geminitwin

Just off the Apex on Feb 10th.  On embarkation, we had a card in our rooms with a 'suggested dining room' and time.  Seems most people got the same dining room and time as it was mass chaos on the first night.  Lots of frustrated people not understand why there was a huge line and extremely long wait given that we had arrived at our appointed time.  Staff didn't handle confusion and chaos well.  After the first night, we sampled each of the dining rooms at whatever time we wanted and didn't have to wait more than a few minutes.  If one dining room told us the wait was an hour, we simply went across to another dining room.   Agree with others here that Celebrity needs to correctly communicate this unusual dining experience.   It would save a lot of frustration for both guests and staff!

Just now, doghog said:

As a Celebrity newbie are you Elite or above? I've never had a problem just ordering a Bloody Mary. No matter the ship or itinerary. 

Both.  D+ on RCCL using reciprocal Elite benefits.

30 minutes ago, the penguins said:

its described by X as a Coffee House Style breakfast 

Wish they would stop calling this "Coffee House Style" -- as an X newbie, I was shamed by the CC Host when I tried to stop in for just coffee.  I was told it's only full breakfast service -- and she was NOT kind about it.  I've never been to a coffee house where you couldn't order just coffee.  It's put me off even wanting to try Elite breakfast on a different ship with a different host.  (Constellation in the Med last summer)  

2 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

Not sure why this is posted?  This simply illustrates again the point of this entire thread and others like it...

I received my phone call from the Executive Office late last week.  "Selected itineraries for selected dates on selected ships will have a limited number of single supplements available."  The list of sailings is not available and will not be provided.   He rattled off the list of ships -- not surprising, no newer ships.  A mock inquiry of "ABC Islands in Q1 2025" shows no single availability;  closest is three sailings to ABC Islands all in Nov 2024, all leaving within a three day time span.  It's your bad luck if that week doesn't work with your schedule.  Was told that the 2025 "single supplements" were focused on Asia and New Zealand.  When I ask who determined that solo travelers wanted to travel to Asia and NZ in 2025, the answer was "Revenue Manager."  He tried desperately to redirect by telling me that the 'butler issue' and the 'wine issue' were being resolved.  As a shareholder, I seriously hope that someone at RCI has their eye on all these changes-then immediate rollbacks that are happening inside the Celebrity brand.  Management is clearly not doing their homework.  Maybe I just haven't seen it yet, but I'm surprised that no one is talking class action yet regarding unfair pricing practices.  Lots of choices when it comes to cruising, and like others here, I will vote with my travel dollars.  

11 minutes ago, 0106 said:

I have had incorrect charges on my account removed using the “let us know” feature of the  Navigator App.  No need to stand in line at guest services.

Thank you!  HAL newbie here -- didn't see that as an option while on board.  Will def use this for my next cruise.

Was on the Dec 5th Konigsdam sailing and a new bar menu had just been rolled out.  Very few drinks/wine at or under $11.  B2B cruisers were saying that their drinks had gone up $1-2 for this sailing.  No comprehensive drink list so that you could see what your favorite spirit would cost before ordering.  Although policy is that you only pay difference, on four different occasions I had to go to Guest Services because I was charged full price and not incremental cost.  Others in my party had the same experience.  Guest Services line was usually crazy long -- suspect many were having this issue.  Watch your online statement closely if you have HIA package.  The servers bring a receipt with the full drink price and there was no way to tell when signing if they had put it through correctly against the package.  

On 6/4/2023 at 2:47 PM, posh crew said:

Hi, we have just returned from a cruise on Celebrity Constellation yesterday.  We overnighted in Ravenna and can confirm that once checked in we could come and go all night if we pleased,  just needed to be back half an hour before sail away.

posh crew:   Did X provide any shuttles or transportation into Venice on Day 2?  My August sailing is only showing Ravenna shore excursions.  Understand that it's 2+ hours each way and would make for a long day, but would love to get to Venice without relying on public transportation.

On QOS in May 2022, light fleece blankets were available for check out at the towel station.  Same process -- check out as many as you want against your Sea Pass, return before end of cruise.

I earned D+ on a December cruise.  Points were updated and and D+ status showed correctly on the RCI website.  When I checked in for a cruise in February, was only recognized as D (seapass, welcome letter, etc.)  A trip to the LA got it corrected.  Was told that the land-side and sea-side systems are different and that it can take time (apparently more than 60 days) for the two systems to sync.  LA was able to manually access the land-side system to confirm status and was able to override.  OP, based on how close your cruises are, you may need to see the Loyalty Ambassador to get status updated. 

