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1620rock

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Posts posted by 1620rock

  1. On the Silhouette last month and Equinox and in October I was able to connect my iPhone via a HDMI converter to the HDMI input in the back of the TV.   Not sure if the Solstice has the same TVs though since it hasn't been "revolutionized".

     

    I had to use the following steps on the TV remote to access the menu to select the HDMI input:

     

    On the remote, press the CC button, then Menu, scroll down to support, scroll down to source list, and you can choose HDMI as the source to view your tablet.  I had the premium WiFi and had no problem streaming on my iPhone and my Fire tablet but also had some content downloaded.

     

    I am not sure if there was a USB connection.

     

    Enjoy your cruise. 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  2. I don't think I saw that option on menu on TV in our cabin.  We will be on the Silhouette in January and will look for that option.  You have posted so many great tips that have been helpful even though we cruise in much more economical cabins than you.

     

    I appreciate you !!

  3. On 10/25/2023 at 12:04 PM, Jim_Iain said:

    Only one minor tweak.    I believe the TV is recognizing them but -

     

    The Samsung remotes no longer allow you to get to the Selection of ports.  The TV's are now dumb monitors and use a URL for the ships TV.

    Also they now also have a selection from the main menu to Cast direct from your iPad without an HDMI via the Ship Internet. 

     

    You have to use the room remote and follow the following video

     

     

     

    Thank you so much for posting this video,  I was on the Equinox in October and was able to access the menu and connect my iPhone with a lightning to HDMI cable and stream Apple TV and Netlix on the Premium Wifi.

  4. We were just at Nachi last week for a return vist now would not recommend.  The staff varied from unfriendly to rude and the drinks were very bad.  I changed to beer and that was okay and the food is fine enjoyed the water and beach but we were among the last group of about 8 visitors at 3:30 and were being pushed to leave.  If you plan on arriving and leaving early and drinking beer you may have a pleasant time.  

  5. We had a great day at Nachi last September and were excited to go back last week.  We were very dissappointed in the service and won't be going back.  I think they must be under new managment because the staff were not friendly (except the woman selling the photos) and even rude at the end of the day.    

     

    It really is too bad that the managment now has the attitude we have your money and now we don't have to try.  There were many people talking to the manager about different problems with advance payments and other issues.  

     

    The beach, water and pool are lovely but the we will look at other options for our next visit to Cozumel because we don't go on vacation to be treated rudely and given the bum's rush to leave starting at 3:45 when the service is supposed to be until 5:00

     

    We were the last visitors for the day and it was clear the staff wanted us to leave and close up early.   We were told last call at that they were starting to close.  We packed up our things around 4:15 and headed from the beach to change.  I was yelled at by a staff member even yelled at me for washing my feet in the area that is made for that because he had just finished cleaning it.   Another staff member said he was callong our taxi and I said thank you but I was going to change out of my wet suit first.  Went to dressing room to change and the light was turned off on me.   When we were leaving at 4:30 we were given hostile looks by the staff and no thank you and I left the money we were going to tip in my pocket.

     

    I am very sad that I previoulsy recommended Nachi Cocum to so many people and that they no longer care about service or making their visitors have a pleasant visit to Cozumel.

     

    I lived in Playa del Carmen for 12 years and love Mexico and it is sad to see that Nachi Cocum now treats visitors so poorly and gives such a bad impression of the lovely island of Cozumel.

     

    • Like 1
  6. 42 minutes ago, sun bum said:

    We were on the Equinox Sept.24 - 30. NO issues getting any of the premium items in the package. We picked up each day, Evian and Vitamin waters at the Cafe' al Bacio or after breakfast at II Secondo Bacio, located in the OVC. Our meal and service at Tuscan was amazing!  Yes, the ship looks a little tired in places. The railing on our SV balcony could use some varnish but it in no way affected our vacation. We did our research and knew what to expect as far as the condition of the ship. We spent a lot of time every day at the pool. Getting someone to take our drink order, even on pool days, was no problem. Every day, several times a day, there was a waiter bringing around a tray of the "Drink of the Day " special. Our only complain was how rude a few of the passengers were to the staff.  This was our 17 cruise.16 of them have been on Celebrity. We will be on the Ascent in January and the Beyond again in October. There's a reason we keep coming back. 

