khalubear

We will be getting a FCC at the end of the month as they have cancelled the Jan. 31st 2020 14 day cruise. I did read that  booking a cruise  before the year is up but actually going on it after that year is ok? Is this correct?  We plan on using it 15 months from now(better bang for the savings). My brother in law had one and I do believe the cruise date was over a year since he received it but he had  booked it within the year period. He went through a travel agent with no issues  getting the perks etc as advertised. I have heard the English have issues with bookings.  Here I believe a travel agent gets a percentage of the commission after the parent company takes its chunk and the local company takes its chunk.  If you book directly,  you don't save the commission.  I have been lucky to get in on some group pricing which larger companies can get too which helped in moving this upcoming cruise to one a month later. We had a really good price on the Jan. cruise but they have gone up alot. 

I bought them on Amazon some years back, and they have held up through many cruises. They are inexpensive and come in packs with enough tags to share. (Unless you are a serious over packer! )

Buy them once and you will never have to go the trouble of using the tape method each time again.

Just make sure you order the right size. There are wide ones and narrow ones to accommodate the different cruise lines.

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We are on the 8 Day and noticed the same thing. After the 8 day it sails transatlantic. So I am wondering if 1) Charter or 2) staff change and getting ready for Transatlantic. or 3) Dry Dock

Are you going for the Itinerary or the ship? Everyone is different. You will need to do more than one cruise line to find yours. It is the same as doing All-inclusive resorts. Never been on MSC so won't comment about the line. Do research.

Are you a 5 star or 3 star vacationer?

What is your priorities? Food, itinerary, drink packages,excursions, on board amenities, dining times, Family Friendly or fewer children?

Christmas is an expensive time of year then March/Spring break. Can you go before or after?

Flights if you need them to the ports. Miami and Fort Lauderdale are close to each other.

Fly in at least one day prior to the cruise and stay at a hotel.... This is from experience from our first cruise which we narrowly made. Weather systems and mechanical breakdowns and airlines switching your flights need to be a top priority in your budget planning.

If you don't like the first cruise you take try one more on a different cruiseline with a different itinerary. Enjoy.

Thanks for these updates. Thinking about an Equinox cruise in March 2018, my first time on Celebrity. How many dining options are complimentary? Would I get bored without some type of Dining Package?

we are boarding on Sat, and this is our 4th time on this shIp and our 12th celebrity cruise. We have only done 3 specialty restaurants. You will not be bored. The food is very good in the MDR.

In fact, we tried the porch, and to be honest, was a total waste of money.

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I decorate for holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. The best part is that the room steward takes them at the end and uses them. Especially for Christmas. I love looking at all the decor.

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We love the stools in concierge level. And we always book angle balconies. We typically book 2 years in advance to get them.

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Only thing I look at is where the smoking is. We stayed on level 7 and we were above the smoking area. And we caught smell of smoke every once a while. To me, that is worse than obstruction. I do like to sit on my deck and not look at life boat.

I quickly looked at where you are and you are closer to the back. So you shud have no smoke. Also look at where stairs/elevators are. We stayed in a Cain ways the back and there were no stairs and we did a lot of walking back and forth to the middle then back down again. Did we loose weight?????nope [emoji15]

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Check with your travel agent. I just booked hotel and transfer to Rome and paid $100 less than what I could find. They booked it with CIT Tours.

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We sail Celebrity all the time and we always chose drinks package as perk. When you take into consideration water, juice, 1-2 drinks at sail away, 1-2 wine at dinner, cocktail during show, nightcap on veranda, we have surpassed the cost. It is nice to grab a bottle water on way off ship on island. Not to mention your individual drink coast, you need to add taxes and grats. Also you don't have to sign or keep track of what you bought. Believe me even with drink package they try to charge you. And if you don't catch before you leave, you are SOL

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He is pretty reasonable. Give him a call or email

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Hi there, we have been many times. Last time we went to Tiki-bar. Taxi driver said we would enjoy it. He was right. Quiet end of a Acra beach, also known as Rockley beach. We paid a fee to get in and it included chairs. But then we also received Tiki dollars that we used for lunch and drinks. We really enjoyed it and would definitely go back

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We prefer to fly into FLL even if we cruise out of Miami. We like the hotels and atmosphere better. Not as crazy :). We have used A.R.D. Express services, specifically aldorbelony@gmail.com. 954 822 2957. Awesome door to door service. Will even keep your bags if you want to go to the beach if you have a late return flight.

