blueskadoo

Hi everyone! We have decided to check an item off the hubby's bucket list and go for a transatlantic this October. I'm quickly learning that we are arriving pretty late to this party as it goes for these cruises. Since its bucket list, we want to do a suite...and man there is nothing out there!  I called and spoke with Celebrity who said they've only released about 30% of the rooms for booking as of yet, and I should keep checking. Anyone else heard this? We are S-class fans, so that's really what we'd prefer. Open to any and all thoughts and suggestions as we start planning this adventure! Thank you in advance.

Just off Edge and my husband was able to purchase chips many times without a service fee of any sort, and he is Onyx (I don't know what he is after this trip- I wish they made it easier to get point info). We were on a MGM "platinum/noir annual benefit" cruise, but it was never acknowledged, so I kind of doubt it was dependent on that. On another note....I thought there was a daily limit of how much one could purchase for chips? For some reason, 3,000 seems like a number I recall. They allowed him to get out a wide variety of amounts throughout the course of the day which added up to to 3000, and then amounts that went above that in a single transaction. Does the host have that kind of discretion to allow bigger hits or was it a flaw in the system? It would change how he approaches the casino and if he wants to fool with a credit line or packing cash. 

Announced just this morning by the captain (who was so excited to share he came into the guest cabins with the announcement) masks are now optional in all areas of the ship, including the theater and casino. He said those who still wished to wear masks could, of course, and the crew will also continue to mask, but passengers are not required to any longer.  

We’re headed to Tortola and we decided against the baths as my hubby’s foot has been bothering him and probably too strenuous right now. Instead we chose the Jost Van Dyke excursion. Anyone does this one? And is it fun? We have time to cancel if it sucks. We swore off ship sponsored tours…but don’t really know what else we want to do there and my husband loves Kenny Chesney so I would think that adds to the appeal…lol. Opinions appreciated! 

I'm intrigued where and how you get the fresh fish or steaks to order. We frequented the OVC on our Equinox trip, but we missed the actual dinner hours often, so I didn't see which station would have done it. Where would we find it on Edge? And do you have to request it, or is it like the eggs benedict and omelet station where they're standing at the ready?  We're (hopefully) on Edge soon, and the sun sets a little earlier now so maybe we'll actually make it! 

Hi again all. Things are looking positive for our holiday. I just realized that they recently "upgraded" their phone system at his job, and now everyone is using a VoIP phone number and he downloaded the app for it (its Ring Central I think? He says its like skype on steroids). Anyone use something like this to get around potential weak signal? I know one particular cruiseline that's known for "fun" has been blocking WiFi calling that goes straight through the phone, but this app thing might be a game changer. Anyone used something similar?

Hello all. Cruising in a few weeks. Relatively new to Celebrity (did first ever on November)  and going through a mlife annual cruise offer. My game of choice is UTH. However, in November they had relatively low limits and when I asked about having it increased, they told me it had to be arranged in advance but no other details. Does anyone know how to go about requesting higher limits? Thank you 

2 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

pay the piper and upgrade

Absolutely glad to just as long as we can get some reliable connectivity. 

Hi all. Supposed to go on edge in a few weeks and my husband needs to stay connected via phone to work because things beyond his control have reared their ugly heads but we are still hopeful to go. We were on Equinox a few months ago and it was pretty terrible internet, but we didn’t go for the better quality internet. He needs WiFi calling (both dialing out and receiving calls) to work at a minimum, and would be even better if he could get SMS (text) to communicate with the office. We couldn’t hardly place calls and never received any, and iMessages were unreliable (constantly disconnecting from the internet.) If he’s not able to count on the internet being fairly reliable(85-90%), we may have to sadly cancel so I’m anxious to hear recent experiences. Thank you! 

17 hours ago, sanger727 said:

A few questions because I am rather familiar with the courts. I assume this is a criminal case? Is it the first trial setting? Has your wife actually spoken to the prosecutor about the fact that she will be out of town that day? Unless this has postponed several times and the state is running up against time constraints it's hard to imagine a situation where the defense attorney would have 100% control over when the case is scheduled.

16 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

@Dizzy49 If this is a deposition and not the trial your wife should have the ability to reschedule. Proving that the trip was scheduled before the subpoena was served.

Since it sounds like WebEx is a no-go, I think the two above posters have the best idea. Depositions get rescheduled all the time. Inferring from what you said, it sounds as though your wife has information that will be helpful for her friend (not the defendant) and hopefully she has her own attorney. If that's correct, ask your friend that you're doing the favor for to reach out to her attorney ASAP and tell her you have a conflict with the set date. I would expect the attorney to call, get the scoop from you and you can tell her you've explored all avenues and see if they can reschedule. Have a list of several dates ready that will work for you to offer.  I would certainly try that before I cancelled my long planned, fully paid for milestone family cruise.

