maggipie
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Posts posted by maggipie
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Thank you all for your helpful comments!I agree that it didn't seem consumer friendly for the warranty to have expired well before the computer even saw the light of day, but she was very insistent so I slunk away. Buoyed by everyone's advice, I returned today (the Apple Store is only 10 minutes away), and spoke with a manager who could not confirm that Celebrity was an authorized reseller (😖) and told me again the MacBook Pro I bought was showing originally purchased 1/15/2020 in their system, so definitely out of warranty, despite my physical receipt showing purchase date this June.But, you all are right, it's painful to be dinged $700 for a 3 year old MacBook, so thanks graphicguy, I called Apple Support and discovered the folks on the phone were much more knowledgeable than those in the store (guess face to face is not always better); they did not question Celebrity's reseller status, and updated the purchase date after reviewing a picture of my receipt. So now the repair should be under warranty, which is much easier than going after Celebrity (and I had definitely intended to do that!).My NR OBC was a several thousand dollar windfall; there was a significant fare decrease just after final payment along with a fortuitous cancellation in the cabin category we booked, so I feel this was truly a gratis laptop, a reward for me checking that one lucky day. (And I have a same year MacBook Air, thought I'd try out a bigger screen.)So warranty info relayed to me at the Apple Store was indeed wrong, thanks everyone for that correction, though probably still wiser to spend NR OBC elsewhere, unless the hassle of possibly needing to have an older device repaired doesn't faze you!
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This is my PSA for those of you with lots of non refundable OBC thinking you can get an Apple something ... probably you shouldn't, especially if it's old stock. (If you do, be sure to open it up and check it out before you disembark so you can return it if it's a dud!)I am just off Summit, had a lot of OBC thanks to Best Offer Guarantee, so bought a (2019) 16 inch MacBook Pro for $2199 (saved $200 with their "sale.") Reading up here on CC, I saw if available, Apple stock was mostly older products being sold, and also saw riredsox's Feb post of the drained battery on a MacBook Pro purchased on Constellation. Sure enough, the one I got refused to turn on and refused to charge. After some online research, I figured the battery can be replaced for $200 which is less than what tax would have been if I bought it at an Apple Store at home.I took it into an Apple Store today and turns out it's not a simple battery replacement; after some manipulation in the store trying to reset it, it was determined it was utterly dead. Seems the drained battery was out so long that internal damage occurred, and it now needs to be repaired ... for $678. The person helping me thought I was a huge dummy to spend that much money on an older MacBook Pro when the newer/2022 MacBook Pro with a better chip was only $300 more than what I paid; my dummy status changed only a little when I told her Apple Store doesn't take OBC.Also, I learned that the one year warranty for Apple products bought onboard works this way: the clock starts when Celebrity buys it from Apple. This MacBook Pro was purchased from Apple Jan 2020, so its warranty expired Jan 2021, regardless of that fact that Celebrity is an "authorized reseller." So my Celebrity receipt stating "Manufacture warranty valid one year from date of purchase" is erroneous, since this applies only to Celebrity's date of purchase, not my date, and the link for more info on that receipt gives specific details only for products purchased from an Apple Store, not an authorized reseller.Hope this helps those of you with NR OBC trying to decide between specialty dining, excursions, spa or MacBook Pro ...
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4 hours ago, Thrak said:
Just FYI... The link in that post has expired and no longer works.
I used princess.com/refund-request, which redirects to
https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/customerCare.page?type=refund&topic=1
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23 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:
I’m quite surprised they’d didn’t test your husband and son, nor limit their activities on the ship. There is certainly no standardization among the ships in how COVID is handled.
I was also surprised the nurse didn't test them. When I spoke to her on the phone, I told her we were a family of 4, but she came up with one test, just for me. She really didn't ask us many (medical) questions either, maybe because we were (relatively) younger.
I am guessing our better experience on Majestic was because there were a fewer number of passengers/crew in isolation, compared to some of the other experiences detailed.
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19 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:
Sorry to hear you and DD were sent to quarantine. I have been following numerous threads on the Princess boards from other ships. Quarantine passengers are reporting very poor service during quarantine. How was service on the Majestic quarantine deck?
