rjrpar

On 3/7/2023 at 6:32 PM, Wakepatrol said:

Okay that was on RCL now you’ve going on Celebrity. Rear view mirror your RCL experience and move on. How many members must tell you this doesn’t happen on the Celebrity cruises?

 

Never happened to us on RCL

4 hours ago, miched said:

Booking a cruise is getting too confusing.  
 

They need to KISS it.   Here is the rate.   This is what you get.  Get rid of the difference between refundable and refundable rates.  
 

 If you book a cruise and cancel you forfeit x amount.   Plain and simple. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

What is so confusing?

On 1/20/2023 at 8:37 PM, kelly94942 said:

Janice was AMAZING to work with!!!  Thank you!!!

I’ve tried twice to contact her and no response. Wonder if she could be on vacation? Or changed jobs?

3 hours ago, Aldeya said:

We are getting back to Celebrity after a long time. Many things have changed.

 

We'd like to pre-pay gratuities for our upcoming Summit cruise. Can we use our non-refundable OBC to do this?

Why pre-pay?

Seems like the easiest and most cost effective solution is to do a rotation of Quantum class ships every few years.  

16 hours ago, Tigerfnan23 said:

Used to love Mast Grill also but tried it recently and was disappointed.  Didnt go back for the rest of the cruise.  

Celebrity should check out Carnival’s Guy Burgers.  Best burgers of any cruise line that I’ve tasted

40 minutes ago, Big_G said:

Was there 2 weeks ago on Oasis with Freedom also in port. It didn't seem crowded.

We were there with the Wonder and a Quantum ship and it was too crowded for us.

12 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

how's that a value? For the 3 of us this Anthem cruise in an OV balcony is 4,418.61 USD. NOT A GREAT VALUE!

 

I paid $2,800 for a 10 day cruise on Enchanted Princess for the 3 of us during Thanksgiving. 

 

Plus, like I said - we cruise with a school aged kid, so we have to cruise during school holidays.

I don’t know your cruising history but $250/per cabin/night in a balcony was a good deal 10 years ago, and is a very good value today.  I have no idea what  your $4418 represents

On 2/5/2023 at 4:16 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

well, I beg to differ... You may be talking about non-school holiday sailings, but unfortunately, having a non-home schooled kid, we are limited as to when we can cruise.

I priced several cruises on RCI for this and next year and they are basically unattainable. So, yeah, I started looking at other lines and even booked MSC for less than half the price of a comparable RCI cruise. And that price includes drinks and wifi.

 

Will the entertainment be worse than RCI's? Yes. Am I bringing 6 people instead of 3 for this price? Also a yes.

I just booked the Anthem for next January, a balcony for two for 11 nights. Total cost is $2800.  I think values are out there, you just have to look and be patient.

I think some of these responses are wishes more than reality. We’ve been on both RCCL an X recently and the dress codes are very similar.  We’ve seen many men in the MDR most evenings in shorts on both lines.  Royal tends to attract a younger crowd so you may see a few more t-shirts but the difference is minimal.  

On 1/19/2023 at 7:29 AM, navybankerteacher said:

True, but if you are on a ship carrying 4,000 or so passengers, getting to the gangway can be a mob scene if everyone wants off at the same time. Suppose there are two gangways and 3,000 people want off and it takes 3 seconds for each to swipe his sea pass it would take over an hour for all of them to get off.  

 

One reason to avoid mega ships.

Your assumptions are very flawed

6 hours ago, Dave_Nut said:

So, I'm planning on getting the Cheers Package, but I was thinking it would be nice to sip a good IPA on our balcony.  A thought and a question.

 

1 - Thought.  I see each passengers is allowed one 12 pack of soda.  I think it would be pretty easy to leave 2 visible soda cans in a resealed cardboard box and have 10 beers in there.  Has anyone done this? 

 

2 - Question.  I understand you're limited to 15 drinks per day.  If we were to buy room service drinks, does that go against our 15 drinks?  I even see they have liquor bottles for sale to enjoy in your room.  Is this still an option even if you have Cheers?

Only on Carnival

19 hours ago, Luvtoeat said:

We never had any problem booking 7 or 7:15 depending which one was open, we usually go to the dining room around 7. Cruise is still 2 months away and when I went to book the times all that was available was 6:15 or earlier or 8 or 8:15 or later. I booked some nights for the 6:15 and some for the 8:00. I figure we will go to the dining room at 7-7:15 and see what happens. Not sure if it's better to go earlier or later to the time I booked. The worst that can happen is they will put on the no reservation waiting line.

