Roofire

Thank you for this review, it's given us a great insight into Celebrity :)

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us all. Safe journey home :)

No problem.

Off-shore call centres are real pain, and seems to be the norm for a lot of companies theses days.

Hope it works out ok for you....

Thank you so much easier to read :)

Wow, that's amazing.

Glad it's not just us that does this kind of thing :)

We've flown Virgin. If you're doing long haul we'd recommend upgrading to Premium Economy, key perks are the dedicated check-in and the security fast track through departures. You can also select your seats FOC, as soon as the option becomes available on-line, all the features/perks are listed on their website.

Pompeii was a great excursion, and very enlightening in terms of the mischief that the Romans got upto........:rolleyes:

A RCI regular is posting a review of the Silhouette, maybe too late for you but he seems to favour Celebrity....

Check out the Royal Caribbean topics....

Thanks for the review. We're on the Indy in June, glad we have nothing to worry about :)

In the past we've booked with Virginholidays and directly on the RCI website. For an UK sailing, we've found it better to book direct, as although Virgin matches the RCI website, there is always an incentive to book direct such as OBC and/or free wi-if. That said we have always had problems with deals etc. missing from the invoice, so have to always contact customer services with screenshots to get things sorted.

On the other hand, for USA or European cruises we use Virgin, 90% of the time there has been some issue with a deal not being applied correctly, they've always sorted it out, also they get better prices on the flights. You are also ATOL protected, if something goes wrong.........we book flights, transfers and the cruise to ensure we get complete cover.

That's just our experience, not sure if we've just been unlucky...

Following, keen to understand the differences.

I wonder whether it will start its first season in Europe, like HOTS......

Had a good time. Ended up going to the sauna/steam room around 4pm a few days and found the same gay couple . We had some fun in the rooms which led to finishing in the shower. They were a nice couple from Colorado wish I got contact info for them. I didn't know they were a couple until the second to last day. Very good looking men and enjoyed their climax'

We've heard that between 4-5 is the best time to make new acquaintances, any earlier its dead, any later it's too busy.......thanks for clarifying ;)

Thanks guys, so 2 views here:

1. If you are discrete and respectful you should be ok, but there is some risk.

2, From a principles perspective, not a good idea.

Any other people's thoughts to balance things out?

We were just wondering whether anyone had stayed and then cruised from Dubai. The messages seem a bit mixed in terms of experiences, particularly whether it is safe for a gay couple. Talk of twin rather than double beds etc. Does anyone have any experiences or advice?

Wow, congrats! Enjoy the upgrade :)

Following. Have a great time. We're thinking of trying the OASIS or HARMONY, next year, so are keen to see how you find it.......

Wait. Where are you supposed to tip for loungers?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The lounger tipping relates to Labadee, one of RCI's private destinations/beaches. When you disembark, all you need is your sea-pass, however when you get to the beach the loungers are all stacked up. The local Haitians will set them out for you but will expect a tip. As the food/drink is provided by RCI and/or chargeable to your SEAPASS card, we left our cash in the cabin. We felt so bad one of us walked back to the ship to get some money to tip the guy that had set out our sun beds.

As we have not visited Labadee for a while, this may have changed......

Breaking with our normal tradition of visiting sunnier climes. Bring on the culture and stunning scenery. We can't wait :)

Thanks for the info :)

170+ :(

We've had some friends book onto the same cruise as us, who have also gone for traditional (same time) dining at the same time. Do we need to link our booking references in advance to ensure we all sit at the same table or should we do this when we board? If this does need to be done in advance, what's the easiest way to do this? Thanks in advance.....:confused:

Independence of the Seas - 29/06/17 from Southampton. Only 170+ days to go :(