happyboomer

There are 14 of us and we booked the Tuscan for the first night. The Lawn Club didn't come up with an option for a discounted first night dinner. Wish it would have we would have chosen that restaurant instead, the guys were wanting a good steak. Maybe they will offer a discount another night during the cruise. Thanks TeaBag!

Will the Lawn Club Grill be open or is it too cold to enjoy dining there in the evening? Not sure if it is enclosed at all or if they have heaters up there. 

5 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

You won't lose those.  I expect the charges will show up on your shipboard account since the crusle planner doesn't actually keep a credit card on file.  I'd hotfoot it over the cruise planner to make sure it's all there, though.

 

Just for future reference, a refare always involves losing whatever promotion you booked under originally.  You gain whatever promotion you are switching to.  

 

Nice score!

Thanks for the information, I assumed they would just charge my card, now I know! I did check the planner and they are there. My new invoice is showing the credit for our wifi, gratuities, and beverage package but not seeing it anywhere when I log in. I guess I have the invoice to prove we have it if it never shows up online. I confirmed several times with the agent we would still have them and he said yes everything would be the same but the OBC. Hoping my good luck is not to good to be true!

We are doing the Scandinavian cruise next May. Did they offer a laundry deal mid cruise on your cruise? I seem to remember when we did Italy they gave a bag you could stuff and have it all laundered for once price. Thanks

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

If I'm understanding correctly, you will lose a difference of $100 OBC but will gain a price drop of $400. Still worth it because you come out $300 ahead. 

I called last night and despite being on the phone for almost two hours (!!!) he found  an even better deal  for us. Since I am a Florida resident he found a Florida rate.  He priced my exact cabin with all included, as I originally purchased. Our original price was $8,720.84 and now it is $7,203.84, so it is $1,516.96. We did lose our $500.00 credit but still ahead by $1,000.00! Pays to sit on hold sometimes. I am hoping our excursions and dinner I reserved with our former credit are still there since we still want those. I am guessing they will charge my credit card on file now.

I booked directly through Celebrity Web site.

We are booked for a May 13th sailing on the Silhouette. When we booked we got a $400 shipboard credit with our promotion. Then they were offering $100 more SB credit on another promotion. I got them to up our SB credit so now we have $500. Today the price of our cabin category dropped. The cabin 2 doors down is now $408.06 cheaper than what we paid and they are offering $400 SB credit. If I request the price drop price will they take away my current SB credit? I don't want to be greedy but if I can get the lower price and still keep our $500 or if they gave the difference in more SB credit that would be great. I have never asked for a price reduction before. Advice please and thank you!

Thanks, great information. I'll send an email and go directly to the restaurant once we board to make sure everything is good.

Going on the Silhouette in May 2023 with 6 other couples. Each couple made reservations for the first night in Tuscan Grille but some had the choice of 8 PM and some 8:30 for the reservation. We would all like to dine together at the same time and at either one table or two tables next to each other to celebrate a few birthdays and a retirement. I remember somewhere that you could contact the restaurant manager via email to make special arrangements but I can't find that information when I do a search. Anyone have a suggestion how to accomplish this?

17 hours ago, JoelinSedona said:

Having gotten off Symphony a few days ago and being told by various staff members that they are understaffed....that's "how so".  And that's why many activities were eliminated or slashed. And when they did open up something for a short period, people would line up cheek to cheek.

Staff on the Jewel told us  they didn't have enough staff for the increased capacity. They worked so hard it's a miracle they maintained good spirits and excellent service. They said the work permits and clearances from other countries were very slow to process.

22 hours ago, RosieRoo said:

Sorry to hear some of your party got sick. Hope they are all on the mend. Jewel is one of our favorite ships. You mention there is no distancing in the dining room or Windjammer.  Did you feel there was better distancing in Chops?  Just wondering if it would be worthwhile for us to buy a specialty dining package and avoid the dining room altogether. 

21 hours ago, golf4me2010 said:

I’d be interested in the specialty dining also. 

Thank you they are all feeling fine, just a little tired and the first two days felt like they had a slight cold. Thankful for the vaccinations and boosters. We had a 7:30 reservation in Chops and our party was large, we were at two tables next to each other. There were a few other people eating at the same time and it seemed much less crowded. Seven of our party also ate at the Japanese restaurant (don't know what it was called) and they also said they felt it was spaced out more than the main dining room. 

