chrispee

I'm a bit of a coffee snob and use a Rancilio Silvia at home.  Personally I don't mind the espresso at Al Bacio, it's pretty inoffensive to my taste buds.  Even if you brought the AeroPress wouldn't you have to also bring a hand burr grinder?  Seems like the toughest part of the equation would be finding somewhere on the ship to get water at the right temperature without looking like a crazy person...

10 hours ago, micmacmissy said:

One thing has me worried...I was looking forward to no kids (I am a school principal and I LOVE kids but I'm with them all the time - thought the Retreat would be kid-free)...are kids allowed on the Retreat sundeck?  Is that a problem at all?

We were on the Edge last week and children are indeed allowed in the retreat deck and pool.

I thought Canadians could just do a video proctored/observed antigen test within 24 hours for USA entry nowadays?  You're making me hope that I haven't misinterpreted my testing needs for our March 20th cruise.  We ordered observed rapid antigen tests from Switch Health and they're only $35 plus tax each so hardly an expense to consider flying out of Seattle for...

I cancelled last night a couple of hours before the 48 hour deadline, and 20 hours later they announce the cancellation of the cruise (which I suspected would happen).  Now I'm out $400 in airline change fees and am stuck with FCC.  Hopefully Celebrity steps up to the plate.  My travel agent (big box) tried discussing with Celebrity just now but apparently they do not have any information on what they should be refunding etc at this point.

14 minutes ago, ulster-cruiser said:

We cancelled yesterday for our cruise on Sunday. Hope they offer us option to get refund or get boosted fcc

I'm in the same position as I held out until the last-minute yesterday thinking Celebrity was going to do the prudent thing and follow Princess's lead.  Hopefully we see cash instead of FCC, but I'm worried.

6 minutes ago, SusieV said:

Kids aren't the ones really getting sick. Zero children under 9 have died. 

 

Closing schools is just going to stretch our healthcare system even thinner.

This is not about the kids getting sick really, it’s about slowing the curve of the spread. Sure, kids seem to have mild symptoms but they are still carriers who go on to infect the more vulnerable. 

IMO there’s no way Celebrity will cancel this sailing (which we are on too). They’re already fully stocked and the crew is getting paid regardless!  Looks to me like we will be sailing at around 50% capacity when the dust settles tomorrow so I feel bad for the crew who will be making less money in gratuities. 
 

Certainly this is an interesting question for April/May cruises, but with the fluidity of the Covid-19 situation and the 48 hour cancellation deadline I don’t know how Celebrity will be able to accurately guess capacity until too close to sailing. 

Harbour Air has a flight (floatplane) that departs for Seattle at 7:40am on May 3rd I believe.  The float plane terminal is right at Canada Place so you could conceivably make that flight but it would be risky.  Plan B could be an Uber to the border, and another Uber to Seattle?

I have to guess that OP is going to rent from the airport because that is where he/she would like to return the car. 
 

There is one ferry terminal in Horseshoe Baythat is sort of near the cruise terminal, but more likely the OP is going to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal and heading to Victoria. 
 

Don’t worry there will be plenty of time to get to YVR to rent the car, and the ferry terminal is only 25 mins from the airport in good traffic.

For sanitary reasons you will not be allowed to directly fill your insulated mug from the machine. You can however fill it up by pouring from one of the supplied mugs at the buffet. 

Thanks for the advice all.  I called in and repriced the cruise, and to my surprise they quoted me an increase that was $60 less than the websites were showing.  My calculations have a margin of error since I'm booking in CAD and the perks are in USD, but it looks like I'm approximately $70 CAD to the good and have a free internet package for two of us, even though I'm paying $850 CAD more up front.  Well worth a 15 min phone call!

1 minute ago, mom says said:

I'd say your chances are south of 1%. If it's a wash price wise, then why not just pay to add the other 2 perks?.

