Southsider

23 hours ago, KDK said:

I was on your cruise on the same deck. Same issues with ceiling noise and MTD. The MDR food was also pretty disappointing. The Kotor situation was a huge disappointment. I did enjoy the itinerary, however. We think this will be our last cruise with RC.

hi there i sent you a private message 

so i have only been on 2 cruises wonder of seas and this one. on this cruise     i had a promenade view with a room up above and a room below  there was no reason for the noise !!!    i totally now agree with above comment re going for wonder of seas to this ship the class is night and day however the level of service at guest services etc should be same 

friends were next cabin not any noise.  wasn’t air con 

we’ll just off this ship on sunday and i think i made a mistake first ever cruise on wonder of seas last year then in this last week the standards are night and day 

(1) issue with my room - mechanical noise all night in roof space ( deck 7) couldn’t sort it and couldn’t move us as said ship full

(2) Guest services atrocious and not interested 

(3) no proper live shows like wonder of seas

(4)  toilet urinals not dispersing on several floors

(5)  my time dining went at 745pm one night couldn’t get booked waited till 915pm to get seated at 945pm still no food as was other guests next to us.  - 1 server.  had to go and hunt down restaurant manager to sort 

(6) Barr montenegro was ships first visit to this port. why no KOTOR.  don’t bother getting off ship 

i have sent a complaint to   RC customer services whilst i was cruising. be interesting how long they take to address it.      stateroom floor manager thought he was at an auction offering me 10% then 15 then 20% off next cruise.    don’t think so !!!! paltry few hundred  off room rate excl taxes in next cruise 

won’t be on these size or class again.    shambles

last august went in wonder of seas and managed to get deluxe package 3 weeks prior to cruise for £530 for 2 of us via call centre.   im out on explorer in june 25th and it’s £928 for 2.  no chance am i paying that 

can you still get free tea , coffee and soft drinks at certain outlets as there was a place on boardwalk on wonder that never charged 

don’t know set up on other ships 

Ship docked at Naples total dump of a city , streets and buildings filthy  , took train to Pompeii Ooft 

I will be honest not really in to archeology but thought worth a wander lasted 30 mins   Everything looked same ,  

a few heads up if coming on this trip.  Do AMALFI or Capri or stay on ship.   

Hi guys last day tommorow. Totally undecided.    Help 

Ok guys day started off a bit of nightmare had phone in airplane mode so clocks went forward an hour last night and I lost an hour 

left ship about 8am we thought was 7pm,   There’s a transfer from port to station  3 euro each.   We then got in train to terminal and started off with coliseum, then Trevi fountain then Spanish steps , Vatican , St. Paul’s square we were back on ship for 4pm with a cut off of 730pm

there are loads of trains , metros.   A wee tip is book the Vatican in advance we ended up paying an extra 20 euro each ad had to buy from third party on arrival at station ad was sold out.     The coliseum viewed external no drama to go inside 

don’t be put off by people saying too far away 

All done and dusted.     See my main post 

4 hours ago, Machae said:

Our cruise ended in Civitavecchia. We took this shuttle into Rome. It was perfect. The cruiseline shuttle will take you to a bus station and from there you will get a shuttle to the train station or this shuttle directly into Rome. From the drop down menu choose Vaticano and it will drop you off within walking distance. No need to go to Termini if you are just doing the Vatican. Although we were staying in Rome, there were several people you were taking it for their day trip into Rome from another cruise line.

https://www.sitbusshuttle.com/en/#transfer-civ

I like the idea however one bud there and one back doesn’t leave any Lea way if something was to go wrong.      Loads of trains going.  
 

would rather get there and straight back and spend more time local 

31 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

"Worth" is a very subjective thing. To me, it looks pretty easy, though I have never done it myself. And as someone who is very much not Catholic, I will say that I have absolutely enjoyed visiting the Vatican for the history aspect alone. But, I have only gone during off season when the crowds and heat were fairly low...during the busy summer season might make it less "worth it" to me personally. 

Purely going off of Google Maps, it looks like about a 15-20 minute walk from port to train station, then an approximately one hour train ride to Rome San Pietro station, then about a 25 minute walk. I would do it, as it seems worth it to me, but it also depends on someone being able bodied and being okay with doing some decently long walks, possibly in heat. So, only you can determine if that's for you or not. 

 

We are able bodied , it’s more a case of arriving in time and doing something.  Today wanted to go to Pisa.  Missed train and next one was 2 hours away so patched it 

tbh I am not religious ,   Seems you get off ship then bused to port then you need to get to station.

other option was Santa marinella which   isn’t far.      

Hi guys. Looking at doing this tomorrow a couple told us it’s more hassle than it’s worth and to enjoy Civitavecchia

anyone done it independently , ship docks at 715am then bud from ship to port then onwards ?