Hope you are both feeling better soon.
I'd rather we not have been sent there, but it wasn't as scary as some of the other threads I read!
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Thanks everyone for your well wishes! We're both doing fine, mainly congestion and some coughing. DH and DS remain asymptomatic, and tomorrow they'll both get a PCR test, 5 days from our drive up (we all wore N95's for the drive).
My best to those of you heading out soon, I sincerely hope you are spared the Catch-Covid-on-your-Cruise experience!
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10 hours ago, Grover_ said:
@maggipie I’m so sorry you and your family had your vacation interrupted by covid. I hope you are feeling better.
I am wondering if your daughter is of an age where she would have spent time in the kids club? If so, do you think she may have picked it up there?
My daughter got kicked out of the kids' programs a couple years ago but she's still my little girl 😍
We were being SO very Covid anti social; in fact, DS still qualifies for the kids program but he did not go.
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16 hours ago, SomewhereGirl said:
Thank you for posting! I'm relieved to hear renting a car or selecting your own hotel was an option. The letter noted reimbursing the contracted rate if selected your own hotel. Did anyone helping you say anything about reimbursement for the rental car? Just curious.
Yes, our guest services liaison said save all receipts, so on that online form (thanks again Cruise Raider!), I submitted receipts for car rental, gas and lunch, which is probably minuscule compared to what it would cost to keep our family of 4 down in LA until we could fly back on Wednesday!
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18 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:
@maggipie: Thank you for sharing your experience. I'll be on the Majestic in two weeks, so your experience especially hits home. It's nice to know, for both me and your party, that you all were treated relatively well.
I have two questions, if you're feeling up to it and have time:
- Were you ever tested again by ship personnel? If so, did you get a confirmed positive?
- Has this experience put Princess on your no-go list permanently? I know it's a snap reaction, but I've found snap reactions are often the best ones.
Thanks again and get well soon.
1. No, we were not tested again, and for the positive test that was our ticket to the quarantine cabin, the nurse did a cursory glance at our antigen test that was sitting on the desk and remarked "That is positive all right!" Guess she thought it would be nuts for anyone to fib their way into isolation. Since we returned home, we've both had a PCR test for official confirmation, should we need it the next 90 days.
2. No, we're still good with Princess! If Eclipse had sailed, Covid could've snuck up on us there too. Plus Port of SF is just 25 miles north ... much closer than any of our prior Celebrity ports.
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19 hours ago, kb4683 said:
@maggipie Sorry this happened to your family cruise. Glad the symptoms are/were mild.
Could you please direct me to Cruise Raider’s post that you mentioned? (Title of thread, post #, etc.)
Thank you.
Cruise Raider posted a letter addressed to guests (post #6), under "Caribbean Princess cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver for tomorrow cancelled"
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19 hours ago, STCKcruises said:
Really helpful info and all the best for a speedy recovery. Did all 4 of you have to move to the isolation cabin or just the positive one plus you by choice? Were the negative ones allowed to continue as normal?
The only one required to quarantine was my daughter, but she looked so very sad there was absolutely no way I would have let her go alone!
A word on testing, when I called down to report DD's positive test, the nurse I spoke to asked me to test myself too, but I figured Princess had a lot more antigen tests than the few we brought, so I requested she test me, which she did, but after my negative test, she did not offer to test DH and DS (all three of us were asymptomatic). The negative testing for both was with our antigen test stash. She also did not give clear instructions on what DH & DS could/could not do, so they just followed the current CDC recommendations for close contacts.
