jgmorgan

Sounds like maybe they were booked in the Pineapple suite.😂

Good comments. One additional thought: Given that bookings become available two or three years in advance, and the uncertainty around actual passenger counts at embarkation due to Covid, it may have been difficult for Celebrity to have sufficient visibility to "pre-block" quarantine space. I wonder if they have done that for late 2023 and 2024 cruises since they now should have a clearer understanding of the likely space requirements.

Surely not.

That has been my experience, others may have had different ones. If it is something you really want to do, my advice would be to make the actual purchase as soon as you can. If things change, an excursion is easily cancelled and in our case Celebrity has been very prompt with crediting back to our credit card. But, it does tie up your money to purchase far in advance.

It seems as though items are left in the cart for a long time, but just because it is in the cart doesn't mean it is still available. I have gone back to pay for an excursion that was still in my cart but it was already sold out when I tried to process the payment.

We did the Summit/Bermuda cruise one summer and that was the only one of our 15 or so cruises that had a large number of children. While they were certainly having fun, it was more common for the adults to be behaving poorly than the children on board. Nevertheless, it was a great cruise. It was enjoyable to see the little ones walking across the pool deck in a line (more or less😀). It seems doubtful to me that Celebrity's bottom line could ever benefit from going adults only. It's hard for me to see a large enough new demand from those seeking "adults only' cruises to offset the loss of families with children and older adults bringing along grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc.

You make an interesting point. Hopefully someone with flu-like symptoms, or a common cold for that matter, would try to avoid close contact with other passengers. But the issue of mandatory quarantine policies for the cruise lines may come down to risk management. While not yet fully understood, it is apparent that Covid and flu are two very different viruses. The R naught number for seasonal flu is somewhere between 1 and 2, meaning that each person who has it will likely give it to one or two additional persons. The equivalent number for the Delta Covid variant is estimated to be around 7. There is currently debate about the R naught number for the b.a.5 variant, but the range being discussed is somewhere between the Delta variant and 18. COVID is much more transmissible than flu. This relative ease of transmission is likely influencing the pre-cruise testing discussions currently underway in the cruise line corporate offices. Even though testing won't eliminate Covid on board, if pre-cruise testing reduces the number of Covid-positive passengers (as it almost certainly does) then the number of cases developed by passengers and crew during the cruise will be smaller, thereby reducing the risk that the ship's capacity to deal with sick passengers will be overtaxed or that crew illness will impact service levels. Another relevant difference between the diseases is the severity and potential outcomes, and certainly this may impact the cruise line's policies as well. Each year flu kills around 30,000 people in the U.S (although that number declined very substantially while the Covid inspired mask mandates were in effect). The mortality rate for Covid has yet to be established (it apparently takes more than two years data to calculate with precision and the post-vaccine mortality rates are undoubtedly much better in 2020) but it is certainly many times higher than Covid. Current estimates suggest that Covid death rates may be about 10 times higher. So, for now it seems to me that the cruise lines are trying to do the best they can to figure out the optimum strategies to deal with the problems of Covid. Hopefully, over time, Covid will become more like the flu and the perceived and actual need for mandatory quarantine will end. But, that time is not right now. Cruise lines don't have any incentive to pursue policies that are more restrictive than they believe are necessary. But they do have an incentive to manage and balance their risks as best they can.

Interesting. Is this dependent on the country of embarkation? On the website, for cruises from Southampton it says: "Beginning with sailings departing on or after March 18, 2022, guests who have recently recovered from COVID-19 may present a Certificate of Recovery and proof of the positive PCR or Antigen test result taken between 11-90 days prior to the sail date in order to board and be exempt from testing." (emphasis added). We will fit the criteria for this exemption and had planned to forego a test. So, if we just show up, but a test is in fact required, do you suppose they will test us at the pier?

It will be interesting to see what Bo ultimately discovers. Based on the Celebrity website as I read it, it doesn't look like an unvaccinated person over the age of 18 can initially embark on a European cruise and there doesn't seem to be any exemptions for medical reasons. If that is the case, then the requirements for specific ports won't matter. It sure seems to me like there should be an exception for someone that has a bona fide and well-documented medical reason for not being vaccinated for Covid. It may be that so few people are likely to meet that criteria that they just don't allow any exception. I hope it gets resolved in Bo's favor (assuming he wants the person to be able to join them 😀).

St. George's Island...pretty close to Swizzle Inn as the crow flies. St. George's town...not so close- about 6.2 km drive from ferry terminal to Swizzle Inn. Sorry for butting in but I just wanted to keep this going for a few more pages.

