cjmayes51

Considering taking the train to Tampa. Brilliance of the Seas 4pm departure. Train schedule says arrival at 12:39pm. Is that enough time to get to the port. And more importantly... how often does the train run late? Makes me nervous.

You have alot more faith in Amtrak's on time schedule then I would. ;)

We are just off the 10 day Equinox Caribbean and after about a million cruises someone actually got left behind. Long ago we were on a cruise and the pilot boat deposited a dad and little girl, but this was a first. Our cabin steward (Lloyd) who was outstanding, told us that they had packed the family's stuff and would be sending it along. I know how the system works but in all of our years of cruising this was the first time that someone really "missed the boat."

Parenthetically this was a good if a bit uneven cruise. We like Aqua and found the cabin service and the food and service in Blu to be as good as we have ever had. On the other side of the equation the ship felt really crowded and the general service varied from not great to non existent. We have been cruising with Celebrity since 1991 and still think that for a mass market line, it is still a pretty good value. Change is inevitable; some for the better and some for the worse. Based on an adjusted CPI it is less expensive to cruise now than it has been anytime prior. Cruising is a multi billion dollar industry and shareholder return is for better or worse the name of the game. We try to be as positive as possible, and let our feet do the talking if we don't like a line. Time only moves forward regardless how much we might mourn for the "good ol days."

Been on 11 cruises since 1998- on at least 3 we have seen people left on the dock as the ship pulled away. Once in Bonaire, once in St Martin & once in St Kitts- - unfortunately 2 of the 3 were families with 2 kids- in both instances ship waited an extra 30 minutes or so and as we were a 100 yards or so away from the dock you could see them running down the dock waving- 2 cruises were Princess & one was Celebrity. All were from 2001 to 2009 though. Charlie

I use my IPAD for 90 % of my internet usage- & have always been locked out of Celebrity- always just freezing- but with my desktop and Windows 7 I get thru about 95% of the time without issues- Is it their website or their website working with different software on our end? :confused:

Have a cruise booked for March 19, 2017- how far out do hotel reservation booking go? Similar to airlines at around 11 months. Needing room in FLL even though we are cruising out of POM. Flights have always been much cheaper to FLL. Thanks for any feedback. Charlie

JOHNinDC is correct- google SAS Fort Lauderdale and read their website- Great deal. Charlie :)

Thanks to all here- I don't check the boards but maybe 2 or 3 times a week- but I saw this post last night & called my TA this AM. We booked the 3/19/17 Eclipse 14 day in a 1A back in October. Got what I thought was a good rate & the free drink package. I was able to add the free grats to our cruise. The Celebrity price did go up from our original date but for an additional $100 for our cabin I was able to save around $350 for the cruise- NOT BAD! Thanks for the info. Charlie :)

Not defending X but when reading about those who spend zero on board and are now no longer interested in cruising with them , I've got to believe managements feelings are, Good! ( I do my best to make sure they don't love me either).:D

Similar note: Just this year I put three people I work with on a cruise for the very first time- All 3 couples had never been on a cruise-a 60 year old, 27 year old & 42 year old & their wives. I gave them a ton of info & put them all on Cruise Critic to do research on what to do & not to do. All 7 day cruises on RCCL- 2x & 1 Carnival. When they returned all 3 couples said had a fantastic time but none thought they would go again any time soon, mainly because of what they spent on board- The 60 year old couple almost $1000 on tours, pictures, drinks & the like. They are set up on a 10 day AI in the Dominican in a few weeks instead- thinking it is much cheaper- . I realize Cruise lines want passengers who will spend $$ on ship, but sometimes that can and will backfire when all is said and done. We were that way in the late 80's when we started, but you can bring home only so many 8 x 10 photos & when you seem to cruise the same islands over & over in the Caribbean- ship tours are out. I retire at the end of next year & will be booking longer & more exotic cruises each year, but if you don't catch the bug- Celebrity & the other lines just may miss more of those new cruisers in the long run. Charlie

The wife and I have been cruising every other year since 1988- She is now retired and I will retire late next year. We had planned on cruising 2 to 3 times a year after my retirement, but without discounts & now they say no more last minute price reductions for cruises within 30-45 days of sailing I may have to try the all inclusive thing. I can see Celebrity going after the younger crowd- we won't live forever, but I have 6-10 cruises in me for the next 5 years at least- should my $$ be going somewhere else? Also last 6 cruises have been 10 days & we are on our 1st 14 day Eclipse in early 2017. After that it will be Hawaii to Australia for 20+ so any little discount to us old folks would be nice!;)

Thank you all you wonderful folks that have supplied us with info. As far as USA holidays are concerned, would it be better to cruise in February rather than March. Is February and March weather similar for the southern Caribbean or is one month better than the other. We are big time lovers of swimming/snorkelling.

Once again, thanks guys.

Cheers bob.