I didn’t know the Aqua Spa fresh pressed juices were included in the premium package! So good to know! 

I wish I knew the answer...I hope someone will come along because my work uses the same (but also requires a fancy vpn) so I'll be monitoring this thread. As someone who has used WebEx daily since the pandemic started, what I can tell you is that WebEx does seem to be a little less taxing on computers compared to some of the other meeting platforms, and its important to make sure the computer/phone she's using has the WebEx app installed if it's a Mac/chromebook or an iphone (full disclosure I know nothing about Samsung phones). Also, you can "phone in" to a meeting through WebEx (by using wifi calling) or connect with audio only on the meeting...but I'm not sure opposing counsel would be okay without seeing the person being deposed. Another little trick is to make sure there's no virtual background on.  I've not been brave enough to try it on a ship. I've done it a fair amount from hotels and never had a problem...but learned working on vacation for me is not a vacation!

Hopefully someone else will come along who has ventured out on this quest and can answer for us both!

Hello experienced Celebrity cruisers. We are set to embark on the Edge mid-February and one of the ports we're very hopeful that we'll stop at is Tortola. Given the current climate, we think our best bet for this new-to-us port is to do a ship sponsored excursion.  Since it's new, we've always heard people say you have to see the baths in Virgin Gorda...so that's the plan! However, there's 2 different Celebrity excursions that go there. One talks about a boat and then a bus and some swimming. The second says a boat ride, and then snorkeling and swimming. Is one better than the other?  Are there chairs or the like to sit on the beach?  Do you think we're picking the right thing for our first stop? We don't know when we'll be here again so we want to make the best choice! Thank you

When we boarded on Equinox, there was a card on our bed that said our cabin wasn't quite ready and to check back later. We were able to put our carry-ons away as others have stated. 

Hopefully easy question....where do you go to book airport transfers for going from the airport to the port? I'm trying to get to Port Everglades from MIA. Thank you!

Same for Edge/Nassau, but we’re not sailing until 2/20, so they must be expecting restrictions for a while! 

Hi all. We were scheduled to go on a 12/26 carnival cruise and decided to cancel when they announced the spike with omicron and allowed full refunds. Well, somehow, they are tagging out account as though we went and its coming as no play, which, of course killed our offers. I believe they are doing this because we do have a "welcome home" offer (which is nothing special), but everything else prices HIGHER than what you can get with no VIFP number. Is there anything we can do or did it just ruin our chances at some discounted casino cruises with Carnival until we cruise again (not until Labor Day) and they see some play?

The old offers we had expired on 1/3, and nothing was reloaded in their place. Usually they will either extend out the dates, or reload some a day or two later. We got nothing!

Thank you! It was right under our names. I don’t see either pall or call on the express pass- but now I’m not sure that’s what I saw last time. Probably was our captains club info that I didn’t understand! Oh well. I’ll bring my invoice just in case. 

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

are you in the retreat?

Nope, just a sunset verandah. 

Hi all! Have a cruise on Edge coming up, and check in opened today. This is a cruise that has been lifted and shifted several times, and was booked before Celebrity ever had "all inclusive" and instead was part of "the perks" program. On our invoice, it has the line of PRINGRAT7 listed, which I was under the impression meant the premium package, as I am pretty sure that was one of our "perks" when we initially booked. After checking in, on the XPress Pass says "classic" which was what it said on our last cruise, which we did have the classic beverage package. We're pretty new here, so I am trying to make sure we're getting what we are supposed to. Thanks!!

18 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

Was your cruise before Jan. 15th? 

Our cruise was today! We pushed our decision to the last second to cancel. 

1 hour ago, RoperDK said:

I have been on hold now for over an hour.  Well, actually someone answered pretty quickly and I went through the whole spiel to cancel my cruise only to be told that because it's a casino offer I will need to talk to them.  She transferred me and I entered a whole new wait queue. 

Ours was also a casino offer and I was able to cancel using the “Resolutions” department. 

Update #2: made it through at 2:24. Very

nice rep but obviously stressed. Took care of everything efficiently and refunded no problem. 

I spoke to someone after being on hold for 53 minutes, then got transferred to wait for the resolutions team. Still waiting…2 hours and counting. 

They opened at 9am Eastern. I was on hold at 9:01. Now on hold at the 2 hour mark waiting on the resolution team for the refund. I’ll hear this woman’s voice tonight in my sleep.