ISLANDFAN

Go into your Cruise Planner on your My Cruises page. You will be able to click on "dining" and see the prices there.

I guess because our cruise sailing date is more than a year away, on our cruise planner the prices are not shown. Perhaps someone can provide me a the current pricing.

Thanks

Are the ferries from Crown Bay to Water Island running? Would like to spend sometime at Honeymoon Beach during our cruise stop in St. Thomas.

Looking for the specialty restaurant pricing for our upcoming HOTS cruise.

Thanks,

Islandfan

How is the condition of the Water Island Beach? Arriving in Crown Bay and would like to spend a little time there.

X has two deposits now, and added a non-refundable one that offers you a lower cruise price for locking it in. It's a discount for using a non-refundable deposit. A lot of people would book 2 or 3 cruises at the same time and just back out of the extra ones before final payment, forcing the unsold cabins to be put back on the market.

 

If your TA did not explain that to you, run, don't walk, to get a new TA. You don't know what else they don't know.

Reminds me of the old game of "I'll reserve dinner at 3 restaurants on Monday and decide which one to go to on Saturday.

This attitude has now caught up to those folks who played the shell game with the cruise lines! Of course the cruise lines are going to make changes to their deposit policy to correct this behavior. Especially when projections are for the industry to excel in the next few years!

And I think $3,000 is expensive for two for a 7 night Caribbean cruise, even in AQU. So it depends on what people consider a good or bad value.

 

 

 

 

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When you factor in the gratuities, classic drink package and $300 on board credit at a cost of $735pp, I find the fare to be very reasonable for 7 day cruise! Granted My 18 day Tahitian Treasures cruise is not near the value, however we are happy to pay the fare to experience the south pacific. Remember something is worth what someone is willing to pay. If the prices are to high for the marketplace, Celebrity will adjust accordingly.

Islandfan

I guess I'll weigh in here. I have been cruising since 1990 and I also have given thought to the value of a Celebrity Cruise. We are booked on The Silhouette 7 day Eastern Caribbean in February, and The Solstice 18 night Tahitian Treasures Cruise in October. So I looked back to my first cruise on board The Norwegian Seaward 7 day Western Caribbean which was a year old at the time of my cruise in 1990. Around 40,000 tons The Seaward was a beautiful ship in it's day. No balcony staterooms, we enjoyed a ocean view stateroom with a large window. The cost of this cruise was around $800 plus gratuities, and drinks, which was considered a very good price at the time. So let's briefly compare that cruise with our upcoming Silhouette Cruise in February.

As you can imagine, the amenities, food options, activities, and size of the ship has increased greatly over the past 27 years. As we have cruised Silhouette before, we are aware of all this ship has to offer. We are booked in an Aqua Class Balcony stateroom with gratuities, classic drink package, and $300 on board credit! Our cost for this cruise is a little over $1500 pp including port charges.

So we get all the above mentioned features, including Blu, balcony, drinks, gratuities, and on board credit, on a far superior ship! Looking at value per money spent, $950 in 1990 dollars equates to $1779 in 2017. If we had chosen , we could have booked an ocean view stateroom with the drinks, gratuities, and on board credit on The Silhouette for about $850, a true bargain versus my 1990 sailing. Because of ship size, (ie. more passengers) plus efficiencies developed over the years, I believe Celebrity and most mainline Cruise Companies offer a tremendous vacation value. Change is constant in the Cruise Industry, if not, we would all be staring out of portholes in our cabins on 40,000 ton ships!

Islandfan

We book a lot of cruises (sometimes more then 100 days a year) on many cruise lines including Celebrity. When we talk about booking strategies we have always suggested that its not a one size fits all thing. How one books can have a major impact on cost....cabin selection....or even getting on a specific cruise. But we do have a few basic rules...that have served us well. We never book a cruise directly with a cruise line and leave that booking with the cruise line for more then a few weeks. The reality is that you can always save money (usually 7-10%) by booking with a decent reputable cruise agency....or by moving a booking to a cruise agency.

 

We have infrequently booked aboard a cruise....but only for cruises that we thought were near selling out, if there was a good promotion at the time, or if we wanted a specific cabin (such as a hump cabin) which was available. When we do this our norm is to not immediately transfer the booking to an agency..but leave it with the cruise line until we get home. We will then contact 2 or 3 of our favorite cruise agencies, tell them we have a booking (and fax them the details) and ask them what they will offer if we transfer the booking. We then transfer to whoever gives us the best deal. Recently (late August) we did one of these onboard bookings (on a HAL cruise) which involved an expensive cruise (about a $12,000 booking) on a small ship (likely to sell out) during a HAL onboard promotion ($200 per person OBC). When we got home we shopped the booking around...and were offered another $1050 of OBC from our favorite agency...and quickly authorized the transfer. For us, it was a win-win because we got the cruise we wanted, got a nice OBC from the cruise line (only available by booking onboard) and also got a hefty OBC from our cruise agency.