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Follow up, FWIW- returned from our cruise .... with Covid 😞 and ironically, our quarantine cabin was a deluxe balcony with a couch (even adjoining, but Covid spared DH and DS) ... this is the epitome of a "be careful what you wish for" lesson.For those who have found this thread because you are using CC for research as I often do, here are my takeaways from Princess vs Celebrity (with consideration to post pandemic having some influence on certain aspects).More alike than different, staff everywhere always friendly and helpful.We found food to be better on Celebrity, though we did appreciate the pizza in Alfredo's Pizzeria. Our only SD was Crown Grill, we could not do Bistro Sur La Mer because of quarantine (though you can actually order from specialty restaurants to your room with your app ... retrospectively, guess I should have), and Harmony didn't have anything super appealing.No cold towels in the gym (are they still there post pandemic?).Shower curtains do not cling (whew!)Balconies small (for our BB category anyway, though opening up the divider made for a nice long balcony).Self laundry turned out to be a big plus even though this was a short 7 day cruise. On Celebrity, we have 5 free bags of laundry amongst us, soon 6 when DS turns 18, but it was very nice to have everything back in ~2 hours, if you are a clean clothes freak like me (since this was a staycation cruise, I wasn't missing much to make that trip to the laundromat).All other points in prior posts are more or less true; capacity on our cruise was ~1850, so theater wasn't crazy crowded, no fistfights! MUTS wasn't fun because it was too cold (timing!), even bundled up in blankets. Vines was great, enjoyed some nice tapas there. 24 hour IC wasn't utilized; DS just ordered burgers and fries with the app when he got hungry after dinner. And thanks to you CC folks, it wasn't often, since when he was really hungry, he knew to ask the waiter for double entrees at dinner ($10 charge only in SD).The medallion IS nice to unlock your cabin door as you approach but I think the biggest plus about Princess is being able to order food and drinks with the Medallion app, delivered to wherever you are, most appreciated when DD and I were stuck in quarantine the last 2 days of the cruise (but it was also handy when my drink was forgotten at dinner earlier in the cruise, I just ordered another on my app). Thanks again to chamima for your special drink recipe, and I was happy to discover both the Flamingo and French Martini, consoling especially after our family was split up.My appreciation again to all fellow Celebrity cruisers who contributed your 2 cents on Princess faves! (As now we've got FCC for the next Princess cruise ... )
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Hi all, sharing our experience since reading about others' on CC was so helpful.We are long time Celebrity cruisers, and when Eclipse was cancelled, we decided to change our staycation itinerary/first cruise since pandemic over to Majestic.We're a family of 4, all vaccinated and boosted, and knew the risks going in, but we (okay, really, I) missed cruising and thought for sure we would not be a casualty. We were meticulously careful, wearing our KN95's everywhere (many other cruisers did not), except when we sat down to eat, so just goes to show, nothing is 100%.We boarded Saturday 3/26 and were enjoying exploring a new ship/line; Thursday DD said she had a sore throat, so I tested her with an antigen test we brought along. Uh oh, positive. I called down to Medical and the nurse came up to test me, I was negative, and DH and DS were negative as well. I didn't want DD to quarantine alone, so accompanied her to our new Dolphin cabin (deluxe balcony/cat DB, for those wondering).So the good news is that we did feel well taken care of. We were able to order food and drink from the Medallion app, including from specialty dining, and at meal times, you can call room service to order off the MDR menu. The two times we did not order (lunch Friday and breakfast morning of disembarkation), a meal just showed up.We had a specific guest services person to talk to, to help arrange our travel home. We did not want to quarantine in an LA area hotel for another 3 days, preferring to rent a car to drive home, and they offered complimentary phone calls to help arrange that, but I was able to reserve online. We've been booking air with the cruise lines since the pandemic (3 cancelled cruises, last 2 cancelling air was so easy with Celebrity just cancelling for us), and this one, super easy too, Princess cancelled the return flight for us. They also arranged private transportation (at their expense) to the car rental agency (which was by LAX). Disembarkation was a bit disorganized, we were told we'd be escorted down at 9 am, and would meet DH and DS just outside the ship. But no one came for us until close to 9:30, then we were asked to walk out to the very rear of the ship, towards the USS Iowa (ship personnel handed us off to a port person, who had no idea where the other half of our family was), where our car was supposed to be waiting (it wasn't) and we had to tell DH and DS to walk towards us. The driver apparently was waiting there for an hour before leaving, but eventually did return for us, and the person escorting us waited with us (vs abandoning us!).I was told to save all receipts and call the 800 Princess number to follow up for reimbursement, but as many of you know, that call is a time suck nightmare, and the two people I eventually talked to, could not help me, instead, both sent me to "Customer Solutions" where I was on hold so long I had to give up. I appreciated Cruise Raider's post with princess.com/refund-request link (helped me decide to give up on holding), which I used to submit our info. They are obviously extremely busy, because it took multiple attempts before it was accepted (I kept getting a message saying "Service request cannot be created at this time, please try again later"), and I received an email saying standard processing time is 4 to 6 weeks.Hope this helps those of you with cruises planned, as I am sure, just like us, no one is expecting to be part of the dreaded Covid positive cruise ship statistics. (As of now, just me and DD, and it's like a head cold, so we're okay.)
