letsgogogo

On 6/16/2023 at 12:21 PM, micruiser2002 said:

I think another issue here is staying in an AIRBNB, if you were in a hotel you would not be locked into being close by.  The airline should be able to deliver the luggage at the hotel without you needing to be there.  Also when checking bags you should still do a carryon with at least a few days change of clothes.

That makes total sense, but in this case, United hadn’t even attempted to see whether they could deliver. And they couldn’t provide an update on the whereabouts of the bags even though they were sitting in Brussels airport. 

I have read much discussion over time regarding the pros and cons of checking bags on the flights heading to cruise ports.

we flew from the USA to London for a pre-trip in advance of a sailing out of Rotterdam this Sunday. I have been worried about lost bags so I insisted DH and I pack only with carryons. Glad I did. Another couple traveling with us has a missing checked bag. (They were to meet us in Belgium after flying into Amsterdam.) Their Amsterdam flight was canceled due to a mechanical issue, and they were rerouted to Washington DC for a connection and onto Brussels. Main luggage did not make it. Now, instead of our plans to explore a different city by train each day prior to our cruise, we are grounded in Ghent, awaiting delivery of a bag with no info on if or when it will come. They can’t leave Ghent to explore anywhere else in case they get a call to arrange a drop off at our Airbnb. And if it doesn’t arrive by Saturday, then Saturday is to be spent buying luggage and new clothes for a cruise. Yesterday required clothes shopping, fine if that’s your thing. But it also required cancelling guided tours we had arranged in these other cities, plus not knowing if/when we can rebook any. 

I always thought, well if you fly in a few days before, no big deal as you have a buffer. But I wasn’t considering, even with a buffer, a lost bag interrupts every other part of your trip with a domino effect. It’s not about the money. The airline is being cooperative, etc. But a huge hassle and the loss of other plans on the itinerary while staying put to take delivery, IF it shows up in time.

It's true that lost or delayed luggage is not the norm. But do you really want to have YOUR trip go like this?

For our carryons we fit clothes for about 6 days. For the price of laundry service on the Apex, we were able to eliminate bag check fees and ensure we can move about without any headaches. When the trip is over, our memories will not be “Oh I wish I hadn’t worn the outfit twice.”  None of us are interesting or important  enough for others to take notice of our limited wardrobe, and we won’t likely see these people ever again. Lean into the casual side of evening chic. Pack neutral basics that pair with everything else. 2 pair of shoes tops including what you wear on the plane. Another trick…if anyone in your party uses a cpap or travels with  other medical supplies, put it in a 3rd carryon and slap a red “medical” luggage tag on it (Amazon) now you have another bag to supplement. I carry my cpap in a bag larger than necessary. Not had any trouble with the conspicuous medical tag. I keep the tag right out visible to gate agents. 

On 5/5/2023 at 6:30 AM, janetz said:

No corkage if you open in your room

Some people say it is to bottles per cabin, some two bottles per person 😂

It is definitely 2 per person. It used to be 2 per cabin but celebrity changed this when cruising reopened post pandemic. Those saying 2 per cabin do not realize the policy changed. 

what's the secret for figuring this out?

Bad? Where did you get the idea that they are bad. I was on summit last October for 12 nights. Slept wonderfully. Extremely comfortable and I’m picky. I like a firm supportive mattress with a light pillowy top. 

34 minutes ago, hobgoblin said:

How can you access the ships cabin bookings to see availability?

Travel agents can you see everything clearly. But a good gauge is simply go on the celebrity site to book your own cruise like you hadn’t before. Look at the availability in various categories. Technically availability would be broader than what you see since travel agents may have reserved blocks that are still unsold. but you can get a general idea. 

We are arrive Heathrow terminal 2 and are staying at the Hilton/Curio St.James on Trafalgar Square. (On the southwest edge of the square.)

I have been using Google maps and the tube route planner to find the best way. We will have a fair amount of rolling luggage and totes that can ride atop them. I want to be sure we don’t set ourselves up to not have a lift or an escalator, or be dragging luggage through the streets. If doing this on the tube is going to be a huge pain with our luggage, I will bite the bullet and we can taxi in or Uber.

The best to route with the least walking appears to be the Heathrow express train to Paddington Railway station , then Bakerloo to Charing Cross. Agreed? And if so, can we avoid all stairs? Escalator is fine, and a lift even better. 

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

$1700 per night or $1700pp for the cruise?  Depending upon the length of the cruise and the cabin category the price may be reasonable.

For the whole cruise. Min bid is $850 per person double occupancy. $1700 total. 

Well it’s finally settled. I revisited the moveup offers for our sailing and the minimum bid has dropped 50% from the original offer, for all categories. 

2 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

My husband packed his blazer and wore to dinner twice on our most recent Greek Isles cruise.  I have left mine at home for several years now.

