xmarksx

Thank you, Janice. We too are going to be first time Silversea passengers and sail Spirit in August. Looking forward to your posts!

We were on the Reflection this summer in the Med. Our steward did have an assistant although we never saw him.

 

Also, there were some posts about emails commending exceptional service from the staff. Perhaps X should follow RCI and give out "Wow Cards". Royal gives you a Wow Card on embarkation for you to reward outstanding service and you give it to that person (or drop it off at Guest Services) at the end of the cruise. I believe that they turn it in for bonuses, etc. Probably helps with promotions as well.

Hi Bobby, while they do not hand them out during embarkation (that I recall) they do have them available at guest relations. Not Wow Cards but it sounds pretty much the same as what you describe. From other posters comments they do receive perks and other bonuses. Forgot to mention that you receive a confirmation letter of receipt from the hotel director.

themutis makes a good point about the wind and I would add that San Juan is an easy on/off port if you want to do some quick shopping. Also, port days are usually less crowded on the lawn so it makes it even more relaxing.

Wow, you are right, it covers a ton of ground that people often ask about. Onboard sales for one.

It's been a while since we've sailed on Celebrity and I have a question.

 

I like to make thank you cards for the cabin stewards and any assistants, as well as the waiters, to put their extra tip in. It has Thank You in many different languages.

 

Thanks so much for your input.

Terre, I think that is a nice gesture and want to add something that I learned from CC. During the cruise, if you encounter exceptional service, call it out with one of the comment cards from guest services. It seems to carry a good amount of weight because our butler mentioned that the hotel director told him about a card we filled out commending his service. Others have mentioned they get additional bonuses from it.

Hmmm... I might vote for Seabourn as the WORST?QUOTE]

 

Thank you, or Silversea since they do allow children but do not provide any type of accommodation for them, whatsoever. Including pay-for babysitting. "You want to bring your kids, great. Just don't expect us to entertain them."

 

Some might want to equivocate a bit on their statements.

Hello

 

One more question we have, we would like to book our speciality dining in advance but were told since its complimentary it must be done onboard with our butler. We already noticed a lot of the times we like to dine 7pm or 8pm are gone on some nights in Murano and Tuscan Grill. I imagine some places will be sold out as we near departure or when we board the ship. If this is the case then its really not much of a value add.

 

Are some tables held back for suite guests to reserve once on board? Can we purchase the nights we want to dine online and then ask for a credit once we board and rebook them as complimentary (I am not a fan of tricking the system but can't find any other way around it). Or does accounting know to credit our account each night we dine as its complimentary?

 

On HAL if we booked it an paid for it in advance we were simply credited onboard when we dined as we received some complimentary dinners.

 

Thanks!

I am not sure about the hold-back question for suite passengers. I would call Captains Club to find out the number for the shore side concierge, or their email address. They should be able to help you. Prior to our sailing shore side contacted us to ask about minibar preference and dining.

I signed up for their mailing list months ago and never heard anything. This week I received an email with a video (animated only) and some additional info, you can view the video on their Facebook page.

Based upon the video it definitely has a more youthful vibe, DJ in the background and all the cartoon characters are lithe, women in bikinis. However, cartoon and real life are two different things. The video is really absent any substantive information and I tend to agree with DYKWIA about the innovation component. Also, what team of experts could Sir Richard hire that have not already been part of the cruise industry? However, the guy is undisputedly very good at what he does so I hope he has the innovations that shake things up.

Pure speculation based upon my mid-50's perspective but it could be they will court the southern California club crowd. That group is aging into their 30's and seem to have unlimited funds to dump into the Las Vegas club scene, including insanely priced bottle service. I have forgotten where they plan to base but assumed it would be west coast in order to bundle air/sea products. Again, it was months ago that I signed up and read the original article about their initiative.

Just a theory.

Hopefully this answers some additional questions.

Hello

 

We have sailed numerous times on HAL but this is our first time on Celebrity. Our frame of reference is based on the perks that we received on HAL in a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite so we are excited to experience the Celebrity Suite experience. Sorry to rattle off so many questions:

 

You are really going to love the location of those suites. One nice aspect is that they are right by Aqua Spa Café (forgot what the name is changing to) and you can pick up smoothies or other items in the morning or throughout the day. The pay-for items in the café are also free.

 

They are also very liberal about laundry and did not stick to the two loads.

 

We are booked in a Signature Suite and are we correct to assume that any speciality restaurant meals are included? Does this mean we could dine every night at Murano or Tuscan Grill if we choose?