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Many thanks, everyone else, for all the additional tips; pizza and Vines and 24 hour IC (son will love that!) appear most popular! I also like the idea of smaller size plates, though even with Celebrity's "larger" plates, we've done our share of "for the table" when the decision was just too difficult. And good to know about arriving early due to smaller theater size ... I don't want us involved in any fistfights, yikes! With all the virtual meetings that have come about with Covid, you'd think theater offerings could be "live streamed," not the same experience, of course, but better than no experience, or getting a black eye angling for the experience 🤕I will add a few comments for flights (typically we do air ourselves, but with Covid, it was great to have Celebrity Air for the last two cancelled cruises): I agree it is nice on EZ Air to change online directly (vs having to call Celebrity). I also like how I was able to select seats on EZAir, couldn't do that with Celebrity Air. However, because our two Princess cabins couldn't be under one booking, our flights needed to be under two separate reservations.Speaking of no couch (I did notice that), another booking two cabin issue is that connecting deluxe balconies (with said couches) couldn't be booked, because that category was only available guarantee, but not sure if this was only applicable to this Majestic cruise. So instead of $2K more for connecting mini suites (that was the airfare for our redeye flight to FLL!), some of that money saved on our connecting standard balconies (fistfights for the single chair in our cabin is okay, and fingers crossed the shower curtains will not cling as much as I fear they will cling) will now help fund more meals in the SRs you all recommended so highly.Neither of the above is relevant for those of you who only book single cabins, but that's not our current situation; though I do dream, not only of the day when the kids attain financial independence, but also of a time when DH and I might be the 3rd and 4th pax in their iconic suite 🥳🥳
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On 2/14/2022 at 5:54 AM, jagoffee said:
11. Have the “kids” check out the young adult club. Our Grandson meet some really nice people on our Alaska cruise.
jagoffee, thank you for your detailed list, and especially the idea about the young adult club. Sadly, Covid stole these few young adult cruising years from DD, but DS will finally be permanently banned later this year from all kids programs, so he is young adult eligible very soon. I wonder how many other teenagers out there miss cruising as much as he does?
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On 2/14/2022 at 5:06 AM, chamima said:
PS - If you find out the ingredients for those two drinks above I'm sure you'll find a bartender who will be happy to make them for you. 😉
chamima, thank you for your suggestion of asking my future favorite Princess bartender to make my much missed Spicy MangoTini but it has special mango foam from WCB (thus can't be replicated on E class), but I think a Mint Cookie is definitely doable! 🤩
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2 hours ago, miched said:
What did you miss? Not sailing on a Celebrity cruise
Why ask this in the Celebrity forum?
Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
Your addition wins least helpful comment.I know what I will be missing with Eclipse being cancelled on me; I was looking forward to Spicy MangoTinis from Sushi on Five, Mint Cookies from Slush, more laundry opportunities than we could possibly use on a 7 day cruise, and enjoying the unique happiness that is the Martini Bar. (Ugh, sounds like we just drink and get clothes dirty when we cruise ... but it's not limited to that!)I was soliciting suggestions from cruisers who appreciate Celebrity as much as I do, who have the experience with Princess that I don't, to allow more insightful comparisons, than what would be offered from pure Princess aficionados ... so best forum for that is this one, as you can see from all those above who gave excellent advice.Happy cruising to you too-
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Thank you so much everyone for your words of (Princess) wisdom! I know what we love about Celebrity, and wanted to hear unbiased 😉 opinions of what might be better on/what not to miss with Princess. Not so bad to be newbies, armed with very much appreciated advice from the Celebrity crowd 😍
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Eclipse California Coastal cancelled, so our family of 4, cruising Celebrity almost exclusively the last ~2 decades, after considering the additional $2K+ airfare (hmm ... where are the "$299 flights" 🤔) for a redeye to board Reflection for a same date Caribbean itinerary, decided to keep with our original staycation plans, and now will be boarding Majestic Princess instead.Very disappointed initially since we were so eager for our first restart cruise post Covid (with the lucky coincidental kids' spring break 2022 this year), but now we are looking forward to this relaxing/non port intensive itinerary to introduce us to a new line. We're easy to please and open to anything. Any recommendations from fellow cruisers who love both Celebrity and Princess, on what your favorite unique-to-Princess things are?I already have MUTS as #1, and #2, a Toasted Almond Martini, delivered, via the Medallion app 😊TIA!
