horseymike

I heard Rudy’s Sel de Mer is being phased out. 
Anyone else hear this ?

12 hours ago, RuthC said:

Your cabin is on the port side. At least on the Nieuw Statendam, the smoking area is on starboard. 
I don't see how smoke could both cross over the entire Sea View area, AND drop down one deck to your balcony. 

When Ruth C advises you can take it to the bank 🏦 !

Thanks. 
We were on the Rotti March 8 - 17 and had a waiter in CO named Arnold.

He was excellent, he had a great personality and a wonderful sense of humor.

On 4/10/2024 at 8:15 PM, MissiCruzs said:

Dinner was beef tenderloin and lobster dumplings cooked perfectly. Dessert was baked Alaska and this is going on my comment card.  It used to be made with Ben & Jerry cherry Garcia. Instead it was chocolate chip with a little side of cherries Jubilee. Not a good change. Our waiter Arnold was outstanding!

 

Did Arnold used to work in CO ?

3 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Thank you! I plan to - just have to get WiFi...holding off until Memorial Day hoping there will be a big sale on it.

I'm not sure of the discount , but they have some sort of sale going on now. I saved a few bucks on a shore excursion in October.

Hope you have a great cruise 🛳️, if you choose to post a review I will be looking forward to your take on how things went. I have read one of your reviews several months ago and found it to be awesome !

14 hours ago, WineDown17 said:

Just got an offer to bid on a PH and Iconic for our upcoming sailing.  Ship is sold out and final payments are in. Seems like a waste of energy and getting hopes up for something that simply can’t happen… we are in an EV so I am already thrilled, but curious about the rationale here. 

Sometimes people cancel for a variety of reasons, that said the cruise line does not want to miss an opportunity to get some more $$$ for that cabin .

I have found all the officers on X to be very approachable , polite and friendly.

It is a pleasure to speak with them , needless to say they have a tremendous amount of work / responsibility to keep up with.

That said , I very much appreciate them spending a minute or two of their time to talk to me/ us.

Really enjoying your review , looking forward to the next chapters 😀

22 minutes ago, josumello said:

We are booked for our first HAL cruise. One disappointment is that there’s really no easy way to see our OBC , perks, etc. I guess we were spoiled with the Celebrity website. 
HAL really needs to up their website. 

I had a similar situation a few months ago, I called HAL and asked the agent to email me an updated booking confirmation showing OBC , perks etc and within a few minutes I received the email with a link to an updated booking confirmation showing all those things.

Hopefully , they will do the same for you.

 I like having everything on paper just in case there are any issues once onboard.

IMHO celebrity should refund every penny.

After all , they cancelled the cruise. It was not a change in itinerary, substitution of a port etc……

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Omg I have to say we feel the exact opposite of this. We stayed in a “steerage” category and then in a suite on a b2b on Ascent. We felt the “steerage” experience was hands down superior to the retreat. The retreat areas are lovely but try as we may, we could not get a drink on the sun deck and our room steward was just ok. Luminae was crowded and loud and hot.  In contrast, we had a eagerly attentive cabin steward in “steerage” who made sure we never wanted for anything. We enjoyed the flexibility of picking our dining room and the venues outside retreat were excellent. We were so astonished by the contrast that we booked a follow up cruise on Beyond, also in “steerage”. I guess it just proves that no two cruising experiences are alike…which is why we should all take reviews with a grain of salt. 

one of the places my wife and I enjoy on any cruise is the forward facing lounge area usually on a higher deck at the very front of the ship where you can enjoy the panoramic views of the ocean and or port. These areas no longer exist for us ( steerage passengers ) on the e class celebrity ships.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise 🚢.

Did you get any coffee ☕️ from Cafe Al Baccio ?

Marriott Harbor Beach 👍

I feel as though the newer ships are getting the first cut when it comes to crew , entertainment, food , etc…..

Unfortunately , Celebrity’s business model for the Edge class seems to be heavily tilted towards suite guests with regard to public ares etc…. Those sailing in other categories ( that would be myself) are basically steerage class and treated as such.

To stay on point , we did a 4 nighter on the Summit about a year ago and had the worst cabin steward in 25 + years of cruising.

We actually sailed on the Summit in 2001 and what a grand ship she was, I guess nothing lasts forever 😔

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

While it may take more time, can you drop off the person with limited mobility and the rest of your party at the entrance to your embarkation terminal and then upon return go pick up the car and return to the disembarkation terminal where they will be waiting for you?

I did think about that , but as you mentioned it definitely takes more time.

Disembarkation is usually nothing short of a mad house with regard to traffic and congestion around the returning terminal.

I actually did drop them off prior to the cruise , parked and caught up with them.

The entry  ( take ticket )  and exit ( payment) booths are fully automated.

With that said any staffing would be minor if even existent.

Just trying to accommodate someone whose mobility is limited.

Just back from a cruise at Port Everglades a few weeks ago.

One person that was in our party of 4 is a handicapped amputee, so I was trying to get the closest possible parking.

That said I attempted to park in the surface lot close to terminal 19 as that was where the ship would be docked upon returning to Port Everglades after our cruise.

Upon trying to enter the lot , there was a person at the entrance informing me that that lot was only for those cruising on the Liberty of The Seas.

He also told me the lot would be locked upon the return of our ship , he was speaking the truth.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this ? 

13 hours ago, Cdude said:

Congratulations! I’m dealing with a very similar issue with a recent Princess sailing and all I got back so far was a canned email stating they’re overworked and be patient.

 

I hope this doesn’t ruffle feathers, but common billing issues like this make me want to go back to all-inclusive on land. Very different experience, I know. But, much, much lower chance of stress and lots of beach time if that’s your itinerary. Isn’t competition from all-inclusive resorts why cruise lines started offering drink packages? Maybe they can get their billing up to speed. Hard to imagine these discrepancies are all inadvertent in 2024.

I totally agree with you, they are in the cruise business and they are dealing with excessive numbers of passengers but the I T departments need to be brought up to speed.

the car / limo services are much more convenient for the door to door service , luggage ect.

I really enjoy a good steak , but I would have to pass on this one.

6 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

just back from Ascent.  This is the first time we have seen a long table set up for people after cruise to retrieve their confiscated items, and some were disgruntled. These are a few of what we saw:

 

..Clothes Steamers, doesnt matter what size or how tiny, dont bring them (lots of those)

..Irons.   full size and small

..a Panini/waffle maker.  yup. Not new or in a box

 

If it says don’t bring, not allowed, follow the rules. No means no.  

 

Cruise awesome. Cannot say enough of how great the staff were.  

Any chainsaws ? 🤣

Always best to check your statement periodically when cruising, mistakes happen, the sooner resolved the better ( onboard if possible) .

I know it takes you out of vacation mode for a few minutes, but it is worth it.

It has always gone smoothly for us at Port Everglades when it comes to boarding.

Never had to wait long to board regardless of the assigned time.

Hope you have a great cruise 🚢 

I think it may be worth your while to book a cruise on HAL.

That will be the true test how it works for you , if given the opportunity to bet on it , my guess is that you will like it.

In our experience cruising we have found different lines have strengths and weaknesses depending on what is most important to the individual  , food , entertainment, itinerary etc….

All the Best 👍🍀