bayonnejoe

4 hours ago, marieps said:

We were on Summit's 2022 repo with you, I believe.  A great voyage as I recall.

Yep. That one was one of the best. It was like a private yacht. About 350 passengers as I recall.

This wouldn't be the first time the northbound repo wasn't released at the same time. It's happened a few times in the  past. As a matter of  fact,  a couple of years ago, the  Summit northbound repo was chartered. It was the only time in all the years friends and us did not do the repo. 

Anybbody else out there remember way back when a Celebrity  sale was actually a sale?

4 hours ago, hcat said:

Too bad........before they were introduced there was a diff demographic and vibe.. but we have adjusted

On cruises of 3 to 5 nights for sure. We recently did  the 10 night.repo on the Summit back to Bayonne preceded  by the four night Miami roundtrip. And yes, the vibe from the four nighter to the repo was noticeably different. But these short sailings have always been booze cruises, just maybe not to the point they are now. I see no difference in demographics or vibe on longer sailings at all. 

1 hour ago, Alex618 said:

I priced the package yesterday with TA,  it was $1,800 for booze classic, gratuity, and WI-FI.  With a husband who has 2 or 3 frozen drinks, and Elite Cocktail hour, only one basic WIFI, I figure doing this on our own will cost about 1K. If you need two WI-FI connection and both drink considerable about then I can see where it is worth it.  I know while on board, I was speaking to Bar and Beverage manager and he stated these packages were costing them BIG $$$$$ so I bet they go away. 

Never going to happen. Drink packages are here to stay 

           DW, friends, and myself, have been sailing the Summit since 2010. We have seen the transition of Normandie (which we had many great meals, and a few not so great) to Tuscan Grille. We have witnessed the many incarnations of Bistro on 5, now Sushi on 5. We've had many great nights at Qsine before it became Le Petit Chef. We dine several times each sailing at Tuscan. I think that dining at specialty restaurants on ships has the slight possibility of being a crapshoot, only because of limitations of the ingredients being used. We've dined at Tuscan several times on the same sailing, most recently on the April 26th repo. On the first night, everyone thought it was excellent. On the second night, steaks were very good, but we did have a few issues. The dining room was more crowded, and service was spotty. We order the meatballs every time we go, and the first night everyone thought they were excellent. However,  on the second night, they were  not good. They bore no resemblance  to what we had on the first night.  They were balls of mush  and looked undercooked. To make matters worse,  when we brought this to their attention,  the chef came to our table and proceeded to explain to us why were wrong. Needless to say no one ate them. 

          I guess the moral of the story is just order something else when you are not satisfied. They will never say no.

10 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

It has been quite a few years since we have sailed with Celebrity.  Just booked a cabin for May 2024 to Alaska.  Does Celebrity offer any incentives for booking while on board for a future Celebrity cruise?  We are Elite if that makes any difference.  Thanks in advance for your help.

Extra OBC. Reduced (way reduced) deposit. Like only $100  per person. And the best offer at the time , of course. 

Just now, bayonnejoe said:

Not true. Just got off today. Everyone ordered something from main dining every night.

Just now, bayonnejoe said:

 

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

2 hours ago, NJRonbo said:

Not sure if you are AquaClass.

 

Been hearing that Blu no longer allows you to order off of the Main Dining Room menu.

 

If you are dining in Blu, could you check to see if this is true?  Thanks

 

Not true. Just got off today.

15 minutes ago, manmachine said:

And it’s still a -5.26% house advantage no matter what you bet.  Unless there are 3 zeros and then it is worse… -7.89%

Celebrity does have single zero roulette on some ships. I am constantly amazed when the single zero table and double zero tables are both open how many more people are sitting at the double zero table. Single zero is one of the best bets in the casino as opposed to double zero which is the worst.

1 hour ago, DebInAntigua said:

I'm toying with the idea of taking a Caribbean cruise in early November, just because we miss it soooo much. We also want to test out a cheaper inside cabin to see if we can tolerate inside as a way to cruise a lot more often (and literally do some working cruises).

 

The final payment date for the cruise I'm eyeing is in just a few days. How soon after final payment does X tend to cut prices significantly to bring in more pax? Right away or much closer to departure?

 

We need to take an international flight up to Florida so waiting to save on the cruise could always backfire with more expensive flights. I would love to get advice from those who frequently book within final payment window. We book year(s) in advance normally!

Those days are gone forever. 

6 hours ago, Belfast1916 said:

Hi we have the All Included - tips/wifi/drinks - However, I have just been told that we need to tip the cabin steward on the last day of our cruise.  Is this always done, I thought they would have been included in the tips in our All Included package.  

I would like to know if it is and how much do you leave?  Thanks everyone

Most seasoned cruisers  give something extra. And as Happy Cruiser said, the staff regards positive reviews very highly. More than extra tips I think. They get good perks for great reviews. So don't  forget  names. 

