mahdnc

I did look at that Princess sailing when it was released last month for sale and the pricing was already high. Unfortunately the position of Sky Princess for the eclipse is not to my liking in terms of clear skies probability but it’s possible that they will change the route to a better spot like the southern Spanish coast. Then again two of Cunard’s ships are going to view the eclipse from Iceland which has even worse weather prospects for clear skies.

Our first cruise (Carnival 1991) was a total solar eclipse cruise. If Celebrity were to market a TSE cruise in the Mallorca area in Aug 2026, we would sign up in a heart beat. Besides the Princess offering, Cunard is sending 3 ships to see the eclipse at different places in Europe. Map drawn by National Solar Observatory, AURA, and NSF. Discovery Princess, April 8 2023, near Mazatlan. Photo by Robert Fritz

Not cool. Not surprised.

If your intent was to share your MoveUp information (a good thing to do), you should post it on the MoveUp thread that is pinned at the top of this forum.

I would only upgrade to ConciergeClass if I found a particular cabin that I liked in that category to book. If the upgrade is $200 total, then you might find the extra 24 Club Points worth it.

Looks like you're on Deck 8. This past April, we were in that corner cabin next to you.

If you are referring to the ship-wide letter that I posted, if you read it closely, it doesn't say exactly that because it is possible that the shorex was purchased with non-refundable OBC. In that case, the shorex will be refunded as non-refundable OBC to your shipboard account and if it is unspent, it will not go back to your credit card. If you bought the shorex with refundable OBC or your credit card, then you are good.

You are welcome and you are going to love your cruise! Hopefully you will see Ko Samui which is a wonderful island (I have read). If you have any non-Ko Samui questions where I can help, let me know. Otherwise good luck and have fun with the planning and the cruise. David

Wow. A standing ovation from the balcony, I suppose!

We had a tender port that was cancelled during our Solstice sailing last Dec for which we had a Celebrity shore excursion booked. Our shipboard account was credited for the amount that we paid for the shorex (link).

It’s a shame if the loungers are removed. A bigger shame though that the FVs have been converted to suites. Constellation FV 8166. Oct 2022 TA.

Yes, I also would like to see the Caribbean 14 nighters come back.

I am sorry, but I don't know when nor how long the program ran for.

We have always seen that the age limits were strictly observed. If the sailing has a small number of kids onboard, the age groups may be partially merged (groups with different age limits).

We booked the 11 night package which gives you 2 nights in Quito. I can tell you that there is very little to miss out on from a Celebrity standpoint if you fly out early. Basically you are on your own when it comes to activities. The only thing planned by Celebrity for the 10th night is dinner at the hotel. We were originally going to use the full day that we had at Quito to take a day trip outside of the city such as Cotapaxi, Mindo, etc. Unfortunately I got sick and needed the two nights at Quito to recuperate enough to be able to fly back home!

I’m so sorry that you’re not feeling well, Lois. But it’s good to read that you think you will do Celebrity again. I’ll change the picture I posted to this:

You never used the term “nonstop”. I think you said something like “without a layover” which I mistakenly took to mean the same thing. It’s the same mistake that people make when they think a direct flight is nonstop. All nonstop flights are indeed direct. But not all direct flights are nonstop. Again thank you for the earlier correction. And thank you again for posting your informative trip report. David

Thank you for the correction. I obviously misunderstood your statement in your post.

I can certainly understand your suggestion and why you said it!

Celebrity has occasionally provided Elite status matching to passengers from competing cruise lines. Airlines have done similar things.

I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy your Flora trip! @waterbug123 reported that they were able to independently book a commercial nonstop flight from UIO to GPS (see the bottom of this post). This was the first time that I have read that. She also reported that it is possible for "cruise only" passengers to book a seat on the charter as long as they purchase their international flights through Flights by Celebrity.

Some relatively recent threads which you might find useful:

We completed a Galapagos cruise on Xpedition in late November (Southern Loop). Gratuities are included in the cruise fare and/or tour package although some passengers will give extra at the end of a cruise. We booked it through our travel agent whom we have been using for all of our cruises. Their commission can run 18-20% so it was a nice reward for all the service that we have received in the past. On the other hand, some agents are known to return some of their commission back to the customer. Most of the time it comes back in the form of shipboard credit which is not as useful for the Galapagos since almost everything is already covered when you are on board. However one well known big box retailer that has a travel agency business is known to give back something like 8% (or so) back to the customer in the form of a gift card which can be big bucks. Those are some considerations. My general advice here is if you use an agent normally, then book with your agent and if you book directly with Celebrity go ahead and do that. Your big decisions will be: 1. cruise tour package or cruise only? 2. which ship? 3. which itinerary? You can save quite a lot of money if you go with "cruise only" but you to put together the air and land arrangements yourself. We had quite a few passengers on our Xpedition sailing who chose the "cruise only" option. We were willing to pay for the convenience of a cruise tour package. It is expensive but Celebrity does an excellent job with the "off-the-ship" part of the trip--you will not feel short changed. Celebrity charters a full size Airbus passenger jet through Avianca for the UIO-GPS flight and back. The flight is only for Celebrity passengers--no one gets a middle seat and a nice lunch is served with real plates and metal cutlery. Here are the current advertised Galapagos promotions which are combinable with each other: 1. Galapagos Flights on Us 2. Galapagos Loyalty Savings 3. Galapagos 20% Savings Offer Here is some more information about the Galapagos that Celebrity has published that may help you make a decision: 1. hefty 68 page Galapagos brochure 2. 13 page brochure that gives more detail about the shore excursions. Written for Flora, the excursions will be very similar for Xpedition and Xploration. 3. Galapagos FAQs 4. Xpedition Itineraries

That is what we have done--ask your stateroom attendant for door stops. We have always received wedge door stops made from wood. They were used for the interior doors of the cabin.