Jim S

Photos of the new “25 Years Loyal” C&A leaflet attached.

My apologies, the last item of the Stateroom Services section shows D+ and Pinnacle members getting one free W&F bag for 5+ night sailings.

19 minutes ago, Jim S said:

We only boarded yesterday and there was a colour printed leaflet in our cabin showing ALL the C&A Loyalty benefits for each class of member. Looks like the NEW official C&A loyalty benefits leaflet. I will take a photo of it later today and post it for all to see.

14 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

It must have just changed.  We were on EX a few weeks ago and got the "free" W&F laundry perk.  If this holds true I will be very VERY disappointed.  This is one of THE most important perks for us.  We use it EVERY time.  Won't be paying for it though.

We only boarded yesterday and there was a colour printed leaflet in our cabin showing ALL the C&A Loyalty benefits for each class of member. Looks like the NEW official C&A loyalty benefits leaflet. I will take a photo of it later today and post it for all to see.

I stand corrected. Applies to D+ and Pinnacle only. We are on a 7 night cruise and the “free” bag is now $24.99.

we are also on the following 7 night cruise b2b and the same applies.

Just boarded Explorer and discovered that the free $34.99 bag of laundry for D, D+ and Pinnacle has been removed and replaced with $10 discount. So the “free” bag now costs $24.99.

On 4/7/2023 at 10:24 PM, twangster said:

Looks great.  But it's not raining and it doesn't look cold.  Are you sure this is Scotland?

Yes, sure is Scotland. No place like home for me

The photo was taken yesterday which was a beautiful sunny day. Yes, you’re correct, it can be wet, windy, cold and sunny - all in the same day in the West Coast of Scotland. We do get the occasional good spell of weather, and it is happening right now.

Photo of the newly completed cruise terminal building at Greenock, Scotland

3 hours ago, Debra haddad said:

Hi, thinking of booking an RC cruise in July leaving from Ravenna - does anyone know what time you have to be on the cruise please?   Also what is the best way of travelling from Bologna to Ravenna, ie train, bus or shuttle and relevant prices please?  Thank you in advance! Debra

Normally, you need to be onboard at least 3 hours before the ship sets sail. On our September cruises (b2b) the ship departs Ravenna at 7:00pm, so we need to be onboard before 4:00pm.

Regarding the trip from Bologna to the ship, we have booked the RCI coach transfer from the airport (BLQ) to Ravenna and return at the end of the cruise. Our TA arranged this directly with RCI. £37 per person each way.

Hope that helps.

On 8/17/2022 at 3:04 AM, KathyS said:

We will be on that cruise also, celebrating our 50th anniversary!  We're starting from Cape Liberty, New Jersey, on May 1st.  This is our first transatlantic cruise and first back- to-back.  Does anyone have any advice or tips.

We are on that cruise as well. Travelling from Scotland to Southampton by car the day before the cruise. Staying overnight in a Hotel.

Congratulations on your milestone wedding anniversary. We celebrate our 50th in August and go on b2b cruises on RCI Explorer from Venice (Ravenna) in September to celebrate.

There is a chance that RCI may offer an excursion to Bologna with airport drop-off on the day of departure from your cruise, similar to that currently on offer for Venice. Keep an eye out for it in the cruise planner. You may also be able to book it onboard. Best of luck.

I don’t see why RCI cannot book you on two separate coach transfers as there is a coach travelling to and from each airport, Venice and Bologna, on cruise days. Two separate transfers should not be very difficult for to arrange. We are flying in and out of Bologna and our travel agent recently arranged for RCI to add our coach transfers for two B2B cruises. We travel to the ship on 17th September and depart after our second cruise on 1st October.

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.

We got the same email adding Athens in place of Mykonos. We are also on the previous b2b 17th Sept. cruise and, thankfully, they have retained Mykonos in the itinerary but delayed the arrival into Kotor with a cruise through the bay of Kotor which will be very nice.

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.

Look forward to meeting you Bazza. RCI might do a local tour with airport drop-off like they have done on several other cruises that we have done in the past. Will look out for this nearer the time.

Happy New Year to you from sunny Scotland.

Yes, the BA0539 has disappeared from the BA timetable. We thought of staying over in Bologna until the following day but after two b2b cruises we will just want to get home.

Hope to see you on the cruise.

Hi Bazza

just had an email from BA and flight BA0539 from Bologna to LHR has been cancelled. Our booking has been transferred to BA0545 departing Bologna at  6:40pm. Bit of a bummer, but we can live with that.

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.

On 10/7/2022 at 11:15 PM, teddy said:

We’re going on Explorer in October 2023.  7-nights, Ravenna to Rome. 
 

I’ve been watching prices for flights from Boston, Massachusetts to both Venice and Bologna over the past six months.  Venice seems to run cheaper, but as you said, it’s further from Venice to Ravenna than from Bologna.

As of right now, we are leaning toward taking a train to Ravenna regardless of which city we fly into and staying there the night before we embark.  There appears to be no direct train from Venice, while there is a direct one from Bologna, so that’s making us favor Bologna. 
 

Once flights become available to book, we’re going to have to make a decision.   We’d like to book early in case prices skyrocket as 2023 rolls along. 
 

 

We have just booked our flights from UK to Bologna the day before the cruise. British Airways prices were very reasonable. We have also booked to stay at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Bologna overnight and will travel to Ravenna Cruise Port by taxi or Uber on the morning of our cruise.

My wife and I are on that cruise as well, and B2B with the previous cruise on 17th September. We have just booked flights to Bologna the day before our first cruise and are staying overnight at a hotel in Bologna. We will get a taxi or Uber to the ship on the morning of the cruise. We found this option to be better than going through Venice.

Enjoy your cruise. All of the ports of call are fabulous.

Oh, and I should add that we have been to Venice before and would look to take an excursion to Venice on the day between our two B2B cruises.

We cruise on Explorer in September 2023, two 7 night B2B cruises. Flying from the UK, we are thinking about going to Bologna and staying overnight in a hotel before our cruise. The distance to Ravenna port from Bologna is about half the distance from Venice to the port and hopefully there would be a taxi available to take us to and from Bologna to Ravenna. A little too early to check this out at the moment but will start investigating next month. Will feed back to the forum if this option works for us.

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

So very beautiful.  I wish we were going to be able to see it, but alas, we had to cancel this one since we aren’t vaccinated.  Hopefully next year we will be able to visit.

Oh I am very sorry to hear that. Maybe by next year the terminal will be ready for passengers. We are hoping that RCCL will allow passengers to embark/disembark at this new terminal to save us the 500 miles trip to Southampton each time we cruise from the UK.

Here’s a photo of the new terminal taken today. I’m afraid that there has not been much progress since April.

Emerald  Princess was docked at the terminal today.

On 4/18/2022 at 3:38 PM, WAAAYTOOO said:

I am booked on a Jewel cruise 19 August that visits Greenock but perhaps that is scheduled to an old terminal ?  Wish I was confident that I will be on that cruise but I am fairly certain I won't be.

WAAAYTOOO;  I took a trip up to Greenock today, as it is only 30 miles from where we live. Unfortunately, the new terminal does not look as if it’s going to open any time soon. Here are some photos of the newly built sculptures at Coronation Park in Port Glasgow, only a couple of miles from where the ship docks.  Just a suggestion to visit if you don’t want to venture far from the ship. Enjoy your cruise when it comes. We will be on Anthem in the Mediterranean when Jewel is in Greenock, otherwise we would have taken a trip up to see her on 19th August.