EagleRocker

BTW I want to thank this thread in general for the discussion of S-class S1 aft cabins. I was thinking about Equinox in the Caribbean and was set to book 1666, but the comment about no shade switched me to 2151. Now I just have to pray that the seas are calm enough that "high and aft" isn't a problem!

You will love 2151 (the same cabin we had on Reflection). Our favorite cabin of all time. Very spacious, nicely laid out, and light-filled. The panoramic view from the balcony is wonderful and having shade when you want it is very nice.

thanks, Mary Beth...

We happen to be on deck 12 with a little more noise possibly, but at least some cover. I know exactly what you mean...Thanks!

On an 11-day Italy/Turkey/Greece in 2015 on Reflection, we found the Deck 12 corner aft S1 to be perfect. Sun if you wanted it or shade if you wanted it, and very little noise from above. The porthole was wonderful; it kept the room very light and pleasant during the day.

As of 5pm this date. A Federal Supreme Court Judge has approved that anyone in transit, on a holiday cruise that departed from a US Port, valid green cards, and travel visas already in place can still travel to and through the US.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Which judge and which court? I am monitoring this situation quite closely tonight for work and have not heard that the Supreme Court has stepped in. The New York district court order does not quite say this, if that is what you are referencing.

We were told solo expeditions was a few blocks from port. I was sent a map to follow and concierge on ship advised us about close location too. However, the ship was not in the close port so took a ten dollar taxi to office, After the boat trip the van driver dropped us off at the ship. Don't hesitate to do this trip on the 35 seater boat. It was a fantastic experience. I was in constant contact with the company. I also wound up adding ten extra people to our voyage that we had met on the ship three days before.

Appreciate this information Sandysk. We will try to be sure to get off the ship in enough time to cover any possibility. Really hope the weather cooperates so that we can do this trip, the reviews are very good.

Did they pick u up at the cruise ship?? We will be going March 13. Agree about not wanting to travel 2 hours each way.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sue

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We are on the same cruise and booked with them through email. They respond very promptly. The price is quite reasonable and no deposit was required. You have to get yourself to their office, then they take you to the pier to board the ferry to the island. I need to look into whether the office is an easy walk from where we tender in or if we will need a taxi (if anyone knows, please advise, thx). If weather precludes going to Magdalena, as happens frequently, they will take you to a condor colony.

We paid $89 each for this excursion on our upcoming March 2017 round the Horn cruise. I am really looking forward to it, especially to see the laundry process, which boggles my mind imagining.

Just did my Dublin-Atlanta plane reservation through Choice Air. A nice price compared to the airline website prices. Also, I did it on-line and they did have spot for entering your frequent flyer number.

 

One thing I could not do is seat selection. How did folks handle this in the past? Should I call Choice Air or the airline?

 

Thanks,

 

Banjo

You do it through the airline, at least in most instances. I booked an American Airlines flight to EZE online through Choice Air around five months back (about a quarter to a third the cost for First/Business than on the AA site with bonus of being Refundable!). I received a Choice Air confirmation email pretty quickly with the AA record number. I went on the AA site and had been assigned seats by American, which I changed. When Choice Air showed the same flight in October for $600 less each, I was able to rebook by telephone through Choice at the lower fare very easily and have the difference credited to my cruise fare minus a typical change fee (I could have received an actual refund had I wanted to). Other than making that change through Choice Air, my flights have been AA flights throughout. AA showed me as ticketed within 24 hours of my original booking, and every time AA has changed the flights, it has automatically rolled us over to the new flights, and I can change my seats at will if needed.

The proof will be in the flights themselves (i.e., should we have an issue) but, so far, doing this through Choice Air has been a great experience and a massive money saver. Have saved thousands of dollars and appreciate having refundable tickets, something that really adds up when you book directly with the airline.

