yuvraj

Simple solution is to buy drinks individually. I don't believe it would end up costing a lot more. You might even save some money.

I have done quite a few cruises from Barcelona. For me the best option is to catch an evening flight, disembark at leisure and spend the day touring the city. You can usually get a day room to park your luggage and to freshen up before your flight.

Things you cannot guarantee :

Time ship reaches port and get's clearance.

Time to get to airport

Delays at the airport

Generally things go smoothly and according to schedule but not always.

I was on the Ventura earlier this year (post re-fit). Quite a few things caught my eye which seemed to suggest that they neglected quite a few areas during the refresh.

We enjoyed our cruise and didn't feel the need to go round looking for faults.

I have faced this situation many times and my preference is to book a day room at a local hotel, dump my bags there and enjoy the rest of the day at the port. Much more fun than trying to hang around the ship as long as you can.

There are websites that offer day room rates. Also, if you contact local hotels, depending on how busy they are, they will offer day room rates even if not advertised.

I find booking a hotel near the airport the best option. That way not far to travel from hotel to terminal and you have an opportunity to rest and freshen up in your room.

On my last cruise, I did consider booking an excursion where you do some sightseeing and then get dropped off at the airport. Personally, I prefer the freedom of organising my own day. Uber is easy to get in FLL and a great way to get around.

I have mobility problems and although I have sailed solo, I often go to the WJ myself. It is challenging but not as difficult as OP might suggest.

First I avoid very busy times. It is difficult to navigate, find a table, get a member of staff to help. Other times, everything falls into place. Usually a member of staff will offer to carry your tray, get you a drink etc. I also find it helpful to join other people and share a large table instead of sitting by myself. That solves all the problems of losing your space and having your food taken away.

It is difficult but many things in everyday life tend to be difficult if you have a disability. We just have to find a way to adapt.

So much easier to get a passport and take it with you even if it is not required IMO.

I never pay for a drinks package. Instead I pay for drinks individually and my bill never exceeds the cost of a drinks package.

I don't find the tip jars tacky. You can leave some money in appreciation if you want and I am ok with that.

I buy wine frequently on my European cruises. Sometimes I have been able to keep the bottles. On other occasions, I have had to hand them in and collect them on the last day.

Either way there isn't a problem with buying wine at ports.

Just to confirm what others have said there is no concierge lounge on Oasis. Only option available for D+ is the Diamond Lounge.

Over 30 yrs of cruising. Never felt obliged to get off at port. Depends on a lot of factors : my mood, the weather and whether there is anything at the port that appeals.

Fewer check-in agents needed.

Ultimately, it removes the need to have check-in desks with the vast majority doing everything online. Then all that is required is for passports to the verified as you enter the terminal or board the ship.

That to me would be a positive as the check-in lines can be quite long sometimes unless you have priority.

I have found the suite experience on the Oasis class ships to be really great and if the price is right, I would happily book a suite on these ships.

Quantum class ships are not my favourite and I would be less inclined to book a suite but you still get the VIP experience and I wouldn't rule it out.

Other ships, for me the suite experience is nothing special and given the premium in price, I would avoid booking a suite.

For those wondering, yes I have stayed in suites in all three of above categories (Indy, Allure, Oasis and Anthem).

One thing I have learnt is to never compare the experiences on one line to another. I have stayed in suites on QM2 and Celebrity and they were totally different experiences to RC.

Most likely be the same. The disembarkation terminal will depend on location of your cabin IMO.

Still best to check with guest services once on the ship.

I very much hope that bashing British cuisine on this thread is just banter.

On that basis, best for not to contribute any further.

It's not allowed but I see some people do it and it really annoys me.

In the UK, if we book through one of the many TAs, we are required to pay the full amount a lot earlier than if we go direct. It probably means that if we miss the TAs deadline, there is plenty of time to chase us for final payment without RC cancelling our booking.

