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Does anyone have any insight on Princess offering true 14 day Carribean sailings for 2015/16? Not interested in doing b2b eastern/western on same ship. I recall a few years ago that there were a few sailings offered on the Grand(?)

Tony

Just off the 4/14 Equinox transatlantic. Had a great cruise. Nice weather, smooth seas, and plenty of R&R. Aqua class and Blu was nice, but don't think it's much better than regular balcony's and the mdr. Meals were good, but nothing really stood out. Great service from the entire staff.

I was a bit hesitant going into this cruise from reading on here about all the cutbacks and cost saving measures. Not only did I not notice any declines, I felt the food quality was better than on the Solstice last September.

Fellow passengers were mainly 65+, but that's what I expected going into it. Nightlife was anemic at best. Casino was the only venue with any life in it after 10 p.m.

Ports were fantastic (posting this from my Malaga hotel) with great weather in all of them.

Anyone who's on the fence about trying a TA- do it- you won't regret it! :D

Tony

Same here. Plus, as we cruise with our best friends, Carnival is the only line we have found that will open the balcony dividers unlike other lines.

Princess as well as Celebrity are more than happy to open adjoining balcony dividers. Have done cruises with friends on both lines and all it took was to ask the room steward.

Tony

You will LOVE Aqua and BLU!!! It's wonderful!! Have a great time!:)

Thank you! Hope you have a fantastic time on your TA as well!

Tony

Thanks everyone, kind of what I expected, though wanted to confirm that it wasn't necessarily MORE formal. We will most likely do one night and let it go at that.....

 

 

We are all very excited about this adventure!!! :)

I say skip the formal nights all together. If your BIL is anything like me, he'll dislike dressing up in the old monkey suit. ;) :D

We leave on the Equinox TA next month- looking forward to my first TA and first time in Aqua.

Tony

I posted the original question but I think I didn't make myself clear. I didn't want a refund after final payment. I was willing to pay more for an upgrade to veranda but I felt I shouldn't have to pay more than someone who was a "new booking". From a business standpoint it seems that Celebrity would want to take my money and open up my ocean view to sell to a "new booking". Why not open up all cabins to all cash ready customers? I would think they would want to get as many future bookings as possible but this policy certainly would discourage it. Love the cruising on Celeb but pricing policies are not going to help them keep loyal customers.

 

BTW, Krazo is my log in name but not my life style. Many decades ago I worked for Ozark Airlines and it's just the reverse spelling. Didn't want to put anyone off with the name.

I completely understand your frustration, and it can be a confusing situation. Celebrity wouldn't allow you to pay to upgrade your OV to a balcony after final payment. Yet I was allowed to upgrade my 2D balcony to a AQ grty. for $90 more pp. after final payment on the upcoming Equinox tranatlantic next month. Ended up with an A1 cabin, 1565. This was not a Tuesday special, and we had no special promos to lose out on.

Why it's good for the goose, but not for the gander is beyond me.

Tony

Don't know if this is for people booking in the UK only but if you book a transatlantic before 31st March balcony and above you will receive the free drinks package.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/cruises/transatlantic-cruises/

 

Sailings are:

 

14 April Spain & Portugal

20th April Italian Classic

24 April Classic Cities

26 April Spanish Interlude

29th April Across the pond

13 Oct Island Sun

17 Oct Roman Transatlantic

1 Nov Italian Passage

15 Nov 3 Continents

9 Nov Broadway and Beaches

Only for bookings made via the U.K. sales office and priced in GBP's or EUR's and not valid on grty. category's. So basically we Yanks would be paying for the package in the conversion and elimination of the grty. option.

Although, it's a great enhancer to the cruise if the math works out favorably. :D

Tony

I was on the Divina in January. I understand that it's been very "Americanized" compared to their other ships.

I rated the ship's strengths as being European-language-friendly and gay-friendly, otherwise nothing special. For a ship that size, activities were lacking, interaction with cruise staff was minimal. There was a singles meeting advertised in the program but nobody from the staff showed up, and it didn't improve from there. For an Italian ship, music and dancing were pretty listless; there was a large group on board which took over various venues, and I understand that happens on most sailings.

I'd suspect there might be a reason prices are being cut so drastically, so early.

I (as well as several other friends) managed to snag one of the sub $400 solo inside cabins during the President's Day sale. We don't expect the same attention to detail that might be the norm on Celebrity or Princess- we're not paying the corresponding amount to warrant such. What we do expect is to have a good time on a beautiful ship. ;)

Keeping an open mind is the key to having a great holiday. All of us plan on purchasing the Alligrissmo Premium alcohol package- that alone will make up for any minor deficiencies in service or food. :D

Tony

Is there some secret to cruising regularly that I am not aware of? I just booked my second cruise in 10 years and it is costing me a fortune for a Sky suite, specialty dining and beverage package, let alone the flight and hotel stays. Is everyone out there a billionaire or am I just paying rack rates stupidly? I researched a bunch of online cruise sites, but Celebrity offered just the same price for the cabin I wanted. So what gives, get up off your secrets to great cruising, I want to join you....

