kearney

18 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Right, ID Now is a rapid NAAT test, not an antigen test. But they are both accepted by Celebrity. Glad your fears have been alleviated!

The rapid tests results are available within an hour.. how long do you have to wait for NAAT results? I ask because we take two days to drive to Floridia...so in the past I get the CVS rapid test as we start our drive and before we are even out of town..I have gotten a text with the results.  Now if the NAAT is that fast I would rather go to my closer Walgreens... but I don't want to wait until I am in Florida to find out if I can cruise.... thanks in advance

I know that they had a few classes of some kind on one cruise that I was on. I hate to say it, but while I have had an iphone since 2007... I know that I could learn more about its functionality.. would be nice if whomever works the apple products could teach classes for those of us that have one foot in tech... I don't recall classes on other cruises.... the one I recall might have been on an Edge maiden voyage...

13 hours ago, bunzini said:

Curious how you found this info ahead of the cruise.  Would love to see if we have one on our upcoming cruise in two weeks.

 

If you look on the app... you can find it under calendar... on our cruise they are at either 2 or 3 pm

I just took a quick look at our 12 N souther Caribbean cruise april 24 and so far I have found two Beyond the Podiums scheduled... day 2, 4, 7 and 9.

Apex is essentially the Edge with slight modifications...but cabin configuration is about the same... I have attached a few photos of our cabin...including one showing the scooter in the cabin and another showing the chaise lounge with the bed riders. The chaise lounge is only about 15" off the ground ...well below normal seating height... since DH has trouble with his knees and I knew this 'sofa' would be low.. I brought 3" risers to raise the height to a normal 18"... making it possible for him to sit in the cabin.... these are not provided by the cruise line... much of the seating in public areas is very low and deep.   Anyway...as you can see ..if you do not get an accessible cabin and do choose to rent a scooter.. you can get it in a regular cabin provided the bed is by the veranda...  

On the deck plan you can tell where the bed is by where the cabin widens.

I can't help but wonder if they are phasing out the Apple stores... on Silhouette they replaced that location with more cabins and moved the lounge to deck 5..I didn't even notice apple products ..although I assume they had some back in the corner.

My husband has mobility issues resulting from a detached quad muscle..and only modestly successful surgery. He has been renting scooters from Special Needs at Sea. He didn't think he needed on the first time we rented..but since then ..that is the only way to go. They park the scooter in the cabin. Now here is the challenge. To actually get the scooter in a cabin.. it is best to have a cabin with the bed by the window/balcony. I find that the S class cabins are large enough to do so... I think M Class cabins have bed by the bathroom...which makes it tough. Now the other thing is that you can not block the hallway with your scooter... difficult for housekeeping and other wheelchair/scooter traffic ..to say nothing of emergencies. However there are a few spots on an S class ship where you can park one outside the cabin where it does not impede traffic...and there is a plug. This is a good place to park during the day for short stays in the cabin. On deck 7 and 8 near the hideaway area and by the elevators are good spots... you can recharge the scooter in those areas and not impact traffic flow. There are even a few spots where you can part outside the cabin...but discuss with the steward..because they block their closet... however, there is a way to move the scooter without the key... and they should know how to do that...there is a switch near the battery...

Technically DH qualifies for an accessible cabin..but we have never done that since he can still manage the step up into the bathroom and we would hate to take the cabin away from someone who really needs all the features. I wish they put together a guide to help people figure out the best cabins or scooter users... but here is a clue if you see triangle or square on deck plan... that means the bed is by the bathroom (actually it means pullout sofa or overhead pulldown bed)... but that always is closer to the window/verandah. We like to get a cabin on the side of the hump of the aft/midship elevators. We tend to go on deck 6.. to save a few bucks the first two on deck 6 are 1D cabins and have a slight obstruction..but a larger veranda than most..so works out for us.

We then sign up to get wheelchair assistance to get DH to the cabin... and at the end of the cruise..you leave the scooter in the cabin... have your steward get you a wheel chair the night before... and get wheeled down to sushi on 5... for help getting off the ship. I usually do that. Aft is a good location for most activities... except the theater and Sky lounge.  Hope this helps... well worth the $250 or so cost of scooter rental

As a side note... we use those plastic sleeves for our boarding tags... and when we leave we use the sleeves for the departure tags... and also use a departure tag on one of the handles...  kind of a belt and suspenders approach.

20 minutes ago, zitsky said:

The issue I have with that is, there is no limit.  To paraphrase Austin Powers, what stops the cruise line from charging a surcharge of a bazillion gajillion dollars?

