cruisin from florida

My prediction: nobody is cruising western this week. Expect a LOT of ships in Nassau.

We live in Pinellas County near the Gulf of Mexico, and I'm supposed to head out in Independence from Canaveral on Monday for a girl's trip. Unless the track changes significantly, I'm going to cancel. Can't leave hubby to deal with a potentially major storm alone, and I'd be to worried to enjoy the cruise.

If it's required, have a backup plan. Our hotel wi-fi wasn't up to the task. Also Greece (as of this week) still requires masks on tour buses, regardless of vaccination status.

We're on the Brilliance right now, and let me start by saying that it's been an amazing cruise. Beautiful ports, terrific cabin steward, excellent service in bars, fantastic suite/Diamond concierge. That said, here's the story on our port transfers .. I reserved Venice airport transfers before our pre- and post-cruise travel was planned. We subsequently booked a post-cruise stay in Venice. When we were going to the transfer bus at the Venice airport, I asked one of the representatives if there was a return transfer to the city. I was told no, just to the airport. (That's one.) On day 3 ( I think) there were lots of announcements on the app about booking transfers by noon of day 4. Out of curiosity I clicked on the link and saw.... Venice City Center transfers available! I called the customer service desk to see if we could get our transfers switched to City Center instead of the airport. I was told we had to go down to the customer service desk. ( That's two). It had been a long day (Athens/Acropolis tour) but we were headed out early the next morning and transfers needed to be reserved by noon the next day, so down I went (this was after the Suite and Diamond concierges had left for the day.) Waited in line until the now infamous "clear out the customer service queue" guy got to me and told me to get the tickets on the website. (That's three). Seriously? If I had been given the correct information at the airport, I would have changed the transfers on board with time to spare. The customer "service" guy who took the call could have done it over the phone, or told me to go to the website. But no, I had to schlep down to their desk for nothing. Truly nothing, for in fact, after I had made the request online as directed, when the concierge checked, it wasn't there. So she took care of it. You shouldn't have to have loyalty status or be in a suite to get competent service and correct information. Thanks for letting me vent. Like I said, this was the only dark blot on an otherwise wonderful cruise. But I was really exhausted, and didn't need the unnecessary extra hassle caused by folks who couldn't take 30 seconds to say "I don't know, let me find out for you."

That's pretty much what we did. We're still masking in crowded indoor places, but way less stressed post-test.

Definitely have a backup plan. We tried several times with emed using the hotel wi-fi... No joy.

Tested negative this morning! We are go for launch! We've been traveling since last Saturday... Flight to Paris, TGV to Aix en Provence, museums, restaurants, subways, buses. Masked indoors. This morning we took a "practice" test (negative!) before trying to use our emed tests. The hotel wi-fi wasn't up to the task, so we were at a pharmacy around the corner from our hotel when they opened at 9. Half an hour later, we had our results and paperwork.

We'll be celebrating an anniversary on our upcoming Greek Isles crise, and are thinking of booking the chef's table. The cruise is part of a 3 week Europe trip, and we are trying to pack light. Does hubby need a jacket, or would a shirt and tie suffice? Attire says "formal." Thanks!

I think "not going hungry" is a pretty low bar. We've been on 5 cruises post-reopening, and we're about to take off on our 6th. Service and food were definitely not up to pre-covid standards. I think the vast majority of issues are related to the supply chain and staffing issues. EVERYONE was doing their best under really tough circumstances. That said, if some of these had been my first cruise, and I didn't understand the underlying issues, I'd think hard before cruising with Royal again. I believe that Royal rolled the dice and increased passenger load hoping that staffing and supply chain would work out before the full cruises. That didn't happen. I think it's appropriate for passengers to let Royal know that they expect better. If the current standards are perceived as acceptable, they won't improve when the short-term issues are resolved.

Hmmm. And coins are harder to exchange for other currency, in my experience. I think we'll take some dollars, get some euros before we board, and ask folks what they prefer. We're doing a week in Italy after the cruise, so we're not going to get stuck with a bunch of euros.

