pozbaird Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 Got my first Royal Caribbean cruise coming up in a fortnight, looking forward to the holiday itself obviously, but also looking forward to comparing all the things on Royal Caribbean, compared to the lines I have already been on - Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and MSC. Have also got future cruises booked with NCL and P&O. Will treat them all with a clean slate and judge on personal experience after actually being on them. A perfect example was our first ever cruise with MSC, on the MSC Virtuosa out of Southampton. Everything we read in advance didn’t paint a great picture - they price their cruises cheaply to hook you in, then when onboard, they are overly-aggressive in trying to upsell you drinks packages, dining packages, spa packages, photo packages…. Couldn’t have been farther from the truth. On embarkation, in the atrium area as you boarded, they had a bannerstand graphic with drinks package details on it, and a member of staff there if you wanted to speak to them. At no time in the entire cruise, did anyone try to aggressively sell us anything. It was the exact opposite. That MSC Virtuosa was a great ship. Loved MSC. Looking forward to being on the massive RC Symphony of the Seas soon, see how the Royal Caribbean mega-ship experience stacks up. Open mind, deep breath, get through embarkation day madness, let it settle down… then judge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Naitch Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 7 hours ago, pozbaird said: Got my first Royal Caribbean cruise coming up in a fortnight, looking forward to the holiday itself obviously, but also looking forward to comparing all the things on Royal Caribbean, compared to the lines I have already been on - Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, and MSC. Have also got future cruises booked with NCL and P&O. Will treat them all with a clean slate and judge on personal experience after actually being on them. A perfect example was our first ever cruise with MSC, on the MSC Virtuosa out of Southampton. Everything we read in advance didn’t paint a great picture - they price their cruises cheaply to hook you in, then when onboard, they are overly-aggressive in trying to upsell you drinks packages, dining packages, spa packages, photo packages…. Couldn’t have been farther from the truth. On embarkation, in the atrium area as you boarded, they had a bannerstand graphic with drinks package details on it, and a member of staff there if you wanted to speak to them. At no time in the entire cruise, did anyone try to aggressively sell us anything. It was the exact opposite. That MSC Virtuosa was a great ship. Loved MSC. Looking forward to being on the massive RC Symphony of the Seas soon, see how the Royal Caribbean mega-ship experience stacks up. Open mind, deep breath, get through embarkation day madness, let it settle down… then judge. We docked alongside RC’s Explorer of the Seas in Trieste and it was some size so can’t begin to imagine the scale of the Symphony ship even going by the videos etc. online. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 48 minutes ago, The Naitch said: We docked alongside RC’s Explorer of the Seas in Trieste and it was some size so can’t begin to imagine the scale of the Symphony ship even going by the videos etc. online. Met a couple on a Celebrity cruise once who were platinum members on Royal Caribbean who said they tried an RC mega-ship once, but they found it too big, too impersonal, too busy. They went back to doing Royal Caribbean’s smaller ships instead. I’m sure it will be busy, big, but having been on the huge Carnival Celebration, we liked the mega-ship experience. Quite enjoyed the fact that with it being really big, you never really saw the same people twice, you could blend into the background yourself. On one smaller Celebrity ship in particular, on a prior cruise, we somehow couldn’t escape this arsehole Irish couple who popped up in every bar, restaurant, or poolside. So posh and up themselves they nearly puked when they learned we had actually cruised on the ‘commoner pleb’ Carnival line. There’s a lot to be said for anonymity. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted December 8, 2023 Share Posted December 8, 2023 Came back from the Symphony of the Seas cruise a week ago. Absolutely loved it. Was our first cruise on Royal Caribbean, and it was over the American Thanksgiving holiday period, with 6,400 or so on board, and, apparently, 1,100 of that number were kids. After the usual busy embarkation day experience, everything settled down and everyone spread out. Kids generally spent their time on the water slides, splash pool, or eating endless ice cream. Not once did we wait in a lengthy queue for dinner, or fail to find a seat in a bar. The Aqua Theatre show and ice skating shows were genuinely amazing, and I generally find cruise ship shows cheesy and not my thing. Only issue we had was that we took a three-restaurant speciality dining package, which, with Royal Caribbean, you cannot book in advance online. You book where and when you want once onboard - hence, a lengthy queue to make those bookings on embarkation day. Seemingly they are changing that process in 2024 and you can book online in advance. Took a shitload of photos, but will only post the one - docked at Labadee in Haiti. Anyone thinking about going with Royal Caribbean on an Oasis class megaship, drop me a PM if you’ve any questions and I’ll give you my honest opinion, if I can help! