CoG72crewz

In June I booked a NRD cruise and then about a week later found that a much better deal was available via a TA group rate.  Transferring the booking to the TA was possible, but at the booked price (not the lower group rate).  To get the group rate, I transferred the booking, the TA cancelled it, requested an FCC for the $900 NDR, and then rebooked with the group rate.  When the FCC was issued (minus $200 for a cancellation fee) the TA applied it to the booking.  The savings was significant and included additional perks so the loss of $200 was well worth it. This was my experience but it was a few months ago so I'm not sure if it would work now. 

2 hours ago, Pandacruisers said:

Useful answers on here thank you. Can I just check that it is ok for me to have the boarding pass for myself and my partner on the app on my phone. Or should we each have the app on our phone and have our own boarding passes. 
 

My partner does have a phone but does not like using the wallet on her phone.

 

Many thanks

I always have passes for the two of us saved to my Apple Wallet as it's easier than both of us having our phones out during check in.  No problem at all. 

If anyone is looking for clarification on where to meet the bus in Venice, it is Tronchetto - NOT Piazzale Roma as some of the info from Azamara states. Several of us departing today had conflicting info from Azamara so I had guest services at our hotel call Trumpy Tours directly.  There are representatives at Tronchetto to check people off a list for transfers and then they load the bus.  We are on the bus and on our way to port! 😊

We were able to order from the MDR menu in Blu on the Relfection and on the Edge.  No problems at all. 

28 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Instead we drink soft drinks and for coffee, typically what I call a white and milk chocolate mocha. 

Both are included in the classic package.  The only coffee beverages that we found needed the premium package where those containing alcohol.

12 minutes ago, Susanb10567 said:

Your lucky Delta is talking with you. I am on the 9/3 Edge cruise out of Rome. I noticed the first leg of my journey was missing from my United Ap on 6/29..I immediately called United to see if it was canceled…it was but they said they could not rebook me ..I needed to deal with Flights by Celebrity and I had been ticketed at that point..

 

when I called Flights by Celebrity they said I would take up to 30 days to get new flights…I thought that was excessive and was not pleased…had my Travel Agent get involved and it has gone nowhere…

 

Yesterday was 30 days since I called and still no flights for my cruise…now my travel agent says it won’t be addressed until 30 days before my flight which is 9/1…

 

 

What a horrible experience!  I hope they get things straightened out for you soon. 

6 hours ago, IceGator99 said:

Sailing on Beyond 8/27 for Italian Rivera and booked flights through Celebrity.  Our flights coming  back to DFW from Rome keep changing. Celebrity currently has us going through Madrid with 1 hr 15 min connection time.  American site shows plenty  of other options and availability  and celebrity says they are waiting on American to move to our requested flight.  American is of course no help as they want you to deal with Celebrity and says the reservation has not been ticketed yet.  Anyone else struggle in dealing with Flights by Celebrity or have suggestions on how to get on a preferred flight?  With only 4 weeks to go it shouldn’t be this hard!

If your flights have not been ticketed yet then you'll need to continue to go through FBC for info.  I called FBC and paid for our April 2023 flights and asked that they be ticketed immediately.  The flights showed up on my Delta app within a few minutes and I've called Delta and spoke with them about the reservation without them referring me back to FBC.  If you're not happy with the flights then requesting them to be ticketed might not help but,  if you're able to get the schedule you want then I'd call and ask for them to be ticketed. 

On 7/22/2022 at 11:26 AM, Married90 said:

Sorry to beat a dead horse yet a gain but I am confused.   What is the price for the upgrade from Classic to Premium drink package.  Several posts have said the upgrade cost is now $20 ($16 something plus 20% gratuity)  not $12 (as it used to be) .   Berried in X's FAQ's I have found posted the upgrade cost is $18 (no discussion of 20% gratuity upcharge).   If I look at my "plan your cruise"  Aug 28 cruise I can purchase online for $17.10 and when I put in in my checkout cart there is no markup for gratuity.  If I look at my Sept 4 cruise (We are doing a B2B)  It says call to upgrade with no option to buy online.   SO....    Is the regular price $20/day or $18/day?  If I call do I get 10% off for captains club and where does this $17.10 online come from????   Totally confused at the moment with X and pricing....