 

Before anyone says “they would never do that” can you point to the place in the contract that shows a limit?

You do have a point, but they are still a business and if they were out of step with competition..that would have repercussions..on future cruises. They likely didn't put a dollar figure in there because they had no idea how high it could go. It is a risk for those of us sailing... we are driving and I am not looking forward to high gas prices on the way down.

2 minutes ago, 5waldos said:

One thing about fuel charges and their timing- apparently a percentage of cruise fuel is bought or reserved in advance at good prices. So it is not like ships pull up to a ship gas station and pay the daily going rate. Apparently it is far more complicated- they already have some of the fuel needed for this season. Rather like stocking up during a sale- you buy as much as you are allowed or can afford when the prices are low to ease things when the prices go up or shortages happen. 

I would hate to be the person negotiating for fuel for say..next year...locking in $120 might look pretty good if it goes up the $150... but if it were to stabilize much lower...  well there goes your bonus...

3 minutes ago, BklynBorn47 said:

If you really want to continue this off topic discussion, message me.  As I said when this was originally introduced, it should not be part of this thread.  

I didn't bring it up

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

How does one find a copy of their contract?  Where in the booking process is it shown?

I located this in the contract for our last cruise in Dec.. (pg 16)

1 hour ago, BklynBorn47 said:

I agree with you about the surcharge but was curious about your last sentence.  Wow, there are data going back to 1900.  Looking at Jan-Mar, as the chart shows,  we were importing MORE two years ago.  Fascinating though.  We were NEVER energy independent.  No reason to pursue this further.  Way outside the scope of this thread.  

 

As for us, considering the total cost of our cruises, yeah we will pay it and continue cruising. 
I do want the lines to stay in business.  

Do you have exports too? I recall that we export a certain type of oil and import another... so net net we might export more than we import.. I am not completely sure.. but the chart does not reflect net ..only one side of the story.

1 hour ago, tiger13 said:

It makes sense…..they are simply showing an example of how the cruise line could advertise if a fuel charge was added

they were simply stating that keeping it hidden is to the cruise line advantage from a marketing standpoint 

lower price attracts more attention

 

OPTION  1 

this shows leaving price as is and adding the surcharge in the fine print 

under    *fees SURCHARGE and tax 

 

 

 

“From $999 per person*”

* plus fees, surcharge and tax

 

 

OPTION 2

this is showing they added the 10 per person per day fuel charge to the base price of cruise instead of 999 increased to 1099 to account for fuel charges 

 

“From $1099 per persn”*

* plus fees and tax

Too bad this needed to be explained. I suspect the former is better since the way things are going $10/day/pp may have to be increased at some point. As I understand it..the cruise ships could charge a surcharge if fuel goes about.. $65 or $75/barrel... and for a time it was as high as $130... so $10 might not be enough...especially if the ships are sailing well below capacity.

Last December our check in time was 30 days prior to sailing... It had been 90... I noticed that I was able to check in for our upcoming April sailing 45 days prior. I wonder if this was just luck or if others have noticed the change... step by step we are getting back to normal...

So below is the cost comparison of a 12 nt southern Caribbean cruise in Apr. and a 10 nt one in Aug.

I booked the August in Jan (to replace a planned Feb cruise) and the April last May... and did an adjustment in Nov... which included some OBC.  Both are basic veranda cabins...but 1A cabins on the side of the hump.

Ffactoring in all the costs (incl port fees) and benefits (incl OBC).. the Wonderful sale is about $75/day/person more expensive that the previous pricing... which seems like a signifiant premium for a premium drink package. If I log onto the planner for the April cruise for $55/day/person (on sale) I can get the "Perks extra" which includes premium drinks.. additional $250 in OBC, 2 dinners at Specialty restaurant, and a bag of laundry...

I did another mock booking for a 10night cruise in August... again total cost is 43% higher than when I booked it earlier in the year.

I did a mock booking and compared to my previous.. total cost including factoring in OBC was a 43% increase... oh and while the banners say perks included.. I don't see anything..once you get into the booking process that indicates that the perks are included....unless the Elev Free is code for all those perks... I kept the descriptions as they appeared on my earlier invoice.

3 hours ago, 5waldos said:

This is for ocean journeys- river trips are another thing entirely and are not recommended for many of those with mobility issues. River ships often dock several across so that to get to shore you have to cross one or several other ships. This is usually impossible in wheelchairs or scooters and difficult enough for those without mobility problems. 

