JerseyGirlatHeart

Thanks.  Having cruised Celebrity often, I knew these, but absolutely think this is very helpful for new Celebrity cruisers.

We love Random Wind and have sailed with them several times.  Friendly staff, good food and drinks.  I’m not sure the number of passengers they take, have never felt crowded.  Took our Grandson in December (9 years old), and it was one of the highlights of his trip.

We have taken the Antigua Eco tour and have throughly enjoyed it.

1 hour ago, 20165 said:

Can anyone recommend a private boat tour that will take us snorkeling and to a beach?  THanks

If you mean non-cruise ship excursion, we love Silvermoon Inc.  We normally do the XL Adult Only, Premium Liquor Lunch Tour with a maximum of 12 people (runs around $180 each).  You will be treated like royalty throughout the day.  Additionally they will work times with you depending on arrival and departure.  We were given the opportunity to snorkel with turtles and a shipwreck, and then given the use of floats/swim time near a secluded shore.  The crew cooks an outstanding onboard lunch, they offer hot/cold snacks/appetizers throughout the day, and you can order just about any drink from sparkling wine, mimosas, margaritas, frozen coladas, beer, shots, soda, tea, etc.  The staff caters to your every need.  We have gone at least 3 or 4 times.

I have also heard nice things about Calabaza and Cool Runnings, just have never taken them and believe they take more then 12.
 

If you mean PRIVATE (just you), Silvermoon Inc, also offers that option, but I’m sure it is crazy expensive.

We used Ambrose in January, please see posted review below.  Safety is definitely not a priority.

I’ve recently been asked to critique the “Concierge Experience” via a survey.  The survey asked for input on what I found to be the most important benefits associated with Concierge, what new benefits I would like to see included in Concierge, and what benefits I found of little value.  I’ve done many Celebrity cruises and am Elite Plus (mentioning for reference only.). We normally cruise Aqua Class, but did cruise Concierge Class for the New Years Cruise in Dec 23/Jan 24 with my adult children and 9 year old grandchild.  I’ve done many “exit” surveys as the end of a cruise, this survey was totally different.  Wonder if that is the “focus” alluded to.

Thanks for all the info.  How far in advance do you normally book airfare.  We are traveling 1-way from Rome to Fll and will be booking business class.

It is my understanding that I can book a flight on Celebrity Flights and if the price goes down between now and final payment, I have the option to change the booking, refare, or completely cancel the booked flight without penalty.  What is the downside?

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

Yes, I predict no changes to those that cruise quite often and know what will and what won’t be added on your invoice.  I imagine it will be helpful for those new to cruising that are shocked when another $500+ is added to their pricing.  
But, just like when you go to buy airfare, there is always a breakdown of the flight vs the added taxes and fees on the page on or around the payment screen.  

 

I don’t see how this new law will have an impact on port fees being refunded.  It’s a law that the port fees have to be returned if a port was missed, in the event it isn’t replaced.  

Was on Celebrity Beyond in January; we missed Antigua with no port fee refund or OBC.

7 hours ago, suekel said:

I'm just getting started in TRX and was wondering if someone has done the classes on-board.  Are they ok for a beginner?

 

Thanks

I love TRX, but don’t recall any of the ships I’ve been on having a class, or even the equipment (ropes) for it.  

We are taking a cruise next year that disembarks in Ravenna.  We are planning to spend a month in Italy following the cruise, starting with 5 days in Venice.  Our plan was to disembark, get transportation to the train station and head to Venice, but starting to rethink it.

Would it be better to get a B&B in Ravenna for the night and take the train in the morning to avoid the “cruise” crowd?

How “difficult” is the train system from Ravenna to Venice (we will each have a 25” rolling piece of luggage and each have a backpack)?

Would private transportation be better?  If so, any recommended options that won’t break the bank?

Thanks in advance!

