Lanzalady

Well, at the beginning of January, I booked a 12 night Mediterranean/Greece cruise in June on the Brilliance, which was a BOGOHO plus premium drinks package and this cost me £4,287.50 including gratuities and port fees. The exact same cruise with the same type of cabin and dining preferences is today priced at £4,614.50 and doesn't include any drinks package. So that's £327 less and whatever the drinks package would have cost us. I'm very happy with that! :)

Oh dear... maybe it would be better not to leave the house.... just in case! ;)

We've had 8172 & 8672 in the Med and loved them both. Photo below is from Serenade 8172

Wow... thanks for the photo. We're in 8172 on Brilliance in June - Med/Greek Isles and we are counting the days!

Well I've just paid for my 12 day cruise in June as the exchange rate GBP - EUR is favourable for me and has saved me about 500€ from what the rate was when I booked it. The rate may go down again but I have been advised that it's more likely to rise again. It's a risk but I'm happy to take it.

Try this website to see which ships are in which ports on which days:

http://www.cruisetimetables.com/

Thank you for the feedback. In my effort to be succinct, I left out some details!

 

Here is our itinerary, with the plans we've made so far for our port days:

Day 1: Embark in Barcelona

Day 2: Cannes (train to Nice on our own)

Day 3: La Spezia*

Day 4: Civitavecchia*

Day 5: Sea Day

Day 6: Sea Day

Day 7: Athens (private tour with PK Travel)

Day 8: Kusadasi (private tour with Best of Ephesus tours)

Day 9: Santorini (debating between going out on our own or booking a private tour)

Day 10: Sea Day

Day 11: Valletta, Malta (on our own)

Day 12: Sea Day

Day 13: Disembark in Barcelona

 

*I started tour shares for Pisa/Lucca and Rome on RomeInLimo's tour sharing site, but no one has joined yet. If no one joins our Rome tour, we'll do a private tour with RomeInLimo. That will be pricey at $550 for the three of us, but we're willing to splurge to make sure we see as much a possible. If no one joins the Pisa/Lucca tour, we'll have to make other plans -- either seeing those places another way or going to the Cinque Terre. A private tour with RomeInLimo for the three of us would cost $650, and we're not willing to spend that much.

 

My friend who has been to the Cinque Terre thinks we should consider going there as Plan A, and not just if no one joins our Pisa/Lucca tour. The area looks beautiful and I think we would enjoy it, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give up seeing and climbing the Leaning Tower since we will be relatively close by.

 

ETA: As far as budget, I'd like to stay under 300 Euros for the 3 of us if possible.

Hi Lisa,

My husband and I are on the same cruise and we are also looking into the possible option of sharing some private tours with fellow cruisers. We did this a couple of years ago on the Serenade of the Seas and shared several tours in this way and found it to be a less expensive and a much more flexible way to visit each of the destinations, than using the official ship's tours. I went to the Groups section of Rome in Limo and saw that there was a group looking for others under the name of Tippins for Rome. Is that your group? We might be interested in joining the tour but just want to know whether instead of visiting the Vatican in the afternoon, we could just go off on our own, as we visited the Vatican the last time and are not that bothered about going back again. We are more interested in discovering Ancient Rome and going down into the catacombs, which we didn't get to do on our last visit. We might also be interested in sharing a private tour from La Spezia if you are thinking of setting something up but might just follow some of the advice from other posters here and catch a train to CinqueTerre. We are the only ship in La Spezia on June 21, so there should be less competition for seats on the train.

Speaking of vacation, do you think you will walk into a 5 star restaurant during your vacation? I don't think so because they will kick you out till come in nicely. That the idea of getting dress. It like going to wedding party. Have fun getting dress. be nice with other. You only wearing it for two hours. Show your Pride!!! I hate being formal, but i don't mind it because i need a change in my appearance and want to look nice. Yo Op i am sure she pressured you because she don't want to see you like a slob.

