sbcs5390

5 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Thanks for that info. We're still figuring our best way to get from the hotel in El Segundo to the cruise terminal and back. Our cruise is in December this year.  At this moment we will likely take Celeb's transfer from the ship, even knowing having to make all the other stops. I mean, we'd be seated, right, the bus does eventually take you to your terminal? Was your transport (Uber?) able to pick you up in front of your arriving terminal? Were you able to schedule it? Do you remember what you paid per person? We've a party of 4 in our 70s, but luckily without any significant mobility issues.

 

 Doug

When we arrived at LAX we took the shuttle provided by the LAX Marriott, where we were staying (and will stay again in the future when we take a layover on the way to Tahiti). The hotel shuttles are allowed up to the terminals but I understand only Uber Black is allowed to the terminals. So that is a factor with ride share for pick up at the airport. Then, we took a Lyft a couple days later from our hotel to San Pedro (right near airport) - it was $50 for a Lyft XL in October 2022. 

Re: all the other stops, no the bus does not necessarily take you to your terminal - the shuttle makes two stops only. So depending on what terminal you are at you might have to walk three terminal lengths or transfer onto the LAX inter-airport shuttle with all your checked bags and in our case mobility device, etc. I don't remember the terminal numbers, unfortunately, but we were on a United flight and left far away. Lots of people were grumbling, especially after the disembarkation process with the multiple terminals that morning and the fact that Celebrity didn't communicate this ahead of time to set expectations. 

I would only use the Celebrity shuttle in LA again if going directly from airport to ship. It sounds like you will have to get a ride back to the airport from the hotel to get on Celebrity's shuttle which will cost time and at least a few bucks tip. The process of waiting for others than at LAX will also add time. I think I pre-scheduled our ride from the hotel (since, unlike the airport day, you are on your own schedule and therefore predictable) for cost certainty and to compare Lyft and Uber. You can do that right in the respective apps and cancel if something changes for your plan. Certainly I would have expected the fare to be a little higher leaving the port due to demand pricing, but you will also have cabs available there. 

I also was just reminded that the drop off was particularly awful at LAX. I think there was one or maybe two drops total. There are six or seven terminals at LAX, I think. That was another reason we felt we’d be happier with a direct ride for less money, it was awful especially with my mom’s mobility challenges. 

1 hour ago, awatt said:

 How do you go about doing this?

Yes - I just spoke with the concierge upon boarding. I had to wait until just before dinner - they need the ship to sail to be sure no other movements and to make cabins available from no shows. I knew from looking online a couple days before that lots were available. 

On 6/29/2023 at 3:00 PM, Até said:

 

Unsold YC cabins are filled with the upgrade bidding process.  Frequently netting near the original listed prices because bidders seem to only look at the current asking price which has become inflated by the time the bidding begins.

And then also available on board for cash upgrades if not all consumed by bids. 

In my experience they were stackable but delayed in appearing. 

We were happier with our Uber to the port from the LAX Marriott to the ship than the Celebrity transfer from the ship. We were there when the port was oversubscribed and we came back to a different berth with no building, which certainly made it worse. I felt like we were in a RS but we kind of rushed out with the transfer rather than taking our time. 

18 minutes ago, CTRobin said:

Seven of us were booked on the 4/14 Bahamas/Florida trip for 7 days. We have been moved to the 11 night, which only two people would be able to do.  Since we are in the Yacht Club, and those deposits are normally non-refundable, I wonder if I will run into a problem if we decide to cancel.  Looking into moving to May but that means we have to change our accommodations since it would now be $400 more per person for the same.

I called but she said nothing could be done until after July 5 when their computer systems catch up with the actual changes.

Canceling with full refund is one of the options in the email they sent me. Certainly that would include deposits. You can lift and shift (or reschedule) to any sailing April to Oct of same length which for the 7 days, there are many. MSC would eat the price increase. I’m also on the 5/4 8 night and there’s only one other 8 night so that’s kind of crummy for us. 

6 hours ago, DonnaK said:

OP here!  Wow there's a lot of good and detailed advice written here.  

With the current sale, the "inclusive" fantastica balcony is only ~$225pp more than that without, and we would get the internet and bottled water, soft drinks along with an occasional glass of wine, so its worth it,

 

I think we will splurge for the YC interior. 

 

Thanks for everone's input

Great! Make sure to report back 🙂

2 hours ago, gizfish said:

I would love all the extras in YC but wouldn't ever give up my private quiet space on my own balcony at any cost to get an interior.

I thought the same - until I tried it. 

12 minutes ago, frankhi said:

Right, but you would cancel the one you have and rebook. MSC actually rebooked this one for, and it is showing in my MSC account.

Strange, I thought they were offering everyone the ability to lift and shift. They were using the term “reschedule” rather than “cancel” but I guess it is different for yours?

2 hours ago, DonnaK said:

even with sacrificing a balcony?

