Deenie33

June 2022 will be our first land tour before our actual cruise and I totally don't know what to expect.  I have read the itinerary description of the land tours and it sounds like we will be spending a lot of time on a deluxe  of motor coach with great viewing opportunities and dragging our luggage around the interior of Alaska from one hotel to another for 7 days.   Will we be on the motor coach more than we will be off of it?  Has anyone  traveled like this bf?  What is the balance of  sitting and riding vs walking and exploring?  Any tips or insights are appreciated.  TIA

I am exploring the possibility of a River Cruise and would love to know what a 24 hour period looks like.  I may have some misconceptions. For instance, I have been told that the majority of actual travel  time on the ship is is done at night which eliminates the chance to see the shore and its sights.  Plus, You are  docked during the day for excursions so that it really isn't worth paying extra for a balcony unless you like sitting out there in the dark essentially. 

If anyone can briefly account what a day/night is like, I would appreciate it.

Wow! Thanks. We will be on 8 in June. Purposely  did not get the infinite veranda. Have to have that open space!

12 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

When booking a cruise on board they will automatically assign the reservation to the TA you used to book that current cruise unless you sign a waiver telling them NOT to do it. Signing that waiver allows you 60 days to shop the reservation around before transferring it to the agent with the best offer.

 

That is good to know!  Thank you!

12 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

It can be used with a TA, however there are serious limitations that make it almost impossible to use since it can't be combined with many promotions. We had one for 5 years and each time we tried to use it we were unable to apply it. They wouldn't even apply the cash value we paid for the Open Passage without additional benefit. After 5 years of trying my TA finally got X to refund the amount we paid to the credit card we'd used to purchase it. You can try, but I'd love to hear back about your experiences. We learned that if we want to book onboard never to book Open Passage, but instead to book a far out refundable cruise place holder cruise, or not to book onboard at all.

     We put $200  down for the same thing and have never been able to use it.  It negates all the other prom's that are being offered.    I was so mad we were at the Future Cruise desk when we found this out.... I think I will hunt up my certificates and try to reclaim the cash value.  Not counting on it though.  We love booking our next cruise on board the current cruise, but there are some inherent problems and you have to be tenacious in working them out once you get home....and some changes can be time limited so be ware and ask lots of questions.  The last cruise we went on we had booked on board and we ended up changing our destination.  That part went ok.  We didn't loose any of the nice promos, but we had trouble changing the travel company that we wanted to use for even more benefits.   It all worked out in the end, but was a  BIG hassle and took months to resolve.

We will be on board the Equinox over the July 4th holiday cruising the Caribbean.   I realize that not everyone  celebrates that day so I am curious to know if the cruise line will acknowledge it and what they typically do.  We will have our 3 grandchildren with us....would love for there to be some sort of celebration.  Does anyone know?

Other cruise lines already offer this feature at no cost or  very, very minimal cost.....I can't imagine that it would not be included in CCL's refurbishing ..... especially with the demand for staying in touch these days.  Fingers crossed that it will be fleet wide.

That is wonderful..We pretty much cruise w/ Celebrity as much as possible.  It seem to consistently  get very good feedback among cruisers more so than the others. Easy to see why.  Love RCL and Disney, too.  Unfortunately, Disney seems to have out priced itself for our budget.  Really wanted to take the Grands on a Disney cruise since we all love Disney.  But the bottom line blew me away.  I guess we will just stick with going to Disney World when we need a fix.

2 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

It is possible that EQ will get the option during her "revolution" drydock which is scheduled to end on June 1.  I would check back after that time to find out if the texting is working.

 

Steve

I am just learning that the Equinox is getting a face lift.....I love the Equinox!  Have  been on it twice and have had NO complaints about anything (well, maybe just the lack of ability to txt....lol).  Can't wait to see the changes this June.  I bet  that txting (with the app) will be a new addition to their fabulous service and attention to detail.  Yeah!

5 minutes ago, itzfitz said:

Just got off the Edge.  The Celebrity app does support texting without paying for connection to internet.  It worked great! 

itzfitz.....thank you for the information!   That is such great news.  We will be on the Edge, June of  2020, with 2 other couples that we routinely cruise with.   It will make the trip run so much smoother when we can communicate with each other without having to run all over the ship to find each other. Even the best laid plans of mice and men can change due to unplanned circumstances.   I have the app but will explore what I need to do to update .  That takes care of June 2020....Now I will keep my fingers crossed for this June on the Equinox for our family cruise.

Equinox in June 2019  and Edge in June 2020

On 6/20/2018 at 11:47 AM, geneology said:

I am so glad for this thread, as I wanted to learn more about the SV.

We Love, Love, Love the SV's and book them whenever we can. The VIEW can't be beat! You do run the risk of additional soot from the smoke stacks, but we had a crew member coming by every other day to clean our furniture and deck floor.

From what I understand about the Infinite Verandas  on the Edge, is that, When you open up the top window on the "balcony" portion, the environmental control (heat and AC) turn off in your room to conserve resources.  In extreme weather that could make your cabin uncomfortable until the temps  are restored.  Has anyone else heard that?  We are booked on the Edge in June of 2020  SV.  Can not wait.

About a year ago a Celebrity Rep. told me that were working on allowing passengers to txt each other (w/o purchasing the internet package) during their cruise to help make plans and to find each other.  Does anyone know what the status of that is?  My next cruise is with 9 of us....it would be nice to be able to make plans without running all over the ship.

You're on the wrong cruise, Deenie33! We'll miss you.

Apparently so.......:o We are pretty much married to Celebrity and RCI as we have had such positive experiences on all of our cruises....not one complaint, ever! Also....my well seasoned cruising friend has told me how important gaining cruise points are with the cruise line. So we hope that by the time we are ready to cruise it up we will gain some perks....who knows!

