pinkie1

Hi All,

We have a Grand River cruise coming up in a few months with Viking and when I booked it last year, I added on the Air Plus because we knew we were going to fly in/out couple days before and after the cruise. We wanted to customize the flights.
First of all, they charged us $100/person deviation fee because we’re changing the flights (that’s excluding the $50pp just to have the Air Plus) 

Second, transfers from the ship to hotel are not included. 
 

Has this happened to others? My TA (through Viking) did not state this when I booked.

Just out of curiosity, for those who have done numerous cruises, do you use the same travel booking site or do you search around for the best deal?

Another question: are travel agencies (actual businesses, do they even have those anymore) actually have that much better deals than booking your own on a website?

I’m searching for my next cruise and came across this line which I’ve never heard of.

I’m familiar with Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival and Celebrity cruises. Is P&O similar as far as quality with food, entertainment, service, etc?

The ship I’m looking into is Britannia.

I guess I could post on the P&O board but wanted to get a general “objective” opinion.

TIA!

Duh, didn't think about calling C&A. Thanks!

One certificate per stateroom, and I don't understand how two different certificates can have the same booking number. Either the numbers are not really the booking numbers, or they made a copy of the same certificate and you really only have one.

That seems to be the confusion. I called RCI yesterday and it sounded like the gal was a newbie or it's an unusual situation.

When I purchased them they said I could use two certificates as deposits for DH and I and they each get $100 OBC for a 7 night balcony cabin (=$200). But now reading the fine print it states 1 certificate per stateroom. They definetly have the same booking number on each. RCI described it as "free floating booking number that hasn't been assigned to a cruise sailing yet." But I have 2 certificates with 2 different "certificate numbers".

Did I just lose out on this?:(

I bought 2 "Next Cruise" certificates a long time ago and will finally be using them. They both have the same booking number on the certificates and my plan was to use them as a deposit for my husband and myself.

My question is if anyone knows if I can use EACH certificate as OBC. Apparently I can get $100 for our balcony 7 night cruise. So does that mean I can get $200 OBC??? Or will they allow only 1 certificate per stateroom as OBC, meaning I lose out on an extra $100 OBC?

I pack mask and snorkel only and rent fins if needed (when there is a lot of current or I want to go out far). It's the fins that take a lot of room.

That's a great idea. I think I'll do that!

I'll be sailing on the Summit in a few weeks, our first with Celebrity.

Does anyone know if Celebrity rents snorkel gear on the ship? I've never been on a cruise where they did, but thought I'd ask.

We have our own gear but we won't be leaving for the cruise from home, we're vacationing for a week with family elsewhere and luggage space will be precious and snorkel gear for all of us take up so much space. I could rent at each port, but it would be so convenient if the ship had some to rent and keep for the duration of the cruise.

We were on the jewel trip from Vancouver to Los Angeles with stops in Victoria BC, Astoria OR, San Francisco, Monterrey, and Santa Barbara. It was a great trip for folks from the east coast to see places we had never seen but I doubt we would do it again. It was a great scenic trip but not the kind of trip we do every year in my opinion. I also felt the port of Los Angeles is in definite need of rehab before I would go back. We were among the first off the ship and there was only about 15 cabs waiting, I heard that people who got off later had problems getting cabs, again if true, poor organization by the port. Nice trip but "done that."

 

Mike

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Yeah, I kinda get the sense that the CA ports are not that big of a draw. When I've gone down to Ensenada (either on RCI or Carnival) I never get off the ship because I could care less. But I like to cruise this same itinerary for a quick get away and relax on the ship. I grew up in Santa Barbara and have visited San Francisco many times so I wouldn't get off the ship there too. I'd really like RCI here to rack up my points and bump me up to the next level. :D

Sorry but you missed it.

Really?:p

I must have done the search right after that sailing. Glad to hear it was fun!

I guess in the mean time it's either going on different cruise lines or flying to the port.:(

Royal is my favorite line but I haven't cruised with them much since they pulled out of Port of Los Angeles on their 3 or 4 night Baja Mexico itinerary. I noticed in recent years they'd have an occasional itinerary from CA a few times a year but lately there is NOTHING! I moved out of the country for a while and I'm wondering what I've missed on Royal's latest news.

