mahdnc

I see. If LH had control by then, is it possible they cancelled the "favorable" flights to correct what might have been an error in allowing the free J upgrade?

I took "It seems like the cost of refundable deposits is creeping higher" to mean the refundable deposit fares.

Sorry about the hassle. However getting a business class upgrade while paying for economy the way you described it sounds like something that isn't supposed to happen. Airlines do perform complimentary upgrades, but not like that. Now you have to change the title of your thread.... By the way, if you logged onto your account at the UA or LH website, did it show two different outbound flights listed under the same ticket number? I suspect not.

There is a fee--it's like 5%. Many years ago (20?), there was no fee.

Yuck. Like flyers put on your windshield.

Yes, that is a very good point.

Check the Celebrity FAQ link I sent earlier. It's pretty much blackletter law.

Good luck.

Those are different cabins. They are Concierge Class cabins but are considered Ultra Deluxe because their cabin and/or balcony is very large compared to normal CC cabins. And so they are more expensive.

I believe it is based strictly on the amount bid but the system is technically opaque to us. So I don't think your current cabin nor the price you paid figures into it. Your Captains Club tier does have an impact. Your bid value is escalated by a percentage based on your tier. I cannot remember the amount but it is small like 2-5% range. MoveUp FAQs

That makes a lot of sense. BTW, judging from your screen name, numbers are important to you. If so, you may want to post quickly to change your post count.

Yes, it is the old FV cabins. Cabin interior is larger than a normal cabin and the balconies are large. The 6 FVs that sit on the aft corner are especially attractive because their balconies are exceptionally large and the interior is actually larger than the FVs that sit next to them We have a Summit UV booked for this coming April. We also sailed in a Constellation UV back in October (photos). Constellation FV 8166 balcony, Caribbean, Nov 2022 Constellation FV 8166, Nassau, Nov 2022

On your itineraries, is there anything special done when they arrive/pass the wreck location? BTW, Polar Prince--the mothership for the ill fated submersible, Titan--can be seen on MarineTraffic leaving the accident site and heading back to her home port in St. Johns, Newfoundland. A very sad and long ride home.

I know when I travel on United Airlines to Amsterdam from Chicago, I can get by for the work week with a roller carry on. It certainly weighs more than 15 pounds, but it is not weighed. On the other hand I do read that a lot of foreign carriers will weigh your carry on (e.g Singapore Airlines). It's one of the reasons that I stick with the domestic carriers whenever I can when flying overseas--they are a known quantity. I remember during one of my business trips, as I was going to the jetway the gate agent looked at my bag and thought it was maybe too big (it may be an inch beyond one of the dimensions). I told her that, it fits perfectly in the overhead bin and that it has not been a problem during my past trips. She let me through. But the best plans can be foiled. On one of my trips, my boss checked his bag so I still had to go to baggage claim at Schiphol. Ugh.

Let the vacation begin!

Historically I have always booked extremely early (when the schedules come out) because I am booking an annual cruise for my family of 4 which required: An FV cabin of which there were only 2 (Solstice class) or 4 (Millennium class) cabins that I really want. A specific 2-3 week window when everyone would be available to do the cruise--working around 4 people's job schedules, school schedules, sports schedules, etc. The last few years that meant booking the cruise during the Christmas holidays. As a family, we usually had a particular itinerary in mind. So if you pretty much know you have to have this cabin for this cruise ship on this sailing date, you book very early to avoid disappointment. Unfortunately this lack of booking flexibility is not a formula for getting a good deal.

If you are counting COVID lift and shift sailings then we booked exactly 1,800 days before our upcoming Dec 22 2023 Solstice Christmas/NYE cruise.

We have taken several cruises right after the NYE cruise. Some of the Christmas decorations were still up. When we took our Jan 2 2018 cruise out of Sydney, here is what the Grand Foyer looked like on Jan 4 aboard Solstice: I think part of the reason they left the decorations up in the Grand Foyer was for the ship's photographers:

Nothing super enlightening that I can think of. A few random thoughts 1. Assuming nothing has been cut back, Celebrity does a good job with the whole NYE thing. Lots of parties and dancing going on. Very festive, champagne glasses being passed ot. If you are celebrating NYE in a warm climate, the pool deck will be the main focal point. If you are doing a cold weather cruise, the Grand Foyer is the place to be for the countdown. 2. Our first NYE was a port day. Aruba. When Eclipse pulled away for the evening, the Captain parked the ship 3 miles off the island coast and we all watched a most amazing fireworks display. The whole island was lit up with fireworks for much of the evening. Youtube video 3. Be sure to get to Bali before NYE so you can enjoy their celebration. We had a cruise that left Sydney on Jan 2, 2018. We made sure to get their a few days early so that we could watch Sydney ring in 2019. 4. Air fare and hotel rates are often elevated around NYE in popular places that attract tourists. Sydney Harbour, Jan 1 2019

If I may ask, what sailing are you looking at? Have you done a New Years Eve cruise before?

Same with us. It has been a regular ritual at the end of the year. Usually we are taking our cruise then and will dutifully go to the Future Cruises desk and book a sailing that was just released. We love taking national park vacations--we may have to go back to that. Chloride Cliffs Road, Death Valley National Park, Dec 2021 Temple of the Sun and Temple of the Moon, Capitol Reef National Park, Apr 2017

.....and there is a light duty electrical outlet in the bathroom for shavers, etc. It can handle American or Euro 2 prong plugs.

It took 6 calendar days for the CC points to be added to my account after the conclusion of our last cruise last November.

915 days in advance of our Nov 18 2023 Xpedition Galapagos sailing 874 days in advance of our Apr 9 2025 Solstice Transpacific cruise 748 days in advance of our Jan 2 2018 Solstice Great Barrier Reef cruise (done) 742 days in advance of our Jan 4 2019 Reflection Caribbean cruise (done) 710 days in advance of our Dec 23 2019 Solstice New Zealand cruise (done) 700 days in advance of our Dec 24 2016 Infinity South America cruise (done)

Years ago (ten?) there was a Celebrity Cruises representative who monitored this board (frequency unknown) and would post from time to time. This was a person who was representing Celebrity and not just some random employee.