Ellen S

I just checked my Captain's Club points.  I received the 5 points from the May webinar.   I had trouble watching it because it kept freezing.  And I really wanted to watch Captain Kate.   I did see most of it.  Happy to see the points.  

We're in our mid 30s, no kids. I know NCL goes to Bermuda, but we don't really want to sail with them. I don't know what it is about NCL that turns us off. So what's some must sees in Bermuda.

 

 

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I would do Alaska definitely . But look into doing a week land and a week on the cruise (do cruise second). To me just going for a week is not enough. Best time to go is June into July. We did the trip in 1999 and loved it.

My DH and I have also done Bermuda by cruise (all on the Summit) 3 times and would love to go back. And do the 7 day. We learned the transportation system and just love taking the ferry and riding the buses.

Health reasons for both of us is keeping us from cruising. Otherwise we would be doing Bermuda next June. It's just a nice trip. We enjoy not having to fly to get to Bayonne. We only live an hour and a half and we take a car service. We are definitely spoiled.

Also, Bermuda is a much more relaxing trip.

Good Luck with your decision. :)

We do prepaid gratuities and most of the time we are very happy with our room steward and even though we do select dining we end up at the same table, we will tip extra at the end of the cruise. But it is not necessary.

If it is for medical reasons they give you your money back no matter when you cancel (as long as it's before the excursion).

That's just it, Christine Frances...As I mentioned in my original post, the information that the rep sent to my email (I assume this is the guest copy?) has no mention of my original perks.

 

 

 

Am I weird that I do not like speakers? :D I'll give the Captains Club a call tomorrow and use the speaker if I have to.

I only use the speaker when on hold. Put it back to talk when I actually get a person. I do not like using the speaker either. Good luck with your call.

I called to cancel a cruise. The Celebrity rep suggested that I transfer that booking to another cruise that we were planning on booking. It's done.;) The reservation number of the new cruise is the same as the old, so that's not my problem. The problem is that none of the perks seems to transfer to the new booking, so I wanted to know if anyone else has had this happened and perhaps it's not unusual...the info is in Celebrity's records, but not showing up for me in the PDF or online..

If your phone has a speaker on it. Use the speaker while you are waiting. My dh and I do that all the time. This way the phone sits on the table and you don't have to hold the phone, just need to listen to the annoying music. Works like a charm.:)

We were on the Summit Sept 29th when my husband went into Congestive Heart Failure on the Ship. First he started with Braca Caridia (a low heart rate). We were on the way to Quebec City. The dr and his staff stabilized him and in the morning we were sent by ambulance to the local hospital. We were assigned a Port Agent who helped us get to and from the hospital to the ship. The ship was staying overnight and the hospital kept him overnight.

We had taken travel insurance from the TA. It was Travel International. I called them right away and they assigned us a Ref # and checked in with us the next day.

My husband was watched overnight and we were allowed to go back to the ship and pack up and fly home to Philadelphia the same day. Guest Services got us a flight back to Philadelphia late in the afternoon. We were given a dr staff member to stay with my husband the whole time we were on the ship. My daughter was also with us and we left her with most of our luggage and she did the rest of the cruise. She had met people from Cruise Critic and someone from Philadelphia and she was not alone. Also the staff kept asking how we were.

The dr's bill was put on our sea pass, the ambulance and hospital charges and airplane chargee were put on our credit card. Fortunately the amounts did not exceed our CC limit. I was able to email all the bills and charges to Travel International. And they paid everything. I also had a wonderful agent who took care of us.

In the meantime when my husband and I got home he was told he needed a pace maker. One was put in a week later and he is doing ok since. He had a major heart attack December , 2013 and was given a clean bill of health to go on the cruise. Obviously the trip was too much for him. But he did have a week of New England and places that he likes.

I know this is not like getting sick in another part of the world, but I hope this helps. One of the things (and I know it's hard) you must make sure you have all your information handy and make sure you keep the receipts from anything you pay. Also the insurance paid us back for the week we were not on the ship. If any one has any questions, I can answer them. It was a very scary time for me and glad I had our daughter with us.

You are near the hideaway.:) Great place to read and get a cup of coffee anytime day or night. And being close to the elevators is a good thing. We were on the Silhouette two years ago and it's like yesterday. We did stay closer to the front elevators because there were less people. After the shows the mid ship elevators get crowded. Stay where you are. Ship is easy to get around. Unfortunately because of my DH health we are not cruising for a while.

