Jezo

18 hours ago, cruisegal40 said:

What time did the excursion start in Bonaire?  I really want to snorkel and there are a few boats out there that do that. But some are like 8:00 in the a.m. 

You check in around 845.  We got there earlier, maybe 835?  Either way it's plenty of time to get off the ship.  It's the 3 minute walk off the ship to go meet the main guy.  Then he checks you off a list and let's you into the hotel area.  The tour itself is scheduled to start at 9.  Boat should be cleared around 8.

40 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Sorry, one more question if you don't mind.

 

What was the lunch they include? I'm decided on doing the tour now, but deciding if I need to bring a Luna bar or the like to eat instead as there are some things I don't eat. 😛 

On our trip it was a Siri Lankan inspired tropical noodle dish and it was amazing.  Think Chinese lo mein, except really good and fresh.  They also had sugar bread and something else like that before hand.  There is also an alternative Quinoa one if you can't have noodles.

8 hours ago, mickeysgal said:

Was it there or did you have to ask/tip for it? I’m wondering how much to tip to get one or two on the ginormous Magic Carpet balcony we paid dearly for just to have the space to lay there and read. 

They were just there.  From what I could see all the aft balconies had them as well.

59 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Thank you for this! I'm currently reserved with them for my cruise in July and had been debating cancelling and doing something pre-paid (I prefer to have everything set in advance, so not a huge fan of cash on arrival).

 

How much were the pictures they take if you want them?

$40 for the whole set, and something else per picture, I forget, we just got all of them because we were in quite a few.  They will show you all of them before you get off so you can make a decision.

If you are worried about having cash with you, don't.  This island isn't like many in the western Caribbean you might have been to that you don't want to be walking around with cash.  It's a very short walk from the boat with most of it being on hotel property behind a locked gate.  Even outside at the port no one is going to come up to you at all.

2 hours ago, cincymel said:

We leave for this exact trip in 3 weeks.  Tell me more about renting a chair at the dock in Aruba?  I've got time to kill between 2 excursions and this sounds like a relaxing way to spend those couple of hours.

For a couple chairs and umbrella it was $40.  You just go find a dude from one of the hotels and say you want to rent a chair and if there is an open one they will take your money.  

2 hours ago, cruisegal40 said:

Thank you for this. This is right up our ally for our September cruise. Did they pick you up at the port or to you need to go to them?

We could see their boat from our balcony.  You just get off the ship and walk over to the right for a minute or four and they are right there. They leave from the Divi hotel which is next to the terminal.

2 hours ago, nordicacres said:

Tell me more about Bonaire and snorkeling! 

We went out with Woodwinds.  It was drift snorkeling, something I have never done.  They drop you off in one spot and then you go along with the tide for a half hour and the boat swings around and picks you up down current. Small catamaran tour further split into three groups each with a guide when in the water..  Two spots along the reef on Klein Bonaire.  It was absolutely phenomenal.

In Aruba we went out on The Black Pearl boat for their morning trip.  Crew was super nice, food was great, the morning was very relaxing.  Snorkeling was okay but we were completely spoiled by Bonaire two days prior so it's not even fair as that was the best we've ever done in our lives.  Then we rented a chair right where the dock is and sat around all afternoon.  Also stopped at SuperFood the large Dutch supermarket for dutch snack souvenirs.  I got some friet sauce, which makes me happy.

Curaco we rented a car for the day from Advanced Car Rental.  $125 all in ( plus $25 bucks of gas at the end to refill).  He meets you right at the port.  We hit 5 different beaches and saw the flamingos on the way back. At port walked over the pontoon bridge, which is apparently the longest and oldest in the world, and just happened to time it right so we got to see it operate.  That's quite the experience.  Just a warning announcement in I think dutch, a bunch of bells, and everyone starts running to get off before you are stuck.

Aft balcony, floor 9.

Lots of people who post are always in the pools or going to the shows or sitting at the bars all night. We are busy at the ports and don't do much of the usual cruise stuff. We have been sitting on our aft balcony a lot, go to the buffet because it's causal and we can sit outside, or will grab a drink and sit off by ourselves. Real exciting, right? 

This was our first Celebrity cruise.  Have done Royal, Norwegian, MSC, and Virgin.  Our cost was around $4500, booked March of 2023.  I looked at the same cruise a month ago and priced were all the way up to $8000!  I think it was fully worth the price we paid, even $5000, but for the prices they are charing now, not so much when compared to other lines.  But lately cruise pricing has gone bonkers across the board.  

The service was pretty great overall.  Bartenders at every bar got to everyone quickly.  Buffet folks were all nice, the limited number of restaurant staff we interacted with were all as well.  Room steward was always around.