Thank you for that info... I wondered if hallways and doorways were wide enough to handle either a chair or scooter... never considered going from boat to boat

My husband had a detached quad and the surgery was only partially successful.. So we now rent scooters. A few thoughts

1) the person who wheels you through the terminal is not the same person who takes you onto the ship.. so we tip both. About $5 for the crew and $10 for port person... particularly upon departure..they spend more time with you... at airports I have tipped $15 for the long distance to baggage claim.

2) when you arrive at port..that is the weakness in the system... sometime you have to hunt for a wheelchair. I would tell the porter taking your bags that you need assistance..they can help..they all know each other...or send someone ahead to locate a chair for you.

3) If you do get a scooter... Connie is an older ship...and the cabins are a touch smaller than S class. I have not tried to get a scooter in one of those cabins (we have not sailed on M class)..but studying the deck plan..it appears beds are by the bathroom..making parking inside the cabin difficult..assuming you can get on in the the door of regular non accessible cabin. So if you do rent one..the room steward will have to take it at night to recharge. 

4) We were able to periodically borrow a wheel chair from guest services...so if walking should prove more difficult that you expect...ask the steward for a chair.

5) Candidly we are still trying to figure out excursions...some ports have golf carts to get you off the pier..others do not... sometime we borrow a chair and just go into the port shops... once we took it to the bus for an excursion and left the chair behind security and found it or one like it when we got back. But I worried about whether or not one would be there for us upon our return. My husband tends to stay onboard... When we take one I try to get ones with minivans vs busses and if a bus I ask if a front seat can be reserved for my husband... which they have done.

On FB there is a group called "Royal Caribbean Accessible Cruising".. where people with health and mobility issues share information... 

Out of curiosity do the tests in Canada need to be proctored or can you use a home test kit? In the US Costco sells a set of 5 for $35...not proctored...  Perhaps someone can buy and ship to you...if home tests are acceptable

16 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

At what point does Celebrity add a fuel surcharge?  There were a bunch of surcharges in 2008.  The contract gives the right to charge up to $10 per day for new and existing bookings.

Thoughts?

Is that $10/day per person?

I was wondering if Grand Cayman had reopened... but it appears they plan to on March 21... great news... here is a link https://www.caymancompass.com/2022/03/07/ships-ahoy-gearing-up-for-the-return-of-cruise/

the story goes into how they have been closed for 2 years and are now hiring for tenders...  So you might be some of the first passengers there. This is probably why there are no excursions on Celebrity. If this doesn't change.. you might consider getting a taxi and ask them what is open... I suspect that things will start reopening and these guys might have the best idea of what is and is not open... have a good time... and let us know what you find.  I have cancelled two cruises because of GC being closed... so nice to see this change

Frankly I think it depends upon the child. I there are no restrictions and the child is well behaved I don't see an issue. My parents took us to Europe when we were quite young and we learned a lot by having these experiences. We were generally well behaved...except for my sister always wanting to order lobster... but I think it was good for us. Now I will say we used to go out to dinner at some very nice places in Atlanta and another couple would bring their children.. the youngest son would alway take all the condiments and mix up a gross concoction in his water glass... with his parents perfectly comfortable the the mess he created. One time a waiter took the time to teach him how to make different shapes with napkins...redirecting his alchemy skills to a less disruptive activity 🙂 

Last Dec we took a Celebrity driving tour in St Maarten... DH has mobility issues..so I try to pick general site seeing driving type tours vs beach or water activities.... so DH can stay on the bus during stops. Our last tour was supposed to go to the French side, but they were having protests that week..so the closest we got was to the bridge separating the two sides. In Barbados I took another driving tour. DH did not feel like having to deal with getting from the ship to the terminal for the tour..so I went alone. This was a better tour than the St Maarten..in part the island is just more interesting to see... so if you are picking just one.. take one of the panorama type tours on Barbados. However, the quality really depends upon the guide.

In the past we have gotten off in Antiqua and simply gone to the pier and hired a guide.. they had a company in orange as I recall. Our tour was very local..with the guide pointing out the church where his brother was pastor and his cousin who was walking in town... at one polnt we drove past an outdoor meat seller..with raw meat hanging under a canvas tent. I really enjoyed this tour that showed real life.. although less history.

St Lucia we took another driving tour with the cruise line... this was also pre covid.. went up to the north coast... but there was no way to see the pitons. I think next time I will go alone and take a boat excursion so I can finally see them.