XuGator

Can you just buy 1 device and use the hotspot feature on your phone to feed any other devices you want to use?

Im not sure where or when I ever said to ignore any documentation required by the cruise line. Quite the opposite, as I suggested the OP get a confirmation email from Celebrity giving them the ok to board without a passport. I am trying to salvage their trip because it sounds like they are too late to obtain a passport. Secondly, I dont believe its a loophole, when our daughter was able to sail just last year to Martinique on Celebrity without a passport. So clearly its possible to travel to these islands without a passport by staying on the ship. Maybe Celebrity messed up in allowing them, maybe they didnt. I also am bringing light to the obscurity of the policy regarding this from Celebrity themselves. Celebrity needs to make it abundantly clear on their closed loop section which islands this does not apply to and state that a passport is required to board, which they do not do. Finally, I personally wouldn't travel anywhere without a passport but Im not a risk taker that some others might be. Again, I am not condoning traveling without a passport but it sounds like OP is out of options to acquire one and am sharing a positive experience where we could still sail to one of these islands without one. Will it work for them, I have no clue , even if they get confirmation from a Celebrity agent via email like we did, its still a risk that they could be denied boarding. That is up to them if its worth it. It wouldn't be for me but I dont know enough about their situation or their refund options to know if its worth it to them. There are other options to expedite a passport, even say day options in some locations if you have international travel scheduled within 14 days. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

We were mainly concerned after reading this below which states that RCL required a passport just to board starting in 2020. We actually received an email from celebrity stating this was updated again in 2021 to allow passengers to sail but not disembark but could not find the update anywhere online and was just the agents word basically. I made them print the email out and they didn’t have a problem but it’s a roll of the for the OP. I don’t want them to miss out on their cruise but encourage them to get a hard copy message from celebrity indicating it’s ok for them to board. Seems like it’s a gray area and a roll of the dice without a passport. https://cruisefever.net/royal-caribbean-issues-policy-change-regarding-passport-requirement-for-caribbean-port/

I agree with you. Celebrity is very vague in their verbiage regarding this and their agents don’t even seem to have the details. This doesn’t surprise me because anytime I have had to call Celebrity, their agents have only been working there for a week and aren’t familiar with a lot of the inner-workings. They struggle with questions about their own drink package so this is going to be well over their heads. I don’t think it’s possible to complete the online check without a passport on any sailing is it? From what I understand, this has to be done in person at the checkin desk if you are using your birth certificate. We only know this because we were dealing with the same questions last year when my daughter and her friends were going. Celebrity needs to update their closed loop literature outlining the specifics for everyone in this same situation. As long as Celebrity hasn’t adjusted something recently, I think the OP should be ok but they should know they can’t disembark in Martinique. Finally though, I agree with almost everyone else that it is wise to obtain a passport anytime you leave the country.

My daughter and her friends went to Martinique on a celebrity cruise just last year. They only had DL and BC. No issues at all. PS- Do you not know how reputable and renowned the points guy is ??? Not sure what other proof you need but your information is inaccurate.

Lots of misinformation in these replies. The fact that this sailing calls on one of the select islands that requires passport (Martinique) does not mean that they cannot sail without a passport. It just means that they cannot get off the ship in Martinique. It’s all outlined here https://porthole.com/cruising-to-martinique-dont-forget-your-passport/ “Cruisers without a passport can still book a cruise which stops at the island, but will not be allowed to disembark the ship while at the port” Here as well https://thepointsguy.com/guide/need-passport-cruise/

Thank you Kathy, that is what we have done in the past. I am guessing that even if it does show on the website as an upgrade option, it doesnt apply the captains club discount?

Thanks - it says "You dont have any orders yet". Maybe they just haven't been loaded in there yet like you said. We only booked a week ago so will give it some more time. Its odd that the on board credit shows up right away though, so we assumed the other packages would as well.

I wish. We booked the "all included" that comes with classic drinks. We seem to have this issue on every sailing. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we booked with a TA? Did you book directly through Celebrity ?

Thanks but for some reason we don't have the option to upgrade on there. The only options are to select the classic or premium for the full price

Ambassade for hotel and Uber everywhere in Amsterdam. Easiest and fastest way to get around

We stayed at the Rubens at the palace. Great location with easy access to Victoria station and underground.

