Xport

I just need to try to rectify it before they get deleted permanently (if they haven't already).

But unless the print copies of your photos are found and returned to you, I would not be optimistic that you will be able to purchase reprints post-cruise...

Following is from the FAQ section of Celebrity's US website... The policy has been in effect for as long as I can remember and is often printed in the ship's daily--Celebrity Today--a day or two prior to cruise-end...

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Q: Can I still purchase photos taken on board or my sailing's Cruise in Review video post-cruise?

A: Until further notice, Image Photo can no longer accept or process post-cruise orders for Photos or DVDs from Celebrity cruise ships.

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Truly sorry... If it's any consolation, I once found a photo that I was looking for more than a year after disembarkation... I had stashed it in a pocket of my luggage and, when I first got home, didn't detect that there was anything in that pocket that needed to be unpacked...

Each of the 3 Programs are independent... RCCL, Celebrity, and Azamara... So in each program you begin & accrue points from Zero.

 

However, you are afforded "Privleges" at a higher level on each line depending upon your status in the other line's programs.

As to the reciprocal relationship that exists between Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society and either Celebrity's Captain's Club or Azamara's Le Club Voyage [or vice versa]... For instance, I am an Elite Plus member of Captain's Club and a Discoverer Plus member of Le Club Voyage... When I sail with Royal, I am recognized as a Diamond member of the Crown & Anchor Society based upon my cruise history with Celebrity and Azamara but cruise points earned with Royal do not cross accumulate with those I've earned with Celebrity and/or Azamara [ie; I have 14 Cruise Points with Royal and would need to accumulate an additional 160--all while sailing with Royal--to attain Diamond Plus membership with Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society]...

But to clarify... Cruise Points do cross acccumulate between Celebrity and Azamara; a sailing with one of those two lines is recognized for point accrual purposes as a sailing with the other... Both lines have five membership tiers for those with a prior cruise history with either--those tiers have different names and very different benefits associated with them [and some Azamara benefits require that one has earned 50% or more of combined Cruise Points to qualify for them]--and common Cruise Point thresholds for tier attainment... Reciprocity is on an equivalent level basis at each of those five levels--most of my personal cruise history is with Celebrity but my Elite Plus membership with them provides me with Discoverer Plus membership on Azamara--and opportunity to "move up" concurrently to a higher membership tier in both programs when sailing with either [ie; without "starting from zero" in each]...

Are organized among Cruise Critic Roll Call members and not by the cruise line... If members of your Roll Call have organized a cabin crawl, you will have read about it--and would need to sign up for it--on that thread...

Every time I turn around they are shortening the time on Maui for my upcoming cruise to Hawaii. First we where supposed to go to Maui on the second stop and be there from 7am to 11pm then they changed it to our first stop and there from 10am to 11pm and now 12pm to 11pm. It really stinks they have that clause that they can change ports and port times in the fine print. I know I am whinning but just had to vent.

Or is it a matter of capacity--Lahaina is a tender port but anchoring space is at a premium too--which is set at the discretion of the Port Master?

In early 2013, I visited Hawaii with Celebrity and we were initially scheduled to anchor off Maui overnight... We were "bumped" from doing that as a matter of demand and instead visited Maui twice on non-consecutive days...

Azamara has been docking at the new Shanghai terminal - right across from the Pearl TV tower.

Azamara Journey was scheduled to dock there back in early March but a rogue piece of steel cabling became entangled around/damaged her portside prop in Tokyo Bay and the ship needed to be taken to dry dock in South Korea for repair... Azamara ended the cruise then in progress-which was to terminate in Shanghai--several days early and had no recourse but to cancel the subsequent cruise--which was to originate in Shanghai--in total... To their credit, Azamara flew guests on the shortened cruise--all but 22 were disembarking there--from Osaka to Shanghai and put us up at the wonderful Hyatt On The Bund adjacent to the cruise terminal... It's a terrific [the location, the views!] and extremely convenient facility--right in the thick of things--from which to explore memorable Shanghai...