 

In August we were on Reflection in a Signature, 4111, and absolutely loved it, Bart was our Butler. You are correct, you can dine in Murano or Tuscan every night. In addition, our butler booked us for Sushi on 5 at no charge but I have heard that others have had to pay so make sure you ask your butler. Also, specialty lunches at The Poarch or Lawn Club Grill are included. Luminae serves a full breakfast the morning of departure. In-suite breakfasts are nice but you eat on the coffee table. Good for breakfast but we didn't want to do it for anything other than that and we only did it for early port disembarking

 

Is there a weekly rate to reserve a Lawn Club cabana and can this be done before we depart?

Most likely there will be a discount for weekly bookings of Alcoves but make sure you book them ASAP. In fact, I would not be surprised if some are not already sold out. They get gobbled up fast for sea days

 

What time can we arrive at the Port of Miami in order to start boarding, are suite passenger allowed an earlier boarding? Same for disembarking, can we stay in our room until 8am or 9am? Is a full breakfast served the last day?

They have a small waiting room for suite/VIP guests at the port but it's nothing special. We were in a Sky suite in January on Reflection and I believe they let the suite/VIP's board at 11.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice and information.

How curious. First time poster, just joined and had no idea the ship was going into dry dock. Lets hope they heeded their own warning and covered their mouth.

When we have used SS air we have always paid the $100/per for the routing and airline we wanted. Always got it, but your TA will play a big part in arranging it.

That seems to correspond with what our TA advised. We booked and paid Friday and he sent an email to SS Air for confirmation on several questions I had.

Jeff, I will certainly have the TA ask about the deviation/concierge fee impacting our ability to deal with unforeseen difficulties, along with reading the contract. Thank you!

I know this question will be answered by Silversea next week but I am curious. How far out can you book flights? We have an August 25th sailing.

I would be a first timer on Silver Sea and the Silver Spirit next August. One consideration is the cost of air getting to Barcelona and returning from Rome. Silver Sea has a promotion of free economy air or $498 each way for Business Class for Mediterranean cruises which is more reasonable than what the airlines are quoting at this point.

 

I am interested in reading comments about this cruise line booking air. With other cruise lines, I have always booked my own except once and had a bad experience - a circuitous routing which made no sense. For those of you who have used Silver Seas air program, would you recommend it? Did it work to your advantage? Thanking you in advance. Barbara

Really looking forward to responses on this because we just cancelled an Oceania sailing for September in favor of the Spirit August 25th sailing. One of the reasons for the switch was the $499 per segment business class upgrade. Our TA is booking it today. Based upon our sailing and personal preferences this was a much better deal.

We go on a cruise to have a good time would hate to spend our time complaining.

Exactly! Live is too short and I have limited time away from work. Sigh, I think they believe they are making some type of significant impact.

This thread has some different info. FYI, during our August Reflection cruise they were discounting them on days in port, $79 instead of $99 but I think they had a good amount of availability.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2377954

Comedian on Reflection had a funny line this January. Am I the only one who thinks that they change the flags and uniforms, then have the ship sail around the island overnight?

I agree with the majority of posters who find differences. All you have to do is travel a few blocks away from the homogenized ports/shopping.

I think the OP just wants to speculate without ever booking a Celebrity cruise.

I think they should try HAL. ;)

Couldn't agree more! Based upon their other posts they already have their mind made up.

xmark;

 

Just as a backup to Lyn's comment on watching Air Canada sales.

 

On our cruise for next summer, to utilize O's air, I was required to pay $99 each way ($198) surcharge for going out of Nashville, plus the $175 for a deviation fee. Additionally, we had signed up for the $99 PE special both ways ($198). So we were paying O $571 extra for flying in a day early and PE for over the pond. Air Canada had a very good sale in August which we jumped on. For $100 additionally, we are getting BNA-CPH in Business Class (the entire trip not just over the pond) and PE from LHR to BNA, both via Toronto on our own. We got the seats we wanted at a little over 310 days out, and are still not to the 270 days out where O would even talk to us. Having just recently checked both flights, PE is almost entirely sold out for each flight, and the only PE seats available are one of the middle 3s, with all the side cabin 2s gone. It will be interesting to see how many are gone before O's 270 day period is reached.

 

The sale pricing was available to us via UAL, however all the planes are Air Canada and only code shared with UAL. By using by Air Canada direct, I could pick my seats, whereas by using UAL, I couldn't. I will still get point credit on UAL.

I searched yesterday after reading this and will put our itinerary on Kayak to track reductions. Thanks for the advice.

That is correct I edited my post as you are not sailing until Sept

Perfect, thanks!

LHT, will do. However, I thought I could not book until 270 out. If I am wrong I will scour the air options right now and have my TA check tomorrow.

xmarksx;

 

Oceania occasionally runs special $99 Premium Economy fares for selected cruises. First question is , did they do that for your cruise?

