hayley_bopp

Have a great time @Skid

I know you can order Mimosas and Bloody Marys at breakfast but they're not included in the drinks package. Don't know about the rest of the day. 

41 minutes ago, Balsam said:

Just a question to people doing this research....

Have you checked the "gratuities" on UK vs US pricing?

I looked at US pricing and thought I was getting ripped off on the Australian site... until I realised the Aussie price included the gratuities and the US one did not.

I'm not sure how it works with the UK pricing.

UK pricing does not currently include gratuities as standard although there are sometimes deals where gratuities are included. 

Wow! I'm very jealous! Have an amazing time. 

4 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

Though I did start laughing when I saw this sign walking into the WJ as it made me think of @hayley_bopp‘s comment about noting a them with my desserts. I swear I didn’t plan this!!!



You were obviously destined to go to the WJ that night

I'm looking forward to trying the bagel station on my cruise so thanks for the pictures

5 minutes ago, CrusingWithMatt said:

While I DO have muscle relaxers. I don't like to take them as some of the side effects are dizziness/motion sickness. I'm doing much better now. Maybe 80%

Glad to hear you're feeling better

Love the photos of Pixels. 

Technical question: How do you get such fantastic shots if the shows? Do you use camera on phone or DSLR? What kind of settings do you use?

TIA

Thanks for sharing. I'd love to do a Norweigian Fjords cruise on Brilliance one day...

6 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

Looool I am a shameless sucker for chocolate!

You and me both

4 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

For desert, I got the chocolate napoleon. 

 

I think I'm noticing a theme with your dessert choices

Love the photos from North Star!

1 hour ago, CrusingWithMatt said:

Hello everyone,

Sorry I have been absent. I wasn't feeling well (not seasick) from a flare up of an old neck injury the past few days.  More to come shortly.

Sorry to hear that. Hope it hasn't affected your cruise too much

12 hours ago, spiralqueen said:

It was like a moussey Milky Way bar.

That looks delicious!

I love Barcelona - so much to see and do - and Ville Franche - so pretty

13 minutes ago, Pima1988 said:

  When he is done, he goes out on the balcony.  I close the curtains so he can't see me.  When I am ready, I open up the curtains like he is picking me up for a date.  It just makes that night special.

I love this! So romantic

9 hours ago, VegasFella said:

One of the persons is an especially slow eater.  Maybe he takes 27 minutes to eat his soup?  The other persons are more EAGER to "move it along".  So, you're saying that entrees will not come, until the previous items are consumed?  Just asking. 

Sorry if my follow-up is a bit too wordy.  Another thing is.. myself, I often will eat half my salad, and put it aside & enjoy the remainder of it with my entrée. 

I guess I just want to fit in ... and be "fairly" normal.

I haven't had experience of slow eating table mates so not sure on that point. 

Regarding you're salad, just eat half, put it to one side (they'll assume you're finished) and then ask them not to clear it when they clear everyone else's appetisers. 

Don't worry about 'fitting in' - it's your cruise, do it your way

If you choose traditional dining, doors to the restaurant will be closed until they have everything set up ready for your seating. If you want to get a drink before dinner, head to one of the bars near to the restaurant (although those nearest tend to get busy with people waiting for the doors to open). Apparently they close the doors at a set time too but we always saw people coming in after the published time. 

You don't need to let the dining room know if you're not going to be at your sitting. However, if you have traditional dining and are sat at a larger table and know tbe day before that you're not going to be in the MDR the next night, it's polite to let the waiter know so they're not waiting for you to arrive before taking everyone's order. 

If you're in traditional, people who've opted for MTD won't be sat at your table in my experience. 

When ordering, you will order drinks as you sit down. Then the waiter will take your order for all three courses. They will wait until everyone at the table has finished until they clear the plates and bring out the next course. 

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us

Ship's time will be displayed on the  'ship's position' page on your TV, on the phone in your cabin and on the digital screens in the stairwells. 

I always take an analogue watch when going ashore just to be on  the safe side. 

1 hour ago, Jason12 said:

If BA have cancelled for even changed the time by more that two hours they offer a full refund

I was thinking something like this  might apply so think I will look at what else is out there 

38 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 I would say not to Option 1 because a layover in Chicago in December is always risky due to weather.  What if there was some sort of delay in Chicago due to a snow storm?

Not sure about Houston as I know nothing about that airport. But again, layovers make me nervous, especially in the winter.

I would still likely do the direct route...for my own peace of mind...

37 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I would avoid Chicago in December.  

Thanks for the input - I'd not even thought about the weather factor (although we are scheduled to arrive 3 days before the cruise)

This will come in very useful when trying to convince my husband to pay for the direct option

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

What about Virgin? Do they still do the Heathrow - Miami route?

I think as it's already booked through BA, we'd lose money by switching airlines. 

Also, the flight times mean we'll now not get to whichever Florida airport until 20:30 at the earliest, but 22:39 at the latest - without collecting baggage/clearing customs/delays 

Compared to our original booking which would've had me sipping cocktails in South Beach by sundown

On the plus side, the later flights mean we'll be able to get the bus to the airport instead of driving - no an issue on the way there but driving 2.5hrs from London to Coventry after a night flight from the US is NOT fun. So there is that I suppose... I'm trying to look on the bright side.

4 minutes ago, Jason12 said:

Have a look at Norwegian from Gatwick 

My TA purposely didn't want to book Norwegian as apparently they're not looking very secure at the moment

Grrr! Just had a call from my TA to advise that BA have cancelled the direct flight route from London to Fort Lauderdale for my cruise in December. 

My options now are:

1) Fly indirect via Chicago for no extra cost but taking an extra 2+ hours flight time +whatever the layover time is

2) Fly indirect via Houston for an extra £50pp but taking an extra 3+ hours flight time + whatever the layover time is 

3) Fly direct to Miami for an extra £400pp!

I can't even make a decision on which option to go for as my husband (aka The Cruise Fare Payer) is away for the weekend. 

I know this is not directly related to RC but I needed to vent and thought you guys would understand

Anyway, I'm off to pursue my second love by going to a food festival now so that should cheer me up. Either that or I'll comfort eat and undo the progress I've made on my 'lose weight before the cruise so you can put in back on during the cruise' diet plan...