retird

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

Anything medically necessary that you can't purchase beyond security or at your destination. Your OTC cough medicine can be confiscated.

That is not true.   TSA in both Canada and USA consider cough and cold medications, essential non perscription medications . They permit greater amounts than the 3.4 ounces in your carry on luggage.  The only condition is that you must advise the TSA agent what you have at security check in.   DAMHIK , but that is the policy.   

1 minute ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Prior to our December BCC cruise, we barely set foot in the casino, but when we did, we put our card in the slot machine and made sure our account was credited for what play we did.

 

You also have to make sure your account is signed up to received "marketing" emails from Celebrity.

 

Other than that? No idea why or how we were "chosen". I do think they know that having us on board is far more profitable than leaving the room empty.

And rather than leaving cabin empty, port taxes and gratuities get paid.   Some will also add internet and contribute a little to the casino.   So both the guest and Celebrity win 

2 minutes ago, ehall said:

How are you getting offers other than gambling with your seapass?  Did you have to sign up or something?  I get emails from X, and gamble A LOT in the casino.  Have never received an offer.  Am I missing something?  (Yes, I know what a lot is in terms of gambling).

Those who get offers dont need a minimum gambling amount, however they would have inserted or tapped their seapass card at least once to have their captains club number synced and automatically registered with the Blue Chip Club.   That was explained to me on my recent cruise by a casino manager

50 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

In Leeds where I live, some people in their 30s are grandparents 🤪🤪

But not to an adult grandchild

8 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

Hello

A bit of the topic but the “trained” gamblers can help us out…. 
We have been on many cruises but haven’t been gambling. (We accidentally was on a Poker cruise on MSC😂😂 So it was only 200 guests not attending the big tournament onboard😅) 

So we are wondering how to proceed? 
-We have understood that we have some free play for slots on our sea pass card. (We are elite) Is it just to insert/tap the card and play it? 

-do we need to bring cash to upload on our cards for playing slot’s in the casino cashier desk? 

-will we be automatically enrolled in BCC? 
 

We are happy to try out a new thing on our next adventure on the ocean😊

We will not be big gamblers but it’s fun to try new things. 

When you use a slot machine, insert/tap your seapass card and that automatically enrols you in the BCC.     You can insert cash to play the slots or transfer money from your onboard acvount.   The procedures are on a poster at cashier desk.   Transferring money from your account to play slots, there is no service fee bit if you  use your onboard account to get funds at table games there is a service fee.  
 

If it is a quiet time at cashiers desk , they are happy to go to the slot machine and walk you through all the procedures. They did for me on my first time.

1 hour ago, TwoBeAtSea said:

Interesting.  My cruise is on the Equinox in September and as you see, for me it still says complimentary.  

I just recently got off the equinox and the room service menu in the cabin shows the $9.95 surcharge

6 minutes ago, red919 said:

We are considering a private shore excursion while on a Med cruise around Spain. They promise to get us back to the ship in time but it will be close and things do happen so wanted to see if anyone here has experience with this...

 

1. IF we should arrive back to ship after it has sailed, can we just meet the ship at the next port which is two days later and a mere train ride away?

And if not and as far as items left in our staterooms, we have friends on same trip who could carry them off when the cruise ends a few stops later in Barcelona.

 

2. Another worry is that in either case, will Celebrity charge us a penalty fee for not returning to the ship in time? 

We of course would alert the ship if we knew we were going to be late so as not to hold things up...

 

Wondering if anyone here has any experience with these scenarios and what we should expect from Celebrity?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Does the ship offer the same excursion?   It would have to be one awesome and once in a lifetime excursion opportunity for me to take it knowing there is a high likelihood I could miss part or all of the remainder of the cruise.    Just my opinion. 

6 minutes ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

United Airlines UGH!   Our Summit cruise last year ended in Reyklavik and we had booked a homeward bound flight four days after ship arrival.  We booked this flight ourselves, on a full refund basis - concern about Covid.  On T minus 3 days of wheels up, we received an email from Delta advising our flight,  might be cancelled due to weather and suggested we make other arrangements.  The gall.  We canceled and booked a Delta flight.  It worked out.  By the way, we checked on the Delta flight - the connecting flight to EWR arrived on time, but Newark flights to Orlando were cancelled for two days.  Hope you succeed.

 

Keep us posted on the nonsense.

 

 

Did Delta advise you of a United Airlines flight change?    

Either

Last week the regular was “Rain” in cans

Occasionally , if I know our stateroom attendant plans to go ashore at the port, i will ensure he/she has access to our stateroom early so he/she can get off early. As well I will sometimes give cash and tell them to have lunch ashore on us.   Those things they appreciate .   They don't exactly have hoards of storage room in their cabin for gifts.

