DCPIV

2 hours ago, bikerunner said:

I would think most bars are using the same mix overall for the Bloody Marys but who knows.

It may change from line to line or even ship to ship, but I've seen quite a few examples where different bars have different cocktail mixes.  I never really noticed that until we were on Liberty of the Seas, and I got a Bloody Mary at the R Bar.  It was fantastic, and I told them so.  The bartender let me know that they make their own mix while other bars use something off the shelf (I think it was Mr. & Mrs. T).

I did notice that, on Summit, the Martini Bar and Cellar Masters did things differently than the Pool Bar or Sunset Bar.  That's no knock on the latter two by any means but just something I noticed.  I understand it, too, as the latter two can be more high volume (especially the pool) and are outdoors. 

15 minutes ago, hiccups said:

The price differential was more than worth it to us (much less than the $100/day a few people have said is assigned to AI).

That's how it worked out for us in the end.  The price to reinstate the Retreat perks was only about $100 more than the total of the gratuities and OBC.

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

It sure would be nice if they just gave you a selection of rates with what is included so you could select what you wanted.   Oh wait that's the way it used to be and "Always Included" was introduced to simplify things.

Yes, indeed.  It wasn't very long ago that you could choose perks (or a perks promotion or something like that).  At the time, that seemed more complex. 🤣

Thanks for pointing out about the offer to include Elevate or Indulge.  Yes, that did not come up because I was booking a Retreat category.  I'm not sure what I would have thought if such an offer had come up, but I expect I would have wanted to investigate a little more about what I was booking.

3 minutes ago, lorimay said:

I have to believe this is a glitch in their website and not an intentional feature.

I sort of agree with you.  I don't believe they are intentionally misleading anyone, and I mildly regret that I implied otherwise.  However, the website is misleading, and it's not just a glitch.  There's a step or two missing or, at least, a lack of transparency that needs to be fixed.

20 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

However, this is one of the reasons to use a good TA to avoid such situations - while also saving money!

We actually do have a good TA.  She's good at what she does, and she's responsive.  We use her when we need to or when we have a more complex trip. We actually have a couple of Silversea bookings coming up that we did through her.

I sort of feel a little bad about it when I book a cruise online.  However, by the time I'm done looking at itineraries, pricing, and stateroom availability, I only have a few more clicks to complete the booking.  If I could easily do a courtesy hold from the website, I would love nothing more than to do that and then refer it to her so that we could go over things and then let her complete the booking.

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

You can use OBC to give additional gratuities to your stateroom attendant and Butler.

I did that recently and there were more options than only the stateroom attendant and butler.  Honestly, I do not recall what the other options were, as I was concerned only with those two, but I want to say there were 5.

To be very precise, it doesn't have to be OBC.  You just put an amount in the appropriate box, and that's charged to your account.

1 minute ago, Morecruises1 said:

As I put in another post I booked a retreat room that ended up with ZERO perks. I had to end up calling and paying basically the standard rate for the package.  I find that deceptive no matter how you put it based on the following terms on their website:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class

 

_{"Terms & Conditions}

_{All guests who book The Retreat on or after November 17, 2020 will receive the Indulge Package at no additional charge. The Indulge Package provides a Premium Beverage Package, an Unlimited Stream Internet Package, Gratuities Included, and an OBC for all guests in the stateroom. OBC amount varies by length of sailing: $200 per person for 1-5 night sailings, $300 per person for 6-9 night sailings and a value of $400 per person for 10 night or longer sailings. OBC has no cash value, is applicable to cruise only, non-transferable, not redeemable for cash, and will expire if not used by 10:00 PM on the final night of the cruise. Prepaid gratuities provide gratuities for your Personal Retreat Host, headwaiter, waiter, and assistant waiter in the amount suggested by Celebrity’s guidelines."}

Yes, I saw that in your post.  That's even more plain.  

@Morecruises1 If you have "Retreat NRD" on your booking, then the gratuities should be included.  You can check that on the website with the "manage my cruise" link and then clicking on "reservation details" under the stateroom information.  Under your dining seating time, there should be a "gratuities" item with an amount.  If the amount is blank, give it a day or so, and it should show up. 

That's what happened with my booking.  There was nothing next to "gratuities" this morning, but the OBC was there.  I just took a look, and I now have a dollar amount next to "gratuities."

1 minute ago, davekathy said:

Your experiences IMO is why others should heed what you experienced and call Celebrity directly (if they don't want to use a TA) to book their cruises and not thru the website. But not everyone has had bad experiences either. How many times has someone posted on CC how horrible Celebrity's website is. Never mind, I know the answer. A lot. Only speaking for myself I always book over the phone or at the future cruise desk while onboard. Again, thanks for posting your experience. 

Thank you.  That's really what I'm trying to get across.  Well, that and the lack of clarity on the "lock it in" page.

To be fair, this is the fifth Celebrity cruise I've booked through their website, and I've had no issues at all with the process until yesterday.  I really don't have much in the way of complaints when it comes to Celebrity website other than this particular issue (and a few things that are just sort of clumsy, but those are nothing to get worked up about at all).