So what I have noticed is the pool deck is an impossibility unless you wake up at dawn. There is some chair saving but I can't really say it's bad. It's just jam packed with wall to wall people. But then 3pm comes around and it's a ghost town. Which is great for us! At night we have literally had the entire Solarium to ourselves and one evening on the pool deck it was us with a handful of folks. I was in the pool floating around with 3 other people. Come dark the hot tubs will be empty, we used them after sunset and pretty much had them to ourselves each night.  I have carefully staged photos that makes it seem like we have a private ship.  At one point the AC broke in Eden and I was the only person in there.  Me and four bartenders.  It was actually really hot and humid in there so every other passenger ran away, I was sweating a bit but when was I ever going to have the entire Eden lounge to myself on a ship with 3000 people?  And not just kind of empty.  There was just me.  I hung out for half hour drinking Figs.  This was fixed and doesn't normally happen so don't worry about that.

We went to the main dining room once, buffet nightly and I'd get our own room service for breakfast, did the Le Petit Chef dinner twice (and loved it), was in the Eden area once randomly one night and a second time to see the Decadence show, have the premium drink package, an aft balcony, and a kid in the older kids kids club, the one right before being a teen. I have stopped at the Martini bar a few times, went to the bourbon sports bar place a couple of times to grab an old fashioned or Manhattan, and have been drinking a lot of Coke Zeros, with and without Bacardi 8 rum.  Switched to rum punch at some point, along with Bombay and sparkling water.  Speaking of which I also drank dozens of sparkling  San Pellegrinos.

So if anyone has any boring questions let

me know!

Loungers are alive and well on the aft balconies on the Beyond.  

Going to go on the Blacmk Pearl sailing trip and need to take a taxi to get there in the morning after our ship arrives at 8.  We have to be there by 9:15.  How do the taxis work and what do I need to know to get one to this spot?  There will be three of us that day so will need to go there and get back.

Has anyone hired a taxi for the day just to drive around and see the island and go on a small tour?  Any recommendations on this?  The only one I found across this and other websites is Bully Tours but I have been unable to contact him so looking for alternatives.  I am not looking for a huge tour company or anything, just someone local to take us around and give us history and a tour of the island if something like this exists.

On 3/24/2024 at 9:05 PM, ColdCruise said:

the small pancakes (Dutch work starts with a “p”). Both delicious.

 

Poffertjes!

30 minutes ago, RK-NC said:

This was in Celebrity Today every day on our April cruise on Beyond. We didn't witness the mass chair hoggery that we had heard so much about (did see a very few scurrying about while on our early morning track walks) so wondered if there had maybe been a crackdown. I would take the Celebrity Today to guest services and ask why they are not following through.

Thanks for posting this, that is just what I wanted to see.  I have no issues at all having folks stuff moved as long as it is outside of the time limit.  I always give people the benefit of the doubt because I would want to be treated the same.  I wont be jumping all over a chair at 30 minutes, that is not what I am about.  When I see folks put their stuff down and leave for hours, well, I take that as an open invitation.  I'll give the items to the staff and when the eventual confrontation happens I will direct them to guest services and let them know they have the items for safe keeping.

30 minutes even seems a bit short to me but if I saw something like this

26 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

 

for an hour or two I would make it my mission to get the staff involved and use the area for my family.  I know that might sound a bit petty but there is something about that which really gets on my nerves.  

Hopefully though this is all a bunch of worrying for nothing, it's not like I can handle the sun that long anyway, I just hate to see people feel entitled and ruin it for everyone else.

I am not talking about walking away to go get some food from the buffet, or getting a drink at the bar, or going to the rest room, I understand people will not be sitting in a chair for 12 hours a day and its unreasonable to expect people to never get up and walk away.  I don't want to get into a fight about that, I know people walk away, I walk away too, but always try to be considerate to the overall crowd.  If I am not planning on coming back for 3 hours I will take my stuff with me and let someone else use the space.

I am talking about the people who grab a chair before dawn and then never show up again until after dinner, or put a town down before heading out to port and not coming back until they return from their excursion.  Is there a time limit or policy as to the expectation for how long a chair can be held?  Is anything ever done about it or is it a free for all and people need to camp out the night before if they want to get a spot?

Not much of a snorkeling island then, eh?

I know it is, someone must have gone on a tour someplace..

Anyone have any small boat tour operators that would take us snorkeling for half a day?  I am not looking for those big catamaran party boats on some islands with 100 people on it, I am looking for something with a lot less people that would take us to multiple snorkeling spots and maybe at most have some drinks on board in a cooler.   We want to see the fish, not see people drink until they need to be carried back to their rooms.

