yoj13

19 hours ago, lorwill said:

We dock at 7am in Miami and do not fly until 11pm.  Plan to go to a shopping mall (Dolphin?)  Any ideas on what to do with our luggage for the day and cheapest/easiest way to get to a good mall?  We have been to Miami before so no need to do any sightseeing that day.

 

Thanks in advance from first time cruisers!

We have done this journey countless times but boy its a long day although we always take the first transatlantic flight (BA 17.15) across the pond.  Is there anyway that you can get that flight changed to an earlier one, there are loads to choose from?   Although we haven't looked for bag storage recently, the only one we have used is the one at Miami airport.  Not particularly cheap and obviously involves a trip to the airport first, but a shared shuttle from the port (usually about $10 per person) would get you there relatively painlessly.  I think Aventura Mall would be worth a visit, buts its a smaller version of our Metro Centre.  On our last visit the food court had been removed and some swanky, expensive coffee shops had opened up but you couldn't really spend all that much time there.  Captain BJ's suggestion is OK if you are happy to take a chance on the I95 motorway but that wouldn't be for us I'm afraid, too many lunatics out there and of course you do know,  our American friends drive on the wrong side of the road!!!!!!  Honestly, I would try and get the flight changed, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

no people mover involved.  On exit, just walk straight across the road  to the transport hub.  Everything is exceptionally well signposted so follow the signs for Tri Rail.   Buy yur ticket from the machine and take the elevator onto the platform.  Simple and we are not US citizens but have done this journey lots of times  up as far as Fort Lauderdale.

Explorer has a lovely Diamond Lounge, Deck 14, near to Dizzys.  There is also an outside area with chairs and tables for those warm, balmy evenings.  Staircase down to the sports court blocked off at both top & bottom with notice saying 'private diamond lounge'  However, there was no checking of cards and I know there were people in there who  weren't diamond members.  People definitely sneak in behind legitimate card holders. They can swipe my card as many times as they like, I have nothing to hide and my one sprite a night won't break the bank but  checking whose who,  in my opinion definitely needs stepping up.

2 hours ago, Sydney54 said:

We were on a Brilliance Baltic cruise in June and did the 2 day “Must See” tour with Alla Tours. While it was full on in was an excellent tour going to the Hermitage and Church of Spilled Blood along with a cruise, short subway ride, lunches in restaurants both days and other sites. Communication prior to the tours was also great with prompt replies to any questions. I would thoroughly recommend them. 

We too have used Alla for our 2 day visit to St.Petersburg.  Without doubt, it was the best excursion we have ever done and the guide (Oxanna) was not only knowledgeable but a sheer delight.  Brand new transport and an equally expert driver made our excursion literally out of this world.  I agree with everything Sydne54 has written.  Go for it.

When you come out of the terminal building, you need to go to the left hand side for the Port Authority Shuttle.  It is something like Euro5 return.Follow the crew, they all use it.  It stops and picks up at sea side, just across the road from Columbus monument.  Cross over the extremely busy road (traffic signal operated) and you are at the bottom of Las Ramblas where you can stroll to your hearts content!

Royal Carribean will also provide a shuttle but it will be circa $15 for the very short ride.  If you are feeling fit, you can walk it in circa 30 minutes. 

I am really surprised at the level of compensation mentioned in a few of the posts on here.

We have recently disembarked the Reflection TA which was the worst cruise in 44 cruises we have been on.  The bathroom flooded 5 times even coming over the step into the cabin.  We were informed that there were no cabins available but miraculously after 11 days they found one.  To further add insult to injury, the cabin we moved to, had used bed linen on,  and  a really bad noise issue which we later found out  was  the reason the previous occupant had been moved.

We were polite at all times at guest services, never raised our voices once but the service was sadly lacking.  We eventually talked to the Captains Club host who went immediately down to Guest services on our behalf.  They have given  us FCC for £100 to be used in the next 2 years.

1 hour ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

I definitely agree with this!

Couldn't have said it better myself.  Remember, they have got to get across the pond for the Carribbean season.  Far better to sail with a full ship than an empty one. 

2 hours ago, cangelmd said:

Hi everyone, I wanted to post a bit about my first time transatlantic cruise. I loved Jim's live blog, but at times when I was reading it, I wondered if we were on the same trip at all!

First, I want to say we had a great cruise, and we want to do a TA again some day. Also, without exception. every person we spoke to on the ship who had been on other TAs said that this was not at all the norm, and was by far the worst TA they had ever been on .Not the roughest seas (although the first day and half was very rough with a lot of motion), but the longest time to go without being able to use the decks fully, because of the combo of moderate seas and heavy wind (25-40 knots, day after day). Also, what I am saying should not at all be taken as a criticism of the measures taken by the captain or Celebrity to keep people safe - safety is the utmost priority!

Silhouette was not designed for almost everyone to be either inside completely or in the Solarium for day after day. And, balcony furniture in the staterooms was not released until the 6th day of sailing when people began complaining.

