leaveitallbehind

As @Biker19 suggests, typically port days have prices that are less expensive, when most people are off the ship. They usually have on board specials that will be listed in the daily Cruise Compass or by visiting the spa. Sea days, however, are almost always at the highest pricing.

Not challenging, just clarifying. You also indicated that they removed refundable deposits to increase their bottom line. They have not been removed as an option. And their increased fares add to the bottom line.

They used to include gratuities as part of the Always pricing but eliminated that in late 2023. But they most certainly do have refundable deposits as an option to NRD's. Book them frequently.

From the Celebrity FAQ's: If a guest books their cruise with All Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, the best time to do so is pre-cruise, as they can enjoy a lower rate than offered onboard and upgrade easily via their Cruise Planner. To access the Cruise Planner, guests can simply download the Celebrity Cruises app or navigate to www.celebritycruises.com and log in to their Guest Account. The upgrade charge will be $20 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity. Guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship. Also watch your planner to see if the price changes favorably, If it does, you can cancel and rebook to the lower price without penalty pre-cruise.

I just checked a couple of random '26 / '26 sailings and Always and Standard are both showing as available in the US. Going to guess it may be a blip, as you say.

Of course not. But once they found out, I would think that steps have been taken to prevent it from happening again.

Been there a few times myself. Nice place.

Then I guess I'm missing the point of your posts!

That is the timeframe to which I am mainly referring. We have not been delayed post covid other than the one time that I mentioned, which was the result of a slightly delayed disembarkation from the prior cruise. With that one exception, in our experience as referenced, the check in timing queues have worked well and have facilitated a smooth check in and direct boarding process without delay.

I feel confident that this will not reoccur as I highly doubt if the cruise line will sit back with this or permit it to continue, and likely has already checked not only the many ships staterooms but has vetted any involved crew. You really don't think this is - or ever was - a widespread ongoing issue at this point, do you? And with the attention that has been focused on it, that the cruise line would continue to allow it to happen?

You can also use both sessions for the same person - it is not specific to the individual. What we do on virtually every cruise is one of us purchases the package we want for the week, and the other logs in with their device for both sets of hours available by our tier. In our case that provides us with 1 full week for one of us (any device, one at a time) plus 4 days for the second person (any device, one at a time). So on a 7-night cruise, there is only 3 days where we both don't have internet and only pay for one. Works well for us.

Further, a credit card must be used at the time of the FCC purchase or on board booking.

I would think whatever the issues were a month ago would have been long since resolved. And in our experience, the "technical difficulty" that had canceled a performance was an illness with one of the safety scuba divers, of which they normally have two.

...you'd think you'd learn the first time!

Agree - we always put our suitcases under the bed with the rest of the stuff already there. Would be pretty cramped quarters for him in our stateroom! I will be sure to give them an extra shove putting them under from now on - LOL.

Not me. While it is unsettling, 1 crewmember out of 28 ships and 35,000 ship's crew - not overly concerned. Hopefully it shouldn't become a trend - LOL.

There may be limited bar and food service, but it will be available. The Windjammer and few others (El Loco Fresh, Park Cafe, Sorento's) should be open. The Solarium is certainly open and a great time to avoid any crowds there.

While I feel horrible for the individual and the family involved, IMO this is an unfortunate consequence of a litigious society driven by questionable attorneys whereby people attempt to deflect responsibility for their own actions on anyone other than themselves.

There is no trick, but you may be seeing two different things. The Select internet benefit is published as 25%. The 20% showing on the app may be the current promotional sale being offered for that internet package to anyone on that sailing. Call CC to confirm which is which and determine the better value for you. Note that the CC discount is valid only for purchases made pre-cruise and is independent of promotional prices. You cannot combine the two,

Sorry for the frustration and hope your partner recovers quickly. It is important to understand the terms and conditions associated with advanced purchases such as excursions. I realize this doesn't help the situation now, but for future reference, unfortunately the 48 hour cancelation window is common amongst a number of cruise lines as it relates to closing transactions related to that itinerary prior to departure. There also typically are on board restrictions regarding cancelations that may result in an OBC versus a refund. It varies by cruise line, which is why it is good to understand this at the time of purchase. As mentioned, the more important issue is with your partners health and I hope they recover fully and quickly.

Yes - the main pool has stairs into the pool with handrails on both sides. They enter from either side at the head of the pool to a landing in the water from which you can enter the pool at its shallowest end. The handrails are also accessible at the landing from the pool. This is the same for the Solarium pool. If you google the ship and go to images you should find pictures.

RCCL's primary cruising demographics is families with children and Quantum is one of their premier ships for families. The kids club program IMO is one of the best in the industry and there are a lot venues that are oriented towards kids. They will be more than entertained and you will have the ability to have free time to yourselves as well. Study the ship and what it offers on the RCCL website to get a better idea of what to expect ahead of time.

I realize that and not being critical - just was suggesting that would be the only sure way to know instead of hoping someone here knows for sure. Enjoy your cruise.

I guess there are always exceptions with the check in timing, and I was only providing our experiences. You may be able to check in earlier once at the pier. But that is not something I am assuring or recommending. Anything that can be scheduled ahead of boarding would be in the planner. But, yes, some things can only be scheduled on board. Along with our phones we also put the app on a tablet as an alternative.

As alternatives, RCCL and Celebrity, as two examples, have sofa beds in many of their standard staterooms. Many also have the drop down upper berths. IMO, however, the upper berths are more comfortable. Again, JMO.