Aunt Tina

I ordered mine in December - never came. I called the Captain's Club and ordered them again- hoping they come before I sail at the end of the month!

I'd call the Captain's club and ask if it can be done. There are meeting rooms on 14 to the left of the Sky Lounge. You may be able to meet in a corner of the Sky Lounge if you can't book ahead.

If you are on a cruise with more Elite and Elite Plus passengers than the Sky Lounge holds they may give you coupons that can be used for designated happy hour drinks in any lounge.

I bring an IPAD. Internet time is outrageously priced onboard - and very slow.

I can download email in a very short time - using less internet minutes, I can read the email off line. I can write email messages off line and connect to the internet for only the short time it takes to send the messages. It is also handy in some ports where there is free WIFI.

You may also find an extra OBC for booking early in the week onboard during your cruise. We got an extra $100 OBC for booking in the first few days of our last cruise.

We were overnight in Maui in September on the cruise from Vancouver to Honolulu. Maui is a tender port with one of the longest tender rides I have taken. Allow at least half an hour for the tender ride in your schedule. I think they did less frequent tenders overnight - but not sure.

Last February I rented a car from Hertz and drove from Melbourne to Ft. Lauderdale Airport to return the car before my cruise. I had been told there was a shuttle there (there had always been one since I have been cruising). Surprise - it had ended the week before and we had to carry all our luggage "miles" through the terminal to the taxi stands and wait in line behind 100 people to get a taxi.

Hoping they returned the free shuttle to the port.

Definitely look at private tours on the ports of call thread. There are really great private tours in the Caribbean which are so much better than ship's tours. You can check your roll call and partner with others to do the private tours too.

Some of the best tours we have taken include:

Bob Cass snorkeling in St. Maarten'

Calabazza in Barbados

Levi Baron and Bumping tours in Dominica

Fleisher Ellis in Puerto Rico

Godfrey Tours in St. Thomas

On our last cruise we chartered a boat with 4 other people in St. Thomas and spent the whole day in St. John. We snorkeled in three places, ate lunch at Caneel Bay and spent an hour on Trunk Bay. It was so much better than the 1 hour 15 minutes you get at Trunk Bay on the ship's tour.

I'm always cold in the dining room and especially the theater. I always bring a sweater or jacket. I also have several pashmina's that come in handy.

Select dinning experiences vary with the ship you are on. Two cruises on the Summit with Select Dining resulted in wonderful experiences meeting people at shared tables for 6 - 10 people with very little wait.

Two cruises on the Silhouette with Select Dining were very unsatisfactory. In February on the Silhouette, we received a card in our room saying we had Select Dining - and they suggested we dine between 8:30 and 9 pm if we didn't want to wait for a table!! Several nights we asked for shared tables and were told none were available. One night we were told there were no tables available, no beepers available, and were sent out to the bar to wait - and forgotten. 45 minutes later I went back in to find out when a table would be available. Another night we were told it would be 45 minutes for any table ( even though the couple ahead of us was seated) - so we went to the buffet. After writing a several page letter to the restaurant manager, I received a call suggesting that we dine at 5:30 pm and he could guarantee a shared table then. Beware if you choose Select Dining on the Silhouette!

Speaking of guidebooks - I have been reading "Hawaii by Cruise Ship" by Anne Vipond to plan my Hawaii cruise in September. It has really helpful information on docking (or tendering) in each port, what to do in each port, and really helpful maps and tons of pictures. It has several pages on Pearl Harbor.

In March we "chartered" a boat in St. Thomas through St. Thomas Boat Rental with 4 other people. We had a fabulous day on the water in St. John swimming and snorkeling at Caneel Bay, Trunk Bay and Maho Bay. We ate at Caneel Bay. They were great about arranging for transportation to the marina from the ship. They were very aware of needing to get us back to the ship on time. We were on the water at 8:30 and returned at 3:30 in order to be back in time. ( On the ship's tours to St. John you only spend an hour on the beach.)

I loved Bob Cass boat tours in St. Maarten - fast boats, lots of swimming and snorkeling time and great lunch.

I agree with Levi Bumping tours of Dominica and Calabazza Sailing in Barbados.

This problem was similar to our leaving the ship in San Francisco for the fall Pacific Coast cruise. There were huge lines for shuttle buses - but no buses. When a couple buses finally came we were next in line and we were directed to them - then yelled at by the bus driver when we tried to give her our luggage. We were re-directed to wait more, then directed to another bus. This driver dropped us all off at the back door of the wrong terminal. There were no signs and two tiny elevators for the whole bus load of people struggling with all their luggage and no idea where to go.

If this is the routine for Celebrity Shuttle Service - we will be not be using it. We registered complaints when we got home - no response.

