jtravel777

Any current Summit postings? We sail on 04/14

George

We are on the Summit on March 29, so will let you know if no one else posts before then.

Just want to mention that the reviews by Mr. T and Scrappytraveller were spot on. We actually did the MDR every evening and was pleasantly surprised as we think the quality has actually improved.

...

Last month, I had a Global Entry interview. When I said we cruise a lot and that the only port doing it so far is Port Canaveral, I think. The officer told me that it probably wouldn't be handy for clearing customs.

Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) has had global entry since 2015 .

Save some time by downloading the mobile passport control (MPC) app to your smartphone now - it will save you time later when it comes time to complete your customs declaration. That along with the automatic passport control (APC) made exiting last December quick as a wink- we were outside within 10 minutes of collecting our luggage.

I don't know why you need the unlimited internet. Could you perhaps survive by accessing the internet in port? Celebrity's internet service is horrible and if I didn't get it for free, I wouldn't use it at all. I certainly wouldn't pay for it. I still try to do most of my internet stuff on shore.

 

You will get 90 minutes free from being Elite.

 

Just a thought.

 

I utilize for a couple of hours per day, usually very late at night (when it does not interfere with my cruise activities, and does not waste my port time on the internet). I'd much rather be on a cruise doing a couple hours of work per day than not be on a cruise :-)

My future cruise on Solstice has various options for pre-purchase of Internet Packages. The one they're not offering is the Unlimited access so am assuming this will be available on board if not nearer sail date. I'm travelling solo and am figuring that an unlimited package for one device will be in the region of $350+ for a 2 weeks cruise. Daylight robbery, but that's another thread (less than $200 on RCL before loyalty and day of boarding discounts)

 

Is there any reason why I couldn't team up with someone in another cabin, purchase a two device unlimited package, share the same log-in and split the cost..... ?

I was on a 12 night Celebrity cruise in May and purchased the unlimited package for $299 (which is then reduced depending on your captains club level). The unlimited packaged allowed more than one device, but multiple devices could not be utilized at the same time.

You can do that. You just make a reservation at the time you desire, tell the hostess which table you want and meet your friends and enjoy. I have done this on numerous cruises and never had an issue.

Not necessarily. We have had Select Dining in the past where it worked beautifully but I'm guessing the addition of Luminae has impacted their ability to accommodate fixed reservations via Select Dining.

We were on a 12 night cruise in May and made Select Dining reservations with our (new) friends every night. We usually had to wait between 15-30 minutes and never got the same table twice. Quite often we were seated in the MDR. They advised we make reservations for 8:45 pm in order to keep the same table for the 6 of us but that never lessened the wait time nor allowed us to keep the same table/waiter.

Although this had been posted many times we shall repeat. Yes, you can get off the ship once you are checked-in or even check-in, dump your luggage, and leave before even boarding the ship (but then you still have your carry-on valuables). From the port you just walk over to the People Mover which will take you over to the Piazzale Roma. If you want to buy some wine, water, soda, etc. there is a COOP market within walking distance. Just head down to the vaporetto piers (behind the ACTV Office) and turn towards your left and start walking along the canal. Within a few short blocks you will come to a small "COOP" entrance which hides a surprisingly larger supermarket inside. Once you enter walk all the way to the back and through the open doorway into the back section where you will find an OK selection of wine and other beverages. Several years ago before there were carry-on limitations we once found a 5 liter box of Italian Red wine for about 10 Euros. A nearby Italian lady told us the wine was "drinkable" and so we took it on our long Princess cruise which went back to the USA. The wine was actually much better then the house wines on most ships, and 5 liters lasted us (for our balcony drinking) all the way home.

 

Hank

Too funny. I entered my response and then did a map, etc. After I hit submit I see that you responded with the same directions!

We embarked the Connie in Venice for the May 16th sailing. You can get off the ship as often as you like (plan on leaving all luggage including any carry-on for delivery to your room).

From the port, you can take the people mover (1 Euro 30 each way - the ticket machines take coins, small bills or credit cards). The People Mover just makes a loop between the cruise port ("maritime") , Piazzale Roma, and a parking garage so don't worry about getting off/on on the wrong tram, etc.

