Denny01

OK, Ive cruised a lot and lots on Celebrity, but never concentrated much on the Gym. Used the rowing machines and a few other things but never checked out the classes. Been doing a 3-day a week exercise class for a while at home that we use a chair some and do work with weights and stretch bands and such. Good for us.

Does Celebrity have similar classes? Going on the Around NZ for 12N and then S Australia 9N and think it would be good to have that available. Does anyone know if that type of class is available?

Den

Try cec@celebrity.com. 

Den

Also depends on how long and what tours you are taking. We usually get enough for cash tips and a few bucks handy in local $. We get it prior to the trip via our Bank. it gives very good rates. 

It can be tricky getting to a local ATM sometimes so we carry $100’s in local funds…usually. Not in Caribbean and Mexico, but certainly in Europe and Asia. 

And others are right about using CC’s is the norm; and tour guides would take US $ but we do like to use local money for tips and if I find something that take cash. A number of local small stores give a better deal taking local cash. 

Den

15 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

What happens if you turn your laundry in too late 🙂  Do they tell you no more laundry or ... 🤣🤣🤣

 

You pick it up on the next cruise.  Asking for a friend 🤣

 

I would assume that there is some last day that you can turn laundry in and they will get it back to you on the last day?

Your room steward is the one who picks up the laundry bag and will either tell you it’s too late or make sure it’s ok.

Had one fellow cruiser tell us their steward brought back their laundry and told them the laundry said it was too late and was too chancy. They were mad but I told them the steward and laundry staff were properly taking care of them and we’d all been told what was the last day and they had tried the day after. For some reason they didn’t appreciate my comment. It’s always the fault of some staff. 
 

realize not only does it take time to launder and insure it’s done prior to packing day, the facility has a Huge job at the end with all the bedding and much other coming in at once. They obviously have enough stuff to immediately make up rooms but they need to process all the incoming. 
 

den

We’ve done a number of 12+ day cruises and one bag has been sufficient. But that is very subjective. We take 7-8 days of clothes and enough underwear but again hard to judge for others. 
 

One is enough for us. 
 

den

We are on our way! We left home this afternoon and staying in Tallahassee now. Will be in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow and board the 22nd at 1130ish. 
 

what great photos. Thanks. 
 

den

@keesar is right, the lobster casserole is a full tower of lobster and the crab cake is fantastic every time. I keep planning on trying another of the great looking dishes but just keep going back. 
 

den

I’ve enjoyed Princess but I find the common areas more crowded and the theaters require you to be there Very early to get decent seating. not been on Enchanted so could be off the mark on this. 

also, more announcements and pushes. 
 

den

I Completely agree it is terrible to post snide responses!…..you are asking who a CD is of a guy who mixes his daughters names up!?!  
 

my wife hates it when I introduce her to someone I’ve known for 20+ years by telling them her name and hoping they tell her their name!
 

At least I don’t forget her name (most of the time). 

den (I think)
 

I just wait for my TA to tell me how they fixed it.

Den

The Ascent is in Freeport now. Will pull into Port Everglades Terminal 19 tomorrow at 4:45am or so. 

I wont be watching!!

Den

Ive ordered barista-style in other locations and they go get it. Been a bit of a while since on M, but they had an espresso machine at Oceanview.

Den

Another option is to use a professional Travel Advisor who can make the changes. Or call for you. And all the other things we end up doing that they can. 

I always wonder about the posts where people say “I like to book myself so I can control it and take care of things as soon as I need to instead of a TA’…and then these emails about how long it really takes. 

Booked directly; booked via 800; booked on line. Found a local TA who undercuts many of these; covers me in many areas; has a person who helps with insurance claims, etc. A professional Travel Agent/Advisor, not a Booking Agent.

Den

Another reason some Celebrity ships are using Terminal 18 is because of Ascent. Ascent comes into the port the morning of the 19th and docks at Terminal 19. The Reflection uses Terminal 25 on the 19th and departs; Silhouette arrives Terminal 25 on the 20th.

After Silhouette departs the afternoon of the 20th, Ascent moves from 19 to Terminal 25 and remains there till it departs the afternoon of the 22nd. Because Ascent is there for two days, the Equinox uses Terminal 18 on the 21th and the Beyond uses Terminal 18 on the 22nd. Both Beyond and Ascent then depart the afternoon of 22nd. 

Den

I’m not sure what is an ‘excessively long cruise’ as a description but only as a very subjective opinion. 
 

a cruise beyond a month would be too much….for me. I have friends who a 7N cruise would be too much. And I have friends booked on World cruises. 
 

den

- Although the ships arent ‘small’, the design of each Class is excellent in handling the numbers. Just not that crowded feel of comparable Lines.

 - One announcement per day. Treat us as if we are Adults who can decide what we want to do each day and not press. 

 - Each Class has its real draw:

    —M Class has the indoor spa pool. Warm and lots of action and has steel pipes on the side you lay on and bubbles come up and ‘massage’.

    —S Class is just a fantastic design. Open and modern feel. Overall an outstanding design and appeal for us.

