nenasmum

I know people on the thread have said there is a local bus but is that really doable? In my experience at least a quarter of the ship- in this case over 1000 people will intend to do the port on their own. This clearly is not compatible with a regular bus service. Hopefully RCL has made some provisions despite trying to force everyone onto the ship’s tours. I have been shocked at how Queensland ports have a have succumbed to the apparent monopoly of the Cruise lines. Everywhere else we have cruised to - the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Baltic, Asia and New Zealand have tours etc you can organise independently- not Queensland. 

Thanks for that. Will shuttle buses be available does anyone know?  We are travelling with my mother who is disabled and this is beginning to look too difficult. I planned on hiring a car for the day to get her around but the logistics might be too much. 

I have been following this thread and would also love to know. What did the TA discover? Its not clear from your last post other than they have changed. But changed to what/ where? Unfortunately I booked directly with Royal so have no wonderful

TA to help me! 

I have been a loyal Celebrity Customer for many years and cruises. In February I booked a 2 week cruise from Japan. It was to be a special event for my daughter’s graduation.
At the time I selected 2 perks - as part of the 2 perks offer - the cruise credit and then the on board spends money of $150 per person. 
The credit did not appear on my invoice but I assumed that it would turn up on my onboard account 
Today I decided to check the amount I would be getting and was horrified to discover that Celebrity had no record of the request. I ticked the boxes for the perks with my family watching. If the request failed to go through the website is at fault. I maintain strongly that a clerical error was made. Cathy, the girl who dealt with my issue agreed that the promotion existed and still exists but refused to give it to me even though she conceded that I was entitled to it when the booking was made.
I am a loyal customer and was anticipating many happy years ahead sailing with Celebrity. I am only asking for what I was entitled to when I made the booking, not for anything extra. 
If Celebrity has such scant regard for customer goodwill I will not be sailing with them , or RCCL, ever again. The perks offer was an important factor in my choice of Celebrity and I am really sorry now I did not choose another line.
The hundreds of dollars of credit I believed until today I had would have made an enormous difference to the quality of our holiday. To say I am devastated that this has occurred is an understatement.

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We fly to the US on Cathay Pacific, so Melbourne - Hong Kong - New York. It's slightly longer but you bypass LAX and are straight to the East Coast. We have cruised out of New Jersey (awesome cruise to Eastern Caribbean on Anthem Of the Seas) and out of Fort Lauderdale (Western Caribbean on Allure Of The Seas). We would definitely cruise out of NJ again, it's easy to get to and from the terminal and boarding/disembarkation was extremely quick and easy.

 

 

Fort Lauderdale is a whole other story. For Non-US residents, disembarkation off the Allure last month took us 2 1/4 hours, and we had friends who got off the boat after us and it took them more than 3 hours. Not enough customs agents and very disorganised.

 

Other friends who live in Miami told us they avoid Fort Lauderdale at all costs as it's always the same.

Interesting as we were on Harmony in January. We were off in under 20 minutes. No trouble at all

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Joffrey, of course. Had him on our last 3 cruises, Indy, Ovation and Anthem. He's great

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Anthem of the Seas, Ovations sister ship, has a full Broadway show, I think it is Mama Mia

but Quantum and Ovation don't - I understand because they are based largely China.

This is one of the ones I saw, it even has the latest one that started this thread.

Since the list dates back to 1959! it would seem to support the argument that numbers of passengers do not die every long cruise. At least one third of the list includes unnatural causes, suicides, sinking etc. I also feel that the deaths listed for the Costa Concordia sinking was substantially higher than any number I have read on that incident

We caught the same train last year off the Allure. Big ship, virtually no customs check. We are Australians so not EU. Got off at about 7.30 and we reached the station minutes later with time to kill.

Been on both Oasis and Allure and loved them both. Did not feel at all crowded. We have booked for Harmony for next year and can't wait

Sorry I could not get the photos up earlier. I personally think RCL should not classify deck 7 over the lifeboat cabins as D1

Hi. The lifeboat view is what you see looking straight down. This would be the same for some, but not all of deck 7. The davit on the right was worse than it looks in.the photo and was the most annoying thing as it obstructed the view looking out at all times. Only a few cabins would have this issue. My advise would be. Get another cabin if possible. Jennie

Do you happen to have pictures from that cabin? I really would like to see the view from that exact cabin. Would really appreciate it if you could.

 

Lou

I do have some photos. I pathetically rely on my teenagers help to download them but I will try to get it done tomorrow. Jennie

We were in7570. Other cabins may well not have the davit in front of the balcony. Good luck with deciding. It is a wonderful ship. Jennie

We were on deck 7 and felt that the lifeboats did significantly block the view looking down. Our view looking forward was also blocked by a davit. We would not book this deck again.

Have been on Anthem in June and have booked Ovation for a New Zealand cruise so no complaints here. We probably prefer my time dining but can also see the advantages of Dynamic dining. I have a teenager so we prefer the bigger bells and whistles ships but don't agree with the Las Vegas allusions. We hate Las Vegas!

I love the curfew. Its stops all the arguementws with my teen about when to come back. And it means I can get to sleep before 1.3- LOL

Jennie

Only issue with deck 7 is that in many cabins the downward view is obstructed by the lifeboats. You can only see the ocean looking straight ahead. Our cabin was also obstructed by a large white davett. Jennie

Don't know about it being more expensive overseas. We are on the Anthem next week and our cruise fare and our airfares combined were cheaper for a 14 day Med cruise on a balcony. Personally I would rather see Italy and

Spain than Melbourne. Check out the overseas options. I am currently on Allure. Again a cheaper deal. They charge what they can get in Australia, and they can get a lot. We have always found cruising from Australia even on older ships more pricey than on brand new ships elsewhere. Even with the lower dollar we still get great deals from our U.S. Agent. Hundreds of dollars cruise credit goes a long way to evening up the exchange rate!

Catch the bus to Balmoral. You can get the bus from North Sydney station or from Town Hall or Wynard in the city. Beautiful harbor beach, lovely little island, fantastic up market beach side restaurants and some more reasonably priced. Get off at Mosman- 5 minutes in the bus for some up market retail therapy. This could also be combined with a trip to the zoo also at Mosman. Catch the bus from the zoo and get off at Mosman shops then walk down the steep hill on your right to Balmoral. I Suggest the bus back up to the city. It is a steep walk!

Dare I say book with a US agent. Then you get all their perks. Even with the falling dollar prices awork out often as compatible and if you can afford to pay upfront you know the whole price and can still take advantage of price drops or upgreades even after final payment date. Works for me. Jennie

As an addendum to that one year I bougth my mother a massage package on an island in a beach hut overlooking the sea. she never would have done this for hereself. She loved it.

Dinner in a speciality restaurant fi you don't do that usuallay. A really indulgent shore excursion she can look forward to. spa treatment?

Malta is a wonderful port and I would pick it over Tunis any day, I have been to both. The sail in to Malta is spectacular and it is very easy to do on your own, lots near the port and buses are easy to negotiate if you want to venture to medina.And they drive on our side of the road if you want to hire a car. Great port. Enjoy.