kstetser

Thoughts best time to book flights from US to Vancouver?   Is it the standard 3 to 5 months or are there other recommendations?    Any airlines you prefer?  We will be flying from Philly (or Newark if it helps shorten the travel time).

We sail end of July

We will be porting in Havensight on 12/30.   We have been to Sapphire before and found the waves too aggressive for swimming.  Is this typical for this time of year?   We really would like a little elbow room, a good place to swim, chairs and a bathroom.   I saw you mention Emerald Day Pass, is this possible from Havensight?  Any other suggestions or would you recommend we still go to Sapphire?

Reports coming back from passengers are that weekends on the Dream are sailing at around 2000 with weekdays being less.  Someone was told by a crew member they are expecting about 2500 on Dream and Fantasy over the holidays.

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

They revolutionizing of the Eclipse, and other ships, was put on a indefinite hold at the start of the pandemic.   Unless you booked before the start of the pandemic your TA gave you incorrect info regarding the ship.

 

We were on the Eclipse shortly before the suspension of sailing and the ship was in excellent condition.  It is a beautiful ship.

I booked 2 years ago, was supposed to sail last August.  I understand why - just wish it were not so.

Well this stinks - this was something my TA told me about that really helped make the decision to try Celebrity.   Eclipse/Alaska 7/31 is not on the list.     (Another selling point was that the ship was to be refurbished with the Retreat - which obviously never happened.)   

We will be porting in Falmouth on December 22nd and right now are the only ship in port that day.   We dislike being herded and avoid ship excursions.    2 adults and one 17 year old.   Looking for close beach/pool without a lot of hassle  (so a resort for a day or private beach club would be great).   Relaxing and swimming are our goals and hopefully avoiding crowds and anything terribly loud.

I see Royalton White Sands, Hyatt Ziva and Iberostar Rose Hall are fairly close and have resort for a day packages.   Any thoughts on how the experience is in 2021?   Any other suggestions?   (We are HUGE fans of Nachi Cocom on Cozumel, if that helps.)    Our backup is to just go to Margaritaville in the port to get some lunch/drinks and swim in the pool for a bit and then get back on the ship and see a movie - which is pretty lame, but still relaxing with no hassle.

Thanks!

52 minutes ago, jrapps said:

Amazing that MSC reacted so quickly. I don't see Royal doing anything before tomorrow. And Disney will take a week to do anything.

Truer words were never spoken re: Disney.   They have been TERRIBLE at messaging, making decisions and keeping passengers informed.  I have 2 DCL cruises in September - my husband thinks they will cancel rather than require vaccinations.  I sure hope he is wrong.  Good to see MSC move so quickly and hope Royal does the same.

You think there is any chance Eclipse will be revolutionized during the down time or is that just way too much money to spend right now?

Thanks so much - we are considering jumping ship from the Disney Fantasy to the Edge in September.  We have never sailed anything but Disney before, but I'm reading great things about Celebrity and Edge.

I wonder if anything will change slightly for the Fantasy since they are longer sailings.  Right now the Dream is only going to Castaway Cay - so it's still very much a "bubble" cruise.

So - I'm a 20 time Disney cruiser and ready to jump ship to the Edge in late September.   DCL just announced their US protocols yesterday and for the money I'd pay to be in concierge, it really doesn't seem worth it (masks for all, social distancing, reduced services).   It's my husband, 2 friends and me sailing.  Will be their first cruise ever and our first on Celebrity (we have Eclipse booked for Alaska next summer).   We would each gook either a sky or celebrity suite with a real veranda (not keen on the infinity ones).

Assuming I can get flights worked out - what sorts of things should we know?   What do you love on Edge?   We are pretty low key folks, love great service, fine dining, good wine and fun cocktails.  Don't gamble and not looking for a party scene.  Hope to just go to the beach in port and generally heal from the hellish last 18 months.    I love DCL, but their prices and lack of vaccine requirements are driving us away.

34 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Any reason for the low % of vaxxed in your state.  NJ's goal was 70% by July 1.  Don't know if it was achieved.

I live in NJ - we are not doing as well as the governor had hoped.   

New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker | rgj.com

When I was able to book activities a few weeks ago for our September cruise on the Fantasy, there were not character meet and greets or character breakfasts listed.    They did offer the Royal tea (or so other guests told me, we are not sailing with a child this trip).      I think we just have to wait and see how things progress - I'm not at all convinced we will sail in September.  😪

2 hours ago, coldflame said:

 

But the trip was postponed until next month, pending approvals, because a small number of employees had inconsistent results for COVID-19, “which is considered positive by the CDC,"

 

Technically, it could be next week 🙂 But yeah, probably 2-3 weeks until next try.