During my time in Shanghai [i was among those booked to sail on], one of the Oceania R-Class ships had an overnight port call at the cruise terminal on The Bund coincident with when Journey was to have docked there...

Clearly, there can be significant advantage on some itineraries--in terms of maximizing tour time and in terms of experiencing local culture--to being aboard a smaller ship that gets to places larger ships can't visit/to dock right in town... On Azamara we had the same experience in Bangkok, in Ho Chi Minh City, in Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, and in Tokyo ; it does make a real difference in experience...

I suspect that you will be recognized as a "Classic Member" of Celebrity's Captain's Club; though Azamara's Le Club Voyage and Captain's Club have very different member benefits, Cruise Points earned on one line cross-accumulate with the other... Different reciprocity rules apply if you were to sail with Royal Caribbean--another member of the family--based upon your sailings with Azamara and/or Celebrity [and Cruise Points do not cross-accumulate]...

The most tangible benefit--at "Classic" level and above--is the following [taken from the Captain's Club section of the Celebrity website]... I believe that you will be eligible for it...

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One-Category Upgrade

One-category upgrade requests must be made at the time of booking and apply only for upgrades within the supercategory, depending on availability. Example of a supercategory upgrade in AquaClass: A2 to A1. Captain's Club one category upgrade excludes category 12, FV, SV, C1 and guarantee categories, Z, Y, X, XC, XA, W. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares including but not limited to travel agent and employee rates. Upgrades apply for one stateroom per cruise. Stateroom assignments only. Not valid on holiday sailings. Upgrades available from categories 11- A1 on all Celebrity ships except Celebrity Xpedition®. Offer valid for members who are Classic Level or higher at the time of booking.

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You should contact Celebrity's Captain's Club to get a membership number [it will likely be the same as your LCV number but you must enroll] being sure to tell them that you have a sailing history with Azamara and providing them with your Le Club Voyage membership number]... You will need your Captain's Club number [or numbers; if you have a spouse who is also enrolled in LCV, you should also enroll him/her] before booking as you must--if you're going to claim the one-category upgrade [you will note above that certain restrictions apply]--do so at the time of booking... If you do establish membership with Captain's Club but subsequently do not choose to book with Celebrity now, no harm done; just keep record of your membership number should you decide to sail with Celebrity in the future...

There are several other benefits associated with being a "Classic Member" of Captain's Club... I suggest that you visit the Captain's Club section of the Celebrity website to learn more... Visiting the Le Club Voyage section of the Azamara website is merely going to tell you that your [likely] Adventurer status in LCV equates to Select status with Captain's Club...

Can anyone there explain whether the fine print means that if we have booked excursions (4 in my case) will we lose our 123Go perks.

They're on the Celebrity website... As I recall/understand it...

If you booked your four excursions during the promo' date=' you're good to go in terms of receiving the onboard credit associated with your four excursion purchase...

If you booked your excursions prior to the promo, you will need to book at least one more [today'] in order to get any additional onboard credit associated with your combined purchase [ie; if you booked four tours prior to the promo and book another today, your OBC will be that which is associated with having booked five tours (your prior purchases count); if you booked four tours prior to the promo and book nothing during the promotion period, you will receive no related OBC]...

You asked this question on another thread and the answer is the same, 123go belongs to the CRUISE promo and this offer belongs to the SHORE EXCURIONS promo

I had occasion to call Captain's Club for a different reason on Wednesday and then, while subsequently chatting with the Rep, asked the same question/got the same answer as I'd surmised!

Without your active "listening" here, your sincere desire to understand the issues that I identified, and your advocacy, I don't know how effective I'd have been in trying to bring my observations to the forefront with any sort of priority for my benefit, the benefit of my cruise mates, and--as I've always believed--the benefit of Azamara...

As promised, I purchased the last six of my tours yesterday [for a total of fourteen not including the AzAmazing Evenings]... So yes, I'm really excited about Rio and all of the other experiences surrounding my visit!

