chimchimtx

On 7/14/2022 at 1:49 PM, Purplsmurf said:

Not due to Covid. Aruba has lifted all mandates and testing. Unless things get worse, it’s very easy to travel there now.

I don’t know the actual reason for the change.   I was answering the question regarding Celebrity’s  explanation for the change. As listed by others the itinerary has not changed for other cruises sailing around the same time. So there is no obvious answer.    
 

I read the email as implying it was related to Covid restrictions.  The number of ships in port is a good theory as well.  The actual wording from the email was “Celebrity Cruises is continuing to work closely with health and government authorities, to protect the well-being and safety of everyone onboard as well as the destinations we visit. We are also continuously evaluating all itineraries and the status of travel conditions around the world. This means some of our sailings will need to be modified.”

On 7/14/2022 at 1:40 PM, GoNavyFamily said:

We are also on the previous cruise.  Where did you see there are changes?  I just looked in my account and see no notices and we have received no emails about it.

I received an email from celebrity and then logging in the itinerary was different online.  

8 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

Thanks! We are on the Oct 6th ABC. We will keep alert for changes.

 

Any suggestion in the notice of why?

Covid.  To keep everyone as safe as possible.  But my guess is that Aruba enacted something similar to Bahamas and they are mandating it be a first stop.  We are going to Grand Cayman first technically but there is a sea day in between.  Aruba was in the middle before.  

No, but I suppose it could be.  I don't follow the roll call board though, so I suspect there might be some other people who don't as well. Just trying to be helpful considering all the Celebrity glitches with the website and email.

Check your email.  All of the ABC Islands got flipped, so your booked tours will all be messed up.

This is something we are interested in as we have only done a smaller free one on Princess before BUT I haven't booked yet for this cruise because I am imaging everyone squished into ship passage ways and crammed into the galley all trying to hear the guide.  I am thinking maybe our sea day on day #8 so if we get Covid we are disembarking the next day.  😂 

Also I would much prefer $99 for both us rather than each!

Definitely keep checking pre cruise though as sometimes people do cancel.  When I booked our first night at Tuscan we could only get an 8 pm slot.  I kept checking and a 6:30 finally opened up.  As I was hoping to take advantage of the sunset on sail away I jumped on it.  Plans change so it’s possible something opens up. 

Rash guards are upf 50 and above material.  So it’s an alternative to the sunscreen.  They are simply saying don’t bring regular sunscreen.  And yes reef friendly sunscreen has been a thing in Hawaii for years.  I saw it in the Dominican Republic more than ten years ago.  Regular sunscreen damages the coral. If we kill off all the reefs there will be no more snorkeling to do.  
 

 Amazon has lots of cheap rash guard options.  Try searching UPF clothing.  I have two from there.  My nicest one was $26.  Add it to your cart or watchlist.  They often fluctuate in price based on the day of the week so you might even see a price drop.  
 

Edited to clarify you don’t need a rash guard specific swimsuit.  Just get a long sleeve rash guard/upf jacket to wear over your suit in place of sunscreen.  I have a zippered hoodie version and a pullover version.  They go right over a regular swimsuit.  Sun coverage without the sunscreen!

It’s part of your reservation.  You select the configuration when booking.  

In these times I would go in betting on a 50/50 chance that will happen.  The main difference between a sky suite and an aqua sky suite is the inclusion of the additional spa/fitness benefits.  
 

With the delays, shortages and inflation we are currently experiencing it’s a very real possibility that the decor upgrades don’t happen on time.   If so, you will most likely just get an apology or at best some OBC since you aren’t losing any access benefits.  I am assuming Celebrity would consider those benefits to have a hard cost where decor would be considered a soft cost.  It’s not as easy to value decor.  If it’s a deal breaker then I would consider finding a cabin you know has been updated. 

20 minutes ago, sgmn said:

The good thing is that there's a tipping point in the population when it seems everyone's had it and rates start to go down again..................until the next variant 😬

This is exactly what I am hoping for.  We cruise in September so I am estimating Omnicron will have run its course with the summer crowds and crew and we might be in a lull period similar to what happened earlier this year after the holiday surge of December/January hit.  We are cruising regardless but it would be nice to see the numbers come back down again since ships are clearly back near capacity. 

I think the commercial may have been misleading.  For aqua class, access to the spa is included but only for use of the common rooms such as the sauna, and thermal loungers.  Spa treatments are not included. As mentioned earlier, they are pricey.  Very pricey. If you are choosing the vacation based on that I believe you will be disappointed as you will need to tack on hundreds of dollars per day for treatments.

What you will have access to is the fitness classes, in-room exercise equipment (yoga mats, weights, etc).  You will also have access to Blu which is suppose to provide a healthier fare than other dining rooms but looking at the menu is not terribly so.  

If you want a cruise with some spa like amenities, then try it out.  If you are looking for a true wellness retreat type experience I think you will be disappointed.

