TickledBlue

We are arriving at at Cape Liberty on the Eclipse on May 11 (coming from Rio).

I was wondering if this port offers luggage valet for a flight out of EWR like they do at Port Everglades for FLL.   

It would be very handy if we could ditch the luggage this way and explore NYC without it.   I know there are other options for luggage storage but luggage valet seems like it would be the most convenient.

Anyone have had any recent experience?

Thanks in advance.

Can you request more than 1 (for free)?   Or are they now charging for extras?

That's a lot of time zones from Spain to Alaska.  You could just opt to adjust your dining times to fit with the ship's schedule since you'll have to adjust your body clocks anyway.   Alaska's time is way behind Spain's, just don't fully acclimate to the Alaska time zone and you'll feel like you are eating later than what the clock says. 

I don't know if Celebrity restricts Move Up but you can try at this link:

https://www.celebritycruises.com/bid-on-cruise-room-upgrade

There's a lot of FAQ's on the website, but basically the way this works is:

1. It's a blind auction, you won't know other's bids but they do provide an indication if your bid is weak, moderate or strong.  There will be a minimum / maximum amount you can bid.
2. Do be aware (and it is well-marked on the website) that your bid will be per person for 2 people.
3. If your bid is accepted, they'll immediately charge your credit card and you can't back out. 
4. You can bid for an upgraded cabin category and it will be auto-assigned if you win.

No brainer, I'd choose the 9-day Equinox cruise.   The Reflection has considerably more cabins with no more open space -- felt crowded by comparison.   Grand Cayman is nice as well.

You'll enjoy either one though.

On 3/14/2023 at 7:33 PM, TickledBlue said:

I was not successful...yet.   I plan to try again closer to my cruise in September so I'd be interested in the answer from @NJRonbo

 

The TA called and got the response:  "Celebrity is unable to change it to the Zero Proof drink package, not applicable."

 

This may be because I've booked the cruise in 2021 for a 2022 cruise that got shifted to 2023.  What I had was not the "all included" promo but what came before it. 

Success!

Final payment day has come and I figured I'd try to tackle this again.

I called the Captain's Club and was able to switch.   The rep put me on hold to talk to her supervisor, came back and asked why I wanted to switch, went back on hold, got an email with a receipt for the the Promo Zero Proof package and continued to wait on hold for 5 mins until the rep came back to tell me they made the switch.

Seems like this is something they discourage and doing through a TA is either too easy or maybe I would have had to insist that the TA kept trying.

It was quite a bit of time on hold waiting for the switch rather than waiting for the rep to answer.  Was worth it so we can enjoy all of the premium non-alcoholic drinks.

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the $7 pp/day flash sale upgrade from basic to premium wifi on our September trans-Pacific cruise on the Millie.  I think it would be worth it if the performance would really allow streaming as advertised, especially on such a sea day heavy cruise.

I was on the Summit in late 2021, definitely pre-Starlink days, with Elite premium wifi and the performance was terrible even with 50% ship capacity.   I'm certain that even basic Starlink would perform better than that.

Searching through these forums, it looks like Starlink was scheduled to be installed on the Millie last March.  Could anyone tell me their recent experience with premium wifi on this ship?

15 minutes ago, GreenDice said:

 

NJRonbo and TickledBlue,

 

When did you call them relative to the final payment date and sail date? I am in similar situation. My wife and I do no drink alcohol. I am afraid calling too soon will create mass confusion and waste my time. I booked about a week ago. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a early resolution. I can switch out of the AquaClass cabin if needed. I don't like to pay for an all-included price and have limited choices of non-alcoholic drinks.

 

 

TickledBlue,

 

Were you successful?

 

I was not successful...yet.   I plan to try again closer to my cruise in September so I'd be interested in the answer from @NJRonbo

The TA called and got the response:  "Celebrity is unable to change it to the Zero Proof drink package, not applicable."

This may be because I've booked the cruise in 2021 for a 2022 cruise that got shifted to 2023.  What I had was not the "all included" promo but what came before it. 

This is great to know.   We don't drink either and would much prefer the selection in the Zero Proof package.   Before they made this change, you had classics and premium options for non-alcoholic - Zero Proof is basically the same as the old premium non-alcoholic.   

Previously, it was easy to change from the classic alcoholic to the classic non-alcoholic drink package but you lost the frozen non-alcoholic drinks in the process.   The premium non-alcoholic drink package was off the table for this type of switch.

I emailed my TA requesting this change for our upcoming cruise.

We were on the same sailing.  Rather than starting a new topic, I'll borrow the OP's format and add my thoughts here:

For reference, we are a bit more experienced cruisers with this being our 38th cruise (many on RCL and Celebrity, several on NCL and MSC, 3 previous on HAL).  We're also empty nesters & in our 50's.

The GOOD:

STAFF - All of the staff were really great and looked after us.  We did not have HIT so in the Lido buffet, it was great to have staff offer to serve you water/iced tea/lemonade/coffee rather than get it ourselves.  This is one of the pluses that HAL has versus the others that typically will serve bar drinks (at extra cost) only. 

