joecleveland

I saw somewhere else that they've now had you disembark and offered you either a refund or continue the trip by bus and hotels.  What option did you choose and did they give you any idea when the ship would be fixed (We're on the June 23rd sailing out of Budapest)

They don't always wait until just two days before sailing to process bids. It usually seems to happen more in the 4-7 day range. And we've definitely seen some get processed a couple of weeks out. But Dave is right. They want to maximize their chances of getting someone to pay full price before accepting bids. I think that the trigger for bid acceptance is when they would have to lower prices on the remaining rooms in order to have any hope of filling them anyway. At that point, they might as well start accepting bids.

We'd never been offered to bid on an upgrade before but on June 15, for our Sept 3rd cruise, we got the email, I put in the minimum bid to go from an inside to a balcony ($75 pp) and heard last week our bid was accepted, so from a Deck 11 inside to a Deck 10 mid balcony, 7 weeks ahead of sailing. I didn't expect to hear that soon either, but others on our thread heard as well. :)I'm thinking the ship may be a bit empty;)

If you have not gotten your refund from your TA I would be wondering why? As we received ours within a couple days of being back home from NCL.

IMO just one more reason not to use a TA.

As for the flight money I will not comment on that.

Yes we have a future cruise booked on the Star, maybe we can get towed thru the Panama canal :lol;p:')

What I would like is for NCL to replace some of the tape and ropes for actual railings.:confused:

Just heard from my TA an hour ago, the refund is being worked on, NCL is just going to refund the Future cruise deposit as part of my refund. "Hopefully this will be processed by the end of this week" according to the TA for the "almost full amount" minus the $558.30 in taxes/fees. Haven't heard from NCL on the flights and change expenses I incurred flying to Auckland and home early.

Being stranded on a ship at sea is better than a good day at work. Plus if they are going to continue to give full credit and 50% off future cruise, hell ya.

Except the supposed "Full Refund" isn't 100% of what you paid, They deduct taxes/fees and future cruise deposits you may have used and paid for on previous cruises. And the 50% off isn't of the total amount paid as well, just of the reduced amount the supposed full refund was. You're annoyingly nickle and dime'd down. And while you're enjoying the ship stranded at sea, you're still wondering what will go wrong next and how are you going to make your flights home that you paid for that aren't being reimbursed if you miss them. And with so many things to see in the world, wondering if you'll ever be able to see the sights you've planned for over a year to see. I haven't seen a dime back yet as the refund went to my TA, and have been reading how the extra promises of $700 to fly to Auckland and $600 for change fees home have been reduced by NCL after people have submitted claims for those amounts. As they say, time is money and we're not going to get that time back.

Crete is a large island with at least three ports where ships stop. Which one will you be visiting?

Don't know what port the OP was visiting, but Celebrity appears to be changing our overnight in Istanbul to a stop in Chania (Souda) Crete,. We will be there from 7AM-3PM on Friday, October 2nd.

So any hints on what to do on a Friday in October in Chania would be appreciated:D

Just a thought, but since you are paying a fair amount of money for the day pass, you may want to just pay the fare for a taxi to the Occidental in order to maximize your time at the resort.

Arubalisa, are the prices we see quoted on the signs (Taxi to Palm Beach $14) in US dollars or Aruba dollars? Do they take US dollars? And does that conversion rate on the signs ($1.0 US = $1.8 Aruba ) mean the taxi ride to Palm beach is only ~$8 US and the chair and umbrella rental ~$25 US? Probably should also ask if the buses take US dollars and change for that $2.30 bus fare? (and is that in US dollars?)

I've booked the above cruise for 30 Sep 2015. Now I see from their website that they have cut out the Black Sea entirely and the cruise is mainly in the Greek Isles. This is a totally different cruise to the one I booked. I have been unable to get any information from my booking on their website and I have not been informed of any changes. Anyone have any information??

Well some good news it the Taxes/Fees dropped pp from $247 to $128 so that's a price reduction of $237 from what you booked at in addition to the extra $100 OBC. We're sort of stuck since I had booked my airfare through ChoiceAir and the airfare credit would only be good on Turkish airways which means you sort of have to go through Istanbul to get anywhere.

Anyone know if the airfare credit might be good on any Star alliance airline?

