kearney

I have noticed that if you used a travel agent, they tend to notify them instead of you. Celebrity now has a page on their website where they note itinerary changes. It can be reached by going to home page and then look at the very top.. there you can click and see the changes. I am not sure that they go out this far. But from what I have read St Maarten was very very heavily damaged and there are those that question not just when it will be back but if it will ever come back. Now I assume that since it has been so popular, it is in the best interest of the Netherlands, France and the cruise lines to help them get back as quickly as possible. It is one of my preferred stops. St Thomas may have similar problems.. but hopefully the US will help them along with PR to get back in shape... since there economies rely on tourism.

I am so frustrated with the Celebrity website that I thought I would post a thread that people could provide input. Perhaps someone will consider the ideas.

1) Font size for some info is too small. Reduce copy if necessary to allow larger font. For example the Itinerary changes noted at the top of the page are easy to miss

2) I received the new itinerary for Edge... if you wanted to see sailings and perhaps yes perhaps book... they had a place to click that dumped you on a page with no idea where to go next

3) Finally found the page with Edge sailings but you had to click on each one to get an idea of where the ship was sailing. Suggestion... instead of the pretty pictures... many of which are duplicates... how about a map showing all the stops.... I know very predictable... everyone does it.... but everyone does it for a reason... it works.

4) often I receive an email noting a deal then a click here button.... but I never see the deal again.

5) If you like to sail a particular ship, you should be able to quickly sort for cruises on that ship

6) Do you offer senior or other discounts.... how about doing what RCCL does and allow people to enter that info to get an updated price that reflects any discounts.... I have had to go to an agent to book inorder to make sure I get the best price possible... with RCCL I found that their best pricing generally matched what I could get with an agent.... I often went with RCCL because I could make various reservations online for the trip.

Here are a few ideas.... anyone have any others?

If you go the the Celebrity website... at the very top in about a size 4 font... it says "Caribbean Itinerary Modification Alert". If you click there the next page lists each sailing... just click on the ship and appropriate sailing and they will show an original and revised itinerary. Nicely lays out the changes.

We were on the Equinox Sept 15 sailing. Remember Irma? Well we had planned to drive from Atlanta to Orlando and then on to Miami.... but after Harvey we were a bit concerned about gas supply.... particularly when gas stations near are home ran out of fuel a few days before Irma hit Florida. I decided to pull out the travel insurance... we went with the classic plan... slightly better than the basic plan. I purchased it more out of concern for medical issues..but recalled some other protections. Well I discovered that it doesn't help much if the cruise actually happens. So as the storm headed over Cuba, I began to wonder... what happens if it misses Miami... and thus the cruise can dock and therefore depart again.... and we are stuck on the road with 6million people heading back to south florida... and gas shortages? So Saturday the day before it came ashore, I looked at airfares and found that they were actually quite reasonable... so I booked airfare (purchased cancellation insurance... just in case). Next issue was the hotel we planned to stay in never answered their phones... the Hampton Inn telephone rep was helpful in securing a room. All worked out.... but I learned more about travel insurance and realized that I had to do everything I could do to get to the ship.... or lose out on my funds. The interesting thing is that despite the smell of mildew at the Miami airport the rest of the trip worked out perfectly... flights on time, hotel open (although apartment building next door was still without power). The cruise itself was terrific. In fairness to the OP.... the stress I was under (and all other passengers), was significant.... and the lack of information on whether the cruise would leave or not was frustrating.... but deep in my heart of hearts I knew that they could not tell us anything because they did not know. It is important that PR get tourists back. How can they rebuild without income coming in... both to individuals and to the many small businesses. We are scheduled to be on the Nov 26 Silhouette sailing which will over night it in San Juan.

That would be Accenture since they hired Accenture as the "consultants" to develop the new site.

We took our first Celebrity cruise back in Sept. They are lucky to have gotten our business at all... the web site is beautiful but not functional and don't get me started on their font size selection.... particularly when discussing itinerary changes. Fortunately for them I found and booked a cruise on a travel website... at least there I could navigate easily. Not sure what the problems are... perhaps it is browser related... but a large company should be able to develop a site that works on all the major browsers... had to vent

I was thinking about a transatlantic cruise.... great pricing, interesting places.... until I looked into airfare. One problem was that the fares were not yet posted because I was a bit over a year away... so I looked at the furthest out... the fare for one person was about $3000. It is just difficult for me to spend $6000 (without hotels etc) just for airfare... more than takes away any savings on the cruise itself. Now where it makes fabulous sense is if you are one of those lucky people who spends 6 months in Europe and six months in Florida.... because cruising home and back vs flying... well now that is a deal... plus food and entertainment for a lot less than the cost and hassle of flying