100%. The communal balcony of the pool deck with grill is where I always wanted to be! I booked a YIN and had it for half a day before I was told a balcony was available and I paid to upgrade onboard. It was only $39 per person per day but that might vary and so may the likelihood of one being available. I hardly used the balcony but did enjoy the extra space in the cabin itself. 

2 hours ago, frankhi said:

My 5/5/2024 (4nt Seashore from Port Canaveral) was changed to 6/10/2024 which doesn't work for me so I requested cancellation.

I think you can choose another sailing of the same length though, right? I don’t think you have to take their suggestion. 

On 6/28/2023 at 10:47 AM, miched said:

I think Celebrity has changed to that policy because so many are cancelling their cruises to book with others lines that have more appeal to them.     
 

For many of us losing $200 isn’t much compared to what the cruise would have cost and thinking about what we could have had for the same cost or less. 

For sure the onboard deposits were a great deal.  Unfortunately they also recently changed deposits for the Retreat to be 10% so lots of people have thousands tied up with X!

1 minute ago, MsTabbyKats said:

My cruise concierge just called me.  According to him....if I book "the still bookable" 7 day cruise....I would be grandfathered into the extended 10 day cruise....

 

One of the perks of retirement....my time is my own!

Or the 11 for another free day! Or both, haha. 

Quite tricky if booked on the 8 night sailing as there’s only one other option and in the middle of summer school season - not a good time for many of us to be sailing. Will also be dicey to see how two cruises get combined into one - is there enough inventory or will some people get bumped/upgraded? What a headache!

14 hours ago, miched said:

 

All of our X cruises have a non refundable deposit of $200.   I wonder if it is possible to change to refundable and then cancel?   Something we will have to look into if we decide to do that.   If not $200 isn’t much to lose compared to the price of the cruises

Can’t change it like that. Because you have $100pp deposit (I guess booked onboard?) the $100pp change fee is a wash: https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/CEL_2_23_23_FLY_Non-Refundable_FAQs_Trade.pdf

When I fell in love with MSC, I canceled several on X. We are keeping the Edge to Hawaii so I can roll FCCs from canceled NRDs onto that one as additional payment. 
 

So glad you booked @NCteacherlovescruising

- it can be tiring and time consuming doing the bookings onboard but it is worth it. I do wish they had open bookings like X/RCL. I lost a day of vacation (between coordinating with others back home) and a set of AirPods while making four bookings during my April MSC cruise! I had a feeling you might cancel your X cruise when you started posting a few months ago. So happy for you!

I know there’s talks about work to be done at the YC area to accommodate World America. This must be primarily be the channel though? 

The firewall might make the cabin a bit quieter, actually. 

47 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Yes

Just my experience - while this used to work automatically, I have had to write in to ask for them as of late. 

14 minutes ago, kelleherdl said:

At the One Pool you don’t have to wait for the YC Restaurant to close. I’ve been able to order pancakes or waffles on all ships. Remember the Restaurant on the Seaside is right below the One Pool.  On Divina and Preziosa I think they had a waffle iron in the One Pool kitchen. The YC Restaurant was aft, so big distance away from One Pool.

Definitely - I meant that’s where breakfast room service seems to come from for off menu items. 

1 hour ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I didn’t know I could request that at the poolside grill. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for other items - I think they get from there if restaurant has already closed. I don’t like doing the door hanger (as a teacher I’m sure you get it… I want no schedule on vacation) but the one time I wanted breakfast I just called and said “can I have two eggs over easy?” and there they were. 

27 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Day 1 was amazing!  If this continues, we will most likely book our next yacht club cruise while onboard this week. 

Do it! You get a few benefits including double points, OBC, and ability to push out dates multiple times. I kicked myself as we were one day late to get the additional 5% off for being 6 months out 😮

It’s quite possible whichever risk averse safety officer we had in March is now on vacation but will come back to relieve the more reasonable one. We were in aft concierge class cabins.

26 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We always have been able to open the partition when friends or family members had an adjoining cabin. We have them opened at the start of the cruise and keep them open for the whole cruise.

Yes - us too and that's what Celebrity had advised and why we booked these. Unfortunately it is up to management's discretion and at the end of March, Equinox didn't feel like doing it. The stateroom attendant told us the front connecting foyer-type doors were "only for people with babies" but we did that anyway to have a bit more of a private area, less hallway noise, and be able to go between the cabins. 

Management claimed it applied to everyone but had no explanation when they saw other sections had theirs open. Obviously on the ABC cruise, we weren't terribly interested in having them open in port as much as when at sea. We had a couple nice sailaways together, at least. 

On 3/20/2023 at 3:00 AM, MarkusToe said:

By the way, what kind of key are they using?

3 or 4 side 

Sorry to miss this - the stateroom attendant used a large pair of scissors to open and close. I think it was a four sided bit. They ultimately relented and allowed them open in port for us. Others on decks below us were allowed to keep theirs open at sea, however.