peteukmcr

Suggesting you can’t go to the mdr in casual clothes if the cruise loses your luggage is ridiculous. You have no idea how hard or easy it is for a given person to find clothes on the ship. My opinion still stands, your prior post is ridiculous. They would be welcome at my table (and I’m sure almost everyone but you) on formal night in their shorts or whatever after what they went through.

 

I too wouldn’t want to sail with someone with such an attitude.

Well thanks for your confirmation of not being welcome at ‘your” table, no problem to us as we dine at a table for 2 and on our upcoming sailing won’t be dining in the mdr to upset you either.

P&O drink prices a far lower than all other major cruise lines. Was recently on RCL and it was £7 for a bottle of Budweiser and cheapest glass of wine was around £7.50.

 

The main reason for these high prices is the drinks packages. Very few people actually get the full value out of a drinks package so they are a nice earner for the cruise lines.Inflating individual drinks prices makes the packages look more attractive.

I have to disagree with your statement that very few people get the full value out of a drinks package. We have purchased a package for our upcoming sailing with RCI during a promotion. This results in a cost per day of £39.82 per person. So for 2 people for a 7 night sailing that equates to £557.44. Convert that to USD and thats equivalent to approximately $780 at todays exchange rate. Now that's less than we spent on our very RCI cruise 14 years ago when packages didn't exist.

 

As a result of this pre purchase we will have a very small onboard account at the end of the cruise but will have enjoyed unlimited beverages (a package doesn't just cover alcohol which people seem to forget).

 

So the fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast $4

A speciality coffee during the day (Latte $4.25)

A beer at lunch ($7.25)

A soda (soda package included in this package and a soda is $3.50)

A couple of pre dinner G&T's ($8.95 each)

A cocktail and at least 2 glasses of wine during dinner and the rest of the evening (wine average $12 per glass, premium cocktail $13)

 

So that totals $87.20 (including 18% gratuity) if I were to pay as I go. However, I can have the above for approximately the equivalent of $55.71 per day which includes the 18% gratuity.

 

I believe I get value out of a package without really trying especially as 1/3rd of those above are non alcoholic but still cost.

Thanks Hattie. It's my first time back on board since the refit. So it will be interesting to see what they have done to my ship.

Your ship? :)

No need to explain yourself to anyone and particularly when they lost your luggage. That other post was ridiculous. Like you need to find attire on the fly or eat in the WJ. Lmao. I’m sure none of this angst applies towards lost luggage folks. This is a rare and understandable situation.

If you are referring to my post, why was it ridiculous? I was describing what we experienced and what we did to mitigate what we considered a bad situation on how to dress appropriately for dinner. I was not asking the poster to explain their actions, only how we reacted. Goodness me, typical reactions on here, if you don’t sympathise with someone you are attacked by the RCI faithful.

 

And for note, it wasn’t RCI who we were sailing with, but their sister company Celebrity who we now find to be far superior in customer service.

 

Goodness knows why we’re sailing with RCI again in 17 days time if the attitude of the majority on board are like the ones on here, but then again from experience I know they’re not.

We saw the MSC "something" (can't remember the name of it), and it was THE most butt-ugly ship I have ever seen in 44 years of cruising. From the side it did look like an apartment housing project building, but the back end was horrible. It had this huge shiny "thing" running all the way down the back of the ship in the middle, vertically. It made the back of the ship look like a giant floating refrigerator!!

 

 

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On the Rhapsody now, and we tried the Diamond Lounge the first night. It was a congested mess, with the line-up to get drinks, the servers not knowing who was next in line, food picked over, tables not cleared off. The servers were just overewhelmed.

 

We have gone to the Concierge Lounge every night. If the seating gets to mostly full, the Concierge opens up the end door out to the Viking Crown, puts up a rope out there, and doubles the seating. He's really on top of it.

 

Views from both Diamond and Concierge Lounges are beautiful, it's just on this sailing there are many more D's than D+'s and P's.

I have to disagree with your description of MSC Seaside, but then again that often happens from those who are loyal to a particular cruise line. Then again, look at NCL Epic, however, as I'm not hanging off the side of the ship I'm sailing on, its the inside that I'm bothered about, the appearance and comfort provided for us, the guests.