 

They did offer and we purchased the upgrades (yep, we pulled the trigger)

 

If so, you will get true PE, at that $99 price, not just an upgraded faux PE seat offered by US carriers. If no such seats are available, due to late booking, then you are not charged the $99 and will get economy. One can then go in and maybe upgrade to a faux PE seat if any are available on their own, on some airlines, not all.

 

If the special is offered, read the fine print, because sometimes it's always one way, and sometimes does not apply to the return portion of the trip, only the outbound.

 

Thank you, our TA warned of this also and it is $99 each way and both ways offered, we purchased both

 

If the special is not offered, then one will have to pay a deviation fee to fly true PE, and the price offered by Oceania may or may not be considerably higher than offered by the airlines directly.

 

I am almost sure we will have to pay the deviation, going to stay a night in Barcelona. I am assuming we will get Air Canada PE or Lufthansa and just hope we can avoid the higher fare cost by employing your strategy below. I previously checked Guru and noted the 2-3-2, could not agree more! We recognize we will most likely have a layover in Toronto or Frankfurt but any other layover outside the US would be a new experience and fine with us.

 

Here is a fact and typical scenario. If one pays the deviation fee, and books their flight as early as possible, they have a larger selection of seats to choose from. Take Air Canada for example. Their planes only have three rows of 2-3-2Premium Economy seats, a very limited supply, and those seats often sell out fairly rapidly. One would be a lucky person, if one is still available at the 75 day out period when Oceania finalizes it seating plan. This is especially true for non stop flights! Therefore, on to the next carrier, that O contracts with, that still has open PE seating. Chances are that flight will not be a non stop. Plus, only the over the water portion is PE, so if one is connecting in Frankfurt, Zurich, or London, the next leg is economy wherever on the plane they can get you a seat. We have some very short petite cruisers here where fitting into any seat is not a problem, therefore seat selection is not important. I'm 6'2" and don't wedge well, especially as I grow older!. Therefore, paying the deviation fee to ensure I get a seat I like, is always well worth the that costs. Often times, I find savings, and good seats, by DIY. All of those are personal issues that affect different cruisers different ways and there is certainly no "one size fits all" answer.

Pinot, thank you and my thanks to everyone else who previously posted about Oceania Air, beverage packages, OBC and other details that I learned from. Jim and Stan, we decided on the deck 12 concierge

Sorry you're unhappy with the posts, but calling names helps no one and nothing. Let's try to keep this positive. Resorting to the negative isn't the purpose of Cruise critic. My post was meant as a constructive suggestion to X to help its passengers end their cruise on a modern luxury note. Sorry that offended you. It wasn't meant to do that.As for others who responded to my threads, they have the right to respond to whatever they choose (as do you) without critcism. :)

I think you misunderstand me, I was not "necessarily" calling you a name. You have started four threads on this subject recently and the last two have two brand new members who post in support of your concern, both captains. A sock-puppet is an online identity created to carry forward straw-man arguments, or deception, or some type of support for a cause. Why not just post your new, daily, information on the original thread? I absolutely respect your passion for this subject and others have provided insightful information. Again, your methods diminish your argument.

Yet another post about Luggage Valet, followed by distraught comments from posters who just joined and only have posts about.... Luggage Valet.

Luvcrusn, I get it, you want people to complain. But sock-puppets are not going to change the mind of Celebrity. You diminish your argument.

They were serving lunch last month on Reflection but no breakfast. Not surprising that they are trying out breakfast. I love The Porch but fear they will switch it out because it does not seem to get much business.

Jim and Stan, thank you so much.

As much as I hate to lose that nice spot, I guess we will give it up for an A4. I do like that it's close to the spa terrace and waves bar but doubt I can dissuade my wife from the possible sunshine. I found a video today that was shot in 1206 and noticed exactly what you were pointing out about the 14 overhang.

Going to book a Riviera Mediterranean sailing for September 2017 on Friday and trying to decide between an A1 or A4.

We can book a concierge suite on deck 9, aft, and would be perfectly happy with this. However, I had our TA hold 12002 (the A1) this afternoon. A couple of questions for anyone that might know.

Are verandas on those four deck 12 concierge suites the same size as other veranda/concierge suites? I cannot find any decent photos.

Also, it appears they installed smoked glass along the front of those suite/concierge side verandas. Does that make it more cave-like? We like to get sun on our veranda whenever possible.

Cost is not a problem so no need to factor that into the decision. Fully recognize we can walk up to the spa deck whenever we want but I think most would agree there is nothing like being on your own veranda.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!