ORV

Don't you need 5 people for the FV, at least until they release it for fewer? Or has this changed?

I've stayed in an C1 on Connie, but I haven't stayed in AQ. From a balcony point of view I think you made a mistake, from a food point of view I can't say.

Either way it'll still be great, Enjoy your cruise.

Just goes to show how different people's tastes are. A couple of months ago we spent 26 days on Riviera. We ate 6 times in Red Ginger, 3 times each in all the others. We ate twice in the MDR for dinner, once in the room from Red Ginger, and the rest of the evening meals in the Terrace, which was great. The reason we didn't eat much in the MDR was due to the time it took, especially since you could get all the same food and more in the Terrace.

Here is our order of preference.

Red Ginger

Toscana

Jacques

Polo

Here's what I think the thinking is;

They've already given her the Classic, it's a bonus for them that she won't drink alcohol and will only take advantage of the items that are available on the Classic NON ALCH package. If they allow customers to start substituting the Premium Non ALCH package then they are going to start giving away more expensive coffees, more expensive waters, flavored and normal, Red Bulls etc. that otherwise they would not have to give out. It would add up eventually.

While on face value it might appear cheaper for them to allow it, but it's not, because people that are in this situation are not going to drink the booze anyway. If you were buying it then it makes sense, you certainly wouldn't want to pay for something that you are not going to use. But since it's a promo the other factors come into play.

before, admittedly on other lines, and have never had this happen. It would have been nice for someone to have informed me.

 

It wasn't a quick little trip though...we had been all the way down to the GDR on the bow for the muster drill and had walked all the way back to the OS on the stern, plus climbing from the 6th floor to the 10th!

 

Even the butler didn't tell me.

 

Coupled with everything...the being told to get out and the horrible heating/airconditioning problems, I was more than a little disturbed.

On our B2B in Nov we had to change cabins and received new cards, 2 days early, thought that was a little strange, especially since on turnaround day they told us we had to have the new cards reprogrammed. We moved from one room to another seamlessly and were in the new room by 9am. BUT, our new cards didn't work until around 2 that afternoon, the front desk people said it had to do with the computers closing out one cruise and then loading the next. OK.

My biggest concern is that I had to bother our room attendant or butler whom were both extremely busy on turnaround day getting the other rooms ready to let us in our room.

My experience with the front desk is that there was a young man there that was very courteous and efficient, and there was a lady(English I think) in her late 30's that was extremely friendly and helpful. THEN, there were 2 or 3 young ladies in their mid 20 that the nicest thing I could say about them would be that Cold Fish would be a compliment. This "nose in the air" attitude should be adjusted, not sure who thinks that is proper but it seems to be most prevalent on all cruise lines we've been on with the Guest Relations staff.

My understanding is that goes beyond having just two ships. The crews are loyal to a single ship and do not move between the two. I think it makes a difference

 

But that's no excuse for poor service on Oceania. I have experienced bad food but never poor service on o Completely unacceptable and I agree cause for concern

I would think the fact that Oceania has gone from servicing around 2100 passengers at any given time to around to 4500 in the past 3 or 4 years has taken a toll on their service and quality of staff. It's hard to expect to double your customers and still maintain the intimate service and quality they've been known for. In a few months that will go up to over 5000 passengers. I'm sure it's a challenge for management.

Still our experience on Riviera was excellent, but there were a few snags.

I think the title says it all - any car rental place in the city near cruise terminal?

I have the same issue. We have a port day there on a cruise in April, thinking of renting a car and heading up to Williamsburg. I guess I could figure it out myself with Google but was wondering if anyone had done this.

Apparently not much information here for Norfolk.

Thanks for any info.

I had the classic package on the Equinox Nov 2013 TA, I had Crown Royal for the whole trip :D

I realize things change but I had Glenfiddich on the Classic package, yet it's listed on the Premium. Just like your example.

Best thing to do is ask on board at your favorite bar if what you want is covered on the Classic. If it's something you just can't live without or can't find something else to drink then upgrade the package.

Get a flight!

While fun it's not covered by either package. Of course you could order them one at a time and experience the whole flight. :eek: I wouldn't suggest it all at one sitting though.

a few thoughts:

 

- forums like these will always discuss more about the exceptions (good and bad) than the norm, that's just normal and an avid reader knows how to handle forums and take everything with a grain of salt. the problem is more when let's say someone that rarely uses internet books a cruise and out of interest drops in to read a bit, they might get scared by some hilarious or exaggerated opinions sometimes.

 

- look at it that way, if everything were only positive all the time, expectations by a lot of people would be even much higher, and therefore even harder to meet... rather have people departing on the cruise with slightly lower expectations only to be pleased in a positive way actually is better for the crew, the brand, memories etc...

 

- i'm a 100% realist, so i hate it anytime when something is hailed to the point of being religious or lipstick being put on a pig. but this applies just as much in the other direction. making everything look bad because of minor issues, whining all the time etc... puts things far away from reality.

forums like these however enable realists like myself to build a picture that is closer to reality and more elaborated than a glossy brochure/PR or a nasty article in the media written by some journalist.