2 minutes ago, r2h2 said:

The problem is if you put your Captains Club # in and your state, then you will get the room rate cheaper but with no WiFi, No OBC, No premium drink package, No prepaid Gratuities.  If you do not put your CC# and State, then you will see a higher room rate but all of the above included.  There is a flaw in their website that needs to be fixed. This is causing the phone lines to be swamped! Anyone on IT with Celebrity reading this....

Exactly.  The real problem is that there's no indication that's happening.  

10 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

And don't get off the darn phone until you have reviewed it all with the rep, they will and do answer all of your questions and are happy to review the email with you line by line.  I am tired of folks, who while well meaning, mess up on their own then slam Celebrity.  Celebrity is not trying to rip anyone off or do bait and switch, we all make the choice to book with them.  Do your homework already.

I booked via the website, not via the phone.  Believe me, when I did have someone on the phone, I stayed on until I received a guest copy and went over it with her.

As far as the comment about messing up and then slamming Celebrity, the supervisor I spoke with agreed with me that the marketing and website were misleading in this case.  Had that final "lock it in" page merely said "simply sail" or something along those lines, then there would be no problem whatsoever.  

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

And don't get off the darn phone until you have reviewed it all with the rep, they will and do answer all of your questions and are happy to review the email with you line by line.  I am tired of folks, who while well meaning, mess up on their own then slam Celebrity.  Celebrity is not trying to rip anyone off or do bait and switch, we all make the choice to book with them.  Do your homework already.

I beg your pardon, but look at my post above and tell me where the "mess up" is.  

If I advertise that something comes with A, B, and C, and I continue to reinforce that throughout the process including when I'm quoting you a price for that something, then there's no reason for you to believe the price I quoted does not include A, B, and C unless I tell you otherwise.

14 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Unless your booking confirmation on this page confirms WiFi/OBC/Prem Drinks/Tips you have booked a cruise only rate. 

 

2 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Never found it deceptive since it started just have to read what is showing.  But most people want it in big bold letters, tbh that is mostly all people read,  If it doesn't show it on the final booking page then its not included.  As with most contracts must read what it says and being offered, dont assume that it does unless stated.  

The problem is that there is nothing to indicate that the perks aren't included.  Just this:

If you don't know to look for some sort of confirmation, then you don't know that it's missing.  That's especially the case after you go through all this on the way to that screen:

Both of those show up after I put in a CC number.

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

@OnTheJourney...I get what your saying that muster drills should be taken seriously. Some will and some won't. Nature of the beast. But I also don't believe the muster drills of the past were any better compared to the new current muster drill procedure. Not speaking from experience, yet. 

4 minutes ago, ExArkie said:

Having spent a good portion of my working life planning response to and responding to land-based emergencies of various types, I usually find that any drill, no matter how well constructed or realistic, does not adequately prepare you for what may happen. Muster drills need to - and generally do - focus on (1) where your station is and how to get there, (2) how to put on the life vest, and (3) listening to people giving instructions in an actual emergency (i.e., please stop talking and put away your phone). Not sure anything more can be accomplished with a crowd of 2,000 or more people in an hour or so.

I agree completely.  I'm all for emergency preparedness, but I never felt that the muster drills did much of anything to prepare us beyond knowing what the alarm horn sounds like and where to go when we hear it.  Many folks would show up drunk.  Many more wouldn't pay the slightest attention.  Many of the rest of us couldn't see what was going on.  The current system may not be ideal, but it's no worse than the old system and better in a number of ways.

I even recall that, in the -very- old days when we had to bring our life vests to the station, that they had a number of incidents.  We even saw one.  A lady fell on the stairs on the way back to dropping her vest off. I don't remember if she tripped on a strap or someone else or what (it's been a good 20 years or so).  It wasn't long after that we no longer needed to report with vests.  At the very least, that did a little to help relieve the crowds on the stairs.

I've recently had some waits that were only a few minutes or virtually nil.  However, yesterday, I had a wait of about 30 minutes to speak to a person and another roughly 30 minutes to be transferred to a supervisor.

I wasn't aware of a Bloody Mary from there, either.  I knew they served alcohol, but I had no idea.  I'll have to try that out, myself.  Thanks for the heads-up.

We had this very same experience yesterday.  In fact I just posted about it, myself.  The combination of the marketing and the "Loyalty NRD" is downright deceptive.  It took a 90-minute phone call (mostly on hold) to get it straightened out.

We aren't the only ones who have been dealing with this, OP.  The supervisor I spoke to said she had talked to a number of folks this happened to.  Celebrity needs to get their stuff straightened out in a hurry.

