Johnny Red Tip

8 hours ago, July morning said:

We like that Fred sails from more Northern ports as it saves the hassle of getting to Southampton. We wish he would bring back the fly cruises.

On the subject of the "All inclusive Package" As others have stated it's a drinks package and has certainly served us well😂 It's quite clear what you get and at the moment prices on board for drinks are reasonable. We just use free wi-fi when in port if we feel the need to check anything at home. Crew "tips" are fair and of course if someone has served you well extra is given at the end of the cruise.

Got home from P&O Ventura on Tuesday and no way would we even consider it but of course that's our choice.

Re 'It's quite clear what you get '. except that it isn't. On the website and in any communication from them it mentions 'selected' drinks, Not 'house spirits only' and 'cocktail of the day only' or 'non branded Irish cream liquor.'. the word 'selected' implies that there is selection (to choose from) but there isn't. If this had been clear we would not have taken the package.

10 hours ago, paularmstrong said:

Just booked this cruise for next year , out of interest what were the choices of lager please do you know if they also had cider 

Package options were:-

Heineken, Stella and Moretti on tap (to be honest, I couldn't taste the difference between the Stella and Moretti). Others were available for 50% of cost. Strongbow and Somersby cider were also included

4 hours ago, cymrucat23 said:

Just out of interest - I don't drink alcohol, so this is not of interest to me other than the water. Is bottled water the only available water, or is there potable, non bottled water available - maybe I should bring my own bottles of water for our anticipated cruise in March!

You can get glasses of tap water at the bars. We used to fill our own water bottles up from the fountain in the gym. You can, of course, buy bottled water. They are large glass bottles though so a bit heavy to carry around.

My wife and I went on the cruise to Iceland recently on the Balmoral. The cruise itself was good, and the ship was fine, however the ‘All Inclusive’ (sic) package was the worst we have ever experienced.

It is the ONLY AI package we have experienced that doesn’t include:-

·        Wifi

·        Bottled water!

·        Cocktails (unless you happen to like the extremely weak cocktail of the day.)

·        Mocktails

·        Liquors (unless you like a cheap version of Baileys)

·        Bourbon

·        Irish whiskey

·        White Rum

·        Sherry

·        Port

The beer component included 2 lagers, an amber ale and Newcastle Brown – but you had to pay extra if your preferred beer was bitter.

The white wine selection was 1 SB and 2 types of chardonnay but no PG – which was available at an additional cost.

By far the worse component though was the ‘selection’ of spirits. There was no selection, the package inclusions were all cheap ‘no brand’ spirits. (For instance, the Whisky was from China). Also, other cruise lines charge the difference between the package price of a drink and actual price when upgrading to more expensive drink choices, Fred Olsen charge 50% of the total price.

There was also a drastic shortage of quiz games / parlour games. I am referring to ‘audience participation’ type games, not the shows. My wife and I are enthusiastic participants. Every cruise we have ever been on (over 25) includes at least 1 such game on every sea day – sometimes more frequently. The only such games on this cruise were 1 game of ‘Scattegories’ and 1 of ‘Majority Rules’, both of which were held at 23.30 hours when the vast majority of passengers had already retired. 

I'm cruising on the Constellation in a few days  from Rome to Dubai. I only need occasional internet access so don't want to pay for the full cruise. I have tried asking the people at Celebrity if I can just buy it by the day / hour when I need it but no-one seems capable of providing me with an answer. 😢

Does anyone here know if you can buy it by the day (hour would be even better, as I only needs it to check in on emails etc every couple of days).

cheers

I give up 😞 I've spent the last 10 minutes trying to to register for the Meet & Mingle on Celebrity Constellation Cruise leaving Rome on November 18th and keep going round in circles. Can someone please send me the navigation details. Similarly, 'm trying to update my signature and have tried several routes but can't find an update tab. It looks like CC have made some significant, and detrimental, changes to the website since I was last on. 😞

cheers

5 hours ago, diamondintn said:

Hubby and I are novice wine drinkers and we are sailing on Reflection with the premium package. We would like to have pairings for our meals chosen by the sommelier for dinner in MDR. Can we ask him/her to choose wines that are included in the premium package? Also, do we tip him and if so, should we tip each night or on the last night?  

Also, is there a cocktail waiter for the MDR? Hubby likes an after dinner drink. 

Thank you in advance for your input. Cheers!

Lisa & Phil

You only ever tip on the last night of a cruise. You might want to check to see if your deal already includes all gratuities. If you have a  favourite bar that you drink in you may want to tip the barman early on in the cruise to improve your chances of getting good service during the cruise (Not that the service is bad, it's usually quite good anyway).  

You can take what you want back to your room regardless of whether you have the drinks package or not. If you mean can you bring drinks back to your room that you have brought onto the ship that's another story. Here's a tip. Without knowing what cruise line you are on - most drinks packages exclude bottles of wine bought in the dining rooms (although the price is usually discounted), but if you order your wine by the glass instead of the bottle it's included in the package - this can make the difference between a drinks package being worthwhile or not.

It's not even expected in the MDR. On Ovation of the Seas last year guys were allowed in the MDR wearing t shirts, beach shorts and thongs (flip flops if you're in the UK). When I queried this with RC the response was that dress requirements were a recommendation only.

good luck with that :-(

My wife and I are members of Crown & Anchor and are booked on 2 cruises with RC this year. Their website is just about the worse cruise website I have ever experienced. It is full of errors and confusing information. Maybe send them an email to cruiseadmin.au@rcclapac.com.