Sorry but going out to dinner is not like going to a wedding! Maybe some pretentious restaurants might insist on people dressing in a certain way but being pretentious doesn't mean that you are a 5* establishment. I would think that most quality restaurants request that their clientele appear in clean and smart attire and not necessarily dressed up like a dogs dinner. It may be different in the USA but in in Europe money doesn't equal class and many people who are considered as upper class, just dress normally when they go out to dinner. It's often those who are trying to impress others who insist on "dressing up" for dinner. It's simply eating a meal for crying out loud!! And anyway, the restaurants on the majority of cruise ships are not 5* but it all depends on what you are used to.

Hey Everyone,

 

I don't know if anyone else has the same thoughts as me but I am always contemplating whether taking a Royal Caribbean cruise. I mean they look fantastic and have tons going on but then I just think - is this too much going on? It's on my bucket list but keeps slipping further and further down with all other cruise lines and itineraries surpassing it. Can anyone convince me or give me reasons to why I should take one.

 

Glyn

I can understand where you are coming from Glyn. Comparing Royal Caribbean to say - P & O, you would think that the experience would be totally different as the ships are completely different. But as other posters have said, on an RCI cruise, you can do as much or as little as you want and there is plenty of space to be in with the crowd or totally alone. We also worried that it might all be too much for us as we are not party people and tend to keep to ourselves but we loved the choices available. We did RCI in 2014 and then tried a P & O cruise last year and this year we are back with RCI. There are generally a lot fewer Brits on RCI cruises - even those travelling to the European destinations but we thoroughly enjoyed cruising the Mediterranean and watching the world go by from our balcony cabin. Worth a try anyway!

Go on - you know that you want to! In this life you rarely regret the things that you have done but live to regret the things that you didn't do.

I don't understand why RCI distinguishes between bottled water and bottled sparkling water. Does adding a little carbination add so much to the price as to make a difference?

Apart from requiring to be stored in a glass bottle (although there are some cheap sparkling waters in my local supermarket sold in plastic bottles but these lose their fizz as soon as the bottle is opened) it also depends on whether the sparkling water in question is just plain carbonated water or natural mineral water, such as Perrier or San Pellegrino that also contain some natural carbonation. Such waters must display a description of their mineral contents on the side of the bottle denoting them as mineral water whereas tap water with fizz does not.

I have never had any luck either, and always request the beds apart on the reservation

. The room attendant is always very helpful and has it taken care of by the time we are ready for bed. Of course there is a tip involved :)

On my last Royal Caribbean cruise I requested separate beds on my booking but found that the beds were made up as a double when we arrived. I asked at the reception if they could be separated and was told that all the beds are made up as doubles for the arrivals and then re-made later on when the beds are turned down. Apart from the huge amount of additional work that this must involve for the cabin stewards, we had to wait until very late that night before the beds were actually prepared as we had requested. I certainly did not tip anyone for giving me the cabin layout that I had requested almost a year previously, as this is what their job is.

Buy one and get one free? Or buy one and get one 1/2 half? Either way, it forces the customer to buy two of whatever.

 

Buy one get one free = 50% off of each. Not bad but still have two buy two in order to get the discount. The customer may not want two.

 

Buy one get one half off = 25% off of each. Worse because the customer is getting a lower discount. It is a better sale for the company because they made two sales and at only 25% off.

 

Either way, the customer is forced to buy two in order to get the discount. Personally, I do not do BOGO sales because they seem deceitful. Others find them great sales. It all depends what is wanted or needed. :)

I have just booked a BOGOHP Mediterranean/Greek Isles cruise on the Brilliance for June and I did have to buy 2 fares - with one being normal price and one being half-price..... but then I always take my husband with me when I go on my cruises anyway, so I saved half a fare! And we both got a select drinks package thrown in too, so we are happy with our booking. We did almost the same cruise itinerary on the Serenade in 2014 and actually paid a little more back then than we are paying now and we didn't get the drinks package included.

Well that works out to 24 days per year yes? More than me in the UK, where I get 23.

