Merc85

On 4/17/2024 at 11:41 AM, billc23 said:

Regent, Silversea, Seabourn... all offer an overall onboard experience that the Retreat cannot compare with. The increased public space and crew per passenger makes a nice difference on the luxury lines. No waiting for service, no crowds to speak of, never asked what package do you have, no slips to sign... - so much more refined overall. The ships are smaller allowing them to often dock closer to the on land attractions, are often able to dock rather than tender, and usually have longer stays at the port.

 

Last month I sailed Singapore to Honk Kong on a 600 passenger Silversea ship directly followed by a Hong Kong to Singapore sailing on the Celebrity Solstice. The difference in the variety of dining options, the quality of liquors available, and the overall service levels were greater than I expected. An example of the port experience difference was the visit to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). On Silversea we docked in the city with short rides to various tourist sites that were traffic dependent. Celebrity docked at a further away port and the excursions to sites in the city were a 2 hour or more bus ride each way. And that was after you navigated your way through the industrial port terminal. I have posted a picture, taken from my balcony, of the pop up terminal the Vietnam government set up for Silversea passengers.

 

Cost wise, I am paying 60% more per day for Celebrity. I do have a larger room on Celebrity- the PH - while on Silversea my room was similar in size to a RS on Celebrity. Once I leave my room on Silversea I am just like all the other passengers while on Celebrity I am special as a guest of the Retreat and staying in the PH. I am escorted and often skip the long lines of "fellow passengers", I am invited to exclusive events, etc. - all to acknowledge my status... and all unnecessary on Silversea.

 

A few years ago I thought I would not enjoy the smaller ship experience, let alone the stuffiness of a luxury line. Once I gave it a try on a port intensive sailing, I was sold on the overall experience. Try one of the luxury lines and see what you think. 

 

 

 

Are the dress codes the same?  The brochure photos I've seen seem to indicate that the smaller/higher end ships have a dressier dress code than X.  Is that so or is that just advertisements?  Thanks.

50 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

It shouldn’t matter in this case. Delta has policies for TA booked tickets. If the schedule change meets the guidelines they will rebook. This website is probably overkill but the policies are here:

 

https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/policy-library.html

It still leaves me with the impression her ticket doesn’t qualify for a free change based on the requirements which is why they kick it back to Celebrity. If that’s not the case, I would press it with Delta not Celebrity.  

Thanks for the info.

9 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

If the original arrival into the LHR is the same and the JFK connection is legal, I'm missing something to see why Delta would allow a complimentary change. It wouldn't meet any of the guidelines.

 

• A delay of 120 minutes or more
• A change in the routing of a scheduled Delta flight which adds one or more stops to the original itinerary
• A change in equipment from Delta Mainline to Delta Connection carrier
• Any change that causes a misconnect
• If a flight cancels and no comparable or acceptable routing is available within 120 minutes 

 

This isn't really a Flights by Celebrity issue. She can call Delta and see what they will do instead of trying to self serve it. 

Delta just says she has to talk to Celebrity Air since they booked it for her.  Maybe their site wouldn't let her make the change if she was actually able to even look at it.  Thanks for the info.
Still the same learning for me about Celebrity Air.......you cannot go directly to the actual carrier since you used Celebrity Air to book the flights.

I just learned something about Celebrity Air that I probably should have known but didn't.  Our daughter booked her flights from Richmond to Heathrow with Celebrity Air on Delta through JFK with a 2 hour and 15 minute connection.  Delta just changed the time of the flight from Richmond to JFK and now the connection is only 1 hour which she never would have booked initially given it's so short a time and it's an international flight.  The Delta website lets her get into her flights and would allow her to change to a later flight out of JFK since they had a schedule change but when she goes to do it she cannot since Celebrity booked it not her  And when she called Celebrity Air they said since it's a legal connection they won't change her to the next flight out of JFK (back to a 2 hour connection) without paying more money.
So what I learned was that if you want to control your own destiny when the airlines make a change like this you have to book with them directly.

As soon as the fall 2025 New England cruises came out we booked a Retreat cabin for the sail date we wanted.  It looks to be a very nice trip.

Just out of curiosity I rechecked the pricing on the same cabin type two weeks later and it had gone up 28%!!!  Wow, sure am glad we booked it upon release.

Thanks Bird...will do.

Just now, Merion_Mom said:

 

Non-North American countries (mostly Europe, Asia, Africa) are strict about the 6 months.  Others, not.

Yes, I saw that too.  But I told the agent I was going into Canada and they aren't strict about that, but she still said I need six months.....just plain silly imo.

