sippican

I'm so confused! We will be on Cunard sailing this spring for the first time.

I've been reading comments that imply the "new" dress code has been relaxed.

The gala evening dress code clearly states "black tie". Everything I've read states - that black tie means tux or formal dinner jacket w/accessories. Yet, on other threads, I'm reading that a suit and tie is acceptable men's attire on those evenings. And on the other evenings, a jacket is optional as is a tie.

I am by no means here to start a debate. I am a travel advisor who specializes in cruising. I want to have first-hand experience to be able to advise my clients on the Cunard line and was provided this opportunity to experience a crossing first-hand. I realize many cruisers are looking for an expereince that embraces the elegance Cunard embraces.  My DH and I have every intention of following the guidelines (if I  can make sense of them), but he has no intention of purchasing, packing, or renting a tux for one voyage. We will do alternate dining and miss the shows if "Black Tie" is required. 

Thank you for your help.

Thanks for your review.

We had a horrible experience with a flight booked through Celebrity Air in October. No one from Celebrity was of any help whatsoever (and we knew before we even disembarked Xpedition).  

I'm glad your experience in the Galapagos was great. We loved it so much we returned!

11 hours ago, RichYak said:

Here's the Celebrity Air guarantee from their terms & conditions (emphasis mine):

 

Provides Assured Arrival as our guarantee to assist guests when they encounter any flight disruptions that occur through no fault of their own.

 

"Assured Arrival" sounds a lot like "Always Included" doesn't it? I love Celebrity, but they're really good at marketing terms that make you think you're getting something that you're not.

They denied our flight was cancelled despite two inquiries from us despite this language:  We also proactively monitor flights and offer an around the clock specialist that is available throughout your travel and acts as a liaison between our guest, the carriers and our ships.

On 1/29/2022 at 9:01 AM, Jeremiah1212 said:

Flights by Celebrity are handled by a different group. Although realistically if you have problem during travel and need a quick resolution, you need to go directly to the airline and not call FBC to handle it for you.

Most airlines will tell you the booking agent (Flights by Celebrity) needs to contact them.

We recently had a situation where the airline cancelled our flight and Celebrity Air said it was not cancelled. They would not help us at all and we were left stranded in Ecuador. The best the airline would do for us is to schedule us three days later.  Luckily, our daughter in the US scheduled a same-day flight on a different airline then went to bat for us  by telephone with X.  In the end, they paid for the new flight.

Be aware - Most "1-800" numbers cannot be dialed outside of the US, or you need a special code!!!!! We were unable to call Flights by Celebrity from our phone! 

Copied from the Flights by Celebrity website: • Provides Assured Arrival as our guarantee to assist guests when they encounter any flight disruptions that occur through no fault of their own. We also proactively monitor flights and offer an around the clock specialist that is available throughout your travel and acts as a liaison between our guest, the carriers and our ships.

When we returned I made a complaint about the lack of customer service and support, and received a $200 OBC for our troubles. 

Never again!!!!

Doubt if we will ever again book through Celebrity Air. Disregard everything they promise! If you have a problem while traveling they can be totally useless.

We had booked a return flight from Ecuador following our Xpedition cruise through Celebrity Air. A day prior to disembarking, I received a text from the airline saying our flight had been changed. I contacted the Guest Services desk onboard and asked them to contact Celebrity Air. Later in the day, we were told there were no changes to our itinerary and we were "all set". While at the Baltra airport, waiting to fly to Quito, I received another notification of a cancelled flight. At this point, there was no Celebrity rep with us, and I had no way to call flights by Celebrity on their "800" line.  The concierge in the airport VIP lounge called the Xpedition staff from her personal phone - no help whatsoever. When we boarded our charter flight to Quito, the X rep said he'd contact Flights by Celebrity for us.  Mid-flight he came to our seats and told us our flight was ok, no problem. Long story - when we landed, we phoned our daughter who confirmed our flight from Quito to the US had indeed been cancelled. She found a new flight for us and called X demanding they get us on a alternate flight home. It took hours. The end result was that we would have sat in Ecuador for three more days if we had relied upon X's resolution to get us home. Thankfully, we caught a flight later and were able to get it paid for by X.

We do a combination of land and cruise trips. 

Although we still have a bucket list; Antarctica, Tahiti, New Zealand, to name a few!

Our most memorable trips to date: Norway fjords all the way into the Arctic Circle, The Galapagos Islands - twice, Machu Picchu, the Rocky Mountaineer to Lake Louise and Banff,  Switzerland land trip,  Venice Italy - twice, Kauai, Hawaii, Terra Cotta Warriors, China, Acadia NP, Yellowstone NP  ....