With my sincerest appreciation,

--Mike

Having never been to Brazil before, would this trip to The Scenarium be better than the Azamazing Evening to the samba show at Plataforma 1? We are currently signed up for the Azamazing Evening on our Dec 13 cruise, but this venue gets poorly reviewed on Trip Advisor. I'd gladly pay for the trip to The Scenarium if it would be more worthwhile.

I believe that we are on different cruises... I'm doing back-to-back sailings on 7 February [round-trip Rio with port calls at Montevideo, Buenos Aires. Punta del Este, back to Rio for an overnight coincident with Carnival, and Buzios] and 19 February [Rio to Miami via Salvador De Bahia, Recife, Belém, Devil's Island (French Guiana), Barbados, and Virgin Gorda] and we seemingly have different choices... For us, the AzAmazing Evening on the first cruise is in Buenos Aires [to Tango Porteño; I attended the show while there after a Celebrity cruise in 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed it/look forward to going again] and our AzAmazing Evening on the second cruise is to attend a Polo Match at Lion's Castle in Barbados [a new experience for me].

For us there are two paid, post dinner Land Discovery offerings--to The Scenarium or to The Plataforma--on 19 February... My reading suggests that The Scenarium [which gets great reviews] is all about Brazilian music--with the opportunity to dance if so inclined--while Plataforma [which gets mixed reviews] offers a Samba show... For me, the decision to do The Scenarium on the evening of our turn-around was an easy one as I'll be attending the Carnival Parade [really, a competition among Rio's best samba schools; it apparently goes on all night (and tickets are very pricey)] at The Sambadrome on 16 February...

I'm not sure the decision is necessarily as clear-cut for you... Samba is at the core of Rio's culture/folklore and The Plataforma Show apparently gives one the opportunity to experience a sampling of Carnival's true highlight without the wild, crowded street scene that accompanies the event... The Scenarium is apparently a terrific, interesting venue--attracting both locals and visitors--with great Brazilian music and the opportunity to join in the dancing or watch others dance without all the costumes/glitz... Those are very different opportunities [but please validate my research; my decisions were made in the context of all I'll be doing in Rio/my desire to mix things up a bit] and it comes down to your personal entertainment preferences and the memories and experiences you'd like to take away from your time there... Fact is that I may well have chosen to take in The Plataforma Samba Show if I were not also attending the Carnival Parade/festivities [as Robin (ellbon) also did in the past]...

This is my first visit to Rio too and I'm really psyched about it... Whatever our choices, let's both enjoy every moment of it and have a great trip!

For what it's worth, hope this helps...

--Mike

I received a very nice/very prompt reply from Elaine--who's affiliated with Miami Shore Ex--this afternoon and, after just looking, note that the Land Discoveries section of the website has been updated today...

An entry has been added to explain the self-exploration opportunity at Devil's Island... While there is no formal tour--as you had indicated and I came to understand--I do think the new text is a vast improvement over the former which held out hope that something might eventually be offered... Nice job with infinitely better, guest-focused communication!

In addition, a second tour--a 4X4 trip which includes a visit to see the noted green monkeys--is now being offered on each of the two afternoons we will be in Barbados... I did a 4X4 excursion when last there--it included a visit to Harrison Cave rather than the monkey encounter [which a friend enjoyed and recommends]--and had fun... Seemingly, there may be other Land Discovery options offered at Bridgetown but, for now, I'm pleased to have a different excursion opportunity--in addition to our AzAmazing Evening [polo!]--during each of our two days there...

Sincerest thanks again for your many intercessions with the Land Discoveries Team relative to tour opportunities during Journey's sailings of 7 and 19 February... I know your efforts will not only enhance my personal experiences but will also enhance the experiences/opportunities of my cruise mates...

--Mike

I do understand that tourism is quite undeveloped in French Guiana/at Devil's Island and--while I was hopeful for a different answer--appreciate your having brought closure to the open issue...