Thanks for your insight. To clarify, the new price is higher but the increase is almost exactly the price of the added premium drink upgrade, and free gratuities for two. The only thing I’d be getting as a free bonus would be the unlimited internet. 

We are past final payment for our March 15th sailing on the Silhouette, and with the new sale our category price is higher than we paid but includes all four perks instead of two. When I calculate it out it’s basically a financial wash but we’d get the internet package for free. The only issue is I’d be locking in with the higher price if a better deal came along in the next 54 days. 
 

Can any experienced price watchers chime in as to the likelihood of a price reduction that includes all perks?  I know it would just be an educated guess, but any guess I’d be making by myself would be uneducated.  ;)
 

If it matters we are in a family of three in a 2B cabin (fared as a 2C due to The CC category upgrade). Thanks!

8 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I many others object to trying to control choices for others without any tangible benefit. 

The tangible benefit is not drinking with a single-use plastic item for 10 minutes and then having it sit in a landfill for 500 years. 

The Lions Gate bridge is only a few minutes away from the Canada Place cruise terminal.

The issue with these cartons are that because of the waterproof coating they are not recyclable or biodegradable. They will hang around for almost as long as plastic

I'm not sure why you would think cartons like this are not recyclable? Cartons with a polyethylene lining absolutely are recyclable as the paper product is separated from the plastic lining at recycling plants using a hydrapulper.

We had anytime dining on the Silhouette last year and had no problems at all getting a table for 3 each night. We always went back to the same waiters' section, and never made a reservation. Only one night did we have to take a beeper and wait, but it really wasn't a hardship having a couple of extra drinks at the World Class Bar.

I think there are a few reasons why Celebrity does not safeguard the photos:

1. The photographs themselves are worth just pennies

2. Likely an overwhelmingly high percentage of them get thrown out anyways

3. Someone who steals a photograph probably doesn't represent a $ conversion regardless

4. Statistically speaking one could infer that Celebrity pax would be less likely to steal a photo than Carnival pax *ducks*

I agree wholeheartedly with the shameful waste of food by some passengers. The good news is during the Silhouette galley tour we were informed that they are now processing food waste into bio fuel for the pods. Not sure if this is fleet wide, and I can't find any written info on it.

I had unusable internet connectivity inside my hump cabin in the Silhouette in March. I paid for the unlimited internet because I had to do work while on the cruise, but my complaints to IT yielded no help and no offers for refund. At least the signal was strong in the common areas, but I was pretty disappointed to not be able to work in my cabin during the evenings.

My two favourites were:

Raspberry Fizz (muddled raspberries, fresh lime juice, agave nectar, and soda water)

Sparkling Mint Lemonade (fresh lemon juice, mint, agave nectar, and soda water)

We were regulars at the World Class Bar and after we got to know the bartenders they would go off menu and make our son the most amazing non-alcoholic drinks when we went there. I think this is not the norm though as they don't generally go off-menu.

I just can't see how Celebrity can possibly think that moving the Classic package to a "only pay the difference over the Classic max price" will increase their revenues, even with moving several of the current drink prices from below the Classic max price to over the max price by a buck or two. There has to be something else in the works, IMHO.

I think it's a shrewd move by them as the only real danger would be losing a few people who usually pay the upgrade from classic to premium. I think that number will pale in comparison to those who will now buy the occasional premium drink and pay the difference. Let's not forget, a $3 upcharge essentially pays for the entire drink itself.

I'm not a huge drinker, but I'll still be upgrading to the premium package as I probably average 3-4 drinks at the WCB or Martini Bar per day (plus the large Evian bottles and San Pellegrino are nice).

Thanks for the update Crispee. Are they as good as the many posts on them would suggest. Hope that your cruise is meeting or exceeding your expectations.

I tried to make it to the show but got sidelined by the World Class Bar. What a great cruise it was, I'm sure you'll have fun!

The Tenors of Rock were onboard and the staff member that I asked said they'd be there for April too.