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"I have heard from many of our loyal Captain’s Club members, such as yourself, that one of the program’s most gratifying aspects is the opportunity to be part of a community of like-minded travellers with whom you can share your experiences on board." Would this be the same "members" who did not want gratuities included in the all inclusive packages ? Maybe they should be focusing on bigger issues, like the menus and food quality rather than fluff like this. I also believe there will be more guests that will opt out of the gratuities programme now that they are not included, and either tip as they go along or not even tip at all. Money talks and I think the included gratuities will be included again at some point when Celebrity identifies the impact of this decision. BTW, I haven't seen a decrease in the cost of cruising since the gratuities were removed 🙄 As an Elite Celebrity member this adds no value to my sailing experience, I'd rather be mingling with everyone regardless of their Celebrity status. On our recent sailing Michaels was empty almost every night, and the prior get togethers in the Sky Lounge were not attended in large numbers. They are adding breadcrumbs to compensate for the bigger issues, sounds like politician talk to me.

Haha, She reminds me of Trudeau and Ford, I'm calling BS

I've used them quite a few times and they have been excellent, so sorry to hear they are having issues.

We were recently on a b2b in Greece on the Infinity, 1st week we were Aqua, but no availability in Aqua for the 2nd week. 1st week - Food in Blu was very good, enjoyed every meal we ordered and the staff were amazing 2nd week - MDR - We sailed the Infinity less than a year earlier and we noticed major changes in the quality of the MDR food, it was so bad that we ended up (along with many other passengers) going to the buffet to eat on quite a few nights, which is something we hardly ever did on past sailings. I noticed that they had really improved the dinner buffet food , this makes me wonder if they were intentionally trying to steer guests away from the service in the MDR to a self serve option ? (Reminds me of supermarkets and the trend toward self serve checkouts)

We were recently on a B2B cruise on the Infinity in Greece, (over 35 cruises taken) I have my complaints about the quality of the food in the MDR and have voiced these issues, however we did not experience most of the issues you mention. We were in Aqua for the 1st week, This is an older ship and we had sailed on her a few times before so knew what to expect, The Infinity is not the Edge, so it's not ultra modern however we found it comfortable, our patio door was not dirty and our towels and bathrobes were just fine. If the glass on the patio door was not clean I would have just kindly asked the stateroom attendant to clean it. The toilet tissue has to be the way it is due to the plumbing systems onboard,I don't think you'll get the ultra plush paper we can buy at home on any ship. The TV was small but is that way in most cabins on most ships, I've never sailed and found a big TV, nor needed one. I think the ship would have sent the maintenance department to add a new strip to the bottom of the shower door if you had reported the water problem to the room steward. Our drinks service around the pool was excellent, we were constantly asked if we wanted another drink, so we have no complaints there. We also found the pool water to be clean. The problem with people putting towels on a chair and leaving is an ongoing issue as you'll know from reading these boards. Music and entertainment was not as good as other sailings, this was a disappointment, we also found the evenings to be much quieter than other cruises but this may be due to it being such a port intensive cruise so people were tired from being on the go all day. Blu food was fabulous, the service and the food was the quality of the restaurants you pay for. MDR quality and options available had really deteriorated, so much so that we ended up eating dinner at the buffet most nights for the 2nd leg of our cruise when Blu was not available to us, which is something I have never done on any other cruise. The MDR food had deteriorated, but the buffet food quality had been greatly improved and was actually far better than the dinner buffet we tried on the Edge, which was awful. I am not sure what else anyone could want for breakfast as there was dozens of choices for breakfast, not sure what else they could have added to breakfast. Lunch and dinner buffet were also excellent with fresh choices. Not one time was our cutlery dirty and we did not find the windows to be that dirty that this was noticeable. Drinks service at the Oceanview was not as good as by the pool, so if we didn't see anyone available we just went to the Oceanview inside bar or the outdoor bar and got our own. Spa comments I agree with, the Spa was very basic and the persian gardens were not an area I bothered to spend any time at, the persian gardens on newer ships are far nicer. As Elite Captain's Club members, we had priority tendering which was a nice perk and this system worked great for us One thing I have to say about the Infinity is that the staff are top notch, heads above the service we received on the Edge. One staff member even remembered us by name from our last sailing with them 9 months earlier. We were both on the same cruise yet our experiences were so different, was it 100% perfect ? No, but it was still a great 14 night cruise for us and we would not hesitate to return to this ship.

Recently completed a B2B on Infinity, 1st leg we were able to use Blu, 2nd leg unfortunately not. Blu was excellent, loved every meal we had there, MDR was pitiful, we ended up going to the buffet most nights .... something that we would never do prior to this cruise 😞

Thank you for your feedback

We always tipped extra to bar tenders, cabin crew etc in USD when cruising the Med ( over and above our pre paid grats) but now I’m wondering if the staff would prefer Euros over USD or do they even care what currency it is ?

