Rtowncruiser

We will miss the Celebrity's presence in SoCal,, but at least we can transfer our Elite tier to Royal Caribbean's Navigator OTS. I know it's not really comparable, but I'll take it...

I've been bargain shopping for balconies on Navigator OTS and up popped a  balcony gty XB for significantly less than a 4D gty. Can anyone share what kind of balcony you ended up with? Are there any partially obstructed views or downside to this? Thanks!

If you are Diamond and get the 4 drinks per day allotment, can you order 2 drinks at a time, or only one? I know you can't share a drink package, but does it matter with the 4 drink perk?

On 7/19/2023 at 6:56 PM, Selluks said:

Not terrible.  Just make sure you check at midnight when it opens up for you.  If you don't get it just keep checking throughout the day before your cruise.  

 

We didn't sign up at midnight and then I was told that grandma wanted to take her grand child.  After a couple days we were able to snag a spot.

Thanks. You give me hope. I'm pretty good at snagging camp spots. (Jeopardy trigger!) so where there's a will, there's a way! 

We are booked on the Magic in October for a 4 day out of San Diego. We are seasoned cruisers but new to Disney. I see that they tier signups by your points from previous Disney cruises. We would love for our 6 yr old granddaughter to be able to attend the Royal Tea. Do they typically only offer it once a cruise? Is it hard to book if we are low man on the totem pole? Thanks!

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

Plus the Deluxe Porthole Verandas.

Oh wow. I didn't realize true Verandas were so limited. Now I have to decide if I want Porthole aft or forward, or go midship with IV! Decisions decisions..... I'm leaning towards aft 

I am considering booking a cruise on the Edge and reading this thread with interest. I thought I'd go ahead and book a traditional balcony but when looking at the categories, the only balcony categories start at Concierge, almost 1k more than the IV (13 day cruise) ! So now I think I'll go with the IV.

They usually offer it one night on a 7 night cruise.. Chocolate lava cake with coffee crunch ice cream and a slice of carmelized banana.. Heaven!

We are going on one of the Halloween on the High Seas cruises. Though we are not new to cruising, it's our first Disney cruise. I know booking the activities are in high demand, and will do my best to get certain ones for our grandkids since we are "low man on the totem pole" 

I'm a little confused as to our booking access. 

 on the website it states

"Your booking window opens on August 8, 2023. Check back later to explore activities. Once you pay in full, you can book your favorite ones."

We will obviously be paid in full by July due date so what does that mean as far as booking? Can we book when paid in full?

On our last cruise which ended April 1, we will have accrued enough points to put us into Elite. Our next cruise is April 8, and if our points total doesn't update in time, will they adjust it once we board? Also during the complimentary happy hour, how are gratuities handled? Do they give you a receipt to sign? 

Thanks!

Another time of year to go is the end of the season. Lesser crowds and everywhere was deep discounting their products. Then take  a repositioning cruise!

Thanks for the share.. another website I will spend too much time on! 

Our bid for a Move Up cabin was accepted, but our Travel Documents have not updated to our new room or luggage tags. 

Will they send us an updated booklet or do we need to contact them for new luggage tags? 

We leave March 25th. Our app. reflects the change in room assigned,  but want the new luggage tags.

Sailing Solstice March 25, Pacific Coastal 7 nights

Had Balcony 1B 

Bid on Aqua- $205

Accepted bid. 

15 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

I believe they have.  They are trying hard to protect price integrity.   I'm assuming they don't want people to get into the habit of booking lower cabins knowing they can MoveUp multiple levels with a minimum bid

On the other hand, they set the minimum bid.. my guess is lower bids are accepted last, so we will probably not hear until 2 days before sailing. Will update once we know..

I put in an offer for a Move Up from Balcony to Aqua. I only bid the minimum because there are at least 85+ vacant Aqua class cabins on this sailing. Have they ever rejected a bid even if there are vacancies?

This thread has been very helpful. If you purchase a 3 dinner package, do you have the option of dining in the same restaurant all 3 nights if you wish, or do you have to visit different ones?

I know Royal Caribbean (Navigator OTS) has one shuffleboard court on deck, but do any of the Celebrity ships have any secreted away?

I wish the Solstice had a court instead of the bocce ball or unused grassy areas. What about other cruise lines?

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

This itinerary was never on our radar, however after some a "wow, we won't have to fly to the port" thought popped into my head, we booked this for Oct 28th of this year.  Its an 8 day itinerary with an overnight in Cabo,   We'll also be in Mazatlan for Dia De Los Muertos on Nov 1st.  Should be fun!!  

 

 

We were in Cabo and Puerto Vallarta during Dia de los Muertos last year. Get to the Malecon in PV for  beautiful altars and Catrinas on display. 

34 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Hope this stays on the Celebrity pages for awhile as the ports of call section gets little visits.

 

Our cruise itinerary has changed to eliminate Monterey, and now includes a San Francisco stop right after Ensenada.  I remember years ago in a similar situation we had to do a customs check upon arrival.  At the time customs officers came onboard and we had to all go through Customs officially, showing passports and so on.  It took quite awhile.

 

Has anyone had to do that recently?  And in particular, has anyone experienced it in San Francisco?  If so, what was the process?  TIA

We have done annual Coastal Cruises many times and have never encountered what you described. But most were repositioning cruises.

Just got off Solstice last week and easiest embarkation/debarkation ever. However, debarkation as of now for March 25th will be on the outer pier which will require a shuttle (provided) back to main pier for those who drove.

We have sailed on RCL and Celebrity when the ships have been at 50% capacity or less because of Covid. We had superb service and tipped above our usual because of it. Our last sailing was almost at capacity and service was very good, but we didn't tip as generously as when the ship was partially full and staff was obviously going to get a lot less. 

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I agree. It looks like after this year, Celebrity has no west coast cruises in 2024. 

The Solstice was supposed to be in Asia in 2023. But Covid canceled those itineraries so they had to park the ship in L.A.  It has had a much less time to book those trips. The ship will return to Asia after the Alaska cruises. Thus, no longer in L.A.

Carnival, Holland America, Disney, Princess all have a busy CA presence. 

1 hour ago, sbt518 said:

This is an itinerary I've never considered but now I am because even though you have not even boarded the ship yet, your review makes me want to go there! And I remember @Jim_Iain 's review also.

 

But I noticed there are no 2024 itineraries for the Mexican Riviera yet and we have our 2023 cruise coming up in 2 weeks.  Our fall vacation will be somewhere land based, maybe Scotland, which I know to be Iian's homeland but that and whisky and beautiful rolling hills are all I know about it so I'm excited to go.

 

EDIT to fix the spelling of whisky so as not to offend any Scots! 🤣

Celebrity will be gone from the West Coast (except for repositioning ) in 2024. It is just a fluke that the Solstice is here. Covid sidelined it's Asian itineraries and it parked itself in LA for the year. Sadly, it will be gone next year as it will pick up Asia again. To my knowledge, no other ship will be here in 2024.

We are on this cruise. We have been on the Solstice and all these ports many times. Cabo is a little intense as tour promoters will hail you as you walk along the marina. We usually just take advantage of the inexpensive massages you can get locally. (just check Tripadvisor) as we have pretty much done most of the activities in our younger years. Love Puerto Vallarta. The Malecon area is a must see if you are out and about on your own. You can take a bus for 10 pesos. (50 cents) or numerous taxis are available. Mazatlan you walk  the "Blue Line" to get you into the town. It's best to use cash for your purchases. Have fun!

M class. We love the thelasso pools and Sunset bar.