10 minutes ago, soccercrazy said:

Currently on the Equinox.

Over the last 9 nights I have seen may being give a beeper and told to go the Martini Bar. Waits of up to 30 minutes around 7pm. Couldn't give us a sharing table as they had too many large groups so have have had a table for 2 with minimal wait. However I booked all my dining for 7pm months in advance. 

From what I have heard those who were planning to eat at the Buffett discovered there is very little choice and had to come to the MDR.

Strongly suggest booing before the cruise to avoid wait times.

Curious if they had a separate line for those with reservations.   When I was on Equinox third week of January, i made reservations pre cruise for each night, but when I went to the anytime dining room they told me (and others) our reservation meant nothing and we would have to wait to be seated until those walk ups ahead of us were seated.    It was that way for all nine nights and there was never a separate line for those with reservations 

2 hours ago, DaisyFire said:

Just wondering - is the issue mainly with honoring specific reservations for larger groups, or does this also happen for reservations made in advance for 2 people?  (On my upcoming cruise - I only hope for my timeslot to be honored - we are okay with sharing a table with others - and don't expect a table for two.)

 

If this gets really bad... is a fixed dining time still available? Or has this been eliminated?

My reservations that didnt mean anything were just two of us but we were willing to share table

37 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

Just off of the Equinox with a 7:30 reservation.  We were travelling with 2 other couples and I called to combine the reservations and was told even though we were all linked that we would be able to combine them onboard.  When we went to dinner we got there a bit early and we were told no way to combine them, they told us that they couldn't even seat at individual tables for two.  On the second day I found the Maitre'd even then the ONLY solution we were given was to come at 6:00 every evening.  Not really an acceptable solution but what could we do.

Basically everyone wants to eat at 7 - 7:30 and those arriving at 6 aren't finished yet.  BTW there was a note in our room telling us if we didn't have to wait for dinner to come at 8 or 8:15 (standard card put in every room)

Interesting,i just got off the Equinox as well on Jan 21.     We had a card in room that said come at 8:15.   I went to app and times were open for certain days at 5:30, some days 5:45 and some days 6/6:15.  I made the reservations.   When i went to dining room, maitre’d told me my reservations meant nothing and that when I came at those times, i would not be seated until all ahead of me were seated.    No reservation line and Walk in line,only one line .   He said if I didnt want to wait to come at 5:15 to 5:30. Which I did

15 minutes ago, High on the Seas said:

You won’t find this on the evening news. However, based on many items on this board the feedback is helping people decide whether to move their business to another line, continue with Celebrity, or maybe opt for a different vacation all together.  If Celebrity doesn’t take cruisers concerns seriously they may lose them. It’s a lot tougher to win a customer back then keep them in the fold. 

If you compare the number of negative posters on cruise critic to the total number of celebrity guests, the ratio is minimal.     Ive seen people complain that the slice of meat they were given at the carving station was very small.  All they had to do was ask for two, three, or four slices.   Sometimes complaints are a little rediculous and made for the sake of complaining

Last week on Equinox, i had made reservations in mdr for each night, but there was no separate line for guests with reservations vs guests just walking up.    Attendents told me that reservations meant nothing.  If you showed up with a reservation, you still had to que with the walkins and were seated by your order of arriving.    I did not have any wait time on any of the 9 nights.    Some guests who came during 6:30 to 8:00 pm on a few nights had a short wait, but they were given a beeper and their wait was very short.    My card in my room told me best time to arrive was after 8:15 toavoid the wait.   I dined each night at 5:30 and it worked great

1 hour ago, kayehall said:

I stopped reading it at about page 27.  Was getting too repetitive.

I stopped reading it earlier than that , because at the tlme, ( last week ) I was on the Equinox and most of what was being said on that thread was speculation and not what was actually occurring on the ship in real time.    On the 9 night cruise , the breakfast and lunch offerings in the OVC were the same as I have experienced on Celebrity for last 5 years.

The evening offerings on 7 of the nights were cut back , but still pasta bar, pizza, salad bar, hot food station including beef, pork, chicken and fish plus all the sides.  Also a well stocked dessert station.    On the other 2 nights, which were late port departure nights,  the OVC had most stations opened similar  to in the past.

as far as size of portions, it was only limited by the amount you could fit on your plate in the OVC.  In the Mdr, i found the menu contained plenty of choices.   Extra appetizers were not a problem.   Portions of most options were plenty.   On one evening , the duck al orange consisted of a half duck in each serving.   On three occasions, where we left the dining room before dessert to catch the early show , waiter and maître’d offered delivery of our dessert of choice to our cabin free of charge so we could enjoy it after the show.   That offer was also made to the guests at the table next to us as well.

im not saying that Celebrity is not finding some cost savings as are all other cruise lines as a result of the challenges of the last two years. But, most of the rhetoric on the dining issues are a little overboard in my opinion.   I am not loyal to Celebrity. I share my cruise dollars between Celebrity, Royal, Holland America and Azamara.  They each have their weak and strong points.

