cyntil8ing

Yes, the AI packages mess it up when doing the one adult and one child in each cabin booking. If you want it, you’ll end up paying for everyone, but it doesn’t make sense for under 21.

We have booked multiple Celebrity cruises with mom and dad in one cabin and the kids next door. We get the AI package for only the adult cabin. We most recently booked onboard last week for an Easter cruise. 

Each time my kids have had to share a traditional pull out sofa bed, the room steward was kind enough to make it up with a common fitted sheet, but separate top sheets, blankets, and comforters. This gave them a more separated feeling. They survived without complaint.

This is insignificant, but an example of the differences between Carnival and Celebrity.
 

At the buffet, I have a hard boiled egg for breakfast each day. On Carnival, they’re loose in a pan and it’s nearly impossible to grab with the metal tongs. Nearly all the eggs are cracked from people trying to pick one up. Once you get one, it rolls around the plate, threatening to fall off. 
 

This morning on Celebrity Millennium, the eggs were on a bed of rice to prevent them from rolling around. There were plastic tongs so as not to crack them when picking them up. There were egg cups to hold them in place on the plate.

Not at all important in the grand scheme of things, just one of the small touches that often go unnoticed. 😀

3 hours ago, pzsdd6 said:

, as well as the way too many drunks staggering about the ship causing even more problems. I have never seen anything like that on Celebrity, no herds, no drunks, and definitely no fighting amongst the herds……

Oh, it happens! People are people everywhere. We are currently on Celebrity Millennium. Yesterday afternoon, a guy was telling us that he was so drunk the night before, his suite butler had to come help him get back to his room. Late last night, we saw him just sitting in the casino, not at a table or slot machine, but just sitting, and drinking. I expect his butler had to do it again! 
 

At dinner last night, two tables near ours were so loud that we told our waiter we were going to leave to go to the buffet. The manager came over and promised that their service would suddenly become so fast and efficient that they would be out of the restaurant in no time. And it was true! They put down their forks, the plates disappeared and the next course arrived. They all of a sudden became so busy eating, they were no longer yelling. We stayed and had a nice, leisurely dinner.

Free premium drink packages with suites can lead to bad behavior! I always share that the one and only fight I have ever seen onboard a ship was in the upper level of the dining room of the Celebrity Summit. I thought someone was going to go over the railing!

Platinum on Carnival. Elite on Celebrity. I’m currently on my first post-restart cruise with Celebrity, having a lovely time. The ship is less than half full and that is amazing. Never a wait for anything! Wish it could always be this way!
 

I have done two post-restart cruises with Carnival and was pleased with them both. All-in-all, at the non-suite level, they are not all that different. Celebrity has a few nicer touches. I think everyone should try both, assuming similar itineraries and prices, and make up their own minds. Getting ready to book another Celebrity onboard, but we also have an upcoming Carnival.

Timely! We are boarding Millennium on Saturday, and while onboard I plan to book this ship/itinerary for my family over Easter.

Enjoy! Bon voyage.

13 hours ago, jagoffee said:

This appears to be a cruise offering a cabin with a $0 supplement. Even on other categories of cabins.

I don't see how it is a $0 supplement. $629 avg/person compared to $312 avg/person. Seems like > 100%.

And don't even discuss the AI package! The single cabin would pay double for that too! Makes no sense.

2 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it.  Cabin upgrade (if possible) would be a nice feature.

That a Captain’s Club perk, available for any booking, not just onboard. There are some limitations, and it’s usually worth less than $20, but still appreciated.

I was pricing inside cabins on Silhouette for an Easter cruise and saw some. Better location, I guess, but no savings. 

46 minutes ago, bshafercruise said:

We have the Real ID from Indiana already. The crazy part about that is we had to provide all of the same information to the state of Indiana as we need to do for the passport. Why can't I just provide a copy of my ID to get the passport. State and Federal agencies need more cooperation. 

Real ID, the one with the star, proves residence, not citizenship. Green card holders can have Real IDs. Enhanced Drivers Licenses, the ones with the flag, prove citizenship. They're currently only available in MI, MN, NY, VT and WA.

