vacruizer
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Posts posted by vacruizer
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2 hours ago, Saint Greg said:
You think they’ll still put elegant night up against the Super Bowl? If they do I bet super bowl beats elegant night.It’s been nearly 10 years ago, but I was on a Super Bowl sailing and they moved elegant night to the following day. Pretty much every place on the ship has it on with the exception of the Red Frog Pub that was actually listed as where to go if you didn’t want to watch. 😂 They were showing cricket.
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St Maarten and St Kitts are two of my favorite ports - enough so that I’m researching non cruise trips to both. Enjoy!!!
Looking forward to the review and particularly your thoughts on the room as I just booked a 4J on Lido for a summer Magic sailing.-
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13 hours ago, clskinsfan said:
I agree with the two replies after your post. Celebrity IS a step above the other mainstream lines. But you are going to pay for that difference. As far as what changed? Pretty much everything. They went to a new more modern model for their ships and entertainment. And the ships are pretty much dead at 11:00. Most of the activity after that time is in the Sky Lounge on the older ships. Not really our style. It is just a much more laid back experience. Their food declined noticeably over a 4 year span as well. Service is still stellar. I am not saying you will be disappointed in a cruise with them. You will most likely love everything about it if you have been exclusively Carnival. But you are also paying A LOT more for that difference. And to us the cost isnt worth it. I can sail twice on Carnival or Royal for the same cost as a single Celeb cruise. And the product is quite comparable in our opinion.
Recently I’ve found Celebrity pricing to be very close to Carnival and actually less than Royal or NCL. That probably depends on itinerary but for a basic 7 day Caribbean, I was surprised at how good the pricing was.
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39 minutes ago, SRQbeachgirl said:
We have sailed mostly Carnival, but last week took our first cruise on an "upscale" line on Celebrity Reflection. It was the best cruise we've ever taken. Some of the differences we noted:
- Much better food selections and quality in the buffet - including bacon every morning and no "bacon police."
- Cabin service twice daily with turndown (and they still put chocolates on the pillow).
- Different production shows every night with MUCH better talent.
- Hardly any kids and no huge groups of family reunions, teenagers, etc taking over venues.
- Didn't have to sign anything for drinks.
- Immediate acknowledgement and service at every bar, even just for water.
- Didn't have to check out pool towels - they actually trust passengers to take as many as they want and bring them back without supervision.
- No smoking in the casino.
- No one hawking shots or sticking a camera in your face in the MDR.
- MDR has tablecloths and more attentive waitstaff (they still do crumb service!).
- Passengers in general were more considerate of each other (getting on elevators, in buffet lines, etc).
- Only ONE ship-wide announcement each morning, from the Captain. No constant announcements about bingo, art auctions, pool games, spa sales, etc.
So have we completely "jumped ship" from Carnival to Celebrity? No, since we still think Carnival is a good value. But we will definitely be looking more at Celebrity or other more upscale lines for future cruises, specially when we are seeking more relaxation than 24/7 activity.
Exactly what I experienced on the Apex. It was lovely. It also felt so much less crowded with 1,000 less passenger capacity than a similar size Carnival ship and I didn’t miss the constant barrage of pushy sales and announcements at all.
I also loved returning from port to cold towels and infused water on the pier and that the public restrooms were spotless with an attendant during peak hours. And real towels for drying your hands!
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I’ve done 21 Carnival, 3 NCL, and a Celebrity so far. I loved Carnival for many years but feel like the product started to decline about 6 or 7 years ago. Or maybe I just outgrew them. My last Carnival in May 2022 was a disaster unfortunately. Terrible food, short staffed, ship in shockingly poor condition, and almost no entertainment. It was the type cruise that gave Carnival a bad reputation and was sad to see after so many great cruises over the years.
I had tried NCL in 2018 for the solo rooms and loved the food and entertainment, but thought daytime activities were a bit boring and crew less friendly.