..... and the best part comes when you remain on the ship for the next leg, continuing on around Cape Horn and up the east coast of South America to Buenos Aires.

 

Did the repo cruise in December 2009 on the Infinity. It was one of our best cruises. We saw Oasis of the Seas leave for her maiden voyage. She is in Fort Lauderdale today.

We did choice air. We flew from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale a couple days early and visited family and friends. Flew home from Santiago, Chile to Miami (Miami not a fun airport) to Philadelphia. It was 95 degrees in Chile while Philadelphia was getting 2 feet of snow.

Loved going through the Panama Canal. Where ever you decide will be a good choice. Enjoy!

Today, I just completed a spreadsheet covering the restaurants and bars available on the Summit. We will be sailing on her in just 3 short weeks and being a first-time Celebrity cruiser, we are not that familiar with the restaurants and bars fleet-wide. Realizing you are sailing on the Eclipse, this will not be tailored exactly for your cruise but I think there is enough info that, through some interpolation, it may be useful (i.e. Normandy = Murano).

 

I hope this is helpful. And, I hope this attachment works - never done it before (PDF file - requires Adobe Reader.)

 

Richard

What a wonderful spreadsheet for M Class Ships and for people not familiar with the ship. Celebrity should do this for both M Class and S Class ships. Wonder why they never thought of it. :)

Thanks for posting the pictures. Brings back great memories!

Obviously the poster who said "the ride was boring" does not enjoy riding trains and looking at fantastic scenery. It's been over 14 years since we did the trip and the memories are one of the best. If you are a train buff do the train both ways. If not, do the 6 hour combination bus and train. Good luck.

I would not wear jeans at dinner except the buffet. You do not see people wearing jeans at dinner on Celebrity the way you do on Carnival. Can you go on your roll call and ask the people there about it? I have done a couple Carnival cruises and they dress down compared to Celebrity. I enjoy wearing something a little nice at dinner and you only need a couple nice things. I pack black pants that roll up very small and a couple of nice tops and send clothes to the laundry.

Hi,:D I went to The Swizzle Inn and this is what my itinerary was for the

day....I took the Ferry to St George and walked around for a bit. Then

I took a bus to "The Crystal Caves". I can't remember which bus but

it is very easy to find out. I went on a tour of the caves and THEN

went to the Swizzle Inn. It is definitely walkable from the Caves.

I had a wonderful lunch and RUM SWIZZLE:D.....then I took the bus

to Hamilton (the bus stop is at The Swizzle Inn).....when I got to

Hamilton I walked around a bit and then took the Ferry back to the ship.

It was a great day for me:)

Lois, We try to go to the Swizzle Inn while in Bermuda. We like to make a day of it also. Took the ferry to St. George, walked around to the bus then got off at the Swizzle Inn (Had been to the Caves the first time we went and then to the Swizzle Inn). Then took the bus to Hamilton and the ferry back to the ship. If this is the OP's first time in Bermuda they may want to take some kind of an excursion. After that just bus or ferry around the Island. Hoping to get back to Bermuda in August and will definitely go back to the Swizzle Inn. Bought a T Shirt that says Swizzle Inn and the back says Swagger Out. Love the shirt!

Jonathan still remember you from one of the Bermuda trips. It's nice to see you on CC.:)

My bride and I have well over 60 voyages under our belts. Some Cd's are blissfully forgotten others stick in our memories for reasons that are significant to us.

 

Among those who we fell added to the cruise experience positively are:

 

Eddie Dawson of the former Home Lines

Stanley Kayne also of the now-defunct Home Lines

The GREAT Allan King whom we sailed with during his tenure with Costa

Peter Tredgett of Princess

Rich Clesen of Celebrity

Stewart Turnbull of Celebrity

 

Among those who were benign-to-boring:

 

None worth space in our memories

 

On May 10, we sail from Yokohama to Vancouver aboard Millennium. I have learned that a gentleman named Steve Gayda (as CD) will be on the last cruise of his contract on that passage. We know nothing about Mr. Gayda and look forward to learning - with optimism.

 

Last, I can only imagine how darn-near-impossible it is to keep several thousand passengers (of mixed cultures and temperaments) smiling during a cruise vacation. I would think it easier on a port-intensive voyage of short duration. Having a bottomless pit of jokes, games and the like on a cruise that remains at sea for many days in a row would, me thinks, make that hill even steeper for a CD.

