leaveitallbehind

I am not questioning your experience on this one Celebrity cruise but only want to point out a different perspective based on a much broader sample size. You are a frequent poster with, IMO, valuable contributions to CC. We have been on about 15 Celebrity cruises, and while there has been a broad range of ages on board from families with children (though not their primary demographics, Celebrity does offer a children's program for the small percentage of children who are on board) to the older HAL demographics you point out, that demographic is not the typical or primary demographic on board. In our experience, the more typical ages are the 50+ as is their target demographics. The older set that you experienced is more typically the lesser group within that 50+ age group. There have been many younger couples as well. Any ship can have any age group on board and I am certainly not disputing your experience. We have seen your description in a fairly large scale on RCCL as well even though their target demographics are families with children. I am just suggesting that it is not typical in our experience with Celebrity, and that your sample size of one cruise out of two total may not be representative of the typical demographics. It is also a shame that your experience with that cruise was not favorable as that, in our experience, has also not been the normal case. Again, not challenging your experience, just suggesting an alternate view based on a larger sample size.

You and I have been down this road in what I felt was fair and honest discussion with both of us and in an effort to find objectivity in the discussion. I agree there has been bad press on solo pricing with Celebrity, but I also think the best advice is that which you just gave in that the OP should - either through a travel agent, Celebrity directly, or via the Celebrity website - check the specific itinerary(s) that they are interested in and secure solo pricing mixes for their own direct comparison. That will provide the reality of what they would actually pay as a solo and they can then decide if it is at an acceptable budget for them.

Per their initial question, the OP is not talking about Guarantees. They are talking about upgrades through a bid program. Not sure which cruise line they are booked with so it may not be through Royal Up, but a different program.

As long as we've deviated completely of the OP's topic, the PR dish that is a favorite of ours is mofongo.

Well that certainly just reduced my odds, at least - LOL.

Learn something new every day! Guess I need to spend more time in the MDR.

And since you are new to Cruise Critic, to help you find it easier, here is the link to the Alaska board in the Ports of Call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

Likely even harder to find on board - LOL. I thought the main ingredient of menudo is tripe? I also thought pozole is the the normal non-tripe counterpart that uses chicken and pork instead. But what do I know?

We are also D+ / Elite. When we first started cruising and our family was young, RCCL was the choice as families is their primary demographics and their mainly mega ships are well oriented towards that with very good children's club programs and activities venues. Now that they are all adults we cruise with Celebrity for the opposite reasons as their primary demographics is adults 50+ with very few children and non of the related activities and venues. The entertainment with the Aqua Theater and Ice Show is more diverse and very good with RCCL. Celebrity is more traditional with the ship cast and highliners but is also very good. Eden on Apex class ships is very similar to Two70 on RCCL on Quantum class ships. As @CruiserBruce mentioned, Celebrity is more upscale with smaller mid sized ships with less passengers and a more refined cruise atmosphere, very good dining, in particular with their specialty restaurants. Their base fare is somewhat higher in our experience than RCCL, but they offer both standard fares with beverage packages and wifi separate, and all inclusive fares that include the standard beverage and wifi packages, with premium packages at an upcharge. Gratuities are separate with both pricing programs. Really, the two lines are polar opposites, and that difference now is the primary attraction to us. Both lines IMO are equally oriented towards solo cruisers, however Celebrity's Apex class ships have dedicated veranda solo staterooms that are a little smaller than standard but are priced measurably less than the typical 100% less port fees and taxes supplement for solo passengers in standard staterooms RCCL's loyalty program is the stronger of the two and their are no elite benefits that exceed that of RCCL and overall it is not as attractive. (Compare the two on each website). As example, with RCCL at D+ you receive 5 drink's per day every day at anytime at no charge, whereas with Celebrity there is a cocktail hour that runs between 5 - 7 pm commencing on day 2 that, when they enforce it, is supposed to be limited to 3 drinks during that time. Celebrity also does not have a dedicated loyalty lounge for elite members whereas RCCL has the Crown Lounge. These differences only impact us with regards to whether or not Celebrity's AI fares are attractive on any given cruise for the option of the beverage package. However they are the only two lines that I am aware of that offer direct reciprocity between their loyalty programs, which IMO is attractive. In particular for Elite and higher with Celebrity sailing on RCCL. Between the two, overall, while we do still cruise with RCCL, our primary choice now is Celebrity. And our ship class preference would be Solstice or Apex classes. Millennium class, while attractive and well maintained as smaller ships, IMO are getting a bit old and somewhat tired. (Not unlike Vision and some other RCCL ship classes).

Perhaps not a bad plan but may be hard to find on board? JMO but I would prefer pozole - not a fan of tripe.

Officially I believe with NCL the answer is no. I know a number of years ago they specifically prohibited soda, water, and other non-alcoholic beverages from being brought on board and I am not aware of that changing.

Probably depends on the cruise line, but we have. Along with soda and water.

The cruise lines can't share information they don't have. Nor can they simply waive other country's policies. And as pointed out by others, the hundreds of countries with individual policies would be difficult, at best, to track. Your not very well thought out 1-2 cruise line employee solution would likely fall well short of success. But as it is your idea, why don't you run with it and create the website and put together an organization to provide this information - you could likely be the next mega dot com success! You also indicate that you and your wife have cruised the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, which include numerous countries with visa policies. With the disgusting lack of support you suggest by the cruise lines, how have you managed that? The cruise industry is also currently at a very high pace of bookings, soon likely to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Their terms and conditions regarding visa policies have been in effect for decades. I don't foresee this costing them anything near term, long term, or ever. When I cruise I recognize it is my responsibility to have the correct documentation for my intended region of travel. If I have difficulty in understanding those requirements, as sales agents for the cruise lines, I would contact a travel agent to see if they could assist. Their experience and expertise with global travel would likely have them in a position to help.

