harz99

16 minutes ago, D C said:

The Infinity in late November was NOT self service. 

Thanks, maybe it is only the S class ships as the Tuscan on them has that big non carpeted entrance area for the buffet stations, misinformation from the Maitre D...🙄

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

My embarkation last Sunday was fine. I arrived in the area an hour early so parked up at the nearby McDonalds and went in for coffee. Consequently I arrived on time to embark and joined a short queue. Documents checked (vaccination certificate and Covid Negative confirmation), straight through security and then another short queue to the check-in desk. That took a few minutes and then straight on to the ship. All in all, on board about 30 minutes after entering the car park.

the problem with the Festive Events appears to be that there isn't sufficient time between the lunch event guests finishing up and leaving, and the evening guests on first dinner arriving for alloted check in at 1540/1600, so everyone is held up and delays built up with the result that diners for the 1800 sitting were still turning up at 1820, and so on. The second sitting was pushed back 30 minutes to 2030 as a direct consequence.

1 hour ago, Britboys said:

Hopefully you have some travel insurance to claim on?

no use as only one night, most UK travel insurance only covers you for stays of two night's or longer.

 In the event we managed to find a way of getting there involving a 75 minute bus journey to get to Durham and trains from there to London and on to Tilbury Town and anothet short bus ride to the ship.

Have to say the experiences at the check in and onboard left us slightly underwhelmed though, and Tilbury is not a place I'd consider sailing from in future either.

Well we're booked for the event on 16th, because of the rail strikes it is now impossible for us to get to/from Tilbury from our home near Hartlepool, i don't drive and there are no viable coach alternatives. A request a couple of weeks back to change the booking to next year or for a credit against a future cruise was met with a refusal.

I was going to ring again today but found the offices are closed for a staff Christmas jolly - well that's £218 down the drain and any chance of me booking a cruise on their line gone forever.

As regard the Elite Breakfast, being buffet or plated, back in the days when the revision to plated was made it was supposedly because the authorities weren't happy with self service counters in a carpeted area, which at the time was the case on both M and S class ships due to the then positioning of the counters. It is now possible on the S class only? to have mobile buffet counters at the polished floor entrance to Tuscan Grill - i don't think the same is possible at the venue used on the M class (long time since I've sailed on one) which may explain a previous comment...

We were on Silhouette in October this year out of Southampton, the Elite breakfast had just been reverted back to a self service buffet in the old style, with waiters bringing drinks and toast if required, served in Tuscan grille. I was led to understand this was fleet wide...are the posts from others above from cruisers who have experience since October?

On 10/3/2022 at 5:00 PM, upwarduk said:

Always from Southampton.

thanks, i knew they used to but it's been 8 years since we last did an ex UK cruise with Celebrity, lots of things could've changed in that time😏.

Hi, does Celebrity still put kettles in the cabins for sailings ex Southampton? Please only answer if you've sailed on her this year from Southampton thank you.

I do wish people would put the day of the week or date when they quote how easy or difficult it was  to make an early flight...there is a world of difference between traffic  levels on Sundays, Saturdays and weekdays!

On 8/21/2022 at 3:00 PM, ev8876 said:

We just disembarked last week.  Walk off started at 6:30am.  We had Rome Cabs pick us up at 6:45am and were at FCO at 7:30am.  We had a 10:50am flight.  Checked in and through passport control and security by 8:30am. 

What day of the week though...

On 10/14/2021 at 4:41 PM, GenSteve said:

I've never cruised with MSC before but did a status match to Diamond and wanted to try them in 2022. I booked an 11-night Magnifica itinerary departing 18 Apr 22 from Rome to Southampton in July. I tried accessing my booking the past 2 days and got error messages. I tried calling MSC. After 10 minutes of navigating a ridiculous phone tree, I spoke with an agent. She told me the sailing was CLOSED - aka cancelled - for the 18 Apr 21 departure. I received no notification and, apparently, can't even request a deposit refund until MSC decides what's happening with this date. The odd thing is that the cruise is still available from Genoa departing 19 Apr 22.

