jerseylily

We are on a cruise that includes a partial transit of the Panama Canal in November. The ship seems to only make one stop during this transit for 3 hours between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. I assume this would be in Colon. The ship excursions for this day however include trips of up to five hours and more. How does this work if we are officially only stopping for 3 hours in the early evening. Do they stop at a point where they join the Panama Canal and let people to join these excursions and then pick them up later? Any help would be great as I am trying to plan what we can do on this day, would we miss the locks and lake if we take a trip?

Hi guys, why has this descended into something nasty, isn't the point of it that we have different cultures in Europe and the US and isn't that what we travel for to visit new cultures?

Why not get back to topic..what are the lines like?

Hopefully not too long to wait..

'Cruise operator rolls out first high-speed internet connection for the open ocean. Carnival's network is 'ten times faster' than previous boat-bound Wi-Fi'

the Verge 3rd November 2014

If they wanted, they could offer it for free without losing revenue or passing along the costs to passengers elsewhere. In fact, they may be able to gain a revenue stream by offering it for free. Just like Starbuck's, McDonalds, and other places that offer free WiFi, the business model is not only to bring in additional customers and make them stay longer, but also to get revenue from advertising that is shown when you log-in to the WiFi. In fact, the WiFi infrastructure isn't even owned by these companies. The more people who log-in, the more the advertising revenue, the more likely the company that runs it will be willing to increase bandwidth for all. Win-Win.

 

Increase in Internet speeds will become a necessity moving forward. While we may think that use of the Internet is voluntary, the fact is that more and more of our lives is reliant on the Internet and as the ship (and we) become more connected, NCL will need to keep up. It's not a question of whether, it's a question of when. That key card to get into your room and pay for things is so 2010.

Hear Hear! A great post reflecting the new reality....

Cruise companies need to negotiate with communication providers to get their costs down if they are too high...it is so last century to charge for this.

Iconcierge looks good...still not internet access though....I think the publicity and extra bookings would more than makeup the costs. Hotels do it so does Starbucks and MacDonalds.

I guess not, but wouldn't it be great?

They could have a ship app that could send you the dailies and all offers and opportunities that suit those in your specific cabin each morning. Think of the positive publicity for NCL.

I guess they won't, too many use thier 'free' OBC credit on it and that probably is cheaper to them than cruisers using it on goodies or drinks which cost them much more.

Go on NCL, surprise all us cruisers and create an earthquake in your industry and bring them into the 21st century!

Not everyone who signs up for roll call is signing up for meet and greet...just a thought

We arelooking at that too but the November sailing so any information would be very interesting

In support of the OP. I was also on this cruise. The safety issues are real and worrying. The key for me was that I purchased (what was my first cruise with RCL) based on the experience promised in the brochure and online advertising (including MTD) and I did not get the promised experience in virtually any respect except the haven of my cabin. Had I had access to a review like this I would have been able to make a more considered judgement whether or not to proceed. Thank you again OP. It was the worst experience of my cruising career to date. Please RCL - get a special brand for these cruises or at least get a separate brochure so that all, western, eastern alike know what they are paying for.

Hear hear..a different brand would leave no one I doubt as to what they were buying into.. I have been on star cruises and you get to know the product but they did have an English pub! We were generally the only ones in it though! I have to say I probably enjoyed them more than this cruise...

There we no port lectures on our cruise and the photocopied port information was badly copied and pasted and missing end to sentences and the copy quality was so bad you couldn't read the maps. We had to rely on the VERY kind Japanese port welcome staff who who provided bands , drums, dancers in Kobe and Beppu on arrival and departure along with useful information.

Hi ,

Paulette thank you for your link to RCL dining staff. I have now written to RCL UK with a full report of expectation v actual experience and await their response.

Regards the safety issues, not only was shore disembarkation unsafe (using junior staff to try and contain the mob), but you could not properly hear the safety briefing on day one over the noise. I too think these issues are the most worrying part of this whole experience.

I am hoping RCL will in future make known the exceptional nature of these cruises and take heed of the the safety issues raised.

Thanks again.

Thank you all for your feedback. This has spurred me to write to RCL on this matter and I have pages of notes on the experience. I thought I was booking the brochure experience and my time dining and I got neither and at no point did RCL make any attempt to tell me otherwise before I boarded.

The crew are not happy serving the food on this ship as they were embarrassed (one crew member was overjoyed when we complained to the more senior wait staff) The senior staff were noticeable by their absence around the ship, perhaps they are equally embarrassed.

I agree with the poster who mentioned the shambolic disembarkation on shore days. It was a frightening security disaster and will end up in a bad injury or worse at some point if they do not do something about it (we got out of line on one day as it was too scary and reminded me of stories of mass crushing, children were crying and scared, not a great start to a day sightseeing).

It is no excuse for RCL to say it is because it is an "asian cruise". That is disrespectful to all passengers onboard. They all deserve better.

I am not sure I will be repeating an RCL experience it will take a lot of convincing to try this cruise line again.

Any help gratefully received on this question

By the way food in the main dining room was awful! Worst of any cruise. I never thought I would ever say I would prefer the food in the buffet restaurant, but I did this time.

Hi just trying to verify if this is normal RCL cruising experience? We booked my time dining but was told not available so got allocated main seating. There were no food flourishes or garnish on any food presented in the main dining room other than dead parsley sprigs. NO alcohol could be brought on boarding day. Only 2 different films in screen room over 8 days. No special food on formal night. Is this normal? It was not the experience I was expecting on RCL looking at the brochures.

Hi thanks for the offer of email but I have picked them up on the blog.

Hi I cannot read the compass images you have kindly posted. Is this because I do not have tapatalk?

I understand from the website and others that packages are not available online for these Asia cruises until you board. There is also a suggestion that the prices are different too (cheaper?) - others with RCI experience will assist you I am sure. I too would be interested in the package prices (onboard) this year as I am on an 8 night China Japan cruise and like you have not been able to buy packages online.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2130487&highlight=mariner

this is what I found... hope it helps

Hi we are travelling to China and Japan and understand that there are some differences on these Asian itineraries, for example drinks packages are different. Can anyone tell me if they have formal nights (we are an 8 night) or do they not bother on these routes? I cannot see this in our booking information.

Hello, I am new to Fred Olsen and we are preparing to book a BA cabin on the Braemar 10 nights in April and just do not know which deck to go for 6 or 7 with a superior balcony cabin ANY help would be really welcome. Are there any obstructions on either deck (on 6 it would be the middle section of the ship)

Hi Tjar - the transpacific commencing 4th October was originally on the 123 list (early last week) and has been booked with the offer by at least 1 on the roll call. If you have already booked and want to upgrade to 123 you need to be aware that the cruise appears to be nearly full (I am booked on it and have a look now and then) hence you are not seeing it listed now. I am not sure have that will affect your chances on this one (I am UK so there is nothing on offer for me)

Correct, but look over the individual prices before buying a package. I've read that with some selections the packages offer no discount at all.

Thanks Larry

I had a look at the prices of the wine - if you are happy with the "houseW wines at 30$ they indeed do not offer a discount.. so I think I will hang on with this...

Happy cruising Larry

Thanks for the response so just to clarify - if the 3 bottle package cost say 100$ I can choose any three from the list for my say 100$ - the 3 bottle package will not cost more dependant on what wine I choose from the list provided for the classic wines?