cheriooo

I agree that the upgrade is a good deal, as long as you don't lose any perks, but I don't think placing a courtesy hold will help much for a guarantee cabin.

Enjoy your cruise, and the "suite" life.

On our last cruise I notice a quaranteed suite cabin was available for a bit more then we paid for Aqua Class. Called travel agent and a day latter we got the guaranteed room. Our actiual room assignment was made maybe 2-3 days before before the cruise and we got a fan tail Sky suite. Really nice. We were able to eat in Blue and never had any trouble with dinner times. We ate in Quisne and Lawn Club (highly recommend) on our free specialty dinners. After this experience I have become a hawk looking at our upcoming cruises for price drops or guarantee suite offerings. We enjoyed the extra room in the cabin. We have a few longer cruises coming up. On one we booked straight up the Sky suite (priced competitive with AQ cabin) and the other 2 I am watching like a hawk. Depending where you are in the Captains club ranking the extra points for a suite are nice but if you are at elite plus (like us) there is a long way to go to get to next level. We seriously doubt we will get to the next level. So we focus on comfort and quality experience.

One of my cruise reservation for 2015 keeps coming up "itinerary no longer available". But when I go to make a new reservation it is still there. So I just reload reservation details and it reappears and all is well. Since it goes to the Ukraine it is possible they may change it.

I also have sailed it twice and did not find it any more crowded. Its slightly larger than the other Solstice class ships and that probably makes up for the additional passengers. It is a beautifully decorated ship and would sail on it again.

Planning on going on the silhouette in jan 2015 for my honeymoon. Try to decide on a SS or aqua class been on a bunch of cruises before but first time in premium room. Need advice is blu worth the smaller room does the perks of the butler beat out blu. My gut says SS but herd amazing things about blu. Please help

We did our 1st Sky Suite on our last Cruise after a number of Aqua Class Rooms. After our first experience in SS we were sold on it.

+ SS is larger than AQ cabin. While it may not seem like much on paper it makes a huge difference in the room. We upgraded maybe 2 weeks before cruise date and the price difference was not that much

+ No problem getting into Blue on any night. Not sure how this may change when they add the new suite resturant.

+ Were on the Reflection and had a fan tail room. The balcony might have been a little smaller that AQ mid ship room. Room locations of SS is different on Solstice vs Millennium.

+ The butler was a neat perk but didnt really utilize him all that much. He was helpful friendly and always asking if we needed anything. He did bring us breakfast in the morning. You have an expanded room service menue in suites.

+ We were sold on SS and booked 2 future cruises in them but it also depends on cost delta.

It all depends on how much a gambler are you? There is 2 cost factors if you dont live in Europe. Airfare and cruise cost. If you are interested in the cruise you can book it and monitor the cost and see if it drops before sailing. At some point you have to commit to getting to the departure port Airfares dont seem to have the pricing pattern that cruise ships do so you might save a few bucks on the cruise but loose that in air fare. Airfare is also more costly if you dont arrive and depart from same port

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2013/11/puzzling-blackout-puerto-ricos-famous-bioluminescent-bay/7683/

This is a few months old.

We were on the island of Vieques a short plane ride from San Juan and experienced the bioluminescent bay. It was truly and amazing experience and brings up

We typically book Aqua Class because of Blu. We were on the Reflection a few weeks ago and ate in Blu 4 of the 7 nights. We have found on other cruises if you dine early you have no wait. 8:00-8:30 you may have a wait especially on formal nights. Typically the wait is never very long. Reflection is a large ship and the capacity of Blue is larger than on other Solstice or Millennium ships. We had no wait any night we ate there.(We eat typically 6:30 to 7:00) The one thing that a few folks mentioned on our last cruise the service staff seemed to be running alot more than on other ships. After the person mentioned it we did notice that on the last night. The staff was as friendly and helpful as ever. We ate 2 nights in the the Lawn Grill and that was an excellent and enjoyable experience. This venue currently is only on Reflection.

I have booked an Eastern C cruise and really would like the "in Touch" opinions and insights into the Reflection's best features including fare included and extra cost options. Please shed some light on these for me.

Just got off the Reflection for the second time. The Lawn Club is a unique experience. The staff is great and help you through your grilling at sea. We booked an Alcove for 2 at sea days and wish we did it more. A great way to spend your day on the top deck lay in the sun or shade and price includes lunch from the porch. The Alcove is cheaper on port days but the at sea days you need to pre-book because they sell out. Also there is a number of unique art pieces and rooms on Reflection that are not on any other ship. Take time to wander and enjoy.

We are travelling on Celebrity Eclipse in July and have booked a two day St. Petersburg excursion with Celebrity. Does anyone know if we require visas?

