jlbartley

1 minute ago, SFCAcruiser said:

 

I only tried that one time, with success, within the V2 category. This happened for me pre-Covid, but I have read reports on Cruise Critic that this is still possible.  

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! It is helpful to hear. 

35 minutes ago, SFCAcruiser said:

 

A guiding principle to bear in mind when considering a GTY booking - you should be mentally prepared to be assigned the worst cabin in that category. If such a cabin will diminish your cruise experience, then you should avoid a GTY booking. But if you are not particularly fussy about cabin location, then take a risk to save money. 

I have, on occasion, booked a GTY verandah when I noticed that all the least desirable V3 cabins were sold out, at that particular time. But inventory changes frequently, so there is a risk of getting a V3, but I have never experienced that type of assignment. A friend of mine has had this assignment. 

 

Also, if you are assigned a cabin in a V3,2, or 1 category, you will likely be able to select another cabin in that same category if you are not happy with the location of the original assigned cabin. 

 

Those of us of a certain age may recall Clint Eastwood's famous line. "Do you feel lucky?..."

 

 

To clarify, in your experience they do allow you to move rooms to same category if their is availability? I was thinking they didn’t allow it and I’m trying to think it I should factor that into my luck equation 😉

12 minutes ago, hawkesbaynz said:

I cannot see the benefit of Concierge (more CC points and a lunch on embarkation, or a cabin that you particularly like!). The cabins are not bigger. We have been in every category but Concierge.
 

I would choose a specific verandah cabin in a position that suits. There is a thread specifically on cabins with a spreadsheet. I always cross reference it prior to booking.

 

Our last Millenium cruise we managed an upgrade to Aqua from a verandah. The cabin was below the pool deck and there is a massive overhang on the M class. Not an issue on a Japan cruise in the Spring but would have been in the hot Med with everyone sunbathing and our preference for relaxing on the balcony rather than pool deck.

 

I would always choose if possible. Fortunately Celebrity is better than competitors with choice on cabin.

The celebrity site shows concierge as having a loveseat vs single seat and being around 35 sq feet or so bigger than a standard veranda room. Am I missing something on this?

any idea where I can find the spreadsheet? I tried searching and even went into the select a cabin forum and couldn’t find it. I would love a resource like this!

I'd love to get some opinions from those of you who have cruised more than I have.  We are going to be on the Celebrity Infinity in November Adriatic and Mediterranean.  We are doing a veranda room but trying to decide between a few choices and could really use the experience from others.

We have a choice of:

1 - Veranda guarantee

2 - Veranda room on deck 8 aft near the stairway for $400 more than the guarantee

3 - Concierge guarantee for $100 less than the Veranda ($300 more than the Veranda guarantee)

Which of these would you do? 

I like that the Concierge rooms are bigger, they're all aft ship and they appear to not have any that have a blocked view.  But I see that many of the rooms currently listed as available are under the Oceanview Cafe so there's a high chance we could end up there.  I wasn't sure how much you may be able to hear the noise?

I like the $400 room difference in the guarantee but am concerned about a potential forward cabin and the ship rocking too much.  I recognize these could also be somewhere that there is noise.

I'm leaning towards taking a chance on one of the guarantees, we tend to be budget travelers so this fits with my desire to save some money. What would you do?  Any help or thoughts you can provide would be appreciated!

Ahhh yes, thank you for these tips.  That's likely why there is so much available on deck 6 is because of the public spaces below. I'll focus more on deck 7. Otherwise I'm wondering if there may be less noise above something like the art gallery vs the restaurants if deck 6 is all that works out?

My choices may be deck 6 above the art gallery/specialty shops, deck 7 forward near the stairs/elevator, or deck 8 fore or aft, near the elevators or at the very rear of the ship in a corner that looks like it could be quiet.

Now it appears I need to decide between the potential noise of being above a public space or fore/aft near an elevator and risking motion....anything else I'm not considering here or you think I should think about?

Thank you. This makes sense. Is there a good way to understand what is above/below each of the different areas? Best site to visit to see this or is this something that an agent should be helping us with?

I apologize if there's a different place I should be posting this, please let me know and I will move the post. I'm a near first time cruiser and am looking at a cruise on the Infinity, Adriatic and Mediterranean in Nov. If I book a balcony and want to change to a different balcony in the same class, is that able to be done after I do the booking?

