baltodave

We are not concerned with the stateroom (not our first rodeo). We are concerned with the hotels in Athens and Venice.

We are taking Rhapsody on July 25 from Athens to Raveena. We are spending 2 nights in an Athens hotel pre-cruise and 1 night in a Venice hotel post-cruise. Does anyone have a recommendation for a voltage converter (that's allowed on the ship)? Thanks!

We also booked this through @michelle at MEI. We live in Baltimore County, Maryland and will be interested to see what air arrangements are made (in our case, from BWI) and transfers. As far as I can tell, the prices quoted are the same as if we booked directly with RCL. I hope MEI can do something eventually based on the size of the group.

That website states: "From 15 March 2022 onwards, travellers visiting Greece are no longer required to fill out the Passenger Locator Form (PLF). However, a simplified PLF remains in operation, the completion of which is OPTIONAL, for the sole purpose of enabling the traveller / family to issue an EU Certificate of negative or positive COVID-19 test result. " So, if I read this correctly, it optional and not required.

Thanks @FionaMG. You assumed correctly. We currently have 2 connections (1 each way) in London Heathrow and don't plan on leaving the airport. The outbound connection is Chicago-London/London-Athens and the return connection is Venice-London/London-Baltimore (don't ask!)

I was debating on whether to add on to a existing post about protocols for cruises starting in Italy but my cruise plans are a little different. We are booked on Rhapsody July 24 going from Athens to Raveena. We also have Air2Sea flights that require us to make connections in London. Sooo, what are the protocols for cruises beginning in Athens and ending in Italy? Also, do we need to do anything special to make a connection in London. BTW, we have the eMed tests and plan on taking them in Athens (we plan on arriving 2 days early) and I was told by the eMed folks that as long as we have an internet connection (and our hotel in Athens does), we can do the tests there. We will also take the the non-proctored government supplied tests before we even board our flights to Athens. Thanks!

Thanks @Matt and @smokeybandit ! Matt- turns out we use MEI anyway so maybe we can get a good rate. It would also be our 3rd cruise on Rhapsody. We took her out of Tampa to Western Caribbean just before Covid and we are scheduled to take her on a Greek/Adriatic cruise this July. Rhapsody is a fine ship albeit w/o a Royal Promenade. In addition, we should be Diamond by March 2024.

Apologies if I posted this in the wrong board. We are thinking about booking the group cruise in Panama March 16-23 2024. My question is which airports would make the most sense to fly into and out of for this cruise? Thanks!

I'm also interested. We booked the 6/16/23 Radiance sailing (Vancouver -> Seward)

Following this. We are on the opposite cruise (starting in Athens and finishing in Ravenna with flight home from Venice).

(I originally posted this in the Excursion board but it may not have been the correct place) We are taking Rhapsody OTS (7/25/02 - 8/01/02) from Athens to Ravenna and are looking for suggestions on traveling from Ravenna to Venice when the ship arrives on 8/1. There will be 3 of us (me, my wife, and her adult daughter). We are staying in a hotel near the Venice airport and flying out of there Tuesday 8/2 at about 1pm. We'd love to get to Venice around lunchtime and get a quick tour. Any suggestions? TIA!

We are taking Rhapsody OTS (7/25/02 - 8/01/02) from Athens to Ravenna and are looking for suggestions on traveling from Ravenna to Venice when ship arrives on 8/1. There will be 3 of us (me, my wife, and her adult daughter). We are staying in a hotel near the Venice airport and flying out of there Tuesday 8/2 at about 1pm. We'd love to get to Venice around lunchtime and get a quick tour. Any suggestions? TIA!

We are taking Rhapsody in July that starts in Athens and ends in Venice. We are spending 2 nights in Athens prior to the cruise and 1 night in Venice after the cruise. Any recommendations for hotels? Our only requirement is that we need 2 full-size or queen-sized beds since my adult step-daughter is going with us. Thanks!

It's my understanding that the folks who were just given 1 or 2 day notice received a 100% refund PLUS 100% FCC. We got the option of a 100% refund OR 125% FCC (which we are taking since we have 2 other cruises booked in 2022). However, we are still waiting for the refund for our cruise planner purchases.

We were notified on Jan 7 (via email) that our Jan 24 Vision OTS sailing was cancelled. At least we got 2 1/2 weeks notice. Some folks on Symphony and Jewel were given just 1 or 2 days notice.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I should have also said that another reason for internet is so my wife and I can text between us. Of course, the Royal app also allows that at $2/day/pp and we might try it out for this short cruise.

For a 4-night Catalina & Ensenada cruise out of LA, I was wondering if Wifi is really needed? In other words, will my phone have (TMobile) coverage in US Waters (and Catalina). I do realize, I need to contact Tmobile to see if my plan includes Mexico. Thanks all!

We are being offered the 125% FCC for cruises booked by May 31, 2022 on cruises sailing by Dec 31, 2022 or a 100% refund.

That would be awesome since our next cruise (already booked) is on Rhapsody (Greek/Adriatic) July 2022. It will also be interesting to see what they do about cruise planner purchases (other than normal refunds). We had bought a 3-night dining package, 2-device Voom, Refreshment package and 2 excursions.

The itinerary for the Jan 24 Vision (11-night) sailing would have been: Ft Lauderdale - Sea Day - Sea Day - Costa Rica - Panama - Cartagena - Sea Day/Aruba - Aruba - Curacao - Sea Day - Sea Day - Ft Lauderdale Glad I used points to book my SWA flights. At least I'll get those back.

Oh No! We only had 17 days until our Vision sailing! Even had our eDocs and luggage tags printed! Also, spent $180 on 6 eMed Abbott Binax Covid tests. And this was L&S'd from last year. We've had so many cruises cancelled, I've lost count.

I share your concern as we are also on that sailing (L&S from last year). It's my understanding that the other ship being used to house Covid-positive crew is Rhapsody and her first sailing isn't until the Spring. It's also my understanding that Vision's simulation cruise is next week but I can't seem to find any information on that. FWIW, we were able to do a Royal-Up bid plus my TA still claims the cruise is still on. Also, I ordered the Abbott tests on December 31 and they arrived yesterday, January 5, (One day late because we had snow here which delayed Fedex deliveries one day). I didn't want to risk not being able to get a Covid test in Florida since we are spending the weekend there before the cruise. The 6-pack of Abbott tests cost $180 (including Fedex shipping) but figured better safe than sorry.

First, I wasn't sure whether to respond to an existing thread or start a new one... We are booked on Vision's first cruise (since the restart) departing Ft Lauderdale Jan 24. Most of the posts I've read talk about experiences on the larger (e.g. Oasis class, Freedom) ships. Any idea what we can expect on this Vision class sailing? (Other than everything should be very clean since we're the first sailing). BTW, we've been on Vision class, Voyager class, Freedom class and Oasis class ships but this was before Covid. So we do understand the differences between those class ships. However, I'd like to have some idea on what to expect on a Vision class ship post restart. Thanks!

Yep! We got 10:30-11:00 am. I think that's earlier than most because this is the first sailing for Vision (following drydock and restart). In other words, we don't need to wait for prior guests to get off and I bet the rooms are ready now.

Just noticed that Online Check-In is now up! (We are 33 days out).