dad son team

On 11/8/2022 at 11:28 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Did have a quick question, is the ship time fixed as CST or did you have to change the clocks at all?

We changed clocks

How about sending your wife solo.  What a lovely surprise that would be for her

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks for your mini-review!

 

X sent a comped casino offer for this sailing to just about anyone who played in an X casino before; they also didn't exclude holidays like Thanksgiving, XMas or New Years which is highly unusual and was most likely included due to low bookings.  I took the offer for her and will be on her soon but this is the least excited I've been to go on a X cruise as it only goes to Mexico and I have been to all the ports before, there isn't a ton to do.

I met a guy that took the casino offer.  He said he had only been on 1 X cruise and played $40 in the casino

17 hours ago, runrene said:

We board the Solstice on 11/12!!! I am super excited!.  I have a bid in to move up TOO! Hoping to learn if our bid was accepted.  I am looking forward to PV.  The weather is supposed to be very nice!

 

Thanks for your Review

I will say this, I kept an eye on the cabin availability and saw there over half of the cabins were still empty, so I bid the minimum and won.  You may want to bid low if there are lots of empty cabins

3 hours ago, jelayne said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  We will board tge Solstice in 3 weeks.  
In my experience the music at the pool changed about every hour.  Was the guitar the only music at the pool during the afternoon?

Were there DJs playing music at the various venues at night?  How was the house band?
 

We did a few cruises with 900 -1400 passengers after the restart and while it did make some things easier it did feel dead, not like our other Celebrity  cruises.  Returned from a Celebrity cruise 2 weeks ago and the ship was full, it was nice to get back to that atmosphere, even if tables in the buffet weren’t so easy to find😂

The music did change throughout the day.  I would have preferred just the DJ or house band the whole time.   The DJs did make appearance in different bars.  My group was in the Martini bar every night for happy hours and the DJ was always there

I thought I would share some observations-

This was my first time on Celebrity, but my 19th cruise overall, most on Royal

I traveled solo but was part of a group of about 150.  Ship had 1200 guests (27 under 18) which made it nice.  Always able to get a chair by the pool and a table in the buffet.  To be honest, if it wasn't for my group the ship would have seemed very quiet and several guests even told us.  We are a very social group.  *Note - I was chatting with a guest from a Princess ship that said they only had 800 and it holds 4,000.  Seems this route isn't very popular.  Maybe too many ships sailing it?

I used the Move Up option and was able to get Aqua Class upgrade from my Obstructed Verandah.  $200 total ($100pp). For me, it was worth about that.  I didn't use the Persian Garden as much as I thought I would, and because I was a solo, I also didn't use Blu as much as I could have.  I liked it most for the location of the cabin.

Ship is fine.  Yes, there are spots of wear but nothing to take away from the enjoyment.  Biggest issue for me was all the paints spots on my verandah railing.  I was on deck 11, cabin 1541, which I thought would be nice since it was under the spa area.  Seems it was under a storage room or something and cabinets started opening and closing at 6am.  Not horrible but still heard and would be a problem for a light sleeper.

Food was good.  Coming from Royal, I was expecting more with all the hype about how this is a higher end product but to me they are very similar.  The dining room is nicer, and more elegant which makes for a more pleasant experience.  I did eat 2 breakfasts in Blu and 2 dinners and the food there was better, and the room more intimate and less chaotic.

I didn't see any shows or do any of the ship excursions so I cannot comment on those.  The different musicians on the ship were all very good.  For me, the energy was a bit lower than I like.  A DJ or more contemporary band at the pool works better for me than the acoustic guitar guy, but it depends on the vibe you're looking for.

Overall, it was enjoyable.  Would I do X again?  Yes, but it would not be my first choice.  I'll stay with Royal

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks…we have a combined total of $450 of OBC & wouldn’t want to lose it.
 

We hope to use part of it to pay tips but are getting conflicting info. Our TA has been told it cannot be used for tips but real life experiences I’ve read on this board state tips are deducted from OBC. On Princess some types of OBC state they’re not usable for tips however they are paid using all types of OBC. It is a simple credit from which all types of debits are deducted.
 

In about 6 weeks will learn whether tips can be paid using OBC or not.

 

The original fare I purchased included bacic drink package and gratuity 

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Yes, but they went up $2.00 per classification effective October 17 so could be $2.50 per day. If your cruise is 10 days that would be $50  for 2 people.  Only way to know for sure is to call. Hope you get it straightened out.

Thanks.  The costs that came with my new docs are 17.50 for verandah and 18 for aqua.  Either way it's not that, but thank you for your attention 

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Being our first Celebrity cruise their Moveup FAQs seems to indicate that OBC should not be lost? Isn’t OBC considered a promotion which is not lost with a Moveup?
 

Trying to understand all of this because soon we’ll be within 30 days & Celebrity states that’s when Moveup offers begin.
 

Does the upgrade include any additional promotions?

The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. However, you get to keep whichever promotions you already have.

Thank you!  I will question this when I call tomorrow 

6 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

This could be for the additional gratuities for Aqua class.

