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scouseronline

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    New Elite benefit

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted · Edited by scouseronline

    "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. 

    Rant about Infinity MDR

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    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)   

    • Like 3

    Just off Infinity - Post Cruise Review

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted · Edited by scouseronline

    On 10/3/2023 at 2:12 PM, benkon said:

    Before you read - here is a disclaimer:  We are avid cruisers with five cruise lines and 25 sailings under our belt.  Comparisons and impressions here are not mean spirited or ultra fussy.  I'm writing this review because I wish someone had done this before I booked this horrible mistake.

     

    We were super excited for our very first Celebrity cruise.  We'd listened to all the hype about this "premier" cruise line and wanted to experience it for ourselves.  Greece has been on our bucket list for awhile and the Infinity was the ship that fit our itinerary and scheduling needs.  We knew it was an older ship and in much need of a refurbishing.  We don't travel with children and have never really taken advantage of the bells and whistles on some of the newer mega ships (rock climbing, Flo-Rider, etc.).  So, we set sail with those lowered expectations in mind.

     

    Embarkation - The port of Athens is clean and organized.  We were on the ship in short order and our luggage delivery was speedy.  No complaints there at all.

     

    Stateroom - We had an Aqua Class balcony cabin on the 11th deck.  The location was great - a few steps to the buffet and the pool.  The first thing we noticed was the scum on the balcony glass and sliding doors.  You could not see out.  The decor is outdated and the fixtures were rusty.  Our bathrobes were like cardboard, as were the towels.  Toilet tissue couldn't have been cheaper quality.  The television was no larger than a laptop computer.  It was on one side of the bed and placed on a low cabinet, so if you slept on the opposite side, you couldn't see the screen over your cabin mate's legs.  No matter what we did, we could not keep the water from the shower flooding the bathroom.  The doors simply don't close and seal.

     

    Food - I'm not a picky eater.  But, this was the WORST cruise food we've ever had!  Nothing was ever hot - in fact, it was barely warm.  The buffet layout is ridiculously inconvenient.  The buffet food selection was nonexistent for breakfast and lunch.  None of the usual cruise fare was there anymore.  The serving utensils were always filthy.  The "Oceanview" Buffet had no view, as the windows there were also very dirty for the entire cruise.  If you were lucky enough to have someone come over for a drink order, you would be unlucky enough to receive it WAY after you were done eating.  We ate dinner in Blu for all but one evening.  I had three beef and lamb entrees which were so tough you could not cut through them.  Again, food was barely warm.  Menus are unimaginative and bland.  Our one specialty dining experience was Le Petit Chef.  It's basically a video projected onto your table.  Nothing special.  And to top it off, they charged us twice for the meal on our account (we had purchased it online during a flash sale and then they charged us at dinner for the full price).  We've done Wonderland on Odyssey OTS - there is no comparison whatsoever.  

     

    Entertainment -  Wow.  Just horrible.  The singer/dancers in the main shows were out of tune and out of shape.  Costumes were low budget.  Special effects were few and far between.  The "magician" was inaudible because the sound guy had the background music up too high.  The "juggler" dropped stuff every trick.  We saw a medicre string duo in the bars, but not much else.  The pool had zero live music during our time there and the recorded Muzak was just awful.  

     

    Pool - There was dirt and debris in both outdoor pools and the quality/cleanliness of the water was sketchy.  I know this is a problem on all cruises, but we saw passengers put down towels at 8 a.m. and never return for hours and hours.  Most of the pool loungers were just towel resting places.  Of course, the staff did nothing about it.  We spent two port days sitting at the pool and never once did we have anyone offer us a drink.

     

    Drink Package - $10/per drink on the Classic Package basically gets you nothing on the menu.  Such a ripoff.  Stop calling it a "perk" and call it a "discount".

     

    Casino - We cruised on a Casino Royale promo, so I tried to have some fun playing slots.  The machines were SO old and outdated.  I never saw anyone win a jackpot.  I played $500 out of sheer boredom, but gave up because every spin was a losing one.  