     

    Glad to hear you enjoyed your Equinox cruise and were able to get the Premium NA items.  DH only drinks 1 -2 drinks with alcohol but he likes the teas and Vitamin Waters and will drink 4-5 a day and I like the premium juice smoothies and waters.   

     

    We are on the Equinox in two weeks and getting a little worried about recent reviews.  We also have final payment for January Silhouette cruise due before we board and having second thoughts.

     

    Were you able to order the premium water in the MDR , Pelligrino, AquaPanna or similar or did you have to bring it with you from the other bars?  We have never had a problem with that in the past and hope that hasn't changed.

     

     

  7. There has been a lot of discussion of the reduced menu options.  Starting a thread to post what are some favorites from the MDR menu you would like to see return. One of my favorites I order every cruise when available is the jerk chicken with black bean and pineapple rice but I don't see it on the current Equinox menu or my October Equinox cruise

     

     

     

    • Like 3
  8. Really starting to regret that I booked the Equinox for October before I knew it was a test ship for vaping other additional charges, cutbacks and the terrible new MDR menu.  I saw Irish stew and liver and onions before as menu o[tions that I think thankfully are gone.

     

    Seriously thinking about cancelling our 10-day cruise on Silly in January even though we got a great price by booking in advance.  We will definitely be checking other options before final payment in October..

     

    Now charging for cookies!!!  Will free ice cream and toppings in the buffet be next??

     

    The final straw for DH will be if they take away creme brulee from the MDR.

    • Like 6
    • Haha 3
  9. On 4/18/2023 at 8:23 AM, PORT ROYAL said:

    Good luck…

     

    On 4/18/2023 at 7:11 AM, 1620rock said:

    Thanks Port Royal!  I have tried that site but the Marriott was not avaiable but it did give me the option to go on a wait list.   I think Marriott stopped offering the passes through third-party vendors during Covid.  It was a great deal before $60 which included a $40 food & beverage credit and a nice way to spend the day while waiting for an afternoon flight home.   I am going to try calling the hotel directly.

     

    To update I called the Marriott Stellaris and was told day passes not currently available but to look on resortpass.com for other available Marriott  properties.  The other Marriott properites are in Isla Verde and we enjoyed staying in that area several times for the great beach but for a port stop like to stay closer to the port.  Thinking of maybe going to Escambron beach for a bit if the weather is good.

  10. Speciaity dining packages for our May cruise are still not showing online or in the app.  I called MSC Friday and was connected immediately to a very friendly CS agent .  She quickly added the Duo package to my booking and sent a new confirmation showing the added package and a zero balance due.  I was very happy with the service I received.  I do think the MSC dining package was a little pricey for limited menu and would prefer to reserve a dining time now instead of when we board. However we do appreciate the break from the very busy dining room so that makes the fee worth it for us. 

  11. I was thinking about getting the 40 piece package for our May cruise on Seascape but the jump in price from $49 to $76 made that decision a no for 7 day cruise. We had the 40 piece  package for our Divina cruise years ago for a 11 day cruise and it was cheaper and you could send laundey every day. I could check an extra bag with AA for $80 instead and not worry about MSC damaging my clothes

    • Like 2
  12. Thanks Port Royal!  I have tried that site but the Marriott was not avaiable but it did give me the option to go on a wait list.   I think Marriott stopped offering the passes through third-party vendors during Covid.  It was a great deal before $60 which included a $40 food & beverage credit and a nice way to spend the day while waiting for an afternoon flight home.   I am going to try calling the hotel directly.

  13. Can you tell me where you booked the Marriott Stellaris day pass and was it recently?  We also did this a few years ago after a cruise  but I am not finding it as an option to book this hotel just serveral others in Isla Verde and we would rather be in the Condado area. 