We were on the Ovation of the Seas Singapore to Sydney cruise in November. The dress rules on formal nights were not universally observed or enforced so I sought clarification from RC. Here is a summary of the relevant portions of the email exchange (my highlighting):-

From RC: "While we understand the dress code impacts the fine dining atmosphere, we want everyone to feel relaxed and comfortable during their vacation. We encourage our guests to participate with our recommended dress code.

Unfortunately, we recognize that there may be instances when some guests might not adhere to our recommended dress code and cannot speculate on their specific circumstances.

My response: "As I will be cruising with RC again in March, and quite probably in July / August can you please confirm that the dress code is similarly relaxed on all RC cruise ships."

RC reply: "Our dress code on all ships is smart casual. We want everyone to feel relaxed and comfortable during their vacation."

Hope everyone finds this exchange useful :cool:

If you want your suitcases to be taken off by RC crew you just leave your cases outside the cabin door the night before and you get assigned a disembarkation time (which you can usually change if you don't like it). If you want to take the suitcases off yourself you just get off within the time allotted to you.

RE: “ There is the matter of getting ice to chill it, however, which some people say is complicated"

It's not complicated at all. You can either fill up at the ice making machines in the buffet or simply ask barstaff to fill a glass with ice for you.

cheers.

Hi SRF,

May I suggest that you actually read posts before commenting on them.

1) Unless Independence has switched to "Freedom Dining" only you have a choice between early and late sitting. Check your 'Cruise Personaliser" or whatever RC call it.

2) Internet is always horrendously expensive on cruise ships. We usually just pop into a bar with free wifi whenever we are in a port, and do our internet stuff over a drink for free. Most ships have a special internet package on the last full day.

3) If you're new to cruising and are fairly independent here's a tip. Don't bother with the Cruise shore excursions. They are usually twice the price of locally sourced options (which you can explore on the net before you sail), and you end up being herded around with 40 other people.

Thanks for all the tips and information everyone. I've just booked the 'deluxe' package :-)

Thanks for all the tips and information everyone. I've just booked the 'deluxe' package :-)

I have a related question so hopefully someone can help. I have just booked on the Singapore to Sydney cruise on Ovation in November. (My wife and I are Crown & Anchor members) If I pre-purchase the drinks package its AUD66 pp per day (costs more if you purchase on board), BUT it doesn't include drinks over US$12. I am up to the 8th email in an exchange with RC trying to establish how much a Long Island Iced Tea is (my preferred cocktail), as, if it's over $12 it's not worth buying the package. They don't seem able (or willing) to tell me, so if anyone knows how much RC currently charge for a Long Island Iced Tea I would appreciate it :-)

cheers

I was hit with a similar charge a few years ago by Carnival. A short sharp letter to the OZ CIO got a refund of the charge straight away.

I have a related question so hopefully someone can help. I have just booked on the Singapore to Sydney cruise on Ovation in November. (My wife and I are Crown & Anchor members) If I pre-purchase the drinks package its AUD66 pp per day (costs more if you purchase on board), BUT it doesn't include drinks over US$12. I am up to the 8th email in an exchange with RC trying to establish how much a Long Island Iced Tea is (my preferred cocktail), as, if it's over $12 it's not worth buying the package. They don't seem able (or willing) to tell me, so if anyone knows how much RC currently charge for a Long Island Iced Tea I would appreciate it :-)

cheers

I have a related question so hopefully someone can help. I have just booked on the Singapore to Sydney cruise on Ovation in November. (My wife and I are Crown & Anchor members) If I pre-purchase the drinks package its AUD67 pp per day (costs more if you purchase on board), BUT it doesn't include drinks over US$12. I am up to the 8th email in an exchange with RC trying to establish how much a Long Island Iced Tea is (my preferred cocktail), as, if it's over $12 it's not worth buying the package. They don't seem able (or willing) to tell me, so if anyone knows how much RC currently charge for a Long Island Iced Tea I would appreciate it :-)

cheers

I have a related question so hopefully someone can help. I have just booked on the Singapore to Sydney cruise on Ovation in November. (My wife and I are Crown & Anchor members) If I pre-purchase the drinks package its AUD67 pp per day (costs more if you purchase on board), BUT it doesn't include drinks over US$12. I am up to the 8th email in an exchange with RC trying to establish how much a Long Island Iced Tea is (my preferred cocktail), as, if it's over $12 it's not worth buying the package. They don't seem able (or willing) to tell me, so if anyone knows how much RC currently charge for a Long Island Iced Tea I would appreciate it :-)

cheers

Quite the opposite I'm afraid waitingforrhapsody. Up until now you had the option of opting out once you were on board. Now that they are included in the fare they are compulsory - just hidden from you :-(

Does anyone know if I purchase the non alcoholic refreshment package, and I decide to get an alcoholic drink if they would only charge me for only the alcohol in the drink since I prepaid for the non alcohol portion.

 

As I think I'd get use of the refreshment package but I don't drink too much.

Easy - Assuming that you're not referring to cocktails, you just order your alcoholic drink and mixer separately, and mix it yourself.

RE: Quick question : my wife and I both purchased a drink package. Could I go to a bar with her card and mine, and pick up 2 drinks (or for each of us) or do we need to physically both be there to order?

If RC are like Princess you can't order bottles of wine in the restaurant from off your package, you have to pay for them, so what you do is order your wine by the glass when in the restaurant and that way they are included in your package.

cheers