     

    Spa - We made the mistake of upgrading to (and paying a lot more for) Aqua Class for the "perks".  The thermal spa is a joke.  It's small and claustrophobic.  Didn't look very clean.  Our last experience was on NCL where the thermal spa was world class awesome.  

     

    Tendering - So, here's the system.  When the ship tenders at a port, you have to go to the Martini Bar and wait in a line to get a numbered ticket.  Then they start calling banks of numbers all at once and people converge on the gangway entrance from all manner of hallways, lobbies, and stairwells.  At this point, it doesn't matter which number you had - it's every man for himself in hand to hand combat to get to the entrance.  Yeah, good job.  I love me a relaxing vacay.

     

    Fellow Passengers - See above.  Also, I love the guy who wanted to know if he liked the flavor of yogurt.  He stuck his finger in and licked it.  Decided NAH.  Put the yogurt back in its place.  

     

    Ports - We loved Greece and had a great time.  Captain couldn't port in Mykonos due to high winds, so we missed that one.  

     

    Service - Kudos to our stateroom attendant and service staff in Blu.  They all went above and beyond to be efficient and friendly.  

     

    Disembarkation - Went fine, albeit too early in the morning for a relaxed pace.

     

    If this cruise was a sampling of the Celebrity experience, I need see no more.  If this truly is the future of mainstream cruising, then it's a sad state of affairs.

     

    The icing on the cake:  We both started to feel unwell halfway through the plane ride home.  Both of us had pretty bad cases of Covid for 10 days post cruise (vaxxed and triple boosted).  Maybe even if we don't revisit all the Covid mandates (masks, vaccination reqs, etc.), we could at least go back to keeping the ship clean and insisting people wash their hands???  Yes, we could have become infected in port.  I'm betting on the enclosed, crowded, unclean ship vs. the great outdoors.  Hey, maybe it was the yogurt guy.

    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. 

    • Like 2

    Celebrity Food & Beverage Takes a Nosedive

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    15 hours ago, hcat said:

    Looking forward to Ascent..and some of the new offerings.hope BLU is good!

     

    Can't fathom the mashed potato binge.

    How much more would it cost them to offer a loaded baked potato?  Or other veggies..squash, corn, peppers?

    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 😞 

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

    Name change of 1 person in cabin after final payment ?

    in Azamara

    Posted

    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

     

    Celebrity Transfers from Athens to Airport

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted · Edited by scouseronline

    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 ? 

     

     

     

    Fort Lauderdale hotels

    in Canadian Cruisers

    Posted

    On 5/14/2023 at 12:57 AM, starvenger said:

    Can confirm as I've used valuetrips a few times to book the Hyatt. The website feels dodgy as hell but it works. 

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

    • Like 1

    Please help me figure out timing on my Santorini day!

    in Greece Ports

    Posted

    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 🙂

     

    • Like 1

    Santorini shore excursion wondering

    in Greece Ports

    Posted

    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 🙂 

    Santorini - 4 ships - potentially 14,000 passengers

    in Greece Ports

    Posted

    15 hours ago, Hlitner said:

    Yes, we have been there on crowded days, but fortunately, the ship's arrival/departure times were staggered to help deal with all the folks.  We have never waited more than a half-hour to get the cable car up.   All our major problems have been with getting down.  Consider that even a single ship with 4000 passengers would need many hours to get most folks down.  A majority of our cruises have delayed their departure in order to allow additional time to get everyone down.  Most ships will station a crew person (with a radio) at the upper station to monitor the situation.  The problem is that there is never a guarantee that ships will wait, but we have never seen a post here on CC about a ship leaving behind many folks who have been stuck at the top.

     

     

    Hank

    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.

    Santorini - 4 ships - potentially 14,000 passengers

    in Greece Ports

    Posted

    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

     

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