jamacka

On 8/13/2019 at 6:40 PM, warmwinds said:

None of this has anything to do with the fact that when Aqua Class first became a category, we were given DAILY bottles of water.

 

So now that's not considered environmentally correct?  Well, then,  stop SELLING  those same single-use plastic bottles of water to anyone who wants to BUY one.

That's why I said earlier that Celebrity should have a bunch of those water bottle filling stations around the ship and sell refillable water bottles in the gift shop with the X logo on them.  (Maybe AquaClass and Suites could have them included) No more single use water bottles, revenue from drink bottle sales and free advertising when people carry their bottles around off the ship.

20 minutes ago, tvlgoddess said:

I believe the ships water is reverse osmosis while the bottled water is spring water.

 Some is spring water but it's not usually direct from the source because of inconsistencies and possible contaminants.  Water like Aquafina and Dasani are made by PepsiCo and Coca Cola and are just tap water treated with reverse osmosis and ultra violet etc..  Nestles which makes a variety of brands including Perrier and San Pellegrino also undergo all sorts of purification.

The other thing we find odd and surprising are the number of people who specifically request bottled water with their dinner apparently because they don't trust the water provided by the ship in the jugs the servers carry around the dining room.  We don't drink a lot of wine or booze or soda/pop so we've always taken the regular water.  It's great water.  And it's free.  Any commercially bottled water, regardless of it's source, undergoes much the same filtration process as the free tap water on a Celebrity cruise.  Why pay extra for it?

Our last cruise they offered that deal where you can cram as much laundry into the flimsy paper bag for $20 (or whatever it was).  We managed to cram an incredible amount of clothes into that little paper bag.  

A laundry package would be handy for the longer than 10 day long cruises.  We're doing the 15 night repositioning cruise on Edge in April 2020 and then staying on for the back-2-back out of Rome.. I think 11 nights.   Thats a lot of days to pack for when we were hoping to only bring carry-on.  A lot of days for me to be washing our "delicates" in the little bathroom sink.  

Last cruise we were on (TA last November 2018 on Silhouette) we brought our own drink bottles and just refilled them at the water coolers in the cafe and Mast Grill.  Refill your own bottle using the provided glasses at the drink station.   It worked perfectly and cut down on single use plastic water bottles.    We will always bring our own bottles now.

Maybe Celebrity could install those automatic water fountains specifically for filling water bottles that gyms have and then they could sell nice refillable water bottles in the gift shops with the X logo on them.  

Hi Lisa,  Thanks for being here.  

I understand you can't provide public updates dedicated to each specific itinerary but would it be possible for you to post a single update on the Celebrity site to inform passengers that Xpedition has been given the "all clear" to begin cruising again?  Posting the "all clear" publicly will allow the rest of us the confidence to proceed making further travel plans for our time in South America.  Right now, because it seems things are so uncertain, many of us are holding back on making addition travel plans.  We don't get to South America very often (like, just this once) and we want to be able to feel like we can safely make travel arrangements for other  sights as soon as possible.  If you don't let the rest of us know it's good, we will just continue to believe it's not good.

I know Celebrity has been very good about making general announcement about things like hurricane damage in the Caribbean and I think even Zika at one point.

Thanks again

First of all, I'm posting a screen grab of the CC overview of the Xpedition where it says passengers will be moved to the Flora or one of the other Galapagos ship for the foreseeable future.  We're booked on the Nov 9th sailing of Xpedition and have heard nothing of being moved to a different ship.  Can anyone at Cruise Critic confirm this statement?  What can we expect in November?  https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=340
 

And a question from people who have done a Galapagos cruise.  How cold is the water. Should we buy a light wetsuit or at least a rash guard?  Anything special we should be aware of when it comes to swimming around the Galapagos?  And if Celebrity provides wetsuits, are they gross to put on having been worn by many people before you?   We're just unsure what we should bring wrt snorkelling.  
 

I grew up in Quebec City so I cannot tell you much abut hotels.  I haven't really stayed in any there.  I can tell you that the Chateau Frontenac is the famous landmark on the cliff above which you will clearly see from the ship.  If you want to stay in an old hotel with a history, its the one, but there are many to choose from.  Downtown Quebec is easy to walk around if you have good mobility.  It can be a bit hilly in places.  The airport is about 30 minutes outside the city (or at least it was when I was growing up.  traffic patterns may be different now)

I am not an expert on Montreal but I believe it is worth seeing.  There's a great view from the top of Mont Royal and the city itself is very vibrant and historic.  I would do a split.  visit if I were you.  Flights leave QC to montreal several times a day.. can you do a 1.5 days in QC and 1.5 in Montreal?

Nova Scotian, here.  I can tell you for sure that Halifax is easily accessible by walking from the ship.  It's a small city and has a lovely waterfront.  But if you're looking to see scenic areas outside the city, an excursion might be necessary.  I live in the Annapolis Valley and we are the bread basket of Nova Scotia.  Farmland, orchards and many award winning vineyards.  If there's an excursion to the Wolfville area.. maybe a wine tour or something.., I really recommend it.  Likewise, there will definitely be excursions to Peggy's Cove which is the iconic east coast fishing village.  If you google pictures of Nova Scotia, almost certainly the Peggy's Cove lighthouse will be among them.

