jenZ

FWIW: I found a reference and link to a water taxi on a private tour site. The water taxi site had a notice that they could no longer provide services to Fira dock due to legal issues.

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One difference between Concierge & regular room service breakfasts that I haven't seen noted: the eggs on regular room service are not fresh eggs ( liquid?). I found them inedible ( DH had no problem with them however). Since I had sailed concierge on S-class before and loved the eggs, I just assumed a change in process since my prior cruise. I didn't know there was an upgraded concierge breakfast menu! I have since read on other postings that this upgraded room service breakfast menu uses fresh eggs. If you enjoy breakfast on your balcony and enjoy fresh eggs then that alone may be a reason to go Concierge! Small pleasures make a great cruise! [emoji6]

Bbrule7- thanks for sharing some new information with the community! Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

I have read on these forums that it is easy to get a taxi at the port. One poster rented for a round trip and recommended to negotiate a certain number of hours along with the fee as they would have liked to have spent more time walking around. They stopped at more than one town. The drive time is close to 3 hours and is part of the charm of the trip. They recommended negotiating for 5 hours minimum. I don't recall the fee but it is less expensive than the private driver tours. Enjoy your cruise and visit to Taormina!

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I have read that Classic Captain's

Club members get 10% discount;

Select get 25%.

Hello- it may vary by cruise/ ship but for my upcoming 10 day cruise on the Reflection the packages are (I think- I may be off a bit on matching the dollars to minutes!):

$59 (90 mins?) ,

$109 ( 240 mins?),

$299 ( unlimited).

$59 daily unlimited

There will be coupons offering discounts on board. I think Captain's Club first level gets 10% and next level select gets 25% or something like that!

Hope this helps your planning. Enjoy your cruise!

Apparently there are certain walkie-talkies that work well on ships. Higher power or some such. Do a search for walkie-talkies and you should find the brand recommended. In my personal experience on S-class ships, regular ones ended up being worthless as location coordination tools; M-class may be different. Note, too, that the balcony glass divider can be removed between adjoining cabins and you can prop open the sliding glass door to have an audible if on the balcony. Enjoy your cruise with your family and your baby!

Loved both St. Lucia & Antigua. Both are beautiful in different ways, one of the best things about cruising the Caribbean- interesting geography and history. And we enjoyed the locals and their culture too.

St Lucia is lush and mountainous. The Pitons are an amazing geological force. We are not beach people either, in terms of sitting on the beach getting sun- but we are water people: our excursion in St Lucia is one of my favorite vacation memories- beautiful views from the boat ride to the Pitons and snorkeling at the base; then walk-out to the black volcanic sand beach with a island buffet lunch in a quiet thatched roof, open air porch high above the water. The architecture of the resort was beautiful, the views to the Pitons amazing, and the Caribbean food good and different. If you don't snorkel, you can just tread water with a mask held up to your face to look down at the fish. Not the best snorkeling ever ( it was a cloudy day) but the base of the black mountains made it exotic. And/or explore the resort and tropical forest around you and/or people watch from shore. It was very relaxing, and calming, not a beach body frenzy.

Antigua - a rocky and dry island with beautiful cliff views to the water. If you are a history, architecture or maritime enthusiast , you might enjoy Nelson's Dockyard, a restored naval station from the late 1700's. It was meticulously maintained in the colonial style of the period. We didn't want to leave!

It has been over 10 years since I visited so can't speak to the current local situation or excursions but I would bet the natural beauty is still there. [emoji6]And I still fondly recall our visit to Antiqua when I look at my beautiful blue-green bowl handmade by a local potter bought at the quaint cottages just off the port docks . It is true art- a unusual color and matte glaze that I have never seen duplicated anywhere else. Nothing like joyful reminders of a fun time!

Hi Chamima,

 

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing. We've heard rumors of faster Internet for a while now. I'm thrilled that it's happening, but you must ask... how on Earth wouldn't Celebrity be striking up the band on this ? At the very least, informing their Captains Club members via email, along with a timetable for each ship ?

 

I think this is pretty significant news. You would think Celebrity would too.

