klfhngr

You should have no problem. My mom speaks Spanish/English and she enjoys every moment of a cruise. Also, many onboard speak Spanish, so don't worry.

6 hours ago, jolyroger said:

So Asking for the hubby , he enjoys while cruising his Malibu and Coke, now that Carnival just has Pepsi products has anyone found a good Subsitute?  Also we got the drink package so bringing our own soda we're defintaly not going to.

Thanks for any help!

Ginger Beer, the bomb!

Maybe they saw my post last week! 😉

On 5/30/2022 at 8:22 AM, DiKaiDance said:

I am doing a honeymoon Baja sailing and thought it would be fun to kick it off with a massage at sail away. The current price is $209, seems steep for a 50 minute couples massage compared to doing it at a local place. Anybody take advantage of the spa and have any input on if it’s worth it. Are there better couples treatments or romantic things to do instead?

Cruise ship massages are a rip off! I'd do it onshore, you'll find a way better price and massage! And, you won't have to worry about the upsell AFTER the massage, which is another nightmare in itself!

58 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I'm sure a lot of people leave phones in the cabin safe.  But if you want to hang out at the pool or in a lounge, do you have to constantly worry about someone stealing your ebook reader or something else?  I would like to sit by the pool reading a tablet but I don't want my partner to have to sit there watching it while I go in the pool.  I'd like him to enjoy the pool too!

Two weeks ago on our cruise, I had a backpack and carried it everywhere, even left it on my chair a few times when I grabbed a bite. It was always there when I came back. Had phone and wife's tablet in it.

On 5/26/2022 at 7:54 AM, 14 months and counting said:

We just received our cabin assignment on Celebrity Summit - Cabin # 8034.  This cabin appears to be right next to the elevators.  I am concerned we will hear bells ringing and door opening into the night.  What was your experience?

I'd play some elevator music so that it drowns out the elevator noise 😉

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

What did the MDR manager say when you complained?  I think I was only there once.

Said sorry and walked away. After the first 2 nights, we opted for buffet, only went back one more night for lobster night at the end of the cruise. It was still bad, but I could tell that they were trying to make us happy. I ordered a double espresso at end of meal, 30 minutes later I had to remind them. We almost left when they brought it to us.

1 hour ago, laslomas said:

Sorry, off topic (Premium drinks) but just to say I had the same experience on Reflection beginning of this month. Even with a long wait for food, it was difficult to get served drinks on many occasions. As for the MDR menu the choices were awful. Many nights I struggled to find anything I wanted as such strange things were put together. As I have never had such a problem before I assume the menu is created by the chef? I hope the chef on my Silhouette cruise in October will produce a more appetising choice of food for the MDR.

Good to know that it wasn't just me or me being picky. I'm really not a picky person nor high maintenance. The service was plain terrible and the menu just as bad. It sucked that we had to eat in th buffet every night almost, but the staff there was amazing! They made up for it!

6 minutes ago, sunlover33 said:

I suppose it depends on the reason for coughing. My DH coughs with asthma, nothing to do with covid or being infectious. I was just wondering about the percentage of passengers wearing masks as we are on Reflection in a few weeks. 

I'd say pretty low, like 10% maybe.

FYI, masks were required on X excursions on the buses. 

12 minutes ago, sunlover33 said:

Are you suggesting they should be wearing masks because they were coughing or masks per se? 

If your coughing, the right thing to do is wear a mask. I didn't, but I wasn't coughing. I hate wearing masks, but will if needed.

17 minutes ago, DarrenM said:

was this the 13th to 25th May cruise?

 

Last captains update I heard was 4. All Asymptomatic.

 

There were a few people coughing, a lot. 

 

But I guess pre-covid, there always was right?

 

I also made the assumption that those with covid onboard were unvaxxed. as they must have had tests on board, because as they were asymptomatic, why would they have got themselves tested?

 

I think I am going to have to defend the cruise lines for a while as I suspect a lot are going to go into covid panic meltdown again.

 

The cruise was brilliant, and hardly anyone appeared ill.

13th. 

I heard a few coughing also, and not wearing masks.

We enjoyed the majority of the cruise, I felt safe and I'd do another one tomorrow if I could, lol!

9 hours ago, pmarrsouth said:

Exactly, not 24 hours. Plus it’s the day on/before the originating flight of the ticket, even if the initial connection is not in the USA

Oh, I always thought a day was 24 hours or less. 😮 

1 hour ago, deliver42 said:

I love that the OP is blaming Celebrity for the crappy tests. I guess he doesn't know that all the lines get the tests from the same companies.

I never blamed them for the crappy test, I do blame them for handing them out once we're off the ship! If we could do it the day before, then we could be prepared for the failed tests! Get it now!?

7 hours ago, Moby Jones said:

I was on this cruise. There were 1700 passengers onboard. 

The captain announced there were 3 confirmed cases of covid onboard. 

 

However all four members of our party have since tested positive after disembarking Reflection. Thankfully we all have mild symptoms but it does suggest there were considerably more cases onboard that the ship was unaware of. 

Odd, we heard the announcement while we were at the pool, on that day it was up to 5 (maybe 6, I don't recall).

Oh wow, sorry to hear that!

