jules815

4 hours ago, wallysdtr said:

I too agree.    A few years ago, the lady next to us was smoking on her balcony.  My husband who has asthma asked her to stop smoking in her cabin.  She apologized but continued on other occasions.   In hindsight, we should have gone to guest services to report the issue.   Guess what I am saying, is follow the advice of the other posters.  This behavior will probably continue and you deserve a quiet night. 

A few years ago we were sailing on a RC ship, I think it was Freedom of the Seas. I was standing out on our balcony and could smell someone smoking. Not sure if it was directly next to us or a couple away. It was daytime and the ship was moving. Just as I'm standing there noticing the smoke smell, I saw their butt get flicked off their balcony and it caught the wind and landed on a balcony a few decks below us. This is exactly what I'd heard would happen and I saw it with my own eyes. I went to security. Not sure if they were able to do anything though, because I couldn't be sure which balcony they were on.

So dangerous though. Seriously, if you're going to break the rules and smoke on your balcony (which you shouldn't do!) at least throw it in an empty pop can or something. Sorry for the thread hijack. whenever I hear of someone smoking on a balcony, I remember what I saw.

1 hour ago, Lastdance said:

I am very excited for my upcoming TA/b2b on Beyond.  We had to cancel our January cruise, so my anticipation keeps growing, along with being so ready to return to Europe.  Honestly, I feel like the best of both worlds are coming together and my anticipation has gotten me through this awful and never-ending winter.  

 

Of course, weather is just another element that can be exciting with a little rock’n roll of the ship.  I have had the continual creaking for no apparent reason that robs your sleep and makes you cranky.  Having said that, the excitement is a huge part of preparing and looking forward to the experience.

This is the second time I've heard about continual creaking. Are you also talking about the Infinite Veranda? We were on a cruise once on a different line during a hurricane and experienced very rough seas and a horrible clanging sound from either the window or the balcony door that they had blocked off. (Cove Balcony room on Carnival) 

Has anyone else experienced this creaking with the Infinity veranda? We have one booked for a transatlantic next year on Ascent. 

20 hours ago, Texed said:

We agree.  Beyond was the most beautiful ship we have ever sailed on.  😊

And Ascent will be very similar, right??  😃

20 hours ago, Radio said:

MSC Seascape Chocolate Bar Menu

 

Radio

 

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Are those shakes included with the Premium drink package? (Whatever one comes with YC)

17 hours ago, DCPIV said:

Just to clarify, you would not get the benefits you mentioned if you upgrade via MoveUp.  If you simply do a direct upgrade (i.e., call them up and do it then and there), you WILL get those benefits.

Yes, understood. We're over a year out and I will definitely be keeping an eye on those suite prices. 

33 minutes ago, jelayne said:

To some degree yes.  They are videos on line if you search.

Just watched a YouTube video. Nice room! The Magic Carpet doesn't go up and down all the time like that bar on some Royal Caribbean ships, right? 

6 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

The lowest price suite is typically an S3 Sky Suite along the Magic Carpet.  You could look there now and do the comparison.

What does this mean? Is it obstructed? 

Just now, DaKahuna said:

 

No, you would get access to the Retreat Venue's (Retreat Lounge, Retreat Sundeck, and Luminae).  You would get free drinks in the Suite loung but no where else.  You would not get the 8-points per night, you would not get the Premium Beverage Package, and you would not get pre-paid gratuities. 

 

No, Concierge does not get access to Luminae.  Only Suite Class gets you access to Luminae. 

Great thanks. Exactly what I thought the answer was going to be.

We're currently booked for the April 2024 transatlantic on ASCENT. Our last cruise with X was on Reflection back in 2018, pre-Retreat. We did enjoy Luminae and Michael's Club.

We'll be in a Prime Edge with Infinite Balcony room. Got a great deal, but it's for room only. As of today, even if I add on Premium Beverage Packages and Internet, we're still getting a good deal compared to a Sky Suite. As the cruise gets closer, if we were to bid on a suite, say the lowest level suite needed to get us into the Retreat, would we get all those things included with a suite? (Premium Bev, Internet, gratuities, etc.)

Conciege Class doesn't get you into Luminae, correct?

On 2/18/2022 at 2:17 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Well, I'm not a kid, but I LOVE milkshakes!  They have awesome ones on MSC.

Are those milkshakes available on MSC in Venci??  

Store them in the safe. (How easy was that?)

Have a great cruise!

Another live review...yay!  I'll be following along as well. We'll be on Seascape in September.

Have a great cruise!

15 hours ago, L1211 said:

Status Match

 

This benefit blew me away.  Our cruises are scattered across multiple lines over many years, and only a couple per year so we are not high status with any one line.  Given this, I did not look at status match.  Then I learned on my Facebook sailing page that folks were matching to different loyalty programs- wow!  I have lots of those due to work travels.  
 

I first matched myself Silver from my Platinum status with Marriott.  I have higher status on American,  but that program is not matched.  
 

With the Silver match , I receive 5% of my cruise price back on OBC.  Wow!  Did not see that coming.  And as I understand, if I had booked early, I would have received an additional $50.  What a surprise perk!

 

I later read that Hilton Diamond matched to MSC Diamond. How could that be true given the Marriott match?  Who knows, but i tried it and my husband became a Diamond VC member.  
 

This was unexpected and appreciated!  Should be better advertised.  I booked myself online and was never asked about status matching. 
 

And the process, easy peazy!  And quick!  Filled out online forms, two day turn around and instantly updated in our reservation.  This was a wow!
 