A year ago we sailed out of Tampa and met a group of delightful Germans. They were on a Back to Back cruise... the next week the ship was headed to Europe. They purchased inside cabins for a low rate... particularly given the length of the trip. They would sail from Florida to Europe in the spring and back again in the fall ... for less than the cost of airfare and they had a great cruise. The thought of a transatlantic crossing sounded appealing... and I found a great itinerary and great fare and was close to booking... but I just needed to get an idea on airfare to get an idea on total cost.... well as I recall when I first looked a ticket from ATL to Ft Lauderdale and back from Copenhagen... was around $3000... just checked again and it is $2600 per person... I just can't justify spending that much on airfare...oh and this is coach tool. I

Looks like Liberty is now underway heading to Miami. Ironically I see that two of Carnival's ships (Valor and Freedom) are still heading towards Galveston. I wonder if they are reconsidering this plan.

I was unaware of this new policy. We have sailed on about 15 RCCL cruises and were wondering if we should consider other lines. Does anyone else have a similar policy? Thanks

Seems to me this would encourage waiting until the 90 day period and if you do so, just go with the best deal at the time. Just pricing cruises to say Alaska... relatively last minute cruises seem a touch cheaper than ones next year... why book in advance... unless you desire particular cabin location.... am I missing something

Captains usually do a good job of keeping the ship out of a hurricane. I will say that the two times we were supposed to go to Grand Cayman there was a last minute change.... once it was because of a hurricane and the other was heavy winds. You tender to shore there so if the winds are strong, they likely will not go there. It has been a few years, I don't think they have a pier. Not sure if they will replace that stop with another... they did not do that for us... just a sea day.. I remember one cruise when we were being chased by hurricane Dennis.... we had to go around Cuba to head towards Miami.... when we woke up in the morning and checked the navigation channel on the TV, I swear we were going faster than the top speed the Captain had told us the ship could do. I speculated that they must have been throwing stuff off the ship to increase our speed. Well we successfully out ran the storm. And it made a good story. I have a tendency towards sea sickness... but had no problems on most of our stormy sailings..... We had a great time regardless of the weather... so much to do on the ship.

Loved the info in the blog, very helpful. We did Hubbard Glacier early in the season and at the time there was quite a few calving incidents... I suspect that calving activity depends upon the time of the year, and temperature. We lucked out when we went in May... we were told it was one of the only times the crew had been able to see the top of the mountains...

I asked on their facebook page, around March 6... they first said about a year before... that was obtuse so I told them I was planning on booking something... then they said that they would begin revealing itinerary by the end of this week so around March 10...

Also a frugal RC Diamond cruiser trying Celebrity for the first time. We will be on Equinox in Sept. I am wondering what the hours are for the cocktail reception. Also, what are the specialty restaurants and what are the extra costs for these. On boarding day do these offer special prices on night one, like on RC ships? We are so used to the routine on RC, are there any special entertainment areas we should be aware of? Thanks a lot

We have a routine when we sail. We like to dine at a specialty restaurant around sun set on the first night.... one with a view. alas Oasis class has only one specialty restaurant that has some sun set ambiance... and that is the Solarium Bistro. First night specialty restaurants tend to be quiet vs other nights, so it is a good night to have dinner and enjoy sun set. We enjoyed the dinner we had on Oasis, as I recall it was light and healthier than say a big steak, and it was very quiet, no wonder they are experimenting with fee structure. It is a bit far away from the bars and other dining options... so it may be forgotten as an option.

If you wait until you board you can try to get a deal for dinner on the first night. You might see if you can get it for half off.

Wow I had no idea. I guess I never checked the port cams this time of year. The town seems small for so many tourists... what is it like when there are this many ships in town?

I like to periodically look at port cams for various ports. Today I noticed 5 ships at St Maarten. I can't recall ever seeing so many ships at this port. Three of them are RCCL ships - Oassis, Anthem and Navigator. Is there a storm or construction at another port... eg did hurricane Matthew damage one of the other ports. Just curious. I haven't looked at the port cams in a few months. Thanks

I would agree with avoiding buffets... windjammer and the breakfast buffet in the main dining room.