My once a year bank heist usually covers all my cruise expenses... ;) :D

Tony

In case anyone wants to jump onboard- Grty. balcony cabins on the 13nt. Celebrity Equinox transatlantic cruise 4/14/14 have dropped to $699 pp. Yes there's the 200% supplement, but still a fantastic price. Plenty of choiceair flights available as well for the oneway flight back. :)

Tony

For some reason search is not working. But I found my previous post.

 

Here are the bar menus. You need premium package for drinks with a red asterisk.

 

http://www.gaycruisepictures.com/divinabarlist/divinabar.html

 

If looking for real fruit juice and veggie drinks, the hidden gem is in the gym/spa area. They have a juice bar.. Only one place other I found fresh squeeze oj at one of the main pool bar, starboard side.

Thanks Bosjoe for such great insight and pics regarding the bar menu onboard. One quick question- Is regular Jack Daniels included in the basic Allegrissimo package? I notice they have Jack Black Label under the premium spirits, but no mention on any menu of plain Jack.

Thanks!

Tony

Thank you everyone who replied to my original post. We have now re-booked on a cruise departing 1 Feb. Regrettably 2 of our party can no longer make these dates, which is sad. Also the cabin choices were not as good so we have now upgraded at an additional cost of £400 (about $600) per couple. We did think X might give a reduction on upgrade costs, but that not was not to be.

 

It has been a learning experience, especially with some of the great posts on this thread. We still intend to fully enjoy our cruise and the planning that goes with it!

I'm glad you finally managed to rearrange your holiday plans and have a replacement cruise to look forward to and enjoy. I find it unsettling that Celebrity only offered you two weeks to decide on a viable cruise to book in order to use the $200obc. The reasonable thing to do would be to tie the $200 to your Captains Circle number, and have it be useable on any Celebrity cruise you choose to rebook within one years time.

Tony

Our April 20, 2014 TA just had a price drop, post final payment.

I called my online agency and they managed a considerable upgrade

from gty ocean view to C2 Verandah. I am so glad I asked. Still, we paid

more for the OV than the current balcony rate.

It pays to read the threads--had I not done that, I woulda been clueless.

Thanks! CC...

Susan

We're booked on the Equinox April 14th TA and had some great price drops as well. Managed to upgrade from a 2D balcony to an AquaClass grty. for only $77 pp. more. I checked online this evening, and we have been assigned an A1 cabin, 1565. Looking forward to trying Blu for the first time. :D

Tony

On a Royal Caribbean cruise several years ago I shared an elevator with a husband and wife from our roll call and the wife turned to me and said- "You're the guy who's traveling alone- how's that working out for ya??" Spoken in the most condescending tone you could imagine. My one word reply to them- smashingly! :D

Tony

Well, just over another week to go....flying to FLL on Tues, 2/11

and sailing on Wed, 2/12 for 11 nights:D.....it is really a 3 night

cruise followed by an 8 nighter;)....2 cruises LOL........

 

We have a great roll call, actually roll calls for both cruises have

been alot of fun.:) People are always wondering about dinnertime.......

The short one? I don't even know what I am doing yet but for 3

nights? May do Specialty one night...haven't decided. But on the

longer cruise I am linked with 2 cruisemates from the roll call and we

should have a lot of fun. The 3 of us together and we want to be at

a large table so hopefully will have some nice tablemates too:)

We have tradtional dining, late seating.

 

Anyway, I stopped counting on which cruise this is.....but can't

wait to sail again!!

Have a fantastic time! I expect a call when you get back with all the great details. ;) :D

Tony

Yes, go on that casino offer from Princess. We just disembarked from the Caribbean Princess today ( one day early)....There was a lot of drama on the ship from folks fearing the dreaded noro, but I think there were nore folks suffering seasickness than noro due to the very unusual rough seas when we went into the cold front. It has been a very cold winter here in Houston.

The casino offer was the best: first they give you cash to spend in the casino depending on your level of play. They they sent a bottle of nice Champagne mid trip. they sent a pretty beach towel and wine picnic set that was insulated also to our room. Had many free drawings and offers. They had a nice welcome cocktail party at the beginning of the trip. Complimentary drinks in the casino for the entire trip and believe me, they did not skimp...They made certain that your glass was always filled and you could have whatever you wanted. Payouts were good. I walked away with $150 but a friend left with $3000( she was playing a penny machine)..I played the same 25 cent machine the entire trip...

