F1guynz

Even though you booked a cruise via a travel agent wouldn't you just buy a drinks package / dining package etc through the cruise planner, why would you use a TA for this unless it was a promotion they were running for the booking.

Sounds good

Good, we removed any Covid cruise restrictions months ago, for a change we were ahead of Australia on this. looking forward to cruising on Brilliance in November heading to Adelaide, Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.

Remaining covid rules for Australia scrapped effective today. Australian states remove all cruise Covid protocols - Cruise Passenger

Finally the end is in sight for pre-departure testing and vaccination requirements. https://cruisepassenger.com.au/news/government-to-axe-cruise-vaccination-rules/

For those who are interested I found a very good video on you tube for a sailing from Singapore. There is no commentary but it gives you a good feel for the ship, shore tours and the food available.

Last time we on Quantum the suite lounge had about 6 people in it each night. I can imagine in the U.S. where cruising is more available that there could be access issues at times depending on the sailing. With the drinks vouchers part of everyday life for C&A, the main reason for the Diamond lounge is socialising with other C&A members so instead. maybe dedicate a larger lounge/bar area with snacks circulating. As it does not appear to be an issue on all sailings it makes it more complex as you end p with layered rules.

This news is so sad to hear. We have been to Lahaina a few times and it is one of our favourite places to visit when we are in Hawaii. It will take a long time to overcome the tragic loss of life and begin the rebuild process.

Are kids on HAL over 50’s?

If you are there docked overnight, I don’t see what stops you getting off the ship when you want and going to the airport. I am sure there would be no curfew. As you will have scanned your sea pass card they will no you are no longer on the ship and will not be searching for you.

I wonder if you just see people standing in the corridor opening and closing their doors endlessly, could be the new slot machine.

I think the main issue was more the fact that some of the dining options have up to now been included as part of the base fare (i.e free) and in future will only be included if you spend money on a package on one of the two packages. No issue with that, but don't call it an enhancement to existing benefits as currently everyone is entitled to the benefit, in future it will only be a benefit if you pay extra for it. I only mentioned it because I see the cruise critic discussion on this quickly racked up 73 pages of comments before it was locked

I hope that Royal learns a value lesson from Princess cruises regarding making changes to restaurants that are currently complementary, changing them to chargeable unless you purchase a package and then calling that an "enhancement" to your benefits. It is not an enhancement to a benefit when something is currently included at no cost now comes at an additional cost ($65 per person per day minimum) Imagine the outrage if Royal tried charging for Sorrentos or Cafe Two70 unless you had purchased an add-on to your original cruise fare. I know cruise lines needs to find additional sources of revenue to recover from the pandemic,but this is not the way to go about it.

It is interesting, I enjoy cruising as I thought it offered great value for money in relation to land based tours. I actually prefer land based tours because you have so much more flexibility in destination and time spent there. the trouble with cruising is they can only go to port destinations so itineraries are limited. If prices continue to rise I would rather do a land based holiday on a regular basis and just the odd cruise every few years. I am not a beach person and we have already done many cruises with varied locations like the Med, Alaska, Australia, NZ, United States, Singapore. luckily they have all these new cruisers to replace people like me if I go elsewhere.

We have only ever brought the test with us to the port , haven’t bothered taking a photo but they have only asked us if we have taken the test and not asked to see it. I think this “policy” will be gone by October.

You still have to do a pre-departure rat test but you can do itv yourself and provide a photo. Not a big thing and hopefully by the season starts again in October it will be gone. cruises parting from NZ do not require any kind of test unless it is going to Australia so it is funny to see Australia lagging behind NZ for a change.

Even though Royal says they are experiencing unprecedented demand these days I usually see plenty of high value suites still available when previously these were the first to sell out. On our Harmony sailing next year I can see at least 18 crown loft suites available, and they have gone up $7000 NZD since we booked.

Given Royal are only just starting to consider it at this point, it would appear that a decision is still far away. With the building of the new icon ships, restart of amplifications and lead time to design and build a new ship it seems that it will be towards the end of the decade before there is any chance of a smaller ship being built. As Royal is firmly a family cruise line it would also appear that a small ship would struggle to fulfill the large range of activity requirements, so I think the reality is a small ship of the future will be a Voyager or Freedom class size. Celebrity would be the best fit for smaller/mid-size ships as they are more traditional cruise experiences.

They only have single 0 tables on Ovation and Quantum and they are $1 with a minimum of 5 bets on the inside or $5 on the outside.

Hi, I was wondering when sailing from the United States do the roulette tables have a single 0 or are they double 0? When sailing out of Australia they are just a single 0 table and the casino is smoke free as well which I know is not the case in the U.S. Thanks

When you booked with Next Cruise they should have given you some paperwork with the booking number, that’s what they did with us, but we booked our cruise direct with Royal. It seems strange they would not give you the open ended booking number. have you tried contacting them through Facebook or Twitter, they have been helpful to us in the past.

Would anyone notice if the bionic bar was not working

Royal used this excuse on a cruise we had booked for Japan that was later cancelled. Given that they plan so many years ahead you would think they would build in dry dock time, especially as it must be planned. You would think they would need to book the space years in advance for the work to occur.

I have the same issue here in New Zealand so it looks like a website issue.

I have an issue with the website at the moment where all my sailings currently say "You don't have a balance due" even though I have only paid deposits. Hopefully it will resolve itself in the next 24 hours.