Happy Cruising Everyone, the glass is half full

6 hours ago, tomservo said:

The goal is to get my wife's name in the AQ cabin so we have the option for the 2 adults to eat in Blu or use the spa. I understand that my kids wouldn't be able to eat in Blu. We eat dinner together all the time at home, on cruises they prefer the buffet and kids club after rather than sit through a sit down dinner, and then we can have a nice dinner by ourselves after we feed them.

Deleted comment

5 hours ago, didicruiser said:

Tilapia are bottom feeders. If the area where they are farmed are provided with “good food”, the tilapia is great. However, tilapia eat their poop and others poops from the sea floor.

 

As do lobster

6 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

We don’t eat three meals a day for seven days, 90% of the time it’s a light lunch and normal dinner. How do I categorize the $1,000+ we pay for air, the $200 for the hotel, or the $100 for the shuttles and one extra meal. At home I pay $2.33 a day for lightning fast internet, unlimited devices. Rough estimate for drinks for the two of us for a week is about $25. Since there are no tips, we pay a little over $41 for our Always Included.

So you are telling me that taking the comped cruise, and adding the $1,300 it cost of getting there, and back is cheaper than staying home? That’s almost laughable.

You’re all excited about paying $.35 for one egg at home? What about paying $9+, tip included, on a ship but only $.56, AZ state tax included, where I live.

Based on our experiences before the pandemic, a completely free cruise would be overpriced. 

Have a nice day!

 

For someone who doesnt cruise any more, you must still have the urge. Why else would you be on the forum

6 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

I don’t think it’s free, don’t you have t pay taxes, fees and tip? With that being said, we haven’t sailed since the pandemic, but based on or experiences before, we don’t see the value for the money.

Well if they offer you the free veranda balcony , there is a savings to you.   If the veranda for that cruise is for example 1000 per guest base price then your saving would be $2000 per couple as you would have to pay taxes a tips either way

12 hours ago, LMaxwell said:

Do you notice lines when you leave dinner?  On Royal Caribbean they have 2 lines; walks ups, and reservations line, each processed by a different host.  If someone with a reservation is waiting in line behind those without a reservation....they don't actually have a reserved table at all as the tables are given out in sequential order.  They don't know who in the line has reservations versus walk up, so they haven't actually set aside tables specifically for those with a reservation. 

 

I suspect that people try to just book early to get time slots they want, and since it's all anytime dining now they "bail" on reservations left and right depending on what the theme of the restaurant/wait time for that night.  If the reservation doesn't reserve a spot, what is it?

I asked if there was a reservation line and was told there was none.  There was only on line on each entrance to the mdr.   I specifically told them my reservation but was told it meant nothing.  Just stand in line when you arrive and be seated in your turn.    I believe that is how my time dining was originally meant to be.   Now that i know they do not honour reservations on this cruise anyway, i just go and wait in line, but wait is minimal

18 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Yes, and the reservation system typically shows nothing available except 9PM or later.  All you can realistically do is just show up and go where the wait is the least.  How/Why did they change this; this doesn't seem better? 

Not sure about E class , i wont be on until Feb and i cant get a reservation before 8:30/9:00.   I am currently on Equinox and have anytime dining. I made a reservation for a specific time each night, but when I showed up at the dining room, they told me my reservation didnt mean anything and I had to wait in line to be seated with all the other guests ahead of me.  I did go see them next day and they said there is no separate line for anyone with reservations and to forget about my reservation and just show up and wait with everyone else.   Fortunately we eat early(530) and have not had much of a wait time

Update::   On Equinox tonight ,in OVC , all stations except grilling station were open and well stocked including carving station.    The OVC had lots of diners from 6:00 pm all the way up to 8:30 .   They had a separate creme brulee station with two attendants preparing them for the guests.    Not sure if this is a one off or the start of something good

What is really sad about most of the posts about food availability/quality/volume  on the current Celebrity sailings are by people who have not been on any of the ships since the changes.    You are trashing a Cruise Line’s reputation based on what you read and in some cases snippits of misinformation.   Things change and most of us roll with the changes.   People commenting on here number a hundred or so compared to the hundreds of thousands who sail on Celebrity yearly and some, i have talked to dont even frequent these boards anymore because of the negative rhetoric and misinformation.    Im not blowing Celebrity’s horn and my cruising alternates between four major lines.