Dimarie40

Taken from LLP's letter to CC members about her impending departure as CEO.  Can anyone shed any light on what she might mean when she refers to surprises on the ship being built after the Ascent? She refers to it as Edge V

On 6/11/2022 at 7:46 AM, saphir said:

i am already staying 3 days in Honolulu at the end of the cruise, so not too great ☹️ for me.

Then spend the day on the ship, relax by the pool, visit the spa etc. Treat it like a sea day. There is no rule saying you must get off the ship. 

Just wondering if anyone knows who will captain the Eclipse on the Transpacific from Honolulu to Sydney in October. I know Captain Leo is the current captain but it seems he is going on holiday once the ship reaches Hawaii and I’m interested to know who’s taking over. 
 

Also any insight into who the CD might be. I believe it could be Sue Denning as she’s currently on holiday from the Eclipse. 
 

‘Thanks.

The 1A cabins are our favourites and we always try to book one. Fantastic location and larger than normal verandas.

These are the cabins with the larger verandas located midship on deck 8 and 9.  The ones in red are on the front slant of the bump out and we prefer these as we can see forward and out but really we would be happy with any of them.

Deck 8 Starboard: 8224, 8226, 8228, 8230, 8252, 8254, 8256, 8258

Deck 8 Port: 8251, 8253, 8255, 8257, 8279, 8281, 8283, 8285

Deck 9 Starboard: 9264, 926, 9268, 9270

Deck 9 Port: 9207, 9209, 9211, 9215

I hope this helps you with your cabin selection. 

I think the earliest we will see cruise ships returning to Australia will be in October 2022 when the Transpacific cruises are scheduled.  Until we increase our vaccination rates and while we continue to have outbreaks our borders will remain closed.

The media has done a great job of scaring a large portion of the Australian population away from having the AstraZeneca vaccine (due to side effects particularly blood clotting) and this has slowed things down considerably. Things are starting to improve and vaccinations are beginning to ramp up so that's a step in the right direction. Our federal government has now secured many more Pfizer vaccines so expect that to have a positive impact. 

Yes, there is currently an outbreak of the Delta strain in Sydney and the government was slow to respond and is now faced with locking down the area until they have it under control. I am sure they will get on top of this within the next several weeks providing people do as they are asked and follow the rules set down by our leaders. 

We have just gone ahead and lifted and shifted our November 2021 cruise to November 2022 and had previously moved our TP from this year to October next year so I hope I am correct in my predictions. 

Persistence is sometimes necessary.  I tried to L&S our Vanuatu/NC cruise from December this year to a NZ cruise at the end of Nov 2021.  There was no other option that would work and we had a fabulous deal on a Sky Suite that I didn't want to lose.  The NZ cruise was one day longer.  I called Celebrity and was told it couldn't be done.  I also checked the website where you put in your cruise details and it tells you what options you have.  Mine showed zero!

Never one to take no for an initial answer I waited a day or two and called late in the afternoon.  It was a spur of the moment decision.  After explaining what I wanted to do, adding we were happy to pay for the extra day and that I knew via CC and FB that people were changing to  different itineraries and ships, he went away and spoke to a supervisor.  When he came back he said yes, we can do that for you.  I was stunned but extremely happy.    They worked out a price for the extra day, which we were very happy with.  He stressed that the invoice would take a few days to reflect the correct price and not to panic when I check my bookings as the listed price was triple the price we paid.  Three days later the new and correct price appeared.  We did have to change cabins as ours was taken but I think we may have gotten a better cabin in any case.

To say we are happy is an understatement.  Different ship, different itinerary, different cabin but the same price plus the extra day.  Now to hope and pray the cruise goes ahead.  As it's over a year away we are quietly hopeful. It will be our first suite and we are really looking forward to the experience.

We used www.shoretripsandtours.com  to book our tours in NZ.  Excellent service and much better pricing than the ship.

With all that gas I doubt very much there will be anyone to be rescued.  Such a sad situation. 

I just priced the Eclipse for the Transpacific from Sydney to Hawaii in April 2022.  We did this same sailing in April of this year.  We paid just over $7000 AUD for both of us in a veranda cabin plus another $1000 for a drinks package.  The 2022 sailing is coming in at $14,600 for both of us.  It does include a drinks package. That's roughly $5500 more than what the exact same cabin is going for now.  Consequently we will definitely not be booking early and will just wait until final payment time and see what's available and at what price then.  If the price drops to something more realistic then we'll book but that price is crazy!  Celebrity seems to be pricing many of us out of the market unfortunately. 

