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marielco

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About Me

  • Location
    Dublin, Ireland
  • Interests
    Photography
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Royal Carribean/Norwegian
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Copenhagen

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  1. Things got worse on Ambition today. Areas closed including pool, hot tubs even the library! No self service in the buffet.
  2. I just heard from a friend on Ambition at the moment. She just came down with the virus and has been quarantined along with her travelling companion. Apparently a number of passengers have come down with it. My husband and I were on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas visiting the Greek isles last month. My husband came down with the virus as did a lot of other people on the ship. We have been cruising for years and never encountered it before. Is Noro virus more prevalent this year in Europe?
  3. My first MSC cruise was soon after cruising restarted after the pandemic. Then we were given an embarkation time. Is this still the case or can you now arrive whenever you like on embarkation day?
  4. Hi @orville99 I don’t this there was any problem at all with Starlink. It is just as another poster said there are two elements which have to work together - Starlink and the ships network tech. There is no doubt the problem lies with the old tech on the ship. I cruised Wonder last year and the WiFi was great. Until all the older ships local network tech has been brought up to the standard on the new ships there will be various levels of WiFi available whether Starlink is fitted or not.
  5. It definitely was not a temporary outage of the nearest access point. The WiFi expert at the sales desk was very clear about that. He repeated more than once that it was an old ship and the WiFi (even my browsing not streaming choice) just didn’t work in the cabins (except for a some) He said while they had upgraded to Starlink, the necessary upgrade of the ships technology had not been done yet. I have been on many RC ships with varying levels of WIFi (even experienced cabin door open scenario). in this case the problem was clearly what the crew member (an officer) told me - inadequate old technology with Starlink. My problem was not that they had old technology, which did not work across the ship, this is understandable with an old ship. My gripe was that they sold it as perfect, fastest etc…. Without any warning that it most probably would not work in your cabin. You could then decide knowing all the facts if you wanted to buy it. I love RC but in this case I would have expected better of them.
  6. @Biker19 I did all that but still no joy. Our cabin was deck 7 beside the library so we were very central but it made no difference. He said “some” not “most” and I think he would have said “most” if that was the case. At the start it was an even more bold statement that “it didn’t work in cabins” Anyway if you pay for WiFi you shouldn’t have to stand by your open cabin door to use it. I’m sure Starlink is great when paired with up to the minute ship technology but RC should make it clear what is the true standard of service on the ship when selling you a package. if you ha
  7. You need to do longer than 7 days and have some see days along the way. Western Med which may be where you are intending to cruise can be very port intensive and tiring. May is a good month or September. School holidays are not around then and the weather is warm but not too hot.
  8. Planning my recent cruise on Explorer I was excited to discover it has Starlink installed. I booked 7 days of WiFi and looked forward to finding out how fast it really is. I had read all the RC blurbs extolling the virtues of the “fastest WiFi” at sea. I logged in but despite connecting it was so slow to access anything. I had a speed test on my iPhone and on running that I got a negligible result (see attached) I went to the WiFi desk and was told by the crew member selling the internet packagers that the “WiFi” doesn’t work in the cabins”. I was stunned at this. He said it is an old ship so the internal technology needed to be upgraded. They could not do anything about the poor service. I suggested he could tell people before he sold his packages how poor the service was! He just shrugged saying well in works in “some” of the cabins. In the end I cancel my package and got a refund in OBC. I just wanted to warn that the fact a ship has Starlink does not guaranteed good service or speed. This depends entirely on what existing technology is on the ship. Caveat emptor.
  9. @BND I suppose it is pot luck whether the ship you are on handles an outbreak properly or not. Thankfully the captain of Explorer last week did things properly and his medical department were on the ball. We rang them at 2am in morning and my husband was told to come to medical center immediately. There were two nurses and a doctor on duty and a number of other patients attending. The line or other cruisers in defence of RC always trying to say it is “brought on board” by someone is pointless. It happens anywhere there is mass catering and a cruise ship just happens to be one of those. In fact it matters not whether brought on board or originating on board an outbreak needs to be handled properly by the cruise line. As well as good treatment, my husband has already been told he will get a future cruise credit for the time he was in quarantine.
  10. Very aware it happens and when I said, not on a ship with an outbreak before, I meant one that was big enough to impact procedures and a noticeable amount of people impacted.
  11. Just got off Explorer of the Seas yesterday. In the middle of the cruise the captain announced “enhanced cleaning regime” due to stomach virus on the ship. They started serving the food in the Windjammer, a crew member even had to fill your soda cup from the machine for you. A lot of people got ill. My husband came down with it on the Friday - he had not eaten in the Windjammer so not from there - quarantined for 24 hours. The medical staff were very good but it is still a very nasty dose. We have been on many cruises but luckily never on a ship with an outbreak. It pretty much ruined our last few days and the cruises of many others. We always wash our hands, use the sanitisers etc.. but obviously it can still get you.
  12. Many thanks. I will check there. It may be we will just need to take a taxi.
  13. My husband and I are flying to Bologna and taking a train to Ravenna in June to sail on the Explorer around the Greek isles. We will stay overnight in Ravenna and we are wondering if there is a shuttle from Ravenna train station to the port? Anyone know.
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