3 minutes ago, Ashland said:

The online check in is correct...You will be fine...enjoy your cruise !!

Yep, I thought so too but I called the customer service line and the agent told me it was 6 months even after I had her check with her supervisor and other agents three times....weird.

Going on a RCCL cruise out of Vancouver and have a US passport.  The on-line check in system gives me a pop up that says that RCCL strongly recommends having a passport that expires at least six months beyond the end of the cruise.  (Mine is 4 months.)  It lets me check in and gives me my set sea pass. 

Then I downloaded the RCCL App to use on the ship and it states that the passport must expire beyond 6 months after the end of the cruise.

So which is correct.....the on-line check in where it's a recommendation or the App which says it's required?

Mama, What actual test kit does eMed let you use for their at home testing?  Do they have to supply it or can we use one of the ones we already have?  Thanks.

On 2/14/2021 at 1:51 PM, Canadianmama3 said:

When picking a cruise what is more important to people.   The ship or the itinerary you are on.  
 

I’m researching Europe cruises and I’m torn between one for the ship, on Allure, and one that has a more appealing itinerary, on Vision. 

Itinerary first imo.

On 2/11/2020 at 6:57 AM, gottagocit said:

We just returned home yesterday from our Buenos Aires to Santiago cruise that included Antarctica. What an experience!
 

Captain Todd McBain was excellent. The enthusiasm and excitement he openly expressed when discussing our voyage each day, particularly the Antarctic portion, was infectious and wonderful to see and hear. He mingled with passengers in the dining room, horizon court and other areas multiple times and never disappointed when approached for a hand shake or photo. He passion for doing everything he can to ensure a safe and enjoyable cruise is obvious and seems very important to him. The crew was also excellent and seemed happy to take care of everyone.
 

Maria from trivia and other games and Jovi (Jovi Cash) from Bingo, trivia and other venues stand out as awesome hosts. After 16 voyages this turned out to be our favorite so far. The 4 days in Antarctica were amazing as was The Falklands. 
 

The Coral is still a great ship and in good shape from all indications. Even with a sold out voyage it rarely felt crowded. The only exceptions were during the usual rush to get ashore for port stops or immediately after a show or other event. Breakfast in the horizon court was sometimes hectic but that’s the exception. The weather and seas were excellent almost every day which made for a huge plus in so many ways. 
 

Thanks Princess,

Chris 

Chris, I totally support your summary....it was a great voyage with a very caring and communicative captain.  And for sure it never felt crowded except at peak breakfast times in Horizon Court.  Really excellent trip!!

This link should help you.http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/Princess/odell/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html

noppy,

My memory is that you only get a list of what you will be doing, but not the times that they will occur (we did the land a while ago so it could have changed).  I do know that they are quite long days since the time in the mornings you have to put your baggage outside your room is very early.  You were wise to do the land portion first since the cruise portion is a lot more relaxing imo. 

In any case, we loved the land portion since we were lucky to see lots of animals in Denali and the weather for our visit there and all the days on land was perfect, which is not always the case.

Have a great time!!!

37 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

The Rocks specifically is not a large area.  You might consider going to the ship and dropping off bags with porters and then have a walk around and return later to check in.  It takes until late in the morning before boarding begins.  We spent our time the morning of the cruise walking around the area, including the gardens and didn't bother heading to the terminal until about 2pm.  By the time you board, your bags will be at the cabin waiting for you.

 

PS - It's SYDNEY.

 

I believe this is an excellent suggestion and would do that for sure if I was going to board in Sydney again.

I got that message from Verizon the first time I dialed yesterday, so I just tried again and it went right through.

2 hours ago, disnefile said:

Any compensation from Ama. They should refund at least half the cruise price. This is not even close to a decent cruise it itinerary. No christmas markets except Strassberg. Benelux is dull dreary and boring

The letter we received upon boarding said compensation will be determined and sent to us in a letter/email after the cruise in order that the final itinerary/impact is determined.  So it is yet to be seen what will be done.  While I agree the new itinerary is not anything like we paid for or expected, the water levels are clearly outside of cruise lines' control.  We'll see what Ama thinks is fair in a week or two I would guess.

We are on the Nov. 26 AmaKristina from Amsterdam to Basel.  Ama did send an email to us a couple weeks ago warning about the impact low Rhine water levels could have on the cruise giving two possible changes.  Unfortunately the worst of the two has occurred with the Kristina group (ours) having four days in the North, one day on the bus from Antwerp to Strasbourg via Luxembourg, and two days in the South after transferring to the Stella. 