 

Is MSC really this bad? Their technology and customer service are awful.

To answer your last paragraph, in a word yes! US cruise departures seem to fare better, but UK not so. We have also had a short April cruise on Orchestra from Southampton to Hamburg cancelled on us, it looks as though the repositioning cruises are either sailing empty or re-deployments have been cancelled...

I'll hazard a guess that Orchestra is staying in S America...

Not quite the same thing but I've just had a shortie on Orchestra from Southampton to Hamburg cancelled next April and I believe that was the last part of a repo from S. America...maybe all repo's will be without passengers...

On 6/3/2021 at 8:56 PM, C-Dragons said:

Ah, you hit the nail on the head! 😉

Most X cruisers are also "far away from any meaningful benefits” but cruise with them because of the X experience. That's why their CC loyalty membership has continued to grow. As a business, that's what X wants and needs. But from a practical standpoint adjustments eventually have to be made somewhere. Unfortunately they can’t please everyone.

CC loyalty membership increases has an awful lot to do with Crown and Anchor reciprocy as well, probably far more than new X cruisers... 

On 3/22/2021 at 10:58 AM, medic143 said:

Thanks for that. The best I could find was

 

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/cruise/msc-cruises-weighs-uk-ship-deployment-for-summer

 

and even then I couldn't tell if the CEO was saying the "big ship" was going to do the UK only stuff instead of Magnifica or as well as the Magnifica. Even then with his reference to 21 June it would still be technically possible for the Magnifica to sail her original itinerary, but Norway has a say in that and Ive seen a reference to that fact it doesn't decide that until May.

It's Virtuosa now, all Magnifica 2021 cruises including my May one won't happen as the ship is not coming to the UK this year. Prices are considerably higher on Virtuosa and the MSC web site has the details of compensation for newly cancelled cruises...

16 minutes ago, heatherb1958 said:

I made that exact comment on the Princess social media board  as they are selling their seacations as All inclusive. MSC too.

It is human nature , we all do it when we are on a land based holiday , the weather is rubbish and what do we do ? Find a bar with internet and have a drink , but not to excess I may add 😆. With a drinks package it is very easy too as the crew keep coming to check on you and get you a refill if you want one or not ! 😆.

Really, in recent years my experiences on pretty much all the cruise lines except Crystal was that I have more often than not had to go to the bar to get a drink as there just aren't enough servers to go around...or maybe I don't grease their palms enough.Lol.

15 hours ago, little britain said:

Not necessarily. For Odyssey we could do any cruise any time any where....the only stipulation was the duration must be +/- one day.  Naturally went for a longer cruse LOL! 

Well sort of as i said before, except that the cancellation notice i just received says "product" instead of "itinerary" just to confuse matters and make yet more work for TAs.

Very poor and lazy from Royal, given that there is only one ship available yearly from Southampton it wouldn't be too much effort to actually list the lift n shift options for each cancelled cruise. Still at least a decision has been made.

On 3/29/2021 at 10:46 AM, Biker19 said:

Yes.

You are supposed to.

Although one of the conditions of Lift n Shift states must be same itinerary, which for some cruises like June 4th isn't possible...

8 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

May 7 is the date that I hope we have a clearer picture by.😉

Interesting you should choose that date, we are in the top 4 UK groups for vaccination which are hoped to be done by mid February, taking the 14th as the mid point and 2nd shot being within the stated (UK) 12 weeks later, I am reckoning on May 8th as being the very earliest we'll be able to sail, and I'm doubtful of even that date simply because the vast majority of people still won't have had both jabs by then.

7 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Any reputable TA should be providing both prices. 

Agreed, but I'm sure you'll agree that almost all, if not all of the big North American online agencies headline advertised prices are with NRDs. Those agencies are the most likely places for a person booking from other parts of the world to end up booking with. Providing both prices isn't the same as clearly advertising both prices, hence my posted comment.