Wow, $20 for 1 game! That sounds a bit like a rip off to me. I bet they make a pretty penny on those games. Might be better to take that $20 to the casino

The annoying thing about Carnival is that you have to sit through the end of Bingo to get a seat for the shows. I think they make you stand if you're down to one number. We played one game our first cruise and never again after some 30+ cruises :D We've settled in to spending the $20 on several drinks in a bar with a band as that lasts longer than the $20 in the casino for us :(

Yay! We will be doing the 7 night Western Caribbean out of Tampa, but I would assume the offerings would be the same!

 

Thanks!

The Pride is going in to dry dock this month for Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades. Who knows what that means for what they'll offer afterwards. We're on the Dec7th sailing.

We were on silhouette (veranda) last month. Little bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion. Qtips and cotton balls in a glass jar. No dispenser in the shower. FWIW I really liked the shampoo and conditioner on my hair - did a great job.

 

The bottles weren't automatically replaced every day, it was a bit hit and miss, but we never ran out.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

The bottles weren't really 'bottles' more like tubes that the cabin attendent would stand on end sliding the bottom end of the tube through the wire slits of the soap tray in the shower. I think he checked each day to see how much was left and added a new tube to the counter tray when the tube being used felt light. That's what it was as of the 12th of September in our 6th floor balcony :D

I don't believe I got that email. Maybe I can add it to my next sailing..lol

 

Very clever title to your thread by the way.

Hey, go for it if you only have one promo, here's the details:

It was a pleasure to welcome you as a Captain's Club member on board Celebrity Silhouette® on your Europe cruise. Even though your vacation has ended, we hope you look back fondly on the memories of your days at sea – and smile.

To thank you for sailing with us, we're pleased to offer you an onboard credit to use on your next cruise with Celebrity of:

• $50 per cabin — Ocean View*

• $100 per cabin — Veranda*

• $150 per cabin — Concierge Class, AquaClass*

• $200 per cabin — Suites*

Simply book by 11/21/2014 to take advantage of this offer.

As a Captain's Club member, we invite you to join our 2014 Reunion Cruise, November 3, 2014, on an Australia & New Zealand 12-night sailing aboard Celebrity Solstice from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand. Reunite with fellow members and enjoy he extra member activities planned to make you the center of our attention. For details, visit celebritycruises.com/reunioncruises. Space is limited, so hurry!

To book your cruise vacation call 1-877-202-4344, visit us online at www.celebritycruises.com, or contact your Travel Agent and mention or enter promo code – POSTTHANKU.

and the fine print:

Offer is applicable to new individual bookings. Offer is combinable with one other offer, except, Exciting Deals, Book & Go packages, Premium vacation packages, interline, travel agent, and employee rates, and may be withdrawn at any time. Offer is not applicable to inside staterooms.

So I got an e-mail yesterday saying 'in appreciation of you sailing with us we're giving you OBC on your next cruise'. But attached is the fine print that it's only combinable with one other 'promotion'. If this was truely a thank you in appreciation for choosing to sail with them they wouldn't have the restrictions attached. And of course I'm whining because the cruise I have booked with them has two promo's already, a cyber weekend special and the 123GO. I didn't know about the 'cyber weekend' promo, I just happened to book that weekend because the price looked great.:) My TA said Celebrity told her it was 'double dipping' when she tried to attach it. (Actually triple dipping:p)

This really wasn't a 'thank you in appreciation' it's just another promotion. Since the e-mail title was misleading "In appreciation of you sailing with us", I guess my only response is "Thanks for nothing" :rolleyes:

Dining: I love NCL's freestyle dining. We have sailed twice now on Celebrity, both times with traditional (fixed) dining. It's been fine and there's a big plus in having the same servers, but there are minuses as well. On our upcoming TA aboard the Silhouette in Nov. we are trying "Select" dining for the first time -- eat when you want during the dinner hours. (You just show up, or you can make a reservation.) We'll see how it goes. There are lots of threads on here discussing Select dining on Celebrity if you want to read about people's experiences. Also, on Celebrity, if you are in Aqua class, then you dine in Blu (not the MDR), and show up for dinner whenever you want. Again, lots to read on here if you search.