Do the 24 days include national holidays or are they additional? In Spain, the average hotel employee on a fixed contract gets one month's annual holiday, which includes the weekends during that month. Additionally they get the 14 days that are national and local fiesta days, which include Christmas, New Year, Easter and local saints' days etc. But these workers also may be rostered on on any of these days and may have to take a day off in lieu at some other time. My husband has had to work every Christmas day for the past 9 years in his current job but knows that he's lucky to still have full-time work at 62 years old. I'm self-employed and don't get any paid holidays! If I want to take a break then I need to know that I have sufficient commissions due to cover the trip and also the period of time that I am away not earning anything.

Looks like she is gonna bite the bullet and accept she can't do much ironing for a fortnight!

Read the statement above back and it's an unbelievable one.

 

Gonna be controversial here but you wummin are mental. Absolutely bat**** crazy!! :confused:

 

"Puts tin hat on and awaits the volley of replies"

 

And yes us guys are perfect :p:D

Well Happy Chappy, you might like to know that not all wummin are mental. I haven't ironed an article of clothing for several years. The washing goes out on the washing line to dry and then into the tumble dryer for 10 minutes or so and then folded or hung on a hanger whilst still hot. Looks fine to us! I have a fridge magnet that says "Life's too short for ironing" and it really is. Maybe you should have booked with P & O as they have launderettes on all decks with huge washing machines and dryers and wonderful ironing boards with irons and your missus could spend hours in there happily ironing all her clothes whilst you are enjoying your cruise.

I wouldn't say tipping is an obsession.. but it is an expectation because we (as in our labor laws) IMO don't pay our servers and such the proper wages. I would rather see them get paid a normal wage and do away with tipping because it is so subjective. I have personally witnessed customers stiffing servers for things they had no control over such as "I don't like my meal"... The server offered them something else and got yelled at by the customer. So it wasn't the servers fault and they did their job and still got screwed at the end of the day...

Sounds like they need to sort out the labour laws and start paying their workers a fair wage for a fair day's work. Don't they have unions? I believe that company paid holidays are also a lot less than workers in Europe get.

:confused: Not really...

Well you all sure talk about them endlessly!!;)

Apart from the ship's tours to Rome and Florence etc., there may also be some fellow passengers organising a few private tours that could save you a lot of money. We are also on the Brilliance of the Seas, doing the Med/Greek Isles cruise on the 19th June and hope that there will be some private tours to join. We did almost the same cruise in June 2014 and did some great private tours with some of our fellow passengers though "Rome-in-Limo" who offered some fantastic tours at excellent prices.

159 days and counting!

It strikes me as odd that you claim that you immediately remove all gratuities once you board the ship in anticipation of bad service. If you have cruised as often as your signature states, which I do not doubt, and you've had problems in the past w/ poor service often enough to develop this type of reponse to tipping, then it may be a situation that you expect way more than possible and/or even deserve. No one is forcing you to tip anyone. One can always remove the gratuities if they felt they received bad service. But removing upfront indicates to me that you just don't want to tip.

 

Tipping is and has been always about quality service. If I don't receive it, I deal with it then, but not upfront. But each to their own.

 

My best to you on all of your future cruises!

I know that tipping is almost an obsession for Americans but here in Europe tipping is not obligatory and is considered as a recognition of service over and above the basic. I usually leave a tip if I have enjoyed a meal and feel that I have been treated well and yet may not leave one if I feel that the service has been lacking. I have paid for my meal, which often includes a service charge and so a tip is an extra and not an obligation. I do not go into a restaurant expecting to receive bad service and find that I very rarely receive it. Waiting staff in Europe know that their tips will depend on the service that they have given to their clients and therefore tend to act in a professional manner. If you don't expect your waiting staff to work in a professional way, then they probably won't. Waiting staff should not expect to get something for nothing - they need to earn it!

We booked our first aft balcony on Azura this winter; from memory I think it was B749. We loved it. The balcony was slighter larger than usual as it curved around the stern. Also as it was the last cabin along the corridor, there was no footflow of any other passengers. We almost felt like we had the ship to ourselves as it was so quiet in the corridor approach. We would book that cabin again in a heartbeat.

