debandbruce

so happy this topic came up. We are also from Canada and flying to Rome for our Nov 1 2020 cruise. We get reduced airfare but also want to fly in 2 days earlier so this has answered a couple of questions we had, thanks

56 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

You are on the wrong ship. Celebrity welcomes kids of all ages. In fact, kids sail free. There are cruise lines that do not accept kids.  Nobody makes you eat in Murano. Save your $50.

Have not sailed Celebrity in a couple of years. Is it the norm now that children sail free? I know there are promos but is it all the time?

I'd like to know that too. Was recently on Anthem, and we couldn't get free wine at dinner. We stopped in the DL or Bolaros to get our drinks before heading into dinner. Not a big deal, but not as convenient. Next cruise booked is on Serenade and I'm hoping by then things will be consistent fleet-wide.[emoji6][emoji485]

 

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We were on the Serenade for her spring TA and were able to get our free drinks in the MDR.

We met your parents in the airport wheelchair area and enjoyed talking with them

Sherrill Peterborough Ontario

Yes they said they met you. That assistance at the airport was a real blessing for them especially after Mom hurt her leg. I highly recommend anyone that has mobility issues to ask for it. Everyone on both ends was so helpfull and kind to them. My husband and I didn't have to worry about either, we met up with them on the plane and then at luggage claim in Toronto. They took mom right to the transit service in Pearson, she just had to walk to the van which was waiting for us.

Hard to believe you would get kicked out of the hot tub! I would have been furious,😖

 

Sherri🙂

Oh we were, went to customer relations and the timing of cleaning was supposed to be changed but it was not.

One thing I noticed on the cruise planner was that some excursions seemed able to book and others said “online reservations are not available. Please check onboard.” Is that what you did?

Keep checking back, we found they can come and go. You are still about a year out so things can change. I belive when docking in Cobh it is the same place we were. Very easy to walk up the street to the town. There isn't a lot to see there but there is a couple great pubs and the Titanic experience tour.

Thank you SO much for posting your review. I’ve been waiting patiently for a review ever since I booked the exact same TA for next year!

When you have some time (between meetings at work—��) would you please describe what you did (and how you did it) in each of the ports?

I’ve been reading all the excursions on the cruise planner.....but very interested in what you actually did and what it was like.

Thank you, again.....and now I’ll wait patiently again for your replies!

If you would like to know about some other tours I can tell you about what we did. Having never been to any of these ports before we did all ships tours. Glad we did as due to the Brugges setback one couple missed getting back to the ship from a private tour and had to take a train to Amsterdam to meet us.

In Ponta Delgado we did the tour to Sete Citades, a lovely park and the pineapple plantation. Nice tour of the city and parts of the island and just the right amount of time.

Cork, we did a tour of Cork City then off to Blarney Village where we browsed through Blarney Woolen Mills and all the lovely things they have for sale. Walked the village and then had lunch at Christy's in the Mill. Fantastic fish and chips and I had an Orchard Thieves cider which was delicious. When we returned to the ship we walked around Cobh for a bit.

Le Havre, we did the scenic tour of Paris that was supposed to have 3 hours to tour the Louvre on our own. We had about 2 hours, lost about 15 minutes at the security screening, 15 more to wait in line for the washroom. Louvre was very busy, too busy. Not a place to limit your time so we wished we had picked another tour. Paris was beautiful and the weather was as well. Our waiter was upset when we said it was sunny and warm in Paris as he could of gone for the day but thought it would be rainy like Le Havre was.

In Brugge we did the tour to Ghent and the canal boats. Our favourite stop by far, lovely canal tour, had Belgian waffles and cherry beer in the village on our free time. Bought some very delicious chocolate and a local treat called Cuberdons or noses as some called them. A very tasty raspberry candy and only available there.

Amsterdam we did the Keukenhof Tulip Festival which is a must see to us. Only open 7 weeks a year this beautiful gardens is breath taking. We did have time to tour Amsterdam when we returned from the tour but my mother had cut her leg badly getting on the tour bus so my husband and I headed back on the ship to check on her and my dad. She was ok, the ships medical took very good care of her. She needed 14 stitches. The Dr wrapped it well and they changed the dressing later in the day then again before we disembarked in Copenhagen so she would be good for the flight home.

I think the closing of the pools early has to do with the lifeguards that are on board now. They seem to keep the pools open only when they are on duty. I thought the hot tubs were being allowed to stay open later. Seems i'm wrong.

Solarium pool was supposed to close at 10 but it closed at different times. One couple who got in the hot tub with us the night we were kicked out had just been asked to leave the solarium pool. When they said it's open until 10 they were told, no it's closing for cleaning. Lots of unhappy folks about the pool and hot tub situation.

We just finished the same TA. We also loved the ports of call and couldn't believe our luck with the weather while visiting them. I agree about the options in MDR, very limited. We found the entertainment very lacking and the timing of it incredibly poor. Love and Marriage game at 7 pm was very disappointing. We were not impressed with the cruise director at all.

Yes the solarium was prime location for sure. We usually sat at the tables and chairs and watched for people to leave. We were very upset that the pools closed earlier than they were supposed to and the 24 hour hot tubs closed by 9:30 pm. One night there were 12 of us, 6 in each outdoor hot tub watching the movie. We were quite rudely told to get out so they could clean them. This was just after 9. Made a quick trip to guest relations and they sent a supervisor to talk to us. She said she would ask the staff to adjust cleaning time until after the movie was over from now on, didn't happen, they were still closed early and the movies played to an audience of empty chairs and hot tubs.