I can't wait for their next casino offer....

eclue:)

Thank you for reinforcing my decision to book! :D I think you almost described verbatim the offer I received. It's great to hear that you were treated with such hospitality and appreciation. I'm not a big gambler by any means, but found the casino offer quite generous(all of the perks you mentioned above plus $250 in casino cash).

Tony

OP, are you really asking if the Houston area has fog issues each and every weekend of the year? I can't believe anyone would actually ask that. Perhaps you misstated what you wanted to know.

Obviously the Houston area doesn't have fog issues each and every weekend of the year. But since the initiation of Princess cruising from Bayport, fog has been a leading cause of delays and disruptions. Hence my question.

Sorry you find that to be such an incredulous question to ask of those in the know.

Tony

Well despite the overwhelming consensus that Bayport is jinxed, I put a deposit down. Hopefully I won't regret doing so. :eek: It was only $100 due to Princess's current promotion, and I received a very attractive solo rate on an obstructed OV cabin. Combined with the casino perks, it should make for an enjoyable cruise.

Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to post their experiences and offer first hand suggestions.

Tony

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I'll digest all the pros and cons and take it from there. I've sailed once before out of Galveston and encountered no problems. Gotta think positive despite all the strikes against this new embarkation port. ;)

Tony

Received a casino offer today from Princess, and one of the sailings that caught my attention is the Emerald out of Houston on 11/23/14. Are sailings out of Bayport always affected by fog? I've read numerous posts about numerous delays/disruptions over the past couple of months. The itinerary is appealing, as well as the perks offered. My only concern is that fog seems to be the thorn in Bayport's side.

Tony

Hi All!

 

I just booked my 1st solo cruise(4th overall cruise) on the Carnival Victory in October 2014. It is my 30th birthday present to myself! I'm usually pretty good at getting/finding deals but this trip has got me thinking about what makes a "good deal" in this mysterious world of Solo Cruising... :confused:

 

I once saw a solo cruiser on here say that he always tries to sail for an overall cost of around $100/day or like $110/day and anything more than that is ridiculous. I'm paying like $134/day for my solo cruise... should I feel like I've been sold a lemon, or feel like I got a good deal? (For the record, my deposit was discounted by $300 and I got a free room upgrade from the bottom of the boat to deck 8 so that's why I felt like I got a 'good deal')

 

Happy Planning & Smooth Sailing

The only "good deal" that matters is the one you're comfortable with. We all have different tastes and budgets. I personally have no desire to do any of the 4-5 day cruises that many times are vaunted as being great solo deals. That doesn't mean that they aren't a good option for someone else. Book what you can afford and pay no mind to anyone else's guidelines. ;)

Tony

You're lucky because the last time my sis and I shared a cabin on Summit, they would not split our TA's OBC. We now get out own cabins, lol.

Nothing to do with luck. I've done a cruise on both the Summit and the Solstice and shared a cabin with a buddy of mine and had no problem splitting OBC between our two separate accounts. Both times the OBC was entirely in my name, and was a combination of TA and Celebrity based funds.

I think you got stuck with an unhelpful guest relations person.

Tony

Interesting. I have a friend who is a regular Princess cruiser who sailed Celebrity. Her feedback was that while it seems Celebrity's drinks are cheaper because of the drink packages Celebrity's drink sizes were actually smaller than Princess.

Drinks are generally a bit costlier on Celebrity, but much stronger. On my last three Celebrity cruises each and every Jack Daniels/Maker's Mark and Coke I had was free poured and quite strong. On my last Princess cruise each and every one of the same drinks were measured using a jigger. Disappointing to say the least. Seemed like I was drinking plain soda most of the time.

Tony

I don't think anyone said that Brazil is awful. I've been there several times and think it's amazing. What's awful are the Brazilian consulates and entry personnel. I'm sure other nationalities feel the same about visas and entering the US.

The poster I quoted suggested the OP rethink their itinerary due to Brazil being awful and "like Pam said- not very friendly!" That seems disparaging enough to me.

I'm glad you enjoyed your visits there. It really is an amazing country. And I agree, anything that has to do with bureaucracy and govt. red tape is a huge annoyance and a PITA.

Tony

Suggest you re-think this itinerary - Brazil VISAS are EXPENSIVE - and Brazil is awful (like Pam said - not very friendly !)

Brazilian visas issued to American and Canadian citizens are valid for 10 years from first date of entry. So yes, it's an outlay of cash, but it's part of the cost of travel and experiencing the world.

And no, Brazil is not awful. It's a beautiful country with fascinating people. I've vacationed there on two land based trips, and have always felt welcomed and well received.

Tony