I find all these cancellation penalties very difficult to deal with. Dealing with the airlines is already a nightmare of fees and penalties. I hope the cruise industry doesn't get the same way. People who work and need to get time off, and caregivers who need to make arrangements for care or others in order to get time away need to be able to make those arrangements. The penalty would take away the ability to book onboard and take advantage of the booking on board perks for all these people

The reverse - Celebrity is known to cancel reservations made months in advance when the ship is "suddenly " chartered, leaving passengers with airline and hotel reservations already made - and those hard to get time off vacation times already granted and firm.

So many people I talk to say it is too much work and stress to deal with all this - and choose to not travel anymore.

Had a terrible time with Select Dining on the Silhouette Feb. 28 cruise. The confirmation of Select Dining in our room suggested that if we wanted to eat without waiting we should come between 8:45 and 9 pm!!! We wanted to share tables with others and were told it was not possible the first few days. On the first formal night we were sent out of the dining room without a buzzer (they were out of them) and told they would find us. After 45 minutes I went back to find out what was happening. We gave up the next night after being told they didn't know when we could be seated - and went to the Oceanview. I finally wrote a several page complaint to the dining room manager. He called and suggested we come at 5:45pm.

We had a great experience with Select Dining on both the Infinity last fall, and the Summit several times before that.

I have used the Celebrity insurance several times. The first time my husband became ill a few weeks before the cruise and we had to cancel. I had all the money back within a couple weeks of the doctor's documentation.

A couple times in the past 7 years we have been unable to fly home because of winter blizzards in the Northeast and have been stranded in Ft. Lauderdale and San Juan. The insurance paid for hotel and food for 3 days until we were able to get home.

Last October I got sick on the Pacific Coast Cruise with a sore throat, ear ache and congestion. It was diagnosed as flu (I'm sure it wasn't), charged $350 for the doctor and medicine', and quarantined for 28 hours. Since I am over 65 with Medicare coverage, although I had travel insurance, my medical insurance was the first responsibility - and I had to send it to them. Travel insurance did not cover the illness!

Went on the Silhouette at the end of February. The Elite breakfast was in The Tuscan Restaurant and was ordered - we were told they are not allowed to do a buffet on carpet. Be sure to order the smoothies - they are very good.

It got even more confusing last September when the elevators near the taxi drop-off were broken and Prince William and Kate were visiting a block down the street!

Watch for OBC specials onboard - on our February Silhouette cruise there was extra OBC for booking the first two days of the cruise.

Also be aware that you can get the price reduced BEFORE final payment if the price goes down. My last two September cruises went way down in price from what I booked onboard. I watch the prices weekly.

My favorite Celebrity Elite and Elite Plus perk is free laundry - those of you who are Diamond can look forward to having 30 items each washed and folded free! It is great on the longer cruises now that the airlines are charging so much to bring luggage.

We have had smoothies at the Elite breakfast on several cruises. They are usually strawberry or mixed berry.

Elite and Elite Plus each get a number of free WIFI minutes on each cruise. Check your perk sheets for the coupons when you get onboard. I think I get 180 minutes as Elite Plus.

Ask the staff where they find free WIFI in ports. As I have travelled on the east and west coast cruises a number of cruise terminals have had free WIFI. I'm not sure about the Caribbean.

If you all like the water and boating, check out the tours with Captain Bob Cass. It is an entire day with swimming, snorkeling, a lunch at a beach restaurant and checking out the planes landing over the beach. The boats hold about 12 people and have three 300 horse motors that really move. Warning - it was really rough on part of our trip. I loved it - my travel friend did not!!!

You can also negotiate with the van drivers at the port for an island tour, then arrange to go to a beach for a while.

We had made a reservation before going on a cruise. We were able to book better pricing and OBC on board. However, strangely, they were not able to cancel the first reservation, and I had to cancel it when I got home. I transferred it to my TA and got the price reduced again because of new promotions. Then got it reduced a couple more times through the TA. I now book on board to get the reduced deposit and OBC, then watch to see the pricing at least weekly. Since we don't drink, use the spa or go on Celebrity tours, I gladly trade in the perks for reduced pricing.

If you don't get better pricing on board, you still have the reservation.

Two years ago we booked Ellis for a tour before flying home late in the afternoon. Our flight got cancelled and we were stranded in San Juan. He assured us we would be fine - and took us to hotels to get a room. Finally, through a friend's suggestion, we were able to get a B&B. He took us there, then after dropping off our stuff, he took us on a wonderful all day tour into the interior. We went to a town with an all day pig roast and dancing. We were actually welcomed by the band leader who noticed there were guests. The food was great.

Trust Ellis - you won't be sorry.