e11wa

We coped this on RCI Liberty Of The Seas out of Barcelona in June '14.

Very disappointed, but at least we were able to get (most) of the VAT on major purchases back.

The tax back agent they used, however, take a $20euro cut of your rebate for your troubles. thanks for that!

I think its important to remember that its quite straight forward to release a press release to media agencies/TA's who jump straight on it.

Contacting 42 cruises with ~2500 guests... takes a little longer to contact give or take 50000 guests already booked.

they should actually lower our fares b/c they are saving fuel by eliminating ports...

fuel saving definately, but they port fees are unlikely to change as they're paying 2 days worth in 1 port, instead of 2 days worth in seperate ports.

Our Nov. 16 Eclipse has changed.

Antigua traded for an additional night in Aruba.

A colleague of mine used to work for Carnival, and says in all his years sailing for caribbean, his favourite stop was Aruba, so that puts my mind at ease.

Would love to tick an additional beautiful island off the list, but booking 18 months out, we're aware of the possibilities of change, and not going to lose any sleep over it!

I've put my 13" macbook air, canon 60D with 135mm lens, point and shoot. passport. 2 ipads no dramas.

You cannot upgrade from the Classic Beverage package to the Premium Beverage package online. The price you were quoted $974.50 is the price to PURCHASE the Premium Beverage package.

 

I believe the only way to upgrade is to phone Celebrity.

Correct.

Takes about 2 minutes on the phone.

OP must mean Eclipse, here is the itinerary. I would pay extra for Eclipse going to these port, which in my opinion are better, than the limited ports I mentioned that Allure goes to on a B2B.

 

 

Day 1 Miami, Florida 4:30PM

Day 2 At Sea

Day 3 At Sea

Day 4 Oranjestad, Aruba Docked 8:00AM 8:00PM

Day 5 Willemstad, Curacao Docked 7:00AM 5:00PM

Day 6 At Sea

Day 7 St. George's, Grenada Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 8 Bridgetown, Barbados Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 9 Castries, St. Lucia Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 10 St. John's, Antigua Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 11 Basseterre, St. Kitts Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 12 Philipsburg, St. Maarten Docked 8:00AM 5:00PM

Day 13 At Sea

Day 14 At Sea

Day 15 Miami, Florida 7:00AM

 

 

Miami, Florida

We're booked on this exact itinerary in November '16.

We were looking at a very similar itinerary on RCI Serenade out of Boston and into Ft Lauderdale, 12 nights vs 14 on Eclipse.

But Celebrity came in about $AU2000 cheaper for longer, with grats/obc/drinks included, RCI offered none of this, and would not let me book through their australian arm deals the rest of the world got.

The other deal breaker was Serenade skipping Barbados, one of the prime ports we want to visit.

have sailed both eastern and western on Freedom and Oasis, love cozumel, love st thomas and st maarten, but not enough to dedicate 8 sea days out of 14 to save a few bucks each day.

I also think for us, 30-something professionals with a taste for the finer things, celebrity is the product for us.

upgraded my included classic package to premium for my Nov'16 cruise this week.

best move every.

Thanks for a comprehensive review.

I just booked the same itinerary last night for Nov '16.

cheers.

We did the same itinerary in June '14.

Dubrovnik its about a 15-20 minute walk from the port. RC charged about $20USD each for return bus ride.

Santorini volcano and warm springs was beautiful. free cable car ride up to the township with the ticket.

we took the donkey track back down. very hot. very busy. by the time we got back on Splendour there were 4 other ships in the bay.

When we are back there in September we're going to go down to Oia on our own.

Kusadasi and Katakalon we stayed close to the ship as we'd had a very port-intensive 2 weeks aboard Liberty in the Mediterranean and then Splendour, and decided to lay low.

We will be going to Ephesus this time around though.

Unless what you want isn't available at the time you book...then what?:eek:

wait list.

I fell in love with it on Oasis.

I then came home and made my own lemongrass syrup and its become a staple when we host diner parties.

We did have it in Portofino on Liberty in June last year, but it was nowhere near as good.

Unfortunately I can't tell you if its available on the Allure.

We usually skip all of them..

but i see 8 shows a week on land.... :)

definately the Viking Crown

Bose sound link mini, ipod nano with bluetooth.

2 bottle of nice champagne

and, most importantly.

A great attitude and a smile

I am just off Voyager, we sailed with some friends of ours over the weekend and had no drama getting a table for 4, we were adjacent to the captains table.

The chap who helped us said as soon as he saw my Emerald status on my seapass card he knew he would be able to find us something.

Just off the Voyager this morning.

and 206 days until Rhapsody in September.

Very similar to airfares books with TA's. most airlines wont talk to you further than yes sir, we see you have a reservation.

This is because until you take the first leg of the journey, your booking is owned by the TA..

(at least, in australia, thats how it works..)

http://www.******************.com/2015/01/29/royal-caribbean-leaning-towards-more-promotions-and-less-cruise-discounts

"During Royal Caribbean's fourth quarter financial results earnings call with investors, Royal Caribbean chairman Richard Fain indicated the company was opting to offer promotions that offer passengers added benefits in lieu of discounting cruise fares."

I've been pricing the Adriatic cruise I have booked for september and the rate i've paid is about $500 less than what is currently being offered, but as long as RCI are seeing strong booking numbers, it is obviously working for them.

Booking new guests works out better for then, as they aren't having to discount etc.

It my understanding that she is being replaced by Explorer of the seas, that will be coming via Singapore after drydock there, similar to Voyager last November.

ike you, DD & SIL always opt for a table for 2 unless they are sailing with another couple. They do this in late traditional. They are in their mid-30's.

we travel from australia, and usually for at least a month at a time.

The number of times we've had to explain that we get 4 weeks leave a year, and usually go on interesting trips drives me mad.

If we were in hawaii, or europe or whatever travelling just the two of us we'd be dining alone, its something that really works well for us.

We even met people on our sailing on Splendour last year while we were sitting at 2 adjoining tables for 2.

We also find it gives us more time with the wait staff as they are just serving the 2 of us, not a table of 8-12.

We've always found the waitstaff super attentive and friendly when it is just the two of us.

While I see both sides of the coin, this is what works for us.

=)

I'm going to echo everyone elses comments.

We flew to Europe from Australia with Malaysia Airlines after MH370 disappeared.

We are flying Malaysia Airlines to Paris again in September.

Ultimately, My view is we've got to go sometime, and on a great trip on an amazing trip, if it all goes pear shaped, well, at least i didn't spend my time too scared to go outside.

Venice Passenger Terminal

https://*******/maps/x8QGq

We sailed in this room on board Splendour in June '14 and loved it, and have the same on Rhapsody in Sept '15.

very excited, can't wait!

the only down side we found was that it was a bit noisy(engine noise) late at night. but mostly it was incredible!!

hot tip: there is a set of stairs just up the hallway that lead to the the spa. quick way to get to the cafe in the sollarium without going all teh way mid-ship to the stairs to go up.

e11wa - 15% tax, meaning everything that is purchased during the cruise is going to have that tax as well as the normal 15% tip gratuity???? So if I get a $6 beer I will pay 30% on top of that?

 

My concerns are mainly the art thing. I agree, they have never seen David or any other art pieces and it will be either something they like or just bored with. He thinks going to Barcelona is meaning that is where the famous soccer players are at. I am not sure what he will think of Sagrada Familia and if it will have an impact of just the art of it

I think the gratuities are included, but the VAT is extra.

TBH it mad me so mad I've blocked it out of my mind.

I'm just glad when we were on splendour a week later we didn't have the same thing.