Is there much of a difference between balconies on decks 6, 7, 8, or 9? I was leaning towards midship but it appears that is only available on deck 6 which has quite a bit of availability which makes me wonder if there's something less desirable about it?

Deck 7 has forward options

Deck 8 has forward or aft right beside the elevators or one lone cabin 8179 near the rear

Deck 9 has 1 prime stateroom that is forward near the elevators 9039 for the same price.

I am concerned about potential for motion sickness and will bring stuff to address this.

Any help anyone can give on key things to take into consideration with a room on this ship would be helpful!  I'm mainly concerned about noise and motion.

I was reading on a post from 2023 that people were saying you could only use 2 gift cards per booking, it appears from this post that is no longer the case, is that correct?

Thank you all so much. This is helpful. I was originally leaning towards the 11 night Adriatic but then wasn’t sure if the 3rd night at sea was ideal and saw that the Constellation tends to get better reviews than the Infinity although that might be a minor difference. I really appreciate hearing everyone’s experiences. 
 

I was also trying to decide on balcony or just ocean view. I’ve never had a balcony and like the idea but also wasn’t sure how much it would be usable this time of year and there are limited selections available. It’s about $1000 cheaper for the oceanview vs balcony. Thoughts on that?

I haven’t been on a cruise in a long time and my husband has never been on one. I’m looking at 2 different Celebrity European cruises and trying to determine if there’s a reason to do one over the other. I’ve been on RC, Norwegian and Disney and we prefer good food although don’t need gourmet, solid entertainment and aren’t partiers. We’re mainly looking at a cruise ship as a moving hotel with dining included;)
 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/11-night-adriatic-med-from-athens-piraeus-greece?groupId=IN11ATH-1039355710&packageID=IN11M281&sDT=2024-11-04&cCD=CO
 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/10-night-rome-to-barcelona-cruise-from-rome-civitavecchia-italy?groupId=CS10ROM-987288726&packageID=CS10M346&sDT=2024-10-28&cCD=CO

Prices are very similar, the Infinity has an extra sea day which I don’t know we need but it is cheaper. 
 

Any reason you would chose one over the other? 
 

I’ve also considered this Norwegian. The couple of Norwegian cruises I’ve been on I thought the food was mediocre compared to RC and Disney so was leaning toward one of the Celebrity cruises. 

https://www.ncl.com/cruises/9-day-mediterranean-round-trip-barcelona-italy-france-and-spain-ESCAPE9BCNCEQLIVCIVNAPCAGPMIIBZBCN?destinations=4294949354,4294949395,4294949385&sailMonths=4294949362,4294949361&numberOfGuests=4294949461&stateroomcategorymeta=4294949452&sortBy=price&autoPopulate=f&from=resultpage&itineraryCode=ESCAPE9BCNCEQLIVCIVNAPCAGPMIIBZBCN

We will be making a stop on a cruise ship and are going to see El Yunque for part of the day and may stop to take in a beach. I've thought about Loquillo but had many people comment that there are other beaches they would recommend yet no one has mentioned the name of the other beaches.

I'm looking for pretty beach that is either near El Yunque or on the way back from there to Condado where we will drop off our rental car.

Can anyone give me an idea of what beach they would recommend? I'm not needing a beach with a lot of facilities and often prefer a quieter beach vs. a crowded one.

Thanks for your help!

Thank you for the suggestions. You mention other beaches better than Luquillo. Could you recommend other options that you like better. It's hard to try to pick just one that we should stop at.

I still haven't fully made up my mind between getting a car or taking a more private tour so I appreciate the feedback you've given on the times to expect. It is very helpful!

We will be there on a Wednesday. I know that there are typically guides that will take you to El Yunque in less time than this but I wasn't sure if anyone who had rented a car before could give me an idea of how much time it takes to actually pick up the car and then travel to El Yunque. I appreciate any advice. Thanks!

I will be on a cruise stopping in San Juan from 7:45am-4:45pm. I've done some research and am considering renting a car, maybe from Condado Enterprise or Charlie's.

I'm thinking that we would like to visit El Yunque and possibly Luquillo. Would also love to have at least a small bit of time to walk through Old San Juan. Is it possible to fit all of this in?

How long does it really take to get a shuttle from one of the car vendors, pick up the car and then get to El Yunque? What key things would you recommend we see here?

What time would you recommend we head back from Luquillo to the car rental place to ensure we have enough time to return the car and shuttle back to San Juan to get back to the ship on time?

Sorry, I know this is a lot of questions but appreciate any advice you can give!