F1guynz

Done with exuberance

Just waiting for them to apply the 30% discount for these cruises as $17,500 NZD is a bit steep for a 6 night cruise in a Grand Suite. Still that was better than the Owners Suite which was $32,000.

Explorer of the Seas will be sailing in the Europe from May 2019 until 5th November 2019 when it heads back to Miami on a 14 Transatlantic crossing. Another month to see if Adventure comes down under like I hope.

When we were on Explorer recently the Royal Suite guests were escorted on board by the concierge so I think you should expect that.

I don't find their website that difficult to navigate and use (caveat: I am not sure how different it is from the U.S website) but I do think there a lot of screens you need to go through to find the price of your cruise (around 10 I think). It would be nice to consolidate this information into 1 or 2 screens. Of course everyone is different so maybe in one of their previous workshops this was the preferred design. Even if they removed a lot of the basic bugs that would be a good start.

I don’t get the emails either. Looks like @Matt will need to have an email page as well as cruise compass and menus to keep all of us in the loop ? Probably most content wouldn’t be relevant to this side of the world anyway With regards to their testing I just wish they would hurry up and fix the NZ website. Still with IT.

There is a top secret class of ship being developed by RCI. It's code name is Ginormous Duck. This totally new class of ship will be distinguishable by 6 large round inflatable rings attached outside the hull that can double as life rafts if necessary. It will have the fastest top speed of any ship in the world today and capable of going to locations previously unheard of for cruise ships.

The cruise I booked for their 40% off sale is cheaper than their current promotion of 45% off even though there are heaps of cabins left. To be fair they always state “up to” but I always immediately assume my cruise will have the maximum discount applied? I don’t get to see my C&A discount on the NZ website but it is now with IT to investigate.

Me too and it’s only been a week since I got off

Hi, This video was not from an RCI ship, this incident happened on Carnival Legend.

there was a similar incident on one of the P&O Australia (owned by Carnival corp) earlier in ththe week. It was a 3 day cruise and the people on board were part of a stag do. A woman ended up bottling another passenger. it isn’t common for these large scale incidents where people get removed from the ship but 2 in a week get the media salivating. i see the passengers on the Carnival ship was saying that 25% future cruise credit is completely unacceptable as they will not cruise with carnival again. I do think Carnival have been fair in offering compensation, they don’t have to offer anything. I think they are angling to get the cost of their cruise refunded. Unlike the US they cannot be sue the cruise line for compensation. In New Zealand it is illegal to sell alcohol to an intoxicated person. It doesn’t look like cruise ships have a rule like this as some people I have seen struggle to stand when the sea is perfectly calm. Definitely in Australia (and NZ) there is a culture of binge drinking which is why the short cruises are popular with young people. P&O are the leader in this market offering 3 comedy cruises and wine and food cruises. In a few days this will blow over and the media will be able to get back to reporting Norovirus outbreaks.

I think trouble /and or scuffles are more likely to happen on short cruises. We just completed a 3 day cruise on Explorer and there were some fairly intoxicated people on board even by the muster drill on the first day. We were told they sell as much alcohol on a 3 day cruise as they would normally sell on 7 day cruise. On longer cruises the passengers are usually older and seem more controlled in their drinking.

Hi, welcome to the forum. Not sure about a TA but if you book direct with RCI once you have paid the deposit there is nothing further to pay until the final payment date. This date will be documented on your cruise booking. If you don’t wish to make the final amount in a lump sum you can make payments of any size up to the final payment date when any outstanding balance must be paid.

Excited to be following along. Voyager class ships are my favourite so far. i am also forward to hearing about the changes to Adventure in the hope she ends up down under.

When we were on Ovation the flight time was 1 minute per guest. I was wondering if this was the standard flight time or whether it varied by ship with this feature. It wasn't that heavily booked on Ovation so your could go multiple times on the cruise. On our cruise I went 3 times but I did get better. This must be a good gig for the crew to get on the ship. I saw them practicing for an hour or so in the morning before the passengers could have a go.

Hi all, I have attached copies of the specialty restaurant menus available on Explorer of the Seas. I feel hungry just looking at them again. Chops_Grille_Explorer - Menu.pdf Giovannis_Table_Explorer - Menu.pdf Izumi_Menu - Explorer.pdf

Hey RestingBirds, I probably tasted better than I said but I was really annoyed that JRs was not included in the ultimate dining package. Giovannis was great and I do love my scallops and chicken. I am also partial to a good slice of Pizza myself. I do wish Giovanni’s would do pizza as well. The people next to us left when they found they could get pizza. Italian food and pizza do go hand in hand so I think they should have a pizza oven. Jamies Italian on Ovation didn’t do pizza either but that will be because they have Sorrentos making pizzas there.

I have purchased soft drink in our port visits and brought it back on the ship with no issues. I also usually bring a couple of 1.25 litre bottles when we initially board. I have never seen them confiscate it, but it is so cheap it wouldn’t matter if they did

I think RCI also send mixed messages with the enforcement of their policies. For example, 1) they state that diamond drink vouchers may not be used in restaurants, but they will happily yet you use them. 2) The signs in the diamond and concierge lounge state you should not take drinks from the lounge, but the concierge stated on day 1 to ignore that rule. 3) You can't bring water or soft drink on the ship but they do not question or stop it if you do. Don't get we wrong, most exceptions work in the guests favour so I am definitely not against them. The trouble starts when you have all these policies but do not enforce them, by nature people notice and will start making their own exceptions. I think that is why @WAAAYTOOO is right, it is not about people sharing, but increasing revenue. You can't successfully implement RCI's double-double program (double the company’s 2014 earnings per share by 2017 and increase return on invested capital to double digits) without realistically charging more and/or offering less.

We had this in Singapore. From my experience it was anything but Smart

I do notice the last cruise you can currently book for Adventure is the 7th October 2019 for 13 days. It ends in Florida.That would coincide with the approximate start of the Aus/NZ season but it does seem like an odd port to start a trip to Australia from. Carnival and P&O have been putting water slides on their ships recently so it would be a logical additional to the market. Just have to wait and see as I couldn't find out any more information from the crew.

In wonder if this was just generic advertising or a hint of things to come?

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. this is our only cruise this year as we are off to Hawaii for 3 weeks later in the year for my birthday. Back on Explorer in March 2019 for a trip up to the Pacific Islands. BROWN SUGAR UPDATE: they are now trained at putting out the brown sugar for my porridge. They put a huge bowl of it. Mission accomplished. ?

@twangster I did a speed test on the voom. It was 1.44mbs download and 1.26mbs and latency 1.282ms. it was definitely slower than Ovation but it streamed okay with only minimal buffering. i never had any problem with coverage in the areas of the ship I visited.

I agree with what twangster is questioning. RCI sells the cabin including a genie service. To me it feels counter-intuitive to then pay extra to the person providing that included service. Living somewhere without tipping/gratuities I really struggle with this.