No visas required if you use Celebrity or a licensed Russian tour Company. We used Ala tours and I thought our tour guide was exceptional. I think we had a van of 16 folks. Did the 2 day Grand Tour. Show your passport and tour receipt and your through customs. The early entry into the Hermitage is really important. You get into the museum before the hords of tourist enter and you can really enjoy the beauty that is the Hermitage. We tried to do a show at the Marinski theater but too hard logistically. We did a Russian folk lore shore with Ala after the first day tour. It was an enjoyable show with decent food and vodka. But it made for a long day. I went back and forth between Alla and SPB tours but I was totally happy with Alla. Both give discounts if you use them at multiple ports. Check tripadvisor for rating and reviews. But the 2 day tour is the one to do.

Everyone has an opinion and personal preference. I have found the cheapest or best exchange rate is through using an ATM machine. In the past have gone through AAA, tried my local bank but now its is just using an ATM. Just be careful and conscious of where you are especially if you are in a city. The ATM machine on the cruise ship convenient but always the best rate. Also be conscious of ATM fees. Some are higher then others.

The upgrade package gives you the most flexibility as to drinks. We always upgrade purely for its flexibility and not having to worry about if the drink cost more than the $5/7 or whatever the cut off is on the basic package. But if you are buying the drink package and it is not included in as part of a promotion one really must think about the economics of the package and how many drinks you need to buy to break even especially if you have access to the captains club social. Another factor is the number of port days on a cruise and if you will get off the ship. Cruise ships have great historical information about each cruise and they wont loose money by not charging enough for drinks. So my advice is to think about what you like to drink and how much and will you at least break even drink wise for the additional cost. On our last cruise a 14 night cruise, we did not have a drink package and did not restrict ourselves with regards to drinks, martinis, coffee or Pelegrino water with dinner and we spent alot less then the cost for the package So my advise is think about what you want and see if it makes sense.

Under the old system, a benefit of being Elite was a 10% discount on the Galapagos cruise. Not sure if that benefit has remained under the new system.

Yvette

I believe its now 5%

We have been elite and now elite+ for several cruises. We never got priority tender passes delivered to our room. We had to go to customer services to get them. On our last cruise we got onto the tender's. There was one port on the South American cruise where we had to wait for the Celebrity excursions to get off before we were boarded on the tender.

Our first trip out of England we did use the celebrity bus that left from london. We didnt use Celebrity for any pre cruise hotels or air travel. I just called Celebrity and booked the transfer. I will say it was a little disorganized at the start but it was ok. Our second time we stayed in London and left for Harwich we used Eddie Manning car service (http://www.eddiemanning.com). They offered a straight through transport or one with stops in Windsor Castle or Stonehenge. We did the Windsor castle tour and we were very happy. If we were to do this again I would probably go with eddie manning. There are +/-'s with doing private transfers and Celebrity transfers.

In the days of saving money where ever you can, I would say companies are trying to rely on their web presence to handle orders (reservations), customer comments/questions. I wouldn't be surprised that the call centers are being cut back. I actually wondered a couple of times when I called was a really speaking to someone in a call center or in their home. I try to use the web for most things even asking questions. I tried a couple of time to submit a question to Captains club and the response by email took better part of 2 weeks. If their cruises are full they dont need to be overly customer focused but they need to take care of their customers.

We were in Buenos Aries in January. What we learned about taxi's is pretty similar. Don't hail a cab but get one at a hotel. Ask the cab driver ahead of time about the cost. Alot of folks on our cruise for instance paid widely varying prices from similar locations to cruise port. We didnt know it in advance but Celebrity had a luggage check-in and transportation to cruise terminal from the hotel we stayed in.

I wouldnt bother to exchange alot of dollars to Argentinean Peso's. I would have some but not alot. With the state of their economy most places give better prices for dollars and there is a rather large "black market" currency conversion there. We enjoyed our stay in Buenos Aries but our experience at the cruise terminal was horrible. There were 5 ships all leaving same day and the baggage handlers were in slow down mode. People waited 5+ hrs in line for check-in.

I second the point about the reciprocity fee. You need to bring the receipt. Actually our airline wouldnt let us board the plane at departure to Argentina without showing the receipt. All of our tour guides in Buenos Aires told us up front that it is not a safe city. Dont wear any flashy jewelry at all no matter where you walk. The Rcoleta was really interesting place, but I must say that there are many post on TripAdvisor about it and people getting robed. We toured it and had no problems. If you have a few days to tour the city, there are several charming neighborhoods to walk through with unique shops and restaurants. We probably had our best meals in some of these mom and pop restaurants.

We rented a car from Avis at Ft Lauderdale drove to Disney and dropped the car off in Miami downtown. They had a shuttle to cruise port but picked up a cab since it was quicker. The cab was like $20.00. I would say if it wasn't for my GPS I probably wouldnt have found the rental office. The directions we got when we picked up the car weren't all that great. But everything worked out just fine.

