TMaine

I like the better bedding, location, balcony furniture, breakfast menu, canapés, and a few other things.  If you time your booking right, it will be close to the same price as a regular balcony room.

If each ship expected to be there is at capacity, it would be over 14,000!

Just curious if anyone has been to Santorini when a total of 7 ships are in? We have been twice, once was just our ship and once with two small ships.  It was really busy with one large and two small ships, I can't imagine what 7 is going to be like! 

3 hours ago, xxpinksaltxx said:

I would say average age is around 55 - 65, but also it depends on the itinerary. We took our first Celebrity cruise at 21 - transatlantic cruise from Southampton. The average age was about 70, many people asked "where are you from to be able to take this much time off work" or " you are definitely the youngest on here". On the other hand, we have taken a South Pacific cruise where the average age was around 50-60.

 

We are in our 30's now and Celebrity is the only cruise line we cruise with. We cruise for the excellent food, quality (non tacky) entertainment, great service and relaxation. Never has there been a time I have been bored, and I've happily attended colouring in classes, scrapbooking, late night shows etc.  

We were on a 14 night cruise back when we were in our 30's and one older gentleman was disgusted that we were able to have 2 weeks of vacation time. 

We tend to avoid cruising when the likelihood of more children will be on board since we did a 7 night Caribbean cruise during school break out of PR on Millennium years ago.  Average age was more like 40 on that trip. 

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

Just look on the app under 'Get more details on ships we support'... select your ship and see how far ahead they have loaded the cruises...

 

That will give you a clue as to how soon yours will get there.

 

Right now for example I can see that our Jan '23 cruise will be the next to load on Eclipse...

Thanks!  Looks like Reflection is only loaded through November so it will be awhile for us!

We have a cruise booked a year out and when I look at the =X= app, it tells me that the cruise has not been loaded into the app yet.  My reservation shows up but that is the message I get when I select it.   

Our March cruise was available on the app well over a year out.  It's not really a big deal but I like to look at the cruise information and dream about cruising!   Lol

We were on Equinox in March and smelled smoke on our balcony the first 2 days.  We walked down to guest relations and they immediately moved us to a different room and said they would investigate.  The room attendant moved all of our stuff for us so it was really not much of an inconvenience.  I understand moving someone to a different PH is unlikely where there are so few of those but I think speaking to someone in person may have helped.   Maybe not, but we felt taken care of and had a great cruise. 

Personally, the bedding alone is worth a few extra dollars for us.  We enjoy some of the canapés, not all good but fun surprise every day.  We have never used the Concierge for anything yet.

Our last 2 cruises (September 21 and March 22) we did not get tags and just waited until we got to the pier.  There are people who will tag your luggage with the real tags.  We saw a few of the paper printed tags laying on the ground that had fallen off where they load the bags onto the luggage carts.  Also saw some paper tags that had fallen off bags in the transfer bus.  Just a heads up. 

I am curious why people would like to see a policy that protects people and their vacation funds come to an end?   

I have been on 2 cruises since the restart and luckily, both were great with only 1 and 3 known cases respectively.  The only way we would have gone is with this policy, vaccination and testing requirements.  I guess we aren't the gaming types with our money. 

Ok, thanks! 

On 4/10/2022 at 11:57 PM, schittenden said:

Sorry for the delay. The “fastest internet at sea” appears to be about 9600 baud. The basic package won’t even load cruisecritic. I’ve borrowed my wife’s premium package, which is… less slow. 
 

We all have mixed feelings. I miss being able to slip out behind the curtain and sit on the balcony before others are up. On the flip side, the rooms are a bit narrow and that extra interior space makes them feel more spacious. The furniture (two small chairs and a small table) feel balcony-like. The window is a bit too small and the fixed glass piece is a bit too tall. I think if it was about 4” shorter, it would make it feel more like a balcony when it was open. I’m somewhat torn and not sure whether the pluses outweigh the minuses. We don’t spend enough time in the room for it to have a major effect on our vacation enjoyment anyhow. 

Ok, thank you for your response.   I think we are just going to have to try it out and see if it works for us.

On 4/13/2022 at 4:07 AM, Jplanetx said:

We booked a transfer to the port with royal but lied about the flight arriving in the morning. I told the advisor I was doing this and they said they just need the information to put it in there booking form so found a flight that arrives on Sunday morning.

 

Want to get the train #Teamchoochoo back (it will be the local one Farrera.) so following this for your shuttle updates @LIttlebritain

 

Someone in our cruise call recommended an app -GetTransfer.com for the best price between Venice and the cruise port. This is the only app that I have found out of rome2rio/hoppa/Uber/anything else on google! that was able to quote me a price for cruise port to Ravenna fs I’ve done mock booking on this and they quoted £40~ Waiting until I can see what disembarkation process is looking like for cruises prior to ours and of course if the free shuttle is on would just get this.

Is that app for booking private transfers to and from the port?

What are your observations and opinions about the infinite veranda? 

