Solution

I don't believe one can ever use the OBC to tip a specific person. You can use the OBC to increase the daily gratuity amount which will be shared by everyone involved.

We are also on this sailing. Looking forward to it.

 

 

Me 3 !

The ports of call depend on the departure point. If the ship is leaving Southampton, there is no reason why the ship will turn East back into the Med. For Med ports, pick a departure from Rome.

Thank you for sharing.

OP is not having an issue with transferring the booking to the TA, it is getting the TA to change the booking from prevailing to the lower rate (assume it is a group rate).

If your TA insists that the lower rate is for new booking only, then you can only pick one with a better value. Keep the on board booking until the right opportunity. I can't see your TA has a lower price on every sailing (for example Trans Atlantic).

This information is incorrect if the roomie simply does not show up.

 

A no show will not garner any increase to the cabin at this time. As far as Celebrity is concerned the cabin is still considered paid in full for 2 people.

OP did say that the cabin mate wants to cancel. So we can eliminate "no show"

OP's cabin is changing from a double to a single. Regardless of whether it is before or after the final payment due date, the price of the cabin will be 2 x cruise fare + 1 tax....

As it is after the payment due date, any other charges beyond the above should be refunded.

OP has 20+ cruises under his belt, and yet did not know each cruise line's alcohol policy.

OP said he only encountered problems with Celebrity. Did he try to bring a third bottle on board when cruising other lines?

Security people are hired locally and may not know all the rules. I was in New York doing a short Carnival cruise recently, and it is very clear that soda in a glass bottle is not allowed. I had plastic bottled soda, and they took them saying no bottle soda is allowed, only cans (water in a bottle is allowed). What do I do, argue with them and hold up the line? I just laugh and proceed to enjoy my few days on board.

Dinner confirmation is for dinner time and type (fixed or any time), not table size. If you don't get what you want, speak to the person in charge once on board and be clear of your preference, request to be put on waiting list if nothing is available.

I have never been disappointed. Normally by the second night, I got my preference.

As rules will change. found from other lines

 

Carnival Cruise Lines: Carnival is fairly liberal with their beverage policy. According to their website, “On embarkation day, each guest may bring a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages on board and only in their carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 bottles and/or cans, 20 ounces each or less.”

 

Update: As of July 15, 2016, Norwegian no longer allows any liquids (other than medical-related items), to be brought aboard. This includes soda and water.

At the New York Manhattan pier, the security persons who handle Carnival do not allow soda in a plastic bottle. I brought a few to board the ship and they took them all. They said no soda in bottles, period.

To avoid unexpected disappointment, stay with cans.

YEG2-BEVCLINGRAT

689.00

means BEVerageClassic, INcluding GRATuity for a total of $689

YEG1-PROMO2C

-689.00

means PROMOtion (package 2C) reversing the charge of $689

Net cost (including bar gratuity of 18%) is $0 :)

Maybe it is trying to tell viewers not to cruise with "that" ship in the picture... LOL.

Anyway, the English slogan is poorly written...

I still remember there used to be year round Caribbean sailings with major cruise lines. Then suddenly everyone saw the big pie in Europe and moved their ships there. Only RCI and NCL sail the Caribbean sea in the summer.

With all the events happening lately in Europe, it is not surprise that cruise liners are re-deploying their ships back to somewhere that is safer and more stable.

If more ships are coming back this side of the world then we shall see fewer TA sailings, and I bet the price will go up accordingly.

Thank you. Look forward to more updates.

We will be in Rome for six days in late Oct to early Nov before our TA cruise.

Thank you very much for the review and all those pictures.

We will be doing the West Bound TA on the Silhouette in November this year. Looks like we may have a slightly different ports of call.

Thank you for the review.

When you look down and see the life boats, it is not an obstructed view. When you look out horizontally and see part of the life boat or any structure, that is an obstructed view.

On S class ships, only 2C and 2D are obstructed. Definitely not 1A.

Change your TA!

For only $50, I would go for it.

We have done this many times no problem. If you don't use it, it will revert back to your credit card that purchased it but you lose changing back to CDN, what we did was to go to the casino & pay the 5% to take out the rest of the cash.

If this is refundable OBC, you can go to Guest Relations to cash it out in USD without any charge.

Simple rules:

Non refundable OBC (OBCN): use it or lose it

Refundable OBC (OBCR): use it or withdraw it (or back to CC)

Based on your cruise lifestyle, I would strongly suggest that you switch to traditional dining before it is full.

Oh no, when did this happen? I haven't been advised of any changes by Sears to this point...not many cards with no foreign tx fees so that's the main reason I've hung onto this card! Is the Scotiabank card a MC or Visa?

Cathy

I used to have a Sears MC, and their relationship with Chase was discontinued in November this year. Both Sears and Chase sent out plenty of communication.

There is one last no fee credit card with no foreign transaction fee - Amazon Visa.

They are having a special where you can upgrade for free. Anyone notice that a lot of the ocean view rooms are priced the same as the veranda rooms. Free upgrade my :eek::mad::rolleyes::cool::eek:

The free upgrade is from Ocean View to Balcony, hence the balcony rooms are priced the same as the ocean view, not the other way around. Once the upgrade promotion is over, you will see a price jump for the balcony.

Can't your friends link your reservation with theirs?

The answer is no as they are different dining time. I tried to link mine (SELECT) with my brother-in-law's (LATE), the system did not allow it.

What next?

 

Additional charges for excessive use of shampoo and toilet paper? :rolleyes:

May be "Pay Per Flush".....:cool:

Unfortunately on our last Celebrity on Connie in 2012, the MDR was not fine, our worst maitre'd and dining experience of all our cruises. After 3 nights we had had enough, and found the food and experience far better in the self service area, steaks, stir fries and pasta cooked while you wait, along with a table window!

Did you mention that to GR so they could try to improve? We had one bad experience in March 2013, and we spoke up. The service was greatly improved.