We got off the Jewel on the 18th and I had pretty much the same feelings. We booked before Omicron when Covid seemed more in control. We knew we would be taking our chances once it started to spread but family from Denver, Minneapolis, and Florida cities were finally going to have Christmas together. I thought capacity would be lower but they raised it for our sailing.It seemed pretty full to us. Staff seemed very overworked. They were all very pleasant. Our family group of 18 people made the best of it, wearing our masks all the time, used stairs most of the time, washed constantly, and stayed out of crowded areas. The dining room had no distancing as far as we could tell. More than 4 people crowded into elevators with masks under their chins.

Despite all of our precautions we took, two of our group felt like they had colds the day we got off and went to get tested. They tested positive. This ruined the rest of our Christmas plans for when we got home. We could not celebrate with everyone. Six are at home isolating and the rest of us have testing appointments. 

Boarding was a breeze but getting off not so much. We stood in very long slow moving lines with most people wearing masks incorrectly or not at all.

Bimini was our first port and it was a disappointment. Nothing to do there but go to the beach and the water was not very warm. Most came back to the ship early after going to one beach to snorkel. We stayed on the ship and enjoyed the Solarium pool in peace. In Cozumel six of our group booked the catamaran snorkel trip and there was no catamaran. A smaller boat showed up and two of the group did not feel it was safe for the amount of people they put on the boat and stayed behind. They were supposed to go to three reefs but only made it to two right by the ship. Everyone was disappointed in that trip. A couple that went complained and got a little credit back. The others didn't know to do that, including the ones that didn't go at all, and wasted a lot of money. 

Our balcony room was clean and enough space. We requested ice but never got it and our poor guy seemed so busy we just got glasses of it and brought it to our room when we wanted some ice.

We bought the beverage package and felt it was overpriced. We have been on RCCL probably 4 or 5 times and this was probably our last with them. We have mostly been on Celebrity and Princess and prefer that almost everything is included in their base price. By the time we added the gratuities, beverage package, and internet fees we could have gone on a nicer Celebrity or Princess ship for the same price.

Food was okay, nothing spectacular. I liked they served us in Windjammer but it slowed things down. No distancing in seating up there. Ate in the dining room twice for breakfast and food was never really hot when we got it. Dinner in the Dining Room seemed rushed, took away my soup twice before I was finished and replaced it with my salad or entree. It was hard to get more than one glass of wine during dinner. They were extremely understaffed and everything seemed rushed. Chops was okay but not worth paying extra. My filet was overdone, the rib eye was a much smaller portion that we have seen on other ships we've been on. I wouldn't do that again. The bar ran out of Pina Colada mix and at time I was served prosecco instead of Chandon. Sounds picky but I don't like prosecco and know the difference. 

This was a major disappointment for me as I planned it and was a Christmas gift to our Children and Grandchildren and because of Covid we didn't get to spend the actual holiday together. Today we will exchange gifts with some of us outside and some of us inside wearing N95 masks as the two that tested positive finally feel better today. Live and learn, just grateful we were together and fun for five days. Having been vaccinated and boosted our sickies are recovering quickly and that is a blessing. 

29 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

just beat me to it

They are both fully vaccinated, got second shot last Sunday and will be past the two week requirement by the 18th.

I was looking at dining in my planner for 12/18 on the Jewel. I looked at the dining and noticed under Anytime that kids minimum age is 12. Is that true? Our group of 18 has 2 kid 7 and 11. Both are used to fine dining as their dad works for luxury brand hotels, he's been Executive Chef at several Ritz Carltons among others. They know how to behave in a nice restaurant and have good palates, doubt they would order from the kids menu, they eat everything and will try most everything. Would hate for them not to eat with the rest of us, we have 18 family going.

How do they work, can you use them for anything? I would like to help them pay the gratuities but it doesn't sound like you can use them for that purpose. The cruise is fully paid already. Can they use to purchase drinks or excursions?  Thanks   

If you are a US citizen what is the best way to book? 

21 minutes ago, bury me at sea said:

 

Apply your gift cards to your S&S account at Guest Services.  Easy as pie.

Sounds easy, thanks!

Going on the Magic in a couple of weeks and want to buy the wine package. I understand that you can only do this once you are on the ship. I have AARP gift cards that I would like to use to purchase the package. Does anyone know how I can use the cards to purchase the wine? Thank you.

That's actually a very smart question. Always good to know these things in advance rather than being surprised by a huge bill down the road.

