StillLooking4Adventure

4 minutes ago, Oville said:

I think the Infinity.

Yes the Infinity.

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

We always check our Order History in the Cruise Planner to make sure our purchased or perks are showing.

 

If you have a beverage package that will show on your Xpress Pass - CALL for Classic Package and PALL for premium.  

I had confirmation of the Premium package and the internet package which I purchased direct from Celebrity.  Only when I got my seapass and tried to use it did they tell me PALL was Classic. 

All is well now. Ive had three drinks and I'm totally relaxed. I am not one to let small stuff ruin my trip, its just aggravating when they can't get simple stuff right on the first day. 

1 hour ago, wpgcycler said:

 

Wait, t-shirts with slogans??? Careful...

"A Crochet group, 131 people.so are in those shirts.

"That is nothing but a simple sticker..." No it requires a new room card.

Once I finally got on board I went to a bar and my room card was set for a basic package instead of the premium I paid for. I had to go to guest relations and wait in line to get it corrected.  A little later I tried to sign on to the  internet with the package I paid for and it wasn't shown. Back down to guest relations,  wait in line, get it corrected.  Even though I showed the confirmation email I had to pay again and they said they would issue me a credit. Things can only improve at this point. Believe it or not, I'm not normally a complainer. Hopefully I'm done complaining now.

 there was no problem for the delay for any reason other than they have priority boarding based on your class. Now we are waiting in line to have them put the correct liquor package which we purchased two months ago on our sea pass so we are able to get what we paid for. Aggravated. 

This our second celebrity cruise. Last time we arrived at our scheduled time, checked in and boarded. This time we were scheduled for 11 am check in, arrived at 11:30 and are still waiting to board an hour later. If they are boarding by class and muster station now, why schedule us for early check in? We would have spent time enjoying Miami instead of sitting in a waiting area for more than an hour.  Not a good way to start a Cruise. 

I'm thinking of taking a tour at the Sandiego Safari park that begins at 1pm. My Celebrity ship is scheduled to arrive at 7am. I will pick up a car at the airport rental facility. Does anyone think this might be to much of a rush to get there on time for the tour?

I received an email from Celebrity saying they were offering up to 25% off on shore excursions (among other discounts) on my cruise.

Error 1: When I click on the link it takes me to the Celebrity page and shows my cruise and excursions with no discounts.

Error 2: When I go to Celebrities main page and I am signed in it shows me my two upcoming cruises, one which is in 4 weeks. When I click on "Plan my cruise" it takes me to a page asking me what cruise, reservation number etc... even though it was showing the cruise on my main page and I clicked from there.

Error 3: I was "chatting" online with a celebrity rep (the opportunity showed up on the screen" and I told her my shore excursions were not showing any discount, she asked my reservation number. When I gave it to her she said, yes there were discounted excursions. When I went back to the excursion page, the chat window disapeared but kept "dinging" in the background meaning she was responding but my chat window was gone.

It is really hard to understand why a corporation that relies on its marketing can't find tech people who can fix their IT problems. This hasn't changed for years. They are really frustrating. Of course I can call, wait on hold, that have the rep go through my 15 day trip and read me a list of all the discounts. Yeah, not going to happen. I'll just book discounted shore excursions by finding ones on Trip adviser that are not through the ship.

We went on the Islander in March/April. It was amazing from start to finish. I highly recommend this Islander due to it's perfect size. I considered the small Yacht type ships, the Islander and the 100 passenger vessels. We found the Islander to be a perfect size. In my opinion the 48 passenger size was perfect for interaction with other passengers, ease of embarking and debarking for the different excursions. We thought the ship was beautiful. The options for excursions were perfect. 

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks I read that, but that still does not address specifically uploading pictures. Does anyone have experience with the new cheaper package and how it works for this?

I am not clear on the new cheaper internet choice. It says you can't stream video on the lower price internet which is fine for me. What it doesn't say is whether your ability to upload pictures to Facebook, Instagram etc, or have your auto backup to the cloud affected? Does anyone know if you can still do this on the cheaper package?

test

This is a test

49 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

I think many of us are hoping the same 😉. It’s definitely making a few of us very nervous about this ‘Revolution’. As I stated previously, I hope there isn’t a revolution by cruisers after X has made the changes 😆.

I just made a reservation for 2020 on the Silly. I really enjoyed my TA o the Reflection so I assume I would also enjoy the Silly. When choosing a European cruise in fall 20202 I left out all of the Edge and Apex cruises from my list. If they get rid of the Ensemble, Sky Lounge and Wine Cellar when they "Revolutionize" the ship, I will cancel. I am beginning to think Holland America could up their game and begin filling the void Celebrity may create if they begin eschewing 50+ cruisers.