What car company did you use from Ravenna to Venice?  We are doing this cruise next year, Tampa Fl to Ravenna Italy, then staying for a month visiting. Trying to decide if we want to do the train or a private driver.  Thanks for great review!

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

Did you mean Flights by Celebrity?  

Yes.  Sorry, also have a Princess Cruise coming up and working “EZ Air” through them.

We would like to spend 1 month in Italy visiting family following our cruise disembarkation.  Can we still use ez air through Celebrity for trip home to USA? 

We have been to Bimini with Celebrity.  It was a dock, not a tender. Once you get off a you can walk down the pier or catch a tram (I don’t recall if you had to pay for the tram).  It was a short walk to the “Town Circle.”  We rented a golf cart for the day ahead of time, but at the “Town Circle” there looked like there were plenty of golf carts for rent.  We road from one end of island to the other, stopping at various places that interested us along the way.  It was a nice day and we enjoyed it.

We love Aqua Class, especially on the Reflection.  

Lowest WiFi I’ve seen is $4.99 pp pd for upgrade.

We took this when cruising restarted after COVID and were required to do “bubble tours”.  It was ok, not great, but I would do it again if I couldn’t get on a Silver Moon or Calabaza sailing.  Have you tried contacting these companies?  Sometimes they will adjust their times to align with Cruise Ship arrival and departure.  

They normally have nuts in the buffet near the cheese

Disliked it.  

We ordered off the MDR menu a few times on our last 21 day B2B on the Beyond.  It was no problem.

Sorry for your loss.  
 

We did this for my MIL on the Sky Princess in 2022.  Princess was Top Notch; everything was perfect.

We just did it two weeks ago.  Had high hopes, but not a great experience.  Due to number of passengers, we had two speed boats.  One newer and one older.  A very large family got on the newer boat, and the rest of us in the older.  We also got the passengers that wanted to be dropped off at snorkel location and passengers for just the beach  (we signed up for land and sea).  Spencer was our boat captain and he was visibly very sick.  When we pulled up to the dock to drop off snorkelers at their location, he hit the dock, dumping one of his mates off the back of the boat near the props, luckily the other mate yelled at Spencer to cut the motor off.  Once snorkelers were dropped off, and mates back on board we headed off to see a bat cave.  When Spencer tried to get close to the cave he rammed the boat into the rock wall, this time everyone was ok.  We were then taken to land/beach portion of the trip and turned over to one of the mates.  Once we were dropped off on the beach we were given lunch in a styrofoam container.  There were no tables, so we sat on rocks to eat.  Once beach time was complete Spencer puller boat up to dock ramming the dock hard.  The mate from the other boat got on and took over the driving, leaving another mate to drive the newer boat.  Spencer stood up on side of speedboat console and looked like he was going to vomit.  We hauled butt heading back to original pickup point, but as luck would have it we ran out of gas just as soon as we turned into the port (we could see our ship)area.  Water was rough and waves were pushing us very close to the jagged rocks.  The newer speedboat was some distance behind us, but was able to throw us a rope and tow us to the docking area.  Just as we were pulling up to dock a Catamaran cut us off, we had no controls and barely missed the Catamaran.  The newer speedboat pulled us around again.  We again rammed the dock hard.  We couldn’t wait to get off the vessel.  My husband did give the mate that took control a tip, just for getting us back on land without killing anyone.

would I go with Spencer again?  No, but I do think (after doing strictly land portion in the past …. Long drive), that speedboat is the way to go.

Been on the Beyond for last two cruises and on each sea day empty chairs by the pool have been nonexistent.  Also very crowded in all the main entertainment venues, if you don’t go 30 min before show, you will not get a seat.  Gym situation is not much better.
 

First time on the Beyond … beautiful ship (one of the most beautiful we have been on), but space utilization is awful.  
 

We will be cruising on “S” or “M” class ships in the future.

Once on board found menus to be accurate.  If looking at menus before boarding, they are not accurate.