On 5/12/2022 at 1:15 PM, drakes2 said:

Just returned from an 11 night Hawaii cruise on the Ecliise. Included in cruise price was the basic drinks package covering all beverages up to $9 per drink. Since I'm mostly a cabernet wine drinker and enjoy better quality wines I decided to upgrade to the premium package which covers drinks up to $15.  The first few nights I found some decent but not great and certainly not much of a variety of cabernets up to the limit included.  By the fifth night I found the MDR had run out of the Decoy and was trying to substitute the cheaper wines such as Reservado from Chile.  While its not a bad wine I didn't understand why the sommelier would not offer one of their better wines since they had such a limited selection  to choose from. Wait tines in the MDR were long one evening we waited 2 hours and 15 minutes for our entree to appear. When we questioned the waiter he said they were short staffed and kitchen could not keep up.  Maitre D was nowhere to be seen. I gave this cruise a rating of 3 out of 10, the best service I received was from my cabin steward.  This was the first sailing for the Eclipse since March of 2020 and clearly they were nowhere near ready to sail. Food quality was mediocre and was served warm most evenings.  Have done more than  a dozen Celebrity cruises and this was the worst of them all. 

Wow, we had the exact same experience on the Reflection last week! After the first 2 nights if terrible service, i.e., not getting drinks, 1 hour for entree, no dessert, we decided to eat 7 out of 10 nights in the buffet! We only went back for lobster night. And same excuse you heard, short staffed! We loved the buffet staff, and food options much better than in the main dining room! Not sure who's making the calls now for the menu, but we didn't like the choices at all! 5 years ago on the Equinox, we loved it!

On 5/23/2022 at 8:15 AM, workstocruise said:

Has anyone used one of these tests the day before disembarking to fly home?  We are going on our first cruise since early 2020 and how to take this test in my cabin with either my iPhone or iPad is frightening? We are senior citizens  and my DH is technically challenged so he’s no help. I’m concerned about the wifi and keeping my device working for the 15 minute wait.  Celebrity doesn’t seem to offer any support regarding this. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you.

Read my thread here on CC. It explains a lot. It was a nightmare for us, and my mom and step-dad had a difficult time just installing the app! We ended up talking a real test at the airport. In my thread, I made a few suggestions that might help you.

On 5/23/2022 at 4:07 PM, ScottC4746 said:

This is my first cruise on Celebrity on the Solstice leaving 2 Sept to Alaska and am getting a little worried about my wardrobe now.

I've been watching Youtube videos and everyone seems to be dressed like they are at a swanky resort.  I saw no one in the videos in shorts, blue jeans or Polo pull over shirts.  No tennis shoes and no flip flops.

My DH will probably poop out by 7 but I want to enjoy the evening activities be it a show, or late night in one of the bars listening to music.  We are in Concierge Class room so main dining room for us.  We probably won't do an upcharge restaurant.

Help!  Suggestions please?  I am not the best for fashion choices here which is why I am reaching out for help.

Just got off on Monday. I saw fancy, chic, jeans, polo shirts and even some shorts in the dining room! I wouldn't worry. I wore nice jeans and button shirts.

5 hours ago, pmarrsouth said:

Nothing to do with 24 hours before flights to USA @klfhngr

Before boarding a flight to the United States, you are required to show a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than 1 day before travel.

6 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Could you say a little more about this maybe???  If it failed then what did you do and how did you get tested?

 

Thanks.

We attempted to take the online tests at FCO, had rep on phone and followed all the steps. At the end, the tests were inconclusive, meaning that you were neither negative or positive, so you had to take another test to prove negativity. That's when we had no choice but to get in line at FCO and take the Covid test.

43 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

How about not doing a cruise period.

Not participating in this total scam. All cruises cancelled.

Not paying after tax $ for this "experience".

Doing a driving trip and loving it right now.

Really, break out of the cruise fixation.

 

If that's what you want to do, then that's your choice. Some want cruises, others want road trips, others want to chill at home. The choice is yours.

35 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Actually a 4th choice.  Bring a test from home and using wifi and telehealth test on board.  www.covid.gov/tests will Mail you 8 tests in the US for FREE.  In Canada most pharmacies have for free pickup.  

Works for both pre and post cruise.  Telehealth visits only cost about $20-30

That would also be an option if X gave you the kit before you left the ship. That to me would be the best solution, however they would then have to deal with positive tests and/or the test failing, such was our case.

1 hour ago, pmarrsouth said:

Nothing to do with 24 hours before flights to USA @klfhngr

Not sure I understand your comment.

2 hours ago, ATLConsultant said:

klfhngr - how full was Reflection?  Just 5 or 6 cases of COVID total?

not sure, but it wasn't packed. Yes, 5 or 6 total. Captain did a great job of letting us know each day.

4 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

We purchased kits through the link on Celebrity, two for our pre cruise and since they said we could use it on airlines returning to the states we are going to use the extra kits we bought in England to get home in August.

I'd get one extra, just in case one fails.

36 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

Don't open the box until they tell you.  I've never done the gov't tests, but it's a q tip swab and liquid in a card.  They really do lead you thru the test, one step at a time,

 

Also you will need your licences to verify your identity.

 

I believe there is a You Tube video that presents to whole process.

 

https://store.emed.com/s/category/covid19-athome-test-with-verified-lab-report-emed/0ZG8c000000LZXk?c__results_layout_state={}

Pretty straight forward process, IF it works. If it fails on you, you better have plenty of time to wait in the testing line.