ginrom

26 minutes ago, 2morecruises said:

Reading thru these recent comments does get you wondering what is really going on.  I cancelled our BTB Apex cruises the day after they extended their cruise cancellations thru May 12th asking for the refunds. Counting the flights thru Celebrity I have $21K "hanging out there".

The anxiety is ramping up but I'll give them another 10-14 days before I take it to the CC bank.  😞

Oh wow! 21K?? I need to stop complaining about my 5K! 

13 minutes ago, treehugr said:

After reading many of the post on this thread, I'm more inclined to believe it was the dispute. The rep that I spoke with at BofA, didn't appear like my dispute was something she wasn't familiar with. 

I disputed with BOA last Sunday for my Edge 03/29 cruise and I'm still waiting on a refund. I requested a refund the day they cancelled the cruise on 03/13/20. Four weeks and still nothing. I called the other day and they're stating it's 30 BUSINESS days not calendar days. Sooooo frustrating! If it was only a few hundred dollars I would be very patient and not even worried but we're all waiting on thousands and thousands of dollars.  Airlines were able to refund within days so I find it appalling it's taking this long. 

48 minutes ago, hiccups said:

We were supposed to be on Edge this week.  As soon as we received notification of the cancellation, I used the online form to request the refund.  Today I received an email containing my FCC, ugh!  There is no information in the email about changing it to the refund.

 

I've been trying to avoid bothering my TA, but I guess now I'll have to.

Ugh! How frustrating! I've received nothing and we were to be on the 03/29 Edge cruise. I also requested a refund on the 13th, the day they cancelled the cruise. I'm getting more and more frustrated as the days turned into weeks and now into a month. 

38 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

UPDATE:

Good news for us! Finally !

Wow....we filed our credit card dispute with BOA yesterday morning. This morning, Sunday,  we were shocked to see the refunds on our statement.  They are Celeb credits, not temp dispute credits. Amounts were correct!

 

Could have been a  big coincidence or good work by BOA!   Started to doubt if we'd get it back.  Either way we have our 50% refund for Summit plus fees and tax, and still have our fcc for the other 50% ( too bad we jumped too soon b/c the cruise was cancelled by X with 100% refund)

 

Hope our refund for  the APEX deposit shows up or we will file a dispute on Tues.

We will also be cancelling one more cruise for 2022 where X is holding a $900 dep

 

We are  hopeful for Jan 2021 Connie out of TPA.. so we can use up the fcc.  ( med note might be an issue) ?)  We might book a low refundable  deposit  cruise for later in 2021  that we can use  with the fcc if Jan 2021 falls through..

That's great! I also disputed with BOA yesterday but haven't received the refund back yet. I'm optimistic that I'll be seeing it soon for our cancelled Edge 03/29 cruise.  

45 minutes ago, mafig said:

Hi, ginrom!

 

We were supposed to be on the same Edge cruise.

 

 

Hello! I'm still hoping to be able to cruise in November but if not I'll book again for next March. Delta extended our vouchers for 2 years so there isn't pressure to book something before the end of this year anymore. I also just disputed my BOA charge just in case there were any issues in receiving the refund. 

I'm glad I saw this thread this morning. I booked our Edge cruise 98 days ago so I'm currently on hold with Bank of America too. I know they're going to issue a refund but I'll feel better calling to dispute the charges just in case. 

I used 250,000.00 points ($2,500.00)  from my RCCL credit card as partial payment for the Edge on 03/29. Does anyone know if they'll give me back those points or even consider it as cash paid when they issue me the FCC? I know they're considered non refundable but I'm curious to know if they're changing the rules since most of this is beyond our control. I've called several times today and can't get through to anyone. 

Such a deal! Book it! 

I called Captains Club this morning to upgrade from my premium drink package to the drinks and more because I couldn't see it listed in my planner. The gentleman who I spoke with knew right away that he needed to add the code to my planner so I could upgrade. It took a few minutes for him to add and for payment to be made so we're good to go for our cruise next month. The cost was $63.00/each for a total of $126.00 for both of us. I ordered for the convenience of the minibar to be filled with sparkling water at all times. We most likely won't drink the liquor that's provided but chances are my husband will eat the snacks and I'll drink the wine. Maybe we'll be lucky in the casino with the casino credits we'll receive. ☺️

On 2/8/2020 at 12:35 PM, Bruin Steve said:

I love getting the old-fashioned pre-printed sticky-backed ones from Celebrity...

But, since we also cruise on other cruise lines that no longer offer these, I also have several of those plastic pocket things...

 

A couple of notes on those:

 

First, there are two sizes generally marketed:  Narrow ones for Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and wider ones for Princess and others.  My advice:  Buy the Princess sized ones...They work for any sized tags--you can always fit the narrower Celebrity/RCCL tags into them (and it's easier to do so) AND, if you ever cruise on some other line and you only have the narrow ones, you'll have to buy another set.

