WrittenOnYourHeart

I'm 99% sure they were closed when I was there on Anthem of the Seas. It is still a port subject to Bahamian taxes and such.

3 minutes ago, TinyG said:

 

I wonder how this does in warm climates

Rooftop Garden. Walking track outdoors.

Beautiful kitties!!

Following along as I'll be on the Beyond ABC cruise on 7/27. 🙂

2 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

I also suspect that there are simply so many passenger nationalities on some of these sailings that it would be a challenge.  For example, on that particular Edge itinerary (which was a B2B2B for many) there were folks from all over the world as it was a unique sailing (through the Suez Canal).  But we received Express Notifications indicating that the responsibility for obtaining the correct passports fell onto the passengers, and still a surprising number of folks were oblivious.  And I can't imagine trying to upload passport photos and so forth using the ship internet -- apparently it was a challenge.

This. Plus can you imagine if they give even one person incorrect information resulting in them being denied boarding. Better to put the responsibility on the cruiser.

9 hours ago, twincheryl said:

We are also on this ship… I’m guessing that the 10am boarding time was the issue.  We cruise a lot on Celebrity and never encountered that when boarding at 11 or 11:30am.  Cards were always by the cabin door.

WOW! Why did they board at 10? Seems very early - and weird to board before they are remotely ready.

8 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

IMO, I would contact them. Have found left hand doesnt know what right hand is doing type of thing. We had an Elite event and received invite to another event at the same time.  Best to not assume they’ll get it

 

 

 

Thanks! I've emailed them to find out what they say.

13 minutes ago, luv2camp04 said:

We've always booked the World Wine Tour when we're onboard.  I think we've done it 3 or 4 times and really enjoy it.  It has always been held on a sea day around the 2:00 pm time (give or take).  We've done it on Equinox, Millenium, and Summit.  It's only been held one time per sailing (Edge class ships may be different).  But I've never seen it listed in the app prior to the cruise.  They will let you know when it is being held.

We have 4 sea days - 2 going and 2 returning - and it's listed at 2pm on all 4 when you go to book it now.

I've booked this for my upcoming Beyond cruise (and have my fingers crossed that it goes since it didn't on the Summit - they changed me to the Food and Wine thing, but because of my food restrictions (gluten-free, allergic to peanuts, don't eat fish) I was able to cancel it). When I booked it, there were no specific times given.

I was looking at availability for things (actually was looking for the cabanas, but can't find them anywhere so ??? everything else Sold Out shows up with Sold Out on it, so no clue where those are unless they've changed to only on board booking?) and see that now there are times (I think 2pm on the sea days) that you reserve. I checked my calendar and none of the times show. I don't want to cancel and re-book as I booked it when there was a good price on it and it's considerably more.

Will it likely be that they'll assign me to one of the days and I'll have it on a letter in my cabin- and hopefully be able to change if I have something else booked for my assigned day? Or would they likely see that I had something else booked for a sea day and not schedule me for the wine thing on that day? Or will I be going to Guest Services once on board to see when I can get into it?

1 hour ago, helen haywood said:

put on a coverup.

and shoes

14 minutes ago, crusinthrough said:

This chain may be a Captain Club amenity.  

No, I think that's given to everyone. You get the charms to go in every day.

7 minutes ago, TinyG said:

No cards/envelope , all the bedding on the floor and left over sharp’s container on the counter. 
 Little disappointing to have a dirty room on arrival. Why let us on at the time to be dissatisfied. If the Elites can come sooner, only to leave your room. I am glad to be on the ship and not in a line. I know turn around day all the crew members dread. We left be and went on our way. 

Wow. I wonder if that's a function of its first cruise out of this port. My other 2 Celebrity cruises - one on Edge and one on Summit - the rooms were not 100% finished, but they weren't like people just left. And the key cards were definitely at the cabin.

8 minutes ago, TinyG said:

You are able to get refreshments from the bars by showing your check-in tab on your phone. 

Was your key card not at your cabin? The whole point of being allowed to drop off your luggage (besides obviously not having to drag it all over) is to get your key card. Which you use to purchase beverages.

41 minutes ago, Team Stag said:

I don't know but if I had to guess, I would say yes.  The laundry department is not going to be busy.  Most of the cruisers will be doing the 4 OR 3 day cruise. And I can't imagine them bringing dirty clothes on board with them 😂😂.   It would be a bad strategy to only get on with one alternate outfit and then wash day 1 clothes.  😂

Unless the airline lost their luggage...

Cruise solo all the time - and not in the retreat. No issues. I do my thing and don't worry about if other people are talking about me. 99% of the time they're too wrapped up in their own vacation.

Read, relax, see shows multiple times if you want. Eat in the dining room and/or specialty restaurants. It's really no big deal.