Every time we book a cruise, we always book the all included which comes with wifi, drinks , tips and on board credit. Our OBC shows up fine in the cruise personalizer but we can never figure out how to upgrade our drinks from the classic to the premium package. It should just be 15-20 bucks a day or something but when we click on drink packages, the only options that appear are ones to purchase the package for the full price. There doesn't seem to be an "upgrade" option. We have had to call in every time in the past to get this added but it would be nice to do this online. Does anyone know if this is possible or what we are missing? The planner never seems to detect that we have a drink package at all. Thank you for any insight

Thank you both. I appreciate all the info

Great info. Thank you Gumshoe!

John - Thank you for all the helpful info you provide on these boards. So it appears there is a train strike scheduled for July 22nd. Will this definitely impact your prior suggesting to take the train from Southampton to Salisbury and also the train from Salisbury back to London on that day? I dont know enough about how these train strikes work. Does it mean that no trains will be running? Is our only option of doing Stonehenge on our own after the cruise going to be with a private transfer? Thanks again

It doesn’t look like they are available on July 22

JB - Thank you for the thorough and detailed response. That is very insightful and helps a lot. Two more quick questions 1. Salisbury to Waterloo. I know tickets are more expensive if not purchased in advance but do these tickets ever sell out? Is there any risk of not getting a train back to London if we wait until the day of to buy? 2. I understand that Stonehenge won’t store luggage but is keeping our luggage with us an option if we just wheel them on the path at Stonehenge? We don’t mind walking from the Stonehenge visitor center to the site with our bags if this is allowed. Thanks again

This thread is a wealth of information but am having trouble sifting through all 28 pages. Is someone able to recommend a couple of car / taxi service that will pick us up at the Southampton cruise terminal, stop by stonehenge for a quick visit and then take us on to central london? The only alternative we can think of is to uber from the cruise port to the stonehenge visitor center and then take the train back to London ourselves. I guess in this scenario we just need to figure out where to ditch our larger suitcase for an hour or 2 while we visit stonehenge. Im guessing its not possible to just wheel our luggage around the monument but we would be willing to do that also if it was allowed. Any and all insight would be appreciated.

Hi - We return into Southampton from a cruise on July 22nd. If we want to tour Stonehenge before returning to London, how easy is it to just catch an Uber to Salisbury when we get into port and then take the train from Salisbury to Waterloo? I guess my questions are: 1. Do the trains (southwestern rail) book up from Salisbury to London Waterloo? We really dont know how long the Stonehenge tour would take so hoping to just go to the station when we are ready and get a ticket then. It looks like the train runs very frequently. 2. Do we need to book tickets for Stonehenge ahead of time (does this sell out) ? 3. Should we Uber directly to the Stonehenge parking area or to the Visitors center to take the tram? 4. Is there a place we can store our luggage while touring here? Thank you for any insight - I just want to make sure I am not missing anything with this tentative plan. Thank you

Ambassade or Banks Mansion for the hotel. Uber for all transportation needs.

A lot depends on the itinerary as well. A sailing with a lot of sea days might make the Plus option more advantageous as more time on the ship = more drinks, more time with wifi etc. However, some cruises, especially European cruises can be very port intensive where you might be in port every day. If you are not on the ship often then this neutralizes the benefits of the plus package for drinks. Also - if you already have an international phone plane, this also reduces the need to pay for wifi from the ship as well because you can just use your phone every day in port. There will never be a universal answer on this for everyone because people drink different amounts and different types of drinks and some do not care for wifi. So its best to do your own math on how much you forecast spending per day out of pocket vs plus for everything (drinks, wifi, tips, etc)

Can someone share some insight on how reliable / dependable the National Express coaches are? Specifically we are debating taking the National express coach from Victoria station to Southampton on the morning of our cruise for a price of only 10 pounds each. Its this or the Princess transfer from the same spot for 60 dollars each. Our concern isnt so much the money or savings but rather the assurance we wont have any issue making it to SOU. We are on a 14 night cruise and definitely don't want to miss it. We are considering the 830 National express coach that gets to the Southampton station around 1030 but our question basically is - are there ever cancellations of these coaches, mechanical issues where they break down, labor strikes etc) ? Is it safer to just go with the Princess cruise transfer ? We are leaning just taking the National express bus I just like having contingency plans in case something happens. In my mind Im thinking that something will happen with our coach that morning and all other coaches will be booked by then. Any advice would be appreciated.

Uber is everywhere in Amsterdam. Just use that to get anywhere. There are canal cruise companies right in front of the Anne Frank House as well and you dont really need to prebook those either. They leave every 10-15 min

You aren't wrong. It is definitely 9 nights or less