I suspect this is a 'soft' introduction as I have seen references to 'testing' the new system. Indeed, first hand evidence from onboard by senorjim indicates that it didn't work with older iPhones and iPads. I know on my home wireless internet when we got a new router, they had to tweak the settings to allow iPhone access, saying Apple products had a particular set of protocols. I have also read that the speed is affected by the location of the ship and is best with an equatorial route.

So until they have evidence In the field that all the systems are tweaked for effectiveness as advertised, it is probably prudent to not toot their horn yet or otherwise incur the sharp responses from the CC forum!!! [emoji43]

I did a dummy internet shopping cart for my May Med cruise on the Reflection. The banner says the 'fastest internet at sea' but I did not notice the Xcelerate branding. The promo photo is the same as the OP.

For our 10 day cruise, unlimited internet is $299. 240 minutes is $109. 90 minutes is $59 as is also unlimited for one day.

You can use the OBC for either gratuities or internet or whatever. So, on Aqua, Gratuities are $13.45 per person per day. For 9 days, that is only $242.10, so the $300 OBC is the better deal, use it to pay the gratuities and you have $57.90 left toward your internet.

 

 

 

Bottom line, OBC is a better deal than Gratuities, if total Grat is less than $300 for your number of sailing days. If beverage pkg is more than $300, take that.

 

 

 

-----------

Agreed.

 

To summarize- Go Better is a better deal for you. For $270 more you get $300 to pay your gratuities. , giving you $30 to pay towards your internet.

 

Go Big- select the drink package. ( $389 value to you. Plus $56.40 value for 6 alcohol beverages [emoji6])

 

Still to cover: $ 240 Gratuities + $ 400 unlimited internet for two

 

 

go Better-select OBC. Use $300 to pay your gratuities, leaving you $57.90 left in your on board credit. .

 

Then your Internet for two will now cost you $342.21 out- of- pocket.

We sailed with our college aged kids on the Silhouette and they had an ocean view cabin facing forward, on deck 8, center. The cabin seemed a bit larger floor space-wise, due to the angle of the outside wall. Overall though, it seemed smaller due to less natural light ( even though the window is large). You can't see out when sitting down, only when standing. The view is good ( but not as good as a balcony[emoji6]). Interestingly, on this ( Western Caribbean December cruise) the price of our balcony also on deck 8 went down to only $100 more than the ocean view. We decided not to upgrade the kids ( figured that $200 could be spent where they would appreciate it more, and to induce them to spend time with us on our balcony, which they did!). But for myself and DH the balcony is worth the extra dollars! And FWIW, we love the forward cabins on decks 7 or 8. We have never experienced significant motion ( in 4 cruises), are close to the elevators/stairs ( we would go up or down and walk to pool or dining via the public space corridors, loves the walks!), and LOVED watching the bridge and the docking process ( would not book a cabin forward on deck 10, 9? as it appears the bridge obstructs your views at port approaches and there is more of the feeling of being on display; admittedly the bridge crew can see you on your balcony on any of the forward deck cabins but it didn't bother us as we were a bit more removed-they were very friendly!) PLUS we enjoyed looking DOWN without obstructions (we enjoyed looking at the water motion plus at ports in the Caribbean, you could see fish! And the whole process of docking is visible and interesting). I know you didn't ask about the forward cabins, [emoji41] just saying that the $200 more per cabin than the forward ocean view cabin is well worth the money and I see benefits over other balcony locations as well!

Using the Rome 2 Rio app gives a simple overview of options with time & $. Then you can drill down to see schedules and more information for each option. At least it gets you started!

Playing around with the Rome 2 Rio app reveals the option to take the train or the bus through Taormina (which by all accounts is a destination in itself) then the train/bus to Mt Etna. It is very inexpensive - $5 or $6 for first leg of trip (no info on price or schedule on 2nd leg) The app lets you drill down to see more information about either choice- for example, train from Messina is every hour; bus is only 2x a day. Also tells you how long it takes. At least it gets you started. Pretty cool!

Hi all!