 

Happy Cruising to All!

 

BTW, what time is the midnight buffet? And does the crew sleep on the ship?

Loved Alan King. We were on a couple of cruises with him and he was always personable. On our cruise in September we talked to the CD and he told us that Alan is retired in Hawaii. Do not remember CD's name. But Alan was wonderful. When you were in port and he saw you, he would stop and say hello (even when his wife was with him). :)

Depending what day you are coming back the Reflection will be among 5 or 6 ships at the port. Would take that into consideration. Also the Miami airport security could also be backed up. IMHO I would take the later flight.

Should be very easy. When you board go to the shore excursion desk. It's across from the guest relations desk. They have brochures you can check out. Deck 3. I was on the ship February 2012 and loved it.

A couple things about the Silhouette: Deck 7 is the Hideaway. A nice place to read and get a cup of coffee or tea. Also, if your cabin is not ready when you get on the ship go to Bistro on 5. They charge $5 a person for lunch. Well worth it. Much better than the buffet (which is very crowded on the first day). Looks like it is just off the elevators mid ship. Enjoy your cruise.

I put either a cruise critic sign or home made sign and hang it with string. This way when I come down the corridor I can find my cabin easily. It is extremely helpful when you are in the middle. :)

On our last cruise we were in a C3. We separated the 2 beds and had one of the women sleep in the sofa bed. That worked.

Beth, You say you use your middle name. So does my DH. And it causes all kinds of problems( including 40 years ago trying to get a marriage license). But since he got his passport, for traveling we only use his first name and that solves all kinds of problems. I am surprised the Cruise lines and airlines do not do the same to you.

I also sent an email to Michael Bayley's office. I wanted the company to know what a positive experience I had on the Summit when my husband was taken very ill in September. I got a call about a month later and the rep and I had a very nice call. I also wanted the information to get back to the captain. The rep said he was going to forward my email.

Great comments, thanks for posting. We are on the Summit Feb 2014, late dining.

I'm a morning person and tend to get sleepy faced by 10pm (especially with beverage package).

The later 8:45 time slot for dining may mean I'm napping during desert. :).

We have one of the Sweet 16s booked for our 1 week (lucky you B2B). I'm wondering if we are looking at lifeboats and not the ocean when we look down.

We've only cruised Princess before and I'm concerned that I will be disappointed with Summit, especially the pool. I'm interested in hearing your comments on the pool area. Personally I too enjoy music to read by, and especially Caribbean music while I sip my cocktails.

Thanks for your comments!

 

Why don't you try Select seating. It works well. If you like a certain time or area you can make arrangements for the table to sit at. Also going around 6:30-6:45pm there are no lines.

Hi,:) I have never seen a Sushi making class either but I have seen (and participated in) a culinary event on board. They have a Chef's

Competition which is alot of fun:)....2 Chefs each have a passenger

as their assistant and 3 passengers are judges. Their version of

Food Network's "Iron Chef".

 

They also have food demostrations on board but not a class (that

I can think of).

Lois, I just pulled out my Celebrity Today from the February 22, 2012 cruise.

The Art of Entertaining: Sushi Making Demonstration at 3:00pm in the Grand Foyer. That was the only one I remember that they let the passengers do anything.

There were quite a few food demonstrations including the "Star Chefs" Cooking Show. That was held on Friday, March 2nd. Always fun! And BTW I also love the Summit. :)

I was on the Silhouette February, 2012 and there was a sushi making class. I made sushi for the first time and couldn't believe (with the right tools) how easy it was to make. The chefs do help you if you need. There were also other food demos plus the Cook Off in the theater toward the end of the cruise.

DH got sick on the Summit the end of September. Crew was fantastic and the Insurance Co was extremely easy to work with. All you need is the forms the insurance company will send you (after you call and tell them why you weren't going on the cruise) and your doctor to fill out the form. Also, if you worked with a TA you need to notify them also. Also, if you have any questions the insurance company has agents you can talk to.

Does any one know what the cruise companies are doing to help out their employees from the Philippines? Haven't read anything. My hearts and prayers with everyone from the Philippines. On the Silhouette February 2012 Dingo and Rusty were our Waiters. A married couple with two children at home in the Philippines. Do not know where they are know. If anyone knows, let me know. Thanks