UKWLDCruise

This is only a warning for fellow travelers so no names no pack drill.

 

I was going on the Serenade's move from Boston to FL and booked the whole package so flight, connections and hotel with the cruise.  Checking into the hotel in Boston I handed over my RC voucher and had my credit card swiped for extras so all as usual.  When I left the next morning for the ship they even gave me a receipt for no charge

 

I had a good cruise and flew home thinking nothing but good thoughts until I received my Dec credit card statement (now this not a mini bar or towel post so it is safe to read on) and found that the hotel had charged me for my stay.  After a round of multiple calls, RC wouldn't speak to my travel agent and then wouldn't speak to me, I spoke to the hotel who said that they hadn't been paid by the cruise company.  After speaking to RC again  I pointed out that if I had to raise a query with the credit card company then things could get complicated and a day later without anyone notifying me the charge was removed and I even made a small profit with currency changes.  No one has claimed credit for sorting it out still and all I can say is keep an eye on your statement after travelling.

Happened to me in Miami and the bag eventually turned up after six weeks.  Someone had taken it from the port and flew with it only realising that it wasn't theirs at their destination.  Abandoned on the carousel it took weeks for someone to ID it and fly it back to London.  Delta found it and flew it back with no assistance from RC which was good of them as I was on BA.  It is very important to label your bags.  

 

The worse bit was having to go collect it at Heathrow as I had to be escorted air side and make a declaration to customs that as I hadn't seen the bag for weeks it needed to be searched.  Found that it had been opened and one item stolen but nothing added.

When I started to cruise the seapass card and the door key were different things and you found your door keys in the room.  They were standard punch card type ones that they had in hotels at the time so yes then anyone could have got to your room first and taken them.

 

It happened to me when I was on the Indy a few years ago and they went out of their way to get you to go on an excursion.  Large discounts and a free taxi back to the ship rather than continuing on the bus to the airport were offered.  Other than that yes you could have got off and waited in a separate bit of the terminal to get back on. 

As a Brit I find that they always keep the ship just above freezing and will turn my cabin control into the red as soon as I settle in.

I have found that a balcony is the only way to go for an Alaskan cruise

It would help to know which ship especially for the cabin but there are designated wheelchair areas in the theatre and turning up say 15-20 minutes from the start should ensure seats unless it is a ship that has reservations for shows. My Time is pretty straight forward in that you can either book in advance a time that is suitable for you or just turn up and wait to be seated. Booking in advance is probably better with a larger group and popular time slots can go quite quickly.

They need to register Destiny and Melody and then they will have the complete set of Captain Scarlet's Angels. Destiny - Symphony - Melody - Rhapsody - Harmony. After all they also have the name of the organisation in Spectrum coming https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Scarlet_and_the_Mysterons

I have done thirty odd RC cruises but only one Celebrity cruise on the Eclipse and that was well below RC standard. while the food was better the waiter team and room steward were probably the worst I have found. The captain had to send a written apology round for docking errors, at St Thomas they had to tender as the dock booked didn't have sufficient draft for the ship etc. Events started late and even getting off the ship was a farce with long waits for immigration, customs and shuttles. Having said that I am giving them another chance and have booked with Celeb for 2019 lured by the ports and the non smoking casino.

Is this charge added even if you don't get off the ship in Cuba? I was changed even though as a Brit I didn't need one. Don't forget you will need a passport for Cuba.

https://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/ is the website of assistance dogs international a body that accredits assistance dogs programs of all types round the world including a number in the US. A simple rule could be the dog needs to be supplied or trained by an accredited body to be considered an assistance one.

The airlines have missed laid my luggage many times but RC has only been involved once. We got off the ship and my suitcase wasn't there but one like it was. After waiting for virtually everyone to leave they confirmed it was missing and started the paper work. It took six weeks to find it and it was Delta who came up trumps as it was abandoned on a luggage carousel. Delta were really good and flew it back for me for free even though I hadn't flown with them. I had to make a customs declaration for a search at Garwick as anything could be in my bag having not had control of it for weeks, nothing added though though one item taken out.

 

By the by cross packing is ok but when you have to make an insurance claim they will charge you two lots of excess.

 

Someone who has had their luggage go missing a dozen times but only once permanently.

You are fine to wander around Havana before or after

The only bad experience I ever had on a B2B was when there was a coast guard inspection, very long wait to get back on board. It was partly my fault though they did try to get people to take the pre-airport tours by offering 20% discounts and free taxi's afterwards.

 

2 weeks too long a cruise, I have done a transpacific which is 17/18 days and many days at sea and that wasn't too long. I worry that three months on a world cruise might be though.

last time I did a back to back porting at San Juan they just gave us new passes and we didn't have to get off/visit with immigration.

Good to hear. Did it just show up fixed, or did you have to call them?

 

I e mailed Crown and Anchor about a fortnight ago.

Big news, my account has been fixed. My points and status is correct, my booked cruises are in, my Celebrity loyalty number is correct and even my cruise history is there.

Just wondering if you got your points corrected yet? I emailed guest account help a week ago with screen prints of what our points were before the last cruise, and reservation numbers for missing past cruises.

 

No response from them and no update yet. Trying to get an idea how long it will take. They must have a large backlog they are trying to correct.

 

 

No still not done.

I haven't looked at all the pages so please forgive if something like this has already been posted. This was my answer from Crown and Anchor when I complained that they had my number, points and level wrong.

 

"With the launch of the new Universal Guest Account, onceit was guests had access to log in, the membership needed to be manually addedin the top right corner of the Dashboard, according to the instructions wereceived. It will take 24 hours for themembership to be linked to the online account.

 

 

 

It looks like in your case, an inactive/ incorrectmembership numbers was linked. Regrettably we do not know how to proceed onamending the number. Therefore, we have forwarded the information to ourdedicated team ( guestaccounthelp@rccl.com) that will be addressing this concern directly to you. "

 

I don't know about anyone else but I didn't enter an incorrect C&A number.

This is such a good idea.

 

 

Packing 2 suitcases with each one having half your clothes is a good idea until one goes missing. Then you may have to do two insurance claims and pay two lots of excess (if you are insured that is I am not starting that ball rolling)

I think you will find that the World Cup final is on at 1600 BST so 1700 in Holland and 1800 in Moscow where the game is being played.

Your credit card provider will normally offer a superior rate.

As a Brit I also didn't need a US VISA to enter Cuba but on the Empress in May everyone needed it. I can say though that Cuban immigration people were more on the ball and just waved me through without looking at it or stamping my passport.

Last year on the Grandeur was the slowest luggage delivery I have ever experienced not having my bag until way after dinner, didn't unpack until the morning as didn't want to make too much noise.

I would add Gibraltar to the list, not because it is banned but the apes are used to being fed by soldiers so can get excited by Camo or even by green pattern clothing, bags.