choochella

5 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

https://www.cruisemapper.com/ports

 

Plug in your port and cruise date. Find the ships that are in port that day.

Ok thx. I’ve used cruisemapper before but wasn’t sure that they listed private islands. 

Is there a way you can find out if other ships will be in port with you at Coco Cay? We’ve only been there one other time before and it was on Harmony shortly after all the covid restrictions. So, we were sailing at 50% capacity and the island seemed crowded then. We’ll be sailing on Wonder and I’m sure it’s sailing full. Just deciding if we should splurge on paying for Hideaway Beach. 

Another example of X nickel and diming pax to gain extra revenue and to separate those who can afford and those that had to save to take a cruise vacation. Somehow with all the added extras, including Retreat areas only adds to the days of old where we had 1st class, 2nd class and 3rd class passengers. Why would they have to add an extra theater seating area just because you’re paying for it? I’m sure they’ll come up with additional paid perks to differentiate between passengers. I realize that X is considered a slightly upscale cruise line, unlike Carnival or MSC, but to me it’s starting to get a little ridiculous. 

Booked Ascent for November 2024. Got fantastic deal on concierge IV deck 12, cabin 12151. Saw it is right under the pool deck. Anyone ever have this cabin? Concerned about noise as well as never been in Infinite balcony. 

Thanks everyone for the replies. We are just doing a western Caribbean which we’ve done many times before. This was the only time in which we ran into this situation. We have decided to just reapply for our passports just to play it safe, even if they do not expire until August. My question I also was wondering, will our passports continue with an August 2034 expiration or 10 years from the date of issue? Guess at this point it doesn’t really matter. 

We have a cruise coming up soon in which our passports will expire 4 months beyond this cruise. After reading the cruise contract from our TA, it states that passports should be valid for 6 months beyond the date of the start of the cruise. This is a closed loop cruise, therefore starting and ending in the U.S.  

My question, how strict are either Caribbean countries or the cruise lines with enforcing this rule? 

So, I bid on a move up for our upcoming Beyond cruise. I originally booked before X removed the gratuities from the AI package. If I do win my bid, will I lose that perk?

2 hours ago, keesar said:

The cabin numbers are not consistent from ship to ship.  As for the Beyond, your assessment appears to be right on.  You may want to consider bringing on some ear plugs if you are a light sleeper and  cannot get a change of location.

Well that’s what we get for booking a guarantee. But, at our defense, it was a last minute booking and was the only inside available. We normally book a balcony, but I’ve heard nothing but bad reviews regarding the infinite balcony. Something I definitely would not want to try. And, we’re also doing a 10 day on the Reflection in a balcony prior to this 9 day on the Beyond. So, trying to keep costs down. 

On 8/15/2023 at 10:41 AM, PTC DAWG said:

 

Thanks, but didn’t see anything referring to cabin 3137. Just a little apprehensive regarding the possibility of club noise above us late at night. Tried to ask for a possibility of a move or even paid upgrade. Since final payment has been made, it seems as though prices to change have gone through the roof. Guess I’ll see if X offers anything in the move up program. 

19 hours ago, zitsky said:

You may get some answers but also check the spreadsheet near the top of the page.  There are lists of cabins and comments about quiet or noisy.

Ok, call me 🤪, but I can’t seem to locate the spreadsheet. Where exactly do I look? 

We had some bad luck/good luck on a move up bid we did on anEquinox B2B last year. We bid on a balcony from a OCV. We won the bid but were placed in an obstructed balcony. X does not state an obstructed on their move up program. We mentioned to the CS dept and they were unable to move us on our first leg, but gave us a deluxe balcony on our second leg. We were totally pleased. 

We are scheduled on Beyond in the fall and have inside cabin 3137. I’ve noticed that this cabin is directly below The Club on deck 4. Does this venue tend to be noisy late at night?

On 5/5/2023 at 8:14 PM, betsypv said:

• Ship:  Celebrity Equinox
• Length of Cruise: 8 nights 
• Cruise Sail Date: 13 May 23
• Date email offer received: went online and checked proactively 
• Captain’s Club Tier: Select 
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA 
• Current Cabin: Veranda 
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes  $110 pp for Concierge and $110 pp for Ultra Deluxe Veranda, Really wanted aqua class but bidding started at $555 pp and i can get a Persian Garden pass for much less
• both Pending for about 3 weeks and cruise is next weekend! 