Our TA just called an upgraded us from Classic to Premium and the total cost was around $16 per person per day INCLUDING gratuities.  We will be on the Beyond for 14 nights. The price included our 10% discount for being Select status. 

We can pack everything that we need in our carry ons for international travel (12-16 days).  On one of our trips we decided at the last minute to check a bag with full size liquids and a couple of pairs of extra shoes.  If the checked bag had not made it then we would still have been fine because we really didn't "need" anything in it.  We only took it to pack souveniers for the trip home. 😉

15 minutes ago, 6fan said:

How good is Celebrity to change from late dining to early dining??? Carnival was always good to change time. Guess I will find out.

Did you join the waitlist for early dining?  We've been on a waitlist for previous cruises and had no problem changing dining times. 

12 minutes ago, Sascol said:

Been on 20+ cruises so I’m almost embarrassed to ask this. We’re sailing on the Beyond and have late seating. How does that work with all of the dining rooms to choose from?  Do we make reservations at a specific venue and just go at the time assigned to late dining?  Just not sure what the process is. Thanks in advance. 

They will assign you to one of the 4 main dining restaurants for the cruise.  You can speak with the maitre d' if you'd like to change restaurants. 

Not the Beyond, but we had no problem booking a party of 8 for Fine Cut on the Edge. 

My travel agent called Azamara yesterday to make a payment and I received an updated invoice within 30 minutes.  I've never had good luck reaching them by email or phone so I'm glad that this one was booked with a TA.  

10 minutes ago, edgekid said:

Thanks a lot for the info.. on a 7-Day Cruise the second (last) evening Chic night is the 6th night of the cruise, correct?

 

Yes, lobster was the 6th night on our 7 day cruises. 

7 minutes ago, kearney said:

Okay... I found another link which shows the inside of a forward facing cabin with square window..in this case bed is by the window...my guess would be that the cabins you are considering will have the bed by the bath.. just a guess.. Hope this helpshttp://thecelebritycommitment.com/360/EDGE/Deluxe_Ocean_View/Deluxe_Ocean_View.html

 

here is the link..where you can see what other categories look like inside http://thecelebritycommitment.com/360/EDGE/Edge.html

Thanks!

On 7/5/2022 at 9:10 PM, Hamwen3839 said:

Would love to know how this ended up for you. We are arriving Venice airport one day before our cruise 17 August and are booked into a hotel near airport .We did this because we were initially told by our T.A. that we could go back to airport for bus transport to Ravenna. Now however this has changed and we are being told we will have to get to Tronchetta bus terminal .

Has anyone done this and if so what transport did you use to get to bus terminal ?

 

We are on the same cruise and are flying in the day prior as well.  I booked a hotel near the Tronchetta stop and we will be taking the express bus ATVO from the airport to the hotel.  I pre-purchased our bus tickets (airport to Piazzale Roma) so I have less to worry about the day we arrive.  The website for the airport bus is https://www.atvo.it/en-venice-airport.html  We are going to explore Venice the day our flight arrives and the next day will be able to walk to the cruise shuttle bus stop from our hotel.  I've attached the letter we received from Azamara .

5 minutes ago, kearney said:

I found this review with photos of 8103... it is an example of a cabin with a bed by the bath..alas it does not show the bed..but you can see how the slope impacts cabin headroom. Looks like it is the only one with a review.

 

Thanks. I saw the reveiw of 8103 but I'm more interested in the cabins with the rectagular window as opposed to the oval. I think the ones I'm looking at are all bed by bath cabins but thought I'd ask just in case.  It looks like 8101 and 9101 might be the only ones with the bed closer to the window.  I'll just need to decide what is more important - bed placement or window. 🙂 

We prefer the bed by the window and on the deck plans I onky see the bed placement on 2 of the center cabins. If anyone has stayed in one of the following forward facing cabins and can provide any information I'd really appreciate it. We are looking at cabins 9104, 9106, 9109, 9111, 8102, 8104, 8105, 8107. 

I've searched the spreadsheet and googled it but can't find the info. 

