rosie#1

I tried to upgrade a family members cabin yesterday from an inside to a balcony. The cost was $50 more but I was told no because the balcony price was for a guarantee (with free at sea). They said we could only upgrade if there was an assigned cabin available for that price.  Has anyone heard of this? 

Thanks everyone.  I looked on YouTube and no one has posted videos of 1702 or 1756.  I appreciate the picture. I will take pictures or do a video if we end up in 1702. 

We booked 1734. I am not sure about the view. It was the only CL available when we booked.  1702 is now available. Is it worth moving to 1702 since it has the smallest balcony?   Does anyone know if three chairs would fit on the balcony?

On 1/8/2022 at 8:02 AM, misstamster said:

I lied...got credited today for all but $70 USD..called our TA, out of the office, called RCL, they claim it is a TA thing, however, if our TA is unwilling to work with us, to call back! Is that perhaps commission hold?

Did you get the $70 back yet? I have a similar situation where I received a refund two weeks ago, but I am still missing $208.  ($108 TA commission and $100 e-gift card)

I was wondering the same thing. We normally see a credit within four business days and we are on day eight today.  

8 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Hope this helps with some answers to cancelation;

 

• They are waiving the cancellation fees for sailings with embarkation dates through and including January 17, 2022. 
• Customers will receive a 100% refund to the original form of payment.
• If the customer has airfare booked through an external vendor, they will need to work with the airline to get a credit for that portion based on normal airline cancellation guidelines.  
• If these customers are opting to cancel their cruise, they do not qualify for the 125% FCC offer. This offer is only for sailings that get suspended.
• To cancel, you may use the online cancellation form or call, however, the hold times have been very long due to call volume, so we highly recommend using the form to request the cancellation and refunds.
  • The form that is being used is the “Cruise with Confidence (CWC)” form, however, as long as these customers are sailing through January 17, 2022, they will receive a refund vs the FCC. 
•  

Where did you find this? 

2 hours ago, mets123 said:

I called Royal last night about our January 9th Anthem cruise. I was told Royal will let people cancel any cruise departing before January 17th and they can get a complete refund. Still haven't decided.

That is interesting. We are only being offered FCC for our 1/9 Odyssey cruise.  

We had a three day visit. We left the ship at 8:45 the second & third day. It only took a couple of minutes. We had 4 to 5 ships with us everyday.

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Does anyone know whether there is a "faster" line/queue through the SPB ship terminal for holders of a Russian visa, or do all foreign passengers go through the same lines no matter what credentials you are using? We have FAN IDs (which I understand act as visas), and I'm wondering if we will have to wait in the same, potentially long line as the tour operator users the first morning that we disembark.

 

I ask because we want to be out at a certain time, and I'm not sure if we should factor in a long line tomorrow (June 22).

We are on Royal Caribbean and left yesterday. There was only a separate line for Russian citizens. It took us about 40 minutes to get through immigration the first day. We were on a private tour starting at 9:00 am.

If you want to add Catherine's Palace to the Best Guides tour I would take out visiting the Peterhof palace and you would have to skip or spend less time at St. Isaac's.

I am sure TJ will add the hydrofoil if that is important to you. I can't remember the cost. We chose to skip it and will be skipping it again on our second visit.

How responsive is Best Tours normally? I sent them a query about a tour and haven’t heard back yet . With all the rave reviews I was hoping they’d respond quickly. Should I try again? I guess it’s not US customer service....

I usually hear back from them by the next business day. I would try again but since it’s Friday I wouldn’t expect to hear from them until Monday.

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We just organized a private tour for three. We are not doing a standard tour since two of us have been to St. Petersburg before. I think I contacted 7 different companies. All of them were willing to accommodate the itinerary we chose. The prices varied with the lowest to highest having a $300 pp difference. We decided to go with TJ Travel.

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I thought they would too. Alla has the lowest price so far.

Other things that vary among tour companies:

 

o size of the group

 

o whether or not you have to put together a group or whether the company will offer help to achieve the best price

 

o type of lunch stop

 

o whether or not there's any free time included

Thanks. I am organizing a private tour so those things don’t apply. I didn’t mean to confuse anyone. I just wanted to show there are big price differences if you are going on a private tour.

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I think I contacted all of the St. Petersburg companies frequently mentioned on cruisecritic. So far the prices are the main difference. For a three day tour with three adults the price has been from $490pp to $780pp.

Thank you.

We used Alla & they were okay. There were some small things that make me say I wouldn't book them again.

Please let me know what some of those things were. We are planning a three day tour for next year and they are one of the companies we were looking at.

I received the email below from Royal. We booked before June 16th.

About your upcoming travels

Dear Guest,

On November 8th, the U. S. government issued new regulations for traveler. to Cuba. One change that impacts travelers is that self-guided “people-to-people” travel will no longer be allowed. This means that in order to enjoy Cuba, you must be participating in a group tour or qualify for the other categories of authorized travel, which are listed under our Cuba Travel Requirements FAQs: www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Cuba/FAQ/

Since your booking was created prior to June 16, 2017, you have been granted an exemption from this regulation for your sailing, and there will be no changes to your booking. You can expect to enjoy the same immersive, unforgettable experience you’ve been looking forward to as we visit the historical and beautiful port of Havana, Cuba on your upcoming cruise.

As a reminder, please visit www.RoyalCaribbean.com/Cuba for useful tips to help you prepare for your trip and to gather all the necessary travel documentation. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call us at 800-562-7625.

Thank you for choosing Royal Caribbean for your upcoming vacation. We are excited to welcome you on your upcoming adventure.

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

Thank you for the information. I contacted SPB and they said wifi is not available and the bus would have 28 seats. I am guessing the main office in Russia only has standard info for Germany and things change based on how many people they have going that day.

We will be going on a Baltic cruise next June and are trying to decide what to do when we stop in Warnemunde. Most of the private tour companies offer group tours with 24-26 people.(Alla, SPB, TJ & Best Guides) Since it is such a long ride we were hoping for a large bus with wifi but it doesn't seem like that is an option.

For anyone that has taken a private tour or ship tour please let me know what kind of vehicle they used and was it comfortable.

Thank you

Thank you. We received a quote from Taxi Stockholm for approximately $70. That works for us.

Teanne, I sent you an email.

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We are looking for suggestions for transportation from the port in Stockholm to the airport. We will want to leave the ship after dinner and then go to a hotel at the airport since we have any early flight out in the morning. Any suggestions on good transports which are reasonably priced?

 

Teanne

We are thinking of doing the same thing next year. What did you end up doing? We need taxi / car service for three.

Thank you

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Thank you for the review. What is your opinion on having a group of 16 people on a St. Petersburg /Moscow tour?

Thank you for the review. We have been going back and forth between a similar cruise or one on the Serenade of the Seas. It would have been a no brainer if next years cruises included Poland. We have also been to St. Petersburg before. Did you find any must sees on your second trip? Did you notice if NCL offered a one day trip to Moscow?