smtcan

AI makes no sense to us. In fact when it was the only option we stopped booking Celebrity, so we’re very happy when cruise only returned. We are Elite+, so get 240 minutes of wifi each, which is more than enough for the few emails we send and receive. We are very moderate drinkers, so the Elite HH, together with two bottles of wine each is plenty. On our upcoming cruise we have $400 OBC which will cover extras, so all we need to pay is gratuities. I am glad that we now have options to suit everyone.

Thank you.

Has anyone experienced what happens on B2B? Can we bring 4 bottles each and have 2 held for the second cruise?

We have sometimes had luck with Flights By Celebrity, and sometimes we can do better by booking on the airline website. When we have a cruise that starts and ends in different places, like a Transatlantic, Celebrity is often cheaper. Today we booked Toronto - Miami and Frankfurt-Toronto and saved over $1,000, so we are happy. it pays to do your research first, then you know if you have a bargain.

I received one, and to add insult to injury, it addressed me as Christopher, which is my husband’s name. Sheila

Yes! We were on the last Mercury cruise before she sailed with only workers on board to become Mein Schiff. We sailed on her four times and loved every one. Century was another favourite, but now we love S class.

I'm not sure MOST do that, although I am sure some do. We are happy with a light breakfast and only go to the Oceanview once each cruise to have Eggs Benedict. They were made fresh there rather than sitting in the kitchen of the MDR. I hope this is still the case.

We changed cabins on a B2B just before COVID. We told our cabin steward and he said he would tell the steward for the new cabin to get it ready early. As arranged at 10am he put our hanging things on a trolley along with our suitcases which we had packed with the rest of our stuff. We went to the new cabin, he opened the door and we found a woman in bed and a man in the shower. Apparently they had refused to move. Security was called and they were out of there very quickly. On other occasions we have changed cabins with help from our steward, and with no surprises.

Good for you. We often book inside, but a balcony on a warm weather, non port intensive cruise is a worthwhile splurge! Your son would be happy for you, I am sure.

We never fly on the day of the cruise, too risky for us. For places we haven't been before, or particularly want to see again, we could go a week or more ahead. Sydney, Singapore and Shanghai come to mind (not because they begin with S). European ports generally a couple of days early, but for us Florida doesn't warrant extra time, so the night before is fine.

We did take a cruise with the CEO quite by chance. We had a B2B booked in Asia and when the second cruise was cancelled we booked the cruise before, which turned out to be Cruise with the CEO. She wasn’t on for the whole cruise, and as far as I know, never ate in the MDR although at the time there were no issues there. The main things we noticed were small gifts in our cabin each night and a free evening excursion to the Citadel at Hue for select and above. This was literally a washout, because heavy rain wrecked the outdoor dinner and entertainment. As we exited the buses to the ship we were handed vouchers for free laundry or dry cleaning for our soaked clothes.

We took all private tours on our South American cruise a few years ago, and did the same on several Asian cruises. We had no problems at all. I would be more reluctant in China, but after several non cruise small group tours there, we don’t intend to return in the current political climate.

Your Captain's Club rep on board can sort it out for you. We did B2B on two different ships and our rep called the second ship and we received Elite benefits on the second cruise.

Really enjoying you review. We have a 23 day B2B coming up in April, Eastern Caribbean and Transatlantic on Silhouette. Thirty days B2B in Asia is the longest cruise we have taken, I must admit that the football references are over my head. Growing up in Wales, the Six Nations Rugby interests me more, even after Wales lost badly to Ireland last weekend.

We use TripAdvisor to decide what we want to see in a port, as well as the descriptions of ship's tour and information from guide books or web sites. Then we figure out the best way to explore. Sometimes we rent a car. Other times a tour with our Roll Call, or public transport. Occasionally a private tour is the best way to go. When we booked a tour in the Holy Land, we had a note from our guide to tell us that since our itinerary had changed we would not be docking, so our money had been refunded to our credit card. Celebrity didn’t notify us of the change until the following day.

Everyone is different. We have cruised a few times on RCI but don’t like the enormous ships and have no need of flow riders etc. We prefer the quieter atmosphere of Celebrity. I can’t comment on Carnival, but from their advertising and comments on these boards I don’t think they would suit us. We haven’t taken an ocean cruise since before COVID, but have 23 days on Silhouette coming up in April. We will go with an open mind, prepared to enjoy being at sea again. If we are disappointed we will rethink future plans, but that will be after we have seen for ourselves. We have never been suite cruisers, so are not spending the big money others are mentioning here, but if we were, that might alter our views.

One of our best private tours was in St. Petersburg too. We were cruising with a three generation family group of ten, with ages ranging from 11 to 75. Our guide was an English teacher on summer holiday and she was really good at keeping the children engaged while showing the adults what they wanted to see. I am really glad we had such an excellent experience there, because I would certainly not return in the current situation. We also had a wonderful Goodwill Guide in Japan for two couples. He was proud to show us his city and enjoyed the opportunity to use his fluent English. His service was free. All we paid for was his lunch and bus fares while we were together. In common with most Japanese he made it clear that tips were not expected or accepted. At the end of a strenuous day, which involved walking up many hills, he told us he was 85 and had great grandchildren!

My opinion of Carnival was that I wouldn’t sail it again even if it was free! We haven’t cruised since before COVID so I don’t know if recent complaints are justified. For us also, Celebrity is a step up from RCI. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles, but the atmosphere is more relaxed and we thought the food was better. We have a Celebrity Caribbean and Transatlantic B2B coming up in April and we are really looking forward to it.

Welcome. We are Sheila & Chris from Toronto and are on this cruise and the following Transatlantic. The roll call hasn’t been particularly active up to now but maybe it will improve in the next couple of months.

We recently added a cruise before our Transatlantic. I booked the TA online but had a problem using a credit a month later when I tried to book the second cruise. I phoned Celebrity to sort this out and mentioned that I wanted the same cabin. The representative sorted it out and said she would mark our cruises as B2B. She gave us a small discount on each, which is something we have never had before on any B2B.

We have cruised several lines and the only one I wouldn’t choose again is NCL. Celebrity and Princess are our usual choices, depending on itinerary and price. We will probably never be suite cruisers and are not high maintenance. The smoking policy is a plus for us and now cruise only is an option we are happy. Having to pay for a drinks package when our usual alcohol consumption is a glass of wine with dinner was a deal breaker for us. We have two Celebrity cruises coming up and after those we will decide what our choices will be in the future.

I don’t know when you last sailed on Royal. We have been on both and generally found Celebrity to be a cut above. We are seeing reports of cut backs on Royal as well as Celebrity, but we will not judge until after our Silhouette cruise in April.

We travelled independently in Japan for two weeks following a cruise and had very little difficulty. Trains and buses have screens giving the next stop in several languages including English and if you plan your route either on the internet or with a guide book it is easy to get where you want to go.

We took private tours and diy in Asia with no problems. We have generally found that tour operators are aware of changes in itinerary, in fact when we had a tour booked in Israel a few years ago, the first we knew of a change was when we had an email from the operator telling us that our money had been returned to our credit card because the ship was not docking. Celebrity's notification came the next day.

We had put a.deposit down in 2016 as an on board booking without specifying a cruise, and forgot about it until we were looking for our first post COVID cruise this week. It took three days for Celebrity to decide what we were entitled to, but we ended up with $240 off our cruise and $150 OBC. I haven’t got a clue if this is what we signed up for, but we didn’t complain. I don’t think I would book on board again unless I really had a specific cruise in mind. It was too much hassle when the rules change so often.