Here’s where this gets interesting.  Diamond loyalty seems to be meaningless.  I get it, we did not earn it sailing, but does staff know that? We were never one time “thanked for our loyalty”. You know, like when you check into a hotel with status.  Never one time recognized as Diamond member.  We received our Diamond perks on day 3, but they were never mentioned ( I got macaroons and was soooo excited.  Did not eat them that night and they were taken away the next afternoon. I would have put them in the safe had I known!!). We were not invited to a Diamond cocktail reception.  Just seems like  odd program management.  If I was a frequent and loyal cruiser, I would have really been put off.  As it was, we had a lovely dinner in BC and the girls got an additional bottle of prosecco for their balcony hot tub experience.  All good, but more potential for sure.  
 

5 Stars for Status Match program, 4 stars for status benefits, 1 star for status experience 

They took your macaroons?! (and I'm not being snarky here. why would they do that?)

1 minute ago, binro01 said:

I wish I can get my wife to agree to that sentiment! Every morning I'm off to what ever specialty coffee venue there is on the ship I'm on to get her morning energy inducing elixir. The drip coffee from room service just does not cut it for her.. So off I go.

Just like my husband. He's used to making lobby runs to the Starbucks at our favorite pre-cruise hotel for his coffee and my morning tea, and he knows just how I like it as well. After 40 years, I guess I'll keep him! 

19 hours ago, Arubamoose said:

We were just off the Edge.  We had a drink package but we did run into folks that did not and were Elite.  At the Martini bar they were served smaller versions of what is on the Elite menu - cosmo, martini, etc.  

 

The breakfast was served in Le Petit Chef - across the deck from Cafe Bacio.  We went there a few times to escape the madness of the Oceanview and the slowness of the dining room.

So is the Elite Breakfast basically the same MDR menu but a different location? 

Thanks everyone. Not a big deal if it wasn't, but this is better. 😃

On 3/13/2023 at 6:06 PM, phoenix_dream said:

In the US Medicare does not cover outside of the country.  Anyone in that age range who does not consider carrying supplemental insurance is playing with fire.  Some Medicare Advantage policies cover a certain amount, as do some credit cards.  But for complete (or very good) coverage, you need a supplement.  I personally do not buy general travel insurance for multiple reasons (one being fairly decent coverage on my credit card) but I always, always buy a medical supplement.

Glad I read this. My husband's recently on Medicare (with a supplement). 

Sailing on Ascent next year on a transatlantic. We're not in a suite and understand there's now a charge for room service. Fine with that, but would there also be a charge for an early morning pot of coffee/tea and danish basket? Watched a YouTube video last night about current changes on Celebrity (she was on Beyond) and it sounded like something light like that is still included without a service charge. Is that true?

I'm seeing 2% back with Rakuten on the Celebrity website. How often do they do this and does it ever go higher than 2%?

Do the suites always include things like beverage packages, internet, etc., or is that only with included promotions? I know when we sailed in suites in the past, that was all included with a promotion. The current promotional rate we have, which isn't in a suite, is for room only. Pretty good deal though. So if we did bid to upgrade, we'd still have to purchase our drink packages, etc? I'm not at all familiar with The Retreat. Why would we want that? This is a transatlantic cruise in April. 

37 minutes ago, Radio said:

MSC Seascape returns to Port Miami at Terminal C, very early on March 12, 2023. (Video from Balcony 13198 (STB) using GoPro Hero11)

 

Radio

 

 

 

Wow Radio, that's a really nice video! Looks like an Oceana (?) ship pulling in early with you.

10 hours ago, jpsykes said:

As someone else said --- you will see available categories above where you are currently booked - I saw Sky Suite as well as 3 or 4 other higher level suites

That's good to know. I guess I have time to do some research to see if for this particular cruise it would be worth it for us. Haven't sailed with X since pre-Covid and also pre-Retreat. (Retreat replaced Michael's Club??) This transatlantic wasn't even our radar initially. We have a wedding to attend next year in Ft. Lauderdale, thought it would be nice to tag a cruise onto the end of that, and here we are. 

3 hours ago, jpsykes said:

Are you referring to the April 8th cruise on Apex?

 

I'm on that cruise and was notified 2 days ago (the 15th) that our bid from Concierge to Sky Suite was accepted.

What cabin type are you bidding on and what are you currently in?  

 

Curious how the bidding process works. My husband and I are booked for a TA next year in a Prime Infinite Balcony. If you're given the option to upgrade, is it only to the next available level up?

1 hour ago, binro01 said:

Ascent is more akin to Beyond than Apex. It's resort deck and sunset bar is much nicer! You will love the ship I'm sure! Enjoy your cruise!

Oh that's great to hear. We love the Sunset Bar on the other Celebrity ships we've sailed on. I really thought the ships in that class were all the same. I usually do all my research on ships prior to booking, I'm going to have to get busy. 

Thanks everyone!

We're booked. Still can't believe we're doing a transatlantic. We did one back in 2016 on a RC ship and loved it. 

Since we booked with a sale, we opted to go a little nicer with the cabin without going suite class. We'll be in a Prime Edge with Infinite Balcony on deck 9. Funny though, the Celebrity website is selling this as a cruise on APEX. After I booked, my booking confirmation came back saying we're sailing on ASCENT. I called Celebrity, and she confirmed we're on Ascent and not Apex. I told her that it really makes no difference to us, same class ship, newer, we're good with it, but they may want to have someone in IT change their website. 

Anyway, all good we're booked and very excited. We've never been to Portugal, but got close when our last (and only) TA had an emergency evacuation just off the coast of Funchal at 2am. We also have a stop in Tenerife (new to us) and Malaga. We end in Barcelona and will spend a couple of days there before flying home to Chicago.

Very excited to be sailing with Celebrity again.