I like to go carryon only on international. And our total trip is 2.5 weeks. Just no room for anything not necessary. I just didn’t want to be in a glaring minority wearing a sweater with biz casual pants on any and all nights. 

45 minutes ago, DingoMom said:

In my experience, the biggest difference was NOT on Chic nights, it was on the ‘other’ nights. I think Brits and Europeans dress more nicely than we Americans do for dinner in general. JintyGirl was spot on!t

This American agrees with you 100%. I generally don’t dress in Europe the same as I do when home. 

Thanks all. This is what I was anticipating but all the confirmations were helpful. 

If not, respectfully, please hold thoughts. Thank you! 
 

I am very familiar with celebrity's “smart casual” and “evening chic” definitions.  While I have traveled Europe previously, this will be our first cruise in Europe.  If you have cruised celebrity in Europe, do you notice any real difference in how people dress on the ship as compared to the Americas? In Europe, Europeans tend to generally dress with slightly more formality than the Americas, but have you observed the same on a celebrity cruise ship in Europe? Is it noticeably more formal or really just about the same?

1 hour ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

They would probably rather keep the prices high and take some high offers for move ups last minute than lower the active pricing for the suites.

So this is what my original question was about. If they are not getting offers for the minimum move up bids, then what? Do they ever reduce the minimum bid for move up?

39 minutes ago, jelayne said:

the minimum bid for those in AQ and Concierge could be considerably less thus filling some of those some of those open suites.

Makes total sense. Move Up to concierge is a total waste. And aqua MoveUp is 500 pp, no thanks. $1000 to eat in Blu a few times is not worth it and I might use the spa once if at all. Do they ever drop minimums if few people are biting? 

5 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Minimum bids will vary by current cabin.  I agree that is very high, but what type of cabin do you have currently?

Prime infinite veranda

Or at some point will they lower the very high minimum move up bid? Cruise is about 50 days out? I don’t think many are biting on $1700 x 2 for a 7 night cruise. This cruise has tons of availability in all cabin categories. 

1 hour ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Old prices were $500 t0 $600 per night for lower suite.  Now they are over a $1000 per night. Ouch

Try $1700 for a sky suite as min bid. Ouch is right!

9 minutes ago, cruisemover said:

When you say fees, you mean the upgrade fee? If so, seems like a good way to use up extra OBC.

Yes. And yes. 

2 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

If you are successful in your MoveUp bid it is charged to your credit card.  You cannot use OBC to pay for a MoveUp. 

Yep. But we are not talking about the pre cruise move up bid process. I was referring to paid space available upgrades handled through guest services once onboard on embarkation day. 

3 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

On every cruise there are on average a few that cancel in the last couple weeks and one or two no shows.  Those you can often book on board at a bargain price.  Just need to be lucky.

For sure. Plus there are no shows due to flight delays, COVID, other emergencies, etc. if a sailing isn’t full it’s possible to upgrade once aboard. If it’s a full sailing, they generally wait until about 2 hours after sail away, once they know for sure what’s actually available. I find it helpful to make friend with someone in guest services with a nice tip up front..”I know it may not be possible so I have no expectations, but I just really need someone who can watch the availability and remember to circle back with me either way.” No guarantee but it does help minimize the possibility of your request getting lost among others on the same waiting list. 

2 hours ago, cruisemover said:

Did the $625 come out from your OBC or does it get charged to a credit card?

Credit card. But I’m sure had I had any OBC credit I could have used it toward the fees. 

On 4/10/2023 at 6:35 AM, SeaWatch12 said:

You may want to look at the difference in fare by upgrading on your own without using a move up bid. I recently did and it came out a bit less expensive than the minimum upgrade offer.

For sure. I did this on Summit for a 10 night Canada/New England cruise. I had bid the absolutely max for all categories of verandas, including Aqua. Lost every bid. Got on the ship, front tipped someone in guest services to help me track down an aqua for upgrade around 5 pm, after sail away, after they figure out the no shows. I paid $625 each to go from inside to aqua. The move up bids were way more. 

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

On the app you can select to look at other Apex sailing.  Select the current sailing and you see the current wine lists for the MDRs.

That was the most helpful response here yet. Found it, thank you!

I never expected the majority to be available. That wasn’t the point. Rather I wanted to see what they aspire to offer if the stars were aligned and they were able to get whatever they wanted from their suppliers. 

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

As @Arizona Wildcat said, you need to keep in mind that just because a certain wine is on the wine list that does not necessarily mean that it will be available when you are onboard. 

Yes. I understand as I stated all that in the question I asked. I am so curious if anyone in the ship can snap pics of the current wine list, they are offering in the MDR. I know it will not be accurate. I still would like to see it anyway. Also, my experience has been sommeliers on celebrity ships have a broad range of skills and knowledge, from very knowledgeable to mostly clueless other than understanding Chardonnay is white and Cabernet S is red.