We always sail in Agua class primarily for Blue. As discussed in several posts the food in Blue is nicely portioned, prepared in a "lighter" manner. The staff usually is excellent. Unlike the MDR you can actually have a conversation with folks next to you without all the noise in MDR. The other amenities with Aqua class aren't all that exciting but eating in Blue to us is.

Without knowing your price range your looking at, I second the vote to stay in South Beach area. Lots of restaurants, lots of hotels and shops. Very trendy and pricey. Not to mention a great beach. Very easy to walk around the area.

What a great review! We were on the same cruise and did many of the same tours. We used PatagoniaShoreExcursions for 4 tours and they were all wonderful. We did the Penguin viewing in Ottaway preserve and found them more active and closer than in Peninsula Valdez. In Valparaiso we used Southern excursions for the day trip covering Valparaiso and Santiago and dropping us off at the airport. We did a stop also a winery. We also spent a few days in Buenos Aries before the cruise and did a trip to Iquazu Falls. For those planning for this cruise I cant stress that you must think and be conscious of safety. There is alot of crime in the bigger cities (Buenos Aries) and you must be aware of your surroundings. On our private tours the driver never left any of our luggage or belonging alone. This was a great itinerary and a great trip.

We are looking at booking an Alaska cruise in 2015. Can't decide between RCL and Celebrity. We have cruised many times and always cruise on either RCL or Celebrity. I am not familiar with the Alaskan ports, so I don't know what I am looking at in comparing the 2 cruise lines. Would you recommend combining this with a land tour or would you just book a longer cruise? Thanks for all you help.Barbara

We were RCCL cruisers before switching to Celebrity. We were at the point of booking an Alaskan cruise and we tried a Celebrity cruise to see if we liked it before booking Alaska. We found the Celebrity to be more sophisticated, a bit older, better food. RCCL will beat Celebrity on entertainment and kids activities. The itineraries are basically the same. On our Alaskan Cruise we independently flew to Juneau and took the Alaskan Rail road to Fairbanks to meet the cruise tour. The train ride was beautiful and a bit long. (If you do the cruise tour you will ride partway on the RR I believe). The land tour hit alot of the major sites (Denali is a must see) and it was not very strenuous. The cruise itself is a must do. Depending upon when you go you will see different animals. The highlights of our trip was 1) going on one tour and going out and seeing whales and 2) seeing and hearing the glaciers calf right infront of the boat. The colors of the ice and sounds as the crack were amazing. Our one disappointment was that our tour to go dog sledding on a glacier was canceled twice because of weather. There were quite a few families on our cruise which I think was in August. The main benefit of the cruise tour vice independently doing a similar itinerary is that they handle all your luggage from hotel to hotel to boat. That is a big plus. When do it again I think we would do an independent tour seeing more of the northern wilderness and then meet up with the ship.

St. Petersburg is too important of a place for me to not have a fantastic tour for two days. I want my own private tour with SPB, and I do not want to wait for others. This time I am treating my DH and myself to the best a private tour can offer. Yes, it is expensive, but this is very important to me and DH. Hope the weather cooperates. Sometimes you just have to go for the big one!:) :cool: They are taking care of everything, even though there is a big race on the weekend.

Last year when we were in St Petersburg it happened tobe on their naval festival and the city was full of Russian ships and sailors. We were on Alla Tours and the tour guide and driver re-arranged the order of our tours to avoid the chaos brought on because of the festival. I cannot say enough about our experience with Alla Tours in St Peterdburg.

We cruised the Baltics on Celebrity last fall. Used Alla Tours for 3 ports. I thought their 2 day St Petersburg was outstanding. Their early entry into Hermitage made all the difference in the world in enjoying its splendor without herds of tourist. We also did an evening dinner show with them and it was worth it. Very good service. If you plan on going to Berlin on tour bus it is a long day on a bus. Your time in Berlin is maybe a little less then the time in transit. You do see the highlights of the city and get a sense of city but you are on the bus along time. I do believe there are some tours that go by train that cut down the transit time, but Alla didnt offer it. Of all the tours we did in the Baltic Alla was #1 in my book. Take a look at them they do offer multi city tour discounts.

Food wise, it's a bit like combining the breakfast and lunch buffets and moving them to the dining room.

I couldn't have said it any better. The displays are very nice. Its best not to go during the first hour. Its quite the madhouse. The Midnight buffet which went away at least 2 years ago was more dinner & desert oriented.

Sorry to hear that. Depending on the value, trip insurance or home owners insurance should cover the lost. We were on the same cruise but did a private tour that ended up at the Santiago airport. The driver no matter where we were never left the van out of his sight (even when he had lunch with us) while our bags were in it. He said over and over no place is ever safe.