15 minutes ago, satchimosmom said:

The loosening of restrictions requiring the health visa appears to be for passengers sailing from Florida.  Adventure of the Seas is sailing out of Nassau and presumably we will still require the health visa.  

Yes - at least on July 3rd, we could not even get an AA boarding pass on the US side without having our Bahamas Health Visa reviewed and approved.  Again, things are changing daily and could look drastically different by September.  As we got closer to our sailing, we received multiple emails from RCCL regarding protocols and requirements -- imagine it should be the same for you.  We had a fantastic trip and it was so great to be back to cruising!  Hope you have a great trip as well!  

Was on the July 3rd sailing on AOS out of Nassau.  We had later flights and so were assigned one of the last departure groups from the ship.  Nassau check in area was complete and total chaos.  You couldn't find the end of the American first class check in line; non-premium check in wrapped several times.  We were in line for about an hour just to check in and drop bags. 

For security screening, there is no preferred lanes.  Security screening was thorough and slow like many foreign countries.  Once you cleared security, you were funneled into the US Pre-Clearance area.  In this section, there were four (i think) Global Entry kiosks off to the left side with no waiting whatsoever.  Normal Global Entry priority and process from the kiosks through to the terminal.  

Overall, we were about two hours (maybe a little less) from our cabins once our luggage tags were called on the ship to the Nassau airport gate area.  The food court is struggling to handle Saturday passenger load as well -- we waited 30 minutes at least to get a sandwich.

On 7/13/2021 at 11:55 PM, satchimosmom said:

I posted this same question over under the Royal Caribbean page (since at the time no one had yet responded here).  The ones who are flying into Nassau do have to have a Health Visa.  The health visa basically ensures you’re vaccinated and the fee involved covers Covid insurance (for medical and quarantine) in case you need it.  
 

As for the “address” they ask for in the application, everyone is just putting “cruise port” and those applications are being accepted.  

I was on the Adventure OS sailing out of Nassau on July 3rd.  We were required to by The Bahamas have the Bahamas Health Visa -- and had to show it at several times both on the US and the Nassau side of our flight.  For accommodations, we put Adventure of the Seas.  RCCL required that we have our original vaccination card and a negative PCR test five days prior.  Some debate on the boards about how to count days, but we got Tuesday tests for a Saturday sailing with same day flight.  Others may have different experiences, but this was my personal experience two weeks ago.  And of course, subject to change with little to no notice.

Submitted for my first Shareholder Benefit a couple weeks ago for an Adventure sailing in July.  Where will I see it and how will I know that it's been applied?

Been cruising solo for years and love it!  Agree that dining can be troublesome if you don't care to eat by yourself.  Some ships/maitre d's have done a terrific job of seating solos together, others haven't seemed to bother.  Speak with the dining room representative on embarkation day and see if you can get a feel for the makeup of your table.  If it's mostly families, see if there is an option to change.  When in doubt, I'm always happy by myself with a book at the buffet.

I did the "Heart of Africa" tour with Vantage in 2014. It appears that only the name has changed between then and now -- at first glance, the itinerary appears to be the same. This was indeed a trip of a lifetime and we did see all of the Big 5. We went in mid-May; had great weather and were able to see the beginning of the Great Migration. The program manager, drivers, and accommodations were all first rate. If it's animals and safari that you are after, this is your trip! I can also highly recommend "Best of Africa" if you are seeking a combination tour with safari, history, and culture. Happy to answer any questions....

Did "Coastal Norway" with Vantage with a group of friends in October 2016. It was a fantastic trip and great to have a Program Manager in addition to the Hurtigruten Expedition Staff. Although not on the formal agenda, our Program Manager offered a walking tour in any city where we were docked for more than about 15 minutes and also provided additional lectures while we were cruising. Many towns are so small that there's not much to see, but it's nice to get off the ship and stretch your legs. The walking tours were optional and you were free to explore on your own or break off of the organized tour if something caught your attention. Food was very good with lots of local specialties. Breakfast and lunch were buffet; dinner was a fixed menu. If you have food allergies or preferences, the Program Manager worked with the restaurant staff to ensure that your needs were met. October is shoulder season for northern lights and we were luckily enough to see them several nights. Happy to answer any other questions....

Indy 5 night western sailing earlier this month had similar but not identical menu. (Note the date on the last page of the menu.) Prime rib was first night; lobster the last if that helps.