MamaToMany

I love, love, love your trip reports!! Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with us yet again. I board Apex on Saturday, so your fabulous writing will get me through the last few looooong days in fine style! 

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

 I agree.  Too close to your sailing.  I was assuming it was someone outside the final payment date. 

 

 I strongly recommend that your let the senior staff/officers onboard know your displeasure in the way Celebrity implemented these new changes.  Regardless of the fact that the cruise contract gives them the right to make changes, implementing these changes on guest who cannot cancel for a full refund is totally unsatisfactory.   They should have announced the changes, given  90 - 120 days notice so passengers who disagreed could cancel without penalty, other than NRD, if they chose to do so. 

 

 

Exactly. That’s really all I’m saying. So many changes only 2 weeks from my sailing feels pretty awful. I’ll absolutely let management know what I think about all of this when I’m onboard. NICELY. I’m sure they are hearing a lot of negativity right now, and I don’t want to be a rude jerk and ruin someone’s day. 

That version of pork and beans sounds like it could be tasty! Now that banana stuffed chicken? Oh dear.

41 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 You get everything except the deposit.  

 

Would that not be better than being miserable because you did not get what you booked? 

 

I sail this Saturday. So no, I won’t get my money back. As for my comment last night, I was being over dramatic and regret it. But it doesn’t change the fact that when I booked my sailing, I was sold one product and now I am getting something quite different. In general I’m pretty easy to please- good food, clean ship, plenty of sunshine and comfy places to read a book are all I need. Feeling a little like the good food thing may not be *quite* on point this time around…

59 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Why was that important? It is a nice touch but it is not important. 

So I get chocolate on my pillow, but almost zero dinner at night? I call BS. How is that anything resembling good business practice? (I booked free room service, full Oveanview Cafe hours, and much more. Its all gone.). What I bought and what exists now are two VERY different products. And that’s not in any good way.

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

A choice of 10 starters and 9 entrees doesn’t sound bad at all.  
DH does all the cooking and I don’t get near that many choices😉

I do all the cooking, and love NOT having to. And yes, it’s a reasonable selection, but they’ve removed quite a few things I was specifically wanting to try. Again- will it wreck my cruise?  No. Am I allowed to be bummed out? I think it’s reasonable.

That Alex menu is definitely pared down from what I see on the app. Where will it end? I was so excited, and now I find myself increasingly bummed out. Will it be fun? Absolutely. Any day on a ship is a good day. But these changes are adding up and collectively SUCK.

7 minutes ago, prmssk said:

It's still on the day 6 menu of the Apex 1/7 sailing (with no mention of uncharge) which would have more accurate menus than later sailings.  I have never found menus to be very accurate until about the day or two before embarkation day (and have even seen changes after that point).  I understand on embarkation night they do a final push of updates to the app.

Yes. I somehow missed it. My brain remembered it being near the bottom of the entrees section, and that is where I was  looking. It’s interesting that there is no mention of an up charge yet, isn’t it?

Deleted. Wrong info.

55 minutes ago, Ocdublin said:

Well I reached out by email and here is what I received.

 

Please be advised that the Oceanview Café will not be closed for dinner. The operating hours for dinner will remain the same, approximately, 6:00 – 9:30 pm. However, we will now have limited offerings. We will have one food station, which will host a 7-day rotational international-themed menu, a limited salad station, and pizza station. I am including a sample menu below with our Italian Theme Menu as an example. This menu is just a sample and subject to change.

•    Small Salad Station:
White Bean Salad
Tuscan Panzanella with tomatoes and spicy focaccia croutons
Chicken and pasta salad
•    Mains:
Pollo alla Cacciatore
Beef lasagna
Eggplant Parmigiano
Mix vegetable medley
•    Pizza Station:
Pomodoro
Pepperoni
Mushroom and vegetable

I hope this information is of assistance to you.  We look forward to welcoming you aboard your next sailing!
 

That is BS. What an absurdly small choice of items. I plan to write and email and say as much. 

19 minutes ago, miguelmia said:

 

This is my perspective. I booked my first X cruise ever on Sunday for the end of the month (so I paid in full right away) as a treat for myself. The next day I'm perusing these boards and am seeing a number of sudden changes (cuts) to services on board. Could I have been forewarned for some of these things if I had come here before booking to research? Sure. But things such as the sudden introduction of a $10 fee for non-breakfast room service and the apparent scaling back of the buffet dinner gives real bait-and-switch vibes (and these are just 2 examples). I can imagine the frustration of X veterans and those who have been looking forward to their cruise for months; trust me, it's annoying to this newbie as well!

 

I get there are reasons for Celebrity doing what they feel they need to do. I just wish they weren't ripping off the bandaid, so to speak, for cruises happening now without warning their guests before final payment. Or, it seems, even before embarkation. Happy New Year, surprise!

 

Am I still going to make the best of my cruise? You bet. Am I still going to enjoy myself regardless? Hell yeah (I really need this vacation lol). I'll withhold final judgement until I'm actually on Reflection in a couple weeks and see things for myself. But my expectations have been lowered, and that's a little discouraging.

