Funky Fusion FoodsJ

It is certainly refreshing to see a post like this on CC.  A calm, deliberate discussion of the good and the bad without the addition of all the drama.  Thank You!!!!

I’ve had bids accepted a few days before a cruise even when the ship has been showing sold out for weeks, so not impossible you may get a bid selected.

9 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I would book two and have a "no show" at embarkation.  As in, they are checking in later...

This is your best option, I’ve done this in the past, you’ll be refunded the taxes and port fees.

Prices on all cruise lines are crazy these days.

As far as having to walk a bit:  I welcome it to keep me active between meals on the ship.  I understand if you have mobility issues it may not be as inviting, but the scooters they have now are just the cure for that.

As far as food quality:  certainly subjective and subject to individual tastes.  Unfortunate you found it not to your liking the majority of the cruise.

As far as medical attention:  the medical professional and the patient both have responsibilities, if the patient needs pain medications they need to make that request clear.  

Give HAL a try, you may or may not come back.  Our experiences change and sometimes we just have one that doesn't meet our expectations, it doesn't mean we have to give up on them forever.

May the wind be at your back!

13 minutes ago, The Boss 1138 said:

Hi everyone,

I'm writing in a desperate plea for help. My wife and I recently went on our honeymoon cruise on the Wonder of the Seas, and we lost our honeymoon photos ish that we purchased. We're not sure exactly how it happened we think they fell out of our bag since it was open a little when we picked it up, but we're devastated.

I'm reaching out to all of the cruise ship photographers on this forum to see if anyone might be able to help me. The photographer was Joel.  If you were a photographer on the Wonder of the Seas from October 8th to October 15th, please get us in touch with Joel. E know this is a long shot. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

Call to action:

Please share this post with anyone you know who might be able to help. The more people who see it, the better our chances of finding our photos. Thank you!

Post this in your role call as well as Facebook page for this sailing.

Many who had vouchers are already used.

5 hours ago, Joe33472 said:

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  I'm pretty good at navigating, taking public transportation, and figuring this out on my own, so maybe we'll just stick with our own plans.  

 

Why do you generally not book the cruise line excursions?   Is it a value thing?  I'm thinking that the cruise lines are subcontracting with local providers and are probably getting a cut, so the prices must be somewhat inflated for that reason.   Or is it just better to use a local provider?    

As stated by other posts, excursions through the cruiselines generally are not as intimate and more a larger “herd” type of experience.

35 minutes ago, Joe33472 said:

We’re booked on an April 2024 transatlantic on the Odysessy to Rome.  I subscribed to the roll call and there is a lot of discussion in that forum about excursions.    This cruise will be our first cruise in probably 30 years and our plan right now is just to do our own planning on the ports and just to do a little bit of sightseeing, shopping, and eating out at each port.    Is this a bad plan?   I’m starting to have FOMO.  

 

I’m sure doing shore excursion or not is a lot about personal preference, kinda like Chops vs. Giovanni, but after reading that thread it seems to me that more people like Giovanni’s than Chops and it brought up a lot of good information about the two restaurants.   So, I’m wondering what opinions are about shore excursions and if it’s better to book those directly with RCI.   Does it enhance the overall cruise experience or is it just exhausting?   We’ll be spending some time in Europe after the cruise, so we were kind of looking forward to just getting off the ship and looking around.  Do we need guided tours and excursions?  

It really depends on you.  If you’re comfortable finding your way around and doing some research ahead of time on your own is great.  When we travel places and want to see things and don’t want to do all the planning or figuring out transportation and everything we’ll schedule an excursion.  We generally don’t use the cruise line excursions unless they happen to be the only one’s available for the sights we want to see.

1 hour ago, FirstTimer from Ohio said:

Currently booked into a GS on EOS for 1 Dec 2023.  Have $750 in Free play and interested in going for the Owner's Suite in a Royal up opportunity.  Do I lose the Free Play if I win the upgrade?

Free play not affected by Royal up.

2 minutes ago, Boffo444 said:

I realize that the casino tier level resets on April 1st each year and that you need to re-earn your level for the next year.  My question is what happens to your tier level if you are currently on a cruise on April 1st and have several days left?  Do you retain your tier you came onboard with or does it get reset during the cruise on April 1st?

Resets during cruise.

21 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

We are in a CS a week from tomorrow on Eclipse. So things should be as they were for the most part. My 1st question for the maitre d in Luminae will be. MDR has dishes on the menu that have a up charge. Do suite guest have to pay the up charge? Anyone on CC know the answer?

