bsg_19

First time as Azamara cruiser long time celebrity cruiser discover level going on our first Azamara cruise tomorrow.  Buenos Aries RT 17 nights for our first SA cruise. Upgrade offer from Balcony Plus to Continental Suite accepted two days ago $450 each. Done deal…$50/day you betcha!!

 Thanks for this tread I wouldn’t have thought a low bid ($40 more than min) would secure the upgrade Whoohoo!

The DW is getting very concerned about our March 15 Celebrity cruise from Chile to San Diego.  Although not much of Corona Virus activity along this route so far, her concern is healthcare in countries along this route!  We could be like the HAL ship with no port to go and end up quarantined off San Diego...she’s in the medical field so I take her concerns seriously.

3 hours ago, vickykay said:

Look at the deck plans.  If there is a square or triangle on the cabin the bed is by the bath.  You can then count every other cabin from there as they will also be by the bath.  We also much prefer bed by the bath as well.

Thanks to all who responded....you guys and gals are the bomb!....so vickykay this is an interesting deck plan cabin search solution, thanks.  It always seem to me that the uncomfortable foldout couch was always located next to the balcony and rarely did I get a nice chair for TV viewing.  On that subject sure wish the couch was a love seat so that there could be a nice chair to move around the sitting area.  Guess I’ll have to move up in class some day!!!!

Does anyone have knowledge of bed locations in relation to bath or balcony for Solstice Class ships on a deck by deck basis?  I can’t seem to find my stateroom info anywhere on this site or through a google search.  
Looking for Eclipse cabin 9350 starboard side C3....I hate the bed next to the balcony!!

I'll let you know which deck...leaving on the Windstar next week thru the Panama Canal, Aruba to CR.  We're on B deck our friends upgraded to A deck for only $100 (not 3 zeros).

Thanks for all your insights especially the LA disembark!

So the Royal and Star have identical itineraries repositioning back to LA from South America. They both leave within one week of each other in early and mid March and both are comparable in price. Which ship will be more “fun” for active couple in their 50’s?

Are deluxe balconies worth the xtra $$?

We sailed each ship with similar (but slightly different) itineraries...The Connie in Feb17 and the Millie in Feb18. Loved Loved Loved both cruises!! Looking back though I think I preferred the Millie for 2 reasons...Capt Alex was by far the most personable & amusing Capt I can remember on all my sea journeys. Heck, he even greeted every passenger on disembarkation and was always at the Socials to meet and greet. Second, I think I preferred starting at one port and ending in another rather than the roundtrip port cruise. As said by others, it's all about the itinerary and keep in mind the weather and time of year. This last Millie trip started of cold in HK late January and ended hot in Singapore (which is pretty much hot anyway). Yes, there are long journeys to specific cities from the cruise ports, Bangkok, Saigon and Hanoi were ours, but hey you traveled along way to see this part of the world enjoy the ride!!! We did Bangkok & Saigon both cruises...and if you get the overnight in Leam Chibang (sp) you MUST overnight it in Bangkok...way too much fun, too much to see and 5 star hotels are relativity cheap!

Don't be a tourist...be a traveler!

I just got done talking with Celebrity about my disembarking early and here’s what happened....first contacted Customer Service 844.418.6824 described my situation and was redirected to Emergency Travel Team

800.256.6649. They informed me that this was indeed possible but I would have to pay US $65 to process this request. A confirmation email was sent 5 minutes later confirming our early departure....batabing! Now we get to spend 9 continuous days in Portugal instead of 3 days spent sea travel to Southampton, bus to London, flight to Lisbon and airport to hotel!

So why did we do this? We got talked into doing the TA by our friends last summer and none of us had done a TA cruise before. Having never traveled to Portugal before, this itinerary sounded good. The wife said maybe we should leave Southampton after the cruise and go explore more of Portugal since our stay there was so short in Lisbon. As I found out its no easy task going from Southampton to Portugal! So this is how we ended up here.

