eegad

Not at all happy with Viking right now.  I can understand when a cruise line has to change an itinerary at the last moment due to a hurricane or other local disaster. What I don’t like is being LIED to about my itinerary when they know it has changed.
 

We booked the trip on 7/8 for the 8/3 sailing, and confirmed the itinerary was same as the 6/22 sailing.

On 7/16 I decided to read the forums here, and saw that the 7/13 sailing had changed itinerary. No more St Georges, they were now at dockyard instead. We called Viking and were told that “there was an issue this week, but you are still scheduled for St Georges”.

On the 23rd, we saw the Orion on the Bermuda webcam at dockyard, which was not the scheduled itinerary. We called Viking again and were once again assured that we were going to St Georges for our 8/3 sailing.

The next day we received an email with our “updated itinerary”, which of course has no St Georges and has us stuck at dockyard instead.
 

Sorry Viking, but you lied to us and screwed us over. We will never be sailing with you again.

On 7/15/2021 at 4:10 PM, MarkBearSF said:

Hi Patty,

The current schedule is
Tues, Wed - Hamilton
Thurs - at sea
Fri, Sat - Dockyards/King's Wharf
Sun - at sea
Mon - Hamilton
Thus - disembark Hamilton

Most of the excursions have been rescheduled to fit the new schedule. For instance, the St George's tour has been moved to departing from Hamilton from St George's and the existing King's Wharf tours have been rescheduled. They have also added a few excursions. They have been very helpful and flexible.
 

Is this a change just for this week?  Or is this the new schedule for all the remaining Bermuda cruises? If so,  they have one very unhappy passenger.  I've cruised to Bermuda many times,  always at dockyard.  The chance to spend a few days at the other side of the island is the ONLY reason I was persuaded to book the aug 3 cruise. Being stuck in dockyard would be a major disappointment. 

I believe that Celebrity will not be doing 3 days in Bermuda after 2019. It's the reason why we're thinking of trying NCL for the first time next year.

My question was did you have a day pass at one of the resorts, just sit on a towel

No day pass or anything. We come prepared by bringing our own chairs - those fold-up type chairs you often see at tailgates. Easy to carry over your shoulder and we've got something to sit on anyplace we end up.

Just returned. Transportation wasn't much of an issue during the holidays. Taxis and minibuses seemed to be running as usual. The only negative was that some of the early busses weren't running, so we had to take a minibus to Warwick rather than the regular 8:50 (I think) bus.

Elbow beach hands down. I think it's Bermudas nicest beach. personally we take the bus there, then when we're ready to go, we take the bus onward to Hamilton which is a very short ride, and hop on the next ferry to dockyard. We just find that to be more pleasant than another long bus back to dockyard.

And about tobacco bay... I used to love it years ago. Pretty little area with good snorkeling. Unfortunately, between the people running concession there making a total mess of things (can't even see the sand because every inch is covered by a sea of lounge chairs, can't enjoy a peaceful beach day because of the blasting music, can't enjoy the view of the water because of big ugly inflatable bounce toys) . On top of that, with two ferries full of people going there (due to NCL adding their own last year) the place is so overcrowded now it is completely disgusting. Last week when we passed by on our way to St Catherine's, the once beautiful turquoise water was cloudy and yellowish due to the masses of people crowded into that little cove. So sad.

we were just there last week. The new condos are not up yet... They were still working on the foundation it looked like. Less noise than expected so the construction didn't really detract from a nice day at the beach.

Has anyone been to Bermuda during these big summer holidays? Just realized they are this week, when we'll be there. How is it getting out of dockyard?? I realize busses are on reduced schedule. Are taxis still plentiful??? How do thousands of passengers get to and from the beaches if not?

Can anyone confirm there currently exists a shuttle to clearwater beach? 2-3 years ago they were advertising a new shuttle to clearwater ("the fun bus" perhaps it was called). We'd been planning to go to Tobacco, but decided to try something different and took that shuttle. We enjoyed Clearwater, but it was a mostly cloudy day, with on and off sprinkles, so we ended up not going further down to Cooper nature reserve. This year we'd like to head out and explore Cooper, and are looking for the easiest way to get there. A shuttle would be best. Alternatively, we've used the "gypsy cabs" for the quick ride over to Tobacco, but would most of them be willing to do the longer drive out to Clearwater/Cooper? Any current info much appreciated.

Also would like comments from anyone who has been to this beach in the past few weeks. Have been to Bermuda many times and explored numerous beaches, but for some reason never made it to Fort St Catherines Beach yet. Will be in Bermuda next week and trying to think of a new beach to visit. Is it still worth visiting or does the ongoing construction ruin the experience?

Has anyone been to Daniels Head this summer? What condition is the beach in, and does the area get very crowded due to the water park? Also, any shuttles from dockyard to DH?

Possible they changed the bus stop to further down the road....the first time I ever did it was maybe 4 years ago. From the bus stop drop off, cross the street, turn right, walk a block, go left around the corner and then continue straight for a few hundred yards onto the beach. All told I'd guesstimate about 1/2 mile, maybe a little less.

I prefer walking only one way starting at Warwick and walking to Horseshoe.

Oops, sorry, I was talking about the walk from the bus stop to Elbow Beach and back.

I've also done the morning drop off at Warwick several times. We spend a few hours there, then take that lovely walk down to Horseshoe, take a dip, have a drink, and then catch a bus/taxi from Horseshoe back to dockyard.

