Tin can

Not exactly the same but we were on Splendour of the Seas last sailing before she was sold and experienced no difference at all. I can't imagine pre dry dock would be any different.

I know this is going off topic a bit but I was wondering if US passengers get hassled at Nassau more than English (in my case) as I just don't get the general safety concerns as I certainly have never felt unsafe. I have been all over the States - LA, New York, Chicago, San Francisco to name a few and yes there are a large variety of areas just like the UK. Every time we have been to Nassau though since our first US cruise in 2002 we have met US folks who live in these cities who will not under any circumstances get off at Nassau. Each to their own of course, I just find it strange, and to be honest whilst I know there are some recent specific warnings for Nassau I'm starting to question myself whether I am missing some obvious every day danger there as we always have a great time.

I know there are some current warnings about Nassau but I think historically it may have suffered a bit from 'chinese whispers' about what lies beyond the port gates. We were in the diamond lounge discussing our plans on our last cruise and mentioned we were going to spend the day at Junkanoo beach and it rapidly turned into a full longe discussion of 'crazy Brit and you can't take your wife and son out there!'. We had a great time, yes I did have to be firm, very firm a couple of times with people but we had a great day. Perhaps our experience being English is different than if we were from the USA and the local touts and people up to no good target you folks more. Either way I have never felt unsafe or hassled in Nassau

We have done the Cape Liberty to Port Canaveral, Coco Cay, Nassau a couple of times now. We get off at every port as it’s still relatively new for us being from the UK. What I found is not many others get off and in fact next to no one at all got off at Nassau as on both occasions safety seemed to be a concern with most passengers (we have had great days at Junkanoo beach). Not a problem, everyone is free to do what they want but it seemed to create a strange atmosphere on the ship with people staying on board for 7 days especially during the two sea days on the way back. For that reason personally I would go to Bermuda.

I did the same once and just let my deposit and the payment date lapse when we couldn't sail. I had a call from Miami after a couple of weeks (bearing in mind I am UK based) to check to see if I had forgotten to pay and if there was anything they could do to assist. I'm nothing special in C & A so was quite surprised by this, maybe its because we have different booking conditions here in the UK?

I think RCI have in the past based a ship in Europe over our winter but it was a long time ago and short lived. That market now is pretty much MSC’s.

Not really recently but we were on her last summer and had a great time. She was in great shape and crew, food and entertainment we couldn’t fault. Internet though was shocking and always logging you off if that’s important to you.

Interesting, we like crepes and always keep a look out but have never seen them even on French night. Maybe we have been eating elsewhere when they have been on 😐

We have made three bids all maximum and nothing. Maybe they were offering cabins that were not available, who knows..

I've also found that to be the case previously, stateroom only for football, but on our Explorer cruise last August the majority of passengers were Italian/Spanish and UK Premier League and European football was shown continuously at all the bars. I bumped into some disgruntled US guests who wanted some baseball highlights but the football won and remained on in the sports bar type place (I forget its actual name on Explorer)

Not been to Ensenada but it has to be more popular than Nassau. We are from the UK but our last few cruises that stopped at Nassau virtually no US folk got off the ship.

We stayed in Venice two nights and got the train from Venice to Ravenna changing at Bologna as the post above and spent a night in Ravenna which was great. The train was so easy and we booked Tranitala 'Executive' to Bologna (google it 🙂) which is like first class on a plane and we had lunch and drinks served at our seat for I think about 55 Euros each. The following morning in Ravenna Royal laid on coaches to the port and we just gave our name and it was charged to our room, I recall this being about $10. On our cruise FB group there was a lot of panicking about a Venice pre cruise stay and then how to get to the port. We were a bit worried but we booked a hotel opposite the train station on the Grand Canal in Venice which was an easy walk from the bus dropping you off from the airport and then after our stay in Venice it was easy to get the train. Overall the train was so easy and I think better than a 3 hour RCI bus transfer from Venice. The cruise was great as well 😀

Any new ship from Royal in my opinion has insanely high prices. The market for these high prices is obviously there as people are booking them but it isn't as big as the average Joe market (for want of better expression). Are very wealthy cruisers going to return to the same ships and itineraries time and again when they can always afford the next new thing? I have never sailed with them but I just find it interesting that MSC adopts a completely different business model and is completely and very aggressively in 'average Joe' territory with regards to pricing.

Thats interesting, is the smoke free casino a new development. We last sailed from Southampton in 2022 and I'm sure the casino had smokers in it.

We have taken the train from London Waterloo to Southampton before, no changes and took about one hour and twenty minutes from memory. Just my opinion but it is a more comfortable option than 2 hrs on a National Express coach where actually getting out of London and on to the M3 can be very busy but the train will likely be more expensive.

Thats an interesting move Not just in the UK, we were in New York last Easter before a cruise on Anthem and MSC advertising was everywhere. Every time we turned the TV on in the hotel there was an advert, they had the biggest billboard in Time Square and they sponsored the Knicks basketball game we attended. We were all given MSC hats and our son was given MSC chocolate. They even had adverts on the side of the road to Cape Liberty....

We have done things slightly differently a couple of times. When we have had a long wait for an international flight we have got an Uber to Manhattan and a left luggage office near Times Square I think it was. Left our bags and spent the day sightseeing in Manhattan and even the taxi there and a taxi back to Newark was a lot cheaper than Royals ‘airport drop off’.

I would expect the majority of the passengers to be European, probably a real mixture from all over Europe and the the UK. The majority of passengers will probably dine later than a Caribbean cruise and I would expect dress to be more formal. European cruises are more port intensive so it will be a different pace and vibe to a Caribbean cruise. June is a good time for you to go as it won't be so hot or crowded as July/August.

Thanks for that, appreciated.

We are definitely going to walk in to town when we are there and are expecting company when we leave the port area. Would you mind letting me know please what you tipped him.

I’d be amazed if people aren’t starting to leave the ship an hour after it docks in Piraeus. I don’t think I have ended a cruise anywhere in Europe where it has taken the 2+ hours mentioned above so maybe that was US port specific. The port is large though so it could take you half an hour to get to the berth for your ferry.

Interesting, I’m from the UK and found New York departing cruises lively with a crowd out for a good time but never experienced any overly rude behaviour. I’m not saying folks don’t wear shorts on any North East departing cruise but the standard of dress (for want of a better word) is significantly higher from New York than typical Florida departing cruises. Not that it matters and I’m not concerned either way but that’s always been our experience.

Not completely true in Europe and certainly not in the UK. Any Royal ship sailing from the New York area we have always found quite formal as well.

That is very unfortunate, we tend to cruise popular times and have got a reservation every night as long as we are totally flexible and can work around suite/pinnacle bookings. One night we can be the first in and the next the last table 😀 which makes it interesting.

We were on Explorer over the summer (same itinerary as you by the looks of your signature) so you got me wondering if we actually missed free breakfast 😀