 

We also bid on the ultra deluxe veranda. But somehow our bid is no longer showing on our personalizer. It did show our bid yesterday but now it’s gone. Guess we didn’t bid higher enough. 

We are contemplating booking an MSC cruise from Port Canaveral. Never sailed MSC before, but have sailed many times on both Celebrity and Princess as well as a few with NCL and RCCL. We mostly just book a standard balcony cabin. Anyone know best way to book a standard balcony and not getting an obstructed cabin? 

So, without noting pricing, I have seen where the base price for an MSC cruise is extremely lower than other mainstream lines. So, with that said, there must be additional items that are not included in the base fare. I’m aware of perks from other lines, such as free drink pkg, gratuities and Wifi. But, beyond those, it still seems as though the MSC fare is less expensive. What’s the catch?

Thanks so much for your posts and pic’s. It was great following along with you on your endeavors. I hope our exact cruise in November goes along just as smoothly. And, thanks for answering my questions as well. 

Happy to have followed your posts from all your previous stops. As I stated before, we are sailing the same cruise next November. I do have a few questions though:

1) How has the weather been as far as temps? We’re so used to sailing the Caribbean that we only need to take warm weather clothes. 
 

2) How long did it take for your cruise to be available on the Celebrity app? 
 

3) How soon before you made airline and hotel reservations? We plan on flying in 4 days before our scheduled departure. 
 

Thx for your help. 

Hubby and I just booked this same cruise but for next November. So, I’m reading your blog and trying to take it all in! 

So David, we just got off a B2B on the Equinox. Had a grand time! I know the Equinox is a Solstice class ship. I believe the Constellation is an M class ship. Is it pretty similar to the Infinity? Also, did you feel safe walking around Rome? We are thinking of doing this same cruise but in November 2023 and are curious of the safety in Rome. 

1 hour ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Other accepted bidders have called X and asked if they could be moved to another available cabin.  Have you tried that or was it your TA who said you couldn't move?  Maybe onboard if you ask the purser you'll have a little luck.

We climbed up the ladder on X. Spoke to a supervisor who stated that they have no control over the move up program as it is operated by a totally different entity. Plus, they were saying that booking is closed. Seemed weird as I was able to do a mock booking.  Best suggestion from them was to ask once onboard. I’m sure we’re probably not the only ones who may be standing in that line. 

Ship: Equinox 
Length of Cruise: 10 nights
Cruise Sail Date: September 26, 2022
Date email offer received: Used move-up online
Captain's Club Tier Select
Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
Current Cabin: Inside
Bid? Yes/No:Yes

If YES - Bidding Details:

Cabin Category: Veranda
Bid Offer:$530
Notification Date: September 12, but cabin # not received until September 23. 
Accepted
General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Lowest bid was $250 pp. Bid $15 pp over lowest. Total of $265 pp. Bid accepted but cabin number not given until 2 days prior to cruise. Received an obstructed veranda. Unable to change. Would not have bid knowing we had a chance to receive an obstructed view veranda. Celebrity should include different type veranda staterooms to bid on. If they can list whether Retreat, Aqua, or Concierge, they should also list other veranda types as well. 

Just won a move up, based on email received from X, but unable to log in to see what our new cabin assignment is. App not working either. I’m sure customer service is being inundated with calls. 

So, just curious. It used to be you could ask for an upgrade, or for a nominal fee, once onboard. With the new move up program, I wonder if that is still feasible? Has anyone tried lately?

So, first time for us doing a B2B. Fortunately, we have the same cabin for both. What do we need to do during turnover? 

I received the balcony Caribbean offer. We have a B2B cruise planned for this month, in an inside cabin. Called the BCC customer service rep to ask instead of booking a new cruise with them, could they just upgrade us to a balcony based on the offer? These cruises were both on their list of offers. Of course, no can do since these offers are a completely different division of their regular sales depts. 

So, no harm, no foul as I always say. Gave it a try. Unfortunately, we are unable to use any of the remaining offers they have. Better luck next time.