I'd also like to know about the new water park I heard was opening last year, and the general status of Daniels Head area. A dozen years ago we stayed at '9 Beaches' and loved the location. Would love to return there for a day if they ever clean the place up (and get easy transport to and from dockyard).

Pharmacy in dockyard is often the best bet.

I've done it 3 times in the past. It's a pleasant 15-20 minute walk in the morning. Later in the afternoon, it's a sweaty & hot walk back (because it's a slightly uphill walk back and the sun is high in the sky).

RC definitely has the better drink benefits....3 hour cocktail lounge PLUS 2 drink credits at bars, versus just a 2 hour cocktail lounge (and not available on the first night) on celebrity.

Two days after final payment was made, the cost of the room went down $250pp/$500 total - still with all 4 perks. I called my TA, she told me Celebrity won’t give any credits or additional OBC once final payment is made.

Vickie

My own recent buyer beware story :

My wife and I called Celebrity direct regarding a sailing 11 weeks out. Having cruised on Celebrity several times before, we knew they usually slash prices ~6-8 weeks out, and we also thought we knew that once final payment is made you can no longer get a price adjustment and refund. So while talking to the agent and comparing prices of different categories/locations, we asked when final payment was due. She said “ummm….tomorrow actually”. And we asked “so if we book it now and the price goes down, we can’t get a refund or price adjustment, right?”. The agent said “That’s correct….you wouldn’t be able to get a refund after tomorrow, but if the price for the same sailing and room category were to go down in the future, you could call and we would issue you an on-board credit for the difference”.

I had never heard about that before, so I asked “so if the price is $200 lower a month from now and we call, we’ll get a $200 on-board credit?”. She replied “yes sir, that’s correct”. And so rather than wait another month or so for the price to drop, we decided to just book it. Of course it’s now 2 weeks later and the price just dropped $100. And so I called them. And was told that “no we don’t do refunds, and we can’t issue an onboard credit or anything. You can get a refund up until the final payment date, but after that, the price is what you paid and there are no further adjustments.” Which IS the way I originally thought it worked. BUT… we would have held off booking the cruise for another month or so and kept an eye on the price every few days, EXCEPT that the agent told us we could get an onboard credit, which we’d have been fine with.

So, buyer beware!

My 2 pieces of advice to those newer to Celebrity :

1. Don’t necessarily believe what their own agents tell you when you call. They may tell you one thing to entice you to book, and then deny it when you call them the next time.

2. Unless you’re booking a trip on a new ship or new itinerary, or during peak periods like holidays where demand is high and the cruise may sell out early, our experience is that it doesn’t make sense to book way in advance. A year ago when we looked, the cruise we just booked was listed around $3700 (for a concierge class room). 3 months ago it was $3600. 2 weeks ago we booked it for $3100. This week it’s $3000. (similarly, 2 years ago on a Celebrity cruise….3 months out it was going for around $3000. 5-6 weeks out, it dropped to $2600 and we booked it). It pays to wait.

You'd like the Veendam even better then- docks in Hamilton so you can avoid the Dockyard and stays an extra day than Summit. 3 full nights. We found the food to be better than Summit.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I would love that except (I think, correct me if I'm wrong), it's not *really* an extra day in Bermuda. Veendam doesn't dock until afternoon on the day it arrives, so as far as the beach, the day is more than half over by the time you get there. And on departure day you have to be back on the ship by noon (or so), which means *maybe* I can go to Elbow Beach for 2 hours before having to run back to the ship. I like Summit's schedule because I can really get "3 full beach days" in.

Have been on both Summit and Anthem to Bermuda. My own 2 cents?

Anthem is newer and nicer looking. More activities during the day. More, and better, entertainment at night. And because there is so much more to do, it does not feel more crowded than the smaller Summit. Also found the cabins to be nicer and laid out better (based on veranda cabins on both).

On the other hand, I think the Summit's food is slightly better. That goes for the standard options - I don't really do the specialty restaurants. But the BIG draw for me on the Summit is the extra day in Bermuda. I truly wish there were more ships that went to an island and just STAYED there for a few days instead of leaving the same day or even the next!

Wondering if anyone has been there recently? I've read that the SurfsUp shop has closed down, so no businesses there currently, but was wondering what condition the beach is in these days. Loved the area back when stayed at 9 Beaches ten years ago. Would like to return, sit on the beach a while, and snorkel around the old resort.

This is the 5th year in a row we will be taking Celebrity Summit to Bermuda. In the past we've done one day at Tobacco Bay, taking the 9:30 ferry, and immediately grabbing a cab when we get to St George's. For the first 2 hours it's nice...not too crowded, decent snorkeling. By noon or so, it gets pretty mobbed, and the water is cloudy from all the people splashing around, so snorkeling for the day is done.

I know NCL has a complimentary ferry for their passengers, which leaves a half hour earlier for St George's than does the government ferry. Can anyone comment on how crowded Tobacco Bay is this summer around 10-11 in the morning? I'm thinking it's possibly no longer worth going to Tobacco Bay at all, if there are already a couple hundred people there.

Had the exact same thing happen to me a week ago for the June 17 Anthem cruise, but for Spectra's Cabaret in 270. Same exact verbage. I wonder what's up?

The ferry you see is the complimentary one for Norwegian cruises.

But it was docked next to Anthem the other day, so I guess Royal and Norwegian share it??? Where does it go??

Same ferry is next to the Breakaway this morning. See pic.