6 hours ago, deeva211 said:

I was on the 7 day revenue cruise on Dec. 9th.  I don't think you TA gave you misinformation.  She was absolutely correct about the bars on the Edge.

 

Martini Bar-  You're lucky if you get a seat and most tables are for 2 so you can't sit and talk with other cruisers.  LOUD piped in entertainment except for the last night when they had a nice acoustical guitar player and singer.  Oh, in Cozumel, they brought aboard a very good violinist for 1 hour.  I understand that the Dec. 16th cruise actually had live music in the Martini bar before dinner every night.  Hopefully that will continue but why didn't we have that on our cruise????

 

The Club- Freezing cold.  No servers.  You had to go to the bar.  Few places to sit.  People were sitting onthe tomtoms!!!  A poetry class was being held in the same room and when they were through, they began a music mixing class.  No live music to enjoy except at the Elite + party.  

 

Casino Bar-Not a place for pre and post dinner drinks.  No entertainment unless you enjoy the slot machine sounds.

 

Eden-Would be a good place if they had some live entertainment and I'm not counting the Edenists in that!!

 

Magic Carpet-Closed for dinners.

 

Resort bar-After showering and dressing up for dinner, I'm not going to sit on bar stools at the pool.

 

Sunset bar-No servers were there when I was up there.  Again, it's outside and there was no live music.  To get there, you have to walk through the smoking section.  I went around to the port side to find a way out and couldn't so I had to walk back through the smoke to get out!

 

Café Al Bacio-Doesn't serve beer.  Limited wine and alcohol.

 

Ocean View- I'm not going to a cafeteria for pre and post dinner drinks.  Enough said!

 

The is no place like the Ensemble lounge and Rendezvous lounge on the Edge where you can enjoy drinks and live music.  Go back to the M and S class ships for that.  I hope they don't ruin those in the Revolution!!  I agree with the poster that stated that Celebrity has no reason to have more bars.  Most already paid for their alcohol packages so why make it easy for people to get drinks.  They'll make more money if you don't drink.  

Thanks for the follow up and verification that my TA had correct information. Again, she wasn't saying go or no go, just consider this information. 

We were on Reflection for 2 weeks in October. We quickly learned even on that ship we had to arrive at ensemble or the Martini bar early to get a seat. Sometimes we would get drinks at the bar at the Martini Bar and carry them over to either the Wine Cellar on the other side or sit around the Vodka on Ice table. At least there were acceptable options nearby that didn't involve going outside. I can't imagine having even less options and getting to may more for that privilege. 

6 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I don't think it is fair to discount other's cruisers experiences on the Edge.  The OP's TA indicated it was difficult for them to get a drink.  In the absence of other evidence I will take them at their word.  Although your list of nine bars is likely accurate that they serve some kind of alcohol, I don't know that I would describe all of them as bars.  For example can I have never seen Café a Bacio serving a wide variety of beers.  Is the Ocean View bar just a place for people to get their drinks and go to away or are there seats and a traditional bar-like setting.  I don't know that I'm looking to go sit in the Ocean View Café if I'm looking to have a couple of drinks before dinner.  What about the Magic Carpet?  How much time is it closed for dinner and other special events.  Sure there's a bar in the Casino, but the typical non-gambler doesn't find all of the noise from the games to be relaxing.  

 

Is five the correct number of real places some one would go to drink, I'm not sure but I doubt it's nine.  Whatever the number, the TA had problems getting drinks and that's the message she should provide his/her clients.

8 hours ago, Esprit said:

So the misinformation continues to be spouted out about the Edge.

There are actually NINE bars serving alcoholic drinks for non suite guests.

Martini bar

The Club

Casino bar

Eden

Magic Carpet

Resort bar

Sunset bar

Café a Bacio

Ocean View bar

I had the drinks package and it was used just as much as on my Reflection cruise earlier this year.

I would respectfully suggest you go back to your travel agent and ask her to stop misinforming her clients.

 

 

My travel agent is very pro-RCCL and Celebrity. She didn't tell me "don't choose the Edge" She said she really enjoyed the IV room for various reasons "but it's not for everyone". She is always careful to point out the good and the potential downsides of every ship we talk about. She is a very active TA, not a PT one. She goes on lots of cruises and seminars to keep up her current knowledge. In relation to your list I agree with what Esprit said. Specifically I think of a "bar" as a place that has the feel of a place you would enjoy going to to have drinks before or after dinner to enjoy with other people who enjoy before or after dinner drinks. We have met many wonderful people in the bar in such a way. 

1-Martini Bar (Full Bar atmosphere even if Martini's are the specialty)

--The Club (Apparently this appears to be part of a new dance area, not someplace I would think to go)

--The Casino (again, not a regular more like a place for the gamblers to get a drink)

2- Eden - Seems like it might be a nice place to hang and drink if not accosted by strange dancers.