 

- i come from a safety background where it is absolutely critical that every issue is being debated, analyzed and constantly improved. sweeping things under the rug is a very bad idea, especially in the long run. lifes depend on that. but this doesn't only need to apply to life/death topics.

i agree with other posters: use the (intermediate) comment cards both for positive and negative things so management and crew actually get a fair chance to improve! saying nothing and then go whining online is bad in many ways.

 

- criticism does not need to be taken personal all the time. having an opinion or impression that something could be done better/is not to ones taste does not mean that there automatically is an issue with the person who is behind. unfortunately many people seem unable to differentiate this.

 

- "the grass is always greener" and "the old days were better" are quite human and one can try to bias and correct this while reading.

 

- relax and enjoy the good things in life. being realistic all the time does not prevent you from enjoying the nice things in life. being a critic does not mean not being nice to hard working crews and a thank you here and there costs nothing!

 

- forums like these are important as a "checks and balances" to the shareholder focus and money first - shortterm focus of management. agreed, a business is there to make money. however we're not dumb cows to be milked. so if there is a reported trend that there are things perceived to be cut, it is likely so and such a forum enable this to not go unnoticed. so something that management previously perceived saw as "free savings" now suddenly has a price tag that each one of us can attach and make the decision whether the value proposition still fits them. power to the user/consumer.

 

so to close out, the worst thing that could be done here is to streamline and silence opinions, censor posts etc... otherwise the site would have to be renamed cruiseline-xyz-fanboys. and us critics would go look elsewhere to get informed.

 

cavok

Haven't seen you around these parts before. Thanks for the well thought out and intelligent post.

BTW - I recognize CC is only used by a small % of all cruisers but how is it not representative "of the total cruising population." ?

Good question.

Cruisecritic isnt a representitive voice of the total cruising population. Plus people are more likely to post their negatives than positives.

On your second point I agree. On your first point not so sure. It is certainly an interesting topic. I will say that some Cruise Critic members are certainly more informed and aware of things involved with cruises and the respective ships and lines they choose to cruise with, others not so much. There are people on ships that rarely if ever use Cruise Critic and are extremely knowledgeable about cruising, others not so much. As a whole though I would say one of the things that set CC members apart is that they are generally more knowledgeable.

It is my experience from my exceedingly unscientific observations on Roll Calls that there is about 10% of the capacity of any given ship that will participate on CC. I have no idea how many are lurkers that are reading for information but never post. I'd guess another 25% to 40%.

With more and more younger people cruising that tend to use the internet and more and more older people using the internet I think you will see even more of the cruising public using CC. I would guess if we had access to the numbers you would see a very substantial growth of members here over the past 5 years or so. Much more than the increase in berths.

Just my .02

I'm also a big fan of the Poulet Rôti.

Thanks sooo much for your advice. We will check out where we dock ( tender or port)and follow your advice for either situation. I believe besides us there is a P&O ship also docking that morning. Thanks again.

What sailing are you on? There are various ways to find out how many ships are in port with you. Also if you check the itinerary on the Oceania website it usually shows what ports are tendered. It may not always work out that way but it's a good guide to go by.

Never again. I booked once with American Express for the benefits. The least of my problems was that every time I needed something they would have to put me on hold to call the cruise line. Annoying.

 

The biggie was that we booked with friends. We each had 2 cabins. One for the parents and the other for the kids. We each paid the same fare except we had an OBC. After final payment, the prices dropped significantly. My friends had both their cabins upgraded to jr suites immediately after calling. Since we booked with a travel agent, our travel agent had to call X and was told we weren't eligible. We were and by the time it all got straightened out there weren't 2 jr suites left near each other, and we couldn't have the kids that far away. Had we booked direct, we would have had the jr suites. Wasn't worth for the little OBC we received.

 

I like being in control of my reservation.

Which Jr Suites did your friends have on X?

Pretty sure St Lucia should be a docked port.

Maybe it's just me, but I've felt the beds on most of the Celebrity cruises I've been on are basically a foam rubber mattress on a metal frame. They're passable and okay to sleep on for a while, but I sure wouldn't want one for my bed at home.

To me I would say they are definitely firm and definitely not a pillow top. But as another poster mentioned your steward is generally happy to get a egg crate topper for you.

I've been on two other cruise lines that I would love to have their mattresses at home. Never been in any room higher than a Concierge class on Celebrity.

I read in past posts that the molecular bar on Solstice was not freezing and has been in need of repair for many months now. Has the repair been completed and if not when is it scheduled to be repaired? Those who have cruised on Solstice in the last few months what are your thoughts on the ambience of this bar? What are the wait staff saying about the repair date. Thanks.

Pretty sure it's the Martini bar. Have no idea if it's fixed yet.

I think you'll want to check the deck plans for rooms that are able to sleep more than 2.

