abridalmaven

Yes something is very off 

We had to make calls home while in port. And we were only off the ship for about an hour. As soon as we got back in the ship we restored airplane mode. 
the company says it was the ship Wi-Fi causing the issue. At no point could I access any internet or phone service. 
We use T Mobile and have international service which we used extensively in Australia. 
 

I just can’t see that big if a bill happening. For the 24 days we were away on the Australia area and Singapore our bill was under $100.  This just seems so excessive. Something isn’t right. 
They said we can’t see the full  bill until the 25th. 
 

We used the app onboard and now I have huge bill from my cell company saying I used Wi-Fi calling which we didn’t. We were only on the ship 6 days and turned off airplane mode in Freeport. 
We did use the app on a regular basis, but did nothing else. 
anyone with similar issues? 
We were told our bill was $ 852. 

5 years ago when we were on an Australian cruise with pre and post stay for  24 days  we did use international calling and had no bill like that. 
 

Thanks. I have something like that on order. 

I don’t need it for the ship. They have US style outlets. 

I am not asking about the ship. I have ceruised many times. I’ll be in Australia for 3 days before a cruise and in Singapore two days after. 

But thanks anyhow. 

I am buying adapters and power converters for my pre cruise stay in Sydney. Do I need to get different cables too? I was chatting to the rep at Apple and they said I should. I’ll also be staying over in Singapore after the cruise.

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We are on an RCCL Australian cruise next March. Now looking to book airfare. Just found out about Jetstar. I wonder if anyone has used them and if they recommend them at all. Most likely we will use them ( or another airline) from Hawaii as we want to break up the long flight from NY.

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We've had a promenade cabin a few times. Since the prices were so good we could not pass them up. Well worth it. Never had an issue with noise except a little when we had the Ben & Jerry's Suite. But not enough to bother us much.

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I love the Meet & Mingles. As 1ParticularHbr says, it's the opportunity to get to put a face to the name of that nut case you've been having so much fun with over the preceding months.

 

 

 

On many of my cruises, The Crew (the Cruise Critic Crew, that is) have added to the event with gift exchanges, cabin crawls, cash collection for a slot pull, forming trivia or horse race teams or other activities.

 

 

 

All in all, I believe we all need to be more appreciative. Otherwise, it's very possible that a year or so from now; we'll find ourselves complaining about the good old days, back when the line used to host get M&Ms. and the new cruisers will have no idea what we're talking about. :(

 

 

 

And yes, if you sign up ... go. It's only an hour (at the most) and someone went to the trouble of trying to do something nice. It's just good manners.

 

Yes when we had the "rubber bands "

On our wrists to ID roll call people at the agreed upon meeting place.

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Same here. We use it all the time.

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Curious (and disappointing) that Harmony will be the same as Oasis and Allure. I wonder if they will change the design plans for the MDR or keep them as is. No change (yet) in the Harmony "dining options" description - still DD. The majority of reviews appear to have a negative opinion.

I'm booked on Harmony and had my TA change it to second seating. We had MTD if it had DD.

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On our first cruise from NYC we did not as it was last minute and an hour away. But while on this cruise we saw our first sea rescue and it opened our eyes. Over the years we've seen many more. Plus we travel to more exotic places. So we decided it was well worth it.

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I am booked on Harmony for the US inaugural. I was not happy about the DD concept. So when we heard it was gone we were thrilled and our dining had been changed to second seating, our favorite. Now we will relax and enjoy our cruise instead of stressing over where and when to eat.

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I've never gone hungry. I always find something I like at each meal, venue. Taste is so subjective. I heard people say everything was inedible but yet they did not starve. So you can't really go by what others think. I think grits are gross no matter what you add to it, but others think it is a gift from the heavens.

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Yes, people rarely believe me, when they go on a rant about how the quality has plummeted in the last couple years, and I respond that people have been claiming the same thing for as long as I've been around CC.

It's so true. We have been cruising for over a dozen years and have heard all the same over the years. Had lunch with an elderly couple that had been cruising for eons and all they did was complain. They swore they'd never cruise RCI again.

In general I look it it is this way, as long as I am having a good time, I don't pay attention to small things. If my spouse gets grumpy that would ruin my cruise than any of the other stuff. But luckily cruises make happy.

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So because you saw some typical hot-headed Italian behaviour in regards to driving you reached the conclusion that Naples is not a safe place to wander off on your own :confused:

 

 

 

Whilst it is very unfortunate that this happened to the person involved there are thousands of cruise ship passengers who do wander off on their own in Naples and come to no harm - myself included, on several different cruises.

 

 

 

Please don't over-generalise.

Not the only reason. Many of the top travel sites warn about Naples. And we also have family there who say the same. And since we used to work in and visit NYC frequently we are always aware of our surroundings. But in all of the international cities we have visited this is the only one where we saw so much aggressive behavior. But I guess because you were safe, the rest is made up? .

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When we were in Naples waiting for our Pompeii tour we walked around the port. We witnessed aggressive drivers and bikers and saw a huge altercation in the middle of the street. Naples is not a safe place to wander off on your own.