When you exit the People Mover, take a left to the end of the block, cross over toward all the vaporetto docks. Take a left and walk along the docks - towards the end there will be a "Coop" store on the left that sells wine.

From this area you can also cross the Constitution Bridge and cross over to walk along the Grand Canal, etc.

Legend for attached overhead view:

Blue star - Connie docks here or just in back of it (when we embarked Connie was one ship back, when we returned to Venice it was the first ship where the blue star is).

Blue line - walking path to People Mover

Yellow stars/yellow line - People Mover entrance/exit and route. At Piazzale Roma, the entrance/exit is at the bottom left of the big white structure

Red Line - walking route to vaporetto and to the Coop store

Red star - Coop store

Green star - Constitution Bridge

Speaking of captains making all the difference..

For the first time in history, a Celebrity ship docked (vs tender) while in Split, Croatia. The M-class ship is too long for the dock, but Captain Tasos convinced the local authorities that the ship could be properly secured with the short dock. This port does not offer tendering assistance and the tender point was a long way off so making this happen was a major feat and saved hours of time for everyone going ashore.

And Montenegro was the perfect spot to do a donut ...

Kyle Dodson took over from Alejandro as Cruise Director on Constellation.

May 16 - 28 sailing of the Constellation:

Captain: Tasos Kafetzis (love those Kafetzis brothers as captains)

Hotel Director: Martin Fowler

Cruise Director - Alejando, goes on vacation, replaced by Kyle Dodson beginning May 28

Staff Captain: Christos Trifyllis (was very visible this cruise)

Guest Relations: Sinisa Micetic

Food & Beverage: Oswald Harbrecht

Executive Chef: Andy Bouchard

Captains Club Host: Graeme

Dance Band/Lounge: Kathleen & the Saints

House Band: Starbridge

Classical Duo: Reka and Julien

Guitar: M Whitesides

DJ: DJ Facunda (Martini Bar) and DJ DLF (Reflections)

Thanks. I'm on the Transatlantic next month with not a lot of ports crossing the pond. :)

 

I know the satellite receptions are spotty at best, but I'll just be using it to send/receive e-mail.

I used a laptop in our cabin on the December 2013 transatlantic of the Silhoutte for 600 minutes during sea days (I would rather do some work on a ship than not be on a ship due to work). Although slow, I did not drop a connection once during the entire crossing.

Wife charges are billed to your shipboard account. I think if you go to the X website you'll see the various cost listed.

lol :D

The Celebrity Century and the Celebrity Solstice have stops in Cairns on some of their itineraries.

If it is after March 7th, sunrise will be closer to 7:30 am.

This is more to satisfy my own curiosity....in no way do I believe one of my port stops is in jeopardy...but let's just say....

 

Sailing to eastern Med early Oct....sailing out of Rome with stops in Santorini, Istanbul, Ephesus, Mykonos, Athens and Naples

 

Let's say Turkey becomes unsafe due to the junk in Iraq and such. 2.5 - 3 months is not an unreasonable amount of time for things to escalate from fair to worse.

 

What is the typical protocol a cruise line does to maintain the safety of their passengers, their crew and their boat....and, do you just get extra sea days? Would they try to find another port? Croatia? other Italy ports?

 

This is simply to see how it works from the cruise line perspective and a passenger perspective.....I'm not looking for opinions on Turkey and Iraq :D

Depending on the situation, availability of other ports and how much time they have to adjust, they substitute another port or just have an additional sea day. We have had both happen.

I believe that a death that was expected (not sure of the legal/insurance/medical term is) is not covered. For example, if you parent has a terminal illness and has a high likelihood of dying when you are travelling, you would not be covered. There is a very fine line here.....for example, if a parent has cancer and has an expectation of six months to live and you book a cruise (with or without pre-existing conditions covered), it's unlikely the insurance company would pay if that death occurred while you are away. Insurance companies insure against the unexpected, not the expected.

 

Hopefully the OP will not run into any difficulties.

My brother-in-law had cancer with expectation to not live more than a few months. He was in hospice at the end, and passed away the morning we were to cruise. Our insurance (not "cancel for any reason" paid for everything). We called our travel agent, notified the insurance company and called the cruise line. We were reimbursed within a few weeks. The oddest part was the cruise line (RCCL) indicated that we did not need to alert them that we were not using the cabin, but could just "not show" at the pier.