No, it specifically references my onboard credit and the purchase I made with it, so it's for the drink package upgrade. Plus, the tip difference is only .50 a day higher

ength of Cruise: 7 Nights Mexican Riviera

Cruise Sail Date: Oct 29, 2022

Date email offer received: 10/12/22

Captain’s Club Tier: Select (first time on Celebrity but matched my Royal emerald)

Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Travel Agent (group booking)

Current Cabin: Obstructed Veranda

Bid? Yes/No: Yes

If YES - Bidding Details:

Cabin Category: Sunset Veranda, Family Veranda, Concierge

Bid Offer: $55 per person for Sunset Veranda & $50 per person for Family, $60 per person for Concierge, $100 per person for Aqua

Notification Date: 10/21

Accepted / Rejected: accepted k

General Comments (offer details, etc.) Minimum bid was $50 pp for all 3 categories, $100 pp for Aqua

I never received and email to upgrade, and when I went on the website and put in my info nothing came up. I emailed them to inquire as to why I didn't receive an offer and 2 days letter I get an email with offers. This may be because I am part of a group booking. No one in my group that I know received an offer email. I'm relatively happy with my current cabin, but if I can upgrade to Concierge for $120 then it's a great deal. I do not have high hopes for any upgrade. Current price for a Sunset Veranda is about $1,700 more than I paid, and $2,100 more for the Concierge or Aqua class

Aqua bid was accepted for $200 total to move from obstructed veranda on deck 6.  Deal of the century 

Just got my email that my bid was accepted.  Moving from an obstructed veranda on deck 6 to Aqua class for $200 total.

Now, also got an email saying I owe $50 for my drink package upgrade from classic to premium.  I had originally used onboard credit for that $50.  I guess I lost the credit I got when I booked? 

23 minutes ago, CU64 said:

Just off solstice Oct 8. Ship 1650. About 60%. You should get your bid.

That seems to be the trend, although I think ours will probably be a bit higher.  We have a group of about 150

33 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You also have no idea of the current staffing levels.  They are not fully booking on some ships because of not enough staff on board

I agree, but I'm not looking to increase the cabin number, I just moving cabins.  No extra work for me to go from a side veranda to a sunset veranda 

So, I have a basic Veranda, obstructed view, on the Solstice next week.  Not thrilled with the location, but I got a good deal and the cost to change to another Veranda is outrageous.  I did put in some bids using the Move Up option to go to a Sunset veranda, Family Veranda, Concierge, or Aqua.  First 3 were min $50pp and the Aqua is $100pp and I bid a bit over the minimum.  Honestly, I don't expect to get it with the low bids, but who knows.  Ya gotta be in it to win it!  My question is, if there are cabins available in the category, do they usually accept your bid or will they pass on the bid if it isn't high enough?  I ask because with 1 week to go, half of the Concierge and 2/3 or the Aqua are still empty and I'm guessing most of the guarantees have been assigned by now.

• Ship:  Solstice
• Length of Cruise: 7 Nights Mexican Riviera
• Cruise Sail Date: Oct 29, 2022
• Date email offer received: 10/12/22
• Captain’s Club Tier: Select (first time on Celebrity but matched my Royal emerald)
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Travel Agent (group booking)
• Current Cabin:  Obstructed Veranda
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category: Sunset Veranda, Family Veranda, Concierge
• Bid Offer: $55 per person for Sunset Veranda & $50 per person for Family, $60 per person for Concierge
• Notification Date:  pending
• Accepted / Rejected:  pending
• General Comments (offer details, etc.) Minimum bid was $50 pp for all 3 categories, $100 pp for Aqua

I never received and email to upgrade, and when I went on the website and put in my info nothing came up.  I emailed them to inquire as to why I didn't receive an offer and 2 days letter I get an email with offers.  This may be because I am part of a group booking.  No one in my group that I know received an offer email.  I'm relatively happy with my current cabin, but if I can upgrade to Concierge for $120 then it's a great deal.  I do not have high hopes for any upgrade.  Current price for a Sunset Veranda is about $1,700 more than I paid, and $2,100 more for the Concierge or Aqua class.

I have the basic, but I will need to work a couple hours on 1 day of my Solstice cruise.  Am I able to upgrade just 1 day to the premium or do I have to upgrade for the entire sailing? 

I'm sorry for your loss.  Thank you for this information with detail.  I have told my son that this is what I want and will be printing your information and adding it to my "when the time comes" packet so he knows how to start this process 

We have a stop in Cabo for a day and I really don't want to do a tour or go to the beach.  Are there any options for something to do that is walking distance from the port?  Not looking for an all day activity, but just something to do.  It looks like the Hard Rock Cafe isn't too far to walk so a stop there to add a pin to my collection is most likely going to happen

It's very interesting to read all this.  My family has had instructions to do this with me for years.  They are to do nothing on land and take the immediate family on a cruise instead.  I'd rather see the money spent on that.  Of course when this idea started it was a smaller family.  Now that some of the kids are married and have kids of their own I need to put more money aside, lol. They can't all share a cabin anymore I'd love for them to have cocktails and music played.  I'm just not sure what song.  I thought of Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot since it's a cruise staple and given my future condition of being ashes it would be appropriate, or maybe Drift Away.  I have a list for them to chose from

I used the Navica app with no issues.  I open it before I get to the terminal so it's already good by the time I get there

I ordered mine on 4/9 and received them 4/14 (with expedited delivery) and the expiration is 1/28/2023.  The RCCL website like said they were sold out, but I went to the Optum site and was able to get them.  The only difference was paying the shipping charges of $7

I'm in the same ship, lol.  My cruise is in 2 weeks and they are sold out.  I just need 1 so I don't want to buy the 6 pack.  Ugh 

I just bought the 2 pack and the expedite shipping which says 2-4 days, but once I place the order it tells me that orders are taking longer than usual.  Double ugh

bumping up.  Has no one on here been to the Thermal Spa?

these watches are usually $200-$300 so it's not really a big purchase.  I was just wondering if items like this are worth waiting to sail or if I should go get one now