General Immersion Thread (merged)

[Mike2131]

Without explaining to passengers beforehand this was going to (or could) occur is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have ever heard. If someone wants to book an in-depth cultural experience, that is one thing. To effectively bait-and-switch after someone has booked (and may be out non-recoverable money) is quite another. If they try what appears to be an ill-conceived notion with Celebrity, I guess we will strike them off the list.

[PaulandSueUK]

UP THE RED DEVILS--CHAMPIONS of England and Europe!!!

 

Hope your a fan from the red half of Manchester....if not, up the red devils anyway!!

 

...sorry, had to hijack for a minute ;) As you were.

 

Rahn

 

 

ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY, POSITIVELY NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am a "proper" Manc.. IE: A blue

 

LOL, only joking. Congrats on last night (you lucky so and so's)

[hylasgirl]

I think I may be shopping for another cruise line... or go back to the old style... land trips. I started cruising for a reason... and with that taken away, there is no reason to do other than a land tour. With my Med cruise next year, I could actually save money by taking a land trip... and not go to a few places that I really didn't care about going to anyway. If I wanted total immersion, I would not have started cruising. Because lets face it... some parts of cruising have become a big pain in the butt!!! And the way they keep changing things is one of them!

 

Like the Asian cruises... you have to fly over there anyway... why spend thousands and thousands more to be totally immersed on board a cruise? You may as well stay at a few select places, giving that culture your money instead of RCCL. Then you can go see first rate entertainment... not RCCL's version of an Asian comedy show... or their secend rate attempt at Asian cuisine... you can stay in a hotel room that is bigger than a walk in closet...

 

These cruises that are European or Asian for us North Americans are a LOT of money... no matter what the exchange rate is... and if they take away the reason why I choose to spend my money cruising, or leave me feeling insecure about the choices I make... then I should probably start planning some land trips.:(

[Cruise Junky]

Still haven't decided what to do

 

Hi - also, check out Azamara. They have two 14 day Asia cruises in Feb 09. Price is pretty good as well.

[twoputt.plusone]

My DH and I decided that a cruise was the perfect way to see Europe for the first time. We can see the sights, experience the culture and return to the ship for N American standards regarding room and cuisine. If I'd wanted total immersion, I'd have made my own arrangements for it. I don't want any cruiseline making that decision for me and shoving it down my throat...... not when we're talking the kind of money it costs for a Med cruise. If that happens on our upcoming Med cruise in September, I can guarantee you one thing. I WILL cancel faster than you can blink an eye. :mad:

 

2P.P1

[Ms Understood]

Good luck to you, Dathy, I hope you find something more suitable. We are still looking and fortunately had not yet bought our plane tix. So we'll wait a bit and then decide what to do after some careful consideration and and checking out the alternatives.

[cruiserbryce]

I can understand the reson...trying to offer a new product within their line...but at the same time...why not select itineraries from the start to have as immersion cruises...dont let people book months in advance only to find out that the vacation they're getting isnt what they thought it would be

[nixnutz]

ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY, POSITIVELY NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am a "proper" Manc.. IE: A blue

 

LOL, only joking. Congrats on last night (you lucky so and so's)

 

LOL...Blue half did well under Sven. Swept the derbys this year. I thought he did well with the lot he had.

 

Best of luck next season!

 

Rahn

[CruzinCruzan]

We were first informed of this immersion thing yesterday, through phone mails, emails and our TAs...the RCCL website does NOT mention immersion at all, in fact the cruise we purchased is still tagged as a Member Cruise (Feb 28, 2009 14 Day SE Asia)...

 

I agree that this is a PR nightmare, however it will not affect RCCL's bottom line so....

The Asian market is the largest one with the most buying power at present and they are just catering to who buys their lunch...It's not personal it's business!

 

I agree with the previous poster (hylasgirl?) except we hate to pack and unpack...

 

We are thinking of switching to Holland America for Nov 2009...their itinerary is very similar to the RCCL one...but they are 2x's the price!

 

We are very disppointed with RCCL & Celebrity... we have so much mileage with them...I guess it's time to look for greener pastures!

