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steveso

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    United Kingdom
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    UK

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  1. Thanks. I did ask about this previously and there are some downsides to booking via a US agent, the main one being that you lose ATOL cover which in the UK protects the holiday payments.
  2. Hi We are in the UK and looking at booking the Miami to Southampton repositioning cruise on the Independence in May 2025. I know it's not always easy to say but when is likely to be the best time to book something like this. A RC discount ended yesterday and so a guaranteed outside has now gone up from £833 to £890 but I know there will be new offers. Is something like Black Friday worth waiting for or is it better to book further ahead? I also realise that pricing for a transatlantic cruise may be different to most. Any help appreciated!
  3. I am not looking for any recommendations of names. What I want to know generally is whether any UK people here have used US travel agencies to book cruises and if so were there any problems? Also I understand that if you use a decent US agency then if the price of the cruise drops they will pass this saving to you but you don't get that in the UK. Anyone able to comment? Thanks
  4. Hi We are going on the Apex in May. My wife and I are both Elite members, mainly from points acquired on RC. We want to take out a wifi package but it's hard to work out if it is best booked in advance or wait until on board to get the 30% discount and 90 minutes. Does anyone know how this works in practice? Can you get the loyalty discounts in advance? Thanks
  5. How much do the wifi packages cost if you are not on all inclusive?
  6. Hi all. I know that last year Celebrity greatly restricted their evening buffet offering and then gradually relaxed it back after complaints. We are looking at booking on Apex in May (Baltic cruise). Does anyone know how much is now on offer in the buffet? (For various reasons we much prefer using the buffet in the evening rather than the Dining Room). Can anyone give a comparison of how the Apex evening buffet may compare to say Anthem on Royal Caribbean? Many thanks
  7. We are presently on the Ventura. On the first day anyone entering the buffet was required to use a hand sanitizer. From day 2 onwards that stopped and a couple of the entrances don’t even have them. I asked the buffet manager and he said they have a 48 hour sanitizer policy then after that they don’t bother. Is that now the norm on most cruise lines, P&O or just the Ventura being lax?
  8. I was just about to book a guaranteed balcony via an agent on an October 2023 RC cruise. It was available at about 5pm GMT but there were none left by 7pm. Does this mean there won’t be any more for that cruise or do they release more at some point?
  9. What selection of food was there in the Buffet for dinner as opposed to lunch - that was the major issue that I was aware of and put me off booking a summer celebrity cruise? (The buffet being my main go to option on any cruise for lunch and dinner due to vegetarian, dietry and timing issues)
  10. P and O have now replied to my question about this Their reply is below and hopefully this may help others with general policies "Thank you for your email. I hope you are well today. I apologise for any confusion regarding the name on your travel insurance, we are aware that some bank accounts may provide you coverage but don’t have a document containing your name. As long as you have sufficient coverage and are able to claim from your travel insurance provider (although we hope you would not need to) that you would have no problem at check in. We would recommend where possible providing proof that you do have coverage, however, we do understand that some insurance issues by banks will not contain your name"
  11. I'm cruising with P and O in June and the initial e mail says that you may need to show evidence of travel insurance with a schedule in your name. I have annual travel insurance through an HSBC credit card and so all I would normally have is the annual policy booklet they send out which has no personalisation. Does anyone know if you must have a personalised insurance schedule to board? (If so I imagine I can request one but never needed this before).
  12. PS, Having looked more closely I realise that Ventura is a much bigger ship! The Ventura cruise is also about 20% cheaper. Other comments welcome please!
  13. My wife and I are looking at booking a 7 day Southampton to Southampton cruise at the end of June 2023 via Lisbon. There are 2 cruises with same itenerary within 2 days of each other. I understand that Aurora is an adults only ship but this cruise is in school time. The Aurora is a bit more expensive but I also know the Ventura is undergoing a refit this Spring. Does anyone know if there is any material difference between the 2 ships? (We are mid sixties). Thanks
  14. My wife and I never like to eat in MDR's for dinner mainly because our vegetarian choices are far more limited off a menu but also because we don't really want the waiter option which then really limits evening timings.(before anyone asks we always still pay the full gratuity). We were about to book a summer Silhoutte cruise when we saw about the changes and so we have gone for another cruise line instead and I have e mailed Celebrity to let them know. The point that people make here along the lines of you won't go hungry at the reduced buffet misses the point that if 10 other cruise lines offer a better food choice then we will go for the other lines where we have more choice not to go hungry. I totally understand many people love cruises because of the waiter service and MDR experience but there is a significant minority who much prefer the buffet option. It will be interesting to see which way this goes across the industry.
  15. For anyone interested, I just called the UK booking line for Celebrity as we were looking at a June Scandinavian Cruise on Silhouette. The lady who took the call was very helpful but confirmed that the restriction to the dinner buffet will apply to all ships post 13 January and that the main reason is to get more people to use the MDR. It will be as people have reported on here and also had confirmed by e mail from Celebrity (I wondered if they may change it for the European market but it seems not). For anyone (like my wife and I) who require vegetarian or similar diets plus in our case comboned with a fruit allergy this makes the MDR menus very restricted for dinner. Plus it ties your timing down for evening activities. Cruise buffets are one of the main attractions for us on those cruise lines that have the buffets and it means that we won't be using Celebrity unless and until they widen back the dinner choice. I doubt Celebrity will be changing this policy any time soon and I understand why they are doing it (cost, wastage and staff). Just a shame!
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