To answer the original question, if it were me, I'd order the backup birth certificate now. When it arrives, I'd send it off for regular passport renewal. I'd plan on traveling with the other birth certificate, or the new passport if it arrives in time.

4 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

When we had 2 Pullmans as shown we split the regular/Lower bed making it into 2 Bunk Beds. Lot more room walk around and between this way

True, but I spend more hours sleeping, as opposed to walking around in the cabin, so I prefer them together so I can cuddle with my sweetheart each night . Not to mention that when the kids are in the kid’s club, it’s um, more comfortable when there’s time for mom and dad! 

54 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

Still, if he wants to do the beach  house, we will go and enjoy the family company.

Good for you! I miss traveling with my folks. They're both gone now, but we did a handful of cruises together. We had the opposite issue -- they owned a beach house and wanted us to come there. I didn't see it as a vacation because I still had to meal plan, grocery shop, make sure the laundry got done and the dishes were washed (even if I didn't have to do everything myself, I was still "responsible"). It took me years to convince them to cruise, but then they saw the value in it. They even cruised without us a few times.

You didn't mention the kids ages, but cruising with two littles isn't that bad, depending on the cabin of course. Here are two examples from our cruises, first a balcony with a pullman and the sofa as a bed, second an inside with two pullmans. Neither were awful, but the kids were small. They're teens now, so we get two cabins.

But honestly, comparing the cost of renting a house to a cruise is simply unfair. The house doesn't come with all your meals, all your entertainment, staff to cook and clean for you, entertainers to well, entertain you, kids clubs to keep the kids busy so the adults can relax, etc. 

Not to get all sexist, but I find it's mostly men who make this cost comparison, discounting that renting a house means all the housework continues; it just takes place elsewhere. 

14 minutes ago, kayehall said:

Can't get in to look at the excursions???  Only have link to "manage reservations" and not "planning reservations

 

Yeah, something changed. Go to https://www.celebritycruises.com/account/ then click on Plan my cruise.

On 10/4/2022 at 2:10 PM, cyntil8ing said:

Ship:  Millennium

Length of Cruise: 7 nights

Cruise Sail Date: December 17, 2022

Date email offer received: October 4, 2022

Captain’s Club Tier: ELITE

Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA

Current Cabin: Sky Suite S1

Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

 

General Comments (offer details, etc.): This is our first time using MoveUp. We usually travel as a family in two cabins and we want to stay together. But this is our first time in seven years traveling without the kids plus it is the spouse's birthday. Shhh, the change would be a surprise! I put in "fair" bids on Penthouse (none show available) and Royal Suite (2 available), but passed on the Celebrity Suite. We have never stayed in an upper suite.

 

Move Up Minimum bid amounts on offer:

Penthouse $1,500 pp

Royal Suite $800 pp

Celebrity Suite $600 pp

We got a Royal Suite for $1,500pp. I am so excited! I couldn't keep it a secret and spilled the beans to my husband.

A few weeks after the post above, there were no longer any RS showing available and I felt bad hoping someone would have to cancel for me to get a MoveUp. After another few weeks, a different one became available. It's that one that we got. We originally had one of the PS adjoining S1s, 6146. I imagine some lucky person will MoveUp into that soon. It's showing as available right now.

All told, our final price was $5k less than what the suite was selling for yesterday.

My mom had lymphedema in her legs and cruised with her pump multiple times. I don't believe she ever contacted anyone about it. 

54 minutes ago, atlast95 said:

We were on the Princess Excursion yesterday and the captain of the Golden Eagle III wasn't paying attention as we were sailing back to the cruise port and we were almost in a head on collision with an oncoming barge going full speed. Passengers started acreaming and the Captain  swerved at the last minute. We were hit hard on the side. Several passengers went down hard and one lady went into convulsions. Had to make an emergency stop so EMS could come on board.

Oh my goodness! That sounds awful. I hope everyone is ok.

We are scheduled for this via Celebrity in two weeks. I'll update if the excursion is canceled because of damage to the boat (or lack of a captain!).