 

We've sailed on one of the Silhouette's sister ships, the Eclipse, and it's the most beautiful ship we've ever been on. Simply stunning. Really well laid out. Can't wait for our upcoming TA on the Silhouette.

We just got off the Silhouette with select dining, we always eat around 6:30-7, never had to wait, the only problem was we like to go to the show at 9 so we need to be done with dinner by 8:50. If you get put at a table for 8 (holds10) you may experience slower service as you wait for the table to fill or others order many rounds of 'appetizers' . We just ended up asking for a table of 6 or less. We occasionally had a table for two on the edge and could look down on the defined dining and saw several tables with parties of two sitting by themselves at table set for six or eight, that would be us , all alone at a large table, kind of sad, been there done that when others assigned go to specialty or the buffet.

So we liked Select, you just have to have prepaid gratuities, which wasn't a problem as we got those free both on the Silhouette and our upcoming Eclipse cruises as a promotion. It also means we have to drink our way out of any OBC we receive:rolleyes: They have a great before dinner special of half price drinks and drafts from 4-6 in the lobby bar outside the restaurant which helped :D (Same special from 10-midnight in some of the bars at night as well.)

I employ a similar strategy when shopping with my wife; I leave all the money in the safe and just bring copies.

So you never worry that when your wife goes to spend this copied money she'll end up doing time in some federal prison? Or is that the idea;)

There's a half a page of small print that contains a line that it cannot be on a discounted rate. I guess that's a loophole that means that any rate that is even a penny lower than the rate you find on the Celebrity site is disqualified. So when you go to a TA website and look at the rates posted and it states the 123Go promotion is applicable, you're expected to compare the price to the 'official' Celebrity price at the time to make sure they match. I guess they're saying if you want the promotion book at their site, why pay the same price elsewhere. ;) I'll wait for the official reply to the appeal my TA made since the price he charged wasn't discounted for him, it was the price the company authorized him to charge and it sounds like Celebrity authorized that price but never said it was 'discounted' but after the fact said it was some kind of a special upgrade to an ocean view rate (which also didn't match the ocean view rates.) Yeah, I don't understand it all either, 7-10 days , can hardly wait :rolleyes:

Well, it took six weeks, but I finally heard from my TA that Celebrity will honor the 123Go price promotion. YAY Celebrity! Not sure what goes on in the back rooms of negotiating rates/promotions between TA and Cruise lines, but I don't think either is losing money on me :D

Why on Earth would you be afraid of visiting St Petersburg , a city thousands of miles away from the Crimea?!

What Russia is preparing is to secure the safety of their most important Naval Assets: their Black Sea Naval fleet and the more than 1.5 million ethnic Russian citizens in the Crimea that feel threatened by the current civil unrest in the Ukraine.

 

The USA has invaded Afghanistan and Irak.

France has landed troups in Mali.

 

Do you avoid the USA or France for that reason?!

Generating fear could lead to price drops, otherwise I agree with you. We found some good prices on airfare and cruises right after 911.

As for the thread, we used TJ travel when we toured St Pete's, had a terrific time. I arranged all the Visa with the lady at TJ Travel and we each printed them out at home before we left. No problem at all.

If the package is available on ocean view or above then surely you are covered ?

 

You have been upgraded to a balcony but even if you hadn't you would have still qualified wouldn't you, I am confused

There's a half a page of small print that contains a line that it cannot be on a discounted rate. I guess that's a loophole that means that any rate that is even a penny lower than the rate you find on the Celebrity site is disqualified. So when you go to a TA website and look at the rates posted and it states the 123Go promotion is applicable, you're expected to compare the price to the 'official' Celebrity price at the time to make sure they match. I guess they're saying if you want the promotion book at their site, why pay the same price elsewhere. ;) I'll wait for the official reply to the appeal my TA made since the price he charged wasn't discounted for him, it was the price the company authorized him to charge and it sounds like Celebrity authorized that price but never said it was 'discounted' but after the fact said it was some kind of a special upgrade to an ocean view rate (which also didn't match the ocean view rates.) Yeah, I don't understand it all either, 7-10 days , can hardly wait :rolleyes:

Here is the link to the cabins on the "S" Class ships, which will indicate whether bed is near bath or balcony.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AtHczoNeooladEEyVmQwWmJhaGItbFZPUFNudTFZcEE

Unfortunately the chart isn't flawless as I just found out. Monday I told my wife I booked a room (6251) with the bed by the bath which she preferred, but although it's listed on the chart as 'bath', it actually should be by the balcony based on the every other room rule. Oh well, just another unpleasant surprise about this booking:(

The past 3 booking I've made were with Celebrity and a TA (1 direct and 2 with the TA) and both clearly stated what I was and was not entitled to. Good luck and hope things work out.