[Ms Understood]

Thanks cruisejunky. The ports on the Azamara one didn't really interest us, no real desire to go to So Korea. But I am looking at the Princess one and also a Holland America in Nov. There are options available, unfortunately we did have our hearts set on the itinerary we booked. Oh well, there are worse situations to be in then to cruise here or to cruise there, n'es pas?

[dathy]

if we do decide to cruise, will probably go with another line.

 

if this immersion thing starts happening cruise-wide, probably will only do land for foreign travel.

 

well, one thing's for sure: foreign hotels are now happy!

[gooselover]

I agree with the above posters. DH and I have precious little time and money. We booked our dream vacation/cruise - our TA cruise in November 2009 and now that has now become questionable with this British immersion. I am not prejudice - it is just that this cruise has now become something I didn't envision. We have been on other cruises and thought that....well you know the story.

 

We are keeping our booking for now...I am keeping an eye on these threads. I have talked to RCL twice now...first I was told that the TA cruises would NOT be affected....this morning I was told it was....Jeri

[dathy]

and good luck to you ms understood.

 

this whole thing stinks. i can't tell you how our family was so looking forward to going. whatever.

[hylasgirl]

Hi Stephanie, if I was you, I wouldn't worry about total immersion in the Baltic. I feel that RCI is trying to expand their options and Asia looks a prime market. On our Santos-Lisbon transatlantic we were unfortunate that there were just over 300 English speaking guests on board and everything was geared to the Brazilian contingent. We've done the Baltic and there's absolutely no cause for concern. You'll love it.

 

Thanks... I sure hope so! We have invested a TON of money in this trip and I feel for the people who have had this change happen. And then the British market too?? Even they don't like it... We have friends that cruise with us that live in England and pick RCCL over P&O and others because they like the North American cruisers...

 

I am just a little concerned about my Legend cruise next June. I think having an Italian immersion would probably be my best for a food immersion, however, if that were the case, I would probably rather save a ton of dough and do a land trip... staying in a bigger room... eating what I want when I want... and not dealing with the pain in the butt it is to cruise sometimes... and not being concerned with changes happening all the time. I am getting tired of RCCL exercising their "right to change" anything they want at any time.

[kingsgirl]

I agree completely with what you're saying. I wouldn't want to be called up and told my purchase cruise was now an immersion cruise either. If RCI would explain what is entailed in an immersion cruise and what specific sailings will be immerson cruisings, I have no problem with that. Everyone could work around it that way with that fore knowledge.

[jbond]

We just finished a B2B on Splendour. The first leg was Valparaiso, Chile to Santos, Brazil. It was basically just like any other cruise we have taken with RCI. Standard menu in the dining room and Windjammer. A lot of the crew were Brazilian, but the service was excellent with the possible exception of the bars, where it tended to be very slow.The second leg was Santos, Brazil to Lisbon, Portugal, a transatlantic cruise visiting Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Recife, Brazil, Tenerife, Funchal and Cadiz, Spain. There were just over 300 non Brazilian or Portuguese passengers on board. While this was not advertised as an immersion cruise, it certainly was totally different to any cruise we have taken with RCI. The menus were different to the previous cruise, oriented towards the major ethnic group. A lot, but not all, entertainment was in Portuguese. Several excursions were canceled because there were insufficient English speaking passengers to participate. It was a cruise that we would not knowingly do again. Cultural exchange is a really neat catch phrase, but we cruise for many reasons, one important one is the ship board experience and it was definitely not what we expected or were accustomed to.

[MtnBikerFallDown]

With my family being from the South (foothills of the Appalachians in Tennessee), we've all got the accent and our own little sayings. My favorite is when something is slick my Dad says it is slicker than owl poo. Except, being my Dad, he does not say poo.

 

With that being said, imagine the mayhem that ensues when we get together with my brother's family. His wife is Australian but lived in London for years. His Father in Law is originally from Egypt, lived in France for about 20 years, Israel for about 10 and the rest of his life in Australia. His Mother in Law's parents lived in Russia until just before she was born, so she speaks Russian as well as Aussie English.