I sailed NCL again for my honeymoon in January 2022 and it was lackluster - even with a Haven upgrade. Drink prices were crazy and most everything priced out of the beverage package you paid several hundred extra to have included. Food was just meh. Most off putting, though, was the vocally unhappy crew. Many told us at different times how poorly NCL treated them including finding out after they started a contract they would have no shore leave at all. For months at a time - even after other lines allowed it post Covid. Many were threatening to quit including longtime crew. I wasn’t surprised to hear about them cutting steward’s wages and laying off entertainers mid contract recently.
Celebrity was my most recent cruise and it was amazing. Just a step up on everything -food, service, ship ambiance, and lots of little luxury touches. Attention to detail. I was worried it would be stuffy but instead found a slightly older crowd - middle aged to say early 70s - that was active, friendly, and having a great time. Entertainment was stellar, food fantastic, and the all inclusive package covered most everything including tips and Wi-Fi for less than I could have sailed Carnival for room only at the time.
That said I’m returning to Carnival in the fall as we found a great deal from Norfolk that won’t require airfare which has gotten to be a pain and expensive. How that goes will probably determine whether or not I sail again with them or just move on and deal with flying to sail Celebrity.
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On 1/24/2023 at 4:16 AM, mondello said:
I see Corey Glover listed, saw him years ago with Living Colour; opened for The Rolling Stones back in ‘89 on the Steel Wheels tour.
Loudest show I’ve ever seen was Living Color at a small club in the early 90s. Probably partly responsible for my middle aged tinnitus!
One of these days I plan to hit a Jam Cruise or Cayamo. I just always have a hard time justifying the $$ when I could take three regular cruises and go to a few local festivals for the price.
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The Hotel Maren is amazing and right on the beach, but a few blocks away from the mains strip so quieter. It’s expensive but great if you can use Hilton points for it.
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Good luck. I wasted an incredible amount of time with BOA and Celebrity passing me back and forth before I finally got it. It was a BOA issue and seems like they wait until you call vs giving you the credit as they should.
I had another terrible set of interactions with BOA over an error with the personal information on my account and numerous rude and poorly trained customer service agents. I took it to their corporate executive complaint department and dealt with an incredibly incompetent and rude executive there. I ended up telling them to close the card as I refused to do any more business with them.
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I hate to say this, but I thought it was the only bar on the ship where the bartenders seemed disinterested and didn’t really bother. I wanted to love it, but tried about three times and gave up after watching three bartenders more interested in their phones than asking the two people at the bar if they wanted something. I understand busy, but two people at 11am and you can’t be bothered? The drinks were also not well made.
The rest of the ship was amazing, though!
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23 minutes ago, barbeyg said:
Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that. 😕 What a real shame.
We were on deck 10, and had no sound issues where we were located, right off the rear elevator area. Can you share where you were so others know?
I was deck 12, starboard side, just a few rooms from the aft. It was a concierge class infinite verandah and under the galley for the oceanview cafe. Loudest room I’ve ever had - the banging and thundering noises (carts rolling?) went on 24 hours a day.
The rest of the experience was exceptional, though! I found myself drawn to Eden much of the time. What a stunningly beautiful space made even better with plenty of seating, great bartenders, and music and entertainment at night. Don’t want to hijack your review.. but really enjoyed the ship, service, and food overall. And the art..so much thought was put into not just decorations, but thought provoking works of art.
Thank you again for the review!
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Date of Cruise: 12/3/22
Ship: Apex
Cabin #: 12244
Deck #: 12
Cabin Category: Concierge IV
Cabin Location: Starboard aft
Bed Position: Near window
Balcony Type: IV
Balcony/Window Size: standard
Balcony/Window View/Obstruction: Post support for overhang
Balcony Overhang?: Yes - significantly blocked upward view of sky and stars
Magic Carpet Issues?: No
Noise Issues?: Yes. Absolutely the noisiest cabin I’ve had in 25 cruises. Avoid deck 12 starboard at all costs if you can. Room under Oceanview Cafe galley with loud pounding and carts rolling most of the day including overnight. Very much sleep disrupting even with earplugs
Wind Issues?: No
Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?: No
Suite Details: An
Advantages/Problems/Comments: Noise was the biggest issue. The pounding would startle me awake multiple times per night. Not a relaxing room at all. Received through a move up bid so be careful.