My booking summary after making the deposit payment to Celebrity includes this :

Selected Promotions

1. FREE GRATUITIES PLUS ONBOARD CREDIT (Oceanview & Above)
   Valid new bookings only. Receive pre-paid gratuities for 2, a value of up to $30 per day. Onboard credit is per stateroom based on double occupancy as follows: 3-5 nights: $100; 6-9 nights: $200; 10+ nights: $300. Plus, 3rd/4th guests sharing stateroom receive a classic non-alcoholic beverage package valued at $16.10 per day/per person and a 38 minute internet package, a value of $24.95 per person.
   

The room is:

Stateroom Details: Category 2C Deluxe Ocean View Stateroom with Veranda+ (Balcony)

I

To anothger poster: I never even inquired about the category upgrade due to my Select staus, but if they don't give me the promotions I will, but I read elswhere you can't upgrade from a 2C to higher using the Captain's Club benefit.

You're blaming Celebrity for this? Really?

 

IMHO, your TA screwed you by not knowing the very clear terms of the 1-2-3 promotion. Celebrity clearly spells it out in every single 1-2-3 advertisement I've seen:

 

 

 

If you're TA failed to read the clear terms of the 1-2-3 promotion, then the failed at their job. Your ire should be directed at your TA, not Celebrity.

Yes, really, are you 'really' surprised? There was nowhere it said this was a discounted price, Celebrity accepted my deposit, my airfare charges, my transfer charges, my credit card says 'Celebrity Cruises' as the payee, The TA is as surprised as I am. There was no 'special pricing code' on the quote to indicate I wouln't get the 123Go promotion. I'll await the appeal before I blast either Celebrity or the TA for what appears to me might be a bait and switch situation. The TA and Celebrity may even be 'in cahoots' :D

Hi. Started to consider Med/Adriatic Celebrity cruises for later this year.

I see that the latest 123 Go promotion ends in the three days. I could certainly use the "free" drinks package and OBC or Paid Gratuities. Wearing my cynical hat do I need to rush-in and take this offer or magically after the 28th February will the offer be withdrawn and the price fall by circa £400/500. I understand a similiar offer was available in the UK last year. Anyone recall what happened to prices on its expiry.

 

Cheers.

I thought I was getting the 123Go special when I booked a balcony for a 12day med cruise in august on Monday. The TA's site had the balcony prices and I took the cheapest balcony (2C on Silhouette), TA said it came with the special, paid my deposit and in the evening booked my airfare and transfer though Celebrity Choice Air. All charges (Air, transfer, deposit) are now on my Credit Card and yesterday my TA said Celebrity is now saying the Balcony I booked was actualy an upgraded Ocean view price, therefore with the 'special Ocenview upgrade' price I don't get the 123Go money ($288 in gratuities and $300 OBC) The TA is appealing and says I'll know in 7-10 days. There was nothing indicating any 'special' pricing when I booked it and it wasn't until after I also booked my airfare and transfers with Celebrity directly that they came back and told my TA that I don't qualify. Bait and switch anyone:rolleyes: I guess My Captian's club 'Select' status got me 'select'ed to get suckered. Celebrity might do the right thing and honor the price and promotions I agreed to pay for eventually, but it's just frustrating right now. Never had this happen in 30 cruises and used this TA for many of them. So hold your breath if you go for the 123Go special, it sounds like Celebrity looks for any loophole to get out of honoring it. In my case it was the price quoted for a balcony was actually a special upgraded ocen view even though that wasn't stated anywhere that a customer could see.

Of course a free bag of laundry during our upcoming 11 night cruise would be even better.:D

We have a 12 day booked, does anyone know what the 'discount price' for a bag of laundry is they say Select members get?