cjmayes51

We are on the April 29th Solstice , a 12 day Honolulu to Vancover, got a 1b on hump with drink package for $3825 total. Booked in early Sept 2016 during a short buy one get second @ 50% off sale. We had been looking for over a year for a Hawaii to west coast or opposite direction. This was by far the best cost Celebrity sale we had seen + all future sales have been higher. Celebrity has a different sale seems like every month & you just have to keep looking until you find what you can live with. Good luck. Charlie

Without charging anyone, I would propose that in the morning when all the chair hogs come out, the pool attendants just tell people they can only "reserve" one or two lounges. I'm sure that some type of control can be taken, I once saw a woman take 14 chairs in the Solarium in the morning and then disappear.

How about we take a photo or two of the hogs and post them here. Would we get banned :eek:

Charlie

I’ve had rooms 9207, 9209 & we are in 9211 on the Reflection later this year. the rooms are the same size, but the balcony’s are 30-50% larger on the angled hump, a little windier but nothing to be worried about. We have 2 Celebrity Cruises this year and have 9211 & 9207 booked. 4th time on deck 9, very close to everything, quiet and just 10-15 seconds to the elevations. You will love these rooms. Charlie

Sorry, cab charged us $28.00 this past March from FLL to this Embassy Suites, that was high, we must have gotten shafted that day.

I must have been shafted in March 2017, cab from FLL

Very nice video, looking forward to this December for my 14 day. Charlie:D

Just recently retired and have always wanted to do the California to Tahiti and back to CA, usually 28 days. Looks like Princess & Holland America are the only ones to do this and I don’t want to pay for flight to Australia since I am out of frequent flyer miles so a one way is currently out of the question. Has anyone done this on both lines who can give the positive & negatives of each. Looking for a standard balcony & probably in early 2019. Thanks Charlie

Panama Canel had 2 cruises on the Infinity - both 15 days, an East bound & a Western bound, between LA & Ft Lauderdale, in November I believe.Charlie

Sorry- I had to vent. I quoted yesterday a 28 day LA round trip to South Pacific on the Star Princess, via an internet TA I have used 8-9 times since the early 90's. BE balcony which is about $12,500 for the trip. They came back with a $100 off per person & a $50.00 per person room credit. Now I haven't been on Princess since 2004, pretty exclusive Celebrity over the last 12 years, but I just retired an wanted to do this cruise for years. But not sure I can take these savings - has this agency gone loco? :eek: Charlie

In April the DW & I got off our first 14 day cruise on the Equinox. Great time & have another 14 day on the Reflection booked in 2018. We were @ a table for 10, with great couples from around the US, during our table conversations I found it odd that we were the only couple who had used a TA- the other 4 couples all booked direct with Celebrity. We were also the only couple with the free drink package, that we upgraded to Premium. 6 of the other 8 people bought wine & mixed drinks during dinner and were not offered the drink package perk when they booked. They were very interested in how I had gotten it. As a CC reader for 20 years I just didn't realize that people who had cruised 5-10 times were not aware of this board & the info available. Can you even book a Celebrity cruise now without being offered a perk? By the way when we booked our Reflection 14 day, I had 6 different quotes for our 1A , some with $450 & $500 OBC, but they were also $500+ higher then a TA who didn't offer but a $50 credit- so it looks like you pay it one way or the other. Charlie

Wife is retired & I retire at the end of August 2017. I already have 2 Celebrity, 12 & 14, day cruises booked for 2018, but we really would like to do a long Transpacific in 2019. I need some help in picking one. Ideal would be to fly to Sydney or somewhere in New Zealand & cruise back to the west coast - 25-35 days total being preferable. Is there a way to look at all the different cruise lines that might offer this or should I pick a TA who I hope will do the research for me & let me know what is available. I love looking on line myself but fear I may be missing something other then the HAL & Princess web sites. Charlie

A number of years ago, on the Emerald Princess I had gotten up early to take some ship photos & about 7:15 AM I saw a woman doing the same thing- had towels & books to save 6 chairs around one of the pools. I went up & took some photos of her while she was hogging. She asked me why I was taking her picture & I told her it was going to post it on Cruise Critic when I returned and make her famous. I really wasn't but she didn't know that. An hour or so later I saw where her group, now about 3 were up on the upper deck out of the way. Not sure I scared her or what but I gather she had heard about CC!

Charlie

Agreed! As a new Cruise Critic member I am very disappointed with the judgmental posts of some people on these boards. Let's be kind to one another people!

I think it's a great way to get your post count up into the thousands! ;)

I just booked my first cruise direct with Celebrity. As a rule I don't like middle men if it can be avoided, however, I'm having some difficulty. They assigned me a "cruise specialist" but as near as I can figure he never answers the phone and has not returned my calls. People seem to get very personalized service from TA's, but is that level of service possible with the big online agencies? I live in upstate New York and don't know any local agents or anyone who's used one.

 

Any advice much appreciated, thanks.

