Sussex Cruiser

19 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I am also not in US, so won’t phone. 
I’ve had excellent service via CelebrityCruises FB site.

If you have Skype you can call the US toll free 1-800 numbers for free, without any credit. I use it all the time to call them.

As premium access states...

• *YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO THESE BENEFITS: Before purchase, refer to your stateroom category amenities and your loyalty status to confirm.

1 hour ago, villauk said:

Yes, yesterday for me too.  No PUPs connected to this one though - well, none mentioned on the email.

They are just question gathering.  The PUP's normally come with watching the webinar itself.

I've had zero contact from Celebrity after reaching Zenith.  No call, no elusive 'gift package', not even an automated generic email with that phone number in.  All a bit of a disappointment really, especially when I hear about other peoples experiences.

21 hours ago, Baseball fan said:

You no longer get double points unless it was a solo booking to start.

You DO get the double points, but even if you booked a solo cabin to start with you, 99% of the time, have to call to get them added.

Never had an email in all the years of booking Aqua.  And have to say, a few weeks ago on Silhouette, it looked like my room had been robbed before my arrival.  Every counter, every bit of storage was completely empty, except a knackered dirty old pair of binoculars. Didn't even get the pad and pencil, which bizarrely was the one thing I missed, for leaving a note for the stateroom attendant.

It should be 120 for the sailing.  5pts/nt in Concierge, doubled for solo.  You could also get an extra 5 pts if you opt in for Go Green (total 125).

However, you will almost definitely only get the 5pts/nt post to your account.  I always have to ring up Captains Club to get them to correct it.  But never been a problem to get them.  Just annoying that you have to do it every time.

Many thanks..! Saved myself $100's on almost all of my cruises through to the end of 2024. Loads of price drops this week too, so a bumper week.

I've never had a single issue resolved by email.  I always call and only get things done like that.  If you are not in the US you can call them up using Skype for free to their 1-800 numbers (you don't need any credit on your account).

If the 'art cruise' group is anything like the Park West group (all travelling for free as big spenders) on my cruise a little while back, they took over the Sky Lounge for their private events almost all day, every day.  It became VERY annoying that no one else could use that space.

Unfortunately only on one of my 8 sailings, but at least it is a true 50% discount this time ($43.99 classic and $53.99 premium).  Just saved $240 on my premium package from the previous '50% off sale'.  Many thanks!

I did see a travel tip a while back about doing washing on a ship.  You can get a 'dry bag' off of somewhere like amazon, such as one you'd go camping with.  Basically a thicker plastic bag that won't leak water.  Pop the clothes inside with a leaf of detergent or something.  Close it up.  Shake it about a bit.  Empty, rinse a couple of times, hang up in the room, and you're done (you can also get magnetic washing lines with pegs already on it - most walls are metal in the cabin).  Works really well and a bit less bother than handwashing everything one by one.  Also helps with the really dry cabin air.

I do agree about what you should send to the laundry on the ship though.  I've had many items badly damaged because they have to very hot wash everything, and then really hot tumble dry it (as it's all mixed in with other peoples clothes too - bug control etc). So it really isn't suitable for delicates.  Even dark blue jeans have come back almost white before now.

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

I don’t see how. Guest one paid for guest one. Guest two paid for guest two. Guest two didn’t show up but they aren’t charging guest one the extra fare. It’s been paid and forfeited.

 

If anything, guest number two could make the argument that they should get the Captains Club points because they paid for them. Even though they didn’t sail.

Well, it seems that you don't have any experience in this matter.  I can assure you that I do, extensively and recent.  You remain incorrect.

28 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

You bring up an interesting point but I don’t think that the remaining passenger is entitled to the double points. The double points are awarded when a single person pays the whole cost for double occupancy.  In this case, the single person is not paying for the whole room.  The other person’s fare is paid by him or her and forfeited.  

That is incorrect.  There is no refund on any aspect of the fare, so the remaining guest has therefore paid for 2 people.  They are entitled to double points, and they will get them from Celebrity.

15 hours ago, sanger727 said:

It may have to be a b2b2b. I know you can do Canada to Hawaii + Hawaii to Australia + Australia to Bali. (not on Celebrity though)

What I have booked for Sept 2024, on Celebrity Solstice is Vancouver to Singapore, 41 nights B2B2B. So they are doing it. 

I have had it very recently.  Not one person was interested that there was a no show, so it obviously makes no difference to them.  I'm sure it would have been a bit of a nightmare trying to sort it beforehand with Celebrity.  It all happened automatically re the taxes/port charges refund.  It will be the full amount that you paid.  Personally, if there are excursions and cruise planner things booked I'd probably go and cancel those myself online, as I'd know it was done then.

However, with the one person left in the cabin, they will be entitled to double Captains Club points.  They however NEVER appear automatically, even if you are always booked as a solo.  You just need to call the Captains Club number once the first set of points have posted, and they will add them on, usually within a week.  They will never do it if you send an email.

5 hours ago, miguelmia said:

Have you considered taking a train from Rome to Pisa? It will require a connection or two starting in Civitavecchia, but it would be a relatively inexpensive option. For my upcoming cruise departing from Venice I'm actually flying into Rome and taking the train to save about $600 instead of flying into VCE.

If they don't let you off.... The trains from Civitavecchia run directly to Pisa Centrale with no changes.  You then need to get the Pisa Mover I think it is called (all on your one ticket), which is a small train which takes you to the airport from Centrale and is very frequent.  All really easy and no lugging your suitcases up and down stairs.  I have done it many times, just to avoid the nightmare that is central Rome and connecting to Fiumicino airport.

No queue for a cab at all getting off Connie a few days ago.  The taxi fare to the airport is a fixed price of EUR 39.

Just speak to Celebrity, or get your TA to do it.  It is because they save the 3 and 4 berth cabins for just that.  They have unblocked a triple for me travelling solo before.  If you don't ask, you don't get.  And, considering what Celebrity landside staff are like, if you get a no the first time, try again later and speak with someone else.

Just off of Constellation.  In Blu the food looked great but was always cold, and either raw or WAY overcooked.  I only had one meal in 15 days which was cooked the way I asked for.  Oceanview was incredibly repetitive, with very poor choice and the sections on both sides having the same things.  Barely warm food their either.  It is plainly obvious that the meat choices have gone downhill with much cheaper cuts in all areas.  They really need to do better, as the current pricing does not match the quality of the food.

I really do like a drink, and it doesn't work for me either anymore.  I would have paid previously but having just done three cruises I have spent way less doing it as I go (but then I have the elite+ perks which take a load off of a normal spend).

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

When did you book?  

February, and not showing on my XPress pass.  Maybe it's wrong to assume that all rates get it included.

On 4/11/2023 at 5:21 PM, Orator said:

Yes they do. But if you are Aqua Class or above you are required to purchase a Classic package.

I haven't been told that and I'm in AQ sailing in 4 days.

2 hours ago, BigAl94 said:

She was a disaster for Celebrity and its loyal customers - good riddance.

Couldn't agree more.  She was responsible for some truly staggering decision making which has undoubtedly done severe damage to the brand.

I've only ever found availability by starting the starting a booking process (and I have REALLY tried to figure other methods over the years).  If you choose your site, and don't log in you won't be bombarded by finish your booking emails etc.  There are quite a few good sites out there which are really quick and easy, such as enabling you to use your own browsers bookmarking etc for real speed, but they will never show more than 50 cabins available in each grade, even if 100 are available. So for one that distorts the picture a little bit.  Also look out for guarantee grades... there can be MANY people who have booked a guarantee and are awaiting an allocation so, suddenly, all the availability can disappear overnight.