Its quite far from Battery Park.  If you want to go there arrive early.  Last spring we visited NYC and arrived late and couldn't get tickets for the Statue of Liberty.  You can, however take the ferry to Staten Island.  Its free and goes pretty close to the statue.  Here's a shot.  It is zoomed in but we still weren't too far.

Like Turtles, we did the westbound TA from Southampton on the Silhouette last fall.  Our first port of call was Boston but we were delayed arriving there by a day because of poor weather crossing the Atlantic.  Our second port was NYC and we did overnight there which was a lot of fun.  

We didn't book any excursions for any port because we anticipated the likelihood of bad weather and the chance we might have to drop a port (we ended up missing the Bahamas).  We are very familiar with Boston because our daughter use to live there.  We'd been to NYC the preceding spring and were comfortable free-wheeling it.  When we reached Boston the day before we called up and ordered tickets to a Broadway show for the following night.  We arrived in NYC mid afternoon and got off, had dinner in the city and saw our show.  The next day was raining so we took a cab to the Metropolitan Museum in the morning.  It had stopped raining by the time we got out so we walked through Central Park, had a meal at Tavern on the Green and then took a cab back to the ship.  It was a great trip.  
 

We're tentatively booked on the Edge, leaving Fort Lauderdale April 19, 2020.  We're doing the 15 night transAtlantic, ending in Rome on May 4th and then staying on for the next cruise, an 11 night cruise of Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro before returning to Rome.  We've never done back-to-back before.

So my question to all those who have, when we arrive in Rome on May 4th, will there be excursions we can book for that day, while passengers are disembarking and new passengers are embarking and crew is busy with the turn-around?  Right now the Celebrity website doesn't have any excursions  for Rome  so I don't know what's available, if anything, for people doing back-to-back.

We have stayed in AquaClass 3 times and have never experienced any noise.... but avoid the cabins under the deck overhang.  They drip water every time deck 12 is mopped and the view is often obstructed by those support braces.  Some people say that a Deck 11 cabin over the gym can be noisy.  We like forward cabins and have been over the gym twice with no noise.  But if you like a forward cabin and are worried about it, get a cabin over the spa instead of the gym.

Last cruise we were on we were in a Deck 6 forward cabin and we did experience some noise from the theatre in the afternoon during rehearsals.  I suppose also in the evening but we weren't in our cabin in the evening.  Still, the noise wasn't so bad that I wouldn't stay in a Deck 6 Forward cabin again.  But if you want no noise at all, that location is not for you.

The Sargasso Sea is a place in the Atlantic where the sea currents go around it, creating a sort of eddy.  It's like the Hotel California of the ocean, things check in but they don't often leave.  Usually things get trapped in the Sargasso Sea.. so there's an abundance of seaweed and often trash as well there.   Likely the reason this stuff is showing up on beaches here and there, is because of a storm which blew it out of the confines of the Sargasso Sea and pushed it into one of the passing currents.

Or, the currents are getting all fibbered-up because of climate change and the Sargasso Sea is breaking apart. (probably not that... yet)

We bring water bottles and refill them in the cafeteria (use a glass to get the water out of the machine and pour it in the bottle to prevent cross contamination of the water dispenser.)  

We had a crew evacuation last year on Eclipse.  We were on our second sea day after leaving Miami and it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere.  The wind was really high that day and the helicopter had a hard time swinging in to drop the basket.  We never heard the nature of the injury but the captain reported the next day that the crew member was in hospital and doing well.  We watched the action from the relaxation lounge in the spa on deck 11 (Aquaclass access) as the closed access to the gym and Sky Lounge for safety reasons (all that wind).  The helicopter arrived while it was still light out but by the time the injured crew was removed from the ship, it was pitch dark out.  

I've never done a helmet dive but I have done scuba. Keep in mind that you will be more buoyant in shallow water than is deeper water simply because of the weight of the water above you. There is a point where you will cease to be buoyant and the weight of the water above you will actually push you down. 

On 1/20/2019 at 2:42 PM, Loanrngr said:

Over Sanitizing is creating more outbreaks and sickness!!! Wash your hands when you need too and for me Ketel One Vodka :)

 I manage a fair amount of amount of young sales people 25-35 year old's who are constantly using the hand sanitizer's and oddly enough are always getting sick??? Plenty of info to back this up, and I would venture to say that the widespread outbreaks have been getting more prevalent over the years???  Just my .02 cents worth...