Our last 4 cruises have been late March & we are going the 3/19/17 Eclipse 14 day in the future- Weather has been very good the latter part of march-we have encountered very little to no rain on each trip but were probably very lucky- & the sea water temps are warmer then February so that was really nice for days at the beach. Charlie

We booked Oct 8th for the Eclipse 3-19-17 Caribbean cruise, 17 months out and we were wait listed early dining in the MDR, over 500 days out. What's up. Charlie :confused:

Just booked a 3/19/17 Eclipse cruise this past weekend - got confirmation from my TA yesterday and we are waitlisted for the 6:00PM Dinner Seating. Does that seem a little odd this far out or maybe people are just booking further out now- I can live with second seating as we have done that on 90% of the previous cruises we have been on, but with the itinerary of this cruise and being on a number of islands until midnight or later I hoped to eat dinner and head back to the islands for a few hours. Is this normal now? Charlie:confused:

Was that Travel Agent credit (which I know you get back) or Celebrity credit, in which case I don't think you do and what I meant by "from Celebrity".

 

I had a follow up from Celebrity for my shore excursion query (light plane over Alaska) and the flaky website that only allows me to buy it if I am OVER the maximum weight allowance.

 

I was told to tick the selection that allowed me to purchase the flights. So now only people who do not meet the weight requirements (over 250 lbs) can book the excursions or people under that weight stating they are over it. I wonder how that is going to play out on excursion day........

$300 was from Celebrity- $150 from TA

I didn't think you could cash out OBC from Celebrity anymore? I'm waiting until I get onboard.

Got off the Equinox last week- had $450 OBC and I cashed in $350 of it in the Casino less the 5%- no issues what so ever- used the balance for gifts for the Grandkids. Charlie

Premium Alcoholic :) Charlie

Called two weeks ago to upgrade Classic to Premium-did with a CSR over the phone - 10 day cruise was $118.00 per person- no sales tax charged . Charlie

Sorry, it was $399, not $299, but it was the Air 2nd generation. charlie

I understand why someone from outside the US where prices are higher would buy on board. But I can not understand why anyone from the US would buy on board. Prices are the same. Selection stinks. Is there an advantage that I am missing?

 

DON

People in the US need to use the internet if interested in a new IPAD- yesteday I saw a 64GB new IPAD for $299 in techbargains. New models coming and the old are being sold off. Charlie

Some people will never change- my wife & I began cruising in 1988 on the Song of America- two years later on the Soverign of the Seas- - Both times we had large tables of 8 people who got along I thought very well- the waiter & server were both fantastic, but in both 7 days cruises my wife & I were the only people at dinner the last night- we though that odd. On our Soverign cruise it was the same thing- I asked our young waiter from Mexico if something was wrong & he explained about people not wanting to tip- not showing up the last night to hand out tip envelopes. Man did I feel bad for these guys. Our tables had been a mixture of first time cruises and those who had been on numerous prior cruises. I see why tips have now been added automatically by the cruise lines. By the way or table mates were all from the US and from what we could tell { if you could believe them }fairly well off. Yes each country will have different tipping guidelines but these people for the most part are not stupid & stiffing someone because you didn't get outstanding service or because they are making more money then others in their country is wrong..

How many tons of fresh oranges would need to be delivered each week, to each ship, to satisfy 3000 people with fresh squeezed OJ? What do you do with the depleted squeezed oranges after you are finished- dump them in the ocean or pay to drop them off at each successive port on the schedule with the large amount of daily trash? I can live with or without fresh squeezed OJ in the AM- just wondering if in the future more decisions will be made as far as drinks & foods that will be based on the volume / space needed to transport & get rid of those products fresh vs frozen/concentrate?:( Charlie

Correct, all luggage is free. :):)

The flight that I am taking on US Air at the beginning of Feb. 1 is $750 to Fort Lauderdale and coming back it is also $750 for coach. They are both on Sundays,

PSA - If you have a few extra days, not on a tight schedule, you could have booked Amtrak out of Philadelphia for $226 round trip each person.

We did this a few years ago out on N. Carolina for about $190 round trip- Was about 17 hours each way I believe but $750.00 under the airfare at the time. Charlie :)

Hope to hear about this also- I have the same situation on Celebrity at the end of March- looking to go with the 6 1/2 hour tour but feedback would be helpful. Good Luck. Charlie:)

Thanks all- we kind of wanted it to be a surprise so I will call before the cruise & set it up. The card in the stateroom would be fine. :D

Our daughter is taking our Grandkids on a 7 day Fantasy cruise in April. The wife and I would like to surprise them with some OBC for the cruise. Can this be done thru Disney? would I need more then their names, date and ship or do I Need to find their reservation number? Charlie

With the ever increasing cost of air travel and $30-50 per bag charges we look for more trips we can drive to, as do many on the east coast and in the South. 2 cruises out of Charleston & 2 Disney cruises in the last 6 years continues to have more and more appeal for me out of Port Canaveral. If they can get some 10 day cruises from there I will be a frequent visitor as it's only a 9 hour drive. :D Charlie