Specific to coverage tied to a given cruise, some carriers have coverage guidelines that are specified by when, relative to making a booking and the final payment date, you can purchase it for a given coverage, and may not be available at all post final payment. General travel insurance may not have these guidelines.

Not an easy question to answer with any certainty. Both the AI prices and the al la carte package prices can vary by itinerary. Without a booking in place, which would give you access to the cruise planner with current offered pricing for the beverage and internet packages, the only way to get a rough comparison would be to go to the Celebrity website to see what their advertised prices are for the packages. Then determine desired stateroom category and whether you would book a non-refundable or refundable deposit fare, do mock bookings and do the math between AI and Std. fares for your cruise and add back the package prices to the Std. fares to compare. In or experience, the AI prices are typically better than the add-on to Std., but that my not necessarily always be the case. They also may offer attractive pricing on board for the add-on packages, but you would obviously have to have already booked the Std. pricing to take advantage of that. As a side note, the rough breakeven for any of the beverage packages is, depending on beverage choice, about 6 - 7 drinks per day per person. Obviously that includes port of call days. Another way to try to get a comparison is, if you are going to book through a travel agent, ask them to do it as they will have easy access to the different fares for your given itinerary and will also have the standard published prices for the packages. BTW not a real fan of the premium access as I'm not sure of the true value for the cost. Just my opinion.

What do you do presently at home? Probably the same would work on a cruise.

Not disagreeing, nor arguing - just clarifying as I also said "not typical", meaning they can happen. But I was also mainly clarifying that most often additional cancelation fees - in particular on refundable deposits - happen with TA's as a separate fee to them.

Perhaps by a travel agent for their efforts, but under a refundable deposit - especially when there also is a non-refundable option - not typically by a cruise line. It is the terms of the NRD - and one of the reasons they were introduced - that specifies penalties.

Don't doubt you at all. Especially if you arrived by plane. It just seems contradictory to me that since by ship you can arrive and stay for several days on their soil with a BC and photo ID, to then have to have a passport (to stay) at a hotel. I agree that it probably is not a requirement. But I know I don't know for sure so don't want to presume I am definitely correct.

It's still nearly impossible to say. Way too many variables as to where the storm would be concentrated, at what point during the cruise would you be affected, how big the storm is, etc. But your itinerary is pretty concentrated to the northern section of the eastern Caribbean, which would limit alternatives. And if the storm would be centered anywhere in that area from San Juan to Antiqua, all the alternative islands around there would likely be affected as they are all vey close together. So there maybe wouldn't be any alternatives available. And since you are coming from and returning to Miami, you would be dramatically limited in the range and time available to get to anywhere not likely affected, such as further south to St. Lucia, or Barbados, as example. But the bigger issue remains that even if there were alternatives, would they be able to schedule the on the relatively short notice that would be required. The only thing that would perhaps work in your favor of finding alternatives is that most hurricanes are tracked for a week or two as they develop. You don't typically "run into" a hurricane. This may provide the cruise lines with some time to work on an alternative itinerary, but that may be out of the region altogether or even force a full cancellation. I know you are trying to have all your bases covered, but you really are asking the impossible. I would just suggest planning to enjoy your cruise on the itinerary in place.

That is what I always thought as well. But what initiated my confusion and questions regarding that is the information as provided above by @navybankerteacher who has indicated that to stay (at a hotel) on the island you need to have a passport. This would contradict you comment as well as my understanding. I would tend to agree with you.

First of all, as @mom says suggests, we would have to know what your specific itinerary is to even have a stab at what alternative ports of call might be. (There are a number of Eastern Caribbean itineraries with various ports of call). And I agree that securing alternatives on the fly during a given cruise may be difficult if not impossible. Storm avoidance would be the Captain's first priority and alternate ports of call would then be secondary, based on feasibility of short notice arrangements. Most itineraries are secured months, if not years, in advance and any alternatives to those would only be as available for additional ships at any given time. The other thing to keep in mind is that hurricane season (June 1 - November 30) is just the time of year when conditions are most favorable for storms to develop, and not a guarantee that they will. The likelihood is you will have no issues and this question will be moot. Enjoy your cruise!

Agree. IMO notifying the ship would just be a courtesy so they understand why you never scanned back in that night. But I don't see it as a requirement. Your comments also echo my question, relative to Bermuda, as to why would you need a passport to stay overnight on the island when you don't need one (on US based closed loop itineraries) to be there for the days you are in port?

Thanks. Not familiar with that as said, we always have just used a passport. Just curious - If per this thread you are planning to stay on the island one night from the ship, how is that verified? Do the hotels request a passport at check in? I don't recall that in the past with our land vacations. Also the confusing part about this to me is if it is OK to board the ship in the US bound for Bermuda with a BC and photo ID and to disembark and visit the island, why would they further require a passport to stay on the island. Once the ship is in Bermuda waters it must be in compliance with immigration regulations with just the BC and photo ID. And the ship is the hotel there. Again, just curious.

Not disagreeing with you at all. Just saying you were fortunate with the sea conditions. We've had wonderful sea conditions many times. Have also had not so wonderful. Often on the same cruise.