I use the same X vacation planner all the time, but if he is out (whether vacation or medical), I have had no problem getting another vacation planner to modify or cancel reservations he made for me and, thus, controls. Other X employees can do this so don't take No for an answer

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been longing to see Iceland and your excellent review motivates me to make concrete plans. Your photographs are gorgeous and your commentary is excellent. Thank you so very much.

P.s. I am using your South America/round the Horn review as a road map for our upcoming trip. Your Buenos Aires photos and discussion are of tremendous help, so again, much gratitude to you.

Thank you for this thoughtful and entertaining comparative review. This was really useful for me. We periodically think about booking with NCL but never have been able to pull the trigger (DH cannot stomach what we have seen of NCL's shall we say lively color scheme). We were intrigued with the Freestyle concept in the past but this has become irrelevant on most of our recent cruises, whether because we go Select or have a suite. Your review confirms our instinct to stay away.

No I Am not vegetarian, although I Am vegan. As of yet, never found it difficult to eat or order to need on any cruise line. All one need do is speak with the maitre 'd and they will do their best to insure that meals are to needs. Do they fail at times? You bet...

 

Often times cheeses are considered 'vegetarian' but not vegan, then again if one is lacto intolerant and vegetarian, that could be an issue for the vegetarian.

 

I thought the OP was an experienced cruiser, as well on X's website they indicate that most dietary preferences can be accommodated. My bad for presuming their cruising acumen was a bit more advanced than the question portrayed.

 

I apologize for any offense(s) made

 

bon voyage

No offense taken. And kudos to you for being vegan and making it work cruise-wise. That is my goal, but not there yet :o

I probably should have made my question clearer and done a better search first. I only needed to know whether Blu offered a veggie option on the regular highly menu, because a random check of the menu on our last cruise did not always show one; I was hoping not have to ask for anything special/off menu. Thanks to the responders, I now know that Blu has a vegetarian menu (as does the MDR, which I knew) and that I can ask the Maitre'D should neither the daily veg option or the veg menu work (and I assume they will).

Happy cruising to all!

With one exception, thanks to all of you - your answers were very helpful.

My apologies if this has been asked/answered on this Board already.

We are vegetarians (not vegans) and have not had any difficulty eating veggie on Celebrity in the past. We have our first Aqua class cabin on our upcoming 14-nighter next year (could not resist aft Deck 11 1141 that was available at a great fare), and I understand that this means Blu will be our assigned dining spot for dinner. We had a suite last year on a Reflection 11-night cruise and periodically checked out the Blu dinner menu if we wanted something different than what was on offer at Luminae that night. We never ate at Blu, however, because we never saw a vegetarian entree listed.

Is that unusual? Will we be able to get vegetarian dinners in Blu, whether by asking for something off the evening's MDR veggie offerings (never have a problem finding something veggie in the MDR) to be served to us in Blu or by checking in at Blu when we embark to ask about vegetarian meals? Can we just eat in the MDR if that is easier for all (I somehow was under the impression this was verboten?)? The buffet is ok once in a while after a long/tiring port day but I cannot imagine doing that for up to 14 nights.

Any advice on how best not to be that annoying passenger wanting special treatment would be appreciated. Thanks all.

We had a Deck 12 S1 on the Reflection and loved it. Never bothered by noise above and appreciated having the extra bit of overhang so that we could spend lots of time outside without getting sunburnt. There is plenty of sun on those balconies even with the overhang. And the balconies give a wonderful panoramic view.

How do you tell if they are open for booking of two people? I booked one today on the infinity not realizing it was an issue. If I was able to book it online, is it mine or will they cancel me?

Call Celebrity, especially of you have a Celebrity planner. It may be fine but just in case…. A year and a half ago, I did the same thing for a 2015 Eastern Med cruise on the Reflection, i.e., booked a family verandah for two online. I called my Celebrity planner the next day after I booked online. He told me it was likely the reservation would have been flagged and cancelled (because only 2 people) but he was able to fix it so I kept the reservation.

