Our Transatlantic trip

Author Message   CanDoEZ Intermediate Member Username: Daytona_john Post Number: 108 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Monday, June 01, 2009 - 12:21 pm:    David our trip to Heathrow and London was great. Our departure from London to Dublin to Orlando was delayed due to fog. We arrived in Dublin 10 minutes after the posted departure time but Aer Lingus held the flight for us. There were many people from the ship on that flight. We are planning our next trip and hope to cruise as often as you do Say Hi to Micky.   David Intermediate Member Username: Reverie4401 Post Number: 75 Registered: 02-2008 Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 08:17 pm:    CanDoEZ, John, Duh!!! We just figured out that we had lunch together on the Independence. We are David and Micky from Charleston. We had a great cruise, too. Hope your excursion home went smoothly. We had great luck getting home with a quick flight to Ramstein on Sunday and a flight to CHS on Monday. Home for dinner. David   David Intermediate Member Username: Reverie4401 Post Number: 74 Registered: 02-2008 Posted on Sunday, May 31, 2009 - 08:06 pm:    CanDoEZ, we were also on the Independence OTS transatlantic, and had a terrific time and enjoyed the mega-ship far more than we anticipated. Phyllis, in April '08 we were on the Voyager's sister ship, the Navigator, and didn't like the "inside" focus versus waterviews. We wished we were on our favorite ship, the Brilliance. We suspect that most of your negative experiences were related to the VOTS's next stop: refurbishment! Cruise critic is full of similar complaints on ships about to go into drydock. Shabby bedding is the most distasteful to me also--did you complain to housekeeping? The ships entering drydock have a reputation of shortages, including running out of popular beers, reasonably priced wine, and liquors! ...all in all, I'd enjoy a glass of wine at dinner more than a salad! We have really enjoyed Celebrity, but on our October '06 transatlantic on the Century, the newly refurbished/actually, still being refurbished ship [picture workers welding the aft balcony railings as we sailed toward Miami] ran out of food items. Anyone who worries that a transatlantic might be boring. On this cruise, we had 1 passenger disappear, 1 mid-air helicopter med-i-vac, a mid-atlantic rendevous with the USS WASP who took 3 seriously ill passengers and their families on board. The next day we began to run out of various foods: fresh berries, lemons, limes, tomato juice, butter, and the last 36 hours, MILK! It definitely ranged from annoying to very inconvenient, but the assistant waiters composed little ditties and sang them in the dining room to update us, but we still "had service." Explanations varied between "a strike in Malaga", "a refrigeration failure", a holiday in Madeira to "I'm sorry, ma'am".. The good news was we were only a few hours late arriving in Miami, and no one left the dining room hungry, and the wine was delightful! Because we were able to book late at a nice discount, we still got a terrific vacation, met great new friends, and had the adventure of a lifetime! Micky   Edwin B McConville Senior Member Username: Perkyva1 Post Number: 781 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 03:38 pm:    We have cruised 5 times with Princess, once with Royal Carib, once with Holland, & once with Seabourn. Seabourn is an all inclusive line so there's no signing of chits every time you wanted something, service was outstanding from the champaign(sp) & caviar upon arrival to the beach party, more champ. & caviar. The ship is small, only 210 pax. Great food. The last Princess cruise was in April to the Panama Canal & perhaps the food was not as varied as in the past. Perhaps there had been a cut back to a less expensive menu. Service at the late seating was very slow until our dinner partners & I complained to the matre'd(sp) & officer in charge of the whole food service operation towards the last part of the cruise. I wouldn't cruise on a ship carrying more pax than abt 1950; the Royal Carib carried abt 3200 with the result of long waits. The Princess cruise was not bad at all, in fact I put down a deposit on another Princess cruise, perhaps a Med cruise.   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2048 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Friday, May 29, 2009 - 01:14 am:    Jeffery, we did a week cruise with Carnival in February. It was the first one we have done with them, but would go again. The timing I think is the key with this cruise line. Our trip had very few young children or teens on it. The food was great and we enjoy all of it.   