stormy_weatherman

Just now, anniegb said:

Sorry to hear that.  Which deck??

 
I had a “deluxe verandah” on deck 9. 

My September 30th was cancelled. It was a Lift & Shift from my March 2023 cancelled Solstice cruise. Had not paid in full but had paid more than the deposit. 
 

https://youtu.be/paZiIaezsn4

21 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

He was pushing posters to watch his E class videos so you may have a point....it was a video review - approx 20 min.  Equinox was as I remembered but he gave very low marks for customer service, cabin appearance, he didn't see the entertainment but 'mentioned' it, food not up to par and cruised about every month on E class, only time on S class.  His verbal coverage, while polite, left  a bad taste with me.  It was only fair to ask recent cruisers their opinion.  Yes, he may have even been comped on E class?  or is that done in the trade.  I felt he was more of a 'cruise critic' (sorry CC for the pun) than a TA so not sure what he got out of the review. 

That was me and I got nothing out of the review. I have never been comped or gifted anything by X. I do not sell cruises either, so no motive to convince folks to sail one ship over another. I was only sharing my experience and comparing the two classes of ships as folks recommended I try other Celebrity ships to see what my opinion was since I LOVE the E-class ships so much. Sailing the Summit and Solstice this Fall and am already excited for more Celebrity as it is my favorite line by far.

Here are photos of my room, 9155 (1A):

It is my understanding that Indulge and Elevate are no longer being offered by X. It's now either No Perks or All Included. 

Probably still a bit early to know for sure, but I would use the current protocols for Amsterdam embarkations and plan to that. 

Just off the Beyond this past Saturday and loved it! If you enjoyed the Apex, you will love this ship. It's the Apex and then some. I personally had no problem with the new placement of the Cabanas on the pool deck - they're definitely in a much better place than they were on Edge/Apex. I was not impressed with Le Voyage. The service was incredible and the food was good - but it's not worth the price tag.

I do YouTube and have several videos of the Beyond - including a full review of the ship - already on my channel. Link below. 

On 5/18/2022 at 8:08 PM, maryannbon said:

Same here!

 

Officially upgraded yesterday! Approximately one week out from the sail date. Good luck!

5 minutes ago, maryannbon said:

Any word yet?

Nothing yet! In January when this happened on the Edge, it was exactly 5 days before the cruise. So I expect I will hear this weekend. The status is still unchanged when I check the MoveUp page - no more option to change my bid, Concierge bid is 'Expired', and Aqua is 'Pending'. My card has not been charged yet.

5 hours ago, maryannbon said:

How long did it stay in the Pending status last time? Mine has been a few days, all the others expired. No email or charge yet.

It stayed that way until approximately 5 days before the cruise. I was then charged and received the official email notification of the upgrade.

• Ship:  Celebrity Beyond
• Length of Cruise: 9 days
• Cruise Sail Date: May 26, 2022
• Date email offer received: March 29, 2022
• Captain’s Club Tier : Select
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  TA
• Current Cabin: Solo IV
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:  Concierge Class

• Bid Offer: min $100 pp, bid $120 pp ($240 total)
• Notification Date: May 12, 2022
• Accepted / Rejected : Expired

• Cabin Category:  Aqua Class

• Bid Offer: min $200 pp, bid $225 pp ($450 total)
• Notification Date: May 12, 2022
• Accepted / Rejected : Pending

I have not been officially notified yet, but I am sure this means I have been "MovedUp" to Aqua! What a great deal, too. This happened when I sailed the Edge in January and I got upgraded to Aqua for $520 total. 

I just returned from sailing the Sunshine for the first time. I was surprised at how "old"/Farcus certain areas on the ship still look, despite the major refurbishment. They kept the gaudy wall paneling throughout much of the public decks, particularly in the aft areas around the stairs/elevators. Speaking of elevators, I was surprised at how old they looked. While the atrium was a bit updated, it was still noticeably old.

Not Farcus-related, but the ship is REALLY showing its age and is need of some care. There was so much exposed/rotting wood on the Lido/open decks. I heard of a few people getting splinters from the railings. There was major rust and deterioration of the door frame in my bathroom. The door to my balcony was completely broken and wouldn't shut without the latch being engaged.

I disembarked the Edge on February 6th. I had a 9 AM flight from FLL and chose to walk off carrying my own luggage. Celebrity put information in my stateroom a couple of days earlier saying to be in Eden by 7:15 AM to begin this process. I arrived there at 7:10 AM and they began as soon as I arrived. I never stopped walking after that until I arrived at the curb by 7:20 AM, was at the airport not long after and was about an hour early for my flight! It can be done.

