CocoCronut

Yes, it’s in the ‘manage my booking’ section, under spa & fitness 🙂

It’s currently showing as £327.14 on one of their June 2024 cruises, apex.

I’d agree, better to report something like this, you seem like a very savvy solo traveller, and it made you uncomfortable.
Someone less savvy might have gotten on the bus and ended up in a more confrontational situation…

Really loved your review @GenerationX 

Thank you for taking the time to share so many elements of your holiday 💖

Christmas Caribbean 2023 🤩🥳

Great thread @BennyBrun loving all your updates and amazing photos so far

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Out of interest, is there a Tiffany’s jewellery store on board?

13 hours ago, UKcruisers10 said:

I'm from England and am also on this cruise. Thank you for your wonderful posts. I don't normally post, but what has just happened now has moved me to. My mother and I have cruised over 40 times with Celebrity. I don't think we will again. We have to have a lateral flow test to fly to the UK. Before we boarded we checked we could have it with Celebrity on the ship before we got off. We booked it with Celebrity on the ship for the last day of the cruise (tomorrow). This has now, at the last minute, been cancelled. We were just informed tonight. They are now taking place once we get off the ship, in the terminal, and we 'should' get the results in two hours.This has so many potentially negative consequences for us and I just thought people should know if they are put in a similar situation. 

Sorry you’ve been put in this position, the uncertainty would be a worry.
Were your flights booked as part of your celebrity booking, or organised personally? 

I agree, change seems to be the only constant in our current landscape. I’m booked for the inaugural with beyond and fully expect to be going (unless celebrity themselves cancel), but I hadn’t noticed the caveat at the time of booking that the beyond wasn’t included, I just saw the main page and didn’t think any more of it.

Things as you say can change though, so who knows by the time April rolls around! 🌟🌟

Under the FAQ section it states the below, which I queried with my TA and was told it was indeed the case, that the beyond is excluded from the program…

I’ve done both the fjords and Iceland, if it were me I’d go with fjords.
Then I’d probably look for a specific Iceland focussed cruise, or just fly over as it’s so easy to get to from uk. 

Did you log in through your captains club account? Go into courtesy holds from there and it should give you the option to search for cruises - and then do the steps suggested

If doing a hold within the UK the website doesn’t allow you to, you have to physically call celebrity. To do it from USA it usually allows you to put a hold on via the website, once you get to the payment screen click the X at the top

of the screen which will provide an exit option with putting the stateroom on hold (I’ve only tried this when logged into my captains club account tho). There’s been a few threads on this recently…

Ironically, calling from Scotland I always get put through straight away when calling the American line (in my evening time) - the downside is that it can be hit or miss if they’ll deal with booking questions. I only ever call USA if it’s out of UK hours and is an immediate query I have or booking! 

So update on this, have spoken with celebrity and they CAN put a hold on cabins in UK, I was given the wrong information by their celebrity agent yesterday - very frustrating!!!

On captains club I’m currently elite, about to move into elite+ in about 50 points but this didn’t come into the conversation with them so didn’t seem that levels is a requirement. 

I think this might be a North America versus UK difference, as the ability to put on hold when doing the steps outlined isn’t given for me 😞

Just now, downsmead said:

I thought it stopped a while ago for the U.K., not seen it available whilst booking on line.

Ah okay, that makes sense then! Courtesy holds space still show in my captains club account which was what confused me, I hadn’t realised it had stopped tho!

thanks ⭐️

Hey, I just spoke to celebrity and they informed me that they no longer allow courtesy holds to be put on staterooms. Is this a new policy? Or has anyone else come across this?

thanks in advance! 
(called as a UK customer)

29 minutes ago, midwestchick said:

Thanks. I didn’t know we could do that. Wonder if Blu has the menu set up like that too.  It’s been a few years since we sailed in Aqua. Our last Celebrity cruise was in 2018.

