Marga

Hi, We are RCL cruisers and thinking about booking our first Celebrity Cruise. I have a question about the drinks package: due to medical reasons I am not allowed to drink alcohol. My husband does drink. With Royal we are always able to call customer service and book the Premium package for him and the refreshment package for me. Is this also possible with Celebrity? Trying to figure out if we should just book "All-Included" or go with Cruise-Only and buy the packages separate since I don't drink. Also with Celebrity it lists Coca-Cola drinks with the Premium package. Does that mean you can't get a basic diet Coke with the Classic Package?

Difficult choice. I am currently on Anthem and it's a nice ship. However not many activities, especially for kids. We were on Odyssey last year which is pretty much the same ship but had a much better time. Also the Wow factor was a little bit less for us because it is such a copy of Odyssey. Did the Med twice on Oasis Class ships and loved it. Palma de Mallorca there is really nothing to do. Just a tourist shopping town. Marseille is okay, but better to take an excursion outside of town. Barcelona is worth it, so are Florence and Napels. If you have seen Napels last time take the train to Pompeii. It is just amazing. I don't have kids, and you don't mention how old yours are. But I think they would like Oasis better from what I've seen on Anthem this week.

Most cocktails are around 16usd on my current cruise. Buy the package in a sale if you can. We paid around 65 usd.

Hi, Currently sailing on Anthem to the Canaries and having quite a lot of motion in the ocean with moderate to rough seas. Which made me wonder: does size of ship matter when it comes to swells and waves? So would (as an example) Oasis be more stable than Anthen and Jewel even less so?

What didn't you like about Princess? Never been on any other line than RCL but would love to know why I should or shouldn't consider them in the future.

"The Book" you reserve in advance because it is in a 'smaller' theatre (270). You can do it about 30 days before your cruise in the app. I would recommend you do this because it is sold out most of the time. The other shows you just show up I think. Otherwise you can make a reservation in the app once on the ship. But those are almost never booked, so wouldn't stress about it. Also if you want to use "North Star" for free on port days, make a reservation on a port day as soon as you are on the ship.

We are in the same situation. Each time price drops on either package you have to call again unfortunately. Only our sailing on Wonder last year allowed me to do it online, but think that was an IT glitch.

Hello, Kind of a silly question, but need the answer so here I go My husband has an expensive suit that needs dry cleaning. Since we are going on a cruise in 2 weeks and the pricelist of RCL is a lot cheaper than our local dry cleaners this seems like a no brainer. But on the pricing list it says " steam-only" or "dry-clean and press". My English isn't super good so I am not sure what 'press' means. Does it mean iron? Because I was under the impression you never iron a suit. So maybe somebody can translate or me what option we should choose? And is the dry cleaning any good? Or better to do it local?

We took this cruise last year. In Israel you need local cash. Especially if you want to take a taxi, also busses were cash only even at the bus station. Our experience was you could easily negotiate with a taxi driver to (for example) take you on a tour for a few hours for a fixed price. But they wanted to be paid in cash (local, not USD). So either take cash with you, or go to an ATM. Same goes for Kusadasi, if you want to take a taxi to Ephesus, prepare to negotiate a little and bring local cash. Most other places creditcard will be fine. If you want to use cash, use Euro's. USD is not accepted in Europe, or if some tourist shop does accept it they will charge a very unfavorable exchange rate. Enjoy your cruise! We loved this itinerary and ship.

App

Thanks! I will keep checking.

Hi, Last night was supposed to be the opening of the check-in for my cruise in September. I was able to put in my passport information etc. but not able to select a check-in time. Both the website and the app keep saying "We're not quite ready for you. Check back closer to your cruise to select an arrival time and complete check-in." What can cause this, and should I just keep refreshing the page, or will this be a longer wait?

I was on Jewel 3 years ago in a warm climate. They allowed kids in the Solarium almost all the time. We complained but nothing was done. A reason for us not to sail that type of ship (where the Solarium is a walk through area) again. For us it was a deal breaker.