We definitely be getting euros to pay, and tip on land!😄 I guess we'll get some ones in case anyone on the ship prefers them. Does the casino take/and pay out dollars or euros ?

Out of 6 in our traveling group, 3 came back with covid from our early June cruise. It's definitely out there. At this point we're being careful at home, and will mask when appropriate before we test for the cruise. We'll probably stick with outdoor dining, which won't be difficult in Provence.

We're getting ready to go!! Woohoo! Do you recommend dollars or euros for tipping (diamond drinks, suite drinks, extra cash here and there) on European (Greek Isles out of Ravenna) cruises? If dollars, we need to pack small bills, if euros, we'll get them after we arrive (got a zero fee debit card just for such things). Thanks!!

We've been careful throughout the pandemic, are vaxxed and double boosted, still mask indoors, etc. I am stressing over testing negative on our upcoming Greek Isles cruise. We're doing a week in Provence before the cruise (seemed like a good idea a year ago when we booked the airfare), and now I feel like between the flights, train rides, and outings, our odds of catching omicron before we board are pretty high. There's nothing to be done; I just wanted to vent with a group who would sympathize. Anybody who has gone to Europe lately and NOT caught covid, please post to give me hope, along with any tips on how you managed it! Thanks!

We got our royal up to a one bedroom Grand Suite for our 8/28 cruise on Brilliance. (Woohoo!!!) We're Diamond +, so get those perks, and originally booked a JS, so we should get our double points (which should be doubled again.. hoping that works out). Questions : -We didn't buy a drink package, but I did order a 24 pack of water for the room (for on the ship and in port). Is this still necessary? -My understanding is that we will get our diamond drinks PLUS have a happy hour in the suite/concierge lounge. Is this correct? -Are there any other suite amenities that might impact how we plan for the cruise? (Ex: this is part of a three week Europe trip, so we'll be doing laundry somewhere. Also, if there are specialty dining benefits, that could impact the purchase of a dining package.) Thank you! We're so excited!

Maybe ours went up a little. I'll check to see if that's the difference. UPDATE: Invoice has been fixed. Same price as original booking on Enchantment.😁

The royal website showed the Brilliance, (no cabin for a couple of days) then showed the new cabin. Deck 2, down from deck 7 on original booking. No bueno. So I called and they found us cabins on deck 7. That was 8/3. Still not sure the pricing is identical, but I'll follow up on that later this week.

I'd watch your booking if I were you. Our Enchantment -> Brilliance cabin assignment was done, and we weren't happy with the new cabin location. It was fixed with a quick call. I'm not sure the invoice is correct, but I'm waiting for the dust to settle a bit before calling on that

We need the same info. Hopefully someone will post details.

We were happy with our Alaska cruise switching from Enchantment to Brilliance. We weren't so happy with our original cabin assignment on Brilliance after the change, but a call to C&A / Customer service (I dialed C&A, but late in the call I was asked if I'd ever cruised with RCCL before, so ???) got us back on a deck and location we're happy with.

Woohoo!!! We just got the email that our bid ($325pp) was accepted for a one bedroom GS on Brilliance for our Greek Isles cruise at the end if August. I hope someone enjoys the aft JS that became available when we got upgraded. We booked really early, and got a great deal on the JS, so the total cost is really reasonable. This will be our first "real" suite (we are usually in balconies with an occasional JS). Super excited!

Just a little compassion for the grandson. I have a son who repeatedly lost his wallet/DL in his college years. He is successfully adulting these days.

We booked in May for September, so we're out of luck.

I found a small price drop on an upcoming cruise. We are past final payment, but I called C&A expecting to get an OBC for the amount of the price drop, as we have done in the past. I was told that since this cruise wasn't booked while "cruise with confidence" was still in effect, there is no adjustment or OBC if there's a price drop after final payment. Is the new and I missed it?

We usually just get wine by the glass at dinner, using some of our diamond plus drinks, and pay the price difference if needed. On Explorer in June, they were running out of lots of wines in Chops and Giovanni's. We'll bring a couple of bottles, just in case. When they have their usual selection, it's not worth the trouble.