gr8fulforcruising

I agree I found the bottled water did have a metallic taste unless it was very cold. They mentioned evian water for the premium package but did not see any a the bars.

THe tap water was just as good. 

I have been told by the RCCL offices that you can not have more than 8 people at a cabana. (overwater, chill island or beach club) I have seen in passed CC notes that you can get an extra person in by paying when you are on the island. We have 6 adults and 3 children.  Does anyone know about this or is there no way it can be done. It seems paying $1,000 that they might allow one more for a fee? Any thoughts or knowledge?

35 minutes ago, MisterMet said:

Some well known phrases come to mind:

 

you get what you pay for

 

don’t project the outcome

 

accept the things you can’t change, change the things you can

 

if I pay for a VW, I can’t expect a Porsche

 

it is what it is

 

this too shall pass

 

I am a victim of my own expectations

How about this one: don't read between the lines...… the new guarantee means the lowest cabins they can find 210 days out?.....it's Christmas for some so we have to believe....thanks to the nevergr8fuls...LOL

8 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

You book a gty then complain that you don't like the room.  I don't get it.  A gty just means you have a room on the ship nothing more nothing less.  If you want your pick of cabins book it with a room assignment of course you pay more.  I have done both gty and  not and Im just happy to be on ship. 

you right....live and learn ...thank you

6 minutes ago, lawk said:

Also - does that mean you find out about your guaranty assignment later, after the bidding finishes?

Thanks for your replies my main reason to talk about this was the fact that they assigned the cabin 210 days out not the cabin. They give you the impression that you may get an better upgrade but this is not the case, It will be in the lowest category and no exceptions according to the agent. We have booked guarantees previously and got fair cabins but not told it was going to be an obstruction and take it or......

8 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

Previous posters have said once you are assigned a cabin you can call and request a change as long as you stay within the same category.  For example, if you were assigned a 2D veranda, you can change to any other available 2D.  

thanks Garyl62, I politely asked the girl from celebrity and her reply was there is nothing they can do... enjoy your day! seems like they don't care anymore. They must be traveling with full ships now or new people that don't know but will find out with blogs like this one.

BEWARE: We found out today that booking a guaranteed cabin cruise early with Celebrity means they can give you the worst verandah they can find, even if it is 210 days before the cruise! I was shocked to see earlier today that I was given a cabin category 2D 210 days before our cruise. The Captains Club means absolutely nothing to them ( probably an inconvenience). I understand the risk and should have picked our room at a higher cost but in the past we always got a better room than the lowest one they can find. I guess loyalty is a thing of the past.

Happy Sailing!

just off the summit and they were giving away t-shirts....not too shabby

4 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Just got off the Summit a few hours ago here in San Juan and wanted to give a little feedback about our experience on a 7-night cruise on the Summit.

 

This was my 6th cruise and 2nd on Celebrity. Previously sailed on Carnival Breeze, Norwegian Getaway & Escape, MSC Seaside, and Celebrity Edge in January.

 

Boarding San Juan went very smoothly. We arrived at the cruise terminal around noon and walked right on, no wait whatsoever. On the ship there weren't very many people. Headed to the buffet for lunch and there were maybe 7-8 other people there. We then went to our room and dropped off our bags and eventually around 1pm were told the rooms were ready.

 

Sailed away at 8:30pm with no issues.

 

For Sailaway we hung out at the Sunset bar. There was a singer there (Kyle from Connecticut) who did a very nice job. It was the perfect ambiance for him. The one complaint about the Sunset bar is the lack of shade. They have those wooden boards that are supposed to look like rays from the sun but it just isn't enough. There should be some type of cover over that area as it is just too hot during the day.

 

We were in an Aqua cabin on deck 9 and were surprised as to how small the room is. We sailed in an inside room on the Edge and that room felt considerably bigger. The bathroom felt tiny especially the shower. Not sure if this is the same way on all M class ships on Celebrity but it was a disappointment.

 

The food on the Summit in the dining room met expectations. We dined at Blu every night and the staff was very attentive and friendly. Joe the maitre d' was amazing and cam by every night to chat with us. Very nice!

 

On the other hand we felt that the food at the buffet was very limited and we frequently had to wait for food. Almost every night we went to the buffet around 11-12 for a midnight snack before heading to bed and always had to wait 10-15 minutes for pizza to come out. It was very poorly planned. There was 1 person making pizzas and he just couldn't keep up with demand.

 

During our 7 day cruise the ship ran out of Red Stripe, Stella, and Strongbow. We asked a multiple bars and were all told the ship was out of those things until Barbados. Seems like very poor planning if you ask me.

 

We booked 3 excursions thru the ship and in 2 ports did our own thing.

 

St Thomas - We took the Water Island ferry and spent the day at Honeymoon beach. Very nice relaxing day!

 

St Kitts - Catamaran to Nevis thru the ship. Not a very exciting excursion. It took about 75-80 minutes to get to Nevis and the crew just played music and had rum punch for people. They didn't tell us anything about the island or the landmarks we were passing by. Got to Nevis, had a BBQ lunch which was good, had another 45 minutes or so at the beach and then headed back...same thing...a little music and rum punch. Not overly impressed with this excursion.