My husband and I also stayed in B749 on the Azura Baltic cruise this June and loved it! As you say, it is larger than many other balconies and totally private. Only the seagulls can see you! Also very, very quiet. Quite a long walk away from just about everywhere though, but the long walk was worth it. We're planning another cruise on Azura for 2016 - probably to the Caribbean - and want to book this cabin again.

Premier Inn West Quay. Good value hotel. Clean. Excellent breakfasts. Large M & S right opposite.

A very good reason for not paying by cash

Not to mention the risk of walking about with cash on you! I never carry much cash on me, especially when I travel abroad and I use my credit card for everything. This allows me to control my spending. I keep a spread-sheet of all my purchases (sad person that I am!) which I can compare with previous years expenditure. Credit cards are generally safe if you use them with caution but don't let them out of your sight and check what you are signing. Visa payments done electronically are the safest way of spending your money, in my opinion.

A number of years ago we went to Lanzarote where we bought some pyjamas for our daughters. This was before chip and pin so I had to sign the paper bill. This was for 32 euro's.

On our return I checked the bank statement and was billed for 432 euro's. A trip to the bank quickly followed.

They asked for my copy of the bill which showed 32 euro's and said they would investigate.

After a while it transpired that the merchant had inserted the number 4 in front of the actual amount. The bank would not tell me the consequences for the merchant.

On my next visit to Lanzarote they were still trading, I did resist the temptation to take a pair of scissors to his stock but I was tempted. :)

This must have been a very long time ago as we have had chip and pin now for years. Pity you didn't check your receipt before leaving the shop! ;)There have been occasional incidences of unscrupulous traders on the island but these usually involved electrical appliances and cameras. Many years ago the Canary Islands were considered duty free but since the introduction of a local tax about 25 years ago, which started at 2% but has slowly risen to the current 7%, the prices have gone up and up and really have nothing to do with tax. Nowadays there are few bargains to be had in the Canaries, except maybe cigarettes and tobacco and spirits. Tourists expecting bargains in electronics etc. should check prices with their local Curry's or PC World before they come as often you can buy things in the UK cheaper than here. And they would also have a guarantee! Luckily we don't have too bad a reputation as far as our local traders go and so your bad experience isn't something that occurs very often. I'm sorry that it happened to you!

We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas last year and through the Cruise Critic Roll Call, found that there were lots of people asking about private excursions and one of them organised several excursions through reputable companies and other members signed up to join the tours. These were all smallish groups and tended to be the same people on each tour. I can thoroughly recommend using "Rome in Limo" as a tour company. They offer tours to suit all types of people and a wide range of itineraries. In fact, you can make your own itinerary to suit you and your group. We did 3 tours with them; Rome, Florence/Pisa and Amalfi Coast/Pompeii and they were great! A very professional company with comfortable, airconditioned Mercedes minivans (with WiFi) and private tour guides with local knowledge. We went to places in Florence that you would never have found on your own - and had lunch in a tiny restaurant that was filled with local workers (the food was a bit unusual but it was good and very inexpensive). This company does this daily for hundreds of cruise passengers and there are some very good reviews about them. We also booked Ephesus with a private company and that was good too. We saved a lot of money doing these private tours and felt that we had had a more personal experience then we would have, had we joined a large bus load of people from the ship. This year we cruised to the Baltics with P & O and one of the ladies from the Roll Call arranged a private tour for the 2 days in St. Petersburg. There were 11 of us and we had a great time at a much cheaper price than the ship's tour. In fact the only tour that we did with P & O was Bruges and it wasn't very well organised at all and cost a lot of money for what it was. I would thoroughly recommend getting together with others from the Roll Call and organising your own tours. If there is no Roll Call up for your cruise, then set it up. It's easy to do and other people might be waiting to join you.

I'm signed up with Quidco even though I don't live in the UK. They pay me my cashback via Paypal and don't seem to care where I live. Unfortunately I can't book my P & O cruises via their website though as P & O bookings from outside the UK have to be done by phone. Bummer - that's a lot of cashback I'm losing!