I saw that, I wonder if they will just try again in a a week?   I wish they would just sail with 95% vaccinated and get things moving again.  They would not have trouble selling those cruises.   I've been getting piled on for criticizing DCL on another message board.  I should have known better.    I love DCL, have taken 20 cruises with them and have 4 more booked, but I agree with you coldflame, their lack of transparency shows they do not even care to manage expectations.  I have 4 cruises booked with them between now and next June and I'm really starting to question those plans, which makes me sad - but we have our first Celebrity cruise booked next summer.  Maybe we try them sooner?

So disgusted by their lack of communication.   I have a ridiculous amount of money tied up with them (4 cruises booked with the first in September).  

We love Nachi Cocom and visit every time we are in Cozumel.  It’s very low key.  We don’t want a bunch of activities.  Just a peaceful beach day with good service and food.  Nachi is exactly what we are looking for.  

How far in advance can you make these reservations?  When do you all recommend reservations be made?

OK - I see this is being discussed in another thread.

Can someone provide the Cliff's Notes on this?  On a very long meeting and am super curious!

14 hours ago, TeaBag said:

Kathi, have you joined the roll call for your cruise?  You might find someone on there organizing private tours which would be smaller and cheaper and might interest you.  To answer your question, yes, I have seen specials on tours for a short time.

I joined, there only seems to be 2 other people - so hopefully it gets more active with time.  

We are seasoned cruisers (20 sailings on DCL) but next summer will be our first Celebrity cruise (Eclipse to Alaska in a Celebrity Suite).  I'm curious to know your thoughts on best time to book shore excursions?   When sailing Caribbean or Canada, we always do our own thing, but with the uncertainty of requirements next year and Alaska being a very different sort of destination, I thought it would be a good idea to select Celebrity excursions in case we cannot book alternate options.

Do they ever go on sale?  (This is just not a thing with DCL)

Are you able to cancel for a refund if you change your mind?  (I understand you need to pay for them when you book - also different from DCL).

Any other tips/thoughts?  This is such a great group and I've learned so much from you already!

Kathi

On 2/5/2019 at 10:39 AM, Gonzo70 said:

 

Maybe in a low role; the head chef of a 2* Michelin restaurant would never work on a cruise ship. That would be like a super bowl winning NFL head coach coaching a junior varsity high school football team.

 

More likely they meant an executive chef that works/worked a 2* restaurant served as a consultant to Eden in creating the menu.

Disney 

Chef of Disney Cruise Line's Remy Named as One of World's Ten Best (wdwinfo.com)

I had the pleasure of sailing when Chef Arnaud was on board and met him in his restaurant Remy (he shares head chef duties in Remy with Disney's Scott Hunnel of the Grand Floridan's Victoria and Albert's).   We sail on the Disney Fantasy at least once a year (4 times in the next year if we are lucky due to so many cancellations) and we eat in Remy each time we are on board.     Clearly he is not there all the time, but he is more involved than just sitting somewhere on land and coming up with menu items.

I look forward to trying Eden when we sail Celebrity for the first time next summer!!   I agree that I prefer my fine dining to not include a show, but we will give it a shot.

Can someone who actually sailed explain how unvaccinated were allowed not to wear masks, when required?    Is it honor system?  No way to distinguish vaccinated from unvaccinated?  Crew just not enforcing the requirements?  I think understanding these, and other facts, will be important when future cruisers are deciding to sail or to cancel.   I was under the impression from their official statements that masks for unvaccinated passengers were not optional, but required (when indoors or when social distancing was not possible).   

This certainly seems to be a cautionary tale about mixing with others outside of your immediate cruising group.   I'd be most concerned about being with a positive guest on a bus or van during a shore excursion.  You can't control who you are around.  I'd be mighty unhappy if I had to debark because I randomly got put with someone who tested positive.   Definitely something to think about before rushing to sail again.  (We have a September 25th cruise on Disney booked, but I don't see much chance that we will sail.)

We currently have 4 Disney cruises and 1 Celebrity booked.  DCL has been our cruise line of choice for many years, but prices, lack of new ports and our daughter getting older has given us a fresh perspective.   We are looking forward to sailing Eclipse to Alaska in a Celebrity Suite next August.