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We have celebrated many anniversaries onboard; this was on Equinox, I am sure you will be recognized for your 45th! 😊
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Hi isdoo!
Captain's Club - My two kids grew up cruising Celebrity (starting 2003), and Celebrity kept track (glad they did, because I wouldn't have thought to ...) When my daughter turned 18 and signed up, she was instant Elite, and son is expecting same next year. We've been on NCL and RCI, but their absolute favorite has always been Celebrity; both loved Celebrity's kids program much more over programs of the other lines. I agree that on many cruises, they have preferred time there over time with parents ( ... so more time at the Martini Bar for us 😁)
Internet - Last cruise 6/2019 on Edge, in a CS, they both had internet access without an extra fee (even though when we booked, it was only for two ... and we didn't question this!). Even if you miss out on "complimentary" internet, when we've used on a prior cruise, it was for one device at a time, so you don't necessarily need to buy an additional plan unless you plan on using simultaneously on more than 2 different devices.
App - They both downloaded the app onto their own phones; handy to have them check things themselves instead of always asking.
First Time Sailing Tips - It would be helpful if you share how old your children are? (Though I am very near the expiration date of being able to share thoughts on "cruising with children.")
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Our family (with a then 13 and 17 yo) was fine in an S2 on Equinox 2 years ago for a B2B, though I agree it probably depends on family dynamics ... we're usually so busy with work/school, isolated in separate rooms at home, that we all enjoy cozy quarters on our vacay (son even said so!). Sharing one bathroom wasn't a problem. But the size of your teens might be a factor; this summer, with pretty much adult sized teens now, we were in a CS on Edge and it was definitely roomier, but still cozy!
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Sushi on 5's Spicy MangoTini is my all time favorite martini onboard the S class ships, and I've been able to order them "to go" many times pre dinner/pre show from the host. If the spillover Cafe al Bacio tables in front of Sushi on 5 are free, you could sit and enjoy your drinks there. As miched hinted, you could also sit at WCB after Sushi on 5 took your order ...
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Sorry to be a downer, but don't get too excited. We were in a Celebrity Suite on the Edge June 5, and Tanji contacted me early May. I only asked for a few things: isotonic pillows, mattress topper, Sprite and cherry syrup so the kids could make their own Shirley Temples (we had the premium alcoholic package, kids had the classic nonalcoholic package and on prior cruises, our butler cleared out the fridge and replaced it with our drinks of choice within our plan), and condensed milk for our coffee/tea. I even offered to bring my own condensed milk if she didn't think it could happen, but she assured me it wouldn't be a problem. Not one request was addressed, and at our raised eyebrows on the first day, our butler said "Some people even bring a printout of their emails with the shoreside concierge" as if to say the audacity of some people! Our attendant did get us the isotonic pillows, but none of our other requests happened. We were disappointed, but we didn't push it; we didn't really need any of the other things to enjoy our family time on holiday. I hope you have better luck!
Upper Suite Benefits
in Celebrity Cruises
Posted
We won't be on Solstice until March, but already received an email last month from:
Zora Breazeale
ConciergeZora@celebrity.com
1.877.RETREAT (Prompt #3)
And re gelato, on our Summit cruise in June, it was hit and miss, but no big deal, we signed when asked to, and stellar retreat concierges Mar & Penelope were on the lookout to take care of the (many 😁) charges that appeared.