I have concierge booked on upcoming Reflection cruise and it was less expensive than Aqua class plus less expensive than regular veranda. Of course, this was after the third re-book to take advantage of lowest fares and the cabin choice availability was reduced. I still feel I got a good cabin! Especially for the fare reduction [emoji6]. The verandas were sold out so that is likely why the concierge (C3) was lower.

My question : the concierge perk I like best is the foot stools ( weird I know!). It appears that on the Reflection there are new concierge cabins on deck 9. Looking at photos has me thinking that these new concierge cabins don't have footstools.

Can anyone verify that? If no footstools in cabins on deck 9 concierge, do you think there might be some unused somewhere that if I ask nicely I might get one? [emoji41]

@adw234 "I do not believe that X is trying for the 20/30 demographic that is looking to party hard. My opinion is that the company is going after the young professional demographic that wants a high end relaxing vacation. And in case anyone is curious about what we wear on our high end relaxing vacations; the answer is dark skinny jeans, tucked in dress shirt, casual (unlined) sport coat, and leather dress shoes.'

So, do you wear socks? [emoji6]

I agree 100% - Evening Chic, allowing designer jeans, imho, does not diminish the special flavor of a ' dress up' night in a beautiful venue with great service. It is absolutely a demographic adjustment that happens with generational changes, on many levels ( not just dress!)

I think the key words are 'skinny' and 'chic'. Too much emphasis on 'jeans'.

What I find missing from the debate of whether designer jeans is a down grade and the beginning of the end of the 'Modern Luxury' feeling of the Celebrity brand, is how dress is partly dependent on your body type! Some of us, no matter what our age, simply do not look good in jeans! Hopefully those that don't, won't. I do believe that the qualifier of 'chic' helps self-select appropriate dress!

And those that do look good in designer/skinny/chic jeans- go for it! Hopefully you wear Ferragamo and Jimmy Choo shoes with Hermes watches and by virtue of your chicness I am elevated to another level of sophistication that I am not often exposed to in a small town. I feel more special just enjoying the way you look, while I wear simple black (body slimming!) long skirts and tops!

And I welcome the young professionals on my Celebrity cruises, even in jeans, as I welcome the opportunity to meet all interesting, educated, well-traveled, diverse people on all our cruises. I just hope those chic young 30-somethings find those of us old enough to be their parents interesting shipmates as well!

Enjoying your travelogue! The photos are some of the best I have ever seen. You have a very good eye. [emoji4] Your stories are equally good, with lyrical descriptions and insights to amplify the sense of anticipation for my upcoming visits to the same ports.

Wondering: what camera do you use ? ( as if...sigh)

And, how and why do you get photos without people? Do you wait or do you use the photoshop trick of multiple versions? Are there only tourists in the places you have visited? I enjoyed your observations about your day in downtown Athens!

Joshmansmom- on a Western Caribbean cruise on the Silhouette two years ago, my 18 year old daughter was issued a different color wristband indicating to bartenders that she was underage and no alcohol drinks could be served. She was able to get anything else without alcohol. The beverage package probably did not make sense for her, mathematically, but the ease of ordering any drink at any venue made the vacation more special. Smoothies, specialty coffees and bottled water were big hits. ( am I remembering correctly that with the classic beverage package you can have specialty waters?)

If she had been charging to our shipboard account i might have compulsively been running a mental tally of each, reducing the pleasure of just letting her make her own choices anytime, anywhere. Now my 24 year old son made up the difference for any perceived value loss- he was best friends with all the bartenders!

I believe the drinking age laws of the ship's registry country prevail, not the drinking age in the port

Interesting concept: Celebrity as bank to avoid carrying cash or having to find ATMs at ports. My question : is it a good system to get cash from Guest Relations in Euros? I paid for my cruise in USD and would buy refundable OBC using USD credit card.

Has anyone worked out the math on the exchange rates vs conversion charges on USD to Euros for Celebrity Euro purchases vs port bank purchases?

Thanks in advance for any insights. (Prefer not to worry about directions when I am on vacation! Plus looking for a way to manage port cash flow as many tour operators request cash!)