DavidA23

Thanks! Things are changing faster than I can keep up with.

We love cruising from Tampa. It is becoming more and more popular - a great airport, nice port, and wonderful weather. Since we live close to Tampa, we use Uber or Lyft avoiding the drive and parking fees.

The Brilliance is a fine older ship with a very friendly crew. We have done 2 TA's and 4 or 5 shorter cruises on her and have enjoyed all of them. The downside, as previously mentioned, is the lack of variety of destinations. Having also been on the Radiance, we prefer the intimacy and friendliness of the Brilliance.

I am enjoying all of the different opinions expressed here. Let's hope we get back to cruising soon and find out what the reality is. If we look at what Celebrity is doing, it might give us some clues as to where RCL is headed.

I thought that prior to Covid, D+ members were allowed in the CL. On the RCL website it looks like that is no longer the case. Am I wrong, or has this changed?

Cheers!!

41 minutes ago, TYMAN said:

If you don't make a decision, RCCL will make it for you. 125% FCC for what you paid in upgrade fees....port fee & taxes get credited back to your c/c. 

This is all so confusing. In the past six weeks or so, I've talked with 3 different casino reps and they all have had a slightly different story. The gentleman that I spoke with yesterday told me that they do not issue FCC's on comped cruises, they just do refunds. He did not seem to be the best informed agent. I would rather have the FCC, so I'm betting you having the correct answer. Thanks!

2 hours ago, MDnOH said:

I had a b2b2b on Anthem starting Nov. 13, OV, Balcony and JS comped with casino certificates. I was told same thing as others pick a current offer in Jan. or Feb. on on Mariner or Navigator in whatever cabin cat. that offer states.  My exact cabins were available at the time, Oct. 7, on the Anthem beginning 10-30-21 for a b2b2b but no "lift and shift" for casino certificates is allowed. Since I already have the offers they want me to transfer too the agent said my certificates were basically useless. Thanks Casino Royale.

 

I called yesterday to reschedule two Casino freebies that were cancelled. I was basically told "tough luck", as there are no more rooms available. We will just wait to see if they extend the time frame. Each of our cruises were cancelled multiple times, one the night before we were scheduled to sail. I have faith in RCCL and hope they do the right thing by taking care of all of us. We've done nothing wrong, just spent a lot of money with them. They should step up and extend the free cruise dates. A $200 off offer is not near enough.

Kinsale is indeed worth a visit. While many people like/love Cork, I visited it many times and never really enjoyed it. The link below has some nice pics and advice on a day in Cobh.

https://www.ourescapeclause.com/things-to-do-in-cobh-ireland/

We will be visiting Cobh in April and plan on returning to Fota Park.

https://www.fotawildlife.ie/

We spent a year and a half in Ireland and took a number of friends and family to Cobh. As the previous poster says, the Cathedral is well worth a visit, as is the Titanic Experience. We also went to Fota Park on a few of our trips and really enjoyed it. With a little research you can find enough to do there to keep you entertained all day.

I would like to add a few comments. We went to Havana, staying overnight, on RCL in August and had a similar experience. They told us we would not be able to leave the ship without an excursion. Not true. The second day we left the ship on our own and took the HoHo which was cheap, efficient, and right outside the port. Regarding the re-entry to the US, it was very quick and easy. We are no longer required to fill out a declaration form. The Cuban rum (Havana Club) is outstanding and very cheap. I bought it as an after-thought at a shop in the port and it was only about $5 a bottle. I'm not a big rum drinker, but this was extremely good. I believe that we are only allowed to bring in one bottle per person, so I asked the customs agent what the duty is per bottle over the one limit. He said that we could bring in several bottles and nobody would care as long as it was for personal consumption. Same with cigars. I make no guarantees as to the accuracy of his comments, but it seems reasonable to me. We plan to return next year and I will definitely be bringing 5 or 6 bottles.

Complete Cuban cigar price list:

 

http://yulcigars.blogspot.com/

Thanks Tmpatacoma! This very helpful.

Thanks, Ernest. Thoroughly enjoyed your review and found it very helpful. I agree with you on Key West. We live in Florida and have been to KW on several occasions. Sloppy Joes and the like are fun, but overall it is over-hyped and way over-priced. On the other hand, I have friends who love Key West and spend a week or more there every year. Different strokes.

Dave