Not suggesting anyone should be dishonest...but if you also have a runny nose when you test your insurance might pay for it. Just sayin...😂

Looks like Shore Excursions Group may have some that depart from the pier.

If they are over age 18 that may be a problem. I think the 24-hour test requirement for unvaccinated passengers would relate to children under 18. However, I could be wrong (it has happened before). Sounds like you may be destined to be on hold for awhile.😀

The really fancy people don't go to the MDR.😂

Sometimes I have been able to find an identical excursion by looking at Viator or other websites and typically there are more details. Celebrity contracts with local providers who sell their tours to individuals as well as passengers through the cruise line. You might try that while you wait for a response.

That hasn't been our experience but I don't question yours. One of the best things about Steves' guides is some really good advice about skipping lines and avoiding the most crowded times at popular sites. We have found them to be spot-on. As you point out, if I understand correctly, the recommended locations more likely to be overwhelmed are the smaller restaurants and hotels, but those recommendations are usually very solid if they aren't too crowded at the time we get there. As we get older and have a chance to revisit places, we enjoy visiting sites that don't make the priority lists in Rick Steves guides (or the others mass market guides). But on that first trip, we want to see the sites we grew up looking at and dreaming about while wearing out the pages of our 1952 set of World Book Encyclopedias.😂

We are true-believers when it comes to Rick Steves' advice on most things, but we haven't tried his packing list yet. I'm not sure if he has a modified list for cruises since his land based itineraries sometimes have recommended times and locations included for visiting laundromats. If the airline/luggage issues persist we may give it a shot. Using the ship's laundry doesn't bother me but my wife is hesitant to send anything. And, no matter how careful I am in planning, I always come home with things I didn't wear. If I could just identify those items before we leave it would be easier.😂 One note for those connecting through Heathrow (which requires international connecting passengers to be re-screened): They are very serious about liquids being in clear plastic bags and their definition of "liquid" is more inclusive than any other we have seen.

My experience yesterday was quite good. The call was answered almost immediately (after the automated selections) and the representative was very efficient at processing my upgrade requests. This has not always been the case and some previous calls have resulted in very long wait times like others have experienced. It would be great if all of the problems frequently reported on these forums, like wait times, inconsistent (or wrong) answers, difficulties in elevating matters to representatives empowered to resolve issues, etc. could be eliminated. However, I am sure that staffing issues, including compensation levels for customer representatives, staff retention and training, seemingly widespread labor shortages, and other issues make it unlikely that the problems customers are having will go away soon. And, the recent industry-wide, pandemic induced, financial losses in the the cruise industry have made new investment in operating capacity difficult I'm sure. RCCI is a profit-making concern that is operated for the ultimate benefit of its owners. That requires management to strike the right balance among factors including pricing, operating expense, capital investment and future return on investment for stockholders. So, the question is this: How much more, if any, would you be willing to pay for your cruise if you were guaranteed easy access to customer service representatives who could quickly and effectively resolve any requests?

Good luck with that!😀

A "corkage fee" relates to the charge a restaurant makes for customers who bring their own bottle of wine. Thus, Celebrity's policy puts us on notice that wine we bring on board is "subject" to a corkage fee. Clearly implied by the policy, though not explicit as some would prefer, is that the wine brought on board that is consumed in a cabin does not trigger any corkage fee. It makes perfect sense that passengers with drink packages would not be charged a corkage fee in the restaurants since Celebrity would probably prefer you to drink your own wine rather than theirs (which you have already paid for). On this rare occasion, I actually agree with RichYak. 😂

We have really enjoyed Aqua and our experiences in Blu have always been excellent. Having said that, it certainly matters where the cabin is located. Out of 14 cruises on Celebrity, (mostly in Aqua), our only semi-bad experience was in a deck 11 Aqua cabin on Solstice because we were located under the treadmills in the fitness center. That was the only time we have ever needed earplugs and even that didn't fully block the noise that usually started about 6:00 or so. However, the rest of the experience on-board was great. The think the best Aqua cabins are on Deck 11 on M-Class ships. Nothing above, easy access to the pool and the Sunset Bar is very convenient. We haven't been on an E-Class yet, but I have seen quite a few posts that suggest the location of Blu is suboptimal.

As others have said, after the first night (which can be a bit hectic in Blu), things settle into a pattern and waiting for a table is not a problem. We are in the habit of dining after the early show, and have always been seated quickly, usually with our "regular" staff members and in proximity to guests we recognize from previous nights. In our experience the food has always been quite good, the table service top-notch and you can easily choose how "social" you want to be on any given night. Some nights we enjoy sharing conversation with other guests, sometimes not. That has never been a problem for us in Blu.