Edited November 13 by billslowsky

Australians will mutiny if they try to do this.  I can just imagine the uproar now!  We are on the October 27 Solstice sailing so we shall see what happens.  Could be an interesting cruise.😀

We are in Concierge on our October 27 cruise on the Solstice.  I do hope we can get a zippered tote bag. It's one less thing to pack and I just broke the handle on my flimsy Celebrity shopping bag yesterday so am in need of a replacement.  We shall see what happens. I will ask our stateroom attendant when we are on board.

I recommend you email Celebrity and state your facts and politely ask them if they can do anything to either upgrade you or perhaps give you some perks or OBC (on board credit) to use on the ship as a gesture of goodwill.  The best email to use is CelebrityOneTouch@Celebrity.com

If you don't receive a return email after a few days, email them again.  Sometimes they get very busy but they will reply if you send a second email.

I've just realised you are on POA and we were on Celebrity so please disregard some of that information.  I'm not sure if POA do self disembarkation but if they do I would recommend it or at least get into group number 1 for disembarkation.

Pammie,

We came off the Solstice in Hawaii in May and had a flight at 11:25 to another island. I was worried about that flight so 10am would have scared me silly.  Having said that, you have already booked and so I'll tell you what I recommend you do.

Do not put your bags out the night before.  Keep them with you and do self disembarkation.  Once the ship is in port you will have to wait for clearance and then they will announce the ship is cleared and disembarkation will commence.  Do not stop to eat breakfast, you can have something in the Qantas lounge and on the flight.  Get yourself and your luggage down to the disembarkation queue early, and I'm talking 6am. Hubby can go to Al Baccio for coffee which you stand in line or vise versa.  It will be on deck 2 or 3 I think but check that out while you are on board.  We didn't go to the line until about 6:45 and the queue was immense.  There were lots of people self disembarking. We got lucky and they sent us to start a new queue next to Cellarmasters but I wouldn't count on that.  As you will have had immigration done on Maui you will be able to walk straight off the ship and head for the taxis which is what we did.  Even with a delay due to the computer system having to be rebooted in order to scan our sea passes we were off the ship and at the airport by a little after 8 o'clock. 

It's definitely doable as long as you are organised and hit the ground running. 

Good luck and have a great cruise. 

10 minutes ago, Susan the Cruiser said:

Thank you so much!  I found it interesting that they priced out as verandas and not aqua class. 

It may have something to do with dining in Blu and the Persian Gardens component.  Adding another 13 cabins on top of the number of cabins designated as Aqua already might just be to much for the dining room to handle. 

They are the newly created cabins on the upgraded S class ships.  They would not have any obstructions in that position.  The view would be clear.

There are no loungers on the hump balcony cabins nor will your cabin steward be able to get one for you.  I asked for a footstool due to a back injury and even that wasn't enough to get one for me.  I just used my travel case instead.  I doubt very much indeed you will be able to have a lounger but I guess you could ask.  It might be your lucky day. 

We have returned from our Transpacific on the Solstice from Sydney to Hawaii.  It was a wonderful trip and I hope to do it again one day, perhaps in the reverse order.

As for Papeete, we ended up going on a circle island tour with Kevai tours.  It was booked in advance. We had a great day.  It was a private 4+ hour tour for 6 people and cost $600 USD in total.  Our guide was knowledgeable and funny and it was just the right amount of time spent driving around and looking at things.  We had lots of stops where we could take photos, grab a drink or a nibble.

The only problem we had with Papeete was that we were in port on Easter Monday and almost everything was closed however there were some markets and dancers plus a few of the stores along the front opened as well.  

Our favourite stop of course was Bora Bora.  The water was exquisite.  We used Patrick's on that day and it was fabulous.  They run a smooth operation and we had a great time with them.

Moorea came a very close second.  We used Moorea Miti tours and they were a highlight.  We had the most charming guide, Wilfred who taught us so much about the island and gave us the best day out swimming with sharks and rays, snorkelling the coral reefs, learning about medicinal plants, weaving hats, making poisson cru, singing island songs and making us laugh and laugh.  I simply cannot recommend this company enough.  

