tingyyy

That has been my experience too.

A running total is kept of each time your seapass is swiped on board and the final balance is billed to your credit card as one single charge (therefore from one merchant) after the cruise.

Amazing photos! Thank you for sharing. I need to escalate my Hawaii vacation plans from "sometime in the future" to "as soon as possible"!! :eek:

OK, fun cruising friends- I need of bit of help! Where can you get a latte on the Diamond? I know there is no International Cafe, but I could not find any other close substitute... Annnnnnndddddd..... Go!

 

 

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When i was last on the Diamond Princess in September i could order my morning lattes from the roaming servers in the Horizon Court. I'd hand my coffee card over to them and they would bring my latte and my coffee card back with a punch in it.

Hi Tracie-Lynn,

I've been following your thread since Day 1. It looks like you managed to do lots in my wonderful (if i may say so :p) country and i'm here to wish you a great cruise!!! It's almost half past one here now and i sure hope you're already board and enjoying your first drink :D

Just a quick comment on your post about the mrt. I believe the "happy happy ... platform" announcement was not in English but either in Malay or Tamil, so "happy happy" probably meant something else! I'm ashamed to admit i do not know what it means though. We have 4 official languages here - English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil, so the mrt announcements are made first in English then repeated in the other 3 languages.

Looking forward to following your adventures around the rest of South East Asia!

i did an 8 day japan cruise on the diamond princess last september.

separately i've also done 'land' trips in japan each lasting 2 weeks or so, during which i rented a car and used it as my primary mode of transport.

as far as i know, you must produce an international driving licence when renting a car in japan. the car rental companies will not recognize or accept your national driving licence. the japanese also drive on the left side of the road, so it will be an entirely different driving experience if you are from the US.

Even though i had driven around japan previously, it didn't even occur to me to rent a car for the port stops during the cruise. There are no car rental offices that i know of at the ports or passenger terminals. You would have to make your way into the city to find one, by which time you would already be in the city! where, presumably, most of the sights and attractions are.

on top of that, japan's public transport system is also very extensive and is one of the most, if not the most clean, efficient and modern around. it could probably take you to anywhere you could want to visit, especially when you only have that few hours available in each port. i would go so far as to say that a car is completely unnecessary in the cities. when i rented a car on my land trips, this was because i was driving vast distances around the islands of hokkaido and kyushu, visiting scenic areas in national parks which did not have frequent buses and trains, all the while lugging 2 weeks' worth of baggage with me.

considering all that, i wouldn't recommend renting a car at the ports unless there is somewhere specific you want to visit, your research tells you that this place cannot be accessed by public transport, and you have a long day in port. Otherwise, it is not worth the hassle IMO.

i would be happy to direct you to resources in English for getting around japan and obtaining train / bus timetables if necessary!

Thanks for the info.

I'll be going on a south pacific cruise on the explorer too, early next year. Mine is a 10-nighter, but i suspect the itinerary will be similar to yours.

Did you visit Mystery Island and Isle of Pines? If so, I would love to know what you did there and whether the ports were tender ports.

Also - i saw some mention of Graham Seymour somewhere in the thread. Was he your CD and do you know if he will be staying on till next year? I had him as CD, also on the explorer, in Oct '15 and he was a hoot.

We are also booked on the Diamond for cruising around Japan in the fall of 2017. We normally book with anytime dining and prefer the flexibility of that option, however, my understanding of the reason for fixed seating only on the Diamond while cruising Japan is to make sure they can assign waiters who speak English (and have enough on board) to facilitate dining in the appropriate venue. That pretty much makes sense to me.

 

We would not hesitate to take advantage of the buffet on some evenings. We are hoping for convivial tablemates, but will make the best of whatever situation arises as to dining.

We found the buffet to be very good! There were themes in the buffet on some nights - i remember a brazilian buffet, a mongolian buffet and an indian buffet. On the nights when the ship was in port till late (Busan, Nagoya) and the dining rooms became open seating, we didn't bother with them and headed straight for the buffet.

Do they offer a table of two - even on traditional dining? We enjoy having a table for two by the window - would this be a possibility? We are thinking of signing up for the cruise around Hokaido - however we are not thrilled sharing a large table with other strange people

 

--HAF

Yes, the dining rooms do have some tables for two, though the majority of the tables are for larger groups.

I put in a request for a table for two shortly after making final payment for my Japan cruise in September and was very pleased to find out that I was given one!

My table was on the inside of the dining room though, so I have no idea if there are tables for two next to the windows. It was also so close to another table for 2 that all of us could hear every word of each other's conversations!

Thanks very much for the information and the links SarniaLo! It's exactly what i was looking for. I will see if i can manage to work something out for mid/late October and failing that, perhaps late September.

Very interesting writeup and great photos on your blog. I also wasn't aware before this that each of the Hurtigruten ships has its own facebook page.

Hello all,

I'm planning to do Hurtigruten's classic round trip in 2018 and i would love to be able to see fall foliage on my first Norwegian coastal cruise.

Timing wise it would be a little tricky since my boss' birthday falls in early October and my (work) partner's birthday falls in early November. Both of them travel over their respective birthday periods and it is an unspoken rule that I should not be away from the office when they are.

