cruisinfly

I've sailed NCL multiple times starting with the SS Norway when I was 13 and my latest on the Norwegian Sun a couple of years before COVID. While I've enjoyed my NCL cruises, it's not likely that I will go on NCL again. Here are some of the reasons I prefer Celebrity over NCL: 1. Prepare to enjoy more open spaces, less crowds, and fewer lines on Celebrity. My experience on NCL is that they pack their ships with people leading to crowding and long lines. I've never felt this way on Celebrity (pool deck during peak hours excluded). This makes Celebrity a more relaxed environment. 2. I've always been able to walk into the theater 15 minutes before a show and find a great seat on Celebrity. On NCL, I had to get in line an hour before the show and wait in a line if I wanted a decent seat (while putting up with entitled line-cutters). 3. Food and service on Celebrity is really good to excellent in the main dining rooms, buffet, and across the ship (except burgers at Mast Bar, not that good). The only excellent food/dining service on NCL was in specialty restaurants that cost extra. The food and service in the NCL main dining room were poor and some meals were inedible...and I'm not very picky. I remember the bacon served all over the NCL Sun was disgusting and inedible. I asked the Chef what was going on and he finally fessed up and admitted they care about cost over quality. 4. Celebrity ships are cleaner and better maintained. The newer NCL ships have a lot of family activities like slides, go-cart tracks, etc. to compete with RCL and Carnival. Celebrity does not have these family activities. Celebrity is more adult oriented. That being said, my teenage daughters prefer Celebrity over other cruise lines (NCL, RCL). Once again, I enjoyed my NCL cruises but Celebrity provides a more relaxed, upscale cruise. That's been my experience but may not be everybody's.

I called Celebrity to pay for the upgrade from classic to premium. They applied my captains club discount on top of the already discounted price in the cruise planner so it was an even better deal.

It's possible those passengers may join the cruise at the first port of call so the rooms may not have been available to upgrade.

Hi, Check-in for my Celebrity cruise opens tomorrow (4/18). They don't indicate the actual time check-in opens. Does anybody know exactly what time Celebrity opens check-in one either the app or website? (Is it midnight, GMT, or midnight, EDT, or 8 AM, etc....) Thank you!

You are correct! I don't like many aspects of the contract but am accepting the terms anyway.

Y'all should read your cruise ticket contract with Celebrity, items 14A and B.(for the USA version) If you cruise with Celebrity, they own the right to use your likeness however they want and make money off it... In perpetuity. In contrast, all passengers agree not to use any recordings of other people or the vessel for any nonprivate use. I'm sure most cruisers don't read what they agree to but most postings to YouTube violate this agreement. By the way, I really enjoy some of the YouTube vloggers videos but I would not want to be in anyone's vlog.

Hi, The cruise planner for my upcoming Solstice Alaska cruise has an "Alaska Destination Pocket Guide" available for purchase for $32. Has anybody purchased this? What "coupons" do you receive and is it worth it? Is there any information I can't get from website destination guides? The marketing states: Overview Make the most of your visit to Alaska with this pocket-size guide to the wonders of the Last Frontier. It’s portable, easy to use and packed with informative content on history, culture, dining, shopping and attractions – plus valuable money-saving coupons and insider tips for exploring on board and ashore. Created by cruisers just like you, the Alaska Destination Pocket Guide is your must-read insider’s guide to the best of the Last Frontier. Highlights Expert tips for exploring nature, culture, recreation, dining and shopping. Must-see stops on board and ashore. Exploration maps for each port of call. Walking tours of port highlights with insider information on the must-see spots. Over $500 in money-saving offers from onboard venues like Spa, Art, Casino, Retail, Shore Excursions and more, as well as free gifts and special offers from retail and dining locations in the ports of call. Thank you!