Agree, they are usually able to accommodate changes

On 11/14/2022 at 1:36 PM, Davechipp74 said:

First some context,

                                   On an upcoming solo cruise I dock at Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Haiti being right there is very intriguing, having over 10+ years in the military (4 in USMC, 5+ in private military's  {think Blackwater}) I feel it would be comfortable. I have traveled solo to level 4 advisory countries before (Algeria, Yemen) Haiti is about level 3 right now, I booked this cruise because leaves the day after my birthday, and I love cruising the Caribbean, however I've never been in such close proximity to Haiti. I feel it would be an awesome excursion, this is my first resource into this question because I've been all over these boards the last few days. Respectfully I'm bringing this question across several different types of boards.  

Last thing I would ever consider. 

10 hours ago, George C said:

I was thinking the same thing, but if in a royal suite you have your liquor setup in suite.

Very informative, good to know

On 1/13/2023 at 4:57 AM, talljules1 said:

Yes, I very much think they're cheapening their product. It has been happening for a while, and now is accelerating. A death by a thousand cuts, it is lots of little things which individually don't really matter, but which in total become irritating. X used to pride itself on 'modern luxury'. Well, it's not that now.

 

In recent years we've moved to the sweet suite life. But with current pricing, X are pricing themselves out of the market. There's now little difference in price between X and more premium lines, so it is likely in coming years that we will be looking much more seriously at Azamara, Oceania, Silverseas etc. Because if paying that much, and these other lines, with better itineraries, are an option, why stick with X? We get the impression that X are not loyal to their customers, regardless of the loyalty of the customer.

Yes I do.  Just read this thread and you’ll hear about many cutbacks. X is no longer the top tier of “Premium”

The place is a dump but some seem to love it.

Cabs are very safe and are lined up for return trips.

On 1/5/2023 at 5:22 PM, Scotico said:

So our friends just returned from their cruise and one of their bags never made it on the ship after handing it to the porters.  The only way they can tell it did not make it is because they had an apple airtag and they could see it still in the terminal after the ship was at sea.  Has anyone ever done this and have any of you ever opted to skip the porters and bring your luggage on-board.  I heard stories about them getting greedy with the tips and requesting more $$ for the bags (my friend told me they gave them $10 for 3 bags and they were wanting more.

Don’t believe everything people tell you. Sure, mistakes get made with baggage and not just with cruising, but the world is not out to get you. We’ve always had decent porters that appreciate a few bucks/bag

On 1/6/2023 at 4:06 PM, Islander500 said:

Just did the Pile et Face Tour today.  You will not ever spend a day touring on any Caribbean island with a tour company owner & guide (also a teacher educated in France) who will better inform & educate you with insight & understanding of her island’s culture & history.  Cristelle is a gem! We will be back and will book any available tour with her. Her van was comfortable, and the snacks/drinks at each stop were the perfect accompaniment to learning about Martinique’s food without having to stop for a full meal allowing more time to tour.  Fabulous day!  
 

Agree, we did that tour 4 years ago and it is very good. Great way to see the island

6 hours ago, toad455 said:

My annual cruise out of Bayonne in January is cheaper in 2024 then the one I'm heading out on on Friday.

Same here, booked an 11 nighter from Bayonne for $2700 , a std balcony for 2.  A little research can save a lot of money. 

1 minute ago, NeepierRoad said:

I'm taking my first non-Caribbean cruise in September to Alaska and wondered if I'd be missing anything by not booking any excursions?   They are quite pricey and I am a lowly solo traveler watching all my pennies. 😉

Yes you will

On 12/30/2022 at 9:26 PM, Bstein493 said:

Any recommendations for Celebrity excursions in Martinique?  We are looking at 4...small group 4x4; rum distillary and bananas; tropical rainforest hike; Balata Church, Botanical Garden

We’ve done the Karambola tour - excellent

Personal Responsibility 

On 12/7/2022 at 3:30 PM, Baron Barracuda said:

Couple of thoughts:

DW & I have been sailing with X for almost 30 years and have never paid over $200pp/pd for verandah or CC.  That pricing is still available if you search, some even with AI.   It's the suites where supply is limited and for some people no price is too high.  Would never consider paying $400pd for X.  For that price Viking and Oceania provide much better value.

 

X has historically offered "low" prices when schedule is released and then raised rates once they achieve a certain level of bookings.  Prices usually slip later as sailing date nears.

 

If demand for X is so high why does Blue Chip keep offering me a free verandah even though I'm not a gambler?  Latest email was good on 70 sailings next spring some 10 - 11 nights.

Great post