing as it was the first departure with 30% discount now won’t be able to go. So this is the thanks they get for all their hard work since the start of the pandemic! 🤯🤬

13 hours ago, CaroleC said:

Yes but not their partners unless they’re NHS staff too

That's the situation we're in, my wife was in charge of the covid wards, but now because I'm not fully vaccinated that's that.

I booked as soon as the phones opened on the 1st April and now I'm being cancelled with 2.5 weeks to go. It's certainly not the first cruise I've lost to the pandemic (and probably won't be the last) however it's the only one where the behaviour of the company would have me seriously considering whether to ever book with them again.

6 minutes ago, kernow said:

YC comes with 2 device browse package per person. 

The internet speed is great all over the ship, much better than our last RCL cruise.

Are you on next week? The concierge was sorting out the paperwork for next weeks upgrades yesterday.

Yes we'll be joining the ship at the weekend, glad to hear they're getting prepped for us already 😁 Your posts have been very helpful with getting us excited, though not helping this work week to pass quickly enough!

1 minute ago, kernow said:

Here is 13235, it does look a bit dark.

 

That's the cabin we were due to be in if the upgrade hadn't been accepted - it would have suited us OK but can understand why it wouldn't be for everyone. Happy with it for our one in July if our bids for that one don't come through.

Am I right in thinking YC comes with the basic Wifi package?

On 6/6/2021 at 1:21 PM, zjc said:

Anyone who had CoverForYou insurance that's sailed so far, what did you show to prove the relevant cover?  I can't find anything in the policy document that stated COVID cover despite the banner on the website confirming they cover COVID. 

Does this help? https://www.coverforyou.com/content/important-information-coastal-cruise-apr-2021-v1.pdf

On 6/4/2021 at 4:35 PM, kernow said:

Then yesterday we had an email to say our bid for a YC inside had been successful so now (hopefully finally) we have a cabin on deck 16, can't wait to try YC.

 

We just got the same email today for our cruise following yours, looking forward to hearing all about it!

6 minutes ago, kernow said:

Just had confirmation of a successful bid on YC interior for Saturday's cruise.😄 Very excited to try YC (although slightly nervous about being in an interior cabin for 7 nights).

Fantastic! Mind giving an indication of how much you bid - I'm hoping for the same on a following cruise. We often cruise insides (though currently have a balcony on our sailing), so that part of it doesn't worry us too much.

As things stand UK residents aren't allowed into the USA so passengers on the transatlantic looks unlikely.

8 hours ago, Até said:

Them intentionally leaving out "Yacht Club" really makes that Duplex suite bid a real question.

Given the upgrade is being priced under a normal yacht club suite it would seem pretty odd if they're including the YC perks, but who knows really.

15 minutes ago, rattla said:

Yet all the Duplex are now YCD - Yacht Club Duplex.  But yes £130 to £820 was a big jump from Inside to Balcony YC for 4 days!

Enjoy your time!

Is this definitely the case? I was considering a bid for those, but definitely looked on the deck plan like there were duplexes below the YC area.

On 4/11/2021 at 5:53 PM, penlanspice said:

It states drinks and food from room service menu so does that mean there's no charge for the American breakfast for example and the regular room service menu? Is the fee still payable?

Anyone know?

I wanted to know this as well - I've been doing some searching and haven't been able to find a satisfactory answer to what exactly is included yet.

Cannot be consumed in signature venues (Venchi 1878 establishments, Lavazza Coffee Shop, Jean Philippe Chocolate, Coffee, Crepes & Gelato, MSC Starship Club).

So the robot bar is definitely excluded, not sure if that's all of the specialty coffee options.

According to the travel weekly interview the sailings up to the 26th will be at 1000 people and then up to 80% capacity after that.

Considering those sailings will be at a very reduced capacity, I'd find it hard to justify a big premium for YC. I wonder if balconies will be similarly expensive for those sailings.

I would love to, but no guarantees I'll be vaccinated in time. I hope everyone who's booked have a fantastic cruise!

It's very disappointing personally in that I don't think I'll be vaccinated by then, however I do understand the potential reputational damage means it probably had to be this way. Masking, no stops etc wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest, but that requirement has put a hard stop on it for those of us under ?40ish

On 3/6/2021 at 11:32 PM, Selbourne said:

As is evidenced by this forum, there are a lot of traditional cruisers who are so keen to get back on a cruise ship ASAP that the lack of a proper itinerary, risk of poor weather etc won’t be any deterrent whatsoever.

I didn't realise we had met 😂

Very much looking forward to the release of the itineraries, personally my preference would be for Princess, but DW is keen on Iona so we'll see. I'm hoping for 7 nights since B2B aren't a possibility - living in Southampton doing a number of the shorter cruises would also be fine, but if I have to get a PCR test at £150 per time that's a bit more of a hassle. If vaccines are mandated I'm out entirely, I'm quite rightly a long way down the priority list so I won't be fully done until much later in the year.

Staycations that include three meals a day and unlimited bar service are prohibitively expensive so as long as the pricing is sensible we'll try and get a couple of these 'scenic cruising' trips in over the summer. I'm usually of the opinion I'd rather cruise more often in an inside than pay the extra for a balcony, but C19 might stretch what I'm willing to shell out. I expect that will be a common view and the delta between stateroom categories will be larger, but time will tell on that one.