Denny01

14 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

 

With the free version of Marine Traffic you only pick up the ship's AIS signals from shore stations. You can pay a fee and receive satellite signals.

 

Other websites may use satellite positions, but normally update the sat once per day

Thanks!

den

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

All attractions are open. Restaurants are open. Beaches are open of course. Only stores are closed in Hamilton and St.George. Stores are open in the Dockyard. Been there on Sunday and found plenty to do.

And All tours are going and there are stores open beyond the dockyard. They Are aware of 3K+ potential customers.

We wont miss out getting to the Diamonds International that is sooooo selective and hard to find! 

den 

@Realrunner,  gratuities aren’t a ‘hidden cost’ especially for someone who has 35+ cruises. Suggest you start a cruise line business and set the ‘example’; see how well it goes with your SR prices include gratuities, taxes, port fees, etc and customers compare your prices to the others that list those separately. 

The Point that was being discussed 2nd hand to what the OP actually asked is about those that sneak down to remove gratuities……not the existence of gratuities. 

Den

I’d assume CC restricts sharing TA’s is because CC offers a method of booking cruises, providing other websites when you pick an itinerary, so allowing us to share TA suggestions would go against their business model. 

They dont allow competitors to be ‘advertised’. What most any business does.

Den

For those who want to ‘properly train’ us and not tip, I’ll make one recommendation: Do Not dine at the same restaurant, always go to another. Never Go Back!

The staff is well aware of those who pretend they are doing us a favor by modeling what is done back in their Superior country, and will, shall we say, react accordingly. And they share who are those that stiff the staff.

…..Just a suggestion

And by the way, the question actually asked by the OP has been fully addressed, and using Any thread that even infers ‘tips/gratuities/service’ to lecture ‘us’ has been, shall we say, done a few times, and usually by the same posters.

and yes, Ive posted the same thing in response to such.

den

1 hour ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Looks like my spanking is coming!

That’s why I didn’t respond. Sorry. 
 

den

29 minutes ago, RichYak said:

You're a cheap date, Den 😀

Yup, and the $50 for dinner was a mistype…meant $50 ‘for a few dinners’. 
 

den

5 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Just cook me a few dinners, open a bottle of wine, take me on a cruise and I’m all yours.

I Had to add a ‘heart’ to that post!!  “We can work it out….we can work it out!”…..a song in my heart! 

Let’s see….$50 for dinner, OK…..$10 for the wine, got it…….$3,000 for a cruise……………aaaahh. Let’s just keep this post-tonic! 

Thankfully, a Certain Person doesn’t come on this forum! 

Den 

By the way, Carnival and Norwegian had already raised their’s a few months ago…..so RCL is following them and I guess Celebrity will follow them and Viking will follow them, and……

den

6 hours ago, davekathy said:

That's all on you. I'm listening. 😁

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

I wish we were married.  That way at least one person would listen to me.  😭

I’ve heard of shipboard romances, but is this the blooming of a CruiseCritic Romance?!?

I would say I’m listening to @zitsky also…..but I couldn’t afford getting ‘involved’!

Den

Ive posted this on another thread: Id recommend a local professional TA who has a brick and motar building which infers they have background and are professionals. OBC is good, but not the main or even secondary reason I go with one. I go because they can help well beyond just that booking.

I almost always know my specific cruise, but the TA can assist in hotels, airlines, and especially when issues come up. And they make sure I fully understand what the booking includes And doesnt include. 

Examples:

 - coming back from an Ireland tour and the NYC airport was about to be socked in with snow. I had no idea since airborne over the Atlantic. When I got in, the TA had booked me on an earlier flight that got out before it hit.

- Just recently, I canceled a Celebrity cruise I’d booked onboard earlier. She got them Not to charge me the normal $100 for cancelation, And got them to move the OBC you get booking onboard over to the new cruise. 