 

Having experienced MSC, I can say inside they are stunning, more so in most cases than the dated looks of some of the older RCI ships. P&O have dull and in most cases dated interiors and Carnival, wow, very tacky on initial impression. NCL modern and bright. Celebrity, fantastic, just wow.

 

Being able to find a comfortable space is paramount and this is sometimes a challenge on RCI due to the changes being made on older ships to accommodate more guests in more cabins with the resulting loss of public space.

My luggage was lost until late in the evening on day 5 of a 7 day cruise. I went to the dining room in shorts and a T-shirt for the first 5 nights, including both formal nights.

 

It was the only clothes I had.

 

The cruise line made it clear I was welcome in any venue no matter the suggested dress.

 

I guess I destroyed some peoples vacations with my dress each night.

We didn't get one of our bags for 3 days out of a 8 day sailing and the other didn't turn up until day 5, but we didn't go the dining room in just shorts and a T shirt because we purchased items suitable (in our minds) for eating in a dining room and claimed from the airline who misplaced our bags. The cruise line also rented us tuxes for no charge for formal evenings.

 

However, as we cross pack, then as one bag turned up after 3 days, we each had something appropriate of our own to wear to dinner.

Apologies in advance for the long list of questions.

 

It's been a few years since we cruised. We had previously been on Explorer, Navigator and Mariner and now have a cruise booked on Allure later this year. It seems like lots of stuff has changed since, and will need some help in planning.

1. We liked the food in MDR previously (last cruise in 2011), is the food quality still the same? Very subjective topic, but to us, the quality, portion size and selection has changed, but you won't starve. However, we do not like the service in the MDR on Oasis class ships as there seems to be a necessity to turn tables as fast as possible.
   
2. Based on what I read, most ppl prepaid and prebook the specialty dinning, is that a must? No, but if you have a specific date/time in mind, then it would be beneficial to pre book.
   
3. Is there still Lobster Tails on one of the "formal night" <- from what i read, it is no longer very formal. Can't comment on whether Lobster tails are served in formal night, but there is definitely a reduction in formality on these nights.
   
4. If we want the early fixed dinning time, is there somewhere on the cruise planner where i can confirm/update Depends on what you selected at the time of booking
   
5. Do you need to pre-book excursions or can you book when on ship? Is it cheaper to prebook or book on ship? It can be cheaper to prebook as there are often 'sales' offered and due to the number of guests on board Oasis class ships, there maybe limited availability for popular shore excursions when onboard.
   
6. Do you need to book a shows or can you just show up at the time of show? To ensure a seat, then it is encouraged to make advance reservations. If you turn up there are lines and if seating is available people are allowed in near the start of the show, but entrance cannot be guaranteed.
   
7. Voom Package - when it said the number of devices (ie 1 device), does it mean you can only use the same device for the duration of the cruise. Or does it means you can only have 1 connected device at a given time (but can be diff devices) Only 1 connected at one time. I regularly log off one device and log onto another
   

Any other tips that will help with the planning for the Allure will be greatly appreciated.

Hope the above helps

I don't care what people wear, but even the naming of these pants as 'sweat' pants conjures up the most hideous image to me.

 

To me it implies pants used for exercise that as a result absorb sweat produced as a impact of that activity.

 

That alone suggests to me that these can be somewhat aromatic and therefore, unless worn for a medical necessity and not having been used for strenuous exercise, have absolutely no place in a dining establishment, on board or ashore where there are other individuals having to share the same space.

 

In the privacy of someones own home, fine, but in a public space, no.

Well we're bringing tuxes and jackets and we fly from the UK!

 

The Dress code (suggested or otherwise) in the MDR won't bother us as we won't be dining in there as we have a Dining package for the whole sailing. BTW wouldn't wear shorts anyway to any ship board dining venue for dinner (not sure what 'dress' shorts are anyway, must be a description I'm not familiar with, although I do have authentic Bermuda shorts).

I'm sure you will be fine, there was quite a mixture of outfits last night. It's a shame because a true formal night is a great experience whereas this was neither one thing nor another.

There were some stunning evening dresses and some gentlemen who were definitely stretching the definition of a jacket !

Thanks. I would like the formal attire, but can’t carry that along with jackets. Interested in your comment abut stretching the definition of a jacket.

Thanks for the review. We're on QM2 from Southampton to Hamburg in May so am interested in such a short trip.

