Discussions Fairplay92 took part in

I just got a mind-blowing response. I wanted to book 2 back-to-back cruises in the French West Indies on the Renaissance—arriving in Guadeloupe on December 23, 2025, and returning from Martinique (the end-of-cruise city) on January 13, 2026.

And guess what? It’s impossible because they’re pre-packaged deals. The only solution is to book just one cruise—not two in a row. It’s UNBELIEVABLE.

CFC, the French cruise company—well, no. It’s actually CAC, an English cruise company with "civil servants" wearing blinders.

I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve often combined two back-to-back cruises without any issues, but those were on "bare" ships. All they had to do was get me to Guadeloupe with the first cruise and have me depart with the second cruise’s start. It’s easy to book plane seats!

For the record, last year I did two back-to-back cruises in the Mediterranean, spending Christmas and New Year’s on the same ship.

Handing control over to the English wasn’t a good solution.

Oh well, I’ll find somewhere else with more open-minded people.

Hi everyone, Actually, the stopover is Zeebrugge, of course, but my destination is Bruges. I’ll go from the ship to Bruges by the bus provided by the cruise line (CFC), and I’d like to know exactly where the bus drops us off (I assume it’s south of the city, but I really don’t know). Since walking isn’t always easy for me, this will help me plan my routes a bit in advance. Thanks in advance!

This isn’t a full review but a quick summary, since I’m short on time and won’t be able to do a proper one.

Our cruise started in Port Canaveral (Orlando), and there are no longer direct flights from Paris. So, we had to take a connecting flight with British Airways (code-share with American Airlines):

Paris / Miami / Orlando and the return Orlando / Philadelphia / Paris.

Three days before departure, I went on British Airways’ website to check in and buy exit-row seats so my wife could stretch her legs. That’s when I saw that one leg of the return flight (Philadelphia / Paris) had been canceled.

I called the airline, and they confirmed the flight was indeed canceled, and the agency I bought the ticket from had been informed back in September. But the agency never told me—or just forgot. So, I called GO Voyages, and it was the same old story: blah, blah, blah...

They offered me a flight with two connections, the last one in London (with an airport change at my expense—about 80 €). I refused because I’d bought a ticket with only one connection, and on top of that, there were taxi costs for the airport change.

After some back-and-forth, GO offered to refund the ticket—but in a month. So, I ended up buying two last-minute tickets at my own expense while waiting for the refund.

Never again with GO for flights—their customer service is terrible, and everything is outsourced....

The cruise I was disappointed with this cruise.

Isa was right—the service at Celebrity has really gone downhill.

The buffet was fine—everything was fresh and varied. But in the restaurants (especially the main one), the dishes were really basic (as the Canadians say) and simple (nothing like Princess).

The ship showed signs of wear and was even dirty in some places. I had to ask for our cabin to be redone when we arrived because the bathroom didn’t seem very clean.

The "Elite Club" perks are fading fast—so much so that you don’t even feel like going (just a glass of sparkling wine and some mediocre appetizers). You have to fight to get another drink if you don’t like that sparkling wine...

Before, in Concierge Class, the bottle of sparkling wine was in a champagne bucket on the coffee table with ice. Now it’s just in the fridge.

The appetizers served in the cabin around 5 PM weren’t appetizing at all. The list goes on...

Luckily, I didn’t pay much for this cruise, or I would’ve really regretted it.

The ports of call (Key West, Nassau, Puerto Plata)

I’ve already stopped at these places before, so it was just beach time and sightseeing...

Still, I had a great week under the Caribbean sun, and it was a nice break.

I’d only cruise with Celebrity again if the price was right or there was a big promo.

See you soon for more adventures! Alfred

Hi, do you have any info about a layover in Palermo? What can you visit in a few hours?? Thanks everyone

Hi. I’m going on a cruise in May and have an excursion to Cinque Terre. I’d like to do it on my own by taking the train after getting off the ship. Can anyone tell me how it works, and especially if it’s doable with the ship’s schedule? Thanks for your help!

Hi everyone, So happy to be back on this forum. We’re going on a cruise with stops in Muscat and Doha, and I was wondering if it’s better to book an excursion or if it’s possible to explore on our own. Thanks in advance for your help. Verbatim

Does anyone have any tips for visiting Rome from the Civitavecchia port of call with a guide taxi? Thanks for your reply! M.B

I'm considering a cruise from Saigon to Siem Reap in Cambodia on the boat *La Marguerite* with Rivages du Monde. I'd love to hear from travelers who've done this cruise. Thanks in advance! Amantinou

Hi everyone! So happy to be back on this forum—it’s helped me so much before, and I’m thrilled it’s open again! 🙂 I’m currently planning a new cruise for early December and I’d love to know if you can recommend any French-speaking guide taxis in Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Tunis, and Barcelona. A friend joining us has some difficulty walking (but isn’t in a wheelchair), and do you happen to know their rates for about 6 hours? Thanks in advance for your tips!

hi everyone I’ll go ahead and restart the cruise calendar for 2025 for now. It can give people ideas and might help members meet up!