Coming up soon - Iceland Northern Lights Quest, African safari, Botswana and Tanzania.

 Oh my gosh, I can't imagine running out of ideas!

2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Personally, since the mid-70's have I heard of a TA who processes payments on behalf of a travel partner... this is not to say that the scenario you have experienced does not exist.

 

My personal take is, if that agency goes under then one has a difficult situation to have X or any other travel provider to honour your payments of which they may not have received through the arrangement/agreement.

 

While we will be able to prove that we paid, yet if not to the correct entity, then the trip is not paid for.

 

I can get insurance coverage for 'provider' bk or financial failure, my policy does not cover 3rd party.

 

If this arrangement has worked well for you, by all means continue with it.

 

bon voyage

I am at travel partner working for a very large well-known agency. I can process payments for my clients through the agency or the cruise line. It's fairly common for large agencies to hold payments til final payment date, then pay the vendor.

There are very reputable agencies that will give you the option to process payments through them, or their TAs will pay X directly.  Not necessarily a red flag at all.

Beware of extra fees, not only for cancellations, but changes in cabin/category, price drops, etc. A good agency will offer great perks with no hidden fees or charges.

16 hours ago, s0479 said:

It is now 15 months- I would call to be safe

Where did you get this info. I can't find anything that the FDA approved the 15 months?

5 minutes ago, s0479 said:

The expiration dates have been extended - you can call them to confirm the date.  The one I have originally expired in October and now goes til April.

What number do you call?

.The FDA gave permission to Abbott to extend the expiration date. Here are the directions.

FWIW, Port Stanley in The Falklands has  currently banned all cruise ships carrying more than 500 passengers. It is unknown whether the ban will be lifted in the future.

In the fall I ordered a six pack from E-Med, figuring I could use them for upcoming travel. All six boxes expired within 6 weeks of receiving. I used two in Canada, (They are very easy.)  They replied to me that they had permission to extent the expiration date our three months. The remaining 4 are still no good to me. They have not replied to any of my follow-up e-mails.  I will nor purchase from them again.

In November, Celebrity was administering the tests upon arrival to the hotel. Have you reached out to the Galapagos Desk?

(866) 973-8466

2 minutes ago, kebrown said:

Does anyone know which sunset veranda cabins on the Edge have the largest balconies?  Are all of balconies on the Edge sunset veranda cabins the same size?

If you do a goole search "photo celebrity Edge aft" you will get an idea of the balcony sizes. IMHO, it appears the two in the center are slightly wider, so that's what we booked on Apex. They do not seem to vary in size as much as the SV on the S Class ships.

FWIW, this is not an issue unique to Celebrity.  On recent trips we have received absolutely no help or guidance whatsoever to return to the US from Canada and Iceland  after touring with two well-known companies - CIE and Rocky Mountaineer. It was our responsibility to search out and facilitate testing at our own expense and time (as well as to make sure our air itineraries were compatible).

I think it is frustrating that Celebrity keeps changing the policy and procedures, but in the end, they are providing testing in the terminals.

Wealth of information here:

We've sailed on Xpedition twice (most recently in October of 21) so I can't comment specifically on Flora. I have had clients on Flora that rave about it. In the end, it'a all about the islands!

We only had 35 onboard when we sailed as Xpedition was built to hold 100, but only has licensing for 46. Celebrity does it exceptionally from start to finish! There is no "better or best" season or itinerary. 

Thought I'd post an update.

Two years ago we did the 15 day package, Celebrity Xpedition and MP extension. We sailed in an Xpedition Suite (there are no sky suites on Xpedition). We received 12 points per night for the entire 15 day package.

We recently sailed the Xpedition again in a suite, but were only credited for the 7-day cruise. As others have noted, there is currently no mention of loyalty points for the Galapagos noted on the Captains Club page.

This is the previous language:

Ocean View, Deluxe, Premium - 5

Junior, Xpedition Suite - 12

Royal Suite, Penthouse Suite - 18

Although I never saw it in print, points have always been awarded for the entire package length - 10, 11 0r 15 nights.

We had three cabins booked in October, each a 10 day package, all were only given credit for the 7 nights. The gentleman I spoke with was adamant that my invoice stated a 7 day cruise and they don't give credit for hotel stays. I asked to speak with a supervisor.  After an hour, I was told my additional points would be added. Another traveling companion called as well, and was successful.

If you booked a package and did not receive credit for the entire length, call and get them added. 

Are you saying that Virgin was in port and using the Club, and you took a ship's excursion from X there? That sounds very unlikely. We sailed Virgin, and they were the only guests allowed at the Club the day they called at Bimini. 