So lessons learned:

1) Be prepared to not be outside for 6-8 days. There are many ways to do this and many things to do, but card playing groups and trivia groups formed fast.

2) As a result of number 1 - many venues are CROWDED. This is what Jim's blog does not reflect. For those of us not in suites, the bars and the OVC were extremely crowded, really all indoor seating was extremely crowded until the 2nd week when the balconies and decks began to open up. If you planned on sitting in the Library reading, you needed to stake out a spot by about 8 am. One of things I really like about Celebrity is that the ship almost never feels crowded to me - it can when much of the public space is closed or hard to use.

3) There may be a LOT of Elite and above passengers on board, enough to change the dynamic. Someone told us that 2/3rds of the passengers were Elite or higher, I'm not sure if that was true, but I think all those Elite changed things. Through the evenings, again, especially the first week during the crossing, the bars where Elite could get their free drinks were slammed. Other bars, like the World Bar, were deserted, so we spent a LOT of time at the World Bar. Of course, the Mast Bar and Sunset Bar were closed for half or more of the cruise. Specialty restaurants were empty most of the time, then overfilled on certain specific seatings - Murano being the only exception, although it was only half full the night we went. The upsell pressure for specialty restaurants, and to a lesser extent drink packages was the worst I have ever seen - it never stopped for the specialty restaurants.

4) Don't plan any shore excursions or port activities that you cannot financially or emotionally absorb the cost of. Every port on our trip was changed. At first that seems OK, and we did come to terms with it, but let it sink in for a moment. We met a person who had booked this trip in particular because the stop in Nassau coincided with a wedding he had been invited to in the Bahamas - that didn't happen. We booked a private tour in the Bahamas - that money is gone. More painful for us was the dinner reservation in NYC that we missed, we had called 2 months in advance at 10:00 on a Sunday morning, sitting in the church parking lot to get that reservation, could not be rescheduled. The ship shore excursions were rescheduled or credited, but some people had Broadway show tickets.

 

We did have a good time, despite everything I listed above. We might take another TA one day - the long 25 hour days were great. No jet lag - great. We would likely try the Southern route next time. after talking to a number of people. it sounds like the issues of being cooped up inside are much less likely to happen on that trip. We can handle some pretty rough seas with just a nap and some Bonine and SeaBands, but not being able to use a lot of the ship area, including your own balcony, was hard. The next time we need a prolonged at sea vacation, we might just go to the Caribbean and stay on the ship while all those other pesky travelers go to the beach!

I agree with every word you have written, in fact I would go further and say it was a complete shambles.  Silhouette was ill prepared for this crossing.  They knew the weather was going to be appalling, the letter was already waiting for us in Southampton on embarkation day.  The Elite Breakfast as mentioned in a later post was horrendously organised.  I know there were passengers in the Tuscan  enjoying speciality coffees and champagne who were not Elite members as I was talking with them.  We only braved it twice and on neither occassion did we have to show our cards to the Captains Club host and  she didn't know us from Adam!!!!

We have no complaints about the food but generally the entertainment in the theatre can only be described as poor, but much like food, this is subjective, it just wasn't our cup of tea.

The port tax refund for the Bahamas was a joke.  There were 8 of us travelling.  Refunds were, $2.03, $8.95, $10.04 and zero for one of our group.  Reasons were plentiful, never the same and the guest service manager couldn't explain the Company Policy.

Come on Celebrity, if you are reading, I know you can do better than this.

On 11/18/2018 at 5:15 PM, jelayne said:

On our last cruise our OBC from a large on-line TA showed up as non-refundable.  We had planned to use it on the ship so no big deal.  When we returned home I was talking to a CS supervisor at the TA office so I asked about the OBC being non-refundable.  The explanation I received was that the agency sometimes has the opportunity to buy OBC at a discounted rate as a part of a combined promotion with the cruise line.  In that case the OBC is non-refundable.  On the other hand if the TA pays full price for the OBC it is refundable OBC.  

 

 

 

 

 We have just disembarked the Silhouette.  We too  had $100 OBC from our TA so were somewhat surprised to see OBN on our account when we  checked.  Enquiries at Guest services said it was indeed non-refundable so we  emailed the TA and were told it was a 'special gift' from Celebrity to us.  We had never heard of this arrangement and have had no problems in the past,   so it makes sense to ask on any future bookings where OBC is being offered, where exactly is it coming from? 

On an Eclipse cruise, the entertainment was simply dire and Sue Denning was the CD.  Because of the number of complaints at the time, she did say, she had no choice in the guest entertainers and  that they are,  apparently,  sent from Head Office.  So who is right and who is wrong, the decision is yours!!

19 hours ago, 39august said:

Where is the closest water taxi stop, please?

