UKWLDCruise

My last cruise, November, they had people outside the doors and were intercepting people before they walked up or down to their muster station and ticking them off.

At the moment you should have nothing to worry about but during higher Covid numbers ports could limit passengers going ashore to just those on cruise line tours. If you left the tour party and struck out on your own you could be thrown off the ship so things were pretty serious.

I was advised in Dec by the LA to take the block on the ship or it might be months before they would ship it.

I have found that if you give the waiter a target, like I would like to see the 7pm show, they will do their best to hit it.

and over in the UK as well

my check in keeps moving between 13 and 16 Oct which is slightly weird.

I was paid $3,500 in cash on the last night, it seems that is just the way they do it. Of course I didn't have the US tax problem to worry about.

they do tend to put machines of the same type together which is fine until you find that your favourite is stuck in the heart of the smoking section, or even otherwise.

coming off the ship at Miami another passenger took my suitcase instead of theirs. Even though they had one suitcase left after everyone left, after they confirmed it wasn't in the building they made me wait, RC were not that much help. After three weeks it was found but it was Delta that got in touch, it seems whoever took it flew Delta but abandoned the case at an airport. Delta put it on a plane to Heathrow and I had to be escorted airside and make a declaration that there could be anything in my case and I would like it searched. Nothing added in the end but one item removed.

It is a more relaxed version of airport security so you can keep your shoes on and probably your jumper but metal and jackets need to go. You can leave bottles in the bag though they may ask to see them.

I have done this cruise in reverse and there was always something on, from talks on the islands and their people to one of the highlights the crossing of the line ceremony when king Neptune comes on board and you become a Shellback. By the by my trip was 17 days but made 18 by the time difference.

Yes they do do promotions but you have to look out if you are not a previous cruiser with them, if you are e mails come regularly. It is pretty easy to do back to back cruises and in the UK brochures you even get cruises marked A and B so you can easily book them together. A little tip though is to book early and book the same cabin if you can. You can get off the ship while B2Bing but normally you have to report to one place where they will escort you off the ship to get back on again or go off sight seeing . They will let you back on without going through the whole process again just security. You can either get flights separately or through the cruise line, the advantage of going with their flights is that they will provide transport to and from the ship as well but prices can vary though. Drink package costs can vary even by ship and are known to go on offer so calculate if a package is better than buying individually and then grab the best rate you see, if a better one comes up you can cancel and reboook.

you also need to check if you renewed your passport early as they don't count anymore the extra time you used to get. People have been prevented from travelling because of this, so it is ten years from the date of issue not the end date you need to worry about.

I was on a repositioning cruise from Rome to Dubai and twice my excursions were cut short because people of various ages were not able to keep up with the group/guide. The worst being the visit to Petra where one complaint straight away was our bus was the furthest from the ship. The first person started back at the site well before we had even got to the treasury (or within the first mile) and by the time we got half way the guide gave up and said to the four of us left that he had to go back to make sure every got to the hotel meeting place. With the impossibility of fitness tests and unless people can be trusted to self select those excursions that they can and can't do some sort of rule gets applied plus of course there is the inevitable fear of litigation from both the tour operators and the line especially with the US, writing as a reasonably fit 60 year old

This should help https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/7008/

Remember that if you let them do any laundry it is washed and dried in industrial machines which are far hotter than domestic appliances.

For me I think it was the first cruise I took both my twenty something nieces away with me. There was US immigration who suspected me of importing prostitutes, I did complain by the way. An upgrade to a junior suite on boarding, I had the previous occupants luggage for a few hours. Winning over $3k in the casino and taking my nieces on a shopping spree in the Mall of America while waiting for our flight home.

usually the excursion start time is the meeting time, normally in the theatre, so it could be before your docking time.

they seem to like to retake it even if you do add a picture

I spent a last night of a cruise with a bunch of Brits that had drunk a lot more than me, they attempted Rod Stewart's Sailing but they sort of got lost about half way in and didn't know how to end it.

you could print your certificate and take a pic (remembering it is dated) or store the image of it on your phone and attach. I just took a photo of my cards.

I received an extra point on a transpacific cruise crossing the line.

you get a second point for being a solo cruiser and really paying for two people anyway. you don't get them if you get a single cabin or a special solo deal though.

If you don't plan to let the ship take your luggage down as you only have a carry on and you are happy to carry it off the ship then you don't need an extra bag. Remember though that it can be very difficult to get a lift that morning and when boarding you will have to carry around your stuff until the cabin is available.

Royal seem to use a lot of these guys for security https://www.gwt.org.uk/news/history-famous-gurkhas-timeline/ retired of course and they don't let them use their Kukri but probably still not someone to mess with