I love sitting alone - no awkward conversation, and no possibility of having to wait and wait and wait for a table until you find someone who wants to share. Take a book if it's that awkward. I've never had issues with other cruisers (every once in a while they might ask if I'm solo and 9 times out of 10 they are inspired by it), and the servers are always awesome! Best part...you eat at your pace and not that of other people.

9 hours ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Well Beth the major problem is that many parents take a vacation from parenting while on vacation.  While Mommy sits poolside sucking down a Pina Colada they let their precious little darlings run rampant.  They're on a cruise so they can't get lost, right?

That was my point.

They can suck down pina coladas just as easily at an AI resort - they *might* keep a closer eye on them there since there's a larger area and more possibility of getting lost...or they might take a nanny with them to watch the kiddos.

4 minutes ago, fenton04 said:

What????

A swiss army knife is pretty easily concealed. A knife from the restaurant not so much.

2 minutes ago, doghog said:

Don't let them know about the knives that Celebrity provides to all at each meal. 😉

Those would be a lot harder to do damage. And aren't as easily concealed.

Personally I'm glad they're strict about it. All it takes is one drunken temper for things to turn bad quickly with knives. What do you need one for on the ship anyway?

3 hours ago, KiwiCruiser59 said:

• Will there be Formal Nights? We're on board for 19 nights so it would be great to know how many to pack for.
• Do they still do Theme Nights? "White Night" "80s Night" etc?
• Mandatory Pre-boarding Testing and Screening : What documentation will they require? Proof of vaccination? RAT-test?

1 - No formal nights on Celebrity. There will be some "Evening Chic" which can be formal or can remain smart casual or anything in between.

2 - Possible? My biggest pet peeve with most lines is they have these theme nights that only insiders know about so first timers on a line are clueless. Say what you will about Disney, you know that there will be a Pirate Night (or other theme if in a different region) and you can find out which night it is. You're only caught off guard if you did no research in advance because it's right there on the calendar. No one has to look stupid because they didn't know.

3 - At this time no testing or screening. I don't think any lines are doing it currently. (I think Disney was the last to remove it.)

47 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Well I think that some of it has to do with lack of enforcement of rules. There will be staff on the ship.  They can either tell the kids to quit running in the halls or ignore it.  We had people in the OVC with no shirts.  No enforcement there either ...

Who is enforcing at an all-inclusive though? I’d imagine their employees are just as hesitant to do anything to result in parents complaining that their little dears are being stifled - and worse that someone was “rude” to them for merely asking them not to run.
 

Again, it bottom line depends on the parents and if they are willing to parent.

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

The land resorts we stayed at did not have kids running through the halls at night, though there were many more kids at the land resorts.  I have run into hotels that do have this problem.  I stay away from them.

 

Kids running through the halls was more of a Royal experience, except for my last Celebrity cruise. 

 

If the 5 star resorts do not have this issue,  why should we expect this on Celebrity?

It shouldn't be "expected" anywhere. But my guess is that the parents at the land resort were doing more parenting than the parents on the cruise. I guess they figure there's only so far they can go on a ship so they don't keep as tight a reign on them, but I don't know.

At any rate, it comes down to parenting rather than type of vacation. I'd guess there have been some 5 star resorts where parents are more "hands off" and kids run just as there have been cruise ships where parents were more aware of what their kids were doing and stop silliness.

6 hours ago, Octavias said:

Wow, the edge sure is having its time in the spotlight.  I sure hope the passenger is OK.  Does this mean a missed port or ?  How do they handle it when they need to turn back for an emergency? 

It's not that uncommon for there to be a medical emergency requiring a ship - any ship - to divert to a port to evacuate a patient. It's hardly worthy of a "spotlight".

3 hours ago, Reisdawg said:

The excursions range based upon several factors especially if they include food. The Osaka excursion just mentioned lists at $124.30 per person but by watching for sales, I was able to get the excursion at $87 per person.  Most ports have an under $100 option but the longer excursions are around $150 to $200 if you want local food.
 

We do have an excursion for every port simply to hit the highlights quickly but many people say the locations do have excellent transportation if you want to explore on your own.

Thank you!

Thank you for sharing! The pictures are gorgeous!!

If I may ask, what are the prices like for excursions from the ship? I'd like to visit Japan some day, but as someone who doesn't eat fish or most seafood (cooked or raw - and definitely no seaweed), is gluten-free, and doesn't eat melon, a cruise where I've got food I can eat on board seems the safest (and least hunger-inducing) for me. I'm looking at possibly next summer - I have no issues with an inside cabin - but am curious about the pricing on excursions. Just ballpark figures are fine.

thanks!

The airport is on the opposite end of the island from Mallory Square.

IF the ship were to dock on the military base, you'd have to hop a shuttle to get off-base before you could get a taxi or Lyft or Uber to the airport.

I'd be more concerned with the return time of the excursion since with a private excursion if you miss the ship, you're SOL.