fragilek

Not sure about UK policies, but I'd ask the agent for Royal's Guest Copy of your booking confirmation. You may find it there.

Hi I know you helped direct me when we had problems the last time do you know if the crown and anchor team would help here by getting something to us that would prove we have the drinks package - After our last RCL cruise fiasco I really do not want to be facing any issues on this cruise.

Thanks

Paulton's Theme Park is at Southampton too if you're looking for something to do - we're doing it the day we come back from our cruise in October, then driving part way home to Glasgow afterwards, staying over somewhere off the M6.

 

Your wee girl might be too big for Peppa Pig World at the theme park, but it's supposed to be really good for families.

 

https://paultonspark.co.uk

We used to there quite a lot when we lived in Kent, it a great park beautiful landscaping/ gardens. I would say the rides are best suited up to age 8 ish. I am sure you will love it.

Hi I have never cruised with NCL before an I have been waiting for the release of the spirit for April and May 2017. They are not yet on the NCL UK web site but I asked while booking a holiday on the phone for my parents and they said they are now available to book on the phone but on the sailing we are looking at the balcony cabins are sold out.

Does this mean that the ship has been partly booked by a large group - I asked the sales rep but they couldn't tell me why all the balcony are gone before the sailing was even on their web. (looking at the 23rd April)

Thanks for any help on this

I cashed out on the last night when I settled my bill and got cash back - last years rate was great ;)

from a family who regularly drove from Kent to Ayrshire when our girls were young we used to do it through the night that way just seemed so much easier for us. But our youngest used to get quite car sick and this way avoided that problem.

 

On saying that it used to leave me exhausted (I didn't even do the driving :D).

 

If doing it during the day, you could always schedule in a break - We once did that and it worked fab. We drove to Birmingham and stayed in a travelodge/ express hotel for the night - got up and did cadbury world the next morning then completed the journey in the afternoon.

rethinking this - on the way down she will be exicited about the trip - I would do Cadbury World on the way home;)

from a family who regularly drove from Kent to Ayrshire when our girls were young we used to do it through the night that way just seemed so much easier for us. But our youngest used to get quite car sick and this way avoided that problem.

On saying that it used to leave me exhausted (I didn't even do the driving :D).

If doing it during the day, you could always schedule in a break - We once did that and it worked fab. We drove to Birmingham and stayed in a travelodge/ express hotel for the night - got up and did cadbury world the next morning then completed the journey in the afternoon.

I gave the free select drinks package for my up and coming cruise. I booked with an agency and it is mentioned on their invoice as a footnote - promo free drinks pack. However,it is not on any RCL online stuff - Is that normal, I don't want to have any issues when we get to the ship.

Thanks for any in sight

Thanks looks like it was a computer hitch gone through now :)

Trying to book some excursions but it will not take any of my bank cards - tried 4 different accounts. Does it need to be credit cards to do this. Does anyone know if they can be booked by phone.

Thanks going insane fighting with web page:D

For us, it doesn't have anything to do with cost, it has to do with selection. My mother can't have caffeine or sugar, and would prefer not to be drinking club soda all week, so we usually bring a twelve-pack of her drink of choice, diet Ginger Ale. And personally, I prefer diet Dr. Pepper. Neither of those are generally available on cruise ships.

if you have medical need for certain non alcohol drinks they can arrange to let you bring them on. We have done this a few times

I am really surprised that in this day of security that any liquids are allowed to be brought on in hand luggage at all. Why is it different than going on a plane which accepts only hold liquids so that they can be scanned/searched. To me, for security, it would make sense if they banned all liquids in hand luggage but instead provided an on board shop with a more reasonable mark up for water & soft drinks

It may be because of the Turkish port. You have to have a visa to visit Turkey and if you were to fly in independently you would need to purchase it online before you travel. We certainly didn't do it this time so maybe the ship arranged a visa for everyone. You could ask for your passport to be given back to you immediately after sailing from Kusadasi

 

 

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There is no visa requirements for cruise ship passengers- as long as they do not stay on land overnight (even overnight on the ship is ok). They did not take our passports of us last july - not sure why it is happening now.

I just carried a photo copy of my passport. I have stopped in Barbados, st Thomas, Cayman, St Maartin, St Lucia, Puerto Rico, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, St Kitts. At none did I even show it, But I would take it just in case (In St Thomas the guard went to ask me for it then he just walked away to someone else before I produced it so I just walked through). But I would take a passport copy or your drivers licence with you.

Santorini. Tender port and not enough time to do much. Took the cable car to Fira. Really wanted to do the boat trip to Oia but couldn't risk it on the time we had.

Athens, HOHO bus which stops right outside the port. 20 euros each. Well worth it. Visited the Acropolis. There is loads of graffiti in Athens and it makes the place look neglected. It was everywhere you looked.

Kusadasi, port is right in town. Walked along the promenade and then went to the market to haggle with the stall holders. All good fun.