Yes or no ? 
 

i can prebook fast pass to Vatican but can’t prebook train as don’t know how soon get to station 

On 8/5/2022 at 10:21 AM, Lisa O said:

We just booked on SOS for May 2023 and we’re told either 8:45 pm or my time dining. Does anyone know what time Dining room is open for dinner? Wondering if we could get a 7:30 or 8 pm my time dining in MDR or if it doesn’t open until around 8:30?

I’m on wonder of seas at mo in the med.   first sitting is 6pm and 830pm.  I am my time. Minute I got WiFi on ship I booked up.  

On 8/2/2022 at 4:19 PM, ChessE4 said:

Get to Rome early, and there are plenty of choices there (Don't arrive the day of your cruise.)  

At Naples we tried a Royal excursion that combined climbing Mt. Vesuvius (walking up a trail) with Pompeii.  It was great except for the heat - plan on lots of bottled water during warm weather.

The port for Florence (La Spezia, right?) and Pisa is a bit of a bus ride.  I'd book an excursion to Florence (we tried Pisa already - not much after you've seen the Leaning Tower).  There are "at your leisure" excursions that essentially just provide you transportation and allow you to explore on your own.

We hit major traffic returning from Pisa, so that is why I favor Royal over a 3rd party.  Others love the 3rd party choices.

Are you going to the beach at Palma de Mallorca?  Haven't been there.

We won't make it to Barcelona until October, but the port isn't too far from tourist sites.  There are many ground transportation options.  We've known people who were pickpocketed in Rome and Barcelona, so watch your valuables.  Other threads address the type of purse, backpack, or money belt you might use.

Have a great trip! Try watching a few YouTube videos about your ports.

Most people going Pisa or Florence on there own will use the train 

Ok guys on  to day 3 of my first cruise tomorrow and it’s been amazing wish I started cruising years ago

  Do I get train to PISA or train to Cinque Terre  we are undecided the better choice ?

3 hours ago, Ryan79 said:

Go on the app and do that NOW!! There is no point or benefit to wait to make your MDT reservation times until you get on the ship

Does not allow me 

14 minutes ago, TXCruiser said:

Just a word of advice to be careful.  There were 6 of us in our family that went on our Wonder of the Seas cruise from Jul 24-31 and everyone tested positive for COVID on Monday when we returned home except for me (because I had it at the beginning of last month).  Everyone besides me in our group was fairly vigilant about KN95 masking as well with the exception of at meals, in our staterooms and excursions where we were outdoors.

Besides that, the cruise was fun but exhausting but that was more due to us booking excursions that required meeting between 7:15-8:00 am at every port.

Pros: 

Food at the MDR and Windjammer was great and plentiful (the Indian food station at the Windjammer was surprisingly yummy).

All the employees on the ship were incredibly nice and helpful.

The ship did not feel crowded even though it was at capacity.

There were plenty of activities onboard.

Cons:

Headliner entertainment was mediocre at best and people started leaving after the first song or two.

The escape room was not ready.

Our dining reservation at the Chef's Table was canceled because my wife and I were the only two people booked for that time slot.

We didn't get our shareholder OBC because we were told it was not valid for our rate.  This was told to us by someone at guest services who said she had never seen that before.  It would have been nice if the shareholder OBC team had mentioned that ahead of our cruise in an email instead of only making a note in the file that I received after waiting in line at guest services.  Our rate was just a lift and shift from last year's cruise that got canceled and was the market price at the time so I'm not sure what happened.

 

Thanks for heads up.   I am triple vaxed and had covid 6 weeks ago will be careful 

Ok I’m totally lost so I have my time dining   Reason   I wanted that is wasn’t wanting stuck with 2 set times.      I am boarding at earliest slot tomorrow so is it just a case of booking rest of week tomorrow.  ???     
 

so can you book times for my time dining.   ? Thijk will go to guest services or MD on arrival see what can sort.      Not even on ship and boo boo already

Can I do that on app tomorroe ?   Wife wants to do main dining every night lol.    

My stomach is churning first timer 

I have booked my time dining so do I just book in the morning is that easier than queuing etc.    

simeone mentioned book the shows then dine round about them 

help lol 

So the neighbourhoods view that’s been stuck in pending and I couldn’t alter bid now says unavailable.    But the spacious ocean view that I got a knock back on 3 weeks ago allowed me to make a bid and it’s saying ONBOARD UPGRADE REVIEW.    

think I will go to guest services and see if can swing anything.      Any advice ? 

There system is a shambles.   I’m in U.K. and sent them copy of the 3 vaccinations on app and each time keep rejecting it for no reason 

Bloody day to late 

Cruise is next Sunday but I have been unable to change my offer for last 10 days 

I’m same pending can’t change sailing next Sunday