 

But on other lines we use different strategies. For example, on Princess it makes sense to do an Open On Board Booking (where you do not even specify the cruise) which gets you a future reduced deposit plus an onboard credit...for simply doing this undefined booking. The only downside is that you do have to make a small deposit (onboard)...but you do get that applied to your future cruise (or refunded if you never book a cruise). But this type strategy might (or might not) work on Celebrity because of the Celebrity rule of generally not allowing the "stacking" of credits. This means that an OBC you might get from Celebrity....will later reduce other OBCs (one needs to ask about this at the time).

 

Hank

Thanks for a very informative post! Will use your strategies in the future!

Islandfan

It might not have been such a boneheaded move if the cabin Class weren't named AQUA!!!

 

 

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Now that's funny!

Aqua class gets the same amenities as Concierge class minus the boarding day lunch in the MDR. Aqua class adds certain amenities in addition to what is offered by CC.

 

Do you have a specific question about amenities? I think your question gets confusing when you said "concierge" as that is either a class of cabins or a person who provides a service.

Do Aqua Class Guests have access to a MDR Lunch on boarding day?

Islandfan

We really appreciate all the answers. Has anyone stayed at the Sonesta Fort Lauderdale hotel? It looks really good. How about the Hilton Fort Lauderdale? Our heads are spinning looking at all the choices.

My wife along with family members are booked at the Hilton Marina before our upcoming February Silhouette sailing. We stayed at this hotel last year and found it to be quite satisfactory. Rooms are updated, and the pool area is very nice! Within walking distance to numerous restaurants and Walgreen's is a block or two away. Situated along the inter coastal, Beautiful yachts are lined along the waterway.

Give us a shout via this thread what hotel you booked! Inquiring minds would like to know!

Islandfan

All of the major hotel chains have numerous properties in the Fort Lauderdale area. My wife and I cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale every February and have found the area by the 17th St. Causeway perfect for our pre-cruise stay. Close to the airport and next to Port Everglades, this area boasts a great variety of restaurants, shopping, drug stores, etc. A quick cab ride over the causeway and your at beautiful Ft. Lauderdale beach. Hotel chains include, Hilton, Embassy Suites, Renaissance, Holiday Inn Express, Four Points by Sheraton, and many more. Make sure to make your room reservation early as these like most hotels in the area fill quickly during peak season.

Islandfan

Thanks everyone for the information on Classic versus Premium, Celebrity does offer a list of the packages on their web site detailing what liquors are available. My question is how did Rotary Mike know that I drink Makers Mark which is now on the Premium list, and is the basis for my original post! Inquiring minds want to know! ;)

How do I upgrade my Classic Drink Package to Premium?

When is the Crab Shack offered on the Regal Princess 7 day Caribbean itinerary?

Thank you Danish Viking for you imput! My wife aka "The Copenhagen Tour Director" will find your maps and information very helpful as she firms up our plans.

Thanks again for your help!

Islandfan

Danish Viking,

My group of 4 will be cruising on The Royal Princess June 25th sailing. We are arriving in CPH at 7:15am on Monday the 23rd. We will be staying at the Rennasiance in Malmo as we are fortunate enough to enjoy free rooms (loyalty points) Listed below is a itineary that we have put together for our two days in CPH. We are looking for a relaxing time in CPH and are not concerned with visiting every site your beautiful city has to offer. However based on the itinerary below, would you suggest a few additions that we should visit.

Monday - Arrive 7:15 am Take train to Central Station in Copenhagen, put luggage in lockers for the day and head out. What we thought we might do:

Take bus to Nyhaven. Walk around, get a snack, take the canal boat tour (1 hour)

Walk or bus to Little Mermaid Statue and Gefion Fountain. Back to Amalienborg Palace for changing of the guard at noon. Lunch in Nyhaven.

Not sure what to do next (if anything). Carlsburg Brewery Palace, a quick trip into Tivoli Gardens to check it out, the Zoo?? What do you think?

Back to Central Station, pick up the luggage and take the train to Malmo. Stay in Malmo for dinner.

