long time lurker

In our experience traditional early dining is 5:30

The reply from Hcat is correct. I have done this in the past.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-critic-connections

 

It is probably too early to sign up for your cruise. I think it has to be within 100 days, but maybe someone else knows for sure.

Amazingly enough, I just registered for connections parties for our 2020 cruise, so I think they may be opening the registrations sooner now.

If you look to the right on this page, you will see a box that says “more about Celebrity Cruises”. There is a link there that is “register for a Meet n Mingle. It is the terminology for the Royal Caribbean get togethers, but I tried the link and it will take you to the Celebrity registration. You will need your Reservation ID (booking number) to register. Hope this helps!

This request would get a better response if posted on your roll call.

The “perks” do not always show on the cruise planner, however, you should be able to tell if the premium package just shows as an upgrade price at about $15.00/day. That is not always coded properly in the cruise planner, however. You should be able to see a code on the invoice that was emailed to you. Something along the lines of BEVINCGRAT. If you do not see this, you may want to call Celebrity to verify.

We were on the Reflection this past March. Yes, there is a bar in the Oceanview Cafe. I believe it is called Bacio II, or something similar. Wine, beer and mixed drinks are available. It is also where you can get the “fresh” orange juice (or mimosa if you prefer).

Have you checked your roll call? Others may be looking to share excursions or ideas.

If you are Diamond on Royal you will be Elite on Celebrity. Contact Celebrity’s Captains Club to obtain the reciprocal status.

Another option is: https://www.freetour.com/cartagena/free-tour-cartagena

 

While looking for the site I found that there are now other free walking tours, but this one, with Edgar, was the one we used. 2 hours. Very informative, did not include going into places/churches as they charged a fee. Well worth the "tip" they are looking for. We paid $8pp. If you do it, go back with the group, as we had a language problem getting a taxi back to the ship after we looked around at the shops at the end.

 

The problem with "street vendors" was almost non-existent. Apparently the locals know to lay off their tour group. Unfortunately their website was not the best. Make sure you confirm and email with them. After we took a cab to the Naval Academy meeting location, we found out that they had attempted to pick us up at the pier.

 

Good Luck!

Thanks for the suggestion, I will check it out!

Thank you for the reply! I have also seen good reports for Dora.

Hi Noreen,

I have been following your review, but just now chiming in. As my screen name suggests, I tend to lurk more than post. Thank you for the great words and photos. I am doing this same itinerary in 2020. I was particularly interested in the Cartagena port stop as that is a new one for us. Would you be able to share why Eileen was unhappy with the carriage tour. We do not often do ship excursions, but find if there is one that stays smaller like walking tours or small vehicles that those might be a good way to learn about the area and still allow time to explore on our own.

Definitely, a smart move and that is exactly what we do as well. We always get the early bird on SW when we cruise and you will get the same position in the A or maybe B group regardless of what time you or Celebrity checks you in.

Just of note, if you only have one piece of luggage to check for each of you and since you've already purchased the early bird boarding, only one of you will need to purchase the luggage valet. Just use your cell phone in the morning to check in the other person on your reservation and print out a boarding pass in the airport for that passenger. It will save you the $25 or $30 that they charge pp, so essentially, the early bird check in is already taken care of.

Also, check on this as it may have changed, but your luggage doesn't have to be under 50 lbs. This is the best feature (or at least it has been in the past) of luggage valet.

I wish that I had thought of only purchasing one for the luggage valet. I will remember for next time. Great tip!! We both travel with only one checked bag each. And we use the mobile pass on our phone so no need to print the second person’s pass.

Marvy Mare-

They do have Overdrive in the states. I use it too with my local library. It does keep you “on pace” for your reading as you always have a deadline to finish a book.

LTL

My photography skills (or equipment) do not match yours, but as you said you enjoy clouds I wanted to share my favorite from our March 2 cruise with you. The weather was beautiful, except for a downpour for about 20 minutes on the last sea day. My husband, a meteorologist, saw this cloud on the horizon and hustled us inside. I was able to get a good photo with my phone of the Carnival ship heading the other way.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I liked the reflection of the Reflection. For the 2020 cruise that we booked on this cruise we were originally given a room on floor 12. Dawned on me when we got home that it would be just under the public areas and I managed to change to a lower floor near the back of the ship. Already the rooms in the hump area for this cruise here booked for 2020. Travel agency?

Hi Marvy-

I am enjoying your review. I found you after your post to the roll call for the 2020 cruise. I feel we have some things in common as my favorite time on board is the morning while the ship is empty. Also, I had typed a reply to you and it somehow disappeared. Just a note on the “hump” cabin. We scored a hump concierge on deck 9 while on the March 2nd sailing. I have been using a similarly placed “hump” on deck 11, Starboard to check prices. It sits next to suites. You might want to take a look.

We just did this with our Reflection March cruise. We had SWA and Early Bird. I do not remember our exact boarding position, but it was decently in the A group. I think when Celebrity prints the boarding pass that the correct position has already been assigned by SWA.

More C&A points and depending on ship, access to Coastal Kitchen.

It appears the “you choose the room” option gives you better control over the balcony location, could be important if an ocean view or certain “neighborhood” is important to you.

LA= Loyalty Ambassador, the Crown and Anchor representative onboard.

Seems to be another example of Celebrity and Royal using similar programs, this has been on the Royal ships for a while. Just one more example of the brands becoming less distinctive. If it works on one, then let’s roll it out to the other.

They are called Alcoves and not available on all ships. They used to be under dining in the cruise planner, but seem to have disappeared in the latest web revision. I would suggest calling and speaking with the dining department.

If you are interested in culinary, check out Flavors of San Juan. It is a walking tour with stops at various places to try food and beverages. One of the best tours we have done.

I have not used What’sApp on board as we do not get the internet package, however I have used it internationally. You can text or talk whenever you have a wifi signal and I found it worked great. I do not see why it would not work on ship wifi.

Should an uber be set up when you dock, or when you are getting off the ship? Not sure how long it takes them to get there. Thank you!

We called for our Uber after we got through immigration. It took about 10 minutes as they had just instituted new security procedures to get through port security. The driver had to call and find out which ship we were getting off of. Not a bad wait and you do not know how long it will take to clear immigration.