We sat in Vintages every evening before dinner for drinks and had no problem using our drink coupons. Did someone tell you it was not an option? Bartenders Edward and Rein were wonderful.

We did the ships tour to Ghent over Brugges and was so happy we did. Ghent was like a fairy tale city and once we heard about the issue the Brugges tours were having we were even happier about our choice.

Good thing I wasn't on your flight as I would of been sick too if I had to hear others being sick. We liked Copenhagen airport found it quite efficient. We also had a fabulous cruise happy to hear you did too.

Just of the 16 night Serenade TA. Ship is in wonderful shape and a perfect size. We found entertainment to be a bit lacking but that may be because it was a TA. Do not be scared to sail on her.

Just off the Serenade TA today and so happy we did not have that feature.

we always cruise in November and have never had an issue. We board the Serenade on the 20th for a 16 night trans atlantic, so looking forward to it. We have sailed on the Brilliance her sister ship and it is the perfect size. We have also sailed on bigger ships like Freedom , Anthem and Allure but find we have just as much fun on the smaller ships.

They charge you $10 for a burger then extra if you want a milkshake? :confused:

I agree, I can understand a bit of a surcharge bit $10 plus more for a shake.

This is so sad to hear, we cruised with Rev on the Freedom. We were waiting in line to check in and she arrived on her scooter. Of course the staff all knew her due to her many cruises. They treated her like Royalty, she just drove right on past the lines. Loyalty has it perks!

There is info about this on the boards, but I can't find this specific info--

 

We booked in December of last year, for a cruise this May. I believe we are grandfathered into the lower gratuity rate as long as we pre-pay, which we have no problem doing. Just have 2 questions:

1) Do we need to prepay the grats when we put in final payment (due this Saturday)for the cruise ?

2) Can we do it online (I can't see a place for it) or do we call RCCL (we booked with them over the phone) to do it?

 

Thanks!!!

gratuities went up Jan 2nd, I believe if you did not pay them before they went up you will pay the new price. We are sailing in April on the Serenade and made final payment Jan 19th, I paid our gratuities then. They were all the new pricing even though we booked the cruise back in August.

we are sailing on the Serenade TA in April, we have to upload our photo. This made me so happy as we did the same thing when we sailed on the Anthem and it really speeds up the boarding process. A zip of our passports, a quick couple questions, stamped our set sail pass and off we went. Sea passes were at the cabin, you use the set sail pass until then. Less standing in line = happier start to vacation!!!

we sailed on Allure last spring. Only place we felt crowded was the windjammer so we ate elsewhere as there are so many options. Sea days were awesome we watched the flow rider and zip line, lounged in the solarium and wandered the ship. Lots of loungers to be found so never an issue. We truly felt less crowded on the Allure than we have on smaller ships. There is a lot of people yes but there is so many places for them to go you never realize it. You will enjoy your Harmony cruise, I am positive of it.

Loved deck 8 for the same reason as many others, Central Park. We would leave our cabin before dinner, stop to get a glass of wine, a stroll through Central Park and took the elevators down to the dining room. I looked forward to it every evening.

Shopping, restaurants the forts are all in walking distance from the ship. Very easy to get around Old San Juan.

So happy for you and your parents, Debbie.

 

Why we all love CruiseCritic and the (mostly) great members of this community!

Yes it is a wonderful community!

So glad it worked out for you! And yes, take the sushi class! My DD and I did, and it was fun. We ended up with enough sushi to share with 2 more friends at lunch that day, and have bought the equipment to do it at home. Totally worth the small fee charged for the class.

Thanks for the info, I think we will do it for sure, sounds like fun and tasty too!

Your Mom must be so relieved to know that she will be able to comfortably fly with all of you for a great family vacation. Thanks for posting the final outcome.:)

Relieved is not even the word but yes she is feeling so much better about it all now.

Good Morning, just wanted to post a final update on our adventure. Janet at Royal/ Air2sea was true to her promise to have this all cleared up ASAP. She called me yesterday to let me know that they had gotten everything straightened out and was just waiting for seat assignment as she had instructed Air Canada to try to give my parents the same seats as before so we could all remain together. Not a real issue as having the seat issue fixed was the most important. She happily called me back later in the day to say that Air Canada had indeed booked the same seats for them.

She could not of been more wonderful. Janet gave me two emergency numbers to call if we have any issue but assured me there would not be as everything was done as it should of been. We will gladly move on from this little blip in our vacation plans and focus on the tough stuff like how much money should we take, what to pack and if we want to book that sushi making class. LOL

I want to thank everyone once again for all your advice and support and especially Beachin2 who gave me Brian's contact information as this was the info that helped get things going faster than they were. Happy cruising everyone, Debbie

Air2Sea has to book extra seat under your Mom's name as if she were a 2nd passenger and they mark it out for a disabillity. If they won't do it then have them cancel the reservation and you book Air Canada albiet just the 2nd seat and have Air2Sea cover any additional costs.

This is how it was done but the two seats one name was the issue.

I took Beachin2's advice and contacted the gentleman in charge of air2sea operations. He responded very quickly and had someone call me almost immediately. This lady is now on getting it resolved. She was wonderful on the phone and very reassuring that this will be resolved ASAP. She said to let my mom know everything will be fine and to rest easy. I was also given her direct number in case I need to contact her. Very pleased with these developments so will just relax now knowing that it truly is being looked after. When I expressed concern that my mom could get bumped in Copenhagen and she assured me that would not happen and will provide me with a number to call if any issue arrives there. Truly couldn't ask for better customer service. I will post the final outcome when it's all done and want to thank everyone once again for your advice and support. Debbie