We had an aft corner suite, Deck 12. Zero soot, but then, the Deck 12 balconies have greater cover. We loved that extra cover - plenty of sun but shade when needed and very private, no one could see from above. Noise from deck above on occasion but it was nominal, rarely noticed it all. I highly recommend that Deck.

Just curious...why not deck 6? That is our favorite deck to be on for the S-class ships.

The Deck 6 S1 balconies are quite small compared to those on the higher decks.

Thank you so much pokerpro and GradUT - this is exactly the information I needed!

I think it is a Celebrity website problem. For the last week or so, every time I try to search for a specific stateroom, I get the routine "unavailable" response, even when numerous TA site show those cabins as available. Call Celebrity to check on availability. While those aft cabins are heavenly, they do not always sell out very quickly due to high prices. I often see them available even when inventory is getting low in other categories.

Hi All:

Am thinking of booking a Sky Suite on deck 12 aft on the Reflection. Does anyone know if this is covered on top or can the people on deck 14 at the oceanview cafe lean over and see you on the balcony? Also is it noisier being below the cafe?

Thanks :))

LB

We had the S1 Deck 12 corner aft earlier this year on Reflection and it was wonderful. Very private and noise from above really was not bothersome. Just enough shade and sun, really perfect. I would not hesitate to book a Sky Suite on Deck 12. If any of the true afts are available, grab one.

Glad you are enjoying Luminae. We loved it on our 11-night Eastern Med cruise in April/May 2015 - such a beautiful, peaceful room with excellent service. We are vegetarians (not vegan) and found most of the veg options to be both interesting and outstanding - something that is pretty unusual (how much pasta primavera can one stand to eat). I remember biting into one pasta dinner item and telling my husband, This is one of the best things I have ever tasted!

Well, after calling customer service, I only had to pay $100pp more then my original invoice from a year ago to get a 2nd perk. Now I have the Beverage Package AND $300 OBC.

 

The current cruise price did come down from the original day I booked a year ago, but I looked at what I agreed and was happy to pay back then to compare. If I went by todays rate, which they did, they said to upgrade would be $150pp.

 

Semantics!

 

All I know is I am happy as a pig with lipstick on wearing a tutu to have a beverage package added on for only $10pp a day for a 10 day cruise....a savings of approx $45pp a day for 10 days. :)

My parents got a similar happy result this morning. They were booked on a June 2016 Alaska northbound, ocean view, no perks. The base price for their cabin was the same today as when booked a while back. For $105 pp today, they were repriced under the new program and now have the classic beverage package plus $300 OBC. Subtracting that $210 extra paid for the perks leaves them $90 ahead plus the free bev package.

I think you should be able to get the rate reduction and keep your existing perks. I have been able to do that by calling my Celebrity Vacation Planner directly.

Looking for suggestions on a GREAT tour guide for the Amalfi Coast - if you have the name of someone please let me know and also why he was so good. Many thanks.

In early May, we used APTours and our driver was Aronne and he was wonderful. A skilled driver and a really knowledgeable and charming guy. He is from Sorrento and knows so much about the area. Plus, he is very, very funny - we had a great time talking and laughing with him. I thought the APTours pricing was better than some of the other companies that also are highly rated.

It's important, though, to remind people reading this that this is NOT the usual crowds -- this is the result of a major holiday.

 

Even with 12,000 cruisers in port, if it is not a major holiday you won't see the kinds of crowds you apparently experienced. I've been to Istanbul numerous times -- some more crowded than others -- but nothing really to the extent you saw.

 

(Worst crowds ever experienced were in Paris during the week between Christmas and New Years. We waited 3 hours on line to get into the Catacombs. :eek:)

Yes, I should have made clear that our guide was taken aback and shocked at the sheer volume of bodies out and about, as well as at the horrible traffic jam. Definitely out of the norm she kept saying, as was proven by the next day, when things were much quieter and it was easy to get around, both on the streets and with the tram.

Three hour line!! Do not think I could do that without going bonkers.