Bazza

I'm currently on Grandeur and yes the weed smell is ridiculous. It was the worse during our port stops,  especially Key West.

Hi Bazza
We now have our transfers included and we received an updated Booking Invoice from RCI today. Transfers from Bologna Airport (BLQ) to the ship on 17th September and return transfer from the ship to BLQ on 1st October after our second (b2b) cruise. Our TA, Cruise Kings, arranged it for us.
Best try to arrange it ASAP in case the coach fills up and they run out of seats.

My TA has confirmed that RCI will be providing coach transfers between Bologna Airport and the Port of Ravenna on cruise days. £37 per person each way. Flight details are required by RCI to make a booking.

Hey Jim
Thanks -  hope you had a good one - guessing another bank holiday today for you?!
My agent hasn't got anywhere with RCI yet but I am on Grandeur this Sunday for 2 weeks so will chat to the staff and see if they can find anything out for me and will let you know.
Regards

Hi Bazza. Yes, we are on the 2:00pm BA0539 flight from Bologna (BLQ) to London Heathrow then travelling on to Glasgow on a connecting flight. On the way to the cruise we plan to take a taxi or Uber from our Hotel in Bologna to the ship. Similarly, on the way back on 1st October we are looking to do the same. If RCI are running a bus we would use that as a better alternative to a taxi. Please let me know if you find out that RCI are running this bus.
Happy New Year to you and your family when it comes.

Hey @Jim S . I am on the same cruise and just sorting my flights with cruise.co.uk as the package we have is 2 nights in Venice prior to the cruise with transfers to and from Venice airport. 
I have said I want to fly into Venice but out of Bologna (Heathrow with BA for both instead of Gatwick with Easyjet) and hopefully today will be booking the 2pm return flight - are you on that one? 
I am waiting for the TA to find out if RCI have any transfers to Bologna that morning - but wondered what you were doing on 1st October to get back to Bologna?
Happy Hogmany!  

WOW !  That's a long cruise - 1 year and 6 days.  😝

Thank you both for taking the time to reply.  I've noticed quite a few fluctuations in the prices already and I've only been monitoring them for a week or so!

Exactly what @Mike.ssays - done it for everything from drinks to dining to excursions and internet.
Just be aware that sometimes the refunds can take a while to appear on the card and usually is shown as 2 transactions e.g. a 3 night dining package may have cost a total of £220 when you first booked it for two people then cancelled and rebooked for say £198, but refund will actually show as 2 x £110. First time I did it I didn't realise and kept looking for an amount that was not there!
Always check when offers on as you can save considerable money at times. 

Yes it does, have done this in the past, we in the UK can cancel and rebook items via the cruise planner, we just can't reprice the actual cruise fare.

I am on the same 5-dayer that @Bazza is on, but leaving Jan 22nd.  MIA/Key West/Labadee + 2 sea days.
No changes announced thus far.  I'm thinking with 2 sea days and Labadee being the furthest away we sail, they can probably keep that itinerary intact in a 5-day sailing.  

Older ship.  Not really surprising.  
They wanted Grandeur out of the fleet for a reason and they chose her to depart before any of the remaining in this class.  It stands to reason this sort of event is going to occur on older ships.
As they say... ship happens.    

@Matt and @twangsterhave lots of fans on here....

@Matt and @twangsterhave lots of fans on here....

@Matt and @twangsterhave lots of fans on here....

Posted Thursday at 07:57 PM We were on Adventure OTS - out of Bayonne Sept 1st. - 9 nights up the Eastern coast and Nova Scotia & N Brunswick.
This is the first time we had sailed on the Adventure.  However, we are Diamond Plus and we've been on several of the Voyager class ships. 
On the Adventure, The smell of smoke was everywhere.
 We first noticed the stench of smoke coming from the casino when we strolled down the promenade on deck 5.  
It got worse during the sea days.  I am asthmatic and had a pretty bad reaction by day 3. 
I had read that the ship was updated in 2018 and anticipated a cleaner air system. 
By day 4 - I was suspicious that it might have been covid - so I tested and was negative.  It was more like bronchitis with constant coughing and wheezing.
I am reporting this because I heard the same issues from several others at dinner and around the ship.  
We ended up staying on the ship on the balcony - no excursions - and wasting 6 days of our Canadian adventure.   
Just putting out a warning that this particular ship is WAY worse than any other we have been on.  
Service was very good and the dinner staff were great.  This was not an experience I ever want to have again on a ship.
We are now searching for non-smoking ships.......
 

Or just wear it and see how that is received!! 🙈

Or just wear it and see how that is received!! 🙈

Or just wear it and see how that is received!! 🙈

Had Joff on my very first cruise(s) on Ovation - he was brilliant!
His #2 was a blonde lady (Dutch I think - wish could remember her name) but they were superb together. 

Have to share that did Ovation in Alaska and planned to bring my parents (grandparents) and they were going to have one of the deck 6 obstructed views but they couldn't make it.  The views were not terribly obstructed and my guess is that the deck 7 impacts are even less.  Not sure that I would even factor in the obstruction and instead focus on other aspects like price and location when considering this booking if debating between these two spots. 
The views in Alaska are great and you can find things to look at in every direction.  Quick access to a balcony is not a must, but a huge plus.  Remember even if your balcony does not have the best view, you likely will want to go to other decks and look around.  The views from the bridge wings, Solarium, upper decks and Two70 are all nice and should be part of your day.  Sailing up to or away from a port or the glaciers can take hours so there is plenty of time to view the scenery from multiple locations, not just the balcony.

Hi @HillaryG
Our first ever cruise was 27 days B2B on Ovation from Sydney and we had obstructed view cabin 6202. Loved the ship and the crew.
Pictures below of the views we had. Deck 7 should only be obstructed if looking directly down I guess!
Totally fell in love with cruising, and especially RCI, and we are jumping to Diamond this time next year having already booked B2B on Grandeur in Jan 23, Venice on Explorer Sept 23 and B2B on Oasis in Jan 2024. Addicted!

Hi @HillaryG
Our first ever cruise was 27 days B2B on Ovation from Sydney and we had obstructed view cabin 6202. Loved the ship and the crew.
Pictures below of the views we had. Deck 7 should only be obstructed if looking directly down I guess!
Totally fell in love with cruising, and especially RCI, and we are jumping to Diamond this time next year having already booked B2B on Grandeur in Jan 23, Venice on Explorer Sept 23 and B2B on Oasis in Jan 2024. Addicted!

Hi @HillaryG
Our first ever cruise was 27 days B2B on Ovation from Sydney and we had obstructed view cabin 6202. Loved the ship and the crew.
Pictures below of the views we had. Deck 7 should only be obstructed if looking directly down I guess!
Totally fell in love with cruising, and especially RCI, and we are jumping to Diamond this time next year having already booked B2B on Grandeur in Jan 23, Venice on Explorer Sept 23 and B2B on Oasis in Jan 2024. Addicted!