What is going on with Royal in CA? They have fans here too! I know Baja Mex. is not the most popular destination, but other cruise lines are doing well here, e.g. Carnival.

How about Royal cruising up to Vancouver??? Or any place?

Yeah, I saw those few cruises in May and Oct. Carnival has two ships out here and seem to be making plenty of money from what I can tell. I'm getting tired of Carnival and want my Royal back.:( Even Princess is here and seems to be doing fine.

Sorry, I'm just pouting, wishing my favorite cruise line would come back,:p

I haven't heard any info on Royal having a routine itinerary on the West Coast, especially leaving from southern California, lately.

Does anyone have any info on it and why Royal has abandoned us left coasters?:(

Cool! Thanks!

I was just looking at the deck plan for the ship and I noticed that from the drawing the balcony looks larger for rooms 7177 vs 7151. Does anyone know if they are bigger even though they're in the same catagory? Or perhaps the room is smaller to make up for a larger balcony???

I've cruised with Princess two times and they were both ok.

I think the Emerald Princess was nicer only because it was a new ship at the time and the itinerary was nice.

I was not impressed with Golden although the itinerary was nice.

Sometimes I want a quick get away and my two choices are Carnival and Princess since they're the only two lines that sail out of Los Angeles on a regular basis. I usually pick Carnival because it's so cheap but I don't mind paying a little extra if the overall ship is going to be nicer.

My favorite line is Royal because I love all their activities, their food, they're innovative with new ideas on their ships. They seem to have a sense of "fun" without having a large partyer drunk crowd unlike some other lines.

The two Princess cruises I've been on, I felt like I was the youngest on the ship and everybody was in bed by 10pm! I was in my 30's at the time. I don't drink but I do like to dance and have fun, and I'm very active. I also like to learn and attend seminars from experts.

What do you like about Princess? Is there anything unique about Princess that the other lines don't do well?

Next January 2016 we're going on a 5 night out of Tampa. My husband wants to extend the trip since we're flying all the way out from CA. I saw a great deal on a 4 nighter out of FLL.

Does this sound crazy to get off the ship out of Tampa, rent a car and drive to FLL to catch another cruise on the same day? We could fly but want to keep the costs as low as possible.

My research says that it'll take 4.25 hours to drive from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale. Plus extra I'm sure getting the car and dropping it off, etc.

Does the southern Caribbean get as much hurricane activity as the rest of the Caribbean? Or more?

We're thinking of a B2B on a southern Caribbean in late August. We know it'll be hot and humid but we just moved back after a year in Thailand. I'm hoping it won't be as bad as that.

I've done this itinerary more than once during Jan. On land it is about So Cal weather, low to mid 60's with cloudy with chance of rain. But out at sea be prepared to be cooler.

We were at sea one day and my son was playing in the water slide. He was having so much fun he didn't realize he was cold until I noticed his lips were turning blue! He wasn't happy that I made him warm up.

I guess my question should be: what made you stick with RCI?

I love RCI but because of my location they haven't placed any of their ships near me without having to buy plane tickets too. I love hopping on a short 4 night getaway and the only cruise line doing that around here is Carnival. I don't dislike Carnival but I tend to have more fun on RCI because of all the different activities available.

I wanted to get some feedback on the different preferences of RCI vs other lines.

Would you agree that Princess, Carnival and Royal are all pretty much the same? Overall? If not, why not.

For those that are now loyal RCI cruises, what made you decide to stick with RCI vs. another line? What is it about RCI that you like vs. other lines?

So when you book the B2B, do you need to make sure the same cabin is free for both sailings? That would suck if you had to move your junk from one cabin to another.

I'm planning on booking a B2B cruise next year on AOS that have alternating itinerary of the Caribbean. Does RCI view this as 2 separate cruises or can I book it as a one 14 day cruise?

Never done a B2B before.

A few years ago while on a RCI cruise, I bought a deposit for a future cruise. The certificate says it never expires and if I book a balcony I get $100 on board credit. Well I want to use it now for a cruise next year but I'm not 100% certain I can go. So my question is, can I use this deposit and if I have to cancel (well before final payment is due) get my deposit AND the on board credit back for another time?

I've never booked a cruise through a pre-paid deposit voucher.