Fly and Sail

Barcelona isn't much of an inconvenience for me and the city itself is quite nice to spend a weekend. In the worst case, I could always go back home, 8000 United miles for a short-haul flight on Lufthansa. By blind charge, I mean if they wanted to charge me anything, they would have to do so at the time of sailing, allowing me to decline. They can't just charge the card at the end of the trip. Not that I'd give them a card that'd allow an unauthorized (high) charge in the first place.

Well, we obviously have the T&C, but those aren't saying much about this situation. There is no language in it regarding the retail rate being charged, as some quoted above from their own offers. Not that they'd get with a blind charge in Europe anyway, they'd have to tell the passengers in advance. GENERAL FREE DEAL TERMS (APPLICABLE TO ANY/ALL AVAILABLE MATCH PROGRAM FREE DEALS (“DEAL(S)”)) Free Deals exclude any deposit and Taxes, Fees, and Port Expenses (“TFPE”). The promotional offer is applicable for 1st/2nd guests only; 3rd/4th/5th guests are responsible for prevailing cruise rates. Holland America Line reserves the right to assess a change fee according to the date of the request, the length of the cruise, and the actual cruise sail date. Cancellation penalties apply. Must be 18+ to play in the casino. Invited Guests under the age of 21 must travel with a relative or guardian of 25 years of age or older. Exclusions may apply to certain Deals. Deals (and any parts) are not transferable, not substitutable, not redeemable for cash and not combinable with any other offer/deal. Deals are only applicable to new bookings, on select sailings, and are capacity controlled (regardless of stateroom availability). Each Deal is only available on select sailings through the date set forth in the Deal’s specific terms. Free Play offers are only valid for the first two guests in the stateroom. Carnival Corporation (“Carnival”) is not responsible or liable for any printing errors. Any Deal may be changed or revoked at any time. Guests must be eligible for passage on Holland America Line ships to be eligible for these Deals. There is no guarantee of availability at time of booking. © 2022 Carnival Corporation. All rights reserved. Ship Registry: The Netherlands.

Ethics aren't my concern at this point. And we don't expect to get any additional offers from HAL as Celebrity is our primary cruise line. We only took this offer because it was attractive and advertised, no intention to play much in the casino unless they have my favorite slot.

Because I don't want them to annotate my booking or flag it in some way. Usually, the CC community always has better answers than cruise line representatives, especially when asking them a hypothetical case.

The offer is always for two people per cabin.

Is the Vista Suite on the Oosterdam anything special or pretty much the same as the Verandah rooms? From what I understand, HA isn't like Celebrity, where an entry-level suite confers suite benefits.

We received a free casino comp via the HA status match in a Visa Suite for which I booked a 12 day Med cruise. The comp cruise certificate is in the name of my girlfriend, and we booked for both of us quite a while ago. Due to some last-minute developments, she will have to sit for an exam and wants a few weeks to study for it. She can't take this cruise but needs alone time either way so I'd still go because it won't make a difference other than the free cruise expiring otherwise. I wonder if HA will bat an eye if she (as the lead passenger on the reservation) won't check in on embarkation day. In the end, people get sick or miss their flights all the time. My parents had a similar situation on Celebrity last year, and they didn't care; even refunding the taxes for the no-show. Thanks to anyone with IRL experience.

Book for two pax, one will be a no show. Refund the taxes.

Nope. Takes forever to arrive and you'll have surge pricing since everybody wants to get one. Easily exceeds the $20 for a cab.

Why wait that long if you see the driver isn't near? Cancel immediately.

How can a ride that's 15 minutes take you 3.5 hours?

Just to be clear, you PAID for the upgrade? You weren't "upgraded" which suggests it was complimentary?