-- Magic Carpet - My understanding is it will be used for many other purposes other than a bar most times.

--Resort Bar - Please enlighten. Can't find it listed on the Deck Plan or under 'X's own list of bars

3- Sunset Bar - (the solstice class Sunset bar was perfect, why change it to a bar facing a wall?)

 Cafe Bacio - not a bar. Place for coffee with spirits in it.

 Ocean View - Might as well list all the restaurants where you can order a drink if you don't mind waiting a long time.

From this list it looks like my travel agent may have been over-generous. I only find 3 places that are dedicated "bars"  Even on Celebrities own web site they don't list the "resort bar"  https://www.celebritycruises.com/edge/dining/bars-and-lounges/

They also got rid of my favorite bar, The Ensemble, where we gathered before dinner at a specialty restaurant and enjoyed live music and Hor D'oeuvres. 

By the way, I did decide to exclude Apex and Edge from potential choices and went with a Silhouette cruise. It will be "Edgefied" by the time we go and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they don't eliminate too many public places for the addition of Suite Only places.   I also am hoping they make changes in the Apex to fix some of the most common complaints.

So I have been deciding on a cruise for 2020 fall and have to pick one by the 30th to comply with my future cruise "deal" I got on my last cruise. I have been reading a lot of reviews of the Edge and already had concerns about the IV rooms. I just got off phone with my travel agent and she went on the 3 day Edge preview cruise. Here is what she told me.

She liked some of the things about the IV room. However these were the problems. I was unaware, according to her, that when you have the "balcony" window open the AC goes off. I asked can't you just close the inner doors? She said they don't seal. There is a one inch gap, so the heat and and humidity will steam up the room. She is one who's husband likes to sit out on the balcony and she doesn't so, it's a problem

The second thing she mentioned was the lack of bars for "regular" folk. There are only 5 bars on the Edge for non-suite guests. She said getting a drink was not easy. This is a real problem for those of us with drink packages who like to make the most of them and enjoy our cocktails.

The third thing is that she said the central lobby area where the Martini bar is, is extremely noisy and loud. She ate in the Fine Cut Steak house and said they couldn't even hear their waiter because the restaurant is directly off this central gathering point.

So, as of now, I am waiting to hear about any changes in the Apex and will book a non-edge ship. I just hope they don't get rid of any bars during the "edgefication process of the current fleet. 

I don't know if it is a typo or not but they show the Reflection moved back a whole year to 2024. That would be strange.

FYI for those that are interested. The concession for the Glass Blowing on the Celebrity Ships is now run by Hollywood Hot Glass. They have a studio in downtown Hollywood on Young Circle. If you are staying in Ft Lauderdale at the beginning or end of your cruise for a few days you can buy groupons (or as for the groupon deal direct with them) to make your choice of glass items. The cost depends on what you pick. You do assist the artist but they control it the most difficult parts. 

I mention this because they may offer more options at their studio or you may be going on a ship that doesn't offer it. Here are some pictures of pieces my wife and I made and some of the process. 

20 hours ago, dkjretired said:

Watched the whole video, OMG.....horrible....

Well I was trying to be nice when I said not my taste, but yeah, pretty horrible.

More hats off to Celebrities less than impressive IT and marketing departments.

I just watched the Youtube video. Not my taste. (which of course doesn't make it bad)

We just got off the TA on the Reflection in October. We were CC and recieved the Canapes in our room every day. I had expected them to be lame based on posts here but we thought for the most part they were enjoyable little tidbits.

That said, what we really enjoyed was the Ensemble lounge prior to dinner every evening. In that one lounge which is located outside Michael's and all the specialty restaurants, they had roaming waiters serving delicious hors d'oeuves every night. Each tray had a selection of 4 different appetizers and many waiters had different selections. I unaware of this prior to the cruise and it was a welcome surprise. I would recommend seeking out the lounge they have doing this on the Edge, if the they do. And, if they do, get there early enough to get a seat. The Ensemble would fill up by 5 pm. (they also usually had live music at the same time)

I can sometimes suck It is especially bad now, I'm assuming due to their $25 deposit offer, the 30% offer and the new cruises being released all at the same time. (Good Planning)

Denny, that makes sense. I just did a TA with a balcony and it was great. However, I paid 1,400 for the 14 night cruise for a Concierge cabin. This Panama Canal cruise has more ports and fewer sea days. In addition I as thinking that being on deck would be better than on the balcony for the one day of Canal transit. For me, I"d rather spend the extra 3k for 2pp on excursions and specialty restaurants. To each his own though.

I am going next October and paid 1500 for my Oceanview. The 2C's were about 3k+ at the time which is why I decided to go with the OV and save a bundle.  Right now you can still get an OV with a perk for 2700. It will be quite a wait till the 90 day price drop.