My sister has done quite a few direct bookings. Mainly because she wants to make the final payment as late as possible. This means that she takes it to the wire and on occasions got stuck. So far she hasn't lost a booking but she has needed to call them and ask for a few days extra to make payment.

Usually it's in TAs interest to chase you for final payment. I am not very good at remembering dates and deadlines so perhaps a good reason for me to rely on TAs to remind me. If for some reason I forgot, I would still accept an error on my part and face the consequences.

I like eating in speciality restaurants, one of the main reasons for choosing Ventura which I have sailed on six times. So here are my thoughts ...

Sindhu is good. Eaten there many times. Not as great as some people suggest on this thread, definitely not something I would pay £100 per head but £20 is reasonable. They often have the early bird offer where there give you a free bottle of wine, making it a bargain. In my opinion avoid the lunch offers and going for evening dinning.

Beach House is very casual and I would argue family friendly. I enjoyed the experience but might not be to everyone's taste. You don't have to book for this, just turn up.

Glass House is my favourite. I like the menu, the quality is really high, great ambience in the evening when it is generally busy. Another bonus is that you don't have to book, just turn up and grab a table. It is a wine bar experience so don't expect fine dinning service. For me the service given the type of venue is fine.

Epicurean. Only went there once. Given the cost, I was a little disappointed. Generally speaking the meal and service was good but not excellent and it was easy to find flaws in both. To be honest I would not return that might be a matter of taste. For example I don't eat beef and perhaps it caters better for those who do.

A tip for those who want to save money. Sindhu does lunch offers on certain days on Ventura. You will find the same food in the buffet in the evening. Also the flavours and quality in the buffet on the Indian themed nights are as good as what is offered in Sindhu. The difference is that Sindhu offers a lot more in the regular evening menus and you do get proper restaurant service.

Having sailed on other cruise lines, I find the speciality restaurants on P&O excellent VFM and one of their USPs.

Don't know about Azura but I will share with you my experience on Ventura.

Retreat pass is available on a per day basis. The cost was £25 but I believe they might vary this according to demand. The pass does not include Thermal Suite which is separate.

It was a few years ago but I remember booking the retreat on a Transatlantic (13 days) for the whole cruise. Can't remember cost but I have vague memories that it might have cost as much as £300 for one person.

If they are not on the itemised breakdown and total is what you paid then logically speaking you haven't paid for the gratuities.

First step would be to check your credit card bill to see what you actually paid. If the amount is higher then it needs querying with RC.

$2800 is a lot but having followed the thread I can see how various impulse spends might have added up.

There was a time when I would have spent as much on photo package, perhaps a watch and even thought about blowing a ridiculous amount of money on a bottle of wine. In fact when we cruise to France, we have on occasions bought a bottle of champagne for over 100 Euros ($130) so it makes sense that OP might have been tempted to make similar purchases on board.

These days I have become a little wiser and my onboard spend tends to be gratuities plus about $300 and that is what I budget for. Extra tips I pay in cash so I don't include that in my budget for onboard spend.

If you are a repeat cruiser then in my experience, emailing crown and anchor is a good option. They are generally helpful and can route the complaint to the correct people.

If it is regarding a booking made through TA then I would always go through the TA in the first instance and get them to sort it out. If they are unable or unwilling then I would not use them again. My view is that if there is a problem with my booking and I booked through a travel agent then it is up to them to sort it out.

I have been to Stavanger a number of times. There are shops a short walk away where you can pick up snacks.

I usually take pre-packed snacks to keep me going but don't go to the lengths of preparing a packed lunch from the breakfast buffet.

My meds have never been queried but I still like to take the original packaging. All of my meds come in boxes not bottles so that is easy in my case.

The purpose of taking the original packaging is to make it easy for anyone at security who might be curious to identify the meds. Plus the labels confirm that they are for me. Nobody has required this but I do it anyway to avoid possible problems.

Walk from port is possible but not that great IMO. Better to get taxi or mini train to town centre and then walk as much as you like to explore, perhaps even walk back to the port if you like.