Hi, When looking at deck plans for the Solstice on the Celebrity website, it give options for different dates: "May 5, 2022 to April 29, 2023" or "Beginning on April 30, 2023". https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-solstice/deck-plan I've not been able to identify any difference between the deck plans for the different dates. Does anybody with a keener eye/more knowledge than me know what the difference, if any, in the deck plans is? Thank you!

How much did the winning move up bids cost? What was the minimum bid?

People have learned to live with the risk of getting COVID. If you are vaccinated, you have a decent level of protection. Our cruise last June required a negative COVID test. Nobody that I know of got COVID. For my December cruise, no test or vaccine was needed so people did board the ship with COVID and passed it on. Four out of five of my family members on our cruise in December came down with COVID on the last day or after the cruise. We're all vaccinated so didn't really get sick. The worst of us had symptoms almost like a mild cold. If you go to the onboard med-center with cold symptoms, they will likely quarantine you. Yes, COVID is being passed on cruises (and on land). We live with it now thanks to vaccinations.

Thank you, Wildcat, certainly discussed but no actual resolution. No source to truth and no definition of exactly what's included. Maybe that's just something we have to live with but I really do like to know what I'm paying for. Maybe the "FAQ" is correct, maybe not. Also, why would a $27/day package include more than an $81/day package? makes no sense.

Hi, I've seen several recent questions regarding beverage packages. Is there a source for the "truth" on what is actually included in the all-inclusive beverage packages? I see a lot of differing information directly from Celebrity depending on where I look on their website/app. If I look in the cruise planner for my June cruise, it states a classic package includes all the zero proof package drinks plus some booze (cut-n-paste from the classic package cruise planner for $80.99 per day includes: Zero Proof: Acqua Panna water, Evian water, San Pellegrino, Premium coffees, Red Bull & Editions, Sodas, Premium teas, Vitamin water, Bottled Iced Teas, Aqua Spa Fresh Juices, Zero Proof Cocktails Frozen & Non-Frozen) However, if I look at the FAQ page for beverage package comparisons at https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/beverage-packages/compare-packages, it specifically states the classic package "Does not include Smoothies or Aqua Spa Fresh Juice." and also "non-premium bottled water". It also says classic includes drinks up to $10...but I've also seen this listed as up to $11, 12, and 13! Which is correct? Didn't they raise onboard beverage prices? Did they do that without increasing what the drink package covers? Why would the much-cheaper zero proof package ($26.99 in my cruise planner) include premium juices and water but the far more expensive classic package not include those? The reason I ask is that I'm not a big alcohol drinker (some is okay). I definitely want to enjoy the aqua spa fresh juice. The Classic package is included in my cruise and I hate to pay more to upgrade to the Premium alcohol package just to get fresh juice when I won't really take advantage of the premium alcohol. Thoughts?

This is how Celebrity is increasing their revenue while staying competitive in the cruise market. (lower advertised prices/cost to book while increasing revenue by making money onboard) You are correct that when specialty restaurants were a new thing, the extra fee was noted as a gratuity to the staff. It was also quite reasonable. This has evolved into a lucrative revenue stream. I don't hold it against them, however, as long as their "included" dining continues to be high quality with good service. (Note that a lot of people say "free" dining...it's not "free", it's included in the price of the cruise.) On an NCL cruise before COVID, the service and food in the main dining room was very poor while their specialty restaurants had excellent food and service. I felt that this was done intentionally to "convince" people who wanted good food/service to spend extra money to get it. I haven't been back on NCL since (and they seem to be close to bankruptcy).

Yay for us!

According to Celebrity, Solstice has Starlink. They imply that everybody's internet will be fast (I can't imagine they'd keep their original satellite internet service if they've added Starlink. Starlink should be much cheaper!): https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-solstice "Celebrity Solstice is now equipped with Starlink internet service by SpaceX, bringing you high speed connectivity. Enjoy faster, more reliable internet onboard."