 

When we get together it is the biggest mish-mash of accents and languages you have ever heard. My sister-in-law's favorite threat to me (jokingly) is "I hope an emu comes and knocks your chockhouse down." That means that she hopes the huge bird (somewhat ostrich-like) comes and kicks down my outhouse. I love that one.

(BTW, I live in TN, but we do not actually have an outhouse, and yes... I have shoes:D ).

 

I kept trying to figure out who their friend Lorie was and why she was always getting furniture with them. Turns out a Lorry is a truck. Ooops.:rolleyes:

 

I know there are tons more words we do not have in common, but I cannot remember them right now. I hope some of you have more, because this has been absolute fun reading!

 

Immersion cruise critic style!!:cool:

[jbond]

I am getting tired of RCCL exercising their "right to change" anything they want at any time.

I'm with you there. On our last cruise, Santos to Lisbon, we were scheduled to stop in Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco. One of the reasons we booked the cruise. RCI changed the ports to Tenerife and Funchal AFTER we had made final payment and spent almost $400 on Brazilian visas. We found out about the change when our shore excursions were canceled. RCI only told us after we blitzed them with e-mails.

It turned out OK for us, loved Funchal and in Tenerife we got to see my 92 year old aunt that we hadn't seen in 18 years.

[coxswain]

Well you must know the Ulsterscots and the hillbillies then

 

 

 

 

jj...

[hcleaner]

And they will continue to be swamped with calls! :D

 

I'll be calling tomorrow about a cruise booked for 2009 to Greece and Egypt -- though I feel certain the vast majority of passengers will be Americans, as is usual in Europe.

 

I'm glad to hear the Transatlantic cruises will not be "immersion".

 

NautiqueBelle; I am wondering what you found out about your 2009 Greece & Egypt cruise. Will it be affected by this new immersion thing. We are also doing that cruise and am interested in what they told you. Thanks for any feedback about this.

 

Wendy

[gooselover]

I have followed this thread with much interest as DH and I have booked our dream vacation on a fall 2009 TA cruise from Southampton. I was so disheartened when I read this thread. While the British immersion may not be AS bad as another type of immersion, this cruise is now turning out quite differently than what I had hoped and dreamed of.

 

I have talked to RCL twice - both times two different answers. First I was told that the TA cruises would not be affected, now this morning, I was read verbatim from their memo that came out yesterday regarding these. In other words, yes, our TA cruise WILL be affected.

 

I was so looking forward to this dream cruise and now I feel it has been turned into....well, let me just say that this "dream" is not so good anymore. We haven't decided for sure what to do yet, but will be watching these threads with a careful eye.

[kingsgirl]

I think something we haven't considered is that America isn't the only country on these saillings. Imagine people from these other countries. It is possible they are desiring a vacation in their own language like we do, and customs that are per their own culture and lifestyle.

 

It is ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL isn't it?

 

Are ALL of the sailings on the above mentioned ships immersion sailings or just select sailings on those ships?

[Mark_K]

I agree with the above posters. DH and I have precious little time and money. We booked our dream vacation/cruise - our TA cruise in November 2009 and now that has now become questionable with this British immersion. I am not prejudice - it is just that this cruise has now become something I didn't envision. We have been on other cruises and thought that....well you know the story.

 

We are keeping our booking for now...I am keeping an eye on these threads. I have talked to RCL twice now...first I was told that the TA cruises would NOT be affected....this morning I was told it was....Jeri

Personally, I think British would be the one kind of "immersion" I could get along OK with. Basically, they're just Canadians with a funnier accent but the same bacon. :)

[CruisesOnMyMind]

When I was in real estate years ago, folks from UK would tell me they wanted a big garden. I thought they were talking about a place to grow veggies and flowers. They were referring to the back yard.

I haven't heard pasties mentioned either.

[Missus Makkem]

Wasn't it Churchill who said we are separated by a common language?

 

He might well have said it but it came originally from George Bernard Shaw

 

"Two peoples seperated by a common language "