 

Antigua - Catamaran with lobster lunch thru the ship. Very nice excursion! Had 2 different beach breaks and lobster lunch on the catamaran. Crew was very friendly and told us about the island and all the landmarks as we passed by them as well as their history. Plenty of food, drinks, and music to go around. Highly recommend this excursion.

 

St Lucia - Volcanic mud bath experience booked thru the ship. I will pay money to never do this again. I don't do very well on a bus ride and I knew there would be some driving to get there but the drive to the park with the mud bath was 2 and a half hours long!!!! We were crunched in there like sardines in one of those underpowered buses and the thing barely went up the hills and mountains we crossed. It was 2 and a half hours of nothing but up and down and curves. The tour guide did a good job telling us all about the island but I couldn't care any less at that point...I was miserable and others were also complaining about the ride. Finally got to the mud bath place and we spent maybe 45 minutes there. We left and drove back about 30 minutes and stopped for lunch. Lunch was a typical caribbean lunch buffet and the food was good but there were cats everywhere in the dining room and it only included water and 1 glass of juice. If you wanted a coke or beer you had to pay for it. After lunch it took about an hour and a half to get back to the ship...and it was only 23 miles away.

 

Barbados - Went to Carlisle beach for a relaxing day on the island. Got off the ship and took a taxi for $5 per person to Carlisle beach. Went to Lobster Alive and got 2 loungers and an umbrella for $15 and they gave us 3 free drink coupons. We were the first ones there around 11am but within 1 hour the place filled up. Very nice beach area and very convenient. Perfect for a relaxing day at the beach.

 

Overall we had a good time on our cruise and the staff did a great job other than one of the waiters on the pool deck that was completely aloof the entire time and wasn't friendly at all. When we asked him for a drink he stuck his hand out (wanted our sea pass card) and didn't say anything or smiled or anything else for that matter. We then got the drink (a bloody mary) and after he delivered he came back and asked us if he put vodka in it because he couldn't remember. Kind of odd. Cruise director Dan also just boarded the ship and he's a very funny guy. The entertainment and the staff was probably the biggest let down of the cruise. The entertainment itself was sub par and the production shows were very basic. Many of the activities were very poorly planned and never started on-time. We participated in one of the bags competitions and it was very poorly planned, and then tried to participate in the volleyball match with the officers and signing up for it was a complete clusterfu**. We can only compare to the events on the Edge but I will say that on the Edge the activities were run much better and things were done in an orderly fashion whereas on the Summit the entertainment staff seemed clueless (or just didn't care).

 

We're used to sailing on bigger ships and found ourselves bored at time on the Summit. I think it may just be a bit too small for us. Next time around we'll try the S-class ships to see if it fits us a bit better.

 

If you have any questions feel free to ask -

just wondering if the Qzine has changed to LPC as rumoured

I was just on the Reflection and can honestly say that being in a concierge room was worth it. We got to the port at 11:30 am and went straight through the concierge line to get our passes. We then were guided to go up the escalator and onto the ship not stopping in a room with the other passengers. WoW. Then we went right to the concierge lunch in the dining room where we were the first to taste the great food we were going to eat without lineups in the buffet.

After eating in a calm area (without our luggage by our side) we heard the announcement the rooms were ready. The room was great and our room service person came in to see if everything was okay and was there anything else we needed. We asked for ice, fruit and new pillows. They were there within an hour. I noticed a note on the bed from the concierge staff saying any issues 

to see her on the 8th floor.

We booked a future cruise and wanted to call our TA to see if we could flip the cruise to them the third day in the cruise. We went to the desk and used their phone to get the ball rolling. This made the cruise less stressful. They even called us to make sure we had everything we needed and to call for anything. 

The daily canapes were always an experience, but my wife enjoyed most of them. The foot stools on our balcony were a bonus.

This is what changed our feelings. The extra 2 points per day for Captains Club does not hurt either. 

13 hours ago, wurm914 said:

 

LOL!  I'm afraid our cruising buddies might object since we're planning on opening the divider and sharing balconies.  🙂  

OMG! This was the same guy that pees in pools, and the divider could be a good thing??

On 1/28/2019 at 10:55 PM, wurm914 said:

We're sailing next week on the Celebrity Reflection.  Looking forward to our concierge balcony.  Just wondering, what are the can't miss places, activities, treats?  What would you do first?  Hmm?