I would make sure the TA doesnt charge you if you cancel; some do.

den

The current MarineTraffic App shows the ship is suppose to be in Memphis  today, but hasn’t been updated for days. Current position is well south of Memphis and is dated 20 Aug. Hope another site is better. 

By the way, I started a thread after Viking informed me 10 days prior to our 6 Aug Viking Mississippi cruise from New Orleans to St Paul was canceled. My view was Viking should have known their ship wouldn’t be ready more than 10 days out. I got more than a few posts explaining that it wasnt Viking”s ‘fault’  because they don’t own it, and that Viking was just a glorified Booking Agent. Got it.

Turns out Viking canceled the next itinerary a week or so prior to it, and yesterday canceled a cruise 4 days prior to the 27 Aug cruise. Along with this, they are informing some passengers on the 3 Sept cruise that they are being canceled because their SR wont be ready, and is still under construction. 

A management company, which I thought Viking was, should work with the company who ‘owns’ this ship and set a date when it will Actually be ready, ship construction and staff training, which was also mentioned as an issue.

But what the heck, having it canceled just a few day prior I guess is no big deal, but the big one I’d really be upset over is paying full price for a cruise and having construction personnel on board working on SRs….nice…..well nice for Viking to be making money while the ship is still being completed. 

One thing that has upset a few (not me, not going Mississippi again) is Viking offered them the classic 110% voucher……the 2023 Mississippi cruises are more than 110% of this year’s cost…..you pay more than the voucher. 

Classy

Ive enjoyed my Euro Viking cruises and will do another, Bordeaux!, with my vouchers….but this is it. And I know Viking will go under when I quit cruising with them!!!

den

No reason for anyone to try to change your mind. Both ships are great and so are the itineraries. You are facing what each of us do in picking and choosing….and you can try the E-Class later or whatever. 

Each Celebrity Class ships have a unique desirability for us. Love all. 

Enjoy!

den

29 minutes ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

I have no problem if Celebrity raises the level of Gratuities knowing that the crew will get the benefit in higher wages.

 

Or am I being naive?

Nope.

But Im sure someone who looks for excuses to rip off the staff will come up with some made-up story of how it doesnt go to the staff……because they saw it on the internet!!

den

6 hours ago, Realrunner said:

A tip or gratuity is something that you get for going above your normal expected job criteria.  I give to those that do this (handsomely) but I won’t pay gratuities before someone as done their job.

Perhaps Rcl and others ought to pay their staff more rather than move it onto their guests all the time.

 

So you ignore any customs of a society/country/whatever because ‘That’s Not What You Do’ wherever you live? 

Do you refuse to take off your shoes in Japan, China, Morocco because you dont do that ‘back home’? 

Do you refuse to use your right hand in many Islamic countries because thats not an issue ‘back home’?

Do you insist wearing your shorts or a woman refuses to wear a head covering in a church/mosque because you dont do that ‘back home’?

Just a few obvious most all follow, just as 99% of Brit’s do, who are probably the most traveled population in the world and are Well Aware of how things are done outside the UK….unless of course it has to do with money, then a few use that as their excuse to rip off the staff…..got it.

And this isn’t a UK citizen issue. I know more than a few US citizens who come up with all kinds of excuses to rip off the staff in many venues.

den

8 minutes ago, miched said:

There is a airline that books cruises.    They charged me $25 pp booking fee and then wanted $25 pp for any change I made.  If I wanted  to change cabins, get a price reduction and etc.   $25 pp for each change. 
 

One and done.   I didn’t know about the fees until after I booked the cruise.  I had the chance to cancel and rebook with another TA  but it was a weekend deal.  By the time I found out about those fees the sale was over and the price of the cabin almost doubled. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

I know my post(s) sound as if I do It Right…but we all step into those situations. I once booked with what I thought was the actual river cruise line and when I canceled, it turned out it was a very closely named booking site that charged me the whole deposit to cancel. Had to go with insurance then with my chargecard and so on. A real hassle.