   —E Class is our favorite. 4 Main dining rooms; Eden lounge; great stern area to relax and watch the sea. And Yes, I know others disagree, but we Love the Infinity Veranda SRs. More open and makes the SR larger. 

  —Love the island stations of the buffet area and the great choices. 

Along with what is said before: Outstanding service; and of course the very subjective opinions on dining - we find the choices to our liking. 

We’ve tried many of the other Lines and except for the RCL huge ships which we will Never go on again, all cruises were enjoyable, but Celebrity fits what we are looking for in cruising at this time. 

Cruise opinions are Very Very subjective. And it funny on how something we may think in relatively minor can be a real turnoff. Probably because there are so many choices.

And of course after cruising many times, we become more than a bit ‘jaded’ and opinionated. 

Den

Just stopped typing…..WestLakeGirl answered your question. 

Den

I agree with stays in a port area. Traveled through Cornwall for a week prior to a TA out of Southampton and stayed in Munich after the river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel.

But my preference is to stay prior for a number of days, not between some B2B’s. Id hate to enjoy a relaxing cruise, pack up and go ashore and unpack in a hotel or travel around then go through the check-in on another cruise…..and so on.

There are so many ways of doing this: the classic ‘touring’ the area as we did in Cornwall; staying in one hotel and doing day trips as we did in Munich and Amsterdam….and Rotterdam by the way - really different and loved it.

We stayed 3 days in Chitivecchia and just relaxed. Very nice small town. Great restaurants and nice hotel. Just relaxing instead of sightseeing Rome and so on. Hate to miss seeing famous sites, but nice place to just soak in the local ‘feel’. 

And dont forget a real jewel, Bordeaux. We did the river cruise there and the city itself is fantastic. Staying in a hotel in the middle of town right near the trams. Walking Only shopping streets; great restaurants, architecture and museums. Friendly…very friendly and relaxing. And less expensive than Paris…..but Nothing is ‘cheap’. An idea: fly to Paris; stay a few days seeing the famous museums and so on; train to Bordeaux and Enjoy!

Enough. So many ways of adding to a cruise….along with Adding cruises!!

Den 

Wow…..and here I was so impressed with our B2B E Med 14N followed by a 13N W Med/TA!

im a piker!

den

Ascent is about to cruise south of Bermuda and is tracking just fine. The Apex is ahead of the Ascent and pulls into Port Everglades and Terminal 25 on the 18th. Ascent drops into Freeport on the 18th. I think it’s mainly there to wait for its scheduled time to get to Terminal 25. Ascent does enter the port on the 19th but goes to Terminal 19. 
 

• the Apex is at T-25 the 18th; the Reflection on the 19th; the Silhouette the 20th. After the Silhouette pulls out that afternoon, Ascent moves over to T-25 at 10pm…..and on the 22nd We get on board at 1130am!!

den

I guess ive missed out on most of the ‘issues’ in the Buffet. I enjoy the MDR’s and so on, but Ive not really experienced all the things some post about Oceanview. Yup, get crowded, but thats to be expected. 

I think the island set up of Celebrity buffets is much superior to other approaches on large ships. 

Den

18 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

Is that one of the short media cruises before the official inaugural cruise? 🛳 

 

I'm definitley looking forward to anything folks are kind enough to share. I know it takes time away from vacationing to vlog, take and post videos and photos, and respond to social media stuff. So, I will appreciate whatever anyone chooses to share 😃

 

It’s a 4N Thanksgiving cruise…dont know if its considered a Media cruise, but that makes sense. Ive been calling it a shakedown cruise. I dont mind whatever it is, just so Im aboard!

den 

Yes, the Computer Center allows us to use the computers for that specific need. You can also sign up and pay for a set amount of use time there. Been a while since I used them, but it was handy before. Its where they teach some of the tech classes.

Den

I’ll disagree with the posts about not having to check in prior. It’s a good idea to go through the check-in at the time you are allowed. Dont have to print passes, but I check in as soon as it is available. 

Why? If there is any issues with the reservation, the ticket or the flight, that is the time to fix it and to know.

In Oct, I booked through Viking for a flight to ATL then to Paris and onto Bordeaux. Prior, all looked just fine. The Sat afternoon, 24hrs prior to my Delta flt, I checked in but it would not allow me to finalize. Kept going ‘errror’ after completing everything. 

Called Delta and after 1+hr of working with the agent and being switched to a supervisor, was told to contact the booking agent. Called Viking Air and that was another hr and they switched me to Viking Emergency Air. They had to reticket my reservations and it took a while Again. Got it done but it took almost 3hrs on the phone.

If Id waited and done this at the desk prior to flight…..yeah, no way of making it. 

Realize this isnt common, but especially if you are flying and using Partner airlines (had Delta and Air France), and so on, there can be issues. 

So just as I check in as soon as I can for by cruise, I check in As Soon As Possible for my flights. 

This wasnt the first time…not common, but…….

den

I’m sure I won’t be the only one but I’ll post some when I board on 22 Nov. 

den