I am almost sure it is adjacent to the car park at the Hilton Marina and you can see this hotel from almost any berth at Port Everglades.  We have taken a gentle walk a few times down to it. Its a very scenic journey for not much money.  As you haven't mentioned any date, I am assuming that Terminal 25 (brand new and opening very shortly) will be your berth

2 hours ago, UKPete71 said:

When we get to Boston we will have to go through immigration on the ship before we can get off. I believe Celebrity give priority to people booked on their shore excursions. We’ve gone down this route and booked a trip to Salem when there was a sale on excursions. When we did this itinerary in 2015 we did our own thing and I seem to recall queuing for around 1.5 hours to see an immigration officer and didn’t get off the ship until late morning.

I was hoping that the customs officers will be boarding in Southampton and processing a few passengers each day, thus eliminating waiting time when we get to Boston.  Ah well, suppose I can dream. 

As Coolcruiser has suggested, the train is preferable than the coach for some including me, but some people prefer the coach rather than the train.

However, the Encore T/A is way ahead and cheap train tickets are only available 12 weeks in advance. Do a dummy run on the trainline web site and you will be amazed at the difference in ticket prices.

when tendering in Kotor, it's a short hop to the docking point. Exit the tender, walk through the gate, cross the road (make sure you use the crossing) and you are right in the centre of town. Although I have been there on a number of occasions, it remains one of my favourite places to visit on a Med cruise. The journey into and out of Kotor is stunning so don't miss it. We left one visit at midnight and the views were equally as stunning as in daylight. All the lights were twinkling and I think the whole ship was out watching. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

This is a really interesting thread and to be honest I have never heard of this 'perk' . We will be embarking Infinity at the beginning of September and doing a back to back. Obviously, our trips are all paid in full by this stage. Am I too late to mention this discount or is it worth a request to the Captains Club at celebrityonetouch.com. Nothing ventured - nothing gained springs to mind.

We just got off the Vision of the seas on 7th June.

We had considered doing a back to back and so pleased we didn't.

Read on:-

https://dailym.ai/2JCIqBQ

We are also cruising on this ship next year with teenagers and I'm hoping there will be enough life on board having only ever cruised on bigger ships

We just got off Vision last Thursday and quite frankly I would definitely re-consider any options you can find.

Whilst we always just go with the flow and have enjoyed some cruises better than others, there was something seriously missing on the Vision. It is the first time ever for us, that there has been announcements in 2 languages for everything. Apparently there were 217 Spanish guests on board so perhaps they were catering for them but it just seemed to go on and on. The CD was not our cup of tea and certainly doesn't make or break a cruise, but it was monotonous for the most part. Food was OK just. Hard sell was just that especially at the beginning of the cruise. Giovannis was empty most nights and the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge is completely under utilised given it;s position on the ship, aft with wall to wall windows overlooking the wake. In fact Park West seemed to be permanently placed there. I have cruised a lot, but have to say, this was the coldest ship I have ever been on. Since coming home with have both had sore throats and flu like symptoms. It was OK but only just.

Thank you very much. Your input on these boards is much appreciated.

I realise there is no Café Promenade on Vision of the Seas. Is there somewhere similar please?

I was wondering the same thing when I read the OP used the word "whilst" in their post. :)

Hi,

We are Brits who have booked with an American TA, the same agent that we have used many times before and using any awarded OBC towards our account has never been a problem whatever items we have purchased including gratuities. Its no big deal, we will keep an eye on our account during the cruise.

We have also been able in the past to use the OBC towards the gratuities, so were somewhat surprised to read the small print saying differently. We have used an American Travel Agent, one we have used on countless occasions previously. It isn't a problem, we just thought it was a new introduction.

Here is a copy of the small print:-

We have recently booked a September cruise on Infinity and have been awarded some OBC which is very nice. Whilst reading the small print, it quite clearly says that the OBC cannot be used towards the gratuities.

It is the first time I have ever seen this but it is very clear in black and white. Surely it is up to the passenger how he/she would like to spend it. We used a TA, not Celebrity direct. Opinions please.

I too read up a lot on requirements for the QM2 Christmas/New Year cruise 2017/2018. I wanted to adhere to the rules as much as possible. However, I have to say I was really disappointed in the dress code rules and a large percentage of passengers just did whatever they felt like.

The after 6 jacket rule for men is a joke. The first formal night a gentleman on the adjacent table had on a grey polo shirt and no sign of ANY jacket at all. People really were wearing anything and I personally saw no-one refused entry. The theatre was exactly the same with one lady in the ship's bath robe. Nothing appeared to be said.

So just go with whatever you and your wife are comfortable with, certainly don't worry, I'm sure you will look just fab.

Don't whatever you decide to do get into one of those 'black' cars. We were unfamiliar with Port Liberty having never sailed from there and just wanted a ride up to 34th Street light railway station I think it is called where we were meeting our friends. A little over 2 miles later the driver asked for $35 so do be careful.

There is no need for you to do anything. It's automatic. Your 'perks' will be waiting for you on your welcome letter in your stateroom. They will be slightly different to Diamond plus.