If i time my trip in early-mid September, would it be too early to see fall foliage? And would mid-late November be too late?

Any insight would be much appreciated! :)

Hi all,

OP back.

Gosh, in my first post i did say i was intending to call RCCL to sort the problem out but first wanted to find out from someone here if the increase in cost was justified - for example if i had missed an interim payment which i didn't know about. This was so that i wouldn't be coming across as unreasonable by calling to get RCCL to restore the original fare.

Update - just off the phone with RCCL.

Call centre staff confirmed that there was indeed a discrepancy between my initial booking price and the price now.

However, he says he can tell on his end that there was a modification to my booking on 21 Sept online which caused the price increase. I asked what modification i supposedly made - he said that this he can't tell :confused: but perhaps i made a switch to a new promo.

I wonder how this can be the case though.

Firstly, i don't know of any modification that can be done online that would have increased the price significantly, and caused gratuities to switch from being originally included in the cruise fare to now being payable on top of the cruise fare. There has been no change to the stateroom i am booked in.

Secondly, on 21 Sept i was travelling back home from Japan (after a wonderful cruise i might add! :D) and most certainly did not log into my cruise planner.

What i think happened is what Biker19 described above, the mere fact of my logging into my account in the morning of 22 Sept here (21 Sept U.S. time), by itself, somehow triggered the increase in price.

Anyway, the call centre staff says he has escalated this matter to his superior and RCCL will see if they can restore the original fare by this afternoon or tomorrow.

I suppose this is as good as i can get for now. Fingers crossed, and thanks very much to those who provided much needed assurance that everything will be sorted out eventually. Much appreciated!!!!! :)

tingyyy

thanks all for the replies. it's somewhat comforting to know others have experienced it too but, really, this shouldn't be happening at all to anyone!

it's after office hours here now, will ring RCCL Singapore tomorrow.

Hello all,

So on my last cruise with RCCL in Oct '15 i made an onboard booking for a 10-day South Pacific cruise coming up in Feb '17. The confirmation invoice issued to me on board showed the cost per person (after the application of various discounts which i won't detail here) as SGD$ 1730.32, which adds up to SGD$3460.64 for two people. After deducting the deposit of SGD$204.00 paid on board, this left a balance of SGD $3256.64 outstanding.

I was also told by the future cruise staff who processed my booking that the above fare includes gratuities. True enough, my confirmation invoice shows an 'on board service charge' as one of the components of the above fare. This, along with the usual taxes, fees and port expenses

On more than one occasion after the previous cruise, i have logged onto my cruise planner account to confirm the balance due and this had always been shown as S$3,256.04.

Fast forward to today. I log in again and find out that my 'package total' has now mysteriously risen to S$4,646.64, with an outstanding balance of S$4,442.64. The breakdown shows an increased cruise fare per person, with gratuities and port expenses being added on top of the fare. I also notice that there was a payment reminder dated 21 Sep' 16 stating that payment of S$1,400 was due, and another payment reminder dated 21 Nov' 16 (??) stating that another payment of S$1,400 is due. Then, i see at the bottom of the page that full payment is due on 26 Nov '16.

Now i am unbelievably angry at the increase in cost and will be calling RCCL for an explanation. This will only be my 3rd cruise with RCCL so there may be something(s?) i am not aware of so before i come across to RCCL as an idiot, i would like to check with you good people here :

1. Does RCCL have any payment rule that requires 'staggered' payment of outstanding balances? My understanding has always been that once my deposit has been paid, i can make payment of the outstanding balance any time i want to as long as it is before the full payment due date.

2. Can someone explain the amounts of 2 x S$1400 due on seemingly random dates prior to full payment date? Are they merely suggestions or does RCCL get to raise my cruise fare if payment is not made by these dates? This is the only explanation i can think of for the inexplicable increase in fare. I have looked through the terms & conditions given to me and can find nothing addressing this.

Sorry for the long story and thanks very much in advance!

1) Believe it or not, I DID use the Izumi bath - twice. I was the only gaijin I ever saw anywhere near the facilities the entire cruise. Cost was $15/visit, or 5 for $60. Facilities were well-kept and lightly used.

 

The first time, I was the only one there until I was leaving. Since you're walking around buck-naked, there is no staff inside the facilities themselves. I had to figure it out on my own. That led to some comedic situations, like when I cleaned myself head-to-toe with what I later concluded was a foot bath station.

 

The second time, there were 3-4 Japanese natives - older gentlemen - using the facilities. One of them even asked me on the way out how I enjoyed the bath. "Very relaxing, yes?" Given that they have 4 hot tubs, a sauna, and a cascading shower, none of us were ever in the same spot at the same time. The second time, I also made use of the outdoor hot tub. (Yes, I put on a swimsuit first. :) ) There were two older Japanese ladies out there, and my presence was definitely a "farting in church" situation. Since the main part of the bath is single-sex, I think they were unaware that the outside part was supposed to be co-ed. Either that, or they thought I was crashing the hot tub without paying for the Izumi bath. Anyway, I came in and they left in a dither 30 seconds later. Sorry ladies. :)

Konnichiwa Big_G_111,

Your post was hilarious and I had a good laugh to myself at my work desk! I'm looking forward to trying the bath myself and will try to make sure i don't cause any awkward or hasty departures from the outdoor tub.

