SFCAcruiser

My (and others') latest offerings for select Caribbean sailings were for the 10% discount and a free classic bev. pkg., wifi. gratuities. The $7 pp/day for your cruise offers is a new "feature". Seems that the offers evolve over time for whatever reasons.

There are several discussion on the Spain port section of Cruise Critic. This one mentions concerns a passenger has about an 11:30am flight. In theory, you could make your flight, but you should have a Plan B as a back-up if you encounter any delays along the way. I would be risk averse and take a later flight, or spend the night in Barcelona. But your risk tolerance may be greater than mine. Do you feel lucky?

8-10

From yesterday's thread. Blue Chip tiers

You are correct. Packages need not be purchased. The original post described a situation in which one passenger in a cabin decided to purchase an alcohol package, and the new policy is that all stateroom passengers must also purchase some type of beverage package and it need not be the same package.

For clarification, I believe that all stateroom passengers have to book some type of package

If you are taking Solstice to Mexican Riviera, the passenger load may be less than your previous experiences; the OVC may not be the "madhouse" you have seen on earlier cruises. But I assume it will be crowded somewhat if you visit in the "prime hours". If the madhouse is a concern for you, as it is for me, consider adjusting your boarding time to later in the day. We typically check-in after 1:30pm and get to the OVC around 2:00 or a little later when the crowds have diminished.

The Solstice did not play the theme from the Love Boat. What you heard was the horn from the nearby Princess ship. If there is a Disney ship you encounter along your trip, you may hear "When you wish upon a star". The Celebrity ship will be a standard blast from the ship horn.

Seems to be a good question to ask the bartender. They use the smaller glasses for the free Elite cocktail hour, so perhaps bartender was confused?

Welcome to the Celebrity board. Your understanding of the gratuity situation is correct. This is a highly personal decision and no additional cash tips are needed or expected. However, like other posters, I choose to give some extra money here and there. I consider it a minimal form of wealth redistribution/noblesse oblige As points of reference, I will say we always give a cash tip to our cabin steward, and our dining room waiter (even with Select dining we often have the same waiter most nights) and often to the MDR hostess if they have taken the trouble to remember us and our preferences. Bartenders are often given cash tips by us, but to be honest, we do that to establish a rapport with a particular bartender and give him a reason to remember me. We never order room service, but I have read these boards for many years and it seems very common for passengers to at least tip for room service deliveries. As part of our cruise planning, we bring a lot of small US currency in anticipation of our desire to provide some additional cash to hard-working staff.

What was the approximate date of this experience? What you describe was routine pre-Covid shutdown, so I was just wondering if this practice has persisted.

For me, it is about the pricing and the OBC given by the TA in addition to whatever the cruise line may be giving. If you find a travel agent who can give you a better deal than the cruise line, then go with the TA. I have only used online agencies, but I consider myself to be a "low maintenance" cruiser - I do my own research, select my cabin, pay my money, take the cruise, and come home. I rarely have had any need to contact the TA after making the reservation. You may have different travel needs and an online agency may not be appropriate.

Hi. I have a question about the cloth laundry bags, since they are new to me. In the past, we had thin paper laundry bags and for most cruises we were told we could send out 30 items. I always spread the 30 items over two bags without any problems, and labeled them as "1 of 2" and "2 of 2". Now it seems that there are smaller cloth bags, which are nicer but smaller than the paper bags. Are we (E+) able to send out "30 items" or is the benefit "one bag" of laundry? If it is 30 items, can we distribute the items over two bags?

Thank you for posting. At what time of day were your observations?

Hello. To which "event" are you referring?

They do indeed give you that free penny for every 49.99 purchase; spend it wisely. $499.90 got me $550 in promotional chips.

BCC free cruises also included some cruises in Caribbean, and a few 10 and 11- night Edge cruises, which "sold out" quickly.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but as I understand your situation, you and partner have been getting the "real" BCC offers for true gamblers. The bulk of the discussions on these multiple threads has been about the free verandah that has been offered to us small-time ("Pearl") gamblers. The "real" BCC comped cruises are more generous than the no-frills offers the rest of us have gotten. Is that a reasonable summary?

You might have luck with this link to the Celebrity site

From the offer I received: Table Play Casino Chip Offer (“Offer”) applies to purchases made via Cruise Planner no less than three days prior to cruise departure. For every pre-cruise package purchase, a guest will receive 10% added value. Offer limit up to 10 per person per sailing.

Complimentary coffees (non-alcoholic) have been available long before we knew the word Covid. No need to include the special coffees in your Bev package calculations. Also do not forget about the morning Captain's Club breakfast for E and higher tiers. A few alcohol beverages (Bloody Mary, Screwdriver, Bellini) are free at that venue, 8-10am. There will be a list in your cabin providing the locations and times of various E+ events.

I have read just about all of the BCC posts over the past 5 months and I gather that the price varies, depending upon the cruise and perhaps even upon the agent with whom you speak. We were charged $10 pp/day when we booked a couple of months ago into Aqua class. But it is irrelevant what we paid, since BCC sets the price to whatever they want it to be. It might be worth your time to call again and you may get a different agent. Or wait until closer to sail date to try again.

Thank you for this guidance. Caribbean cruises do not normally interest me, so I did not get to the "click here" stage. When I clicked, I did indeed see a long list of cruises. Thanks.

Short answer - Nobody knows. Several similar threads have been posted over the last few months and there is no rhyme or reason to the offers. All we recipients have been able to determine is that, ironically, these offers have nothing to do with gambling. Few of us, if any at all, receiving this offer, are big gamblers.

I assume different people got different availabilities. My offer arrived this morning and listed a total of six cruises, only one of which was Edge (March).