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Naitch Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 That’s a cruise round the Greek islands sorted for October. Gone with TUI again, this time on their Marella Discovery ship. It’s one of their family friendly ones so hoping the ship is big enough to avoid all the annoying kids on board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Naitch Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 Think the cruising bug has hit - that’s a scoot round Alaska sorted next year for him indoor’s 50th. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONKMAN Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 Now that I own a child and drive a Volvo, I feel the next stage of my descendance into middle aged life is a cruise. Looking at a few nights in a Miami and a Caribbean cruise next year. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doulikefish Posted April 28 Share Posted April 28 19 minutes ago, MONKMAN said: Now that I own a child and drive a Volvo, I feel the next stage of my descendance into middle aged life is a cruise. Looking at a few nights in a Miami and a Caribbean cruise next year. Welcome,I bought a Lexus and a panama canal cruise when I became middle aged 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmadaleKillie Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I have gone cruise mad!! Got P&O to Norway this July, Canaries in Feb and Baltic next July.... in all honesty.. only because P&O are cheap with the kids. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
die hard doonhamer Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 We’re doing our first cruise in October next year. 12 nights on the MSC Virtuosa, heading to the canaries from Southampton. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanimate Carbon Rod Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 On 27/04/2024 at 16:53, The Naitch said: Think the cruising bug has hit - that’s a scoot round Alaska sorted next year for him indoor’s 50th. If you are stopping in Juneau can i thoroughly recommend ‘alaska tails’ for your whale watching excursion. They were amazing, staff went over and above and I was so happy. I cant believe how many whales they spotted, they actively went away from the other boats knowing the whales would come away. I have some footage on my go pro of them swimming right under the boat. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Naitch Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 13 hours ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said: If you are stopping in Juneau can i thoroughly recommend ‘alaska tails’ for your whale watching excursion. They were amazing, staff went over and above and I was so happy. I cant believe how many whales they spotted, they actively went away from the other boats knowing the whales would come away. I have some footage on my go pro of them swimming right under the boat. Looks stunning, mate. Got whale watching sorted through Princess. We’re going at end of season so not sure how many will still be hanging around. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inanimate Carbon Rod Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 1 hour ago, The Naitch said: Looks stunning, mate. Got whale watching sorted through Princess. We’re going at end of season so not sure how many will still be hanging around. We went in september and there were plenty, was warm too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 (edited) On 04/07/2024 at 13:15, die hard doonhamer said: We’re doing our first cruise in October next year. 12 nights on the MSC Virtuosa, heading to the canaries from Southampton. Did a short cruise on the Virtuosa last year from Southampton to Hamburg, Rotterdam, Bruges, and Le Harve. MSC come in for some criticism in online reviews for having tempting prices, but once onboard, they are overly aggressive at trying to sell you drinks packages, speciality dining packages, and spa packages etc. We never encountered any of that whatsoever. On embarkation, they had a banner stand graphic set up advertising the drinks packages with a staff member there. It was up to you if you wanted to find out more. We did, and ended up taking their ‘entry level’ drinks package for the five days. We enjoyed it. Perfectly reasonsble choice of beer and wines, OK the fancy cocktails weren’t included, but the MSC Heineken is a nice pint! The white & red wine choices were more than decent too…I had a few. More than a few to be fair. Just for research purposes you understand. We really liked the MSC Virtuosa. In the buffet, don’t miss their ‘black’ pizza. It’s a vegetable topped pizza, the crust is jet black… could eat it all day. Hope they still do it. The speciality Mexican restaurant ‘Hola’ was brilliant. I have seen some videos where, if the ship is at max’ capacity, there are queues for absolutely everything. I think that criticism is likely to be accurate. Hopefully your cruise isn’t rammed. We have been on Carnival, Celebrity, Princess, NCL, Royal Caribbean, and P&O… We rated MSC highly. Loved the ship, good food, had a great cruise. Edited July 6 by pozbaird 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 I quite like the look of these river cruises along the Rhine and Danube, but looking at the prices..... f**k that. