kathynorth

Pre-covid we were still working full time, but managed to average 2 cruises per year with X: one long + one 7-night Caribbean each year. We thought we'd be doing lots of cruising when we retired, but we now find we have different obligations that keep us close to home most of the time. All of our cruises since the reopening have been with X, but we've also taken several land trips. 2022- 4 cruises + 1 land; 2023- 1 cruise + 2 land; 2024- 1 cruise + 1 land. All still booked with X. Cost is a factor for us so we book verandas. 

We’ve signed up for go green for every cruise we’ve taken since the program started. No one has ever asked when we wanted our room to be serviced. It’s always been serviced at some point between breakfast and lunch. We get turn down and towels if needed.

On 10/9/2023 at 1:15 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

Hello, I like the Bigelow products glad they remain to have them.  That is great I am able to order off the MDR in Blu a big plus star for me.  So glad we be able to use our cameras.  I thought Gelato was one scoop daily thank you for the heads up.

Scooped ice cream is available for free each day in the buffet.

We’ll be on Equinox in Feb with a specialty dining package. It would be great if you could share your experience with specialty dining.

55 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

Did you provide your Marriott number at checkin, or were you able to add it to your reservation in advance?

At check in. We arrived 2 nights early to tour the area on our own. We had to check out and check back in for the Celebrity portion. One of the flights also gave us frequent flyer miles, but I can’t recall which flight or airline at this point.

15 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

For those people who have flown between UIO and GPS with Flights by Celebrity, do they use commercial flights or charters? And are you able to use status benefits at the hotel in Quito?

Celebrity flew us via a regularly scheduled charter flight. It was a smallish plane and there were other passengers who were not on our cruise. We were able to access status benefits at the Quito Marriott back in 2016.

I'm not sure about the Flora laundry question, but we did receive 2 bags each of free (CC benefit) laundry on our Xpedition trip. We also recieved a free massage and had a scheduled Officers Cocktail event where we had the opportunity to chat with the captain.

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

She has some blank space in the design of the new ship, but she did not mention that it was cabin structure.  this is mostly likely common space.
 

My WAG would be they might change the veranda to offer some kind of internal privacy.  I would also guess the next totally new series  of ships (from the ground up design, not the Edge). will not include this feature.  That is the way Celebrity makes major changes.

I agree, the blank space is likely to be some sort of common meeting area or possibly a return to a Captain's Club lounge for Elite and above, like the Diamond Club on RC ships. 

I don't think they'll change to foot print of the ship plans to address the IV issues. I think there will be a couple of decks with IVs that'll be advertised as having larger rooms. Then there will be cabins that are designed with more privacy between room and veranda area. The windows will be removed so they can be called true balconies. Sliders will be installed so a person can go outside while your partner can remain in the air conditioned room.

On 9/29/2023 at 1:58 PM, Jjohnb said:

 

Following are just the changes that I'm aware of but there could be more:

 

There is no longer a tray with apples and pears on embarkation

They no longer provide herbal tea every day in cabin

They no longer provide a daily tray of canapes

They no longer provide a welcome bottle of champagne

They no longer provide the individual bottles of upgraded shampoo, shower gel etc

They replaced the tote bag with a smaller one

They no longer provide a sea pass card holder

They apparently eliminated the pillow menu

They do not have the yoga mats and in-room fitness items available

 

While some of these items may seem trivial, in the aggregate it's quite a lot to take away after you accepted a non-refundable deposit based on your toting that these things would be available.

Lots of these items have been gone for a very long time. The first time I sailed with Celebrity in a concierge cabin was in Aug 2008 and there was no pillow menu. When I asked about the menu the cabin steward just told me what he had available.The last time we were served the herbal tea/water when staying in an Aqua cabin was Aug 2012. The fruit tray, daily canapes, and bottle of bubbly wine are still available upon request. Recent reports indicate the Blu menu hasn't had the substantial changes that have affected MDR menus. You didn't mention the missing water that used to be automatically provided every day. That is sad change IMO, but didn't seem to be much of an issue since Aqua passengers automatically had a beverage package, at least until Aqua Sail Only rates become available starting next week. I've never seen the in room fitness equipment, but I haven't stayed in an Aqua room since they priced out of our range with the onset of AI. We always enjoyed staying in Aqua to access Blu and an occassional trip to Persian Gardens. We're hoping for the availability of Sail Only on Aqua cabins will make booking Aqua an affordable option for future cruises. 