Has the Martini Bar or the Molecular Bar been enlarged on any of Celebrity's ships. Have the hours been extended to begin earlier?

 

Due to the popularity of both, I can't imagine why Celebrity is not maximizing the potential for profits and customer satisfaction.

 

Say it's the same and I'll ask why not. Say it's done and I say Bravo!

 

Penny

The Molecular Bar itself has been enlarged on the Reflection. See photo at:

http://0.tqn.com/d/cruises/1/0/v/Z/6/Celebrity-Reflection-483.JPG

I count 9 alcoholic drinks....clearly the package is a good deal for that individual. If I drank 9 drinks a day, I wouldn't be here typing....I'd probably have fallen off the ship.

I counted 6 (or 7 if letting their hair down)...specialty coffee does not (necessarily) mean alcohol...a cappuccino, latte, etc. are specialty

A beer or the drink of the day by the pool, $6 ea

The sun is hot hot hot! A cold beer or drink of the day is in order, $6 ea

time to meet friends to watch the sun set from the Sunset Bar, $6 ea.

a couple of glasses of wine with dinner

A cocktail with friends at one of the watering holes on ship $7 ea, or 2 if we are letting our hair down!

You can order as much as you want in one sitting, but it is best to go in a larger group so you can sample a little of a lot of things.

They also have, but either they were gone before I could snap a photo or we were to full to try...

Spring Rolls (yummy - gone before I could get a photo)

Baby Back Spring Rolls & Chipotle Coleslaw White Truffle BBQ Sauce

Salmon Cataplana "Style"

with Saffron Broth, Tomato Ravioli Chorizo Sausage, Garlic Confit, Fennel & Leeks (was delicious also)

Vegetable du "Jatour"

Carrot-Cardamom, Broccoli-Cheddar, Sweet Potato-Raisin, Spinach-Garlic Cauliflower-Apple, Parsnip-Shallot, Potato-Truffle, Green Pea- Mint Eggplant-Tomato & Olive, Creamed Corn & Chive

Meatball Trilogy

Kobe with Cheddar & Marinara Sauce

Veal with Mushrooms & Marsala Sauce

Turkey with Cranberry & Sage Gravy

Tresviche

Tiger Shrimp & Bay Scallops - lemon juice, tequila, cilantro, tomato & jalapeno oil Salmon, yuzu citrus, cucumber, vodka & basil Sea Bass – lime, red onion, choclo, avocado & exvoo

Slider Party

Grilled Kobe beef patties, aged Wisconsin cheddar, "Qsine slider sauce" Brioche buns and garnishes…..

Taj Mahal

Chicken Tikka Masala

Rogan josh – palak paneer – malai kofte – chole, veggie samousa – shrimp vindaloo

Qsine Greens

Fresh Market Salad With Arugula, Radicchio Frisee, Watercress, Spinach, Pomegranate Emulsion Crispy Goat Cheese Crumble

or any of the desserts..

Strawberry Fields

The Cupcake Affair - Red Velvet & Vanilla Cupcakes with playful garnishes

Chocolate TombstoneLayered Ganache, Nutella, Rice Crispies & More Chocolate

Beignets - Doughnuts - Fritters

Silver Bullet Gelato - Berries - Chocolate

Cheesecake Tini Graham Cracker Cookies & Berries

M's Favorites

Patlican Salata

Mixed Olives

Tzatziki

Eggplant Imam Biyaldi

Tabbouleh

Hummus

Chicken Kofte

Zathaar Lamb Chops

Kibbeh

Mediterranean Chili

Falafel

Goat Cheese Cigars

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Painters Mignon

Filet Mignon

with palatable pleasing accompaniments………

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"Popcorn" Fish "N" Chips

Fish~N~Chips

Boddingtons battered Codfish & Chips, Malt Vinegar or Aioli

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Persian Kebob

Skewered Chicken breast

Garlic and spices with Vegetables, Saffron Rice-Pilaf & Tooni Sauce

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Lava Crab

Alaskan King Crab

Sweet yellow corn & scallions Kataifi with Old-bay lobster sauce

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