Jeffrey G. Carlen Advanced Member Username: Jcarlen Post Number: 261 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Thursday, May 28, 2009 - 07:39 pm:    TOM, we have cruised TA on the Celebrity Century and the Millenium (not a small ship) as well as some other non-Celebrity ships. We have also cruised on the Zenith. Frankly, I could not find a thing to complain about except the cruises were too short! I think Celebrity gives you the best value for the money. On another note, We are taking our two kids and their families on a Carnival cruise in August for a family get together. It has been years and years since we swore off Carnival so we'll see how that is now. We chose this because the rates were good and the timing works for everyone.   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2017 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 11:45 pm:    Tom we were on Voyager of the Seas. The common area were very nice, we liked the deck 5 area that had the shops, a pub, Ben & Jerry's little tables out and the cookie shop. I like Princess better for a couple different reasons. They have a coin laundry on each floor, very handy on a long cruise. Since you are not allowed to bring any type of iron, you can use the one in the laundry room to press things off, I also think they had a better selection of topics and speakers on their Enrichment Lecture. This last ship had one lady who would have a different topic each day, she was good, but it was still just one person and her view of things. Also if you are an arts & crafts person Princess had a better selection on this too. Royal Caribbean seems to be putting a lot of things on the ship that they charge extra for. On this last trip they had a Mystery Dinner Theater one night, $50 per person, the Ben & Jerry"s ice cream stand the high price coffee stand, Johnny Rockets things like that. I will say the ice show was good. We did have a nice time, but as I said things have sure changed and not for the good of the cruiser, IMO.   Tom Jackson Advanced Member Username: Tombo Post Number: 301 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 08:40 pm:    Phyllis - I have never cruised Princesss. How do you compare with RCL (not counting your last cruise) which is apparently your last one for them. And which ship did you go on for your TA? I have a friend who swears by Celebrity and their smaller ships like Century and Summit. Any thoughts regarding them.   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2016 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 08:10 pm:    CanDoEZ, we have done other TA cruise with RC and with Princess. This cruise had more folks complaining than I remember from the past. The Captain was very nice, and by far the most accessible captain on any ship we have ever been on. He did an outstanding job of getting us around storms, I think the problem is with the home office. By not putting the chocolate on you pillow at night, they told us they save one million dollars. I could care less about the candy, but do want my sheets not to be stained, my towels not to be frayed, or the cook/chef saying no she has to have that on her plate. Many other folks were also upset with the tour desk and the lack of sports deck. I think the no lettuce for salad on the last evening of the cruise, when we had just pulled out of port, was over the top for many folks.   Tom Jackson Advanced Member Username: Tombo Post Number: 300 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 03:51 pm:    CanDOEZ - We have always liked RCL in the past and as a result I was reviewing several of their Transatlantic cruises for next year. We chose the Navigator of the Seas for the ports visited, destination and of course the cost. But after reading Phyllis' comments, I am having second thoughts. Granted we are not going until April 2010 and hopefully things will have improved by then. I guess only time will tell. Thanks for the feedback.   CanDoEZ Intermediate Member Username: Daytona_john Post Number: 107 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 01:27 pm:    I just want to add another point of view. We just completed a RCL repositioning cruise from FLL to Southampton on the Independence of the Seas. The trip was wonderful and we enjoyed every minute. We experienced no problems and are thinking about taking the reverse route in the fall. We would not hesitate to take another RCL cruise.   Tom Jackson Advanced Member Username: Tombo Post Number: 299 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, May 14, 2009 - 12:32 am:    Phyllis - Thanks for your feedback. I have been on two RCL cruises, twice on the Mariner of the seas out of Port Canaveral. Granted it was two years ago for the last cruise and apparently a lot has changed since then. Mostly in cost cutting measures in such areas of food and service. I had been eyeing RCL's Navigator of the Seas for a 14 Day Transatlantic cruise, but now having second thoughts based on your opinion of service rendered.   