Chania, shuttle from the port 3.50 euros return to town. We loved Chania and plan to go back for a week next summer.

On boarding they keep passports until the end of the cruise. Make sure you get a photocopy as you need it if you visit the Acropolis.

It was very hot in all of the ports. Hats, high factor sunscreen and water are essential. I bought a parasol for 4 euros on the HOHO bus and I was very glad of it.

Hope all this helps.

 

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Thanks the info for Athens is great I would never have known to take a copy of passport and will definitely now not book a tour and use the HOHO .

Looks like the other ports are different to the ones we will do later in the year, We did some of yours on our last cruise in july and the heat nearly broke us:D. Next cruise is in sept so it is cooler.

A few years back we toured crete it was a great holiday. We did 5 days based near Elounda - visited Spinalonga (the island by Victoria Hislop, had to go after reading this book and it was amazing to see it), Agios Nikolaos (Elounda was our favourite area). The 5 days in the center- Kinosis Rethymnon Chanina. The 5 days in the south at the remote but beautiful villages some of which are only accessible by ferry.

which ports did you do diy and how easy did you find that to do.

Thanks for any info

Hi all

Going on FOS eastern I carribean from PC, we have our ESTA for th states but we are suddenly panicking that we need visas for either st Thomas or st Maarten, any advise?? Also we have never cruised from the USA before so will the ship take our passports on boarding? Thanks

If you are boarding in the US then all that will be needed is your sea pass/room card

So for our staterooms we didn't want a connecting cabin with our kids. Come on, this is our anniversary! ;) so I booked two balcony rooms both on deck 9. Because my oldest was only 19, I had to put my husband with him in one room and me and my daughters in another. I never thought anymore about that until we got our sail passes and had the wrong keys to the rooms. I went to guest services and the only thing he could do is give us additional room keys for each room. Now some of us had to carry around a room key and the sail pass. And when they dropped off the luggage we were running them back and forth to the right rooms lol. The first night there we realized that the sofa in the kids room was not a sofa bed and our room had the extra bed in the ceiling. We thought about switching rooms but we had already unpacked and the room attendants were already confused with our arrangements lol. So my son has been sleeping on the couch and said it isn't so bad. He has never complained.

I love love love having a balcony (this is my first cruise and can't compare it to not having one though) I love watching the ship coming into port, leaving port, sunrises, sunsets, etc!

My kids got the refreshment package which they have used a ton. We bought the 5 night specialty restaraunt package which I am so glad we did! Chops was amazing and Izumi was even better. We are trying out Giovanni's Table tonight for my daughters birthday. I will let you know how that one is...when I made the reservation I asked to buy a cake to have brought to our table for her birthday. I hope they come through with it! She will love it! We have the my-time dining which we like and Tides dining room has been pretty good.

In Sicily we used the ships excusion to have a shuttle up to Taormina to explore on our own. Then the bus would take us back to the ship. It took longer than I thought it would to get up there, and the roads are very narrow and terrifying. driving around Europe in general has been terrifying....it's not for the weak like me! My husband is cool as a cucumber and you have to scrape me off the roof of the car! I.just.cant.even.

Taormina is sooooo beautiful, we walked, had a delicious pizza lunch, shopped, walked more until the Greek theater. Just amazing! Walked back and got gelato on our way. It was a great day!

The next day we were at sea. This was a rough day for us. I told you we really aren't the cruising type, we don't drink, gamble, or care for large quantities of unhealthy food 😬 I guess you can call us boring. This smaller ship doesn't have enough going on I feel like. My girls were so excited for the teen club, and I did hear of a lot of teenagers coming on this cruise from the roll-call board. Where are all the teens at? Lol, I have two really cute, fun girls here! They are a little disappointed there isn't more for them to do. We sat by the pool and watched the bellyflop contest. The movie theater is cool and there has been some good movies! You have to pay extra for popcorn though.

Hope it picks up for your girls, but your oldest may find it hard as in Europe she is actually an adult - Most 19 yr olds on the ship may be there with friends or partners and as it is an expensive type of holiday most young adults in the EU will probably choose a different kind of holiday. We went last year with our 18yr old and our 22yr old (a treat for ones 18th and the others graduation) luckily they had each other as there wasn't much for then to do or people for them to meet. However, the itinerary is so good they still had a fab holiday.

I don't know what the rule is in that situation, im just saying that if for some reason I got booked into an accessible room and someone else needed it, I wouldn't be upset or hesitant about moving, but that's the only circumstance I can think of that I would move.

 

I did read a thread not too long ago about someone who was in a wheelchair and needed the accessible room, but RC wouldn't move the non-handicapped person out of one for them, so it may or may not be a rule, not sure.