Is it mandatory for you to go into the baths naked in the indoor area (like it is in Japan itself) or is it swimsuit-optional?

I'll be boarding Diamond Princess on 9th Sept for an 8-night Japan itinerary and your thread is making me more excited than I already am! Thanks for creating it.

Did you use the Izumi Japanese Bath and if so, how did you find the facilities, experience etc? If not, did you happen to notice how much Princess charges for it? I recall reading somewhere that it's pay-per-day or pay-per-entry.

Also, was there much to see during the scenic cruising in the Japan Inland Sea and Kanmon Strait?

Last one! Were there lectures on any of the ports or Japanese culture etc besides the Japanese lessons which someone mentioned above?

Thanks in advance!

i see some comments about going early. generally how early must you arrive to get a chair with a decent view of the screen? will hopefully be doing my first MUTS on Diamond in September!

tingyyy

Never been on the Independence. If her jogging track is indeed on the exposed deck 12, it would parallel my experience on the Explorer, which involved constantly having to dodge people walking on the jogging track and groups of people spilling over from the walking track into the jogging track because they were walking 2-3 abreast. Overtaking space was limited too since the loungers were laid out on both sides of the track. It was not fun and i did my runs on the treadmill in the gym for the rest of the voyage. If you are worried about the sun i suggest running in the evening, just before dinner. It would be cooler and you might get to see a lovely sunset!

Hope you have a wonderful cruise! :) Eagerly awaiting more from you, I go on her in September.

I just got off with the RCL Operator in Singapore. He confirms with me that the North Star is chargeable on all Quantum Class ships while the RIP cord by IFLy along with the bumper cars are free. I asked him if the IFLy was not as popular as the North Star since its not chargeable , but he couldn't give me an answer. I asked him for the price as well, and he doesn't know.

 

I'm not sure whether this is even true... Anyone cruising on the Anthem has to pay for the North Star?

The last time i spoke with a singapore RCI operator, he sort of implied that all of his information came from the website :eek: i'll call on Monday and report back on the answer i get. i'm sure i'll get a somewhat different answer. :p

This is a good point, because it seems they really push you to use the OBC immediately. Some have een gone so far as to say that you cannot get the OBC on the future cruise.

That's what I was told, and I didn't know any better!

And thanks very much for answering my question above. :)

Technically not an extra, but when i booked onboard the fare quoted was about 500 SGD (or about 350 USD) lower PER PAX than if i had booked via RCCL's website. Plus the fare included prepaid gratuities which again, wouldnt have been included had i booked online. And on top of that, the obc mentioned by clarea. Pretty good deal!

Hopefully the more seasoned RCCL cruisers can also enlighten us on whether as a general rule the fares quoted to you are lower when you book on board. :)

tingyyy

Thank you for the quick reply! Is it free for general use?

Yes, they are! You do however have to sign some form of waiver or indemnity before going on it. Enjoy your upcoming cruise! I'm envious. :)

No, they are open an hour or two each day at specific times for general (i.e. non private lesson) use. Look in the daily cruise compass. The cruise compass will also specify whether the sessions are beginner or advanced, and whether they are boogie board or stand up surfing sessions.

i must say that I didn't see any made-to-order meat or pasta stations in the WJ on the Explorer during my cruise earlier in October. seems like they do not have these on every ship. we had dinner there 3 times during the cruise - on the 2 formal nights and one other night when we ventured in there looking for a snack before our late-seating MDR dinner but ended up having a full meal because everything looked (and was) so good!

As an Asian (I am Singaporean though, not Chinese), my speculation is that Royal is testing this out on Quantum first simply because the Asian market would be less opposed to idea of additional charges for 'premium experiences' than the American market. Cruising is still a relatively new type of holiday here and the idea of a cruise being an 'all inclusive' vacation hasn't really had the opportunity to take root in people's minds. The concept of all inclusive vacations (which I first learnt of in this forum) isn't really common here either. We book holidays in nearby beach resorts like Bali and Phuket and fully expect to pay for meals (except maybe breakfast), water activities etc when we get there. Anything that comes complimentary is a bonus.

Frankly like one of the posters above, I was surprised to find out that Northstar and iFly were free. There is a iFly in Singapore and I remember paying about 80sgd (which is close to 60 usd) for it, so what Royal is planning to charge seems low in comparison.

So yes, Royal probably figured that charging for NorthStar and iFly would face less resistance here in Asia than in the US. Then, after the charges on Quantum become well known and the hoo haa has died down, they might start charging on the Anthem on the basis that 'hey, we have refrained from charging on the Anthem until now and it's about time we standardized the experience on the Q-class ships!'

I'm pretty interested to see what they do on the Ovation since I'm booked on a 3 nighter out of Singapore in June 2016. I have a feeling that if they do charge I will still pay because we have US$300 in OBC between the both of us to use up in those 3 nights!