I might try to see if I get better offers with my MGM affiliation rather than BCC. That being said, the new site says this: TO RECEIVE BLUE CHIP CLUB OFFERS, YOUR ACCOUNT WITH CELEBRITY CRUISES MUST MEET THE FOLLOW CRITERIA: GAMING ACTIVITY MUST BE TRACKED ONBOARD USING YOUR SEAPASS CARD IN THE CASINO WHEN PLAYING TABLE GAMES AND/OR SLOT MACHINES. YOUR RECORDED GAMING ACTIVITY (RATING) IS THE BASIS TO CREATE OFFERS. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GUEST TO ENSURE THEIR SEAPASS CARD IS ACTIVATED FOR RATINGS EACH TIME MACHINES OR GAMING TABLES ARE PLAYED. YOUR CAPTAIN’S CLUB MARKETING PROFILE MUST BE FLAGGED YES TO RECEIVE COMMUNICATIONS FROM CELEBRITY CRUISES AND BLUE CHIP CLUB. WHEN OPTING OUT OF CELEBRITY CRUISES EMAILS, YOU ARE OPTING OUT OF ALL EMAIL INCLUDING BLUE CHIP CLUB COMMUNICATIONS. SHARED EMAIL ADDRESSES MAY RESTRICT OFFER RECEIPT. AN OFFER IS INTENDED AND CAN ONLY BE REDEEMED BY THE QUALIFIED GUEST STATED IN THE OFFER EVEN WHEN THE EMAIL RECIPIENT IS DIFFERENT. BLUE CHIP CLUB OFFERS VARY DEPENDING ON GAMING HISTORY AND/OR TIER STATUS. SUSPENDED OFFERS MAY BE A RESULT OF, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SAILINGS WITH NO GAMING ACTIVITY, NO SHOW STATUS, NUMBER OF FUTURE BOOKED VOYAGES OR NO SAIL STATUS. GUESTS GENERATING LESS THAN 1000 TIER CREDITS PER TRIP WILL NOT RECEIVE OFFERS AND MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR A SPECIAL CASINO RATE WHEN BOOKING. SPECIAL EVENT CRUISES, OTHER THAN BLUE CHIP CLUB TIER CRUISE EVENTS ARE OFFERED BASED ON THE GAMING CRITERIA SPECIFIC TO THE SHIP, SAIL DATE AND STATEROOM OFFER OF THE SPECIAL EVENT. YOU MAY CONTACT BLUE CHIP CLUB RESERVATION CENTER, YOUR TRAVEL ADVISOR, PLAYER DEVELOPMENT HOST OR INDEPENDENT CASINO REPRESENTATIVE IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR ASSISTANCE.

You got 360 points from ONE cruise?? 🤯

I wouldn't bother with the shuttle. It'll cost you the same as just grabbing a cab for $20 to the airport terminal. Don't bother with rideshares either because there will be surge pricing during disembarkation. and drivers are often unfamiliar with the port area. They also have to show ID to the port officers which spooks some of them.

I wouldn't be caught dead playing table games on Celebrity. The rating system is a total mess and I simply don't trust it.

How much did you play in order to receive this? Tables or slots?

I'd rather gamble at Royal now as they have a firm rule as far as comp cruise milestones are concerned (unless something changed, but I haven't heard anything). With Celebrity, you can lose your shirt and get nothing at all. Thankfully I did rather ok even as a slot player with just dumb luck involved. I never won a jackpot or anything, but after 41,000 points, I'm only down $3,170, and I had 11 free cruises in Aqua Class.

Agree 100% plus it costs me a fortune to fly to North America (7-10,000 USD for Business Class), where all my comp offers are. Can just as well pay cash for a good deal.

My honest suggestion: After the recent changes with Blue Chip Club, I wouldn't bother anymore. I got a very solid offer over the past 6 years, but now nothing anymore, and the benefits for Amethyst are deceptive at best. You will NOT receive a free cruise as outlined in the pamphlet and program pdf. They will tell you it's based on your play of the most recent cruise, so even after you risked enough money for Amethyst, they still tell you to bugger off. There are no tangible benefits associated with Amethyst. Unless you plan to become a heavy gambler and get to the higher levels stay clear of gambling on Celebrity. If you earn 25,000 points for the current period, then it will reset, and the status counts for the next cruise onward. No status changes on the actual cruise either, no matter how many points you earn.

Same. Well, no more offers means no more high-volume play for me. I'm Elite Plus now after all my free trips, so I will start to book the cheapest offers, no extras such as drink packages.

That's the way I set the machine. It collects from everyone but me. I'm tempted to take the Millennium again on the Spice Route or Singapore-Bali in JAN/FEB for that reason alone. All the other ships don't have these two machine types.

That was the result of my boredom. It was between the Martini Bar and the Casino, so I figured I could just as well make Celebrity pay me instead. 😛

These Panama Canal sailings are not cheap. There was a recent documentary about the severe water shortage in Lake Gatun and Panama in general. Officials were talking about curbing the traffic and increasing fees. I'd imagine that at some point, the passage of cruise ships will become impossible so if this is a bucket list item... maybe do it sooner rather than later.

Careful what you wish for. This was a VERY long cruise and felt quite boring at times, especially after the prime part of the cruise, the canal, was already over.