Hi, Is it possible to change the name of 1 of the guests in a cabin after final payment has been made as long as there remains an original name on the booking ? Tried to call Azamara to ask but they are closed today 😞, never encountered a cruiseline being closed during daytime hours before, 1st time on Azamara for us. Thanks

Sorry for the misunderstanding, 🙂 Thanks for the suggestion

I checked before posting but doesn't address my questions, Thanks

Does anyone know how many shuttles the ship runs going to Athens Airport when we dock, also how many hours prior to your flight do they leave the port (I understand it's approx 45 min drive to airport) I am wondering if there is only 1 early shuttle or is there a few based on your flight time ? Upon disembarkation my travelling companion is flying within the Schengen area, her flight leaves at 11am, however I am flying international, leaving at 2;15pm. I don't want to be stuck for many hours at the airport prior to an almost 10 hour flight home. I was going to arrange private transportation for us and kill the extra hours in the airport lounge, but researched the lounges and they don't come highly rated 😞 Celebrity said earliest flight for the Transfer is 11am, so we are all good there, but they could not tell me if there are any later transfers. I was thinking we could take different time transfers ?

Hi, We are trying to figure out if it is worth upgrading to the premium package from classic at $280 per week for 2 (inc. elite discount) We drink moderately but we do like Sparkling waters such as Perrier etc. does anyone know the additional charge when choosing an upgraded water when you have a classic package ? Thanks

I enjoyed our stay at this hotel, great location with shopping nearby. Restaurant called Gilberts in the plaza was excellent 🙂

This is a fabulous hike, we loved it. May well end up being the highlight of your whole trip 🙂

Planning for this port stop has been one of the most challenging of our B2B Cruise on Celebrity. We arrive Sept 5 and there are 4 large ships in port that day 😞. I expect taking the cable cars will be a long wait ! After many many hours of research this is our plan; Taking the "Oia on your own" excursion through Celebrity, so we get off first and are closer to Oia than embarking at Fira (Normally do not take ship tours as we like to plan our own and not be herded like sheep but booking this one makes sense). Spend the morning in Oia, and meet up with a private tour guide at 1pm in the town square. Booked a minibus for 8 people and have advertised on our roll call. Stop for lunch at a recommended venue and then explore the island with the guide. ( We decided on a 1pm tour as it gives everyone a 4.5 hour window to make it to Oia from the port, so lots of time) Finish our tour at 5pm at Santo Winery, approx 3.5 km from the cable cars at Fira. Booked a wine tasting tour at the winery and may stay to watch the sunset as this winery has amazing views. Walk back to the ship in time for 10pm departure 🙂

We are using Santorini Road Trips, 2 spots left on our tour if anyone is interested 🙂

Thank you for posting, this impacts our plans for this port stop ..... back to the drawing board 😞

Thanks 🙂

I just booked them for Sept 5, they have good reviews on Trip Advisor and were very quick to respond to my emails. 🙂

Our ship is docking with 3 other large ships on Sept 5 so I anticipate getting up to Fira will be a challenge to say the least ! I considered walking the steps and would have done this had the only other option been the cable cars. After many hours of research this is our plan; Tender at 8:30am, Get the ferry boat to Oia (I'm anticipating they'll leave frequently as there are over 12000 passengers in port that day) spend the morning discovering Oia on our own Scheduled an 8 passenger mini van with a driver to meet us in Oia early afternoon and take us on a 4 hr tour of the island including a stop at Santo winery, then drop us off at the cable cars after the tour. The benefit of doing it this way is that we won't be panicking to meet the tour guide at Fira or waiting on other passengers potentially held up waiting for the cable car. People can make their own way at a leisurely pace to Oia and our 4 hour tour time is not used up by visiting Oia. In addition people can have input on where the tour goes etc. Cost for an 8 passenger van with driver (highly rated on Tripadvisor) worked out to be 57 Euro each, not sure of the cost for the ferry to Oia. We have 4 spots available on Sept 5 2023 if anyone is interested 🙂

Thank you for all your input, really appreciated.

Thanks Hank, Potentially 10,000 guests leaving port between 9pm and 10pm as 3 ships leaving within an hour of each other 😞 The idea of the boat to Oia sounds the right way to go, then make sure we get back to Fira with many hours to spare.

We are visiting Santorini in September 2023, unfortunately the day we arrive (8:30am to 10pm) there are 4 large ships in port, with potentially 14,000 passengers. Normally this doesn't bother me, but the fact that you have to take a cable car to the top from the port is really putting a damper on this day. I read that the cable cars can move up to 600 people per hour, so we could be stuck waiting hours. 3 ships will have arrived by 8am so more than 9,000 passengers by 8am. This must be a nightmare for people who have private trips booked. We walk about 5K most days, how difficult is it to walk to the top rather than wasting hours waiting for the cable car ? Thanks

We asked for it,