All three days spent in French Polynesia were wonderful and I am currently looking at flights to go back again and spend a week rather than just 3 days.  We are so lucky to have had this experience and if you get the chance to visit I highly recommend it. 

2 hours ago, Petoonya said:

One more promising option for you that you may not have tried yet. Our friends just returned from the same Windstar cruise we took and while they were in Papeete. They used Yota Tahiti and raved about the guide. https://www.yotatahiti.com/index.php/en/

He gets very good reviews on Tripadvisor too.

Thank you so much.  I have emailed him and have my fingers and toes crossed. 

1 hour ago, Petoonya said:

Unfortunately the island of Tahiti, unlike Bora Bora and Moorea, is not known for having good snorkeling. There are boat tours that can take you to good snorkeling spots, and a few of the hotels that have decent reefs to snorkel, but not really any stand out beaches or locations that are easily accessed. We did a snorkel tour on Tahiti that  was very expensive but fantastic a few years back with Tahiti Lagoon Paradise. You can google them. Did their "shipwrecks" tour and it was wonderful. The meeting spot is about 10 miles from where your ship will dock so be great if you've rented a car. Avis car rental will give you a map that will point out some of the sights you'll want to stop at on a circle island tour.

 

Did you already check with Taina Tahiti tours for a tour of the island?

 

I've visited Tahiti several times most recently in December. But the island of Tahiti itself is not my favorite as I too am a swimmer/snorkeler and it doesn't have much of that. Once you've driven around the island, and done some hikes....unless you enjoy shopping and visiting museums there is not much to do. Our December trip was 17 days in FP with two days in Papeete. We took the opportunity to add extra days in Moorea by using the ferry which is right next to the cruise port. We did Moorea Activities Center jetski snorkeling tour and another day with terrific snorkeling at the Hilton Moorea. There are so many choices of things to do in Moorea we filled up four days on our cruise. Have fun!

 

1 hour ago, davwen81 said:

Were using unique Tahiti tours on Moorea, look on Trip Advisor she gets great reviews. Personally I’d jump back on the ferry to Moorea and do. Circle island tour or lagoon tour whichever you didn’t do on your day there. 

Thank you both for your suggestions of Taina Tahiti and Unique tours.  They were both crossed off my list a month or two ago as they are already fully booked.  I was hoping there would be locals at the port that we could use to take us for a drive around the island. We really don't want to hire a car. 

Petoonya, thanks for the suggestion about taking the ferry back over to Moorea for another excursion there.  I will definitely look into this as it sounds like a great option and perhaps the best one.  

Thank you again.

We will be on a Transpacific cruise which visits Moorea, Bora Bora and Papeete (Tahiti).  We have organised private excursions for Moorea  and Bora Bora but have nothing planned for our stop in Papeete.  Will there be locals at the port that will offer various things to do?  We'd quite like a drive around the island to see the waterfalls and the Marae with a stop to swim/snorkel somewhere if possible.  I have tried very hard to book a private excursion online however they are all booked up so now I'm thinking we should just wait and see?  Thoughts?

Alternately, how easy is it to access the lagoon to go swimming/snorkelling?  We will be snorkelling on both of the other islands and understand that the snorkelling is better there but if the opportunity is there to do it again in Tahiti then we might do that instead. I know there is shopping/markets etc close to the port which we can visit just by walking but would like to also see more of the island.  

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.  Thanks in advance.

We were in 1598 on the Equinox and heard very little noise from above.  No scraping of chairs, occasionally a little music drifted down but it was during the day so not an issue. We were never woken by noise from above and I'm a light sleeper.  I carefully selected the room to try and stay away from the main pool area and was concerned but needn't have been.  We were very happy with our cabin.

1 hour ago, UKPete71 said:

 

That's because it was only available over a weekend at the beginning of December during a flash sale.

 

That's not true.  The sale started in December and the drinks packages still remain at the sale price right now.  This is on the Solstice Sydney to Hawaii Transpacific on April 12, 2019.

What strikes me most after watching the video is the lack of colour.  The revolution seems to be all about muted and washed out rooms and public areas.  It all seems very bland.