I agree with this. If you download the Trenitalia app you can book and pay train ticket on the app. If you make an account and add a method of payment, you can just book online. Much easier if you don't know exactly what time you want to go. Just remember, the faster connections do work with reservations and the earlier you book, the cheaper the ticket. But the slower train is no more than 10 - 15 minutes slower and is always available to purchase. Please also pay attention to the fact that the trains to Civitavecchia from Rome Central station depart from a very weird and very far off platform. It easily takes 10 - 15 minutes to walk there from the main platform. If you don't want to be running like a maniac with your luggage (like we were) get to the train station ahead of time

Guess there was a 4th option Thanks!

I want the earliest boarding time yes

Hi, I am cruising on Anthem out of Southampton this summer. Online check in opens July 27th. What time is this? Probably midnight? And is it US time or local Southampton time or my local time?

We sailed from Civitavecchia 3 times. First check-in available was noon each time. We always went around 11am and usually were able to board a little before noon. You can travel in the morning or the evening before. Cost-wise Civitavecchia is cheaper, but there is nothing to do there. So if you want to see the sights, stay in Rome. You can also take a train from Rome to Civitavecchia. It's probably cheaper than a taxi. It's about an hour by train if you book a fast connection.Trains can be booked here: www.trenitalita.com If you do take a train make sure to go to the train station early. They have a few 'weird' train platforms there and it take about 15 minutes to walk there. The first time we were running like crazy to make the train Most of the trains to Civitavecchia depart from these platforms. From the station there is a shuttle to the ship. It used to be 2,50 euro (cash only) per person, but last year suddenly there was complimentary shuttle from Royal Caribbean.

Thank you all. I will try to locate an agent and see if they can help.

I am trying to help my elderly aunt book a cruise for 14 people with MSC. Some questions I can't help her with since I am not familiar with MSC. I posted the questions on CruiseCritic MSC forum but got hardly any good results. Anybody here that could help with these questions?

It does actually show on this folio the returned it. But I just never received it. My bank says to ask for a transaction ID, but they failed to supply it. I have now contacted them on Messenger. Maybe that will be off some help.

Hi, We went on a cruise in October 2022. Afterwards we were due 90USD of refundable OBC. We never received it. I have e-mailed RC customer service countless times, no answer. My travel agent tried for me and was told I already received the money (I didn't). I have now called 3 times, which is very expensive since I am calling from Europe to the USA. On 3 separate calls I was promised a call back or e-mail after they had contacted the ship administration to see what went wrong or to ask the transaction ID so my bank can see what went wrong. And then silence..... I never receive a call back or e-mail. I really just want back what is owed to me and I am getting a little bit desperate. Who can I call or e-mail to get this sorted? Is there some kind of complaints department?

I agree. Do as you wish. It's your vacation. On the cruises I have been on I haven't noticed many gender fluid or trans cruisers. So they might get some stares. But would do as they feel comfortable with. It's 2023 :-)

For Rome, just take a train into the city. If you buy your tickets in advance your seat is secured and there is no hassle at the trainstation. The train website is called Trenitalia. What I did is download the app fro Trenitalia. Make an account and add a method of payment. Then just book the train when you are ready. You can even book 5 minutes ahead of time, tickets might be a bit more expensive at that point though. I would leave the train at the St Pietro (Vatican) station and walk from there or take a subway. Train app is available in English and tickets are very cheap and certainly much cheaper than with RCL. Keep in mind that some trains do the trip in 35 minutes while others take over and hour. Make sure you pick the right one Colosseum you can you book tickets online on their official website. You do need to pick a timeslot, this is mandatory for crowd control.

I keep reading on several sites that Anthem has an engine issue and is adjusting itineraries until June. How do repairs usually work? June seems like a long time. Should we anticipate changes for our September cruise as well?