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/does-hand-sanitizer-give-people-a-false-sense-of-security/

 

 

well, I think you'd have a lot of convincing to do to, especially in the medical profession where doctors and nurses routinely use hand sanitizer before visiting with a patient.   I don't think its use should be down played.  As the article you posts says, they remove common cold, strep, and even flu.  If you've ever watched people in public washrooms you'll know that most people don't adequately wash their hands and some don't wash hands at all.   I also know that many of those people also don't use hand sanitizers which mean they could be walking petri dishes.  I will continue to use hand sanitizer in addition to washing my hands (I'm very thorough) because I know those people exist.

Last year I was in the grocery store produce section and I watched a women open a container of raspberries, poke them wit her finger the close the lid and put it back.  She did this wit several containers.  Raspberries are hard to wash and best you can do it run water over them unlike fruit with a peel which you can wash wit soap and water.  As far as I'm concerned her poking each raspberry is the same as sticking her finger directly in a stranger's mouth.  I don't have faith that her hands were clean.. not after hanging not the grocery cart handle.   So two things i picked up rom that: people are disgusting and don't buy raspberries. 

I can't tell you from first hand experience but I can say that my sister and her husband were on that ship over Christmas and New Years and they had wifi through the ship.  They left from Peru and went around the Horn to Buenos Aires   and then did a B2B up to Rio for New Years.   Their wifi was good enough that we were able to FaceTime a couple of times and it seemed she didn't miss a beat on Facebook.  I think it depends on location.  But that was ship wifi.  I'm not sure about wifi off the ship.

We had Sue on the November TA on Silhouette and she was certainly not our favourite Cruise Director.  We understand that this particular crossing was wrought with rough weather which resulted in a shift in what the performers could safely do and typically, we are told that Was are often regarded as opportunities to hone skills for new acts and crew members.  But all that aside, we found the overall 'vibe' (if I could call it that) made us feel it was not the happiest crew on a cruise ship we've been on and I think the mood of the crew reflects on the general mood of the passengers.  I think it was not entirely her fault, of course,  I think a happy crew is a result of overall leadership from captain, staff captain and cruise director.    

Now none if this means we didn't have a good time.  We certainly did have a good time.  We met some great people I hope will be long term friends.  But we didn't rely on the entertainment to keep us amused (except for trivia).   We enjoyed that TA because we were off the grid for 8 days and could get a real break from work etc....  Lots of downtime in the cabin, watching movies, drinking hot chocolate and watching movies.   

use your elbow to hit the elevator buttons and the public washroom buttons, try not to touch railings, when filling up you drink at the machine in the cafeteria use a napkin so you don't directly touch the button or lever, try not to touch salt and pepper shakers or condiment dispensers with bare hands.  Most of us wash our hands and use hand sanitizer before we go into eat but forget that once in there, people cough and sneeze into their hands or directly onto the serving tools. Somebody coughs into their hand, picks up a menu and carries on with their day.  Next person comes in, picks up the menu, makes an order and then picks up their bread with their freshly contaminated hand.  Just keep in mind that just because people enter with clean hands doesn't mean their hands stay clean.

Thanks!!  I am excited!!  That all sounds perfect!!

Hi Trend, 

You mentioned the different level of hikes that Celebrity offers.  How difficult would the most difficult be with regards to length of time, distance and elevation?  And do we have to sign up for these excursions and are their limited space on each excursion or if everyone wanted to go on the same one would we all be able to?

Also, I really like to swim in the ocean.  Are there many opportunities when we can just jump off the boat and go for a swim as it's tendered somewhere? (without those annoying uninflated life jackets I've had to wear on snorkeling excursions I've taken with other Celebrity cruises)

On 11/14/2018 at 1:10 PM, goin'toalaska said:

Trying to decide on a Galapagos cruise for spring 2019.  We are looking at the National Geographic Lindblad 10 day Northern Loop on the Endeavor II, or Celebrity Expedition Northern Loop 7-day.  Which would you recommend for a family with kids ranging from 8 to 14 years old?  The National Geographic seems much more expensive, even taking into account the longer trip, so. I guess I’m slightly leaning towards Cellebrity, but would be willing to pay more if the Nat Geo would be a better experience?  Any feedback?

Did you decide?  We're looking at Celebrity Xpedition in Nov. 2019.  The Future Cruise agent aboard the Celebrity Silhouette on our recent TA worked a pretty good deal for us... $9942CAD per person. We managed to snag a mini-suite on the upper deck for that price.  We put a deposit down but can cancel for full refund before July.    This will be our 5th Celebrity cruise.  Looking forward to it.

Because of the arrival of the new Celebrity Flora, the Xpedition is apparently going in for a quick refit at some point before our cruise.  The number of passengers aboard is suppose to be reduced from 100, down to something like 60, as per environmental regulations (or so we have been told),

I remember seeing an interview with President Bush year ago, after he was done his term in office.  He was talking about the Gulf War and how hard he found it sending people into war.  He wept.  Without getting political, I admired him for his compassion.  I think that's something that is missing in a lot of leaders.  They don't feel or understand or maybe they just don't care about the consequences of their actions and how their decisions affect others.  These days we just don't see a lot of that.