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Keep trying.  Many others that reside in the UK have booked with North American travel agents. 

Agreed, but they should be aware you still have to ask for the price for a refundable deposit booking these days.

19 minutes ago, cublet said:

Hello,

 

I've only been cruising with RCI since 2006 and have never been offered a refundable deposit whether booking direct or via a TA.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

You won't, there's no such thing in the UK or pretty much anywhere else except North America. 

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That has not been updated. 
https://loyaltoyoualways.com/service/cruisewithconfidence1/

 

As we continue to overcome the challenges of the current environment, Royal Caribbean® wants to ease the vacation planning hesitation that your clients may be feeling by providing additional reassurance and flexibility. We’ve made the decision to extend our popular Cruise with Confidence policy to allow cancelations up to 48-hours prior to sailing in exchange for a 100% Future Cruise Credit when booking on or before January 31, 2021 for sailings through April 30, 2022. That’s an additional two months of comfort and security for your clients.   The policy parameters remain unchanged — including your commission protection on both the canceled reservation AND your client’s future booking where the Future Cruise Credit is redeemed! PLUS…

• Lift & Shift your clients who simply wish to move their existing reservation to next year, protecting their original cruise fare & promotion. It’s simple— select a qualifying sailing in the future, fill out the automated form on CruisingPower.com, and we’ll handle the rest.• Book your clients on or before January 31, 2021 and they’ll also be eligible to take advantage of our Best Price Guarantee up to 48-hours prior to sailing, ensuring the best deal!

Thank you for that, obviously you are a travel agent? How on earth us mere customers are supposed to know this as we don't get to see the detail of the policy in this way I don't know! Even from your TAs brief it isn't totally clear what "qualifying sailings" for the BPG element are, as that isn't spelt out in that section. I guess we assume the dates referred to in the first paragraph of the brief are applicable.

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

UK bookings are covered under the CWC.

 

CWC covers 3 things

 

 - Lift and shift

 - cancel up to 48 hours prior to date of sailing

 - best price guarantee

Just looked at both US and UK sites and this is what it says in the relevant to us sections of the FAQ answers relating to the above:

Q : How are Non-Refundable Deposit bookings impacted by this policy update?
A : Non-Refundable Deposits that were booked on or before September 30th, 2020 and are sailing on-or-before April 30th, 2022 are eligible for the Cruise with Confidence Policy and follow the same guidelines. Prior to the Final Payment deadline, guests with a Non-Refundable Deposit bookings that wish to change to a different ship or sail date can do so with no fee assessed prior to September 30th, 2020 - the change fee will be waived.

Q :  If I move forward with the Best Price Guarantee, and I am issued onboard credit, when will I get it?
A :  The Best Price Guarantee program allows guests to take advantage of better rates up to 48 hours prior to sail date! Guests must be booked on or before September 30th, 2020 for sailings that depart on or before April 30th, 2022 and they can request the difference of their booked rates versus any rate reduction. The difference in pricing will be added to the booking as an onboard credit, inside final payment, and it’ll be applied within 14 business days, and a new confirmation will be generated with the Onboard Credit value.

And finally the Terms and Conditions which only make passing reference to opting for Best Price Guarantee in relation to cancellations, without setting out exactly what BPG means for price drops:

18 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

CWC used to have the Sept 30 date but it has been extended twice.  I would be surprised if the UK.  has also not extended theirs.  
 

I mentioned in my post that after final Payment was OBC so there’s no difference. 
 

the best price guarantee is part of CWC. 

Nothing I can find indicates that BPG element itself has been altered for our bookings in the UK. All the FAQs on the Royal site still refer to the dates I quoted. It was a programme introduced to  stimulate new bookings, and in the UK at least was very welcome as unlike North America, we've not had the benefit of price drops or refundable deposit for many years.