We have always previously bought premium drinks packages. However for our next trip on the Reflection 23rd June, we have been given an included classic package. Does anyone know what is the least expensive way of upgrading to premium, before we sale or whilst onboard? If before how do we go about it. Many thanks

It's the generally consensus that it's all the same, before or on board it will cost $10 + 15% tip for a total of $11.50 per person per day, no matter when they upgrade. There are a couple of benefits to waiting till being onboard to upgrade. One would be if you had some OBC you wanted to spend for it. The other would be that you could have the Classic Package for the first few days of the cruise and then upgrade and have the Premium for the last part of the cruise. Not only would you be spending less money this way you could also compare actual usage of the different packages to see which works best for you.

This might not help you, but maybe others: Did you have any identification or contact info to help them find you?

 

I've seen lost cameras found by honest people only to remain lost because there was no way to find the owner.

 

I do two things with my cameras:

 

1) The first picture on each card is one of a computer screen, or piece of paper, showing "If lost call xxxxx at Mobile phone # (###) ###-####"

 

2) I put a nice looking label on it with my name and mobile phone number. Every few years a buy a nice sheet of good quality ID labels for $10 from this company: http://www.mavericklabel.com/products/id-my-stuff.html

 

Also put the same labels on anything expensive that might be lost and found like iPad, cell phone, binoculars, etc. This might not help at all if the item is found by a dishonest person, but it gives me a good chance if an item is found by an honest person.

These are excellent ideas, ones I haven't done in the past but will add to list of precautions, thanks.

By more of a party crowd, do you just mean livelier and more people at the bars or do you mean a Carnival-like crowd. Not trying to be negative, but we've done a couple of Carnival cruises and came to X to escape that atmosphere. I don't mind a lively crowd, but really enjoy the casual elegance that is X.

My experience was on the Constellation in Feb of last year on a B2B. Itin Cozumel, Honduras, / Grand Cayman Falmouth. There were many, many more 20 and 30 somethings around the pool during the day than any other Celebrity cruise that I've been on. I did notice the security guards having issues keeping one group from taking their glasses/bottles in the pool. It was incredibly active during the day there. Bars were crowded in the evenings, casino was busy, things were hopping. I wouldn't say it was a Fun ship crowd, but it wasn't a group of Ma & Pa Kettles either.

The fare from the airport to the IC is 1000 cpf or 10 $.

The fare from the airport to the port is 1900 cpf or 20 $.

From 8 pm till 6 pm the fare is higher, I think we paid about 2300 cpf from the port to the IC (last Tuesday).

With the service we used there is an additional charge for luggage. Do you have that added? With the luggage it was about 2800cpf

There are some folks who LIVE in these windowless lounges. LOL There are much nicer spaces on the ship to hang out IMO

No kidding, what's up with that? On our recent TA both lounges seemed to be full of people most of the time. Seems some people think it's a card room. I can't think of a less fun place to hang out on a cruise, well maybe the smoking area in Horizons, but that's another story. I prefer a view.

With an "On Board Credit" what you do not spend.....they keep. You do not get it back.

Where do you get all this misinformation?:rolleyes:

Kiawahdon,

 

Can you e-mail me a copy of the e-mail you have from Oceania related to buying and cashing OBCs? We leave in about 6 weeks for a week in China prior to boarding Nautica's cruise from Tianjin (Beijing) to Bangkok. I've arranged a couple of private tours in Vietnam where the guides want payment in USD. I have talked to Oceania twice about buying OBCs now and cashing them during the cruise. The first Oceania agent I talked to (several weeks ago) said that was OK. When I called back last week to actually buy OBCs, the agent said he could process my buy order, but that I couldn't withdraw funds during the cruise (i.e., that OBCs were for on-board purchases only). My e-mail address in dmwhite_nc at yahoo dot com.

 

If anyone reading this thread has experience with this approach, feel free to jump in.

 

Thanks,

NC Garden Traveler

On our last Oceania cruise we purchased a sizable on board credit and didn't use it all. I guess we didn't drink as much as I thought we would. They insisted on paying it in cash around the last couple of days of the cruise. Perhaps what they are trying to do is keep from being a cash disburser throughout the cruise, but if you have a balance they will definitely return it.

According to my TA who had a lengthly conversation with Celebrity on the subject, this only works if you pay the current prevailing rate (as Host Andy has pointed out). I booked at a MUCH cheaper rate, so therefore it doesn't work for me.

 

I agree that all these different promos are enough to give a person a headache!

My rate is exactly the same as when I booked it.

This situation applies to me and here is what our TA found out.

"I just spoke to Celebrity. I was advised that you are not eligible for both the OBC and 123 go because you converted your open passage into a booking on 2/28/13. In order to have been eligible, the open passage would have been converted between 11/29/13 and 2/28/14. Seems they are always changing the parameters. I asked if I could cancel and rebook but was told that it is no longer an open passage…"

I had added the 123 a couple of weeks ago before they announced this.