EmersonNZ

YOLO Book it!

 

I am so glad you aren't running a blog on illegal drugs...  :D

The Singapore / Hong Kong to Australia repositioning cruises, or the return cruises always seem to be great deals with Royal. While harder for US Clients becasue of flying times, for SE Asia and Australia New Zealand residents they are great. Anyone looking for a very interesting longer cruise these are wonderful choices. Also very safe part of the ocean for travel both from a security and weather standpoint.

 

I was looking at maybe doing one of the Ovation repositioning cruises. I'm thinking maybe doing Singapore to Sydney trip as it might be nice ending with the shorter trip home (Then again who cares, it's only a extra few hours in a plane and when you live in New Zealand you are used to long haul flights :-) ). 

 

Todd is right in the price.... they seem to be really good value.

I must admit I'm pretty tempted to do this cruise as well.... We have a new years (Dec 30th 2017) cruise booked out of Sydney but tempting to book this one (Or why not both).

Glad you had a great trip mom2mybugs. Really sorry to hear about the blood clots and I hope you are well and truly on the road to a full recovery.

 

(as for tipping... don't even get me started... being a non american I just don't understand the concept. Pay staff a living wage and then I'll tip for spectacular service... not average service. We don't tip in NZ and service is as good (if not slightly friendlier) than the US in my opinion, I'll tip if I get exceptional service but no one ever expects it and having been a waiter it is a big big big deal if it happens. We of course also got paid a decent wage as a waiter, not brilliant but well above the minimum wage).

I agree with Todd and WAAYOO... I'd want a day in between if going from 2 ports... I might even want a day even if going between 2 ships at the same port. It is not unheard of for a ship to be late arriving in port due to weather etc. It's rare... but it happens. 24 hours would allow for a nice buffer for any issues be it the ship or traffic, illness, car issues etc.

Actually Todd is correct. Our local Port in Dunedin New Zealand held a cruise ship in port overnight a few years back until it cleaned it's kitchen and storage area... 

 

The Captain at the end of the day is responsible for the ship, it's crew and well on board customers and it is he or she's responsibility to ensure that the ship meets hygiene standards set eby both law where she sails and I imagine company policy (of course like any manager the captain will delegate that responsibility to various staff... who likely delegate it to other staff... who probably delegate to someone else with a mop).

 

theweets is also right that it is not the standard 'we' would expect of RCL and I am sure nor would head office and probably the captain of the Voyager if s/he was aware of it (I imagine they would be ex-captain if RCL had too many complaints like that or if they failed a por inspection etc). As Todd sai things in some parts of Asia are a bit more lax... it's not to say they are necessarily  unhealthy, once you've lived in parts of Africa or Asia you really that the western world is often a little uptight about a few things that really don't matter... (and other things we are uptight about for a darn good reason). IN this case while the picture maybe aren't surprising... they are not what one 'should' expect and  don't think does their brand any good and certainly wouldn't be the picture RCL would want around the internet if they had their choice.

My mom put a watch on my wrist and said if you want to see the outside of the cabin for the rest of the cruise you will check in on very specific intervals. It worked very well!

 

Your mums a genius... and I imagine a great motivator... i bet it motivated you to check in that is for sure  :)

I have heard some stories of very expensive upcharges at some locations on the ship for NYE.  I don't like that much...so we'll have to see what the situation is on NAV.

 

I can imagine... I guess it is just like most popular venues etc (And in this case a captive audience). I remember paying nearly 200% more for a hotel room in NYC one New Years eve. To be fair it was a block away from Times Square but it still hurt....

For me I think it'll be mostly mental... Knowing I have a cruise (or any holiday) booked in advance always gives you something to look forward too (I have a small mind... any way I can trick myself works for me :-)

I had had 2 cruises already booked before this sale both of which I got during another sale (let's call them promotions) which was a 30% the entire trip deal. In the end the 60% discount on the second person ended up being the same as the 30% off all passengers but the difference was (a) I only had to pay half the deposit so got a refund and ( B) each booking got a $200 onboard credit. For 10 minutes I spent on the phone it was worth $400 US of credit which will probably pay for either our drinks, our internet... or my coffee bill.

Also if you cancel the cruise you won't suddenly get a refund for that $100. Basically for me it's my internet or a my coffee for the trip (Please oh please let them have good coffee.... Being a NZer I have high standards for coffee and I think I am going to be disappointed...  ;))

Looking forward to hearing your report later in the year WAAAYTOOO. We have a 14 day cruise booked out of Sydney 30/12/17 so looking forward to it. We have a friend coming with us who is always keen to do something special on New Years eve so hopefully this will count as special (We once had 2 New Years, one in New Zealand and then the next in LA which was pretty cool and of course being in NZ we all stayed up to be the first to see the dawn of the new millennium as the sun hit NZ first each day due to the date line and our timezone).

 

As long as it doesn't inlcude watching TV while someone else is celebrating I think we'll be ok 

I promised I'd give an update after my call today. We'll I got through roughly about the same time as last night so not sure what went on there (staff mid winter Christmas party and the closed the phones early maybe?)

