jules815

50 minutes ago, jame_g said:

We used an agent from a well known large agency on our first cruise ever, and then on a couple of group cruises - the group didn't offer the category we wanted so we booked through their agent so we could travel with the group. We never received anything additional, no discount, no additional credits, over what we would have gotten by booking directly ourselves online. I think we did receive 1 bottle of wine once, which we don't drink. As a matter of fact, I even ended up arranging for an upgrade myself which the agent didn't even try for, and then had to get the agent's permission to finalize it, which really annoyed me. Since then I've booked all my travel myself and been more than happy not to have to deal with the middle man that frankly never benefited me in any way. It's amazing how much experiences with TAs seem to vary, but a TA has never benefited me.

Back in our early days of cruising, we often traveled with a couple of other families and their children. This was back when we almost always cruised with Royal Caribbean. I was all over Cruise Critic learning about anything I could, including price drops. 2 of the couples that we cruised with always used a travel agent. The only thing they got from them was a bottle of wine on embarkation day. Meanwhile, us and one of the other couples always booked on our own, and several times scored big with price drops before final payment. The couples who used a TA never could take advantage of that, but they got their bottle of Chardonnay. 

The cruise I'm considering transferring to a TA is a transatlantic on Celebrity next year. We already booked a few weeks ago and got a good deal, but it's just the cruise. We're going to have to add drinks, wifi, etc., so some obc would be helpful. I'm definitely willing to see what they have to offer.

On 4/8/2023 at 11:34 AM, Nashna said:

I've sailed on 61 cruises, so yes, I am experienced.  I also know that a TA has much more clout than one passenger.  My TA is a Virtuoso Agency, a luxury travel consortium member, which gives me the power of hundreds of agencies.  On my upcoming Oceania cruise, the consortium offered free gratuities on that sailing, combined with a $400.00 shipboard credit from my TA; this gave us over $1,000.00 in savings on that one sailing.   I know from my thirty years of dealing with travel providers that their travel agency partners are their lifelines.   This is why cruise lines pay 10 to 18 % commissions.  By the way, those Online Booking Sites are earning commission from the cruise lines and are considered to be travel agents...they just aren't accommodating if you need assistance.      

I just tried messaging you but feature is turned off. Can you please email the name of your travel agent to me? julierackow@gmail.com. I hope I'm not breaking any CC rules by posting this. We have a TA on X next year that I'm possibly interested in transferring to a TA. Thank you!!!  

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

I haven't been on MSC since 10/2019.  As far as the food, and I'm not a picky eater at all, if it's that important to you, their food wasn't "something to sail for".  I lived on pizza for a week...now that was good pizza.

 

The shows were excellent.

 

International crowd...which I liked.  Not "Carnval people" for sure.

 

Going again in 2 weeks...but YC this time.

I remember when you first booked your upcoming cruise in YC. I hope you have a great time.

On 3/30/2023 at 2:48 PM, cgolf1 said:

I have watched a lot of you tube videos from younger to middle aged TAs talking about the different ships. They have been hugely helpful in our research, between the onboard stuff and excursion stuff. I haven't seen any videos of people doing crazy things for attention, but I guess they are probably out there. 

 

For our upcoming Canada/New England cruise on HAL, you tube has really bailed us out for planning our stops out and figuring out a new cruise line. I also subscribe to multiple as well.

I also subscribe to multiple influencers. Some are just TA's giving stateroom tours, and those are very informative. The influencer couple we watch the most always edit out their food chewing, which is one of the things we appreciate about their videos. We were watching a different couple last night who had done one on complimentary dining venues on Celebrity, and had to turn it off when they were showing breakfast in the MDR. 

23 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Easiest to go to your Cruise Planner and select the link direct from your reservation -

 

You can also click this link.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/find-your-reservation/flights-by-celebrity

 

I've been looking for International Flights via Flights by Celebrity and haven't been finding any really good rates lately.   After getting burnt pretty bad due to Covid most flights are now fully refundable fares and you can do as good or better on Airline and Travel websites.