Just a word to the wise! If you have UDP get all your reservations for lunch and dinner organized before sailing, and get to one of the restaurants soon as you board. You can make all your reservations at any restaurant. Make it your first stop. I recommend going to Giovanni's or Chops to do this, your best bet for no line. Avoid Izumi for this as there was quite a line for booking when we boarded last week. If you are booking for mulItiple rooms make sure you have everyone's reservation and room number. 

5 hours ago, CarolRoy said:

Thinking about going on the Oasis out of Bayonne this fall.  How crowded would it be?  How crowed would the buffet area be, pool area, venues, etc,

We have bee on the Anthem twice before covid and found it to be crowded.  We try to cruise when there would be less children.  Any info would be helpful.

Just got off Friday. Crowded doesn't do the term 'crowded' justice. Elevators packed. Venues for things like trivia were packed. I actually saw  people sitting on the floor for a few. Buffets crowded. Windjammer especially.  Stick with Solarium Bistro.  Smaller with not as big a selection but far more manageable. Pools unusable, in my opinion unless you go first thing in the morning. Shows OK if you're into them.  There were far more children than I ever saw on a cruise. Having said all that, my guess would be as long as you sail in the fall while school is in session you should be OK. The Oasis is an amazing ship. 

Anybody remember back to the days when a Celebrity sale was really a sale? Not like it is now, same prices just marketed a different way every couple of weeks

I agree with pretty much what everyone said about this sailing. The ship is amazing. The staff, crew, and officers were all fantastic.  They couldn't do enough for us. They are obviously thrilled to be back working. 

       And just to put my two cents in about people who are now being dubbed 'pool hogs', yes I saw the. four being flamed on all the different threads about this cruise They were in the pool standing at one end when we got there, while we in the pool (we stayed in for a reasonable half an hour), and until we left. At least three to four hours total. They never moved from their spots. I am not sure that the pool capacity will be as strictly enforced on  the regular sailings,  as the CDC was onboard observing everything. So if the pool capacity said seven, seven was it. This inconsiderate behavior should be addressed by Royal if capacity stays at these numbers on the regular sailings with 3000 people onboard. 

      I think it would be entirely reasonable for Royal to post signs stating something like 'Due to reduced pool capacity we ask that everyone limit their usage to half an hour at a time so that everyone can enjoy. You may reenter at a later time.'

1 hour ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Did you hear that they’d be starting with paying passengers at over 50% capacity?

I think they are capping it at 50%.

Come to think of it,  we'll be back on September 19th. We will check and see  if they're still in the pool.

21 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

Did not see any pool hogging!  Today was probably the most crowded pool areas have been since it was hot and sunny.  People were spread out over all the pool areas.  Solarium was quite peaceful, plenty of chairs also.

 

We saw them. There were four of them. They were in the pool when we got there. DW and I were in the pool for about half and hour with them. They were at one end of the pool. Never moved. Drinks in hand. Others noticed them. They were in there for several hours. If they continue to enforce 7 in the pool at any given time, this needs to be addressed when in the coming weeks capacity onboard will be about 3000.

17 minutes ago, jfio1021 said:

Is this included or is extra money on a typical cruise 

It is not on this sailing either. Any of the specialty restaurants are available to us at 50% off. All beverages and internet also 50% off. The gratuities are the usual amount 

We will be way north of Florida by the last day. Probably as far north as North Carolina or Virginia. 

7 hours ago, mickey89 said:

................so the wife bet RED and you bet BLACK....easy, peasy, problem solved.

Slots are an okay way to get back a lot of your OBC if you choose to try. Nobody loses too much of their money before the promotional slot credit runs out. (You may even come out ahead of the game.) However, I have always maintained that if you were allowed to do so, betting half on red and half on black in roulette is a really bad bet. Remember, one out of every 19 people loses all their money when 0 or 00 hits.

1 hour ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

So did I understand correctly that you put your luggage out the night prior, disembarked and it was waiting for you at 7:25am?  Did you see an immigration line for Global Entry?

No Global Entry in San Juan. 

Just got off yesterday. This was the last sailing for Qsine. The changeover started today. Someone posted a picture on social media of the work starting.

38 minutes ago, BeeSkip said:

Hello cruisers,

 

i searched the forums and and did not find the info I need.

 

i know there is a multilevel parking lot at the Bayonne cape liberty terminal.   Does anyone know the daily parking fee?  Do they have the machines to pay before leaving the lot?  Do we droff off luggage first then park then make way to cruise terminal for check in?  How long do you think this takes?

 

thank you all,

Bee

 

 

 

When is your cruise? If it anytime before next summer, you should have no problem parking in the garage. However, from May until sometime in September there are three ships here. The Summit, two Royal Caribbean ships including starting next year the Oasis. A parking spot is guaranteed, but not necessarily in the garage. You  may get surface parking in one of the lots.