Yes they do.

8 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

If I book on a travel agent site, once I attach my Latitudes # to the booking, will it show up on my account so I can add excursions, dining, etc without going through TA?

Yes

I think time for a moderator to check in and lock this thread……

Wow….speechless….

12 minutes ago, sadiwest said:

If you haven't seen any of my previous threads, long story short we had to cancel a cruise within days of departure *AGAIN * due to Covid.   Once DH was out of isolation we had to salvage a vacation and opted for an all inclusive Poconos resort some had called "a cruise on land". Most likely due to the number and types of activities offered, included.

 

I'm only posting this on RCCL because im seeing a lot of price complaints here...RCCL was the line we had to cancel, so using it for comparison. 

 

This is strictly my experience (YMMV). 

Recently booken then changed an Alaskan cruise on RCCL. That 7 night cruise (and nothing else) came in around $8k for 3 of us.   It was not a balcony cabin. One way Seward to ...Vancouver I think?   The Wednesday to Sunday Poconos trip came in about $7500. Now, that was 4 of us including 2 meals a day and all non alcoholic beverages but for 4 nights. 

 

If you want to skip this line or try that one....or even stop cruising altogether, that's your prerogative (always looks like that spelling is wrong).  For me, all other things being equal, I'll do the cruise for $500 more.

 

I get that its higher than before but so is everything and I still want a vacation.   Poconos was nice but I wanted to hear that tell tale "bing bong" sound that preceeds announcements for the 9 nights we had booked. 😪😪😪

Sadiwest:  so refreshing to see a positive post….thank you!!!!!

Sometimes it takes several days before your  cruise is actually cancelled, sometimes it's almost immediate, but eventually it will be cancelled.

20 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

I have 2 Celebrity Gift Cards for $500. Each.  I bought them for $450. Each.  Any ideas on how to sell these?

thank you.

Email me at bhutton@woh.Rr.com

25 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

What a way to treat someone. 

It’s really no different than any other company downsizing.  They can’t accommodate all butlers so he was at least offered an alternate position…better than unemployed.

1 hour ago, pookel said:

So I went on my first cruise in January with my husband on NCL. We had a great time and I bought 4 CruiseNext certificates and we were planning to cruise regularly. But then he died suddenly in April and I guess I'm a solo cruiser now. I'm starting to look at my next cruise but I'm not sure what I would enjoy by myself. I'm not looking to meet singles romantically but I do want people to hang out with! 

 

I'm 46, and I'm not used to traveling by myself. I'm kind of shy and introverted and I'm worried about ending up in a situation where I'm just bored and lonely on a ship for a week or more. Any advice on best ships, destinations, types of cruises for having a good crowd to hang out with?

I’d recommend something like an Italy Greek isles itinerary.  I did both Caribbean and Mediterranean cruise solo a few years ago and had a much better time with the the Italy/Greece itinerary.

10 minutes ago, gnick1959 said:

Thanks, my partner is 6'4 and does not want to be stuck in an economy seat. Tickets don't seem to be issued until 30 days out, too late to be assured better seat selection.

 

 

 

You'll want to do premium economy or business class for sure!  

Last year on Wonder of the Seas left my cell phone on a tour bus.  Went to the excursion desk, they called the excursion vendor, found the phone (even sent a picture of phone to identify).  We had already left port so Excursion desk they'd pick up next time in port and ship to me.

Home a few weeks later I get email from Wonder of Seas excursion desk they'd picked up phone and would be shipped to me.

That was June 2022, still no phone.   Replaced phone with insurance fortunately.

17 hours ago, OysterD said:

And this is why they're changing to a team service approach, whenever you cruise your butler was too busy with your multiple requests a day to get to any of the other cabins he was supposed to be servicing hahaha

You say that in jest but I really think there is some validity to your observation.

We were there twice last year and both times the bus had restroom.

13 minutes ago, CruiseMsclDad said:

Hey guys!

So I just snagged a Suite Guarantee, I am assuming its a Junior Suite, and today I can see the following categories that I can bid on:

Grand Suite $0 - $700

Grand Suite - 2 Bedroom $0 - $910

Owner’s Suite $0 - $980

Royal Suite $0 - $700

I have never done a Royal Up before, what bids would you suggest and how has your experiences been?

Thanks Mitch !

I always bid what I’m comfortable paying for the particular room and cruise.  The amount is different each cruise so really can’t give an amount.  So far running about a 40% success.