Anyone have any small boat tour operators that would take us snorkeling for half a day?  I am not looking for those big catamaran party boats on some islands with 100 people on it, I am looking for something with a lot less people that would take us to multiple snorkeling spots and maybe at most have some drinks on board in a cooler.   We want to see the fish, not see people drink until they need to be carried back to their rooms.

Here's a tip for anyone who wants to loosen or remove the band without cutting it:

I did this frequently on our trip.  Easier with two people, just have the other person wind the band tight like he did and then just rotate the locking thing right off.  Super simple once you learn how to do it.

I am sitting on the Brightline right now headed to Orlando.  I can't feel my legs.  I can hardly keep my eyes open.  Exhausted.  I haven't been to bed before midnight in days, pushing until 1 or 2 in the morning when I am normally in bed by 930.  I have been on maybe a dozen cruises across RCL, NCL, MSC, and Cunard as a youngling.  In our 40s.  Inside cabin on deck 10, Splash of Romance upgrade. 

That was a crazy trip.  

Scarlet Night was one of the greatest parties I have ever been to, cruise ship or not.  The opening ceremony, the interaction with all the happenings staff all in character, the show in the red room, and the dance party at the pool.  I didn't get in the pool but was up on the ledge around the pool and danced the entire time amongst the octopus.  Wow what a night.  The staff had a blast.  There also might have been some extras to learn the true story of the sea queen if you meet the right person....  

The Heartbeat show in The Manor.  I thought it was just going to be another night at the club.  I had no idea what was going to happen with all the dancers and singing.  I left that so excited to be a part of the crowd.

The Diva.  Over the top and ridiculous.  Did the meet and greet, went to the around the world show, and saw some singing.  

Went to the disco circus and saw everyone decked out like it was the 70s ready to dance the night away.

PJ party, was the first night and didn't know what we were getting into but still had a blast.

Dual Reality circus show, it was a fun show, being I am not into the usual cruise ship show this one was a joy to watch.

The Galley - went for breakfast in the morning and enjoyed it.  Would go in the afternoon to load up on sushi.  Didn't try much else because that was all I needed.  Did ramen once, was okay.

Gunbae.  Are you a social butterfly and want to play drinking games?  You'll have a blast.  The food was Korean-lite.  It was good but if you are used to going to authentic Korean joints it won't blow you away.  This isn't a a complaint.  Was so much food no one at the table could move by the end.  You could ignore all the social aspects of you want but I can't comment on that experience.  We had everyone taking together.  Do this on your first night so you can meet a few folks and see them during the trip.  Drink up.

Razzle Dazzle.  Spent about 5 minutes here because we had to run to get a spot for the opening of Scarlet Night at the staircase.  Looked like a fun spot but threw everything down my throat and ran.

The Wake.  The most traditional of restaurants.  Do you like steak and sides and that style of meal?  Want to feel a little more upscale?  You'll like it unless you are like the people sitting next to us who complained about every piece of food they put in their mouths.  Was amazing to listen to how much they thought everything had no flavor.

Test Kitchen.  It's an experience.  Just go into it with an open mind.  It's going to take another two hours.  Try everything.  A couple of people next to us gave up a quarter of the way.  Server had fun explaining it all to us and seeing what we thought.

The Dockyard.  Went here when we boarded.  Shockingly good.  Give me more of those steak things pleass.  Pro-tip the outside area in the back of the ship right behind it also servers the same food so sit out there if you can find a seat, raise a flag, and enjoy the view.  Can't find a table?  Look for folks with these big wooden open seats and ask to join them.  You'll make friends.  We never did that but several people did ask to join us.

Pizza joint.  Please don't order 25 pizzas at 130 in the morning while everyone is coming out of the clubs.  I know you can but still, don't.  Everyone will hate you.  After dancing and drinking it's a good late night snack to take back to your room and sit in bed eating while watching Thor.  It will be packed late at night so just prepare yourself for that.

Snack place by the arcade, the social club?  Popcorn, pretzels, hot dogs, cake pops, rice crispy treats, and so on.  It's exactly what it sounds like.

Um, what else?  I need a nap.  We shook for champagne.  Splash of Romance had a champagne cocktail hour.  Everyone else with the package must have not been tempted by the allure of champagne so only 15 or so folks showed up.  Fine by me.  The bar staff kept both of my hands full of drinks for the entire hour and we got to hang out and chat with the Scarlet Lady and The Bounce.  No one was paying them any attention so we talked to them the entire time.  Lovely people.  

Went to the main pool once during the sea day to see if what the internet told me was true, and it was.  The drunk party people contain themselves there during the day.  We observed it from above but dared not go into what looked like an MTV Spring Break wild time.  I like my drinks more than I should but this was too much.  If you want drunken twerking and people falling over on each other boozing go for it but I consider myself a more sophisticated alcoholic.   