 

A good site for checking airfares is Flights.google.com (they are not a TA and only quote and track airfares).

 

The only real advantage of Flights By Celebrity is you can book now not pay until final payment cancel up until final payment with now penalty but after final they charge $100 pp administrative fee for any change even on a refundable fare. 

 

Example -  Sydney to SFO     December 21

 

Flights by Celebrity -

 

Now Checking the same flight on Google -

 

Still too early for us to see flights, but getting close. I think our return date is 4/27. 

And now to complicate things a little, I was doing some mock bookings on Kayak earlier just to get a feel for the airlines, etc. (On our last TA, we started in Barcelona. This time we'll be flying home from there.) Noticed the layover countries of several different airlines and wondering if this scenario is possible. Disembark Ascent in Barcelona, instead of staying there a few days like we'd planned, that morning board a flight to Chicago with layover in Paris. Spend a few days in Paris and then fly to Chicago. I swear my daughter did something similar on a flight to Ireland a few years ago. Layover in Iceland, spent a few days there, then on to Ireland. But it was still considered the same flight??

My husband likes the idea of seeing another country since we'll be so close. Springtime in Paris, or Dublin, or Amsterdam....so many choices!  Have any of you experienced cruisers done something like this? My youngest daughter suggested sending most of our luggage back FedX and taking the train instead. (Popular on TikTok)

We did a transatlantic cruise back in 2016 on a RC ship. I seem to remember booking our flight to Barcelona thru RC because it was quite a savings. Is this still true? Our next TA isn't until next year, but I've been looking at flights on my own today for an another upcoming cruise, and the domestic prices (ORD to MIA...ouch!) made me think about next year's adventure.

17 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We started off with Edge, then sailed Apex and our next cruise is on Beyond.

We have 2 on the books for Ascent, she's the one I'm really looking forward to! 😎

It's always exciting to have a booking on a brand new ship. 😃

The Go Green program doesn't really sound that much different from regular cabin service. If they still do a service in the evening that includes tidy up, turn down your bed and take the garbage, what is it they're not doing? Vacuuming?

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

This is really a great itinerary and we compared it with Celebrity, Viking Ocean and Oceania. Celebrity only offers round trip from Boston in same 11 days and has 4 less port stops. Oceania had similar itineraries but at double the cost of the HAL cruise. I am with you we are done with the Caribbean for cruising, after our Equinox cruise in June with our granddaughter. Every cruise after is for places we have not been, and we hope will be interesting. We are retired and spending our kid's inheritance on travel.

That's good to know. Would love to do a New England cruise. My parents used to love sailing on HAL. 

Ditto on spending our kid's inheritance.  😃

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

HAL doesn't have anything close to the amenities of the Retreat even in their highest suite levels. Size wise, close to a Sky Suite is a Signature Suite or Vista Suite. They do have booking options for "Have it All" (HIA) which includes, a drinks and Wi-Fi package, plus a shore excursion and specialty dining package. If you book early, within 90 days of release of sailings, you can get HIA with premium drinks and Wi-Fi package, tips and a OBC. We booked the Volendam for an 11-day Boston to Montreal Cruise for August 2024 in a Vista Suite with the Premium HIA for $4300pp. That includes the Premium drinks, Premium Wi-Fi, gratuities, $400 in shore excursions, 2 specialty restaurants each and $200 OBC. The Vista Suite is 297sq ft in size and the Volendam is an older small ship with 1400 passenger capacity. HAL charges a lot less for specialty restaurants, drink packages and so far, no charge for full room service, including ordering from the MDR menu. 

Boston to Montreal sounds like a fantastic itinerary. These are the types of cruises I'd like to start doing now that we're retired. Been to the Caribbean so many times. 

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thank you for posting this! I will definitely be checking out Fluz.

23 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Look at the Veranda category and then look at sunset veranda or deluxe porthole view with veranda. Those are the only two cabin categories. 

Thanks. I ended up moving us to a Sunset Veranda on deck 11.  