Upon advice as to Barbados--that one does perplex me--I'll complete my purchase of Land Discoveries for Journey's 19 February sailing from Rio to Miami... I otherwise know what I hope to see/do during our other port calls and, aside from securing my Brazilian visa [i'll work that upon my seasonal return to Florida next week], I'm good to go...

Still excited/psyched about Rio! Thanks so much for your assistance along the way; these sailings promise to be truly memorable!

--Mike

The free Internet is loaded on your card.

But per the iLounge Manager on Summit earlier this month, this practice has apparently not yet been implemented on all ships... As such, the Captain's Club coupon sheet still features an internet voucher even though you may get alternate instructions for electronic package sign-up--as was the case on Summit [and on Constellation back in April]--with your Captain's Club welcome letter...

If electronic sign-up has been implemented on the ship you are sailing, the coupon is unnecessary... But don't throw it away until you are certain!

Devils Island-thought i answered this ages ago- there is nothing there- a rustic hotel bar for drinks- lots of wild gardens and birds etc ..some burial grounds etc. when i was there even the Captain was out walking around. all about nature and walking in the heat.

I've not forgotten your earlier comments about Devil's Island but have been hopeful that Azamara might offer something given the following message on the Land Discovery booking section of the website relative to this port call; the wording does hold out the possibility...

"Shore Excursions are not available for the Port/City you selected. We are currently in the process of updating/gathering information for this Port/City and ask that you please visit our website closer to your sail date."

Devil's Island does have a fascinating history; it was, for years, a notorious French Penal Colony and is the setting behind the book/movie "Papillon" which, if true [some question the story], details his unlikely escape from imprisonment there... And though I know that most remnants of the former prisons [there were several on multiple islands off French Guiana; they were shut down in 1953] are off limits from a tourist perspective, it would--I think--be really interesting to capture the related lore... My research does indicate that tourism is not well-developed there [and I don't speak French!] but apparently at least one cruise line offers a narrated walking tour there while others apparently offer nothing... If my tour destiny is "nothing", I wish Azamara would say so and move on to hope that the Devil's Island history [Dreyfus was also imprisoned there] is instead covered pre-visit by an Onboard Enrichment speaker...

As for Barbados... Well, I just don't get the very limited offering [one tour--other than the AzAmazing Evening--repeated twice over a 37 hour port call] as I've visited twice in the past with Celebrity and know that RCI Shore Ex [it's a shared services group supporting all three brands] has a whole lot more in terms of excursion resources/variety/options than is being offered to-date... Right now, Azamara actually offers more alternatives at tiny Virgin Gorda--during a brief port call--where the only really notable attractions are the sea caves...

I'm fortunate enough to live on the beach so I seek different, unique things when visiting the islands... My guess is that other of my fellow cruise mates do too...

--Mike

The same issue--an incomplete roster of "Savings For Singles" opportunities during 2015--existed on the US website until Joel arranged for its correction back on 28 August...

You will find our related exchanges in the following thread...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2080151

--Mike

Please refer to my previous posts of 13 September [specifically, my comment as to the complete lack of Land Discovery opportunities on 1 March at Devil's Island, French Guiana] and of 18 September [specifically, my comment that--aside from the AzAmazing Evening--only one Land Discovery offering has been posted during our 37 hour port call at Barbados on 3/4 March]...

You ought know that both issues persist--to my mind, somewhat inexcusable given that final payment on both my cruises has now passed--and I just sent off an e-mail to the Miami Shore Ex Team seeking their prompt reply, and hopefully, resolution...

I am confident that you referred this matter to them in the past but would appreciate it if you would again reiterate the need for action/sense of immediacy that I conveyed to the team in today's note...

Thanks and regards,

--Mike

Really, never heard that before. We did the cruise 9/21-10/5 and early seating was 6 PM. As a matter of fact we have done this cruise 7 times and early seating (first) has always been 6 PM.

The earlier dining times on the 5 October Canada/New England cruise were set in response to feedback from guests on your sailing... The dining rooms were ghost towns by 9:00 PM!