Hope this helps others with our crazy thought process!

Thanks to all with your advice. I will update this thread with my Celebrity results for others who may attempt this unusual travel scenario!

We want to get off the ship early while in port in Lisbon Portugal instead of spending 3 more additional ( and probably cold) days getting to our final destination Southampton England on our Celebrity TA cruise next month...Will we have any immigration/customs issues? Do I inform Celebrity prior to boarding or inform Guest Relations once on board? Never like to leave a cruise early but Portugal intrigues us and getting those three extra days helps extend our time there! Thanks in advance.

Has anyone out there have experience with either or both of these ships in Austrailia/ New Zealand or anywhere else and would like to share their experiences and preference?

 

Thanks.

I think when it comes down to these two cruise lines, it's more of the age demographics than anything else. My wife late 40's and myself early 60's, both feel that Celebrity offers a (somewhat) younger crowd w/ a moderate party atmosphere without the "Carnival Crowd" hysterics... where as HAL seems more mature in age and a little more subdued in the party sense. We did the Solstice Auckland to Sydney 2 years ago and had a blast with all the Aussies and Kiwis. We've done HAL many times and while for the most part we love the food, we found the vibe just a little to boring for us. Their drink package is basic and doesn't give you the high end choices we like, so we never get the package and opt for their happy hour options through out the ship. This was the best way to meet other like companions to chat with, where as Celebrity's drink package, which seems always included, gets you to all the bars all the time. Don't get me wrong on this train of thought, we're not THAT big of drinkers, but for socializing the bar atmosphere on Celebrity is much more entertaining than HAL.

Celebrity's Solstice class ships are bigger than the Noordam but it doesn't feel like it to us. And I would say the food quality is comparable for both. As for the on board entertainment, we don't really enjoy either but that's probably subjectable to one's tastes.

Go with your favorite port itinerary and you won't be disappointed in either!

This would be my guess too... check with X club... we are elite... have been so for awhile... so don't pay much attention to how it is counted...

Thanks to all who reached out...I took your advice and called X Club and was told I would get full credit becaused I paid for the full cruise even if we left early. Hope that helps others as well.

Does anyone know if Disembarking early will shorten the rewards points Celebrity offers for cabin points? We are oh so close to Elite and if we leave the TA cruise a few days before we reach the disembark port we won't reach the Elite level.

Thourghly enjoying your report! Our group is on the very next Connie voyage so this is very informative. Really appreciate your dining reports and menu photos! Wish our port itineraries were the same but we take a different route. I have 2 curiosities:

1. Can you tell me about the various singers and bands on board?

2. Could you photo a "beer & wine selection" menu?

Thank you so much

We just spent 6 nights at Oasia Downtown pre-cruise and it was amazing! We stayed in a Club room and loved it! The Club lounge and pool area were perfect for afternoon lounging after a morning and before evenings spent exploring. New hotel - just opened April 2016 (we had originally planned to stay at Oasia Novena but the Downtown location was better for us) MTR across the street, walking distance to tons of good restaurants and 2 great hawker centers - Lau Pa Sat & Maxwell.

 

Great price - sign up for emails, we got an extra 5% off a 40% off sale :p We paid S$1700 (that includes taxes & fees!) for 6 nights in a Club room (includes breakfast, cocktail evenings with hors d'oeuvres & private pool/lounge area, a few other things - free HOHO bus tour one morning, late checkout option - great for our cruise embarkation day!)

Glad to see a post about this hotel...we are planning a 3 night stay here prior to our mid Febuary cruise. We also got a great rate for a club level room about $210/night. How were the evening cocktail receptions...busy?...drink selections? How was the morning breakfast? Any other advice (1st time Asian visitors)?

Does anyone have experiences they can share on their journeys in SE Asia while on board Connie? We have six sea days on our February 14 day cruise. I'm concerned w all this "down" time and shipboard activities which are usually not Celebrity's specialty! Now, we will have a premium drink package so that will help(!?) so will there be " local regional" beer choices?