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2013 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 11:40 pm:    Tom, I would have to think about doing RC again. While our cabin was nice, the sheets, pillow cases and towels had seen better days. No more little bottles of lotion or shampoo, the shower had a wall mounted type of soap dispenser that was both soap and shampoo, not good for the hair. The first night at dinner, Lois order fish, it smelled so bad and tasted bad, she had to send it back. A couple night I asked for something to be left off my plate, and was told "I see if the chef will do that." Now since I'm paying, I think if I don't want it, I should not have to have it. Our waitress was able to get it the way I wanted, but think the head waiter had to get involved. The last night on board, one person at our table order salad, told "sorry no lettuce." I had a major problem with the tour desk. The woman working their just told me in so many words that I was not telling the truth. That did now go well with me, and I ask for her supervisor, only to be told "that is necessary madam." Well madam had different thoughts and I did speak with someone about the problem. Don't know if anything ever came out of it, but I felt better. Also with about 2000 American on board one would think you could book a tour to the beaches and important place in the area of Normandy, wrong! While they did go to Normandy, nothing to the cemetery. You could book private tour, $100 a person,6 to a group. We didn't pull into port till about noon and were to leave at 7. So the time was short and the drive round trip was 5 hours. I felt this was poor planning for the last day of a long cruise. This part did not bother me, but the sports deck was closed for the entire trip. They all kinds of boxes with things for the shipyard overhaul on that deck. On the bright side most of the shows were great, and liked them. Just not sure about RC any longer. Thanks Ed, I was sure if there was something we could have use, I would have got an e mail from you   Tom Jackson Advanced Member Username: Tombo Post Number: 297 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 03:25 pm:    Phyllis - We spoke earlier about the cruise cut-backs, so would please go into a little detail about the ship, cabins and of course the food. Since you have made several trips on this ship, would you go again on another RCL ship or would you choose one of the other lines?   Ed Williams Senior Member Username: Hooter55 Post Number: 614 Registered: 11-2007 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 02:23 pm:    Phyllis and Jim, I kept my eye on the "ball" but it didn't pan out for you guys....good to see you had the buddy passes to make it back to the Republic of Texas.   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2012 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 02:05 pm:    Jan, don't think so. I think for the next year we will just travel around the states, maybe a trip to Rota, just not sure. Thank you John   Jan Advanced Member Username: Seychelle Post Number: 257 Registered: 07-2006 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 01:26 pm:    Great report, Phyllis. Now I kind of feel like we were with you. Are you interested in any transatlantics next spring or this fall?   John R Garrison Senior Member Username: Majorg Post Number: 1456 Registered: 02-2006 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 01:26 pm:    Phyllis: Fantastic report on a great trip! Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share with us. We hope to take a repositioning cruise again this coming fall. Happy travels, John   Phyllis DeLancey Senior Member Username: Phyllis Post Number: 2010 Registered: 06-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - 12:48 pm:    Let’s start by saying there was no space a in this trip, unless you count parking our car at NAS Fort Worth for about 3 weeks. We booked a 14 day transatlantic cruise with Royal Caribbean, leaving Galveston Texas and ending up in South Hampton, UK. In the past it was possible to rent a car in Denton, TX. Near our home, and drive to Galveston. The last hurricane took care of that, no more car return on the island. Our good friends Lois & Jerry Webb were also taking this cruise, so a plan was made for us to drive to Ft. Worth, leave our car and they would pick us up and go to their home in Waco area for the night. The next morning we drove to a location to board a bus, $40 each for the trip to the ship. This bus service is not owned by the cruise line, but you do get you info and reservation from them. WE arrived at the ship in lots of time; only to find out the ship had been several hours late arriving, due to bad weather. We were lucky enough to get into the line and past security, where we sat and waited for several hours. The cruise line did have lemonade, water, little sandwiches and cookies out for us to munch on. When it became apparent