I'd like to update my previous reply. I called Carnival's Tech line and asked if you got "Chat" as a basic service when you use Carnival HUB or if you have to get one of their plans to use Chat. I was informed that the first time you use it, your account is charged $5.00 and that covers the entire cruise. It is not $5.00 per day as other services cost. I repeat - for a total of $5 which is automatically charged to your account, you have Chat with other passengers on board ship.:halo:

Now if Celebrity would only follow their lead in time for my November cruise!:D

Celebrity are no longer the cruise line it was. It has joined an increasingly long line of companies who’s only motivation is profit. . The cabin stewards used to have cabin assistants, they have gone. When we started to cruise with X a long time ago there were more activities and more staff on the ships. Prices have increased and value for British cruises compared to those in America is mile apart. We too have discovered the con with Drinks packages. We have upgraded drinks packages in the past when they were value for money. When you now book a cruise with the classic package included and try to upgrade it is no longer value for due to the recent increase.

 

 

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For us, we only get the drink package if it is included as a perk.....We have no problem staying with the classic package for a week to 12 day. We find that the classic and the premium packages are too costly (plus the 18% grat) for the amount we drink. We are not light weights, but we are also not all day drinkers of alcohol, soda and juice.....I do like the package for the coffee, however not enough to spend that kind of money.

We designate a time and meeting place in advance of an activity.

Lenny....we do that also, of course....but every once in a while something comes up - real life steps in during my fantasy cruise - and plans need to be altered. Personally, I think it is just an enhancement and would add to the flow of being on vacation.

One way is to use an internet based texting app such as WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, Google hangouts/voice, etc. This would require everyone to have an internet package though.

Ship wifi isnt really that expensive if you pre-purchase.

"10 to 13 days costs $269 pre-purchased or $299 onboard"(from Celebrity web site) I consider that expensive.......especially since other cruise lines are now allowing ppl to stay in touch via txt for $5 per cruise....... or some other nominal fee. I'm not interested in an internet package for the entire cruise.....I simply want to make plans with my shipmates - again - without having to run all over the ship or back to my cabin to find (or not find) a note pinned to my door. I sure hope they continue to work on that aspect of cruising especially when you are with a group.

Quote: Did Firechat work?

 

I posted this question about a year ago......I am surprised to see it resurface!

 

I never did find a suitable way to communicate with our group on board the ship. But I do believe that I remember that some of the cruise lines that I contacted said that they were working on it. I am not the only one who wants to make, keep or change plans without running all over the ship to find our friends or go back and forth to our room for messages). Ireally wish the cruise lines would come up with some mechanism without charging a fortune.

WOW - I resent a query to Celebrity last week concerning my request for a way for shipmates to communicate with each other......And I received a real, live phone call from Celebrity customer service person . . . .Unfortunately, he had to leave me a message as I was not available. But the message was detailed and positive. Apparently they are responding to the many ppl who have made the same request that I did a year ago and they are working on it. There are a few ships that have some mechanism in play . . . .but not the Reflection at this time. But he did reassure me that it was in the works. If I understood him correctly they are working on an app for all the activities and a way to communicate for ship mates. WAhoo!

Quote: Did Firechat work?

I posted this question about a year ago......I am surprised to see it resurface!

I never did find a suitable way to communicate with our group on board the ship. But I do believe that I remember that some of the cruise lines that I contacted said that they were working on it. I am not the only one who wants to make, keep or change plans without running all over the ship to find our friends or go back and forth to our room for messages). Ireally wish the cruise lines would come up with some mechanism without charging a fortune.

And what major catastrophy would it be if you missed one meeting up? :D

OH MY GOODNESS - OH MY GOODNESS! it would be earth shaking. Have you not meet my friends????? They are so much fun to be with and I might miss a opportunity to laugh til I cry. And in this day and age....it's paramount to do as much laughing and enjoyable things as you can.

Thanks everyone.....yes, some of the cruise lines have something in place for a nominal fee (or free). Celebrity is not one of them.

cb at sea....yes....making advanced plans is always the ticket....however you know what they say about the best laid plans. We have managed all these years w/o extra communication but there are extenuating circumstance from time to time and the extra communication would be a bonus. Basic planning communication is not the problem......change in plans and the flexibility to be able to do so without running all over the ship to track everyone down would just be nice. Especially when our group has grown from 4 to 6 to now 8 of us.....

It depends on the cruise line. You can do it on Princess free of charge but there is no notification feature.

 

 

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LOL....I don't know what a notification feature is but I will take your word for it. Isent an email to Celebrity to both inquire and plead a case for allowing shipmate to stay intouch

I asked this question on another board but I am not getting any replies - I am trying again......I am trying to figure out if there is any mechanism in place for on board guests to be able to communicate with each other while at difference locations on board at sea. If I want to let my husband or friend know that I will meet them for lunch in the cafe at noon - I am at the pool and they are on the promenade shopping . . . how can I contact them?..... How can I simply find out "hey, where are you?" How do other people handle this? Let me be very concrete about this question...... I am looking for a way that does not cost an arm and a leg to communicate. If I understand correctly, I can use my phone to txt or whatsapp but charges will incur by using the ships wifi. Silly question but are there portable intercoms that ppl use ? I just down loaded the Firechat app to see if it works....I'll let you know

We have booked 2 cruises now while on board our current cruise......Then I go home and look up the prices and the promos offered at different sites like cruise.com - crucon.com etc What I find is that we really did get a good deal and nice promos. I mostly use cruise.com b/c they tend to throw in additional OBC which is always nice. When all is said and done I feel like we are getting a decent deal. But I always crunch the numbers and do my homework. What's nice about the booking while on board is that you can always back out of it. At least that's what happened so far.