 

I'm also interested in seeing that although the VP showed the evening dress code as Informal, that Formal was optional. Ours says Informal too and although we have no issue wearing formal attire, we are planning to just take jackets for the evenings.

Same for me. Can’t access reservation other than seeing what cabin we’re in. No payment screen, no cruise planner, no link to cruise docs.

Tnaks for all the feedback. Much appreciated

Sugarcane Mojito Bar is in place of the martini bar

Many thanks for your prompt reply, much appreciated.

We've sailed on Breakaway and are sailing on Epic later this year.

 

Just booked Escape for 2019 and I know there isn't a bar called 'Shakers' like the Cocktail and Martini bars on Breakaway (Cocktail) and Epic (Martini) but wondered if there is anything similar in style and ambiance on Escape? TIA

Sums it up to a 'T'!!!

I agree

Good luck hope you mange to enjoy them.

 

 

 

I know we will [emoji1]

 

 

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That probably means no one ever gets on board P and O, because our experience with Celebrity was seeing long lines of people and people who had no ides what to do or where to go. Mercifully after an appalling checkin for their Jet Set Sail, which was so disorganised and so little consideration for their customers, we did have a line to ourselves. BUT we were left to find it, no directions from anyone.

 

You knew full well what the expectations were on P&O about dress, so why did you book with them if you felt so strongly? You sound a bit like a person refused entry into the water at a swimming pool being fully clothed.

I look forward to finding out about P & O first hand at our first cruise with them.

 

 

 

Well our experience regarding check in with Celebrity is 15 mins max. Similar with RCI and none of this dictated times.

 

As for dress, I knew the formal code, which as I said does not bother me, but we did not know we were expected to wear it all night, or we were not allowed in certain venues. That’s why we’ll stay with Celebrity, RCI, MSC and NCL.

 

 

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P&O far too formal for us (even though we do dress accordingly, even on Celebrity with their relaxed ‘Evening Chic’ nights). Object to being prevented from utilising venues unless dressed formally. Hate the buffet layouts on P&O, found the MDR service severly lacking. Embarkation is a joke compared to Celebrity.

Already booked Cats for our April Oasis cruise and when I just logged in it is also showing now with a $79 pp charge if you want to attend. No free option available.

Which sailing in April? 15th April sailing has 2 performances of Cats. Day 6 at 8pm and day 7 at 2:30pm.

 

When I booked there were complimentary reservations available for both performances. Now, there’s only a $79 option for day 6 (all complimentary seating may have been reserved) and there is a $79 option for the matinee on day 7, plus still a complimentary option.

sad to hear about this and just reinforces why I will never go on an Atlantis Cruise. I recently watched on Netflix the movie DREAM BOAT. If you want to know what its like on an all gay cruise. Watch that movie...

I agree, extremely sad news and condolences go out the family and friends of those who have passed.

 

But although we have partied hard in the past, an all gay cruise is something we'd never do for various reasons, and like you, having watched Dream Boat, I am even more sure we are unlikely to. Just not our idea of a cruise!

 

However, we have friends who look forward to these themed cruises, so each to their own.

 

The unfortunate outcome of this very sad news is, as others have said, more negative publicity, not just for the LGBT community, but Atlantis Events and of course RCI & Celebrity who charter their ships out for these themed cruises on many occasions.

I am pretty sure not that not one purchase was ever made there...

May not have been any purchases on Oasis, but on Allure we purchased ‘Royalty Cat’ and the passport wallet

 

 

 

And then ‘Sam’ on Splendour

 

 

[emoji1]

 

 

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'Insider's view: Cats' available for both performances on our upcoming Oasis sailing too. I assume it's $79 but it's priced in £'s.

It's not just RCI, I've had 3 today from MSC because I was pricing up a Mediterranean cruise against a RCI Anthem sailing for 2019 yesterday.

 

Then emails from Cunard when I was pricing up a transatlantic crossing to New York.

 

Celebrity do it too, and then when investigating flights I get them from Virgin Atlantic.

 

All saying things like 'don't miss out' 'book now before prices increase'

 

Annoying, but I just press 'delete'

Having wondered round Southampton once last year of an evening the most up market place to eat I saw was McDonald's

Well I have to suggest you didn't look too hard around your environment nor did any research prior to your visit :)