I agree with everything you have stated. Way back in early September I booked a B2B starting 1/14. I was truly looking forward to experiencing a slightly more upscale cruise experience, as I have only cruises NCL and Royal before. The last week, when I should be getting super excited, I have instead been reading negative report after negative report about every cutback under the sun. I’m still going to enjoy the heck out of my trip, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that some of the shiny has already worn off and I’m not even on board yet.

It has changed in my app for my 1/14 Alex sailing. Only continental breakfast is free, everything else is $9.95 with an 18% gratuity added. 

11 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I think they make the small ones during the Captains Club Elite Happy Hour, but they are not the specialty martinis that are on the Martini bar menu.  
 

I have not seen them make a specialty martini in a small glass.  You can, of course, order any of their martinis and pay the difference.  On the E class ships the Martini bar martinis were $15 before the price changed, so the up charge would have been $6 + 20%. 

Hmmmmm. I guess I must have misunderstood when reading other trip reports, etc. Thanks for the info. Paying the overage for a few will work just fine. 

On my upcoming Apex sailing I have the Classic package. I’d love to taste some of the martinis at the martini bar, and have read that the bartenders will make various martinis in smaller glasses to fit the classic package. 
 

Can someone speak to this? Do I simply tell the bartender I have the classic package and then ask for a smaller size? Will they only make certain flavors? Do the bartenders hate making the small ones? 
 

I’m not sure it’s worth it to upgrade myself to the premium package, and I’m also willing to pay over the classic price if that’s easier.  I definitely tip bartenders and will stick with awesome ones as I find them onboard.

All info is gladly appreciated!

When I read in the drink package of my cruise planner, it has an entire “zero proof” section listed in the Classic Package description. There it says it includes coffee, teas, premium bottled waters, juices, etc.  

It seems like this has gotten really confusing after all the changes! I’ll be curious to see how it shakes out on my sailings next month. I have a B2B on Apex. On the first leg I have the premium non alcoholic package (purchased before all of the changes) and on the second leg I have the classic package. Planning to be flexible and see how it goes. Hoping the new descriptions are accurate and I get my coffees and teas with the classic package, just as described in the new wording. I know they were previously included, so I’m hopeful Celebrity wouldn’t have just stopped including them for me after the fact. It seems like all should be well.

Our family booked a spring break cruise on Allure this March. We found that for us, flights into IAH were quite a bit cheaper than into Hobby. The drive from IAH to Galveston has been stated to take anywhere between 60 and 90 minutes. We booked a hotel in Galveston the night before embarkation and have scheduled a ride service to pick us up at the airport on arrival day and also take us back to the airport to return home. For our family of 6, this is running us right about $400 round trip. Our hotel does not have a port shuttle, so we will need an Uber to get to the port on embarkation day as well. Because we need two rooms and are on a budget, our hotel choices were a touch limited. I think the logistics of having the port so far from the airport have made planning feel a little more complicated so far, but still quite doable. Hope some of that helps a bit? 

Choir of Man and Kinky Boots are excellent! Yo yo a showing of Choir of Man early in the week, because I guarantee you’ll want to go back a second time.

24 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

You should have received a confirmation of your bids via email. There are links to view/modify/cancel your bids in it.

Thanks! I wasn’t sure if I’d goof things up if I clicked on the links in the email. Silly, but there you go. 

I was able to bid for upgrades on my upcoming January cruise. I realize it’s likely too early to see anything, but can’t seem to figure out where to check the status of my bids. Can anyone help? Thank you!

How’s the mocktail scene onboard Celebrity ships? I’ll be sailing in January on Apex, and have the premium non-alcoholic drink package. I can’t currently drink for medical reasons, but still love to sit at the bar and chat or get drinks by the pool. I’ve seen the small mocktail menu offered on Apex, but am wondering if bartenders are fairly agreeable to mixing mocktails, especially if given full creative license? I always tip, and try to find a bartender or two who make tasty drinks. Any pro tips from the experienced Celebrity crowd? Thank you!

Have a blast! As a fellow Celebrity newbie, I’ll look forward to hearing what you think of the experience. What ship are you sailing on? I’ll be on the Apex in 88 days…

I’ll be following this thread, as I have an interior booked on Apex in January. I was able to see a video walk through of my actual assigned cabin, and it looks lovely! I have only cruised in balcony rooms before (spoiled) so this will be new for me.

Please pardon my rehashing a question. I've searched and can't seem to find the topic that I remember addressing this very subject. When I look at my booking, I can see the included gratuities as well as dining time, etc. What I cannot see is the included internet or beverage package. I find the website to be fairly horrific to navigate, as I am constantly being redirected and told that pages can't be found. Can you please shed some light on this? Thank you for indulging a Celebrity newbie!

So glad I came over here to see if anyone else was having issues. I also cannot login or search cruises without getting an error message. Hoping things will be back online tomorrow, especially for those of you who need to check in for your cruises!

I’m wondering if I should see about switching my current cabin on Apex? It’s #7100, and now I’m wondering if that was a poor choice. It looked a little secluded on the deck plans, and I love to get good sleep when I cruise. Does anyone with with more experience have an opinion about this for me? I don’t get seasick and won’t mind movement. But noise? Help!

ETA: I think there might be outdoor crew space right on the other side of the wall from cabin 7100. Thinking I made a grave error. Hoping I can call tomorrow and choose a new cabin.