MarKay525

Not sure if any countries are still requiring proof of vaccination - where are you sailing? Has your TA contacted Celebrity to see if she/he can change you to select dining?

Hi - health questionnaire is done within 24 hours of departure. Can also be done in the terminal during check-in. Photos can also be taken at the terminal - takes 3 seconds and you don't have to figure out how to upload it! Once onboard you can go straight to your stateroom, drop luggage off & put things in the safe. You can do this even if there is a sign from your stateroom attendant stating the room is not ready. Just drop things off and leave. (We put hand luggage in closet so it is out of the way if room is not ready.) Sea pass will be available whether room is ready or not. Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you! This is so helpful.

Hi - on Sunday, Oct 29 DH & I need to get from the Marriott at Newark Airport to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. We need to arrive at the terminal at 1:30 pm. Which would be a better choice: Pre-arrange pickup from Carmel Car & Limo Arrange an Uber Black the morning of the 29th (unable to pre-arrange right now - don't use Uber enough to know if I will be able to pre-arrange closer to the actual date.) For an added cost, would either of these give us a "45 minute tour" of Manhattan on the way to the terminal? Thanks so much - Kay

Enjoy! We were in an aft balcony on Solstice in May for our first Alaska cruise. The long walk aft was totally worth it for the amazing views. Layering is definitely the key for clothing.

Hi Jim. Enjoying following along, as always. Mark just had Amaretto flavored ice cream last night at a small shop in Nags Head, NC. Delicious - best of both worlds and no alcohol. Kay

How do you plan to get from the cruise port to the airport? May not be relevant if you are able to walk off the ship early with your luggage in hand, but when we sailed into Seattle in May, once we had our luggage, the line for the cabs was at least 100 people deep (and the walk to the cab area was 5-7 minutes from the terminal) and the wait for an Uber was 45 minutes. YMMV with an early disembarkation, but we were very glad we had an afternoon flight. Do you want your lovely first cruise experience to end with stress hoping you make it to the airport on time if anything "goes wrong" ?

Hi - we're contemplating cruising the British Isles - so helpful to have this much detail - Thank you!!!

Never sailed that far forward, so can't comment regarding motion, but several people have commented that the noise from the anchor dropping, etc. is far more disruptive if in a forward stateroom.

Hi - we've been to Le Petite Chef several times on various ships and were given the option of ordering off the "regular" menu or the alternate menu with no restrictions. (Menus are printed on opposite sides of the same piece of paper.) As CruiserByHeart said, if you order off the alternate menu, your food will not match the video image when the dish is set in front of you. If you have special dietary restrictions, then that is a different issue.

Of course. There is all that open space just outside the shops where everyone walks every day to get to the theatre!

IMHO - Charla was unbelievable generous in sharing her precious time with Mini-Me to bring us along on her cruise. She is back at work now and taking care of her family & farm animals. I know she will return to finish sharing as her time allows. Patience is a virtue. Kay

Welcome to Cruise Critic! broadwaybaby123 has a great list (post #28), but not all of it applies to Celebrity. #5 - I've never had to show anyone my phone to prove I've watched the muster information. In fact, you can watch it on the TV in your stateroom once you are onboard. #8 - Reservations for the shows are not needed on Celebrity - just go to the theatre. (However, if you are in a suite, there will be a reserved area for suite passengers on Chic Nights.) #9 - Celebrity does not have Freestyle machines or reusable cups. There are free fountain beverages available in the buffet. #10 - On Celebrity, you can usually go directly to your stateroom as soon as you are onboard. Your Sea Pass/Room Key will be there. You can drop off your carry-on luggage and lock valuables in the safe before going to your muster station. When you get onboard, stop at the excursions desk to see if "ship tours" are being offered. It's just a walk around the public areas (free) done before Sail-Away, but it's a way to get somewhat oriented to the layout of the ship. DH and I did it on a cruise recently, despite the fact that we've sailed Celebrity a dozen times and had been on that particular ship multiple times, we still enjoyed the excitement shared by fellow passengers on their first Celebrity cruise. Then check out the rest of the ship and enjoying a Sail-Away drink.

Hi - we're considering a Princess cruise next year and I was just researching Reserve mini-suite vs Full suite (Penthouse) this morning. Princess now has two categories of mini-suites. From what I understand, guests in the Reserve (formerly Club Class) mini-suites can eat in the same dining area as the full suite guests. Reserve Mini-suites perks and FAQs: https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/reserve-collection/reserve-collection-flyer-faq.pdf https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/reserve-collection/reserve-collection-flyer-faq.pdf Full suite perks: https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf https://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/suites/

Thinking of jumping from Celebrity to Princess in 2024. The cruise we're looking at is on this list, but I don't understand any of the codes. Will this sale offer a better price for a May/June, 2024 12 night British Isles on Regal than the sale that ends today? Thanks.

