livingonthebeach

Here are the lyrics "We all came out to Montreux On the Lake Geneva shoreline To make records with a mobile, yeah We didn't have much time now Frank Zappa and the Mothers Were at the best place around But some stupid with a flare gun Burned the place to the ground Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky (Smoke) on the water, you guys are great They burned down the gambling house It died with an awful sound Funky Claude was running in and out He was pulling kids out the ground now When it all was over Find another place Swiss time was running out It seemed that we would lose the race Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky Smoke on the water Burn it down We ended up at the Grand Hotel It was empty, cold and bare The Rolling truck Stones thing just outside Huh, making our music there now With a few red lights and a few old beds We made a place to sweat No matter what we get out of this I know, I know we'll never forget Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky Smoke on the water (I can't hear anything) one more time (Smoke on the water) hey!

Yes Funky Claude was there but I think he died in a skiing accident shortly thereafter. A flare gun went off in the audience and that is what caused the fire. Funky Claude rescued many people.

Really? There are many reasons why one can not do more than a 7 day sailing in the Med, other than being able to afford it. I just did a 7 day cruise in the Med myself and could have definitely afforded 14 days or more. It was perfect for me. You see, I own a sailboat in Florida and it's Hurricane Season and I can't be gone more than a week starting June 1st. Other constraints are work schedules -- not everyone is retired and can go anytime and there are many more issues other than money preventing anyone from cruising 14 days or more in the Med or anywhere for that matter. I know you meant well by saying what you did but honestly, there are a million and one reasons besides money preventing a 14 day holiday.

I've done both as well. Sailed solo multiple times at the restart and made many cruise friends. There's so much to do you won't be bored and you have the freedom to do whatever you want when you want to. Enjoy!

Another way to look at this is some people cruise a lot and never get travel insurance. They save tons by not getting it and then when the unexpected happens they have to dig into their pockets but maybe it is a lot less than had they paid for travel insurance throughout the years. One thing I also get for sure and don't skimp on is medical repatriation -- it can break the bank if it happens to you.

Yes that was Deep Purple and the song is about a true story -- I was there (after the fire) in Montreux, Switzerland and the lyrics tell a true story -- there was a fire at the Grand Hotel and Casino and it burned down -- hence "smoke on the water" it was next to Lake Geneva.

I hear you. I bought at $30 and $61 will hold but not buying at $161. I wish I would have bought a boatload at $19 but missed that ship as well.

It got as low as $19 per share during lockdown. It closed at $161.57 today. I'm afraid you missed the boat....literally.

Wow I would be bummed if I snagged an owner's suite and then was told the cruise was cancelled! At least you got to enjoy it for how long? A few hours? Did you rebook another cruise?

LOL -- don't know about your neck of the woods but here on the Florida coast I'd be hard pressed to find a path of 588 donkey-poo littered stairs to walk down to get to port.

Did you step on any donkey poo on your way down? This is the major complaint most people have on walking down. Sure if you're careful and mobile it can be done but who wants to do this in the extreme heat on most summer days in Santorini?

How many other ships were at port that day? Lines depend on the number of people getting off the ships.

Yes but the ship excursion offers a guided tour from a local person. You don't get this in self-guided tours. People do speak English in the crowded tourist areas but if you go off the beaten path you might need a translation app at the least.

There's more people on FB now than roll call. My roll call for this last cruise was deader than dead. Yes you will save money doing it DIY but the added security that the ship won't leave me is the price I was willing to pay -- especially in Santorini with the cable car issues.

The only problem is the cable car to go up to Fira and then travel to Oia lately has had a huge line. There were 5 other ships when we were there and the Serenade world cruise was supposed to be there as well but cancelled. The ship excursion takes you to a dock where there is a bus waiting to take you to Oia. I thought it was worth it and I didn't have to worry about missing all aboard time due to the lines at the cable car.

I just got back from a Voyager cruise in Europe (out of Barcelona, travelled to Turkey and Greece). Yes, Air2Sea gives you several choices and you can pick your seats - yes you do not have to pay for the airline tickets until final payment date. I booked excursions through the ship as I don't speak Turkish or Greek and felt more comfortable that way. They were fine but you can also try the FB page or roll call section for private tours that fellow cruisers are organizing. The balcony cabin we had on deck 6 worked just fine.

Their Customer Service is hit or miss. At times it's good, but when it's bad (I'll leave all expletives out). So if you had been able to take advantage of the FCC it would have been a free cruise - not too shabby, IMO. I realize the OP just wants to warn people that this might happen to them as well and is not very happy with the way it was handled. That's the reason I have a yearly travel insurance policy that covers what he described. I'll be on Radiance in May of 2025 and if Michael Bayley sends me a message that the ship is broken but will be repaired I'll know better.

Did you try calling the hotel? Some big chains like Marriott will reimburse you if your trip was cancelled. What did RCI offer you?

Many travel insurance companies sell trip interruption / cancellation policies. You did get a full refund and discount coupons. Are you looking for anything else from RCI? I agree that you should have been given an option to cancel but that's water under the bridge now. If you incurred extra fees from the airline to change your flight, I would submit that to RCI as well as any other fees you incurred due to the cancellation. Good luck.

The cost would be the same whether you have insurance or not. The question then would be if you had insurance, how much would they cover. Every travel insurance is different so the only people that could answer that is the specific travel insurance company for coverage and the hospital and medical care / evacuation for costs. Repatriation can be very expensive that's why most people who cruise get some type of medical travel insurance.

Yes you can find individual drink prices on the App under bars. Just check the current sailing for the up to date prices.

This happened to me in Le Havre back in 2016 -- had to dock in Dover, England instead. Apparently strikes are a common occurrence in France. RCI finds alternatives though. Missing Marseille is no biggie, IMO.

Yes, the question is when. However analysts have give RCL a target price of $172 in the near future - will hold on to it until then 🤞

RCL stock just reached a 52-week high today. Now trading at over $155.

I think what they meant was they were already D+ and E+ on both lines so they are not getting anything extra by this new status match. Those that are gaining the most are Pinns that never sailed X as they are now Zenith and vice versa for Zeniths that never sailed on RCI as they are now Pinns.