…of them do not – so if you want a tea or coffee in the morning just phone room service. Certainly, room service is a great way to get extra food, and you’ll often find they have a slightly different menu to the main restaurant. Drinks Secondly free drinks. Most Cruise Lines charge for drinks. There are a couple of ways of getting free drinks. First of all, the most obvious is attend the cocktail parties like the welcome party and farewell party….
…ivers. So, on a typical European river cruise ship, you’ll have one dining room, which is where you’ll have all of your meals. A few do have a second dining option, but generally speaking, there’s just one dining room. Typically, there’ll also be just one lounge and bar where you’ll go for briefings, drinks and entertainment. Up on the sun deck, depending on the ship, there may be just loungers or places to sit. Some ships might have a little craz…
…event across multiple venues. The most dramatic of these is in the Queens Room, their ballroom. It starts with a parade of white-gloved waiters carrying the trays of sandwiches, scones, and cakes, and live music plays in the background. Passengers travelling in suites can have afternoon tea in the Princess Grill restaurant, one of the suite-only dining rooms, where they are served a traditional tier of sandwiches, scones, and cakes. Cunard also s…
…nies. Podcasts: Seabourn Tips From the Crew, Seabourn Cruises Observations Videos: Seabourn Sojourn Video Tour; Seabourn Sojourn Verandah Suite Tour Review the Seabourn website There is a vast amount of information on the Seabourn website. I recommend that you review these as there is detailed information on what to expect, latest innovations and advice on what to bring and pre-book. Review cruise community and review sites Use the CruiseCritic Se…
…train. The rest of your luggage is taken separately between the overnight hotels and delivered to your room. They are also collected each morning. This is a great service as saves man-handling them at the stops. Dress on the train is casual and you should wear flat comfortable shoes. Take a warm jacket or coat on board. Make sure you carry all your valuables, medication and important documents, like passport, in your carry on bag. Don’t forget yo…
…n Part 2, I interview Queen Mary 2’s Hotel Manager and Executive Chef. The Hotel Manager has a massive job, as he is is responsible for everything on-board other than steering the ship and maintaining the engines – and has a staff of 1,100 covering everything from food, housekeeping, revenue earning activities like the shops, casino and spa. We were joined in that interview by the Executive Chef, who is responsible for the over 20,000 meals served…
…was like during its glamourous days of sailing. SS Rotterdam in Rotterdam Hotel New York Hotel New York is the hotel where people would stay when they arrived or before they departed on the SS Rotterdam and other glamorous ships. It’s been renovated and is stunning. There’s a beautiful café to sit outside and watch the world and boats go by. Historical Shipyard You will pass it on the Harbour Tour, it is where they tell the story of 18th Century…
…on the day for immediate entry 400 Dhiramas (about £60 or $100). Burj Arab Hotel Most luxurious hotel in world – designed to resemble a sail and has heli-pad above 27th floor. Entry only with a reservation – afternoon tea is classic – strict dress code of smart casual. The Palm and Atlantis Man made reclaimed land – visible from space – 4000 villas each with own beach front – 5000 apartments – restaurants -sports facilities – cinemas – Marina dock…
…Inflexible: No flexibility or customisation of elements of the itinerary, hotels, excursions or other arrangements is possible. You have to stick to the fixed schedule, sightseeing, hotels and restaurants packaged into the trip. Pace: The pace is intense and often includes early starts, long commutes between destinations and only one or two nights in any one hotel to make sure as much of the destination is visited. Tour Manager dependent: Reliant…
…ked him to find a solution. Later in that day, I got a call again from the Hotel Director, and like on Costa I was moved me to another (and better) cabin. This got me thinking again if there are known issues on-board cruise ships. issues that if you do raise those to the crew specifically who are working in that area, they know they’re an issue and will escalate them quickly and get them addressed. Unlikely via the front desk. I just want peace an…
…tay Scams With the costs of flying to our cruises and pre- and post-cruise hotel stays spiralling, I am sure you, like me, are on the lookout for cheaper ways of doing both. The scammers have noticed this too. The scammers are catching cruisers searching terms like cheap flights and hotels, by setting up authentic looking but fake sites. Once booked several things may happen, the site disappears and there is no booking, or close to the trip cruise…
