Mike.s

49 minutes ago, twangster said:

It's easy (easier) to fill small ships.  

And with that ship taking market share it will be harder to fill a larger ship.  The winter cruise market in Europe is not infinite.

It's not infinite but it's growing.

Royal normally provide a shuttle from the port to the airport, it's bookable on board at guest services (well it was on our last cruise)

Celebrity has already committed a ship year round to Europe, no reason that Royal won't do the same at some point.

It's recently be made free, no need for a Voom package, just download the app and connect to the ships wi-fi

The Barcelona to Orlando sailing must be selling well, just snagged the last junior suite

If you go to your profile it shows you what you've reacted/replied to previously

55 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

What did you think of Vision ?  We’ve never been on her but have a 10 night trip in April.  We’ve been on Grandeur many times and assume it is a very similar experience.

We loved it. While on the ship we agreed that the smaller ships are the way to go for us. Service was excellent everywhere, no queues for MTD, could always get a lounger around the pool and very few children. It didn't feel crowded despite being virtually full. We compared it to our previous sailings on Anthem and agreed the Schooner bar and Windjammer on Anthem just aren't big enough for the number of passengers. As it's just the 2 of us now no need for bumper cars or flowriders, just looking for friendly good service. Ship was in good condition considering her age, carpets and furnishings all looked good, bit of rust here and there but nothing that spoilt the cruise. Cruise director (Mey) and her team worked hard and kept us entertained.

My only one niggle was the DJ was too loud during sailaway, but that's probably because I'm getting old

Didn't see any freestyle machines on Vision last week.

On 12/8/2022 at 2:33 AM, ndml said:

Any updates on Vision & older ships?

Vision was on Starlink last week, speed was pretty good, coverage in the cabin was patchy, but that's not down to Starlink

She's on her way to Cadiz currently, looks like the rumours were true, she appears to be getting the perfect storm slides added while she's there, they're shown on the deck maps within the App.

15 minutes ago, ColdRingo said:

My Time Dining times have definitely gotten later - I'm not a huge fan of the change.  When it's just my wife and me cruising, we just roll with it, but when I travel with the extended family, in particular my older mom who has to eat earlier, we just go with the traditional dining time and shoot for a 5:30 start. Or, we just hit up the Windjammer where it's not really a problem.  I do wish though that they'd include some earlier, say 5:30 or 6:00pm MTD times like they used to have.  Sounds like a good item to leave as feedback on our next cruise maybe.

We'll be leaving the same feedback, hate that the earliest MTD we've managed to get for our next cruise is 7:00, that's only for 2 days, the other 9 days it's 7:15.

6 hours ago, Paul whufc said:

In the days before covid I had a link which used to update every week or so with short notice cruises on Royal ships however this has now updated for years and I’m looking for a cruise in the next few months so does anyone know if they still do this sort of thing & if they do can you please send me the link? 
 

thanks 

Try this one

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event_USD.pdf

On a recent Marella cruise you picked up your sea pass card from your muster station, if you didn't go to your station, no room access and no drinks. Didin't hear any announcements chasing people to complete their muster drill.

Royal Caribbean has opened an office in Cyprus and has registered Spectrum of the Seas to fly under the Cypriot flag.

Wonder if it's a one off or if others will follow

https://www.crew-center.com/royal-caribbean-open-office-cyprus-support-operations-eastern-mediterranean

I'm seeing a couple posted, but there are more to come, interestingly one of them is from the USA to Europe!! I guess Adventre is coming over for a dry dock.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/cruises/?country=GBR&dates_maxDate=11%2F30%2F2024&dates_minDate=10%2F01%2F2024&destinationRegionCode_T.ATL=true

@Margahas come up with some excellent suggestions, couple of points of clarification, the bridge to see is Tower bridge, London bridge is a rather boring crossing and the best discount ticket booth to use for West End shows is in Leicester Square.

Depending on your budget it might be worth considering a Premier Inn hotel, budget but clean and functional, also in some great locations, Leicester Square is about as central as you can get. The tube (subway) network is excellent and a the buses are a great way to see London. London also has some great parks that are good for a stroll, Hampstead Heath (North London) is beautiful and has great views back across London.

13 minutes ago, Wheeler825 said:

my luggage tags still show nothing as far as cabin or deck.  Its a dumb system to have you print your own, why cant they do it like the airport?

Because you've already droped off your bags when you check in

We've booked Aqua class on Silhouette, can anyone advise what complimentary exercise classes are included?

TIA

Our app shows our excursions but not the drinks or wi-fi, hopefully that's not unusual.

17 minutes ago, Marga said:

Hi,

Since we just booked our summer 2023 Cruise I went online to the cruiseplanner to book our beverage packages and internet.

It said there is a 35% sale going on an the Premium package was discounted from 93USD to 68,99USD.  

Our last cruise was in October 2022, then the normal price was around 70 USD and reduced to 52 USD. 

Is what I am seeing the new normal? Or should I just wait for a better offer?

 

It's the new normal, best to book when you see a price you are comfortable with and then keep an eye out for a lower price, then cancel and rebook

2 hours ago, Wheeler825 said:

I agree, pay them a normal salary instead of split tips for people you never interact with.

Isn't this the same as the hospitality industry in the US, server is paid a very low wage and has to rely on tips to make up the difference?

I agree pay a reasonale salary and just tip to those who truly deserve it?

@D AltThey do, looks very similar to the Royal Caribbean one, accessed the same way by logging into your account and selecting your sailing.

Not all UK travel agents are hopeless, I've used a few and finally settled on one who does know my name, has sorted issues for me and spent hours on the phone on my behalf. Granted the first "specialist" cruise agent I used was awful and I'll never use again, the second was OK but the local one I have settled on is fantastic. Yes they can't reprice cruises for me, but that's due to Royal Caribbean in the UK, not the travel agent.

I still book directly occassionally but for anything that requires cruise, hotel and flights it's travel agents every time

On 1/6/2023 at 12:46 AM, USFFrank said:

I agree with ships being able to sail to Cuba again. Would love to see all the old cars driving around there. But then again it would bring up the argument of Royal having to either build a new, or acquire a ship small enough to sail there again. Empress & Majesty were sold. I do believe someone high up the Royal food chain once said that they still have a ship small enough to sail to Cuba, but that would be either a Celebrity or Silversea ship.

Legend of the Seas is still sailing to Cuba as Marella Discovery 2 so I assume Grandeur would be able to?

Isn't it time to do away with gratuities and just include then as part of the cruise fare?