  14. Just now, stellarose said:

    so we can do one person only in the stateroom? hubby won't want it but I will. 

     

    Yes, I called the phone number for upgrades and was able to just upgrade myself.  I had called my agent Friday because our booking is part of a group and he said it was not possible until after boarding.  I think he just didn't want to call Celebrity.

     

    When I called Celebrity they did transfer me to the group department but they took care of the upgrade in just a few minutes and I received an email confirmation and my boarding pass has the PALL code to show I have the upgrade and hubby's is CALL

  15. I called to upgrade this morning and was charged $13.50 per day plus the service charge for a total of $111.51 for a 7 day cruise.  According to the Celebrity Rep that was $15/day -  10% Classic/Select upgrade discount. I didnt' upgrade DH's package as he usually has one alcohol drink a day and the rest is sodas and coffee.

     

    Last cruise I just had the classic and paid for the difference for the occasional upgraded drink.    I was on the fence for this cruise but decided to upgrade really for the premium non-alcoholic drinks since I missed having sparkling water and Vitamin water and smoothies.  Still not sure if that was worth $16 per day but  it has been a stressful year so also plan on enjoying several martinis.

  16. 8 hours ago, SraLiz said:

    1620rock-

    We booked the 2 hour trip with Celebrity.  They also offer a 3 hour catamaran trip that stops on a beach.  I am not sure I would book either one again. I prefer private tours, but we had OBC to use.  I did not see anyone hanging out selling tours on the beach.  But perhaps in the cruise port itself there may be some.  The 2 hour tour was on a boat that was full with 60 people.  No frills, water and rum punch.  The equipment was fine.  The reef is really just off the shore.  It was funny, one of the crew showed us where he lived, LOL 

     

    Thank you for the info on the snorkel tour.  A group of 60 for snorkeling is a lot and the departure times is early for DH.  Our January cruise we had to do ship tours for most ports but I think that is dropped for Grand Turk I am going to look for a non-ship smaller group snorkel trip.  We didn't get much OBC for this cruise but we got a great price do don't mind paying more for non-ship tour if it means less waiting around and fins in the face.

  17. Thanks for your trip report.  Glad that you had a good cruise despite some maintenance issues with your cabin.

     

    We will be on the same itinerary in September and these ports are new to us except Key West so it is great to have reports from recent cruises.   Seems like Resort World is the better option for Bimini especially with the pool since there have been some recent reports of jelly fish in the water.  

     

    We would like to snorkel the barrier reef in Grand Turk.  Did you go on a ship excursion to the barrier reef or did you book something a the beach?   What was the boat like for the snorkel trip and if you booked it at the beach do you remember the cost?

  18. When nothing appeals to us on the MDR menu we like a casual dinner in the Oceanview to just check out the stations and see what looks good and and have a mix of this and that.  Our recent sailing was 10-days and we had dinner in the Oceanview twice I think and liked checking out the special station each evening.  One night it was falafel and another burritos made to order.  We enjoyed the stir-fry made to order and since very few guests were dining there it was easy to distance and have a private conversation.

     

     One highlight for DH was cupcake night at the buffet.   Having the crew serve instead of self-serve this cruise is a bonus for us.  The Reflecton crew were so friendly and always wanted us to try whatever they were serving it added to our enjoyment of dinner there.  

    • Like 1
  19. I did the Stingray and Snorkel in 2020 and really enjoyed it.  It was about a 45-minute ride on a bus to the location for the swim with Stingrays but it was on an AC bus with a very good guide.  Once you arrived at the Stingray location there was a briefing and then you were given snorkel equipments and vests and taken by lauch to the stingray "island" platfrom.  There were stairs from the platform to a shallow sandy area where you could stand and guides that help you to touch and hold the stingrays for photos.  There were many stingrays swimming around and also a shallow reef for snorkeling.  I enjoyed the tour and it seemed that it was maybe a different road than the road to Valley Church beach and definitely not as bumpy but it was two years ago.  I enjoyed the tour and spent about half the water time snorkeling.  After your time at stingray island the launch took you back to the base for a rum punch to pick up photos "not included" and you had time to change before the bus ride to the port.  I enjoyed the tour but it was a one and done for me.  Our guide was great though on the bus and and the team at the stingray operation were also very nice and friendly.  Just be aware that most of the tour time is travel and preperation time and I think maybe an hour in the water.