2 hours ago, MartinsCruise said:

Last year in Blu we were seated at a two-top and soon after another couple sat next to us.  He had a sleeveless undershirt on with arm holes that hung half way to his waist, a baseball hat turned backward, shorts and flip flops.  His language went from bad to worse and he became louder.  I finally told him very nicely that I didn't appreciate listening to him while I was having dinner.  He told me that he paid as much as we did to sit there so he could do what he wanted.  The Maitre'D  asked if we wanted to move but since I wasn't the problem, I told him that we shouldn't have to move.  The other couple got up and left after that.  This could have been avoided if they would not have allowed him in when he first showed up. 

I wouldn't have moved either. I would have stood my ground and then filed a complaint with the F&B Director the next morning. 

To those of you who are non-believers, yes these situations do happen on Celebrity ships. However, I'm sure they happen on other cruiselines and also at land-based restaurants. We once took a very expensive small ship cruise and had the priviledge of sharing the ship with a man who couldn't seem to stop dropping the f-bomb.  

9 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I never have needed to carry my drivers license as ID anywheres except when I am driving or buying alcohol. Or on a cruise.  Yep, even though a senior I have to show my license when buying wine at Target. At the pharmacy to pick up a prescription they ask me my birthdate. I don’t have a passport card. It is worthless for any travel I do. I am not OCD enough to need a backup ID. So on a cruise I do take my ID ashore as ID. However next time I renew my book I will probably get one as backup ID  because it is cheap. 

I wish I had read this thread before sending my info in for my passport renewal! 

We always make our Select dinner reservations for 7pm. On a recent cruise we started at a table for 2 for the first night, then met 4 others and became a party of 6 for the next 3 nights, then 2 more joined us, so we ended up as a party of 8 for the last 3 nights of the cruise. Each time our dining party increased we stopped by the check in desk to request they accommodate the change. Each time they happily adjusted our table to fit the size of our party. There was just 1 night when we had to wait around 30mins before an appropriately sized table became available. I think as long as you communicate in advance they'll be sure to take care of you. I've observed many very large groups eating together in the dining rooms. 

On 9/26/2023 at 8:58 PM, TwoBeAtSea said:

The prices range up to $200. If you zoom in I think you can see all the current prices 

I have this on my schedule for tomorrow so if you have any other questions, now's the time to ask. 

Thank you for posting about the glass class. We really enjoyed watching the Hot Glass Show when Corning Glass was hosting those shows. We didn’t watch any of the classes last time we had the chance, but I may take a class when we’re onboard this Feb. Unfortunately, I cannot see the prices. Would you mind letting me know how much it is to make the turtles? I’m interested to know what you decided to make? Have you ever made a piece of glass in the past? Did you find it was worth it to do this on board?

On 8/1/2023 at 8:46 AM, mitsugirly said:

I would definitely pick Arashi. You can rent chairs/umbrella's there and there is a restaurant there as well. The beach is beautiful and sandy. Snorkeling out to the left, you can go toward Boca and the snorkeling is excellent!! We go to Boca many times when we stay on the island (as previous poster said, no amenities there) because it's such good snorkeling. We've went to Arashi by cruise ship and snorkeled down toward Boca and then walked back on the road (short walk) to Arashi.

 

HERE is just a little review of Boca with tons of pictures to show you what the snorkeling is like. (It's like this from Arashi all the way there). You will see the boat snorkeling tours bring people here as well because the snorkeling is so good.

 

 

Your fish photos are great! Thanks

Mine is just 20% off and no sign of drink package upgrades. However, we currently don't have a drink package so maybe this is why the upgrades don't show???

11 minutes ago, Margarita Jane said:

If this is the Big Box company in NH, I had booked many cruises with them, because they always had great prices…. Then I had a problem…. and could never reach their customer service. It was a Princess cruise and fortunately, Princess helped with my problem. I have never used them again.  Abbey I’m not getting the lowest price, but I can always reach my TA, who helped significantly on a COVID cruise….

 

They should honor what you have paid for, period.