Tuesday -

Train to Central Station

Bus to Church of Our Lady

Round Tower

Torvehallerne KBH (open air market and delis) Pick up stuff for casual lunch and head to Botanisk Have Park to eat.

Rosenborg Slot ( the one palace we'll tour)

Tivoli Gardens for afternoon and dinner

We plan to purchase the Copenhagen Card. Although our savings won't be much, we feel it's just easier to have the card at our disposal. Thank you in advance for your opinions and assistance. We didn't birth this, so we will not be offended if you offer some constructive criticism.

The Marriott Black Credit Card is a chip and signature Visa.The Marriott card does not charge Foreign Exchange Fees. I called Chase and they explained that you can use in automated machines at railway stations, etc. by using the default pin 0000.

The operator also explained that we should be able to use our card elsewhere with a signature. Since we will be taking a little cash with us for incidentals, I do not have any concerns with this card.

TXDisneyCruiser,

I now see that you are booked on the same cruise. Sorry, didn't notice you were on the meet and mingle prior to answering your post.

Islandfan

Islandfan,

Where are you staying in Malmo? We just got reservations at the Marriott the day before the cruise, and for 3 days after the cruise. I am trying to figure out how to get to the cruise port from Malmo.

 

Thanks,

Terri

We are headed to CPH two days prior to our cruise. I travel for business and have accumulated enough Marriott certificates for two rooms for two nights at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel near Lilla Torg in Malmo. Trip Advisor rates this hotel as one of the best in Sweden. The Marriott in CPH was not available for the dates we needed.

Our plans are to take the direct train from the airport to Malmo, drop off our luggage and check in if we can. Then it's back across the straight to CPH. Plan to spend the bulk of our two days in CPH. However what I have read about Malmo, I am sure we will enjoy our evenings there.

To answer your original question, we have Princess transfers from the airport as we want to make it easy for our trip back home. So we are going to take the direct train from Malmo back to the airport on the day we embark on the Royal Princess and take the Princess transfer to the ship. You can take the train from Malmo to central station in CPH, then one to Nyhven. From there it should be a easy taxi ride or walk to the ship and vice versa.

I will say that on the Europe - Northern Europe & Baltics forum, you can access a wonderful post from Danish viking titled Wonderful Copenhagen. She is an incredible resource for your visit. My wife is in charge of planing that portion of the cruise and has gleaned valuable information from her.

Happy travels!

Islandfan

I noticed a nitrogen tap usually associated with Guinness Stout, however the tap handle did not resemble a typical Guinness Stout handle. Does anyone know what brand of Stout Princess is serving? I am a big stout fan and would like to know.

Thanks

This is a call out to all those Baltic Cruise Veteran's. Considering all the ports/countries that we will be visiting on our Baltic Cruise this June, what currency/currencies should we consider taking along with us?

We will be arriving two days before our Copenhagen departure on the Royal Princess, and have decided to stay in Malmo Sweden which is located across the strait from CPH.

We will be packing chip and signature credit cards, however we like to have a few rubles or euros or krona's in order to pay for the small incidentals. What do you previous Baltic Cruisers think should work for us? Any ideas or suggestions relating to our trip are appreciated.

Islandfan

when we get our final papers from Princess won't they have all the specific port info on them? including closest Metro stop, etc. I certainly hope so!

I went on "My Princess" log in for our cruise and this is what I found under itinerary.

Copenhagen, Denmark

View general port information

Oceankaj (ocean Quay)

100 Osterbro

Pier No: 330- 334

Copenhagen, Denmark

Check In 1:00pm-5:00pm

I believe Royal Princess will utilize this pier for the season.

Islandfan

Is wifi available in our stateroom onboard the Adventure of the Seas? Or in lieu of room wifi, can we hook up our lap top to a line at the computer center?

We are booked on the February 8th sailing which is prior to the ships upgrade in March.

Thank you for providing us with the port information. It will be a real help.

We have a chip and signature credit card with no foreign transaction fees, so I called the card company and this is what the operator told me.

Chip and pin cards are used all over Europe as we know. In the USA credit card companies have yet to roll out with a chip and pin card. A chip and signature card will be accepted with no problem in stores, hotels, etc. as you will be asked to sign a receipt. However automated machines cause a problem as you are required to enter a pin number. The credit card representative provided me with a default pin number that can be used in this situation. The pin number can only be used for purchases from a automated machine. She indicated that there has been no problems with this type of transaction in Europe.

If you have encountered problems with at pin and signature card in Europe, please drop us a post.

Thanks again,

Islandfan