They wouldn't move me into it even before it had been assigned to anyone. I had booked a guarantee cabin in the same cat but between booking and sailing my MS had got much worse but under UK rules there was no way they would reassign me - I couldn't even pay extra to get it as it was the same cat so I would need to cancel and rebook or upgrade to get a higher cat disabled cabin. I up-graded but unfortunately got a cabin someone else had been assigned to before me - Chaos and a hassled trip ensued.

I had read on here that after assignment you could swap but I foolishly did not read the terms of the UK booking- so it was my own fault - lesson learned - I have the cabin I need for my next RCL retry trip.

Oasis class ships totally isolate you from the water. I wouldn't consider sailing on them without a substantial balcony (JS or above).

 

There isn'r really a large cruise ship out there (Royal included) that doesn't scream "floating tenement". We see them as attractive because we appreciate the wonderful vacation they offer. But they are all U.G.L.Y.!!!!

I am lucky enough to live overlooking the water way that leads to Greenock port and have a wall of glass that beautifully frames the cruise ships with a back drop of the Arran mountains behind. I agree some ships are just floating cities and are quite ugly however, I still mange to see/photograph a few beautiful ones. Some of the cunard are nice - The last voyage of the QE2 with the surrounding flotilla was pretty amazing. The Disney ships and some Hollands look cool too. But on saying that my favorite little ship is the Waverley and she passes my window every day of summer- Now that a beauty.

As for liking RCL ships only been on one and had an awful experience (Rhapsody). Now trying for a 2nd time this summer on the jewel hoping lightling can't strike the same place (line) twice :D

I might switch, but I would want Guest Services, room service (who delivers C&A goodies) and the Loyalty Ambassador involved in the move. We have been visited by the upgrade fairy a few times and twice our amenities were delivered to our old cabin. It got to the point on cruise that a friend of mine would call to let me know that she had gotten xxx and I would call room service to have another one delivered to me - they never straightened it out over 4 days. When I got back, I read a review of my original cabin and the woman wrote, "we got all sorts of goodies, a bottle of wine and gifts - I don't know why!"

 

We usually book as soon as itineraries open so we can get the cabin we want. For somebody like the OP of the other thread, who was booked one door down from his kids on a GTY and wanted the cabin in between (which connected to his), I would change unless I knew something awful about the cabin he was offering up. But my "team" would have to be involved to make sure that all deliveries/invitations/etc. we're coordinated with the move.

We were the ones in the other cabin (some ones old cabin that they had changed from)- read my old posts to see the hell that it caused us , including getting refused entry to the MDR dining room - 3 nights in a row, calls to say we hadn't turned up for meals - charges that we had to fight (and I mean fight!) our way out of. It got so bad that we were compensated when we got home and it has taken a lot of persuasion from my husband for me to get up the courage/stamina to use the future cruise certificate and try RCL again later this year.

This time I booked early and nothing is moving me to a different cabin l;)

I wouldn't be embarrassed or feel awkward if asked - But there is no way I would change cabins - Getting a cabin change on our last RCL cruise nearly ruined our trip - It caused soooo many problems at one point I even thought about leaving the ship - never ever again!!!!

don't think you have any chance- They wouldn't let me swap to a disabled cabin in the same cat as the cabin I was assigned . (my condition had got worse since I booked and I had become a full time wheelchair user). The cabin was then assigned to a non-disabled cruiser (we met them on the cruise it was assigned to them only 2 months before sailing - about 2 weeks after my request.)- Madness :confused:

That's the Head Waiter, and he/she is included in the tips.

 

You almost never see the Maitre-D. He generally works behind the scenes.

thanks for that info - I did meet the Maitre-D last year on the Rhapsody- after some major issues that lead to us having been mistakenly turned away from the Main dining room for the first 3 nights of our trip.- He wasn't the nicest of chaps and kind of talked down to the young lady from customers services who taken me to see him and was trying to sort out the fiasco. He didn't talk down to her boss when she arrived for back up and he personaly took us to our table the that night- lol

It's usually the head waiter (not the Maitre-D) who assists with your special food needs, so yes, he gets a share of the tips. Head waiters oversee large zones of the dining room, and are responsible for your Waiter and Assistant Waiter, and to ensure that everything is running smoothly in the designated area of the dining room.

 

The Maitre-D is one person who is responsible for the entire dining room - he does the seating assignments and the wait team assignments. He is in a higher salary bracket than the Head Waiter and the wait team, so no tip necessary.

I may have used the wrong title in the past it has been the lady at the desk who has sorted out some issues for us (things like being given the wrong menu to order from the day before- so no meal ready, getting given a dish with gluten by mistake) - not sure what she would be called - In UK its the meet and seat person at a restaurant-

For those in the know - Does the Matradee get any of the tips. I am coeliac and the Matradee usually helps get stuff in the dining room sorted for me- I have always assumed that she/he does not get any tips so have tipped appropriately for my assistance. But they usually seem quite surprised at getting it are they on a different type of wage scale to the other dining room staff ( I tip on the last evening as I do not tip ahead - that's a bribe)