Inside room was fine.  Bigger than what we were expecting and had no issues with anything.  The room was a cot like others have said but I could sleep on a floor if I needed to so it wasn't much of a deal breaker.  Watched lots of movies.  Live TV is limited to BBC News, BBC HD, and two ESPN channels.  Tons of movies on demand though so we stuck with that.  Did room service once.  $7.  Was just what we needed.

Bimini Beach Club.  Just know this is not Virgin’s private beach club.  It's a beach club shared with Hilton, I think.  When a VV ship is in port they get exclusive use of it so you won't be around non cruises but this isn't a Virgin establishment.  They just use it for the day.  If you don't get there early you will have a rough time getting a seat.  The main pool will be packed and the beach crowded.  You'll need to fend for yourself, grab what chairs you can, be willing to drag things around the sand, and make room for yourself.  Or send a sacrificial member of your party on the first tram over there to grab a premium location and pass out while waiting for everyone else to show up.  Main pool expect dancing, loud music, the happening staff to be dancing up and everywhere, and a crazy float party.  Don't know what all the complaints are about the food.  We had the lechon, rice and beans, and the curry stew soup something something.  Ate it all.

I can't think of anything else.  I did my people watching throughout the rest of the ship so can answer some questions.  I'm tired.  I want a nap.  I don't even know what mistakes I made in this post.  I'm not proof reading it.  I'm writing to keep myself awake so we'll all just have to deal with what errors I might have made.

I don't really consider this a cruise, not in the traditional sense.  Don't go in expecting a standard experience you have been on before.  

If I had to summarize the whole trip using only one of my photos it would be this.  

Bring your ear plugs, an open mind, your dancing shoes, and go have fun.

Fresh off The Scarlet Lady a couple of hours ago and thinking about the time we spent in The Galley.  I love how you can order anything from the spots and the staff was awesome and attentive. Being able to sit and have the food brought to you was easy and quick and a far cry from all the buffets I have been to on the dozen cruises before this one.

The problem is no one got it.  Everyone was standing around the stations in groups or lines.  Everyone was trying to order directly from each station and causing crowding and such.  It wasn't a problem for me because I just sat down and raised the flag.  So many other people seemed confused and had to deal with the long lines and standing around waiting for food.

Back to how much we liked it though, even today, which was disembarkation day, I just found a seat amidst the chaos, raised the flag, and the food was brought right to me.  The servers were attentive and friendly, always checked up on us, and would get anything we wanted from a glass of water to a bowl of ramen.

If no one understands how it works I wonder if they will eventually just ditch the whole idea and make it fully self service dining hall kind of thing.  

How does the $600 work?  Is this $600 for the current cruise or the next cruise?  

Outside of the obvious "if you dont spend it you lose it" is there any reason not to do this?  From reading the page if I spend $300 I get $300 off the next cruise and then have $600 to spend now?  So as long as I go on a future cruise it's basically free money, and I am going to go on a future cruise.

If it is for the current cruise do you get to use the $600 on anything you want or is it restricted somehow?  Why wouldn't I want to do this?  Even if I dont spend the full $600 its still a 1:1 on the next cruise and anything I do happen to spend gets covered up to $600?  Trying to figure out what the catch is.

The walk looks a little too much for those with us as no staircases and up hill form some folks 

If we wanted a basic taxi there and back what kind of price would we be looking at ?  Only looks a whole mile but not an easy one with sidewalks and such.

Is there Uber or anything?

1 hour ago, Perky1 said:

@Jezo So if we had 4 people and wanted a 6 hour tour the total cost would be $240.  We would have to pay our entry fee into Brimstone? Or any other entry fees?

You can put as many people as you want into the van for the same price, 1, 2, 6, his cost is per hour.

You then decide what you want to do and pay whatever fees might be needed.  He'll let you know all of this saying things like if you don't want to go to Brimstone because it costs whatever bucks to get in he will skip it and take you someplace else.  He's a tour guide so he doesn't have to pay or be paid for (and he seems to know everyone on the island) so it's all up to you with what you want to do.

Only one room left in the price category and it's directly under The Manor on deck 5.  The Manor is quite the party place going to 2 or 4am so wondering how bad the noise is down there staying under it.  I have read some bad stories of people staying above it so now wanted to know if it's just as bad staying under it.

It's still listed as an ABC cruise but instead of the B it's spending two days in Curacao, an overnight and then headed back.

Does anyone know about this one?

I attached the image showing it titled as an ABC cruise but the itinerary has changed.