 

Second:  They used to make them (maybe still do) with a plastic band with which to attach them.  Now you find them with a metal band that screws together.  Don't buy the ones with the plastic band--they are a pain to attach...you've got to thread them through your luggage handle and the tag and then thread the tag back through the loop--which requires bending and folding it...and, eventually, they break.  The metal band easily attaches and is sturdier.

 

Also note the metal grommet with the metal band--sturdier as well.  Also, make sure they have the ziplock seal on the holder--helps if it's raining.  Some older ones don't have this.

 

Plastic band-- BAD:

Narrow holders--won't fit most cruise line tags:

   

Wide holder (fits all cruise line printed tags), metal band--GET THESE:

   

 

Also, with these, you can disregard all of those folding and stapling instructions...Just print them out, cut the actual tag part, fold once and place it in the holder.

Thank you for being so detailed. I just ordered mine for our cruise next month. This was very helpful. 

I'll also be following along! We leave next month and this will be our first Celebrity cruise. We've always cruised on the larger RCCL ships so I'm looking forward to reading all about your trip. 

When can I expect to see this upgrade offer in my planner? Do they offer this on every sailing? We leave on 03/29.

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Could you expand on this? Nothing surprises me with Celebrity pricing these days, but it seems illogical that you could save money by eliminating a discount.

Sorry.. I should have explained better. By removing those discounts he explained that the 4 perks would be a better deal if we were interested in the premium alcohol package. It was a better overall deal. 

We haven't used the laundry service for about 10 years because my husbands shirts always seemed to come back very faded. What type of commercial detergent or temperature of water do they use to cause so much fading in one wash. Is it just me? 

I don't understand how some people don't consider a bathing suit that is basically a pair of short not appropriate to wear while boarding the ship for the start of their vacation. It's a cruise and not a formal event. As long as it's not a speedo then I say wear what you want. 

I think it's a good rate but I haven't been on it yet. I'll be on the Edge the week before your cruise. I booked a Sky suite for 2 with 4 perks but with 300.00 OBC for $4,837.00. I went with the cruise insurance which added on $458.00. I'm excited to try Celebrity for the first time. We've only cruised on RCCL the past 15 years and never in an actual suite. 

After only cruising RCCL for the past 10 cruises we're considering trying the new Celebrity Edge ship. We cruise on the larger ships to keep my husband entertained. We're total opposites where I can sit and relax for hours reading a book and people watching while he is usually going on the rock wall, ice skating or using the flow rider. He claims he doesn't need that stuff anymore because he's finally feeling the aches and pains of injuring himself playing sports and doesn't want to risk getting hurt on vacation. I'm thinking if he doesn't participate then he'd still enjoy watching.

I'm interested in hearing opinions of others who have cruised on both the Oasis class and the new Edge Class on Celebrity. We're also considering splurging on a sky suite which is a big upgrade for us since we usually only book junior suites and balcony cabins. 

If my 56 yo husband who I've diagnosed with ADD/ADHD can find things to keep him busy while I relax then I'm all about trying out a new ship! Happy Wife Happy Cruise, right? 🙂

Please help me make a decision because I'm torn and ready to go back to what we know and book the Allure. 

Thanks!

I have reviewed this thread and cannot find a mention of breakfast in Chops. Would you please post a link or post number?

Post 10. A menu has a note about breakfast being served in Chops.

I've not heard of any ship that has a made-to-order breakfast in a specialty restaurant for Diamond level guests.

There is a menu on this thread that mentions breakfast in Chops for diamond members. Maybe it's an old menu?

Is breakfast offered in Chops on all ships if you're diamond? We'll be on HOS in three weeks and would like to try different places for breakfast especially if they're less crowded than the Windjammer.

Fyi... They had the beer bags on the Explorer in

June.

Country Inns is on Glimcher Realty Way in Elizabeth on the southeast side of the airport. It's a quick drive in the hotel shuttle on local streets and is one of the closest hotels. The roads around the airport are a spaghetti-like mess, so even though other hotels might appear to be closer to the terminals, getting to them can be a longer drive on ramps and access roads. Country Inns also has good access to the turnpike at exit 13A and is across the street from Jersey Gardens Mall.

Thanks. I'm directionally challenged even with a GPS. I think my GPS wasn't picking the correct exit/road the last time I stayed there.... Or maybe it was user error! :)

Is Country Suites the hotel that is difficult to get to from the highway? I remember staying at a hotel in that area about 6 years ago and I kept on missing the actual road to get there. I ask because I booked it for next week and if it is I was wondering if anyone could give some tips on not driving around in circles. ha

Thanks!

You need to find out about his vacation! I REALLY want to cruise with Leigh in October, and I hope he's back in time for my sailing. He was the activities manager a few years ago on Liberty of the Seas with Mike Swajkowski as the CD. They were a great team, and I'm so happy Leigh was promoted!

I'll make sure to ask him when he's leaving and will post it when I get back.

I have nothing to add to this list except to say how excited I am to be cruising again with Leigh and hopefully his assistant Frank on the Explorer in 2 weeks! They're fantastic together! I never would have imagined myself saying that the CD can really add to the cruise experience until I cruised with Leigh as the CD last summer.