     

    I like you prefer beach time and really just wanted to take a taxi to Jolly Beach but we had to take a Celebrity tour on this cruise.   If I had to choose again would probably do the boat ride to the beach from the port.   I saw a video on youtube and it looked pretty good but we didn't want to be in a group tour all day as did the power cat in St. Lucia to the Pitons and had catamaran Snorkel and  Nevis planned.

    • Like 1
  20. 20 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

     

    Welcome home!

     

    Regarding the internet - did you run any speed tests? Was the quality of the internet service about the same around different parts of the ship?

     

    Tom

    Sorry that was a typo we only had the Surf package so did not do a speed test.  We usually try disconnect on cruises so this was adequate for our needs.  The only issue was for the first few days there were issues with iMessaging but the iLounge staffed helped with that issue and then as the cruise when on iMessaging worked fine.

    • Like 1
  21. We were on the Reflection last week and went on the Beach Break excursion to Valley Church Beach.  We had been to that beach by taxi previously and it is a very nice beach with white sand and blue water.  Getting in out out of the water does take a bit of effort as it is very sloped and there is a usually a large drop off.

     

    The restaurant/bar there is the Nest and you can search that on the internet for the menu and photos.  We purchased a couple of drinks but no food as we had taken along a few snacks with us.  At the beach we were given a brief greeting that explained you got a free rum punch, umbrellas were $10, where the bathrooms,  and what time to meet for the return ride. 

     

    We were quickly shown to chairs and set up with an umbrella.  The chairs were set up in pairs so with a little more distance than the Barbados beach club.  We did not see any drink service to the beach so went to the bar for a couple of to go drinks and also enjoyed a walk along the bay to a more secluded are of the beach.

     

    We loved the beach but the transfer service we received was awful and we almost took a taxi for the return but were afraid to break Celebrith protocols for bubble excursion and later have an issue if we tested positive for Covid.

     

    The problem with the Celebrity Excursion was that there were at least 100 signed up and they herded the large group to a parking lot with mini buses and loaded pax 10 at a time in hot parking lot that had an open sewage trench.   We had the bad luck to be assigned to a very old minibus with very little or no a/c closed windows and very bad shocks and ended up on the rear seats.  It was a hot stuffy, teeth rattling 25 minute ride as the road is patched and rutted in places but was really due to the condition of the van.    

     

    I regret that we did not speak up when shown to the minivan and ask for another van.  It was the only time during the cruise that I really feared we would be exposed to Covid.  The return ride we were able to sit in the second row and the ride was slightly less torturous but still no AC.

     

     

    • Like 1
  22. Hi all,

     

    Back in chilly snow-covered MA and back on CC for the first time since our day in St. Kitts. Thankfully our DH alerted us to the snow forecast for Saturday and we were able to move our Delta flight to Sunday and reserve a room at the Marriott Airport.  The rest of cruise was wonderful and we were so happy to be back at sea and just enjoy the warm weather and excellent service onboard.  We were sad to leave Saturday morning but leaving the ship and customs was a breeze and we were in a taxi and on the way to the hotel by 8:30. 

     

    We had a great stay at the Marriott.  They were very nice and welcoming and we were able to get in our room well before the 3 p.m. check-in time.   The hotel still has that brand new feel and the room was very modern and spacious.  Unfortunately the unusally cold and windy weather prevented us from using the nice rooftop pool.  Instead we spent the morning resting and catching up on some streaming on the huge flat screen.  We loved the location next to Dania Pointe center to do a little shopping and dining.

     

    Thanks to all who stepped up and answered questions while I was offline.   The Stream package didn't work well on Reflection.  I will try to answer any remaining questions after work today.

     

     

     

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