Brit-Cruiser

4 hours ago, little britain said:

No email yet from my TA about my cancelled May cruise. Hopefully the default still is “ do nothing and get 125% FCC”. 
There was a RCI cancellation site where you could go and action your request yourself but I can’t find it now....  @Ourusualbeach can you help please?

We haven't had notification of our May cruises being cancelled. 

Our son got an email straight away giving him the options. Default is the 125% fcc, to be received by 16th April. To get 125% fcc for on board purchases, you have to opt in before 23rd March. 

If your agent took it upon himself to move your sailing without you confirming it, then it's entirely his problem. 

If he won't reply to your messages, does he have a Manager? 

A picture with Michael Bayley, taken in Jan 2018 on Harmony

On the explorer in May, we paid £94 per person, per day for a Grand Suite. 

We started off with an inside cabin. The price kept dropping & we kept upgrading. 

We booked a cruise on Harmony last year at £309 pp including a deluxe beverage package. The next day, the price was over £900.

We waited for the email saying it was an error & it never came. We had a great cruise. 

4 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

You raised two good sons.  🙂 

I like to think so, but I'm biased because they're mine. 😊

17 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

That's strange he would get that look and comment in the CL.   Any first time cruiser can be in the CL.... by just booking a full suite (GS and above).  

Unfortunately there are people who are far more concerned with what others are doing, than minding their own business. We've come across it a few times.

I think he handled it pretty well, if they had questioned my other son, they'd have liked the response even less, he's doesn't suffer fools. 

Our son is 24 & diamond plus. He's been d+ for a good few years now.

He sometimes gets looks when he walks into lounges.

He was once asked by another cruiser if he was "allowed" to be in the Concierge lounge, to which he replied, "well they've let you in, so the bar is obviously set nice & low - I reckon I'll get away with it". The look on the guy's face was a picture. 

1 minute ago, norway olin said:

We were with him last month and those announcements all came at noon

We went to guest services to ask if he could do them at a more appropriate time. The lady we spoke to said there had been many complaints about the early morning announcements. Some friends of ours sailed the week after us & also spoke with guest services.

I guess he's maybe had to listen to the guests & move his schedule. 

On 5/27/2019 at 10:23 AM, Bee Guy said:

 

Please elaborate.

I'm sure he's a very good Captain, he's just not our cup of tea.  On Vision out of Dubai in 2017 he drove us nuts. I'm on vacation to relax & sleep in if I choose. Capt Marek & his 7.30am "happy birthday list" made sure that didn't happen. He would ramble on for several minutes every morning. Even though we had the in room speakers on mute, we could still hear him from the hallway speakers, so we were awake whether we liked it or not. There were a LOT of other Capt Marek announcements during the day. He just seemed to be everywhere except on the bridge. 

I guess he's like marmite, you either love him or you don't. We don't  

I guess it's horses for courses, but we would rather not sail on a ship where Marek is the Captain. Once was enough. 

We were in Explorer earlier this month & they were relentless in their hard sell of speciality restaurants. The did offer some "deals", but nothing close to what you are able to get the package for pre cruise. My advice would be to book it now, it's a good price. Also, when they start harranguing you on boarding day, you can end the hard sell before it starts, by telling them you have pre purchased a dining package  

I take a 12"  electric desk fan on all cruises. I've never had a problem. The cabin is way too warm to sleep without a fan. 

I just checked the prohibited items list & fans aren't on it. 

6 hours ago, DELTABLUE said:

Anyone familiar with Bill Bronckhorst?  I have family boarding Rhapsody next week and have not heard anything about him. 

We experienced him on a Dubai cruise. He's just really "flat". We called him "wooden Bill". He may as well have not been there. 

Send an email to rcldining@rccl.com around 6 weeks before your cruise. 

We've always found them very helpful. 

We jumped on a 7 night Harmony cruise early last year that was selling for less than $400 per person & included a deluxe drinks package. We booked online, paid our deposit & held our breath. 

The next day the price was almost $1200 per person. 

We were never contacted to say there was a mistake & got to cruise for an amazing price. 

We were on the 2 cruises before yours & we thought the food was very good overall. Some dishes didn't appeal to us, but that's just me being a picky eater. We have had some truly awful food on Royal ships, but really enjoyed Serenade. 

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't what you had hoped for. 

We got off the Serenade the day you boarded. We were on there for 21 nights & we LOVED it. In contrast to you, we never had a problem getting a chair near the pool, no matter what time we needed one.  We also found Andrea the cruise director to be engaging & fun. We enjoyed his morning show immensely. 

It was our first time on the Serenade, but it certainly will not be our last. 

15 hours ago, SherriZ366 said:

Thanks -- updated the Google Doc.  Do you know where JJ or Mario are?  

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Pz4Im5qh4cqd1zE5A9srLm3wGd0_SNZwTdbLTa59EF4/edit#gid=0

Mario is on vacation & JJ is in the diamond lounge. Andreas took over the concierge lounge when Mario left on vacation in December. 

I was speaking to Drew Divine last month. He told me he is going to be moving to the Adventure early 2019. 

39 minutes ago, willow1uk said:

i think you are harsh in your comment as this cruise was our yearly holiday andmy brother is disabled. we were unable to find another trip at short notice and i hope this happens to you sometime. my brother is disabled and it was a trip for him. grow up !!!

I think the point being made, is that the cruise went ahead with a changed itinerary, it wasn't cancelled. Not taking the cruise was your decision. 

I did this cruise in 2016 & the sea was pretty rough at times, that was without a storm factored into the crossing. I wouldn't have coped with much rougher seas.

They changed the itinerary for the safety of the ship and those on board. 

Had the cruise been cancelled, then your insurance would have covered it. Making a choice not to go isn't covered unfortunately. 

A lady on a social media group I belong to has contacted the Concierge on Serenade. He has emailed her back & states categorically that Serenade will NOT be following Rhapsody with this change. 

Seems a one ship thing at the moment. 

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Somehow I’m thinking that the memo from Royal to the ships read effective starting with the next scheduled sailing and that Rhapsody jumped the gun and made the change effective immediately.  

I'm pretty sure Rhapsody left Tampa today, so it's the first night on board. 

I've just spoken with a Diamond plus member currently on Serenade & she says she has been in the CL every night & is not aware of any changes. 

We left the Serenade on 21st December & used the CL with no problem. If they are implementing this mid cruise, that's really tacky.