Would You Book It Again?: NO!
Photos or Photo Links:
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Thank you! I was onboard last week as well for my first Celebrity sailing and am enjoying your review! I had a great experience (except for a horrible noise issue in my room that left me sleep deprived)! but can’t wait to go back! I’ll not do a move up bid ever again, though!
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On the Apex now. Woodford, Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, and Beam. Nothing really premium, but better than nothing.
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11 hours ago, acstall said:
Had to laugh at “settling for Knob Creek”. That’s my husband’s go to bourbon. A few years ago during our second suite experience, he was told at Michael’s Club bar that they stopped stocking it because the higher proof is too flammable. Haven’t stopped laughing at that one.
Well that’s a new one!
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1 hour ago, LB_NJ said:
I think it is a website glitch on the Move-Up website.
I had 3 bids in to move from OV to various Verandas. When I go to the Move-Up website and put in name and booking number it shows 2 as expired and 1 as pending. It does not provide a link to modify/cancel the offer that still shows as pending.
Has anyone seen this before. Is this just a glitch. I don't mind that it is still pending if that is true, I bid under a $1000 to move from OV to Family Veranda on a 10 day cruise so would be happy to get it.
Any suggestions on whether I should try and contact the Move-Up people to get this straightened out? I am more than 45 days out from the cruise.
Mine showed that way for almost a month before I got the acceptance. I bid on two room types from my original OV about 60 days out. Within a few days, one showed expired and the other pending with no way to modify it. I got the notification my credit card was charged and went to the app and saw my new room assignment. The acceptance emails followed a few minutes later.
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14 hours ago, miched said:
I recently sailed on the Equinox. All they had was MM, Buffalo Trace, Bulliet, Beam, and rot gut Ten High. I checked every bar and there was nothing other than that for bourbon. Unless you consider Jack. We were in a suite and the BT in the lounge said they would check. Nothing.
They said it was a supply issue. We drive to FL from MI and stop at many Costcos and Total Wines. They all had plenty of Woodford, and other higher end bourbons that X use to carry and were included in the premium package.
My local liquor store also has a ton of the same.
The supply issue for Celebrity is they don’t want to supply it. The same for the wine selection. They don’t want to supply it.
Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
I’m on the Apex next week for my first Celebrity cruise and that selection makes me sad. I’ll report back what I find there. I actually cancelled my beverage package upgrade and will wait until I’m onboard to see if they have any decent bourbon.
Makers and BT are drinkable and ok for mixing, but would have expected some better selections for sipping. Even a short Carnival cruise I took in May had Blanton’s and NCL often has Bookers at their whiskey bars. I’d even settle for some Knob Creek.
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5 hours ago, BeeMinor said:
We definitely preferred the St Kitts catamaran, but the beach itself is nicer at Jost Van Dyke. Are you going up Mt Liamuiga? We're hikers and I would love to do that although it seems a bit intimidating.
No, this is an easier hike than Mt. Liamuga near Wingfield estate it says? I haven’t hiked as much recently as I once did and want to be back in better shape before I try that one. The heat and humidity worry me more than the elevation changes!
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Ughh…I cancelled that St Kitts Catamaran tour to do Jost van Dyke instead while in Tortola. Thinking I should change it back!
I wanted one boat/beach day and booked the rainforest hike for st Kitts instead.
Thank you for taking time to review…I’m counting down to December 3rd!
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- Ship: Apex
- Length of Cruise: 7 days
- Cruise Sail Date: December 3, 2022
- Date email offer received: None - bid from website approximately 60 days out
- Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]: Preview
- Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Direct
- Current Cabin: Ocean View
- Bid? Yes/No: Yes
If YES - Bidding Details: Porthole Balcony and Concierge - $100pp
I don’t remember the other amounts but regular IV and family were all a much higher starting bid vs. concierge. Suites were very expensive to bid on.