we would be there for a long time, they were still getting folks and luggage off, and they had box lunches brought in. After a very late departure, we were underway. Our room was a nice Superior Ocean View with balcony, and we only paid $799 each. Started out with an inside for more than that, but with Lois and I both keeping an eye on the RC site, we were aware of each drop in price and got ourselves moved and a refund on top of that. We also had $200 on board credit. So if you book with a cruise line, keep checking their site for drops in prices, call and say hey I want that price. First stop Kings Wharf, Bermuda. Now I didn’t think there was much there, the normal shopping and ships tours, but to do on you own, no. The Taxi was $40 an hour 3 hour minimum. The 4 of us didn’t want three hours, so walk away from the ship area and meet up with a driven closer to town, who we talked into 2 hours. Some folks did take the local ferry boat over to Kind George’s but it was close call on timing. Three more days at sea and we go to Ponta Delgada, Azores. We have been here before, but since our last visit a nice new sea front has been built. This makes it much closer to walk to town. They have horse and carriage rides, bus tours and taxis if you don’t want to pay the price of the ships tours. We found wifi out side in an area one block off the water, near the center of town, by Burger King. Look for the tables on the sidewalk with Coke ads on them. Also nice clean public restroom across the street, underground. Next was Ireland. It was easy to see why they call it the Emerald Island. We docked in a small town, just outside of Cork. The train stops right in front of the ship, and several folks did get on and ride into Cork and out to Blarney Castle, we chose a ships tour, $59 each. Our tour was after lunch so we got off the ship in the morning, explored this town, lovely place. We located the public library and for 2 euros we could use the internet for 4 hours, if we members of the Library. So Lois and I now have library card for the Cork County Library. Next day we were in Cherbourg, France. This was a Saturday, so several things were closed. Our favorite mode to see a city is by foot. So off we went walking and looking. Stopped for a glass of wine and than stopped again for an éclair, good, but not great. Now it is time to get off and start our extended stay in England. We pulled in Southampton, early Sunday morning. Prior checking showed if we waited till after 9:30 the 4 of us could take the train to London for the price of 2, so we did just that, cost 15 pounds. Once off the ship, we got a cab, had no pounds yet, so paid him $11 euros. Got our tickets to Victoria Station, than got all day tube/bus pass for each of us cost for two was 11.40 pounds for two. We got one of these each day we were in London, and it paid off. Our hotel booked on Hotels.com was in Camden Town. Now I don’t want to scare anyone, but when you come up from the tube at the station, it is a cross between Times Square and Halloween. If you just get off the main street things seem normal, but wild on the big street. Our hotel was a Holiday Inn, nice, clean and close enough to both bus and tube. We did have a problem with our bill, they had added lots of stuff, but we got that taken care and all was well. Monday we did the hop on hop off bus. This was great. We got on at 9 a m and off for the walking tour at 10:30. The walking tour will give you a very good look at the changing of the guard not once but about 4 different places, we would not have been able to do that on our own. We used the original hop on hop off bus, if you have Rick Steves book with you, they will tear off the corner, and give you a 3 pound discount on the tour price. The page is good for two people, and the price before discount is 21 pounds, I think. The rest of the time we just used the bus system to get around visiting everything we wanted to see. My husband was very happy when we got Harrods, they now have a crispy cream store on the lower level, so we had to have one or two. After checking and seeing nothing coming back to the states from , we chose to use our buddy passes on American to get home. Lois & Jerry had to be at the airport around 7, so the 4 of us just got one cab, 57 pounds, to take us. If we had been going to just one terminal, it would have been cheaper. We made our flight leaving London about 10:30 arriving DFW 2:30 local. After getting bags and clearing customs we walked out side, not sure how we were getting to Ft. Worth, check with the Super Shuttle and he was on his way to Arlington, and would be happy to take us to the base for $55. I didn’t ask the price for just one, but his direct number is 817-269-4528 Kevin is his name This guy loved military folks, never stopped talking, but did get us to the gate. The duty drive took us to our car, and we headed home.