I think you're talking about a different company. I believe the OP is referencing the Big Box home based out of Washington State. I've used both companies as they both provide a good amount of OBC. Last time I booked with the NH company we had communication challenges because they try to force you to use email instead a simple phone call, so huge time lags to get responses. TBH I've also had snafus when booking directly with Celebrity (dropped OBC for no reason) and also had after the fact errors with BCC (charged change fees when not making a change). We just returned from a DIY planned land trip and had to change rooms on night 2 for one of our stops due to a hotel's booking error. They wanted to charge us and extra $125 to stay in the same room even though it was their error. I think unfortunately we're seeing a downgrading across the travel industry and need to become well informed travelers who keep on top of travel plans.  

I was on a Caribbean cruise just after the drink packages were introduced. On day 1 there was a man (40ish) at the pool clearly inebriated. He was loud and making aggressive statements that only he thought were funny. At some point security stopped by his lounger and asked him to take a walk with them. When he returned everyone at the pool heard about his discussion because he was still too loud, but the show-boating stopped. He said he was told to slow it down or he'd be cut off for the remainder of the cruise with no refund. He wasn't a problem after that.

Another suggestion for those of you who love to sit on a towel on the sand. Take the free shuttle to Bimini Beach Club, but get off the stop right next door to the beach club. This is a public beach with a restroom, located along the same beach front at no cost. When you get hungry you can walk the short distance along the beach and buy food at the beach club venue. 

We took the cab to Radio Beach last Oct and rented loungers + umbrella from the vendor there. The loungers and umbrella were in poor shape. The public restrooms were a block away near the small marketplace, plus very dirty. However, the beach was beautiful, there were very few people there, and it was a great deal compared to what people were paying to go to the beach club. It was easy to hail a taxi for the way back to the ship from in front of the market.

I just received my canned email response from corporate. It wasn’t even signed. Just says Sincerely, Executive Office. 

Thanks davekathy. I appreciate the help!

On 7/3/2023 at 9:34 PM, davekathy said:

I just located the Executive Office and L.Hodges email addresses. Is there any other that I should direct my email to?

 

executiveoffice@celebrity.com 

 

 lhodges@rccl.com

Can someone in the know please repost the email address to direct our concerns to? I'm searching through the pages and can't seem to locate it. Thank you!

They don’t tell you the excursions in advance due to potential last minute changes given the uniqueness of this itinerary. We cruised on Expedition in 2016, but I’m guessing the general format for excursions hasn’t changed changed much since then. What you read in the trip reports will likely be mostly accurate. Each evening the cruise director will review the options for the next day, after which you sign up for your choice. Everyone gets the excursion they want so no worry about missing out on anything. They also let people change their minds at the last minute. 1st day is scenic cruising and getting fitted with equipment since you are just onboard and traveling out toward the islands. Days 2, 3, 4, 6 had a morning and an afternoon excursion. There is also a choice of short or long versions of many excursions, which are still similar experiences. When there was a snorkel excursion there was also an option for either a short hike or a zodiac ride along the shoreline for those who don’t snorkel. We opted for snorkeling and long hikes. On 1 maybe 2 days there was an optional 3rd deep water snorkel. On 1 of the days we visited the tortoise conservation center, had lunch at a ranch, saw a dance show by locals. It was our all time favorite trip. The onboard naturalists will take good care of you. 

18 hours ago, clojacks said:

And a younger demo isn't going to happen overnight. I just think the cancelling cruises etc because of a decision that might not see any actual onboard impact for a few year is throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

I’ve worked in a large public school district for the past 35 years. We are seeing children as young as 10 vaping. Vaping is a public health crisis that is about to explode. It may take years to see the detrimental effects, but surely they will come. If this test is in response to $ then canceling cruises will also get the attention of the number crunchers. Shame on Celebrity for their contribution to this health crisis.

Last Aug we were on Summit in Iceland. A letter was in the cabin with the priority tendering meeting place. We went there and once the hostess had a group of 20 she brought us to the tender boarding area where they had a separate lane for suites and priority tendering. Going in this lane effectively let you cut the line without being merged with the tender ticket line. It was quick and easy. Have fun in Iceland, we had. Great trip and hope to return in Oct to see the rest of what we didn’t see last year 

3 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

LOL.  And Celebrity does not have ships that go to Jamaica 🙂🙂 

 

I have never seen a drug dog on a Celebrity ship.  I seriously doubt that they will be able to keep it off and they are encouraging it.

 

I have never been sniffed by a dog at a cruise port.

It’s been awhile, but we boarded the Reflection in Florida in Dec 2015 and had an extended ship delay due to a dog search that resulted in a crew member arrest for drug possession.