- Cabin Category: place winning category, if accepted (all category offers, can be mentioned in comments). Concierge Class IV on deck 12
- Bid Offer: $210 total - sailing solo so just over the $100pp minimum
- Notification Date: November 2, 2022
- Accepted / Rejected Accepted -
General Comments (offer details, etc.). Very shortly after I placed the bids, the porthole showed expired and the concierge bid pending with no ability to change. It sat that way for a month before notification 31 days out.
For me sailing solo, the OV was fine, , this gives me some fresh air for a minimal cost.
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52 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:
I always get such a kick out of the number of mentions of fights when Carnival vs Celebrity comes up. The one and only brawl I have ever witnessed onboard was on Celebrity. It was in the upper level of the dining room on a Bermuda cruise. I thought for sure someone was going to get pitched over the railing. It took security forever to show up. That would not be the case on Carnival.
That said, I've been on 15-ish of either line and honestly, they're not hugely different when comparing like-for-like (departure port, cruise length). Yes, Carnival has more active fun and an upbeat vibe with outgoing (and often loud) passengers, but there are tons of friendly folks on Celebrity too. The biggest difference is the number of children onboard. I like the energy kids bring, and honestly, their misbehavior bothers me less than badly behaved adults. I've seen more of that, yelling at crew especially, on Celebrity.
I always laugh at the comments about drunks on Carnival. With the exception of my last cruise with them (which was a 4 day filled with recent college graduates and quite the party), I’d rarely seen the atmosphere everyone thinks Carnival is. I do typically sail at least 7 days and I think that’s just a different crowd than a short cruise on any line. That said, their food and service have slipped so much I’m not in a huge hurry to book another.
The worst I’ve seen is actually on NCL. Three different 7 day cruises and witnessed awful, overserved, falling down drunks on all of them. Not the majority of passengers, but there. One elderly lady even had to be removed from the martini bar in a wheelchair she was so far gone. Another time a group of friends were carrying a passed out girl by her hands and feet into an elevator. I never ran into that behavior on Carnival at least pre pandemic. I think now they are selling so many $50 and $75 cruises they are having issues with the crowd that’s bringing in, though.
I’m also a Celebrity newbie and excited to try something new!
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2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:
Usually that pops up when someone is in your reservation or you have accessed your booking used Manage Reservation. You access your reservation you are locked out for 20 minutes. I've never been locked out for multiple days.
It does sound like a problem with your reservation, especially if the Celebrity Support can't assist.
Curious if you have tried using the Celebrity App and can get into your reservation from there? That may be a short time work around.
Sorry for your problem as I know it is frustrating. Celebrity is known to have a really bad IT team. I can't acccess their search function for a new cruise today using Firefox but working on other browsers.
The app is the same and even tells me to book excursions onboard at the desk. I understand really close to sailing but seems odd almost two months out.
Guess I’ll wait and see if it resolves!
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30 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:
Use a different browse, maybe?
Yes, have tried multiple browsers, different computers, and clearing history both before calling and with Celebrity on the phone. I’m getting worried I won’t be able to check in next week.
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32 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:
Logging in or rather attempting to log in repeatedly will lock your account for a day or two. Especially with different computers and devices as you tried. Suggest waiting till Monday noon and trying then.
I would in the meantime call and get the user ID and password reset.
It’s not my user ID and password. I can log into my account fine. It’s the actual reservation that’s locked out.
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Good morning Celebrity experts!
Anyone run into a “reservation locked” message before? This is not my account- I can log into that fine. What I can’t access is my actual reservation, excursions, dining, etc. I was able to access up until this week. I’m 50+ days from sailing, paid in full, with check in due to open next week.
I’ve called and done an online chat with Celebrity and they can’t figure it out. One said to just wait a few days and the other said she’d open an IT ticket. I’m a Celebrity newbie and so far their website has been frustrating to say the least. We’ve tried different browsers, a different computer, and clearing the browsers to no avail.
Key Bridge in Baltimore collapses into Patapsco River in Baltimore after vessel crashes into support column
in Carnival Cruise Lines
Posted
The last leg of this is by bus from Newport News.