 

So, when we are docked, one of us will turn on our phone and if we get 'AT&T', which is our service provider, showing up in the upper corner, we know we are good to go. If it shows 'Cellular at Sea', we shut it down immediately! We've been on several Pacific Coastal cruises and have never had an issue with immediately connecting to our service provider while in port with being on the ship. Just be sure to check to see what service you are connecting with when first turning on your phone in port. Even text messages that come through will cost you if you are connected with the ship's cell tower.

I'm glad I asked! Now I know what to look for when we dock. I'd hate to end up with a huge bill. Thanks everyone.

Going on a Pacific Coastal cruise and I'm wondering if I can use my cell phone (Verizion is the carrier) on the ship while docked in port (U.S. ports) or do I have to get off the ship to call, text, or use Google or Facebook?

Our first cruise was on Carnival then we tried Norwegian, Costa, Royal, Princess, HAL, Celebrity, and Uniworld River Cruises. Only line we wouldn't go on again is Costa. We are Platinum on Carnival because of a lot of short cruises mixed in with some longer ones back in the day the day they counted cruises, not days. In those days we didn't have much money and young kids. As we got a little more mature we drifted back to Carnival only when we went with a lot of family members who had kids ranging from kids club age, teenagers, and young adults. It was affordable for everyone and a great way to spend either Christmas or New Year's. The kids all loved it and the rest of us enjoyed everything as well. As we got older and could manage eating in the steak house on Carnival we did a couple of times on each cruise and to tell the truth we all agreed it was a wonderful meal for the small extra charge. Enjoyed our evening meals because the kids enjoyed the servers so much. One time we had a high school age group of 8 boys with us for a graduation cruise and I swear Carnival lost money on that one. Those boys ate more food than I thought humanly possible but we all had a blast Just don't expect elegance or a lot of quiet time. Lots of action. Get the best balcony cabin you can if you want quiet and give it a try. It's wasn't terrible, just different. Our large family with my siblings and now their kids and grands will probably go during the holidays next year because it will fit everyones budget. Have fun whatever you do.

By chance were you in there when I was getting my hair blown out? The stylist made me bend my head back like I was in the shampoo bowl because she was so short. I'm not Gumby damnit! I finally had to speak up and tell her either do it from the side or the front or I will finish it myself. My neck had a kink for two days. I also was sold a conditioner treatment not realizing it was an extra $34.00 for conditioner. Wash, conditioner and blow dry for $120. CRAZY!

 

To be fair....my DH had his haircut by the same stylist and was very happy.

I was not in there then, but I guess we both learned a lesson. There was only one other person in there getting her hair blown out and a male stylist was doing her hair. My stylist told me she was giving me the "port" pricing for the extra color treatment she said I needed. So it could have been worse. Still can't believe they charge to wash your hair after they color it. I have had my hair cut on HAL, Princess, and even once on Carnival. They all seemed well trained in their profession and I got really great cuts. I am not a very fussy person, I have very thick hair and it grows quickly so taking a chance on a cut is one thing but blowing a fortune for what I got this time was disappointing. Won't visit a Celebrity Salon again. One of our friends also went to the salon and got a cut and she was happy with it and her hair looked great. Buyer beware!

There's a reason I get my hair done BEFORE a cuise, not DURING.

 

Just the thought of an unknown hairdresser doing a chemical treatment on my hair - :eek:

Be glad nothing worse happened.

I have had it done before on different ships and have always had good luck with their stylists. This was a first time I've had a bad experience.

Just off the Equinox and had $240 worth of credit to use so I went to the Equinox Hair Salon to get full foil highlights on my short hair. Highlights were $155.00, stylist charged $65 for color she said I needed to add, and then charged me $65.00 to wash and style my hair. Really, was I supposed to go back to my cabin and wash the chemicals out of my hair myself? My salon at home includes washing my hair and blowing it dry when they do highlights. With the gratuity I ended up paying $83.00 out of pocket and used all of my credit for these highlights. Went to dinner and our table noticed my hair, said how nice the haircut looked. I didn't get it cut. Nobody could tell I had highlights done. Stylist said they would lighten up. It's been a week and still looks the same color as when I walked into that salon. The Stylist was nice and said she was experienced but apparently color blind! Total waste of an afternoon and money.

Just booked a cruise on the Equinox. Booked a balcony cabin for two. I checked Celebrity deals and then through a group for seniors that I have a membership in. The travel department of the association for seniors was the best deal by far. Celebrity was having a sale. Price of the same cabin was the same through both X and the association. $300 OBC and free drinks was offered from Celebrity. I ended up getting the same cabin with $300 OBC and drinks plus an additional $275 OBC from the senior association. So for this cruise they beat X by $275.00 in OBC.