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They'll need some sort of electronic signature to prove you knew you purchased a drink or an item that they charged you for. This in the customers best interest. No signature no pay. If they try and do away with this how will you dispute those drinks you you did not buy? If you have drink package then no signature required as you don't get charged. I love the rfid wallet idea. Where'd he go? He's back..... no gone again.....it won't be part of their man over board system for that reason. I can see 4 drunk young men tossing them overboard to test it.

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Like a new car that comes out....will it be a lemon or a classic. I like tech but will wait till they work the bugs out. As for traditional switching to anytime. It can cause longer wait times if you have too many moving to anytime. The mdr is split between fixed and anytime.it used to be you neededto book fixed early.. now it is the other way around.

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Nobody will be walking straight on. You will need picture taken and credit card for on board account. They should not be taking all your credit card info prior to getting there. Also not a fan of this mailing. Is the medallion active when it is sent to you? How good is the encryption on it? What is the charge if you misplace it. What is the added cost to the customer for this toy. Do you still have to sign when you purchase on board? Human error comes into play if it just scanned.

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Oh and we have done 7, 10, 11 and 14 days .. they all fly by. My wife likes to check out the library first day when we cruise alone. Enjoy

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They always have things to do or watch in the daily news letter. The kids should be good to go but I don, t see an age? Also how young/old for the in laws. We did 5 days at sea straight ans enjoyed it. You will be busy in port so may need a few liesure days. There is the gym and the spa. Go over the daily news each night to see whats up the next day.Take it with you. Read a book in cafe el bacio. Have lunch in a sit down restaurant. Look for ship tours of the kitchen or behind the theatre. Walk the track around the pool area. Because you are 3 generations you don't have to be glued to each other on sea days. You are on vacation so nothing is as important as taking sometime for yourself. At the same time I understand the need to doing something as a group. Balance is the key. There are the pools and that big sun in the sky to enjoy. So emjoy the sea days and don't spend a ton of time scheduling.

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I like having the card. It can go in my wallet my pocket. It is flat.They glean enough information about our habits for marketing purposes from the card. The medallion is ,,, I think,,, coming from the corporate world such as eTokens to access computers. Opening your room door as you walk by would not be an issue if it locks after 20 seconds but it is a question to be answered. It will be easily lost if not on your wrist, which I only would not want. Of course companies will market it as this be all end all but it is just another gadget the will have issues.

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So did we, three weeks ago on Summit.

They store extra shampoo etc in the bottom left under the sink. When you see one of the stewards tell them which room or just make the phone call.also throw out the empty containers.

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Domestic flight you would be okay. Flying to canada not so much

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Costa maya go driving in a dune buggy. Not strenuous. If there is still the dune buggy excursions. Chakkanab park in cozumel or a snorkel/beach. Some people have done the car rental and had fun.

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Keep the ship upright for us. We'll be 4th time on the EQ in april. But first the Silly in feb as a "warm-up" .... :)

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We are elite so we get 30 items per person or 20 on some cruises. Before we took small travel size tide packs( walmart pharmacy) you could use to hand wash some of stuff. We also realize we overpack so we have slowly cut back what we take.

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The more I read this post the more I realize I need to add something. We, ve cruised since 2007 but had done 2 prior to that and then a bunch of all-inclusives and the disney busch gardens universal curcuit with the kids. I find Celebrity to be great for the most part. Can I find things a little off on each cruise? Yes. Did they ruin my trip. Nope. Why? Value for dollar spent. I have priced Oceania and found the price out of my budget range so far. Is it a better line? It better be given it will cost you more. One day we will try it but we keep finding good value for the price we have paid. As for noro virus cleaning, the ships are cleaned constantly for this whether they have a guest who brought it on board or not. It isnt the only virus that can spread.Some people get so wrapped up in looking for the negatives they forget to have a vacation on their vacation.Celebrity ships are considerd big ships. If you want the seaborn, viking, regent, oceania experience increase your budget. Still looking for an all-inclusive that can match a cruise on celebrity for the same price.Food entertainment wait service and location.We usually book 1a or concierge. Btw i am Canadian and our dollar is low so you can be sure I pay more than anyone from the U.S.

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