It sure isn't turning out to be a Christmas market cruise,  but Ama has no control over the water levels.  At least we will see a Christmas market in Luxembourg as we move South and will get a full day in Strasbourg which is very nice. 

I just wish we had one more day in the South and one less in the North like the Stella group is getting so we could see another day of Christmas markets in that part of the Rhine.  So in that regard the Stella's new itinerary in better since we have seen the Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp areas before and really took this itinerary for the Christmas markets.

Ama is treating us very well and the water levels aren't under their control, it's just sad we only get two days in the Southern area before disembarking in Basel.

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Applies to EU citizens only.

Good point!!

1 hour ago, sjde said:

I still don't have specifics on what is happening with our cruise early next week but we did receive clarification of their policy in an email sent to us-

 

"We do not give full or partial refunds for cancellations due to water-levels or other bad weather issues. Realize that there would be no river cruises in Europe if at every turn the cruise line gave a full refund if guests were not able to sail their purchased itinerary at the last minute or desired to cancel due to possible sailing or weather issues. 

 

As a company we have a fiscal responsibility to our employees and contractors that we cannot just send home or cancel a ship’s sailing at the last minute nor can we sustain a business model of handing out refunds for things out of our control. 

 

Again, this type of risk (6 - 10% chance) is not for everyone and if you would like to avoid the risk, we recommend guests purchasing “Cancel For Any Reason” insurance coverage (noting standard Travel Insurance does not cover low or high water-level issues). "

 

Well we did purchase trip insurance but not Cancel for any Reason!

I found the paragraph below in the EU's legislation concerning travel.  I am no lawyer, but it seems like what is happening is a significant change and if so the EU law says the passenger can cancel the contract.

"

We've been in Sydney twice and both times we stayed at the Four Seasons. It's in an excellent location and we found the service there to be very good. I would recommend it.

When we did this tour we were flown to Cusco one morniing, checked into a hotel there, and then were given a bus tour around Cusco. Cusco was a very nice area for us. Then the next morning was a long (3.5 hour or so) train ride to the base of Machu Picchu, a small bus ride up the mountain, and a few hours at the site. Then a bus back down and the reverse 3.5 hour train ride. It was a long day but the site was very interesting. We then stayed a second night in the hotel and flew out the next morning.

I don't remember seeing anyone with a handicap on our tour nor at the hotel. FYI, Cusco is actually at a higher altitude than Macchu Pichu... something like 11,000 feet in Cusco. That first afternoon was set up for us to "take it easy" in order to try to adjust to the low oxygen/high altitude. One person on the tour did have some trouble with this, but we adjusted for the train ride/tour. MP is at about 8,000 feet.

I feel like I’m trying so hard to fit Paris into my trip. There is a British Isles cruise that leaves from Dublin. Is the air port more reliable in Paris? This cruise is a little weird though, it starts in Dublin but doesn’t actually leave until the following day at 5pm. So would it just be like a hotel the first night?

Imo the Paris airport is more reliable than the train system, so flying in and out of the airport wouldn't be as "risky". In any case, we always will arrive into the city where our cruise leaves from the day before just to help minimize possible travel disruptions/issue.

And yes, the ship would be just like a hotel if the cruise doesn't leave until the following day. This could give you the "cushion" you would want if you decided to get to Dublin the day the ship boards since it won't leave until the next afternoon. All food would be included though unlike at a hotel.

Paris sure does seem to have a lot of worker strikes. I think that would make me really nervous since we wouldn’t have a backup for transportation.

Yep.....this for sure.

I would never count on getting from Paris to London in one day via the train when going on a cruise...it probably would work out but it's too often that the strikes in France could make it not work for you....and that's no way to start a nice trip like this one.

I found another cruise that we might do instead. It’s the transatlantic on the Regal going back to the US. I’ve never done one before, so I’m not sure how I feel about so many sea days. Is there enough to do on the ship to not get bored?

 

This one starts in Copenhagen goes to Kristiansand Norway, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork and Halifax Canada and ends in NYC. The timing of it would still allow us to only take two weeks off and we could do a broadway show in NYC before flying home the next day

We really enjoyed our transatlantic cruise like this one. But the crowd tends to be a bit older and you do have 5 consecutive days at sea. We enjoy those sea days, but it's mainly for relaxation as opposed to lots of activities.

Good luck on your decision and congrats on your wedding.

P.S. Does Florida State still have a football team?? ;);)