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Don't attempt tours like Pompeii. Hard enough to walk under normal circumstances.

In Rome there was a bus tour that was good for people with Mobility issues. Not much walking. Look

At the ship brochures and they will rate tours on walkability.

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I stayed in the promenade cabin the first time we were on her and unless you go to

Bed at 10'pm noise was NOT an issue. I have stayed in

Promenade cabins on other ships also, last time was in the Ben and Jerry suite on

The Indy. And again we were quite happy.

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Wow it did not look anything like that in September. It had a recent dry dock

before that. We sailed on her many years ago and considering her age, I think she looked pretty good to me. And since I always go to the omelet bar for breakfast I never had any issues. Things cooked to perfection.

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Never.

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I am paying less fit more exotic cruises than I did for my first cruise to Bermuda on a teeny tiny ship in 2001.

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We always tip

Extra. But then again our encounters with the staff have always been great.

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I did go on this cruise and no I am not a fan of any other cruise line as this was my first cruise. I don't enjoy saying bad or negative things. I am just giving an honest review of my experience. I had high expectations for this cruise and for what I paid, rightfully so. Had my experience been what I was hoping I would be the first one to write a positive glowing review.

 

 

 

The most shocking thing of all was the food. Forever I have heard people rave about the food on cruise ships. Oh you gain so much weight and the food is so good. I was shocked when I tasted the food. It was awful. Stale chips for the spinach dip in the main dining room. Tiny portions in the main dining room. Everything was the same consistency in the Windjammer, mush. We ate in 150 Central Park and that was a decent meal, but I was expecting that level of food for the MDR and 150 Central Park to be about 2 notches above that.

 

 

 

The other thing that surprised me was how crowded the ship was. Not every time, but about half the time we would have to cram into the elevators like sardines. Not every time was Park Café over filled above capacity, but about half of the time we went. Sure if I had gone to the Windjammer for lunch right at 11:30am when they opened there would not be lines and I could find a table, but not everyday was I ready to eat at 11:30am. I didn't realize that if I wanted to eat at say 1pm I would have to wait in line and walk around for 5 minutes to find a table in the far corner.

 

 

 

The whole experience was just not what I was expecting and not worth half the money that I paid for it. I am happy for whoever has a different experience than me and loves the Oasis. It just wasn't for me. Maybe all ships and cruise lines are like this and cruising just isn't for me. I can't say for sure as this was my first cruise.

 

 

 

The cruise as a whole wasn't horrible, it wasn't awful, it just wasn't good and was not worth the money for the product and service I received. There were positives too. CATS was fantastic. The comedy show was funny. I came across five employees on the cruise who were excellent and I named them by name in the post cruise survey. The thermal suite was relaxing and nice although I already mentioned the troubles with the lockers and showers down there.

 

 

 

The second to last night I watched the departure video they request you to watch. The "departure officer" didn't even know when self assist departure ended (she said 7:30am and it is actually 8am) and she didn't know when you must settle cash accounts by the night before. She literally was on this video looking over her notes for 2 minutes while cruise director Drew said "well lets just say 10pm. (It's actually 11pm and I knew that, but the departure officer of the ship didn't). This is not a big deal but it's just one example of why I say Royal Caribbean is not polished.

 

 

 

Their system for ringing up drinks is too slow. They need a faster system and need to go paperless. They need more servers at most if not all of the bars. The Vitality Café one day I just had two people in front of me. The problem is, is that they both wanted smoothies and it takes them about 3-4 minutes to make one smoothie. Then it takes them another minute or two to ring them up. So here I have to wait 8-10 minutes to get a bottle of water so I can go to the gym to workout. There is no excuse not to have two servers there all day. They pay these servers next to nothing anyways. One time at the Vitality Café there was a line of about three people and it was moving very slowly. Another Royal Caribbean employee came over to the front of the bar and I thought to myself oh great they are bringing in more help. Wrong, this Royal Caribbean employee was just coming over to get her coffee. The server stopped what he was doing for the guest and gave the employee her coffee. No excuse for stuff like that. Where are the managers watching this? There is no management. They are just trying to be as cheap as possible and if they think it doesn't effect service and if they think the guest can't tell that difference, they are gravely mistaken.

 

 

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback, but Royal Caribbean is just not for me. I would consider trying Norwegian, Carnival, Princess, or Disney in the future, but I finish the way I started.......I will never sail Royal Caribbean ever again.

I doubt you will be happy there either. I think in order to get the type of service you were expecting you need to go to the higher priced cruise lines. But then you will not get the same type of entertainment. Smaller ships might better suit you, but you are then giving up things that larger ships have to offer.

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I had good food available all day long, good services and a fair price. I am not addled. No I don't cruise in a suite and have no plans to, I can't see wasting that much money. I don't spend so much time on my cabin to be bothered even though I could book one if I chose. As I stated I paid more on my first 7 day cruise in 2001 than I have paid for longer cruises in more exotic ports recently.

My room was spotless I was treated perfectly and had towel animals every night which I would not miss if they were gone my husband and I don't drink much so the few drinks we have in the Diamond lounge are enough . No crappy chocolates on my pillow. Omg, the horror.