It was very relaxing the day we were there. We were in the VIP section - no loud music. 

Seems like you are assuming those sailing on Virgin tend to water beach wear that is offensive. Onboard we observed no such thing (but to be honest, I am not one to let what others wear offend me). 

 Lots of assumptions about Virgin made here, without actually sailing the product. 

When we sailed, you could pick up a paper copy at Sailor Services each day. I made a suggestion that they  post the daily schedule on the stateroom TVs.

Thanks for the great review.

I love the suggestions for a map of refill stations - how about a general map of the entire ship? 

The food was terrific!

Was your cabin serviced once, or twice daily?

The blasting music was a deal-breaker for us. Sailor services told us they had a number of complaints. We could hear the bass from our cabin 24/7.

We loved our one hammock also and had to take turns, lol!

Not sure I'd be committed to a cruise line if I felt the beds were uncomfortable. Did you leave them as a bed, or have them set up as sofas during the day?

Do you believe they will be able to maintain the same standard of service when sailing at full capacity?

How did the app work for you? Were you able to get your desired reservations for shows and dining?

On 11/18/2021 at 5:03 PM, Bruce4fun said:

I totally agree, they moved our cabin 3 times with no explanation the week of sailing. They are in fact "renovating" the rooms. This means they are only changing the cabinet doors to a different color.

I spoke with the crew working on them. 25 workers are onboard for 5 weeks to change every door on every cabinet in every cabin from white to wood color. Simply stupid.

 

Note we did see a "nurses area" posted on some cabin doors, this must be quarantine, but we did not hear of any Covid cases while we were onboard. No masks anywhere. Crew wear them, but many either pull them down or don't wear them at all.

 

The cruise was fun, food very good, APP terrible, entertainment wacky, music great.

 We were asked to vacate our corner suite for a day. We were the only occupied cabin on the corridor. They gave us a pass to the thermal suite for three hours, Our cabin was not even part of the renovation, but the Rockstar Agent Manager told us it was for own “health and safety”. We asked if we could use our balcony, and were told no.  We were assured they would notify us when we could return to our cabin, but they never did   They renovation work continued in the cabins on our deck all week. At times the strong adhesive-like smell was a bit overbearing. Funny they were only concerned about our health and safety for three hours 🤣! 
 

It will be interesting to see the service level when they sail full. 
 

Thanks for your review. We agree with much of what you said. 

We found the spa lacking in comparison to the Day Pass Experience on other ships - heated loungers are flat marble slabs - barely warm, and uncomfortable. One lukewarm pool, a teeny warmer tub (no bubbles), two ice cold tubs. No rain shower type experiences. The mudroom was unique and we liked the salt room and sauna. A three hour pass for $70 - seemed a bit overpriced for the amenities.

We loved the food! (But we did miss access to pasta in The Galley.) Pink Agave was our favorite followed by Extra Virgin and The Wake. We were disappointed in the Test Kitchen (my DH was still hungry) and Gunbae (after visiting a real Korean bbq).  Be aware that reservations can be very difficult to come by, especially with the wonky app. 

We feel they need more activities and entertainment onboard - nuff said.  Again, shows get sold out early. 

Cabins are serviced once daily (as opposed to twice on most lines) unless you are in a suite.

The beach club is a lovely location. No activities to speak of, food is limited. There is no service for drinks at loungers.We only stayed for a couple of hours.

We stayed in a suite - it came with many extra amenities, a Rockstar Agent (who was the equivalent of a butler on some lines), but ours was very inexperienced and easily frazzled. Our cabin steward was the best ever!

The ship is unique and gorgeous. It was refreshing to sail a line with new ideas and concepts. I'll withhold final judgement until they sail at full capacity because I am very dubious of their ability to meet the same levels of service.

On 11/11/2021 at 9:42 PM, Nap3025 said:

Yes but once onboard supposedly you can book a second reservation; however we could not.  We were told there was no space even tho the ship was half full. You can only make one reservation at each venue in advance and what I meant is make sure you do that as you may have a problem getting in once onboard 

 If you’ve already made one reservation for a specific restaurant, you can jump into the virtual queue for a second reservation onboard. 

rWe are in a suite. We used the app to order breakfast, and it was never delivered!

17 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Bet you didn't know Southwest also canceled several hundred flights this weekend...

Bet I did.  A “bit” less than AA.
Weather is one thing we deal with frequently  (we live in New England), but how can you not know about staffing? 
Was DFW the only area of Texas impacted? Our companions flew to Houston on a different airline, no problem.