Really you were compensated for Noro virus? We sailed on NCL a few years ago... first my husband got sick so I stayed with him... lost almost two days... then near end of cruise I got it... quarantined again. Missed most of the stops... I gained a new appreciation for a balcony cabin (at least you can look at something when stuck in the cabin) and a bathroom with a tub..( to place all the dirty towels and sheets -- we were really sick). We were actually charged for medication.... later they credited us for this... but no other compensation. Honestly I did not even consider asking for it... since you can get Noro virus anywhere. However, if you get it in a hotel... likely you aren't even there when it hits you.. so people dont associate it with hotel or restaurants.

I think it depends on the new cruisers interests. If they are active, like participating in sports... consider trying the flow rider, the zip line, the climbing wall... look into basket ball and check out the gym. (I am a old fart so these are not of interest to me). If they are into food... look into one of the specialty dinner packages and check out Vintages wine bar. If he is adventuresome... investigate the on shore excursions. If they just like to relax... well bring your allotted two bottles of wine on board and sit out on the balcony and look into the spa offerings...If they like entertainment... check out all the shows... but consider going to Quest and the Marriage Game which are always very entertaining. The comedy club fills up quick so get a reservation in early for the club, most other shows you can get in even without a reservation, you may need to wait a bit.

The nice thing about RCL cruises is that there is something for everyone. You might even check out an art auction... just for fun or get a tour of the ship.. There is an all access tour for about $150 that you could send him on... if you think he is interested in the bridge and engineering aspect of the ship... he might enjoy that. Oh and there is a trivia pursuit game that goes on at the Schooner bar if he is into that.... you might even win a key chain!!

Hope this helps

We did the inside passage a number of years ago in May. We hit unusually nice weather. the ship was the Radiance. I can't speak for NCL ships but the Radiance class is perfect in my view for an Alaskan cruise. you have great views of the outside from most if not all of the public areas... and when you are sailing the passage you dont want to miss a thing, so it is nice that even at the main elevator you can see out. We have been sailing the caribbean on the Oasis class ships and while I love the class there are limited views outside the ship. Radiance is one of my favorite ships.. have fun

Isn't the cruise a chance to get AWAY from the election?

 

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Exactly! I was telling DH we should plan a cruise during the election to get away from it. If I thought it was going to be broadly broadcasted across the bars in the ship... I would not want to go. Bad enough that they have CNN on the ship... but at least I can turn to another program :(

Sorry to hijack but this is our first time on a cruise (first ever vacation actually) so thank you for the detailed post.

 

Does this mean that if we want water or soda with a meal we will be charged for it? Even if the place we are eating is not a specialty restaurant? If so, I'm wondering if there is somewhere we can buy a case of water and some apple juice for our kids to leave in our room?

Yes soda at any restaurant is an added charge. Tap water at dinner is part of the service. I am hoping others will post an answer to your question about juice. You can not bring water on board... there is a package that includes bottled water, see the link below it goes through the alcohol and non alcohol packages. I think I have read something about getting small milk cartons from the windjammer to have in your room... but I am not sure about juice boxes.... Perhaps another cruiser can provide more info on this topic...

You can get orange juice, not fresh squeezed, at breakfast... in either the main dinning room and windjammer... fresh squeezed is extra. FYI at lunch time the windjammer have, iced tea and things like lemonade, kiwi drink of some sort.. Fruity... one of my few complaints is that these are watered down. But since I am in a perpetual state of attempted weight loss... that does not bother me all that much.

http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/shared_assets/pdf/menus/beverage_packages.pdf

And as long you don't have any "man overboard" situations during your cruise where you circle for hours and hours and hours looking for the waiter or room attendant who leaped because he couldn't take it any more .. or the drunk college girl who leaped after the fight with her boyfriend .... then you should be fine!

You must have been on the October 2015 cruise where the guy decided to leave the ship early... I can't recall what time we arrived.... but I think it was closer to 7:30 or 8.

I don't like spending the day before the end of the cruise trying to figure out how I am going to make the flight. I was on one cruise were there was an issue with customs arriving ontime.

Has anyone tried "Old Heidelburg" which is on W State road 84.... west of the Crown Plaza hotel. It looked interesting.

I have another idea for your first night. Because of the design of the Oasis class, there are few views of the ocean from public areas such as restaurants. We ate one early evening at the Solarium Bistro. First of all there were few passengers there, so we had a lot of attention. Also you can see the ocean from there, so it was really nice to have dinner during sunset in a restaurant that was very empty. One of the cheaper specialty restaurants. I honestly dont recall the meal... just remember it being more health oriented. I just like the atmosphere and it was a nice way to start the cruise