Yesterday, we had an unpleasant experience booking a new sailing.  After discovering that we had some time to cruise in February, we poked around on the website and found something we liked and that also had a relatively attractive price for a CS.  We went ahead and booked it.  During the booking, I went ahead and added my Captain's Club number and state of residency to see if we qualified for any "discounts."  The rest of the booking went normally and as expected.  We were pleased to see a very substantial "Loyalty NRD" discount at the checkout page (along with the current 20% promotional discount).  Only after I paid the deposit did I see that we had booked a "simply sail" fare.  I was rather confused and none too happy about that.

I immediately got on the phone and (after about a 30 minute wait) discovered that entering my CC number triggered that "Loyalty NRD" that stripped all the perks away from the suite as if it were a guarantee booking.  Absolutely nothing indicated that until after I paid the deposit.  In fact, everything indicated the contrary (i.e., that all the suite perks would be there).  I had to point that out to the first person I spoke to over and over because she kept insisting that we had chosen that.  I was clear that I had chosen nothing but that I was about to choose to cancel the whole dadgum thing and tell Celebrity what they could go do with themselves.  She said that the only thing she could do was to add those perks back a la carte, which pretty much totalled to the amount of the "discount."  I asked for a supervisor.

After another 30 minute hold, I spoke to a supervisor and explained the situation once again.  I explained that I had been lied to and that Celebrity was operating a bait-and-switch with their marketing.  She sympathized but said that her hands were mostly tied, but she also explained that she could restore the Retreat perks for an amount that was roughly 40% of that discount.  I do my best to be a reasonable and rational person, and I still found the price relatively attractive, so I went ahead and took that option in order to momentarily resolve the situation. 

Before I got off the phone, I reiterated how displeased I was, how I felt lied to like I was dealing with a sleazy used car salesman, and how making these "discounts" more transparent would have saved us all a lot of time and strife.  Again, she sympathized and said she would do what she could to get word to someone who could do something about it.  As it turned out, she had been speaking to a number of customers with the same problem.  I actually believed that she was concerned about losing a lot of customers over something like this.

So, watch out what you're actually getting.  It's not obvious.  In fact, it is downright deceptive.

If there is any sort of upside to this, it seems that folks may be able to get a "simply sail" fare on just about any booking.  I've seen many wish they could.  All you need do is pop in your Captain's Club number when you book. 

10 hours ago, Shiraus82 said:

May I ask a newbie question? Can you just walk into the specialty restaurants and order something small, or do you always need a reservation? Assuming we had UDP. Also, are Playmakers and JR open during the day if it's not a sea day?

Yes, you are much better off making a reservation, but it never hurts to ask if you decide last minute.  When we do UDP (which is pretty much every RCCL cruise these days), we go ahead and make reservations for every night once on board.  Those plans often change, but we at least have something.

Also, prepare to be flexible.  Since you can't make reservations prior to boarding, you may have to choose an earlier or later dining time at the more popular venues.  We actually prefer dining earlier, so that's never been much of an issue for us.

12 hours ago, kathynorth said:

I would think a peartini could be made with pear juice.

We had a fantastic mixologist on Liberty of the Seas that made one by muddling a canned pear.  I'm not much for fruity drinks, but I enjoyed that one very much.  Delicious.

We've been in early/mid June and also in late July/early August.  There really isn't a bad time during the Summer.  Weather will be what it will be--that's Alaska for you.  June is more likely to be a little cooler and it might be a little drier, but the July/August visit also turned out to be more like one would expect in Hawaii than Alaska!

The bottom line is that all three trips we've had to Alaska during the Summer have been magical.  Wildlife is around all the time.  Some are more present earlier in the Summer due to cooler weather, and others are more present later (such as the bears when the salmon are running).  Whales and orca will be around all Summer.  As interesting as it is to see the salmon run and bears going after them, there's plenty to do and see beyond that.

That said, the best time to go see salmon run is late July.  That's typically when all 5 species are running.

You have a better chance of avoiding kids and large crowds if you go in May or September, but you may very well be trading off other goodies for that.

On 10/22/2021 at 3:18 PM, Stockjock said:

Just submit all info as if it was a new booking.  Name is obvious.  Captain's Club number should be pre-filled.  Booking number is the cruise you booked.  Select the ship and sailing date.

I tried that twice (two different cruises).

No joy. 

3 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

I guess we need to find a new favorite!

 

That's at least half the fun! 

On 10/19/2021 at 6:32 PM, micruiser2002 said:

Has anyone been on Summit lately that knows if we can order from the main dining room menu in Luminae?

Yes, indeed. I was on Summit a few weeks a couple months before that. They will bring you menus from MDR or Blu upon request, and that includes dessert, or you can just order something that you know is there (like the escargot).

One of my dining companions also would ask for some modifications. He's also a "meat and potatoes" fellow and would ask that they just strip down his entrées to the meat and bring him some mashed potatoes. They did, and they did so with a smile. I have a son who, had he been on board, would've done the same! 

3 hours ago, jg51 said:

When we asked to have a splash of "Amaretto" in an espresso beverage, we were given a different brand -- DeKuyper.

.

Yikes. Nothing like a good Dutch amaretto. 

Yeah, really. There's nothing like that on Earth.