Its best to allow at least an hour for travel time plus the time to go through customs.  It gets pretty crazy in port, especially if other ships are in, and the airport is really busy.   You may want to book a ride like Rome in Limo to be waiting for you rather than hailing a cab when you get there. 

3 hours ago, Pushkin said:

That's what I was thinking as well. My trip isn't until July so, hopefully, others will post about their experiences with the shuttle in the next few months.  I cannot think of any reason to only offer this service only to people who fly in on the morning of the cruise.

Right, I know that the shuttles in Rome pick up at several hotels.

On 4/6/2022 at 9:27 AM, Pushkin said:

Do you know shuttle times from VCE to Ravenna port?  Also, did they say you had to be on a flight to get on the shuttle (vs just showing up at the airport for the shuttle)?  Thanks

I am following this thread.  We plan on staying in Venice for a couple of nights prior so would potentially be getting a cab back to the airport to pick up the shuttle to Ravenna. 

These are just general observations over the years but it seems people dress up more on Caribbean cruises.   Maybe slightly less so on European cruises but very much less on the Alaska cruise that we were on in September.  

Just now, terrydtx said:

That is for the mandatory maintenance and inspections and will not include the Revolutionizing changes. There will be some minor refreshment of the ship for the short time she is in drydock.

That's what I thought at first but there are room category changes listed as well as Retreat after that period. 

It appears that Constellation is scheduled for refurbishment in the spring of 2023.  

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

They moved you to another room instead of stopping the person from smoking on the balcony?  Strange.  Unless it left a smoke smell and you requested the move.  Did you get a better cabin?

They said that sometimes it is difficult to find out who was smoking and we were unable to tell where it was coming from.  We were on deck 8, starboard, midship.  The first two days were sea days and we were cruising at 19+ knots so they were quite sure it was not coming from the deck 5 smoking areas.  They moved us to deck 10 port, midship and yes, a better cabin.   The stateroom attendant helped move us so it was no trouble for us at all.  

1 hour ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

I actually do have another question? Go figure. How were things as far as supply’s or running out of during cruise? Things they were out of at the bars? Staff shortages which I’m expecting Yes. 
Just curious. We’re you disappointed in any way? We’ve been on a lot of a celebrity cruises and loved them all No issues…

Thank you!

If there were any shortages, either staff or supplies, they weren't evident to us.  We didn't hear of anything either. 

We were a little disappointed that we left Porr Everglades late due to a maintenance problem (apparently a broken pipe) so didn't sail until 3am so we got to St Croix late and our excursion was canceled. 

58 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

We are sailing on Equinox on January 2,  2023. I know a ways out but are very excited to have one booked. Wondering how soon can you book excursions for a cruise? we are less than 9 months out.  Just want to make sure we don’t book something then something better comes out. We’ve cruised a lot but just don’t remember how soon we can book excursions. 
Sorry to hear you had to move because someone was rude and careless. I would of had a problem with having to pack up and move so a smoker can break the rules. Probably hard to figure out where is was coming from.

Did you get any deals on specialty dining? How was martini bar? was casino generous?

Any other excursion recommendations? Not sure if we have the same intinerary.

Thanks for any info in advance!

 

 

 

I don't think you can book any excursions until after final payment but you may be able to review them before that. 

Guest relations was very accommodating and said they would try to figure out who it was but never heard if they had. 

They are usually running a deal for 30% off specialty dining the first night.  We did this for Tuscan.  They also have packages for multiple nights and your choice of restaurant but honestly not a huge savings especially if you choose Sushi on 5 as one of them.  We are glad we didn't do a package because the MDR was so good!  Much better than Millennium last September. 

We didn't visit the martini bar or the casino this time but the martini bar was well attended each night and everyone seemed to be having a great time! 

Hi All,

We just got off of Equinox yesterday and had a wonderful cruise!   One of the best yet!  The staff were mostly great, the food was very good in the MDR, Tuscan and Sushi on 5.  Embarkation and debarkation were smooth and very quick in terminal 25, in fact so quick that we didn't even have time to admire the new terminal.   The ship is beautiful and when in port next to other brands, it really stood out!  

I was told by staff that there were 1,500 pax on this cruise.  I think on day 9 or 10 the captain said there were 3 positive covid cases amongst passengers and that was all that I heard mentioned about it.   Most people choose not to wear masks but it seemed a few started wearing them after that announcement. 

The entertainment was mostly very good but like food, this opinion can be very subjective! 

Best excursion:  Calabaza catamaran in Barbados, absolutely great day and met some really nice people from the ship and folks who were on a land based vacation.   

We did have one issue and that was someone smoking on their balcony the first two days.  We went to guest relations and they moved us to another room.

Anyway, happy to answer any questions! 

2 hours ago, bnurick said:

Yes, Celebrity. Sea turtles all around. 

Was there a lot of people on your tour and other tours at Buck Island?   We have heard it can be crazy busy but would like to hear your thoughts.   We will be on the March 13th sailing.  Thanks!