Thank you to cw2go for posting. Based on her price reduction, I checked on my Alaska cruise on the Solstice for June and sure enough, the price dropped by $864. (I checked yesterday and no change. There was also no change on the advertised promotion.) I called and after a few minutes on hold, they adjusted the price and sent a new booking confirmation! For this cruise, the price of Aqua Class is currently cheaper than booking a standard veranda or concierge class with all-inclusive added. (Aqua Class prices include all-inclusive.)

Cozumel is quite safe, no need to book a ships tour if you want to do something independently. I was there in December and June. Google "Cabanas at Chankanaab", simple cab ride to/from the port. Great experience at a great price.

I just booked a celebrity cruise and they highlighted their best price guarantee. Not sure why this wouldn't apply to you. https://www.celebritycruises.com/company/customer-support/best-price-guarantee

Sorry for the late reply. No, we each tested individually.

I've seen a lot of questions/discussions on COVID testing. My family took our eMed COVID tests and I thought I'd share my experience/procedures for anybody else planning to do this. Here's my experience in chronological order: 1. I ordered the test kits from eMed dot com around 1 month prior to our cruise. They came in a pack of 6. I have a family of 5 so I ordered 1 pack. 2. I submitted a claim for reimbursement to my health insurance company. They are supposed to cover the cost of these tests. 3. I created an eMed account. 4. I downloaded the NAVICA app and created an NAVICA account. 5. I was able to add all of my family members, wife and children, to my account. (My family members did not need their own login or account.) 6. I received the eMed test kits within a couple of days. Leave the individual test kits sealed/closed until the proctor tells you to open them. Don't order too early, the expiration date was in 11 months from the day I received them. 7. Two days before departure, We took our proctored eMed tests. No appointment needed (nor available). Here's how they worked. 7a. I used my Android cell phone for the tests. I scanned the QR code on the eMed test kit box to "start testing". This brought me to a login page (eMed account). 7b. I selected who was testing (all my family members were under my account). The software checked the network, microphone, speaker, and camera. You need to have photo ID available. (kids under 15 don't need photo ID but and adult will need to help with their test and have their ID). You will use the camera to show the proctor your photo ID. 7c. Answered a few questions, then it said "connecting you to a test proctor". This took around 30-60 seconds before the proctor came on the line. 7d. Most proctors didn't speak English very well and were hard to understand but we got through it. Using my cell camera, I showed them the QR code/Expiration date. I had to remove a sleeve on the box to expose that info. 7e. They kept switching between my front-facing camera and my rear facing camera. I did not control that. Was a bit odd. They then gave step-by-step instructions to administer the test. They want the camera facing you and the test card flat on the table in front of you. I propped up the phone. 7d. Open the box, take out what's inside: a swab, a test card, and a dropper of liquid. Box was much bigger than it needed to be. 7e. Open the test card, set it flat on the table. Place 6 drops of liquid in the small hole on top. 7f. Open the swab, gently swab your nose 5 times in each nostril. Insert the swab into the large hole in the card so it's visible in the small hole, twist 3 times. 7g. Expose adhesive and seal the card. Keep the card visible in the camera. They start a 15 minute timer and leave you. You can get up and leave but be sure you're back before the timer expires and your card is visible in the camera the whole time. 7h. Once the timer expires, a button will come up on the phone that says "I'm ready", press it and you'll be connected to a new proctor. Took around 30 seconds. 7i. You'll hold the camera over the QR code and test window on the card. Then they ask you to read the results: Two pink lines-positive, One pink line next to control-negative. All of our tests were negative. Yay! We are going on our cruise! 8. It took them about 1 minute to e-mail the test results to my e-mail address. All my family's results went to my e-mail address. 9. About 4 minutes later, your results showed up in the NAVICA app. I printed both the eMed e-mailed results and the results downloaded from NAVICA. (I think they just need the NAVICA results). I can also see the results on my cell phone NAVICA app. Overall, each test took around 20 minutes total. It was very convenient to test at home. The app/cell phone worked great for testing. I would definitely use these tests again. Hope this answers questions anyone might have. Good luck!