My firecracker customer service agent was able to move me from 2B to 2A no charge...got me the coveted bump out oversized angled balcony which will come in handy on 6 sea days

disneydiane61, you might want to google travel agency offering firecracker sale. If you do book just be sure you are aware of all the terms and conditions. They charge a cancellation/change fee of $50 pp. I normally prefer handling my own bookings but sometimes the amenities are just too good to pass up.Especially if you are reasonably sure you won't need to cancel. If I rebooked my 2/18/2017 cruise with all 4 amenities my price would be $1300 more than booking a few months ago with Celebrity and only 2 amenities. I can buy my own internet(which I won't) and pay gratuities and still be $800 ahead.

TarTan...toady agree. When I start this thread I had already booked my 2/19/17 cruise through another online TA but after receiving an email about signing up for VIP pricing for the "firecracker" sale I decided to do it what's the harm! Sure enough a few days later the presale started and I was astonished withe the perks my cruise was receiving. Compared the two cruise prices apples to apples and it was $1300 cheaper! First thought too good to be true...buyer beware...ECT. That feeling was reinforced upon called said TA since they run the business as an online fill in your travel forms first company, before acknowledging you as a customer. But once my request was received I was in constant contact with my assigned customer service rep who very responsive and timely with all my requests both vis phone and email.

So all and all very happy cancelling my other cruise TA reservation paying their $100 cancellation fee getting the same Celebrity one category upgrade 2A balcony cabin giving up their $300 OBC and getting firecracker $100 credit leaving me with a savings of $1000. This almost covers our RT overseas airline costs...WhooHoo!!!! and since I was coordinating this with 2 other couples I have received their most appreciated gratitude which I will remind them of through out the cruise!

So I can now report that THERE IS a firecracker sale being offered by a web based travel agency that is offering the go best package in addition to very competitive cabin rates. We just booked a Celebrity14 day Asian cruise in Feb and got all the go Best perks free! I had to cancel my other reservation at no charge because my TA couldn't come close to matching the offer. Saving $1200 on a two week cruise is like getting the airfare free!

Does anyone know if Celebrity is offering their GO BEST package as a free incentive for certain 2016/17 cruise?

Ruth you are a real poster and much appreciated...we are on the 24 day Oosterdam Rome to Rome that just got refurbished with the new music venues and the loss of the sports bar..

I was on the Nieuw Amsterdam in Europe for several weeks last fall, ending in a trans-At to Ft. Lauderdale. There were many weekends during that cruise, and I enjoyed watching at least some football on all of them. :D

 

The ship did have both the afternoon NFL games (CBS & Fox), as well as the NBC evening game, on the same station. I don't recall much about the Saturday college games, but think there were some broadcast, too.

 

Remember, though, that the Mediterranean cruises are 6 hours ahead of the early NFL game on the east coast. The 1:00 PM game begins at 7:00 PM; you might catch the end of the night game if you get up early in the morning. ;)

Thanks Ruth for your reply...it looks like we got some disagreement between cruisers about NBC and Fox availability on board although I do recall ESPN being available all the time but seemed to be mostly geared towards the European "football" audience. Monday Night football will be a real challenge at 2:30 in the morning!!!

So where would be the best lounge/bar now for viewing any sports broadcasts...the lone screen at the casino? or have they refurbished other areas post drydock? I recall on important playoff games they sometimes broadcast them in the screening room but since this is October cruise that probably won't happen.

Specific to the new redesign for the BB King and Billboard venues has the sports bar been relocated abandoned or replaced with something similar? Will be in Europe for 3 weekends with a sea day(!) every weekend and would love to catch some games prefer ably not in my cabin! Anybody with experience with European fall cruises and college/NFL game broadcasts on HAL and where to view?

Any recent Oosterdam cruises have knowledge and/or pics of the brand new deck 10 cabins added during the April dry dock?