TMLAalum

The reason we've chosen a veranda cabin is because we will have immediate access to be able to photograph scenery as we cruise the fjords. For those familiar with Celebrity Edge class series of ships, we opted for a porthole veranda cabin vs. the plethora of infinite verandas with their shades that cover the view if down, which they likely would be given late sunsets and early sunrises so far north.

@PATRLR We booked the Rodne excursion independently when we were in Stavenger. Here is website: Norwegian Fjord Cruises - Rødne Fjord Cruise (rodne.no) Hope that there is availability when you are there.

I plan on calling the big box TA to see if they accept AARP cards toward final payment. If so, I will be buying a bunch before final payment is due for the Eclipse next month. @Cruzinram AARP or Celebrity gift cards?

I just purchased an American travel mahjongg set from Amazon. The tiles are the size of a thumb nail and clear racks are included. It's imported from China and the case(s) have a strange smell, so I am soaking them in hopes the odor vanishes. If not, I'll find another case. The weight is @2.5 lbs. $40. Based on roll call and FB posts, there is a good possibility to meet other players on Summit next month. Eclipse and Apex I am sailing with friends who play.

Ketchikan does. They might even offer their "port to pew" shuttle service. Holy Name Catholic Church | Ketchikan, AK (holynamektn.com) We went to Mass there in Sept. 2021. No shuttle but kind parishioners offered to bring us back to the Millennium. Juneau has a cathedral. Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Juneau, AK (juneaucathedral.org) Hope these links help. All I did to find them was google catholic church whatever port city.

Mine not working after trying to log-in this morning for the 1st time in several days. Will try changing password. IT department seems to be going backwards these days! Reservation transfers requested well within allowable time limits aren't being processed without many phone calls to Celebrity. When mine came through 33 days after submission, it was with a new confirmation # and different cabin #. Back to the phone to obtain cabin originally selected. It would seem to me that all it would take to move over to a TA would be a few key strokes and a tap of the send button.

I did finally check it all out. Pretty good deal if your booking is with Celebrity and before final payment. Purchase 13 cards, use to pay for a $6500 cruise and save $650! Too late for me since my Summit cruise is paid up and my remaining cruises are with a TA. @CruiseLifeIsTheBest Cannot use for deposit, just to pay for cruise per the fine print on AARP.

Sounds intriguing! Do you have a link for purchasing them via AARP? Or is there a place to enter AARP member # on the links provided by @Jeremiah1212?

We will be on the Summit in a little under 3 weeks. But I am not so much concerned for us as I am for my DD/DSiL who are on her May 24. This is their 1st ocean cruise and I so want them to have a wonderful experience and develop an affinity for Celebrity! I hope that all the issues being reported here are fixed by the time they set sail.

So I went to reprice my Apex cruise for a $132 savings. Fees & Taxes charged initially were $162.85 per person, but are now at $118.76 per person. Celebrity rep says we are bound by taxes as charged on initial booking so our savings would only total $44. I never heard of such a thing! Is this correct? If so, why?

We did our DIY self-drive Alaska trip in the pre-internet days! We rented our car in Anchorage and our northernmost point was here: Alaska Lodging | Camp Denali (which at the time stayed in its sister accommodation- North Face Lodge). I previously posted about the Hatcher Pass Lodge: Hatcher Pass Lodge – Alaska's Favorite Mountain Playground. We spent several days on the Kenai Peninsula staying in Seward, at a BnB, and Soldotna, where we stayed and played golf-Lodge Accommodations - Birch Ridge (birchridgegolf.com) DH fished a day and we also traveled to Homer while in Soldotna. From the Kenai Peninsula we headed to Valdez via auto train to the Alaska Marine Highway, but the auto train is no longer an option, instead there is a one-way road tunnel. Alaska Marine Highway System - The Alaska State Ferry With a shorter time you can focus on elements that interest you. The Kenai Peninsula alone would be worth spending your 4 extra days.

Our 2025 Apex cruise departs on August 25 which is a Monday U.K. bank holiday. Will transportation from London be affected that day? Would it be better to plan time in London after the cruise which ends September 6? Initially I was thinking of arriving August 21 or 22 and spending those nights in London but am having 2nd thoughts about the timing because of the bank holiday. I recall being in the Lakes District over a May bank holiday and encountering great difficulty finding lodging and restaurants that didn't require reservations. Thanks for any insights, advice!