Breakfast also started earlier in the full-service venues [ie; MDR and Blu] on both port and sea days but concluded at 9:00 AM... The Elite Coffee Hour was staged, as usual, from 8:00 to 10:00 AM...

Didn't much care for the revised schedule personally but apparently it met the needs/preferences of many...

To be perfectly honest, the entire T-pool area did look like it needed to be overhauled.

And don't have before/after reference points... But the Thalassotherapy Pool itself was emptied and undergoing maintenance on two separate occasions--it appeared to me that the interior was being repaired and painted--during Summit's most recently completed sailing [Canada/New England; October 5 through 19]...

Quite candidly, I thought it odd that Celebrity would choose to close the T-Pool and do such work during a cold weather cruise given that the ship was about to sail to warmer climates--with the outdoor pool available for use--immediately after we disembarked [the ship is in route to San Juan now]...

Perhaps Celebrity read your comments and/or your mind!

At the moment, we are east of Cape Cod with every expectation that we will arrive back at Bayonne/Cape Liberty as scheduled tomorrow morning... Ride has been--and best I can tell, will be--uneventful...

Did you miss this?

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6006

 

Internet allowances and other perks are back. Apparently they listened a bit.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

You are correct... Azamara did reinstate a complimentary internet allowance, varying by membership tier, in their announcement last Friday [got the e-mail] after their earlier announcement of revised Le Club Voyage benefits--on 1 September--was received with extremely negative guest reaction... Under the initial plan, all complimentary internet was replaced by a tier-based discount...

Under the new scheme, Adventurer [Classic] members receive a 30 minute allowance, Explorer [select] members receive a 60 minute allowance; Discover [Elite] members receive a 90 minute allowance, Discoverer Plus [Elite Plus] members receive a 120 minute allowance, and Discoverer Platinum [Zenith] members receive a 150 minute allowance as of 2015... At present and through the remainder of 2014, Discoverer, Discoverer Plus, and Discoverer Platinum will receive the old benefit--a 235 minute allowance--at each of the top three membership tiers...

I don't sail for internet time, and can afford to purchase it, but the reductions are striking--at least at the Discover, Discoverer Plus, and Discoverer Platinum levels [i don't recall the pre-2015 allowance at the Adventurer and Explorer levels] relative to current practice and, at the top two levels, in comparison to that which Celebrity offers at their comparative membership levels [Elite Plus = 200 minutes; Zenith = 1620 (!) minutes]... And the concept of a tier-based discount for purchase of incremental minutes went away in last week's revision so as to further erode the value of the restored allotments...

I generally travel solo [one allowance] and am doing a 30 night B2B [first leg 12 nights; second leg 18 nights] on Azamara in February... As a Discoverer Plus member, my complimentary internet time equates to eight minutes per day... Given internet performance aboard Azamara ships, that will just about cover logging in/logging off with little--if any--opportunity to accomplish any meaningful task once on-line...

The reconstitued Le Club Voyage benefits create interesting opportunities for new or relatively novice cruisers who remain loyal or who have concentrated their sailings with Azamara since the line was established in 2007 [it was conceptualized as an offshoot of Celebrity and, until a few years ago, shared leadership with Celebrity]... On a comparative basis, it doesn't work well for those with a significant sailing history--so as to have already achieved one of the higher level membership tiers [keeping in mind that very few have yet attained those tiers based upon having sailed Azamara alone]--and doesn't much work at all--on an absolute or comparative basis--in terms of tangible and achievable benefits for those who have mostly sailed with Celebrity in the past...

There are things I love about Azamara; their itineraries, their destination immersion concept, the nimbleness of their ships/ability to get to places large ships can't [though some of their inclusives--most notably, alcohol--are lost on me]... But there are also things--like broader entertainment and activity opportunities; shipboard amenities--that I miss while sailing Azamara as compared to Celebrity... With so much "on the table" now and quantum amounts more in the foreseeable future with Celebrity--and feeling a bit abandoned/disrespected by Azamara now [i still don't get how one with so much loyalty to the Corporation--if not yet to the brand--and so much promise can be other than a highly desirable demographic]--my "marching orders", as issued by Azamara, are clear...