45 minutes ago, elliekate said:

Everyone should travel with repair kits for filings out or crowns off! If a crown is off and you don’t have a repair kit, you can actually use toothpaste to put the crown back on! It’s tricky putting crowns on and be careful not to swallow it😀

I have never traveled with one of these repair kits, but will be getting one before out next cruise.

I had a crown fall out while we were on our last cruise. It was toward the back of my mouth so not at all visible and there wasn't any pain. I wrapped it in a tissue and my dentist was able to take care of it when we got home. 

12 hours ago, GenericBob said:

 

Can I log into Rakuten and make subsequent payments to the reservation for cash back if the original cruise booking was not made through clicking Rakuten? Reason is the flights by celebrity website was not working and needed a phone call in to create the booking, but it has not been paid yet.

Now that's a good question! I have no idea, but whenever I log onto the Celebrity website, I always get the option to click on the Rakuten save 2% link that pops up. If you try it and it works, please report back.

Thanks for all the help everyone. We'll be on deck 11 in a SV. 

This will be my husband's first time sailing in an aft cabin. I was in one years ago on Constellation with our daughter for a spring break cruise. It was a Sky Suite with a huge bathroom. 

I'm excited for this room. Love that the balcony has loungers. Will be nice for all those sea days. 

2 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

My choice would also be deck 7 due to the balcony design which is different than deck 7 on Edge and Apex. 

Only one left on 7. 8 completely booked. Higher decks, including 12, have lots of availability. Any reason not to be up there??

Thanks everyone. 

Can people on other decks look down onto your balcony?

What about position...would the center be better or does it really matter?

Currently looking to move from a deck 9 Infinite Veranda to a Sunset Balcony. There's currently availability on all decks. 

Anyone who has sailed in these types of balconies, is there a preferred deck?  We'll be on ASCENT for the TA next April.

Thanks.

My husband and I are booked in a Prime Infinite Veranda (I know...it's not a balcony) on the ASCENT for a transatlantic in April of 2024. Watched another YouTube video of the Infinite, and I think I'd like to move into a traditional balcony stateroom.

I'm the Celebrity website now and trying to figure out if it's even possible to have a regular balcony without moving up into Suite Class?? As much as I'd love to be in suite class, as of now (with the sale) a move into a Sky Suite would be around 7k more than what we're paying. 

Are there regular balcony staterooms available on Edge class ships?? 

3 hours ago, jwlane said:

Where did you see this?

It was in one of the Celebrity FB groups that I follow.

I've watched several YouTube reviews of the Infinite balcony cabins on Edge class ships. I get the concept. I understand what can be the downside of them while sailing in the Caribbean. If you open the window the a/c shuts off, it can get rather warm, etc. 

Was reading some comments in a Celebrity FB group about the balconies and some loved them, while others hated them. One thing that stuck out to me is they said the captain locks the windows at night? I can understand bad weather, really rough seas, etc., but at night? Is this true?

We're booked in a Prime Edge with Infinite Balcony stateroom for a TA next year on ASCENT. Because this cruise is in April and once we're a few days away from Ft. Lauderdale, the weather will get a little cooler, the complaints about the heat shouldn't be an issue. We do enjoy standing on our balcony at night though, so if the window is locked every night, that may be a problem for us.

Has anyone experienced the windows being locked every night?

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

Laundry is calling... will be back with more later.  As a teaser:  Puerto Plata is our new favorite Caribbean Port Area.  🙂 

Someone else here on CC said the same thing. Can't wait to visit in September.

On 3/21/2023 at 6:13 PM, phoenix_dream said:

So you completely lied on the health questionnaire before boarding? And doing so with no way of knowing for sure if she had food poisoning or norovirus which could have infected hundreds on your sailing? Nice.

First thing that cross my mind as well.

Deck 16 for sure. 

On 3/17/2023 at 1:52 PM, patty1955 said:

We're scheduled for Oceania Sirena  (Transatlantic) On 4/22/25. It's a great itinerary.  Cruise

Just took a peek at your link. That's insane! Sticking a pin in that one.