Canned reply from cec@celebrity.com stated email would receive a response within 72 hours or sooner! One week later no response! My issue was that an onboard booking transfer request was made the day after booking and confirmed by email from transfers@rccl.com that indicated a 2-3 week turnaround didn't happen. The first Celeb rep I spoke with assured me that the transfer would be finalized within 36 hours. No. So call # 2 4 days later. Call # 3 which began with another issue (that couldn't be solved) and continued with the transfer problem resulted in nothing! So email sent 32 days after no resolution. However, MIRACULOUSLY last Friday received by email a Celebrity AGENT invoice with a different booking and cabin # and the amount of the commission the TA will be getting. Yet another call to Celebrity and got cabin changed back to the one we'd booked and the correct GUEST invoice sent with the booking finally transferred to the TA. At the very least a letter apologizing for the hassle of getting our booking transferred would be nice!

Remember the thread about the sewing machine?

@brzymom You have plenty of time to research DIYing. Depending on your schedule you might be able to add a few more nights to your Alaskan land trip, You might want to exclude Fairbanks and make Denali your furthest point. I recommend Hatcher Pass for a night in the lodge there- it's between Anchorage and Denali.

@sfpd3000 Thanks so much for the link to the free Presidio shuttle! From Pier 27, do you have advice on how to get to the closest Presidio shuttle stop via foot or public transportation? Thanks!

We are thinking of booking this service since our flight home from BOS doesn't depart until 6pm: Cruise Ship Special — Boston Water Taxi When looking to book, I noticed there is a box to enter a discount code. Would some kind Cruise Critic member be able to provide this magic number? Thanks!

@sheeng How long did it take you to hike back to Flam from Myrdal? Was the scenery different from that viewed from the Flamsbana?

I'll try that when I call Cap't Club! BTW, Fred's USMMA reunion is scheduled for the weekend after Labor Day when we are still aboard the Eclipse! Bummer!

No. But there could be a conflict in the tour Fred booked in Charlottetown PEI because it may end after 6:15. I will call Cap't Club tomorrow about this and the issue we have with our cruise not being transferred to our TA yet.

I have reserved the 6:15 time slot for the 6 of us traveling together on the 8/28 Eclipse sailing. Only one has been confirmed in an email, the others are "in the cart" and keep getting bounced back every time I attempt to confirm those. I did get a message saying there is a conflict with one of those reserved times, but the date isn't specified. Any hints?

@Indiana Rob What about a trip to Alcatraz? Alcatraz Cruises (Official Provider) | City Cruises (cityexperiences.com)

Thanks to the link provided on this thread, I signed up and watched while knitting! This should lead me closer to Zenith by only 2200 more points to go!

TL;DR BBTA Customer Service 9 out of 10 Celebrity Customer Service 4 out of 10 (would have been lower except for the 1st rep) Yes, there is no specific TA at the BBstore, but..... Based on my recent experiences trying to learn why a reservation transfer request submitted and approved by Celebrity the day after a friend booked the Apex while onboard the Constellation wasn't yet confirmed by the BBTA, Celebrity's customer service fell far short of that from the BBTA. The transfer still hasn't occurred despite being told by the 1st Celebrity rep that it would be within 48 hours. So I emailed the BBTA. Not only did I get an email reply, but also a phone call from them. Unfortunately, I was referred back to Celebrity. My second call to them was answered by an unhelpful, unsympathetic guy who told me to wait 5-7 days for my booking to be moved. It still hasn't been, although maybe that was based on my call to him and not the 1st rep on 3/15?.

Long ramble of discontent.... On February 22 a friend of mine made an onboard booking for us, them and 4 other couples on an Apex Fjords cruise next year. On February 23 I submitted the mandated form to Celebrity and received their confirmation email that day: Please be advised that your request to transfer reservation #xxxxxxx to be serviced by xxxxxxTRAVEL located at xxx,xxx,xxx was received. Please allow up to 5-7 business days for processing. We look forward to welcoming you onboard! Sales Administration Dept. When no confirmation from the BBTA had arrived by March 11 I contacted them. They were unable to retrieve the reservation and suggested I call Celebrity. I did and was relieved to hear from the Celebrity rep that my booking should be transferred no later than the following day. Guess What? It wasn't. I emailed the BBTA on March 15, received an email and a call that day from their cruise help representative who gave me a different Celebrity # to call, which I did. The Celebrity rep who answered my call informed me that # was for TAs only, so I asked if he could please transfer me. Instead, he "handled" my call, referenced my previous call, tried resubmitting the Celebrity transfer form himself and ended the conversation by telling told me to be patient and referring to the "5-7 business days" for processing. When I expressed concern that the 30-day timeline for a booking to be transferred was fast approaching, he told me not to worry as there was a log of my calls. Has anyone had a similar experience? If so, how was it resolved? When would be a reasonable amount of time to lapse before I call Celebrity yet again if transfer hasn't happened? Thanks, and please be kind.