Jim_Iain

For us it was a perfect temperature and definitely not cold on the water. I think I brought a windbreaker but never took it out of the backpack. We met in the shade because sun was strong. Here’s how our guide was dressed.

Planning for the future we also never exchange back to USD. We just bring it home with us and use it on a future trip. We do however travel to Europe at least a couple times a year. We just keep them in envelopes and bring the leftover notes with us each trip. Sometimes you have to be cautious as like the UK they retired old notes. After the published circulation date it was difficult to get a bank to retire them unless you had an account with the bank.

The exchange rate is usually pretty bad on the ship but they usually have Euros on a Med cruise. In the past couple years we have found we require very little local currency. As a result covid almost everything has gone to hands free payment systems and they prefer you to use credit cards. We usually have enough for tipping excursions and incidentals. If we need exchange I usually just stop by our Wells Fargo Bank which usually carries UK Pounds, Euros and Yen. If they don't we usually place an order online and pick it up within a day or two. Another good source is any major bank's ATM machines at your first EU port. My bank reimburses for all ATM fees.

That may be a condition of your Big Box TA. I have done numerous on board bookings that are automatically assigned to my TA (unless specifically requested otherwise). I've always been able to reprice without loosing my OBC.

I've used the form many times and always got a thank you from our Butler. I was told by the HR Manager that if you put in the person's name or dining room (e.g. Luminae) it goes to the individual or dining room pool, but if you leave it to a position like Waiter it goes to the complete waiter pool.

I was told that it was available only for the full cruise. Incidentally I contacted the Zenith to ask if they were upgraded to a SS on a bid could I cancel the RPP for a full refund. The reply was yes up until 48 hours of the cruise and no changes once on-board the cruise.

The Cruise with Confidence and price guaranteed allowed repricing up until 48 hours of cruise. This ended on bookings made after July 31, 2021. After that date the Existing Policy of price matching up until final payment date was reinstated.

More and more Vintners are flirting with the idea of screw top wines for their top end. I don't think many would be disappointed with screw tops and may find them much more convenient. Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, one of California best Chardonnay brands began screw tops on their top of the line Founders Reserve Chardonnay with the bottling of their 1999 vintage. Their Founders Reserve was originally only bottle in 3 and 5 Liter bottles for Investors and Donations to Wine Auctions. With the release of 1999 Screw top they released only 950 bottles through their tasting room and specialty limited supply wine shops and restaurants.

Starting on March 3rd, 2023, the new wine and champagne allowance for Royal Caribbean will be one (1) 750 mL bottle, per adult of drinking age, per sailing. This change means staterooms with more than 2 adults in the cabin could now enjoy more wine than before, such as in a Royal Caribbean Suite. The potential downside to this change is someone cruising solo in a cabin, or booked with only kids in their room will now be limited to one bottle per sailing.

Good to hear. When I'm faced with a long wait time I usually put a single ear bud in my left ear and continue watching the morning news. I have it at a low enough volume that it doesn't bother me but can hear when they connect.

@Georgia_Peaches look forward to you Live report. So exciting to hear you are doing the Solstice Mexican Riveria. re: Cabo excursion. We booked an excursion with https://www.whalewatchcabo.com/ It is a small group excursion of about 12. The tour begins with a close up visit to the arches and includes free photos of everything the photographer shoots. At $89 pp it was a real bargin. The best whale watching ever done and the inclusion of the visit to within feet of the arches for photographs it was even better.

Unless they change something you can refare if a reduction occurs prior to Final Payment. I've done it many times with a NRD, the most recent about a month ago.

I would expect that to be the case. Did you cancel before the Embargo went into effect. I would have thought Oceania would have cancelled or modified the cruise substantially possibly offering a different option.

Thanks for explaining your RPP experience. We have used the program for our May cruise with my BIL an SIL. They were in a AQ and we are in a Suite. Will take all your experiences into consideration. I will also be bidding on moving their room up to a SS and feel comfortable bidding up to the amount of the RPP. I just called my TA to have the RPP added - it was painless but done about 9 months out. One Question - Will their key card be an AQ or a Suite Card?

It's always nice to experience a night or two at a specialty restaurant. On E-Class ships you are not permitted to order off the MDR menus so selection can get boring or limited. We often book a Specialty on an evening that we don't find anything of interesting on a particular menu.

You can always upgrade to a better room - even in sub-classifications e.g. SS2 to a SS1 after final payment. You however can't downgrade to a lesser priced cabin after final payment and get a refund of price difference.

Funny story - We were on a cruise and someone said Tom Brady was in Luminae. I looked all over and didn't see him. The waiter pointed him out to me and I said to Iain... geeze he didn't age well. Later found out they were talking of Tom Brady, Celebrity VP of Hotel Operations. We had a good laugh.

Good.... I won't tell him in advance. Last time going through Heathrow was a MESS. They only had 2 agents and about 2,000 on line. Took us 3 hours to get cleared. Luckily our driver waited for us at no extra charge sine he lived in Southampton - we tipped him heavily for sure. Iain thought he gave up his UK Citizenship when he became a U.S. Citizen. When I got transferred to Ireland he called the UK Consulate to find out. The lady very sweetly said - Once a British Citizen always a British Citizen, come down to see me and I'll fix you up with a new passport. LOL

You should be ok. I have upgraded room many times and only had to pay the difference in fares.

Personally I wouldn't be buying at the current time unless I saw the fundamentals of long term growth that met my investment strategy. Most of my RCL stock was purchased at $11. Obviously it has paid for itself many times over with the OBC's I received. I don't hold it as an investment - I only continue to hold it for the OBC. The headlines are often only hype and one should look at the major analysts in perspective. Yes there has been a shift to a Buy but that is only from 9 of 21 Analysts that cover RCL. The same number recommend hold or sell.

I'm with you for sure. So far I have only cancelled one cruise (as oppose to moving it) that was due to a mistake and booking the wrong week. Celebrity waived the cancellation fee on that one. Paying $100 pp to change a reservation with a NR is a bargin to me compared to the additional $1,800-UP for a Refundable - May be cheaper to buy cancellation insurance. Example of the RF fee for our 2025 cruise in a RS -

Ahh. .can see what your are saying. So if you cancel 6 months out there is no cancellation fee but there is if cancelled between say 90 and 180 days. Better than Ponant, Silver Seas seems to be similar

Understand you point but I've been seeing different on many of the Premium line. From my research I have not found any with 100% refund. On most they have a requirement of 20-25% Deposit and on many this is non-refundable. When looking at Oceania I was advised they have an administrative fees of $250 pp for cancellations for 90-180 days of cruise and 151-180 days for longer cruises. For their upper suites the cancellation fee jumps to $500 pp for shorter cruises and 10% of fare for longer cruises. On my upcoming Ponant Cruise there is a 25% deposit which is totally non-refundable.

I'm also curious also. Normally we could buy a photo package for about $129. On our upcoming cruises in April this is listed. Even this option disappears on the April 22 Apex TA

Thanks... I was pretty sure I had done that before but couldn't remember.