I was just on the Edge last week and the Wi-Fi (Streaming package) was amazing! I used Wi-Fi Calling on my phone to make calls each day of the cruise. I also used FaceTime, watched YouTube videos, and even uploaded my own videos to YouTube. No complaints!

It is most likely Bimini over Roatan. I just sailed the same itinerary on the Edge last week and we went to Roatan, which seems to have been the frequent replacement for GC recently. That must be programmed into the app already, but official communication from X should be most trusted.

Hey folks... Just wanted to provide an update to my original question/concern. I received updated boarding documents yesterday (so 8 days prior to sailing) and they have updated my embarkation time to 10:30 am. I did nothing on my end, this was done automatically. So it seems they are addressing the late embarkation times, albeit at the last minute. Hope this helps someone else!

Thanks to all of you who provided helpful responses!

As I stated, this is my first time with MSC. I'm not trying to cheat any system or arrive any earlier than I'm supposed to. HOWEVER, when the cruise line gives you very little guidance on the matter, does not let you pick or choose your own time, and you literally have to search your documents to find your arrival time - it warrants questions! 

Also, very suspicious it seems like a lot of Divina cruisers have 3 PM check-in times. If we all adhered to that, it would create a huge mess at the port!

Hi everyone! Next month I'll be sailing on MSC for the first time (Divina for 3 nights). I have been on 13 cruises total so far, but have to admit I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the check-in process for MSC.

I completed all of my check-in online and just received my e-ticket. No where during the process was I able to select a check-in time at the port, yet on my ticket it states 3 PM (and the ship sails at 6 PM). Any idea why it is so late? Did I miss the part where I select my own time? Can you show up early without being turned away? Thanks in advance for helping this MSC newbie! 

Scheduled to fly out for Athens on Friday evening to join Apex on Saturday. I am not worried about potential new restrictions, as I feel these may be focused more on the unvaccinated, and I can't see Greece invoking more restrictions at this point. They were one of the first EU countries to reopen from what I've read, so I'm thinking (and hoping) that it's business as it has been since May for them. 

Look forward to seeing you onboard! I’ll be carrying a camera most likely, vlogging the inaugural sailing for my Zach the Traveling Man channel on YouTube! Only 14 more days!!!

Ahhhh so close to being on the first sailing! I booked on the August 7th thinking that might be the new first. Alas, I’ll be vlogging for my YouTube channel (link below), if you’re interested in following along for the second cruise!

Also, did anyone notice that in this release from Carnival it refers to “pre-inaugural” sailings and it doesn’t call the July 31 cruise anything but a “first sailing”? Perhaps Carnival is awaiting a less-restrictive “inaugural” cruise, with all of its fanfare and celebration, to be held at a later date?

The answer will become simple with time - pull the cruise ships from Florida. Home port them in states where the governors will not act as foolish as DeSantis has. 

I filled out the form for two different cruises that were cancelled. On one I asked for a full refund and, after a month, it still showed up on my Cruise Manager. After a call to Carnival I found out the cancellation had not been processed; the agent processed it right then and there and I received my refund within a week. 

TL;DR version: Fill out the form and then call Carnival unless you want to wait a while. 

19 hours ago, Stick93 said:

Where will they take a conquest ship from??

You may be left with one very expensively priced ship - at least its will be from the newest!

 

 

Exactly. Plus they were consistently sailing the Inspiration/Imagination routes at bargain prices. I don't see them taking away ships from home ports that would make more $$$ to struggle to fill it on a 3-day sailing on the West Coast. 

I think this just further underscores that there are no concrete plans for cruising to resume anytime soon, likely for the remainder of 2020. He said it himself, "we've got to let this thing play out a bit". 

I think they could get rid of most of the Fantasy class (save for Elation and Paradise) and still maintain most of the home ports the ships will be assigned to next summer. This would cut down on shorter (3-4 day) cruises, and would also mean they would have to let go of Mobile, San Juan, and New York City as home ports - and likely Alaska for a time - unless they choose to reposition ships for a limited season. I think we could also see the end of the 3-4 day trips from Long Beach, with the Panorama being the only ship sailing from the port. 

This, of course, assumes they bring the Mardi Gras on as scheduled next Spring and don't scrap the Victory before it gets the Radiance conversion. If the Radiance project dies and we do get rid of most of the Fantasy class, I could also see Carnival giving up Fort Lauderdale, given its proximity to Miami and the plethora of choices from that port. Just my thoughts after considering the whole fleet, the likely removals from the fleet, and home ports which seem most feasible to continue going forward.