tarps

I used CAA for trip interruption/cancellation for our cruise this past January/Feb and so glad I did….missed our last 3 days of cruise because my husband got sick and we had to disembark in St. Maarten.    Covered our new flights, my hotel, etc.   Took several months to receive compensation.   Tip:   if anything like this should happen, it is comforting to know you’ll be covered BUT keep all receipts and if those aren’t available, keep a record of each expense.   I tracked each expense in a note on my phone.   Not always easy to do when under the stress of the situation.

I just booked this with Celebrity, and wondering if you went…and what did you think of it?

We bring insulated coffee mugs with lids to keep our coffee hot and be able to walk to outdoor seating without it getting cold or spilling.   Will be bringing an insulated wine goblet with lid as well now.   

On 1/9/2023 at 10:28 PM, Northern Aurora said:

Just ask your stateroom attendant for wine glasses.  And yes, you can walk around the ship carrying wine glasses -- just be careful not to spill on your fellow passengers.

A wine goblet with a lid prevents the spillage….I’ve had my arm knocked too often on the elevator while carrying a glass to enjoy on my balcony.

On 12/29/2022 at 1:29 PM, jelayne said:

If you booked with a AI rate or purchased a beverage package then your Xpress pass should have CALL for the Classic package or PALL for the premium.

Checked again and now it’s showing….had printed out earlier version and it definitely wasn’t there a few days ago.    

Sailing the Equinox 9 day on Jan 21, so I will enjoy following your report…..thank you!

Thank you.  I’ll keep watching for it, if not, sort it out on board I guess 

My express pass is not showing classic drink package.   Is it supposed to?
I will bring my paperwork in case there is a problem

Thank you….I suspected as such.   Not a big deal, just curious.   

3)  On embarkation day, MDR is open for invitees only which includes concierge class, zeniths, B2Bs, etc

We are doing  B2B, but on 2 different Celebrity ships..  Did receive the back to back discount……would this enable us to attend the embarkation day MDR lunch.   I know we did in the past but it was the same shop.  However, I don’t recall how we received the invitation.

Thank you very much for the explanation.     So I see they frown upon this sort of thing.    Will only do it if I’ve not been able to use it up any other way.

29 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Your (casino) account will get flagged so if you actually want to gamble, wait until towards the end of the sailing.

 

Slot machine, room charge, press cash out, bring the voucher to the cashier.  Any slot employee will be happy to help you perform a room charge

 

Some ships, reportedly the Reflection require you to perform the room charge at the cashier which might be easier for some; the process is the same, they'll give you a voucher and you can cash it out later at the cashier.

“Account flagged” meaning my seapass card wouldn’t work in a slot machine in order to play?

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

My order of preference:

Shore excursions

Specialty Restaurants

Casino room charge for $200, cashout/print voucher, bring voucher to the casino cashier = $200 in cash

Can you please explain how to make a “casino room charge”.

4 hours ago, MR_T said:

We stayed in a 1A on the reflection in March and the loungers on the balcony were great, even slept out there a couple of nights in the Caribbean warm evenings listening to the waves 😊💤 

We board Reflection on the 10 and in a 1A as well.....do all the 1As have loungers now?   I certainly hope so.....plenty of room on those balconies for them.

Will be following along as well.    Very familiar with the S class ships but this is first time we will sail Reflection.   We board on the 10th for a B2B.    Happy sailing!

We have stayed at a hotel on the 17th st. strip that Embassy Suites is on, and yes it has the conveniences you are looking for but we since discovered another area that suits us well at a better price.    Check out the Best Western Airport Cruiseport, Fort Lauderdale...there is a strip mall across the parking lot that has a grocery store, liquor store, sports bar and a very good (bare bones but great food) Greek restaurant (which is now our go to place for a quick meal the night prior to boarding.     We do back to back cruises now and return to this mall on the turnaround day to do a quick load of laundry at a laundromat in the same mall and pick up anything we may need to replenish.  

9 hours ago, calicakes said:

It's called superfoods. It was on the main road, maybe 3 miles from the ship. It was on our way back from the beach. Do you plan on renting a car?

Thank you to both you and Finnrox ....I was pretty sure it was Superfoods, as that is where we do our grocery shopping when we are in Aruba on holidays.     

No, we won’t be renting a car....we have a timeshare on Palm Beach and will get a day pass for when we are there on our January cruise.   We just take a bus to the resort and back.   We’ve been going to Aruba for 33 years straight and just like to have a beach day.   

The baked goods at the market in aruba had me drooling.

Could you please advise where this market in Aruba is located.  

I book directly with Celebrity and also wanted to prepay gratuities.....I called my celebrity rep directly and she added them to the invoice, which I then instructed her to make my final payment by credit card.    Quickly handled.

Check out Hampton Inn Airport/Cruise port, Fort lauderdale or the Best Western Airport/cruiseport, Fort Lauderdale  .....strip mall across the street has a liquor store, Winne Dixie grocery, dollar store, laundromat, etc etc.....and a great little nondescript  Greek restaurant with super food.....also a local sports bar.   Has everything we have needed to pick up precruise without packing the heavy liquids like shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, mouthwash, toothpaste, salty snacks, wine, etc etc.

We have also gone back to the same plaza on a B2B cruise for the laundromat....simply because we knew it was there and we were familiar with the area after a couple of stays.

Just got off the Silhouette today from a 21 day B2B and our first bed by the balcony.....I had no issues with bed by the bath but do think I prefer the bed by the balcony after this cruise.   Could be just how our daily routine went but I felt it opened up the cabin upon entering not to be confronted with a bed, and when getting showered and dressed for dinner I had a quick access to the bathroom.   On previous cruises with bed by bath,  the desk (which is my hair and makeup station) by the balcony seemed disjointed from the bathroom and often the sun shone in so brightly and heatedly that I had to close the curtains.     I do have each booked for the next two years but after this last cruise I am sure I will try for the bed by balcony location first off.

Before you consider moving up to Concierge for extra Captains Club points,  research if you do get the additional points.   I seem to recall reading somewhere on Cruise Critic that you don’t get the Concierge CC points, only the 3/per night that are with your present cabin.     I am sorry, I cannot recall the thread where I read this.  I just caution you to perhaps clarify this with Captains Club at Celebrity.      

I too would stay in the cabin you have due to location....and you most likely would not get the same cabin for your 2nd leg, so you would have to pack up and move.       Canapés are very lame and I have previously requested the Steward not to bother delivering them.

Enjoy the huge balcony you have with 8253!

Rather than the hotel shuttle, call for an Uber.  Just note what type of car and decline if it is too small for your luggage.   Our first response was a Honda Civic...no way was it going to hold our 2 large suitcases.  Next was a much larger car....very clean, very nice driver, and so much nicer to be in a car rather than crammed into a van with 10 others....and less expensive!  We were out of the there in a flash, while the shuttle driver were still trying to organize everyone in the van and load all their luggage.

I second the Best Western Airport/Cruiseport.   Nothing fancy but all you need for just a place to stay for one night....and found the front desk staff to be helpful and friendly.   Slackers Bar across the parking lot for a quick bite to eat as well as a Greek restaurant that has had good reviews but we haven’t tried it yet.

If you are sensitive to smoke and looking at a cabin on lower levels (ie. decks 6-8),  you will probably want to book starboard side as smoking is permitted outside on deck 5 midship.