That’s why I also stay away from websites unless it a major one, and even then…..booked a hotel via a major on line site and when I got there, they moved me to a ‘similar’ hotel that happened to Not be close by at all. When I complained, the hotel told me to ‘check with who I booked with’….in other words, you didnt book with us and You are not really our customer and are lower priority. 

I now find a hotel I like, and when possible, book directly unless the costs are much higher, which doesnt happen that much.

den

On 8/21/2022 at 1:33 PM, Markanddonna said:

Yoy will also find that people who tip extra come from thw USA. Travel with Ossies or Kiwis and you will get a lecture about tipping. Many Europeans alao.

Funny how people think it’s important to follow ‘local customs’ until it costs them a few bucks!  
 

den

Ahhh yes, judging and Not judging! Personally, I Never Judge….well except when I’m driving along very nicely and come up on some guy in the left lane barely going the speed limit. I pass them and glare (internally of course just in case they are armed!) and think, “that old geezer needs to get off the road!”…then shortly I’m driving along very nicely and some guy goes shooting by me and I think, “that guy is an idiot speed-demon!”

So except for those cases, and maybe a few 100 others, I Never Judge anyone….well, unless I’m in the MDR and I see some guy who is dressed less well than I am and I scoff at that Slob.  Then see a guy wearing a much nicer outfit than I am and I scoff at that Show Off. 

Den

Changing a cruise, whether its to a cruise 1 day difference or a year difference doesn’t matter, its a change and you end up losing the $100 from a non-refundable deposit.

What caught me was the additional cost the TA is charging the OP to cancel and make the change. Wow. Ive used my TA for years and Never was charged for a flat out cancelation or moving over to another cruise….ouch. Id reconsider that TA.

And I dont mean to rub it in to the poor OP, but My TA just handled a cancelation of a cruise I had set up in 2023 and booked one in 2024….and they not only didn’t charge me for their effort, they got Celebrity to not take the $100 each from the deposit for the rebook And got them to keep my OBC I’d got for booking the original cruise while onboard an earlier cruise. Nice.

den 

Best guess it the service will be the same or a bit of a cut above ‘normal’ Celebrity service, which in my view is outstanding. 

Although a ‘new crew’, in many cases, cruise lines move experienced staff over to new ships in a high percentage. 

But staffing, as we see in so many local venues can be less than what is set for a while, but I would expect Celebrity will have excellent service on their newest ship, as they’ve done in the past (been on a few ‘new ships’) and experienced just recently on Celebrity cruises.

Den

12 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

I doubt very seriously that a vast majority are getting the AI package. If that was true, why would the even offer the cruise only rate? That would go against their policy of squeezing every penny out of their passengers.

I’ve been on a few Celebrity cruises and somehow came off the cruise with a ‘few pennies’ left. That is part of our personal decision-making of what we pay out for. If someone decides a few bucks increase in gratuities is somehow not legit, dont book, cancel, whatever. 

I got called out for making a joke about the complaints about candy bar prices, so i Won’t crack a joke here. If X decides to increase gratuities, or specialty dining, or SRs or tours or candy bars or whatever…..make your call….and take a look at all the other costs that have risen in the vacation business, and everywhere else.

Den 

Both great. We Love the E-Class which is Beyond, but yup more expensive. Equinox is one of our favorites….so…..

And both call one of our favorite ports, St Kitts. Did the cooking class there and had fresh swordfish prepared. Fantastic. And interesting tour.

den

Yup. 

Den

We’d dine in the MDR; skip desert and had no problem making the early show, usually dined at 6ish. 

Would Then get desert at El Bacio!

den

2 hours ago, weregoingcruising said:

I told my doctor about a problem I was having. My head was sucking in the hair on top of my head and pushing it out my ears. He diagnosted it as A.G.E related.

I’m even more acute; my hair is also being pushed out of my nose!! Dr said it was advanced A.G.E. And there was No Cure…except No Know What!!  

Den