I couldn’t find it either but when I called to verify my package to determine if the current promo was a better deal they were able to email me a receipt showing I had premium drinks etc included.  

We went to several shows. I personally wasn't that impressed with them. They were ok, and something to do at night, but on shore I wouldn't have bothered. My husband and daughter went to the show on the last night that was designed around The Voice. They said it was amazing and the best show of the week. Of course they are using passengers so I guess it's as good as the talent that week.

Above each machine (we were on the star) is an estimated wash and dry time so you can plan accordingly for when to return and remove your items. Thankfully I returned 10-15 minutes early just to check as I found both to end earlier than expected. I went at 9 pm and was able to do two loads at once.

Did they do a seafood buffet either on deck or in the Horizon Court for lunch any day?

Not in the MDR. They did have nightly rotating seafood options, at least two each night. They had salmon as one of the options for every night that was pretty good.

We only went once to Horizon Court. I don't do buffets in general (germaphobe) and certainly wasn't going to during the heightened cleaning. I did go in with my husband and daughter one day. They went through the whole thing and came out with two items on their plate each. They both most of it on their plates. They said it was terrible.

Just asked and he said there was a lot of seafood options on the buffet, but couldn't answer as to the flavor since he didn't try it.

Portofino except Juneau and Skagway day. There was no lunch in any MDR those days.

It has been awhile since I looked at the new menus, but I would be tempted to say they were the old format. There were several things I saw on the new menus, and none of them appeared on our menus. It seemed to lean towards old fashioned, heavily sauced items and I remember thinking some of the new items looked fresher and healthier.

Thank you! I leave this Saturday, so I will enjoy looking at these over the next couple of days.

 

Just a quick question, since you didn't show the backs - which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day?

None. They were closed on embarkation because of the deep cleaning, but based on the printing date of the patters they might always be closed for lunch. My patter shows only Horizon Court (buffet), and the pizza, ice cream and grill as being open for lunch. There was a dining room open for lunch other days, just not the first one. Again, not sure if it was because of our delay due to norovirus or that's their normal schedule. We found several things happened differently from what we read on here.

I didn't read all the way through this for please excuse me if I repeated something above. We pre-paid for internet. It is credited to your account as dollars. You have to repurchase once on board then take a slip of paper that appears in your cabin to the internet cafe to have your extra minutes credited to your account. It was ridiculous! Also, the connection was slow. Streaming would likely be interrupted a lot.

We took a private tour with these guys:

Renegade

It was three hours long and we got to see everything on land that all of the other tours covered. We just followed their set tour, but they can hook you up if you want to see something specific. And I should add their prices were very reasonable compared to other ports 'private tours'. We had five people in our group, but their van could fit more.

As a thank you for all of the help we received pre-cruise I uploaded the patters from our northbound June 23rd sailing aboard Princess Norovirus (I mean Star). I just took pictures of the inside. If you have specific questions I will attempt to answer them.

Link to Album

Ship: Star Princess

Class: Grand

Deck: Dolphin

Stateroom: # D117

Category : IE

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern: Starboard, Bow

Connects With Cabin #

Accessible: No

Quiet: Mostly, only sounds were loud children in the hall if right in front of our doorway. You could hear some engine noise when approaching piers at ports but it was for a very short period of time.

Balcony Size: n/a

View: none

Privacy Issues: None

Wind: None

Soot: None

Problems: The room was not cleaned very well, but otherwise was as expected.

Comments: I was really worried about this room as we were booked into this room for a family vacation without any chance for feedback. We were traveling with our teenage daughter, so basically three full sized adults. I had read lots of negative reviews about these 4 person interior rooms. We found the size of the room to be much better than expected. We kept the beds in bunks and used the bunk on the far wall as the third bed (the closest one remained closed). If all four bunks were in use I could see this room feeling a lot more cramped. We had plenty of storage for three. Four would be harder for sure. Doable but pack light. We used a clear hanging pocket storage over the back of the bathroom door. I think that helped keep the bathroom less cluttered.

Just got off the June 23rd sailing. I don't remember crab legs in the MDR, so it was likely the day you are in Juneau. We went to Crowne Grill that night. Sadly I wasn't impressed with many of the specialty items served in the MDR, so I wouldn't let that determine your schedule too much.

I wouldn't call them hidden, but there is space all around the ship to watch from. They will pull the ship up with one side facing the glacier, sit for an hour, and then turn it the other way. If you are on deck you will likely want to move around for the best view. Whichever you choose opt for outside. You will want to hear the glacier too.

We are headed out tomorrow on the Star, which I hope won't forever be known as the poop ship once we get home. I know all the to does for hard surfaces, but does anyone know what happens to the bedding?

Norovirus can survive on soft surfaces. I can't imagine them bringing in thousands of new blankets during the three hour 'deep clean' that is scheduled. But maybe there is a contingency plan in place for that. Anyone know?