Still wish there would be a level between Elite Plus and Zenith.

Azamara introduced a program change--effective January 1. 2015--that sort of gets at this issue... They still have five membership tiers beyond Preview--each with identical Cruse Point thresholds as those used by Celebrity--but they have created two recognition points between Discoverer Plus [their equivalent to Celebrity's Elite Plus] and Discoverer Platinum [their equivalent to Celebrity's Zenith]...

Upon reaching 1500 Cruise Points [calculated similarly to the technique that Celebrity uses based upon cruise duration/cabin category] and again upon reaching 2250 Cruise Points, Azamara grants three "free nights" based upon one's historically predominant cabin category selection and a number of other Terms/Conditions... Upon reaching 3000 Cruise Points, Azamara grants ten "free nights"...

The kicker is that in order to earn "free nights" with Azamara [the number varies upon attainment of certain Cruise Point thresholds; upon initially reaching Discoverer Plus, for instance, six "free nights" are awarded], one must have sailed Azamara within the prior three years--not a big issue--and have earned at least 50% of accumulated Cruise Points sailing with Azamara... For some--like me; I'm well past "Zen" but not yet "Zenith"--"free nights" are a statistical impossibility at any future threshold given my significant sailing history with Celebrity...

I won't go into all of the other program specifics here but the new program's features and Terms/Conditions [read them carefully but know that some of those as published have already been administered inconsistently and are being reinterpreted--not for the better--by the hour without concern for disparate treatment] are now posted to the Azamara website if curious... For some, they are appealing even though internet allowances have been slashed across the board with little opportunity for meaningful growth; for others, they could not be more unappealing... It's all a matter of personal perspective/preferences/values and--predictably--comes down to assessing the offerings versus the cruise experience, without rose-colored glasses in either case, on a highly individualized basis...

I thought they would take the bag full no matter how many items....I know I've had more than 20 in them before....I just fill it up and the only reason I might count it would be to be sure it all came back!!:)

Or perhaps you missed the incremental charge to your SeaPass account!

Following is from the Captain's Club Benefits section of Celebrity's website relative to the complimentary Elite laundry benefit [one complimentary bag per sailing] and the complimentary Elite Plus laundry benefit [two complimentary bags per sailing] regardless of cruise length...

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***Includes 20 items on itineraries with water usage restrictions or up to 30 items on itineraries without water usage restrictions. Water usage restrictions apply on most Alaskan and Baltic itineraries.

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The same provision is printed on the coupon that you submit along with the laundry order form [which does require a count]; both are placed in the bag...

Interestingly enough--I just looked--the laundry discount benefit for Select members refers to one "standard" bag of laundry--whatever that means; I suspect that the same provisions are intended but we all know that the website is not always [???!!!] accurate--on sailings of twelve nights or more...

Zenith members received unlimited complimentary laundry...

In my experience, they do charge for items exceeding the allowance with the fee assessed for the lowest priced incremental items if it's a "mixed" bag...

A current price list for per item laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing services--more accurate than some information posted here--at Celebrity's website...

http://www.celebritycruises.com/frequently-asked-questions#2

For those who are entitled to some level of discounted or complimentary laundry by virtue of Captain's Club membership tier, sometimes the benefit is restricted to twenty pieces of laundry and sometimes the count is limited to thirty pieces of laundry... The variation depends upon itinerary as locally imposed water usage/discharge [the water is treated before discharge] restrictions are sometimes in place...

I thought perhaps the OP had a question about Elizabeth, New Jersey. :)

That's exactly why I opened this post this morning and ultimately decided to respond... I grew up less than ten miles from Elizabeth, New Jersey and thought the OP might be sailing out of Bayonne/Cape Liberty!

The system supporting Meet & Mingle registrations is not a Cruise Critic one but rather is owned/supported by the cruise line... I believe that Cruise Critic merely makes the link available as a convenience...

I'm sure that Andy will correct me/set the record straight if I'm wrong...