Wilmsta

Following, have an amazing time

We are doing this exact cruise on Adventure in April next year - so thank you for posting - we will be reading with great interest. ??

Yep - I was enjoying a Lava flow cocktail by 11.15 , that's the proper way to start your cruise! Have a great trip

Hi Ignore the boarding time and just go to the port whenever it suits. We left from Southampton in the summer, our boarding time was 12.30 (if i remember correctly, possibly later), but following advice from this forum we arrived at about 10.30 and was on board shortly after 11 ? And yes your C&A membership will also get you priority boarding as well - according to the list of benefits

We took our first ever cruise on Indy this summer. All 11 of us had a blast and our ages ranged from 6 to 70+. The ship was full and yes it was busy at times, but did i consider it overcrowded, no not at all. I found the main 'busy' times were around breakfast and lunch around the Windjammer, especially the later you left it for at each sitting, however a quick wander around and a 'hover' whilst a table was being cleared and you was good to go. We enjoyed it so much we've another two booked up already! And..this forum is amazingly helpful and friendly so any questions you have just ask away!

We did a 6 night cruise from Southampton On Indy in August and there was only 1 formal night (night 3). The RC website indicates that there's likely to be 2 but also does say its at the ships discretion - https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/formal-dress-code-guideline (it also says that there's no formal nights on any current Empress of the Seas sailings). I'm pretty sure that every other night the suggested dress code was just casual which also contradicts this: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/whatToKnow/whatToPack.do As a family we loved getting dressed up - formal night or not.

I think if you cancelled would you be entitled to your tax, fees and port expenses back and also any pre-paid gratuities? Might be not be much in the grand scheme of things but somethings better than nothing!

Haha - I've read @twangster blogs - and been in awe of those pictures too! I managed to ruin my DSLR body earlier in the year,..sob sob!

Ah yes thats a good point - i knew there must be an upside somewhere ? We only completed our first ever cruise on Indy in the summer. Now we've already one booked for early next year on Adventure and soon to book this one for the Honeymoon. It's an addictive habit this cruising business!!

Thank you ever so much guys, that is really helpful - looks like it’s a Loft Suite then. i better get saving now then - who needs guests at a wedding anyway ?

Hi all, looking for a bit of expert advice!! Looking to book up our honeymoon for November next year, found the itinerary we like the look of and it’s on Oasis OTS. Now the question, as it’s a special occasion we’re going to splash out a bit and go for either a Grand Suite or Loft Suite. Am I right in thinking the perks are identical so it just come down to personal preference on the choice of cabin? We’ve had a standard balcony before when we was on Indy (our only cruise to date) so being In a Suite will be totally new to us. So - Any pros/cons of either? Some LS face the sports court - is that an issue at all? Are the balcony sizes comparable as from the few clips I’ve seen the GS balcony appears bigger - although that might just be my eyes! LS’s are all on deck 17 near the lounge and costal kitchen - is this a big bonus? Any tips at all would really be gratefully received Thanks in advance. Adam

Off the top off my head (and only places I've actually visited) both Southampton (Premier League) and Barcelona (La Liga and Champions League) are do-able. Both are departing cruise ports and the stadiums are not too far away from the city centers. For Barcelona you can book tickets in advance directly on the club's website as this is exactly what we did this time last year (for a Champions League game in December) and Barcelona is also a wonderful city to visit. Southampton would be a little trickier in terms of timings (football is played outside of the summer months whereas majority of cruises from Southampton are indeed in the summer months - but the shoulder seasons would make it be possible. Out of the two tho - it would be a no brainer for me, Barcelona has so much more to offer.

Ah yes, did read that on here. Shame it has to come to that really but understandable if it was causing problems and attracting the wrong crowd

It’s a generic term - for someone who’s generally from a poorer background, who’s nasty and aggressive! As Ray mention earlier some people say it stands for ‘Council House And Violent’ and that sums it up quite nicely - although not sure that’s the original meaning.

We've just returned from a 6 night France/Spain Cruise on Indy and sailed from Southampton. We went through Bay of Biscay twice and whilst we felt the ship swaying it was by no means an issue for us (our party of 11 ranged in age from 6 to 80 and not one of us felt any sickness whatsoever). Re the chav issue, put simply - don't worry about it. Yes there was some colorful characters - as i'm sure there are on most cruises, but we didn't see any behavior whatsoever that was inappropriate. I can't recall noticing any football (soccer for our American friends!!) shirt wearing, beer swilling, tatto'ed, shell suited monsters - so if there was any they must have been well behaved. In short - it's a non issue. (the only caveat I would add to this is that possibly on a short 2 or 3 night cruise from Southampton this could then possibly attract the booze cruise / stag and hen parties, any longer and i think you'll be pretty safe) The ship was lovely, tons to do, spotlessly clean and the staff were great. We also had Joff as our cruise director and he was excellent too. Zero complaints from us ?

Happy Cruising hayley_bopp, following with interest as were on Indy in a couple of weeks and it’s our first ever cruise. I was just wondering what the plug situation was on like board - Is it both European and US sockets? Also did you embark as per your arrival appointment - our set sail pass says 11:30 till 12 and whilst I’ve read on hear a few times that this is just a suggestion it says in the ticket booklet that due to limited seating any guests arriving before this time will be asked to return at their assigned check in time.

As James says above, it really does depend on traffic and also where about's in London you will be staying. Early Sunday morning the traffic should be fairly light but i would still allow a minimum of 2 hours

£650 ($875 approx) cheapest over here that I can find - for balcony. I’ll wait for a drop and take my chances!

Thanks monctonguy, you’ve confirmed I’m not going mad! Yes I think i’ll wait until a promotion/offer is released before reconsidering - shame tho.

Just compared priced on the .com and .co.uk wesbites and : £925 in total ($1250 approx) for OVB cabin 6276 on the .com website which also includes $50 of on board credit. however £1340 in total ($1800 approx) for the same cruise,identical cabin, (well next door - cabin 6278) on the royalcaribbean.co.uk website Over £400 ($540 approx) difference - Doesnt seem fair to me ? unless i'm missing something

Just realised that i've got my conversions all muddled: £1400 is actually around a around $1875!

Yes that's the total cost, not per person. I didn't realise that is was spring break so yes maybe that's why its a little higher

I do take these reviews with a pinch of salt Matt, some people will moan about everything as you rightly say. In general - do you know if they do offer deals/promotions on these shorter cruises?

Thanks monctonguy. Yes that was my thinking re cost. Seems rather expensive for just the 4 nights.

Hi all Me and the better half will be coming over from the UK to Miami right at the start of April next year. If I move things about a bit we may be able to do the 4 night Bahamas cruise, stopping at Cococay and Nassau on Mariner if the Seas. Now a couple of questions if you guys could give me opinions and advice: Timing - Leaving on 1st April for 4 nights, Good time to go? Weather OK,? Not spring break or hurricane season etc Mariner - I know it’s going through an upgrade of sorts but I’ve read reviews that it looks tired - especially the cabins. Are these the sort of things that are resolved during the dry dock? I’m not overly fussy so as long as it’s clean is fine by me. Cococay - read that it’s going through a major upgrade over the next year or so - and the cruise would appear to be bang in the middle of all of that - so is it likely to ruin the experience somewhat? Price - currently its around £1400 ($1050 approx) for a Ocean View Balcony. This seems to be the base price with no promotion whatsoever - Seems to be plenty of availability so would it best to wait to see if a better deal comes along. (We can’t cancel and rebook over here in the UK as far as i’m aware) Appols for all the questions but having never cruised yet (first one in August) I like to get as much insider info as possible. Thanks in advance for any responses