 

deb 

I would make sure you take your neighbor in the cabin next to you out for a nice cold Martini and relax because we will!!!!! LOL

First time on RC. Sailed 8 times on Carnival. Have visited their steakhouse every time. Wanted to hear from others which extra restaurant on Oasis is worth the visit? We want to be "wow'd!" Chops, the Italian Restaurant, Japanese, etc. And what do you recommend there? We will probably go the first night ($20 night)

We had the first night deal and went to Giovanni's, they did a great job and the food was superb. The third night we went to 150 CP and found the food great but the service was not up to par, must of been a bad night as it is usually top notch.:):)

We did a tour with Sonny Binns this past week and really enjoyed it. He has a website that details the tour

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I also did a tour with Sonny in November. Best island tour I have been on in the Caribbean. We booked 6 on the day before we got into Aruba and he got a bigger bus to accommodate. very informative and pleasant man...don't miss him on the websites and good price

I just spent 45 minutes trying to book an excursion on "X". OMG I have never seen a site that needs to be fixed more than this one. I have spent less time getting teeth pulled (not sure which one was more painful). It took 25 minutes to convince the website that there was OBC that I could use. I really was happy when they gave me the chance to use the OBC but maybe they could hire IT people with a brain. I am still waiting to get my luggage tags on line but will call the Captains club to do the job that would take 30 seconds.

same thing happened to me. thanks for wasting 15 minutes of my life:mad::mad::mad:

I have used a collapsible box that I store in the fronts of the suit cases and put sock and underwear in them in the cabinets above the bed as there are no drawers in the side tables on the X. The other thing to bring is the fridge magnet holders for all paper work as the walls are steel.:):):)

Yes, thank you. Is that the best comeback you have? I'm disappointed.

You are herby BANNED FROM THIS BOARD.... Mods due you duty!!!

PERSONAL ATTACK, REPEAT PERSONAL ATTACK, VIOLATION OF SECTION 22.3.4 of something. Mayday, Mayday, Houston we've got a problem... Execute order 66.

not personal jack...just stating the facts. stop yelling in print:eek::eek:

It's funny to me that no one ever complains to Disney, when they spend THOUSANDS of dollars to goto one of there theme parks. Pay FULL price with absolutely ZERO notification just to find out several attractions are closed for refurb. Disney won't even give you a heads up, discount or give a S#*T. It's just part of life. Things happen. Schedules change.

Make the most of it, stop being a http://cdn-media-1.lifehack.org/wp-content/files/2015/09/25091249/01-Cover.jpg

You've said you dealt with NCL. Did your travel agent go to bat for you. It is amazing what clout some agents have. I had a cruise booked on another line and it was cancelled due to a charter. The cruise line offered $100 and gave a number of cruises that we could pick from. None were to my liking and they didn't offer me the perks I had for booking online my previous cruise. My travel agent went to work and not only did I get price protected for a cruise not within the ones they offered, I got all my perks and the $100 OBC for the inconvenience. Your travel agent should be fighting for what you want and if they can't get it for you, they should be offering you something to ease your pain.

Just curious why OP waited to post this since he was aware of it on May 2nd?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2347658

Right on........You sound like my kind of girl....Cheers to you

Thanks for your comment but I really only ask that they not treat us like cell mates but humans. I wish we could cancel but what about the cost of airlines and hotels. I'm not the bad guy but feel I have been slighted and missing out on the real reason that I booked this trip for. ( even if I had a 50% chance of actually getting on the island) there should be some kind of consideration good food seems to be something they should spend some of their upgrades on, not closing down one of there most priced stops.

I just spent 45 minutes with the customers service department of NCL. We got a notice from our TA and they stated that our 4 day cruise on October 10th will not be going to Great stirrup Cay as they are renovating the island from Aug.25 to October 20 but we will go to Grand Bahamas in place of it :):) The funny thing is we are going there two days before??? Thanks for the change to go there twice in a week. I called the customer un service line and they informed me they did cut off one of our places to visit and they were giving us a glorious day at sea:eek::eek: and not another island as they advertised. I spoke to their supervisor to see if there was going to be any compensation to now losing the only reason I wanted to cruise on this 2.5 star ship and was told it was their right to make changes and there would be no compensation to anyone as they do not need to and will not help. I have been on 5 other cruise lines and have never been so rudely treated. It is different if they changed because of weather or other conditions but think about it, they should consider that we are losing the only reason we wanted to go on this cruise. I hope this helps anyone who wants to consider going on a NCL cruise. THINK TWICE OR BE BURNED

Interesting, I was told a different story by NCL corporate. Based on my situation being displaced by a cruise and a port of call cancelled I was able to get an upgrade from an interior room to an oceanview stateroom on the 11-4 sailing of the Sky. Better than nothing. I only got this after talking with the executive offices at the company. All lower levels of customer service were extremely rude and didn't want to hear about my complaint. The onboard service on NCL ships is top-notch. The people working on shore need to take a lesson in customer service from the ship crews.

It amazes me how they can just take away a port without even suggesting an alternative except for a day at sea :(:( It's bad enough that they get there every second visit under normal circumstances, now they just want to upgrade the island and give your guests nothing in return for two months...I am really thinking this will be the last cruise on NCL if this is the way they treat their customers or cell mates. I have been on 5 different lines and never seen such poor service.: eek:

As of today you can still withdraw OBC as cash in the casino on Eclipse. I don't know how much longer this will last, but it was even promoted in the daily.

Hello, just off the equinox no problem getting cash at the casino less 5%. r and n? :):)