1 minute ago, RTR 21-0 said:

I’ll try to answer based on what I’ve been able to gather in the last few weeks while booking our flight for next May’s cruise.  I originally booked with FBC but cancelled this week and booked directly through American Airlines with a flexible ticket meaning I can cancel and get a refund to my credit card up until the day of the flight or make any changes necessary.  If flight cost more I would pay difference.  If less I believe I get a travel voucher for difference.  
 

Tickets booked with FBC aren’t ticketed until paid in full.  I was told by a rep that after making payment (even before final payment of cruise) that it could take up to 30 days to ticket.  However, if one needs them ASAP they could put in a request and it could take up to 72 hours.
 

Picking your seat depends on the airline I believe.  For instance, two of the legs for the flight I booked with FBC were on British Airways operated by American Airlines.  With BA you normally cannot choose seats until ticketed.  I was given a cross reference number and was able to choose my seats on the BA website which linked to AA.  However a few days later those seats did not show X’d out. Before cancelling I asked the Celebrity rep if she could give me a quote for the exact same flights booked on AA and she said she couldn’t, it would either be booked through Finn Air or BA and those tickets cost more than what I booked with AA.  Lots of people on the site will tell you (depending on how far out your cruise is) that the odds of the flights being changed are great.  Probably true but I preferred to deal directly with the airline, have my seat choices from the get go.  Since we are flying in a few days early I was comfortable with the decision to deal directly with AA.
 

if you choose to go with FBC (which deferring the cost is a great option) if you find the price lower before final payment of the cruise, and it’s the exact same flight options, Celebrity will confirm the price, they will cancel your original booking and rebook at the lower price.  If you flight the price lower after final payment of cruise, you will be charged $200 if you have booked a refundable/changeable ticket.  
 

Sorry so long but tried to answer your question as detailed as possible.   

Thank you for your insight. We fly most often with Delta and right now if I book  through choice air it is $500 less per person than if I book directly with Delta. I prefer to have a control of directly booking with the airline but this current promotion is too good to pass up. I’ll probably book with choice air and monitor the prices on the Delta website.

On 5/21/2022 at 7:03 AM, sgadk87 said:

HI.

 

I finally made it to the bus, and will try to provide info about the bus transfer.

The departure is right next to the people mover, and just a 2 min walk from the waterbus stop 

"Tronchetto Mercato" which line number two is sailing to from the city centre.

 

We arrived just on time 12pm, and was in a rush, and ran from the waterbus stop, since our understanding was the bus would depart at 12pm, but to my surprise the bus first arrived at 12pm, and after that peoples luggage was placed in the cargo hold. The departure was around 12.22 and, the people from the bus charter company was very relaxed and kind. 

 

They handed out water (varm) and a small foccacia bread.

 

The bus is totally fine, and just like a normal tourist bus like flixbux, greyhound etc, and the AC is also working. 

 

No toilet on the bus, but if you have to go during the two hour transfer, they will make a short stop for you. 

 

Please feel free to ask, if you have any questions regarding the bus transfer. 

 

 

Unless I'm misunderstanding something, the information and map I was sent seems to indicate that we will be meeting at the Piazzale Roma instead of the Tronchetto stop.  I guess we'll find out when we get there! 

I have always booked our flights but am thinking about using Choice Air for our Celebrity cruise in April 2023.  Since I haven't done it this way in the past, I have a couple of questions. I asked the Choice Air rep this morning but she kept contradicting herself so I thought I'd ask people with some experience. 

When are the flights usually ticketed?  I'm sure they won't be ticketed until paid in full but if I paid for them now, would they ticket this early (our cruise is 9 months away) ?

When can I choose my seat assignments? 

Am I locked into the price when I book (without paying) or is there a possibility of being charged more when I pay?

Our cruise in August is scheudled to end in Athens.  Our documents state that the ship will arrive at 5 AM but I'm more interested in when we will be disembarking.  If anyone has recent experience disembarking in Athens and could let me know approximately what time we may be off the ship, I'd appreciate it.

I believe anything up to and including $15 is included with premium. 

I booked a shore excursion this morning without any issues.

11 minutes ago, cruisinsusin said:

HI and thanks for your reply. We typically do private tours but with the distance to Cairo and the fact that the full day is also departure day, decided to book a ship tour for the pyramids. Am still looking at what to do locally for the half day.

We will do a ship excursion for the full day for the same reason but will probably book a private half day for Alexandria.