leaveitallbehind

I agree and it is very likely that they would be doing updates, refreshes, etc., with the current booking levels and revenue recovery. I'm just saying I don't know of a firm plan in place in particular with some of the older ships to Revolutionize them as originally planned in 2017.

That is different if they were traveling alone with you without their parents? If so, that would be required. But a child traveling with a parent of the same name should not be an issue.

If I ran into such an agent I would ask to see their supervisor or a representative from the ship. I'm not aware of any such requirement for a solo parent traveling with their child on a closed loop cruise.

Is everything else related to the pass and the app in tact? I am far from any sort of a tech person but wondering if your smartphone or something related to the app was hacked to result in that. Just saying as I've never heard of that before and it just sounds really weird. Again, I hope you get it worked out.

Wow. That's odd - never had that issue. Doesn't sound legit as RCCL related. Hope you get it resolved.

No. The one on the phone, along with the proper boarding documentation, is all you need. We haven't printed setsail passes in several years. If you want to print one out as a backup that's fine, but it's not necessary for boarding.

You are absolutely correct. New and recently launched ships are always priced higher with their fares and likely with the planner packages. And the new shorter mega ship itineraries with Perfect Day also seem to carry a premium.

Unless you are divorced or separated, or under some sort of custody agreement regarding your children, I don't think any documentation is needed to travel without your spouse, but with your children.

I think the pandemic influenced a lot of plans. First, with the Revolutionized schedules that were in place themselves, all of which post 2019 had to be canceled. Second, with the shutdown extending as long as it did with no incoming revenue and literally billions of $ lost, the budgets and financial plans were completely revamped and reprioritized, with the Revolutionized plans basically scrapped - at least at the time. With newbuilds now taking the priority and many of the already older ships now several years older, I'm not sure which of them that were planned to be Revolutionized now will be. Just have to wait and see, I guess. JMO.

We just transferred points the other day to our upcoming November cruise and the transaction was same day to the planner as OBC and we have already used the points for planner dining purchases.

Agree and two of them in the NYC area could pose a traffic challenge unless any sightseeing was started and ended early. I obviously was just guessing EWR for proximity to the port.

So assuming Newark, arrival at 3:00 for an international flight is wise. As a reference, the airport is only 15 minutes from the pier. So whatever you decide with sightseeing, if in the immediate area, I would be wrapping that up by 2:30 latest.

Unfortunately as mentioned there is no option to remain on the ship as reboarding for the next itinerary commences by 11:00 and you will need to be off well before that. Also unfortunately, there is very little to do around the terminal area and, unless well coordinated, any sightseeing that may require going into NYC or any surrounding area would likely compromise your stated timeline of 3:00 PM.

We cruise frequently with diver friends who have exclusively used private dive companies in Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, and several other southern Caribbean ports of call. I would suggest just using google for the different ports of call you are interested in. They will offer dive times to fit morning or afternoon preferences based on your ports of call and are familiar with coordinating departure and return times with ship times. Unfortunately I don't have any direct dive operators names, which is why I suggested the search. But our friends dive one or two times, depending on itinerary, with every cruise.

It likely means that the general category staterooms outside of those consigned for the GTY are sold out. It can also mean that those other than GTY that have been released into general inventory to date are sold out and others may be released for sale at a later date, as not all inventory is released at once. The inventory sold bay way of GTY will be assigned at some point.

I think a key point to keep in mind is that, although under the RCG family, Celebrity and RCCL are separate and independent cruise line companies. They also have distinctly different offerings and target demographics. As such they have developed their own loyalty programs and associated benefits to suit their own purposes, a process that began long before they offered the concept of benefit reciprocity. I don't think the idea of this, including the most recent alignment of tiers with the reciprocity, was ever aimed at equalizing the benefits, only just offering a sharing of benefits at each tier level when sailing on each. The discussion of which loyalty program is better at which level always will generate differing opinions as they each have different benefits. It is IMO just a matter of which cruise line suits any given cruiser for the different reasons they select to cruise with each line. The loyalty programs and their associated benefits are secondary. But as I cruise both for different reasons at different times, I am glad I can enjoy the loyalty benefits of each when I cruise with them.

Have to agree. The cruise lines make an effort at consistency and as the menus are essentially the same on each ship the quality should be the same as well.

Agree that is not normal. Cancelations, OBC credit, and rebookings are typically immediate and a single transaction. Maybe try the on line planner versus the app. We have had better success with the planner. But either way, definitely call.

We are in the very same boat as you (really, no pun intended) and agree completely. There are also other lines to cruise with as well.

I know this has been a heated debate and certainly not trying to stir that pot, but having cruised extensively on both lines, and now with the equal tier reciprocity, IMO (and I stress that) I agree that the RCI benefits through Diamond+ are the better ones. Zenith changes that and IMO is better than Pinnacle. And FWIW, we are by actual cruise points D+ with RCCL, and Elite with Celebrity, with 50+ cruises combined on both.

Yes. There has been discussion within the industry with other possibilities. The question is if it is one time offer to attract new business or if it will be sustained over time. MSC has been in that mix as well.

Fair enough and not at all challenging your position, but it is not a new thing as it has been in place for a number of years. Only recently, as you are aware, it has been reconfigured to just equalize the reciprocity. And it is not just RCCL getting Celebrity benefits, it works visa versa as well. I guess it just is what it is.

We have found that the easiest way to manage our bookings, once on board, is to go to any of the specialty restaurants and talk directly with the maître d, who can schedule all restaurants and days for you. As mentioned by @WestLakeGirl, there usually is someone manning a kiosk near the restaurants than can also do this for you. Relying on a Concierge staff member, while certainly an option, is dealing through a third party who will be talking with the maître d on your behalf. Doing it directly IMO assures that any scheduling questions or conflicts are dealt with directly and in real time. The process only takes a few minutes and is then directly loaded into the app scheduler. Again, JMO.

The fact that reaching the "upper echelons of the CC fraternity" is only the result of those cruisers committing a substantial amount of discretionary money over time with the many cruises required to do so assures your concerns. Certainly exponentially more than those occasional cruisers and comparatively lower echelon members. This is an odd concern to be expressed IMO and one whose answer is clearly self evident as these members wouldn't be upper echelon members by "resting on their laurels". In fact they may hope that you continue to as diligently on your quest.

Your TA should be able to provide a Celebrity booking confirmation along with theirs. This the definitive way to confirm that the booking placed by you through the TA is what Celebrity has confirmed as the booking. If this was not provided by them, ask for it.