We cruised out of Vancouver in early May and were very glad we had printed our luggage tags in advance, as the line for "non pre-tagged" people was very long. If there was a station to fill out the tags on-site, we never saw it. Any directional signage for luggage drop-off was nonexistent - thankfully we asked a knowledgeable person who told us we didn't have to wait in the long line since we were pre-tagged, just go directly to the porters (then they pointed us in the correct direction). There was one other ship sailing out on the same day [Royal Princess] and the luggage drop-off area was total chaos. (We arrived just before noon.) Perhaps the disorder was because we were one of the early sailings out of Vancouver this season, and maybe they've since gotten their act together. Once the luggage was dropped off, it took us about 1 hour to go through check-in and get onboard. YMMV Enjoy your cruise!

Traveling Man - we just did that in April/May. 9 night Alaska cruise on Solstice, Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff and a lot of sightseeing along the way before flying home from Calgary. TraderSam - thank you so much for posting. We were in Banff for 4 days last month - one of the most beautiful, quaint places I've ever visited. We're not hikers, so really appreciate your photos. Smoke from the Alberta fires made for very limited visibility when we went up on the gondola, but we still really enjoyed it. Got to see a wedding when we were up there as well - obviously a popular spot for nuptials. Looking forward to more posts.

I went to the Celebrity website and started a mock booking for the cruise. Found two places on the Celebrity website that had info. If you are asking what actual time you will be able to disembark at each port, that depends on how long clearance takes and how long the lines are for the tenders. This information is from View Ports and Map: 14 Nights Patagonia & Argentina Holiday Onboard CELEBRITY ECLIPSE Day 1, Sat, Dec 23, 2023 VALPARAISO, CHILE Departs: 6:00PM Day 2, Sun, Dec 24, 2023 AT SEA Day 3, Mon, Dec 25, 2023 AT SEA Day 4, Tue, Dec 26, 2023 PUERTO MONTT, CHILE Tendered: 8:00AM to 6:00PM Day 5, Wed, Dec 27, 2023 CHILEAN FJORDS Day 6, Thu, Dec 28, 2023 STRAIT OF MAGELLAN Day 7, Fri, Dec 29, 2023 PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE Tendered: 7:00AM to 5:00PM Day 8, Sat, Dec 30, 2023 USHUAIA, ARGENTINA Tendered: 10:00AM to 7:00PM Day 9, Sun, Dec 31, 2023 CAPE HORN, CHILE Day 10, Mon, Jan 1, 2024 AT SEA Day 11, Tue, Jan 2, 2024 PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA Docked: 8:00AM to 5:00PM Day 12, Wed, Jan 3, 2024 AT SEA Day 13, Thu, Jan 4, 2024 PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY Tendered: 7:00AM to 4:00PM Day 14, Fri, Jan 5, 2024 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA Arrival: 8:00AM Day 15, Sat, Jan 6, 2024 BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA This page has more detailed information. Scroll down to Cruise Itinerary. (I am an old fart using a PC. Have no idea how this might show up on a phone.) https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/14-night-patagonia-and-argentina-holiday-from-valparaiso-chile?packageID=EC14F106&sDT=2023-12-23&cCD=CO

We were just able to do 30 pieces each on our 9 night Alaska cruise two weeks ago. YMMV

Our experience: 30 items don't all have to fit into one cloth bag. They can be split between multiple bags. Fill out a form for each bag and write 1 of 2 and 2 of 2 on form with a total of 30 items. I tied the two bags together just to be safe. (Our stateroom attendant didn't believe we could use more than one bag, so I got it in writing from the Capt. Club hostess.) Only time I've gotten clothes back on hangers was when we had them pressed. Everything has just been neatly folded. We put darks and lights in same bag at times and have never had a color bleed issue-we don't send "new" clothes however. Safe travels. (I'm jealous of your B2B.)

Hi - a Google search brought up the names of several Black Car Services in Vancouver. Does anyone have a recommendation for a specific company - 2 people, 3 pieces of luggage, about 4 pm arrival on a Tuesday in early May. Thanks.

Confused - don't do what - fly from Seattle to Vancouver? Based on the great feedback here, we've already decided we won't use Port Valet and will arrive at least 3 hours before our 2:45 pm flight.

We had a similar experience on the Apex last December. Three guests standing in front of the podium and the Retreat Host on duty did not even look up to acknowledge our existence. I realize she was busy with something, but to not even acknowledge us.... I finally gave up and left. I mentioned it the next day to another of the Hosts who had been really helpful on our first day - just suggested she mention to her co-worker that an "I'll be with you in a moment" would be nice. I did receive a phone call from the non-attentive Host who apologized several times.

Recently flew on American and due to a series of major screw ups on my part, we were in coach rather than the first class seats we had paid for. American reimbursed us the difference in the fares, which I really appreciated since I flubbed up. So hopefully same will occur with Jim & Iain.

While you may see a few ladies in long gowns on the Chic nights, you'll see more in cocktail dresses, simple summer dresses, nice slacks and tops or designer jeans and tops. You'll probably even see nice capris & tops. Dress code says no shorts at dinner. Chic night is not "observed" in Blu (Aqua dining room), Luminae (Suite dining room) or in the specialty restaurants. Just need "country club casual" or Smart casual in these dining areas. Enjoy your first Celebrity cruise - we like Equinox.