Two essential rules: don’t “quote” the calendar when replying—this’ll avoid any confusion and if you can, list your cruise in this example format: enter the month first, then date /username / SHIP / number of days / destination / departure port

FEBRUARY

14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton YOUR TURN 😉 NUMBER OF CRUISES 2025: 2 JANUARY FEBRUARY 14/02- poupou10 / CELEBRITY INFINITY /11 days / Greece Turkey Cyprus / Piraeus (Athens) MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST 01/08- poupou10 / REGAL PRINCESS /13 days / British Isles / Southampton SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Good evening everyone, since many loyal MSC customers have been asking for it, it seems that the tier system and benefits of the MSC Voyagers Club are undergoing a major reform! Does anyone here have any information? Thanks in advance. Foxpyzy

Is there a way to visit New York from the MSC cruise terminal?

Hi,

Is it possible to get promotions on the MSC Yacht Club section? What strategy should I adopt to get the best prices: book in advance or at the last minute? Is it better to book directly with MSC or through a third-party provider to get the best value for money? Thanks

Hi there, Has anyone taken a cruise to the Canary Islands and Madeira with Costa? Thanks for your replies! Jibé

Bonjour à tous,

Azur croisières a été rachetée par Cruiseline depuis environ le mois de juin. Sur lueur site, l'adresse se trouve à Mionaco, ça on le sait. Ce que je voudrais savoir c'est si l'adresse physique à Cagnes sur mer existe toujours et / ou si la correspondance mail arrive à Cagnes sur mer ou à Monaco.

Merci pour vos renseignements;

Bonjour Il y a 2,5 mois j’avais dit sur ce forum que j’annulais ma croisière de 15 jours prévue le 21 novembre 2020 au départ de Savone pour la Méditerranée orientale. J’ai le plaisir de vous dire aujourd’hui que l’agence de voyage vient de m’appeler pour me dire que le chèque de remboursement m’attend à l’agence. Donc des agences ( et des conseillers) correctes existent ! Petit rappel des conditions de remboursement : j’ai annulé sans motif précis, juste dit oralement à ma conseillère que les circonstances ne se prêtait plus à la croisière, que les pays et les ports étaient fermés pour plusieurs mois. Aucun motif écrit dans mon courrier ! Elle a fait appliquer ce qui est dans le CGV, c’est à dire que je perds 50€/p + le montant de l.assurance annulation + 31€ de frais de dossier soit 265€ au total. Mais je récupère plus de 4000€ et j’en suis ravie. On ne m’a pas proposé de voucher. Je me félicite de ne pas avoir attendu que Costa annule la croisière car ils l’aurait fait avant le 15 septembre et le montant de ma croisière payée intégralement aurait été bloqué pendant 18 mois. Voilà je tenais à partager cette excellente nouvelle et si des amateurs de voyage habitent en Corse, près d’Ajaccio, je pourrai aussi dire de quelle agence il s’agit. Je souhaite à tous d’avoir autant de chance que moi

Costa annule ses croisieres pour l’amerique Du Sud pour la saison 2020/2021 et sûrement le tour du monde

Bonjour à tous , je suis nouveau ici , j'ai déja passer pas mal de temps sur ce forum en tant que anonyme mais la j'ai decider de m'inscrire car je ne trouve pas réponse à ma question.

J'ai reserver une croisiere en mediterranee du 08 novembre au 15 novembre avec la compagnie msc croisiere sur le bateau divina.

J'ai opter pour le forfait boisson easy ( 29e) et je me pose la question si il ne serait pas plus judicieux de prendre le forfait aux dessus car j'ai entendu dire que celui a 29e était très restreint , mais ma question est: avec le forfait boisson aux dessus a 39e ou bien celui a 55e y'a t'il dautre avantages comme par exemple plus de restaurant sans avoir a payer de suppléments. par exemple? merci à vous et n'hesitez pas si vous avez des conseils car se sera ma premiere croisiere

Bonjour, Je souhaite partir en croisière en Octobre 21 dans les Caraïbes au départ de MIami ou Port Canaveral et j'hésite entre Royal Caribean sur le Symphony of the seas ou Carnival sur le Mardi Gras (encore en construction à ce jour). Que me conseillez vous entre RC et Carnival? Ou peut être une autre compagnie? Merci d'avance pour votre aide.

Hurtigruten risque de payer cher son redémarrage (prématuré ?) des croisières. Le PDG a du démissionner et maintenant, la compagnie fait l'objet de poursuites judiciaires pour sa gestion de la crise.