Yea it’s handy being able to see in advance, I usually passed the request on when the concierge call came in prior to the cruise, and if when I arrived on ship they’d forgotten I’d just ask the butler and it was never an issue. 
Not sure if blu does the same, but I’d be interested to know, as aqua is a category on the S class ships that I like also! ⭐️

3 hours ago, midwestchick said:

Are you able to see the menu on your tv screen without walking to Luminae to look at their daily dinner menu?

I haven’t seen their menu on the tv previously (maybe didn’t know where to look) but you can (or used to be able to pre-covid) request a copy of the luminae menus for the entire cruise to be placed in your suite - this allows you to plan a bit better around the days you want to eat there and the days you’d prefer a speciality.

I like to hear both sides of the experience, elements people have enjoyed and also the elements people have been disappointed at. Disappointment is very subjective as a lot of the other posts show, but it’s not cruise debate (it’s cruise critic)

I am looking forward to being back on board, and as mentioned earlier by a poster seeing both sides (and the potential issues) can only be good for managing expectations. When I spoke with a celebrity operator a few months ago on the phone they termed the cruises as “return to service cruises” and so may not be what they were before - this helped manage my expectation for sure. 
 

I can’t wait for the industry to go from strength to strength as they find their footing, and will continue I’m sure to love stepping on board a celebrity ship 🤩

I think it all depends on cruise itinerary, ship, and prices personally for me. I’ve cruised suites and aqua - and I love both. But I’d be up for trying other staterooms depending on what’s available on board (restaurants etc). I don’t think for me it’s “once a suite always a suite” however some of the perks of a suite (as in aqua) are enjoyable!

I guess for many the perks are what make people book (and talk about) certain categories  - I’ve never gone concierge but lots of people on here discuss that category also due to the embarkation day lunch. 

23 minutes ago, Sparky100 said:

Could someone on board the current sailing please let me know what the general dress code for men was on the Evening Chic night please.  I've seen comments about dinner jackets on earlier posts but my husband isn't keen on wearing a DJ.  What were the majority of gentlemen wearing?

There are a couple of threads on this, and it can be found by googling, however Celebrity website states:

”Women should feel comfortable wearing:

A cocktail dress

Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater

Optional sport coat or blazer”

Of course current sailings may differ as to what people’s preference is. But it doesn’t seem he will need a DJ if not keen on one. Over the years I’ve seen lots of different smart looks on evening chic nights. 

1 minute ago, ighten said:

Has anyone managed to get the drinks package to upgrade online - I just keep getting some guest ID error and a long number - then again I'm trying to remember if anything works on Celebs web pages correctly on a Sunday

I had to call celebrity direct to have the upgrade added on, as for some reason the website wasn’t allowing me whenever I tried. 

3 minutes ago, Nick&Simon said:

By way of an update, our experience so far today has been disappointing. We wanted coffee around 11am today, the coffee bar was full all morning. There are no indoor bars open and all of the outdoor bars were washed down at the same time. There is no room at The Porch, The Mast Bar or Mast Grill. 

 

We ended up eating in Ocean View and in my opinion it was terrible. I started with a plate of cold meats which were put on a very hot plate, then luke warm pasta with no spoon available and no condiments such as tabasco.

 

 It's the worst cruise food I remember experiencing. 

 

I know I will get flamed for daring to say anything negative, but it is what it is.

Thanks for the update, I think there’s bound to be things that are better than others - but I for one enjoy hearing the good and the bad, so honesty is definitely appreciated (from my perspective 🙂)

48 minutes ago, LifeonMars said:

 

CocoCronut said

Yea I wasn’t sure if the lack of availability for singles was to do with lack of extra spend they would have on board…but who knows. 
 

Replying,

Always thought the excuse for solos paying a supplement for  lack of spend was "an excuse" as usually solos spend more anyway .  Most staycations except P&O and Cunard include a drinks package anyway,  

Ah yes, I was thinking more from the point of view of the things celebrity have as extras, so speciality restaurants, onboard shops, added supplement for a drink that’s above the package and internet. But it was only a guess on my part I’m not sure if there’s a better more technical reason that they weren’t showing as a single person booking.