Good luck with your TA hunt - but please do your research. I live in North Carolina & have been using a TA that is 700 miles away for 30 years. I may not get as much OBC as many here, but I just booked a 2017 & 2 a 2018 Celebrity cruise with them & didn't get any OBC from her, but my price was $300-400 less per person then many of the really large internet TA's who wow you with a bunch of OBC & I got quotes from 3 of the biggest. I would rather pay $800-$1000 less then Celebrity's pricing & not worry about a $500 OBC with a higher cost. No one agent will always give you the best cost or even best Service . Good luck! Charlie

I May have missed it, but eating out everyday at lunch has stopped. I work in a large office and for many years 4 or 5 of use went out each day ay lunch. $ 7- 9.00 a day + tip is about $200 a month. For the last 10 years I make leftovers from the dinner the night before. We now take a 10 day every 2 years in a balcony all paid for by staying in at lunch , eating leftovers & surfing cruise critic for the latest info. 😀

We are on the same Eclipse 3/19/17 cruise with you, also thinking about driving down but remember that this will still be winter. You can run into sunny and 60 degrees or sleet/ ice for long periods of time in mid March. Please plan for the worst & hope for the best. Charlie

Be careful of these weekly TA sales- I checked that web based TA giving the 2 freebies instead of 1 for our April 2018, 12 day Hawaii to Vancouver on the Solstice. We already have a 1B booked with the drink package- their cost for a 1B with 2 perks was $520 more per person then we got 1 month ago from our TA. Not sure if $1040 more is worth it for free gratuities.:(

Looks life 2017 pricing is up today. Charlie :)

I had an email from them in April- they said 2017 would be posted by the end of June. Charlie

We cruise every other year, longer cruises usually out of Ft Lauderdale. I book usually a room at 7-9 months out if I find something I like, because most of our cruises are in March. I see more & more that people will book 3-4 rooms with the idea of cancelling later. I hope everyone knows this helps with the issue of higher costs & no availability. On my next March 2017 cruise, many, many, people on our message board have 3-4 rooms on hold! They plan on cancelling if something better comes up but I think this also keeps room rates higher until last minute, If 10,000-15,000 people are cruising out of Port Everglades on a Saturday & 10% of cruisers follow this rule of booking multiple rooms with the idea of cancelling later, does this help or hurt our chances for a fair price.

For our March 2015 we had a room booked in Dania for the night before our cruise. We booked in May 2015 but in Oct 2014, for 2 days, Orbitz had the usual H I Express 17th St on sale for $119- I cancelled & took a good price for a good hotel in one of the best areas for cruisers, 2 days later prices went back to $219.00 & I didn't see much change later. :confused:

Charlie

emailed value trip last week on when 2017 would open for reservations @Hyatt Place, they emailed back 2 days later and said June. cHarlie

As someone who is a year away from retirement & owns a large amount of Disney stock- I hope there are many DCL lovers who will fill these ships. But I sure can't afford this. DW and I booked a 14 day Caribbean Celebrity cruise in 2017- all drinks & tips included, in a large balcony, for $4600 total for both of us. We had a great time taking the grandkids on the Dream in 2012 for a 5 day, but for what that cost we could have taken them on a 15 day Princess RT to Hawaii. - I know the Disney atmosphere is much different & nicer- but WOW $$

Charlie:(

Anyone used it?

Used it twice in the last 3 years- both times in mid-late March . Great location, friendly staff & an overall good but not great hotel. Perfect for a 1 night stay. Depending upon when you are going there can be some good prices. I will be trying to book again for a pre stay on the night before our March 2017 14 days cruise. Charlie

I have wanted a Citizens Blue Angels Skyhawk for the last few years- On our March 2015 Equinox cruise the ship store had 35% off all Citizen watches, I thought I could do better & in St Thomas I found two stores offering 50% off list. After playing one against the other- they were on the same block- I ended up getting 54% off the list { list price was same as here in the US}. I was happy. :) Charlie

That has largely been our experience for 9 cruises on Celebrity.

 

We don't cruise the Caribbean and have done cruises that tend to be popular. For the couple of cruises where the price dropped, we called and got the lowest price, except for one cruise where the price dropped a bit after final payment and we were able to up grade to Aqua.

 

Celebrity's pricing his really disappointed me recently with the GoBBB that has led to higher prices for the bottom line. We did book a TA for 2017 that did not involve the GoBBB.

 

Regarding the drop in pricing, there are things going on in the World that may discourage cruisers.

 

First, the stock market has dropped a bit in the USA and many financial experts are predicting a recession.

Second, China's economy and stock market both seem to be on the way down. That will affect the World economy.

Third, the turmoil in Syria/Iraq has affected Turkey and with so many refugees in Europe, popular ports like Istanbul are out and others may be on hold for travel to some areas.

Fourth, the Zita virus in South and Central America may cause some to defer travel there. Not that many Celebrity cruisers are likely to get pregnant, but the virus being there many be a factor.

Fifth, Celebrity's high prices may be deterring bookings.

Your post is spot on! :)

Charlie