 

After going through the robo phone messages I managed to get to talk to a customer services representative.... and she was brilliant. Really friendly, helpful ad seemed to know her stuff really well. I'd say within about 10 minutes I had both cruises rebooked with the $200 onboard credit added, old deposit refunded and new deposit paid. It was a really really good experience and as I told her if my experience on board is as good as it was with her then I am sure we are really going to enjoy our cruise (It was so good I volunteered to take the phone survey afterwards and ave her a glowing review).

 

In the end it was exactly the same price due to already getting 30% off the cruise but the deposit was 1/2 and we got $200 onboard credit... all in all very happy.

 

So... all sorted and ready for our cruises (Or at least until the next sale). 

You are a wild man, EmersonNZ !

 

My wife choose other words  :)  (Though after painting a picture of her enjoying a good book (or 10) on the balcony as we sale past various south pacific islands she came around).

Thanks all. I'll give them a call tomorrow afternoon and see if I can't get a hold of them. I've 'held' 2 booking using the new promotion which expire tomorrow night but of course I have my 2 confirmed bookings so hopefully they will just update those and I can let the held cruises slip. It's 'only $200 worth of ship board credits for each of the cruises but the way I think of it that will pay for my Internet or specialty dining on the trip etc so pointless not taking advantage of it. 

 

I like the idea of booking cruises like futures Waaaytoo... We always tend to have at least one holiday booked somewhere in the world to give us something to look forward to etc (Vanuatu in a couple of weeks which will be a nic winter break for example). I can see us using the 'book on board' offers to book a couple of more cruises presuming all goes well on Ovation (Which I am sure it will), 

Can tell you about the Australia  office but I believe it is run the same as the other offices. When you get the robo operator you need to clock and answer like you want to book a new cruise.  The sales and customer service people are 24 hours but for new sales only. If you answer you already have a booking or information about a booking the robo operator tells you call during normal hours.

 

But you can re book with them and get same cabin but you will lose the on board credit.

 

Thanks, I'll give them another ring tomorrow and see if they answer. I just found it a little strange their message seemed to indicate I was ringing way within business hours and yet no one home. Interesting it didn't go to a robo answer phone just a voice message giving their business hours. Very strange.

First Emerson, did you book through a travel agent, if you did then you need to call them immediately and they will handle everything. If you booked through Royal you need to call them and have them do the math to see if you will save money and get OBC or just OBC. If you do they don't do a new reservation, they just amend the two that you have with the new price/OBC.

 

Can do I booked both cruises online (within about 10 minutes) though one seems to think I didn't.

Ps - Sorry about the topic title... my brain got ahead of my fingers

Loving the Blog. Sounds like you had a great first day apart from the sailaway.

Newbie question time..

 

I booked 2 cruises last week and just took a look of the new WOW sale and found while I won't save anything on the actual cruise cost (they had a 30% off sale which of course is about the same as a 60% off the 2nd person) I will get $200 on-board credit (Which face it is free money). I've put both the new bookings on hold.

 

Being a newbie I now have a question....

 

How do I go about making the change in my booking?

 

Should I cancel the old one and then make the new ones (and if so how do I get the same cabin)? Do I ring RCL and have them do it on line and if so what is the process?

 

Also noticed something interesting in one of my bookings. It has a message in bright red that says Please note that only reservations made on RoyalCaribbean.com with your My Cruises account can be modified online. You can however complete your Online Check-In and make advanced reservations using our Pre-Cruise Calendar. 

 

Thing is both booking were made about 10 minutes apart (one doesn't say this) and the other doesn't have this message and seems to allow me to make payments etc etc (The one with the message doesn't seem to allow me to cancel the bookings or make payment.

 

On a side note.... has anyone had problems phoning RCL? I tried calling today from New Zealand which I believe goes through to their Australian office. I got basically an 'we are closed' message with a voice message saying they are open 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday AEST. Thing is I called them at 6:13pm NZST... which is 4:13pm AEST.

I went a little nuts and booked 2 cruises

 

28th Jan 17 Ovation

&

30th Dec 17 - Voyager

This could be dangerous... I can see me booking cruise after cruise after cruise... and just ending up in an infinity loop.

 So look at your booking at least once or twice a week.

 

 

Only once or twice a week? I've been so excited I've looked atit at least once or twice an hour since I booked (It really hasn't changed in that time :-)

G'day, Just booked a grand suite on Voyager for 2018 from Sydney, Any Aussies that have had a grand suite, can you advise me on the benefits of a grand suite and the best ways to make the most of it.

Thank you 

Peter Heness

 

Hello follow ANZAC (Guessing for the G'day... though didn't include 'mate' or 'cobber' so I can't be totally sure :) )Which trip did you book? We literally just booked a 14 day trip out of Sydney from the 30/12/17 on the Voyager in a Grand suite :-). 

 

Looking forward to hearing the answer to this as well.

I, too, am envious of your itineraries. I have wanted to take a transatlantic or Norway cruise but they are out of my price range.

 

Being from a small island nation in the middle of the pacific I think it is in our DNA to travel. I must admit it did feel strange booking a cruise that included New Zealand destinations. One itinerary we looked at for the Ovation is stopping in Dunedin (NZ) which we where we live. I guess it'd be a good opportunity to pick up anything you'd forgotten to pack :-)