5 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

we are elite plus on Celeb, so probably diamond plus on RCL....

 

The maximum cross-over is to Diamond.

Also, for kids that young, Celebrity is a great option. The kids clubs are very good, and not as crazy, especially during a holiday week. And they're not big enough to do all the attractions on RCCL anyway.

My kids have been on about 10 Celebrity cruises since they were 3 and 5. We were on Edge for Christmas 2019 and it was wonderful. Now that they're in their late teens, we mostly do Carnival and RCCL, but they still think of X as "home".

If you're sure of the cruise you want, book it now. Availability will never be better and you'll get any price drops before final payment (unless a price drop takes you out of Early Saver).

But if you're only sure you want to cruise for the holidays and aren't committed to any particular ship or itinerary, it may make sense to wait. Last year, with the restart, we hemmed and hawed about a holiday cruise and just couldn't make up our mind. We ended up booking in late October, when the cruise I had previously written off as too expensive dropped within our price range. That said, had it booked up or the price not dropped, we would have been home for the holidays. Last minute airfare wasn't an issue as we could drive to the port.

Royal Caribbean's pregnancy policy is less than 23 weeks to board. A premie born at 23 weeks would be about 12" long and about 1 1/4 pounds. "Mom and baby doing well" seems, um, not so accurate.

Best wishes to the family! I sailed at 21 weeks long ago without issue. My baby, born at 41 weeks, is now a college sophomore.

When my son was little,I bought him the cheap polyester tuxes on eBay. Now that he’s 16, we go up just a little, and he gets the fashion suits at Kohls. My hubby bought his tux for less than $50 at a fundraiser that had taken donations from a rental wear store. Nothing is great quality, but they sure do look handsome.

34 minutes ago, pinto18 said:

The problem is ( at least for me) is that I would just drink more to justify the cost. I normally don't buy milkshakes, spiked coffee etc. So I guess the way I think of it is if you on a normal cruise..when you are paying for every drink..  drink 5 plus alcoholic drinks, then its "worth it". We got it when we had a cheers promotion and it was only 120 extra for a 7 day..it was fun! But I think I drank too much lol

This is me too! My husband insists we get it, and it certainly is a convenience, but boy, do I end up drinking! At home, I drink mostly water, rarely soda, occasional wine, hardly ever cocktails. On a cruise, I find I rarely drink water because I have to get my money's worth.

On our cruise this summer, I started the day with a cappuccino, maybe a Mimosa if we went to dining room for breakfast. When we got back on the ship from the day's activities, I went to Red Frog for a rum punch. Then Serenity Bar for something frozen for sail-away. At the pre-dinner show, I would have an Appletini. At dinner, I would start out with a Prosecco, then a glass of something red with my meal, followed by another cappuccino with dessert. After dinner, another Appletini at the Comedy Show, then a Titos and Cranberry nightcap at the Casino Bar. It was a lot!

After a very busy day in Lisbon, we accidentally napped through dinner. Later on when we got to the Casino Bar, the bartender remarked that we were only on our second drink of the day. He asked if we were ok! 😄

They’re totally separate. You can’t combine. You could end up with one being accepted but not the other and being on the opposite end of the ship. There’s no way to give up one of the double cabins to go back to a quad. 

You should have received a confirmation of your bids via email. There are links to view/modify/cancel your bids in it.

2 hours ago, slewis7 said:

Looks nice but much higher pricing in late June.  I presume we are visiting in the high season.  Thanks for providing the link too. 😆

I see you found another good option, but I will follow up anyway. Our dates were in late July. However, we didn’t book until late May and used Priceline, so perhaps they were just trying to get rid of excess inventory at bargain prices. The web site prices were much higher. We originally booked a different hotel that had free cancellation, so we were able to switch last minute.

Enjoy your trip! Look into the London Pass if you want to do a lot of touristy stuff. It didn’t include the Eye, but it had everything else we wanted, plus some we didn’t know about. A surprise hit was the Ben Franklin Architecture tour. The house was literally around the corner from the hotel.

Here’s a link to my review - 12-day Northern Europe 7/31/22 Pride review