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 14 hours ago, tongue_tied_danny said: I quite like the look of these river cruises along the Rhine and Danube, but looking at the prices..... f**k that. Two things put me off. The price, and the small passenger numbers. Sounds a weird complaint, but I like the big ship experience, where, if you end up next to an arsepiece one time in a restaurant or bar, that should be the last time it happens. I’ve met some right wallopers on cruises, if I was stuck with them for a fortnight, I’d throw the chunts overboard… On a recent NCL cruise, had thermal suite access as an included item. Sat in a steam room, and this American couple come in. Guy says hello, hears the accent, starts telling me he wants to come to Scotland but won’t be able to do it on a cruise, as we don’t have a coastline. As I ponder my response to that, he tells me that is because we’re next to Switzerland aren’t we. I’m still pondering my response… Chunt No1 overboard! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Manhattan Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 14 minutes ago, pozbaird said: Two things put me off. The price, and the small passenger numbers. Sounds a weird complaint, but I like the big ship experience, where, if you end up next to an arsepiece one time in a restaurant or bar, that should be the last time it happens. I’ve met some right wallopers on cruises, if I was stuck with them for a fortnight, I’d throw the chunts overboard… Hell is other people! On river cruises, tables tend to be smaller and there are no seating allocations. You can generally sit where you like, although sadly in my experience you're seldom out of earshot of an arsehole. 15 hours ago, tongue_tied_danny said: I quite like the look of these river cruises along the Rhine and Danube, but looking at the prices..... f**k that. Have you looked at Avalon? All the facilities of someone like Viking, but a LOT cheaper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hard Graft Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Sat with an arsehole on a cruise a few weeks ago. He was a retired banker who apparently specialised in deals for airlines buying aircraft. His wife was pleasant but he gave of an air of being better than anyone else. Subject came up of what other holidays were planned for this year and they gleefully told us their plans but upon hearing mine you could see he was distinctly taken aback and asked what my employment has been as if disbelieving someone could better him. Highlight came when he started to slag the cruise-line (Celebrity) off and I told him he was talking rubbish and quoted 3 that in my opinion were at the bottom of the pile. He immediately finished his desert and stood up and started to walk away. His wife asked where he was going and he curtly replied "Follow Me". You could see his wife was embarrassed by his actions. As Johnny Beattie used to say Line 4 Position 2 - Wan*er 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pozbaird Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 44 minutes ago, Hard Graft said: Sat with an arsehole on a cruise a few weeks ago. He was a retired banker who apparently specialised in deals for airlines buying aircraft. His wife was pleasant but he gave of an air of being better than anyone else. Subject came up of what other holidays were planned for this year and they gleefully told us their plans but upon hearing mine you could see he was distinctly taken aback and asked what my employment has been as if disbelieving someone could better him. Highlight came when he started to slag the cruise-line (Celebrity) off and I told him he was talking rubbish and quoted 3 that in my opinion were at the bottom of the pile. He immediately finished his desert and stood up and started to walk away. His wife asked where he was going and he curtly replied "Follow Me". You could see his wife was embarrassed by his actions. As Johnny Beattie used to say Line 4 Position 2 - Wan*er On our second Celebrity cruise we got a great deal on a suite, which, amongst other benefits, got you into their suite guests only bar/lounge ‘Michael’s Club’. Drinks and food all included in there, very nice, etc, etc. You saw the same faces every night though, which in most cases was fine. Actually got talking with a nice couple from Texas who were obviously not short of a bob or ten, must have been in a top suite, but they were brand new. There was an older couple though, who it transpired, were from Dublin. However they were so posh there was zero hint of an Irish accent. We just assumed they were from a posh part of Englandshire. Anyway, one night early on in the cruise, they sat near us, we said hello, off we go… The woman orders a gin & tonic, she asks us if we’ve done many cruises. As she takes her first sip of the G&T, I reply ‘We’ve done a few with Carnival…’ never got to add the names of the other lines we had been on… She quite literally gagged on her G&T, sat it down on the table, and while wiping sprayed G&T off her chin, says ‘Oh my goodness, Carnival? Really? How awful’… Seriously meant it too, wasn’t joking whatsoever. Mrs P looked at me with that look that leaves me in no doubt what she’s thinking… ‘steady, steady, don’t do it!’. I resisted. Told her we had really enjoyed Carnival, said that we actually thought they did a lot of things better than Celebrity. Posh tart looked like someone had shat in her mince. Funnily, they never sat near us again. Plebs that we are. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) You guys aren't exactly selling cruises to me. I don't really want to be stuck on a vessel with a bunch of wallopers. Edited July 7 by tongue_tied_danny 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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