CHECK-IN - Relatively pleasant and took maybe 30-40 minutes from curbside-to-ship after showing up at 10:20 am.   When you show up, they don't look at the assigned check in times.   If you were in a Neptune (or higher) suite or 4/5-star, you were directed to go up an escalator where you'd get priority check-in and boarding.  There were 2 lines after that for priority or regular check in.  Both lines were a very short wait to get passports scanned and picture taken, then given a boarding group number card.  Rest of the time was sitting in the waiting area waiting for your boarding group number to be called to make the way onto the ship.   Here's a tip:  If you like Pepsi products, there's a vending machine in the waiting area to purchase them -- $2.50 for 16 oz. bottle (cheaper than the Coke products on the ship, if you don't have a drink package).

HALF MOON CAY - we're not big beach people but we do enjoy this private island because of the walking pavers on the paths, the cleanliness, the abundance of available beach chairs, shade, and restrooms.  The perfect weather helped as well.   We were there at high tide which made the beach much narrower than when we were there last November.   I enjoy snorkeling and honestly, it's not great here but can be done right from shore.   Because of high tide, the water was a bit cloudy but did clear up on occasion.

FOOD - we think the food is, in general, some of the best at sea.  We're not foodies, so YMMV.   We particularly loved the MDR food which is very well-prepared.   HAL doesn't have lobster night but they do have swordfish (one of my favorites) night.   The Lido buffet food is generally very tasty as well although it could be hit-or-miss.   Dive-In burgers/dogs and the New York pizza & Dele makes freshly prepared and good food that came to the rescue when I didn't find anything in the Lido that appealed to me.  The Dutch Café offered food as well that I wanted to try, but MDW wasn't going for it.  I did manage to have 1.5 of their delicious huge chocolate-covered cream puffs.

WORLD STAGE (THEATER) - The layout of the circular theater and LED walls/floor made for stunning visuals but also limited the number of guests that could partake.   The comedian was excellent and he tailored his material to crowd well, but his 7:30 show was standing room only and not an intimate environment.  We enjoyed the production shows but they were the exact same ones we saw on the Eurodam last November.    The captain's presentation held in on the World Stage was both informative and very entertaining.   

MUSIC WALK -  Love the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll room/band although it was a little on the loud side.  After the first night, I attended a "Morning Talk" between the cruise director and the hotel director where a fellow passenger complained of the volume level in there.   I was pleasantly surprised that they listened and turned it down a notch the following night (but still on the loud side).  Also, the Lincoln Center Stage was entertaining.   With BB Kings and Billboard, seemed like most could find music that appealed to them. 

MISC - There were a handful of kids/teens on the ship and all well-behaved and monitored by adults (assuming they were parents or grand parents).   

The BAD (or could have been better):

TECHNOLOGY -  The Navigator app could use more work, at least on Android (not sure how well it works on the iPhone).  Without fail, when switching from public wi-fi to ship wi-fi, it needed to be restarted and its cache cleared.  Even when not switching wi-fi, it needed to be stopped/re-started to respond many times.   This was the same experience that we had on the Zaandam and Eurodam last year.   

POOLS/HOT TUBS - The two pools are very small for this size of ship and were pretty crowded during peak times of days.  Pretty sure they were no larger than those on the Eurodam which is 20% smaller.   Only 4 very small hot tubs and 1 medium hot tub for general use which made for crowded hot tubs too.  I think there was a hot tub in the retreat and there was the hydro pool in the thermal suite, but those cost extra.

EXC TALKS - I generally enjoy informative talks but having the cruise director providing canned presentations (although they are very professionally produced and she did an excellent job) pales in comparison to having subject matter experts provide talks.  I had to walk early out of the "Spirit of the Caribbean" because it was like watching a long ad for Barcardi and John Watling's rums.   

Overall, we had a very good cruise but I'd place it in the middle of the pack of all the cruises that we did.  HAL needs to improve on some things but I don't think that's forthcoming in the near future since they are in the midst of cost-cutting measures.

Would we do another HAL cruise?  Yes definitely, given a good deal, but we'll wait awhile.  The entertainment was pretty repeated.   Also, we preferred the smaller Zaadam and Eurodam since they weren't as crowded in public spaces. 

I use Google drive as @robotpony does, except I also use TripIt as well for the itinerary planning.

7 minutes ago, five. said:

I feel like that's a personal decision. Some people can't cruise without the drinking packages and such. For us, it's the spas and pools.. we've reached a point where it's a requirement. So all of the newer Carnival ships (Vista class) are out, simply because they are a joke in the spa area. You just have to decide what's important to you, where you find enjoyment on the ship.

 

I do wish there was a spreadsheeet somewhere across cruise lines that showed which ones had large proper thalassotherapy pools. Also looking for land based resorts that have them. My wife loves them and the heated loungers.

FYI, Celebrity M class ships (Millennium, Infinity, Summit, and Constellation) have a large thalassotherapy that is complimentary to use.  The rest of the thermal suite isn't great though and limited to Aqua class or paid passes.

2 hours ago, poffles said:

 

I was definitely thinking it would be nice to go up there in the evenings when perhaps it might be quiet.  Currently I am working on justifying to myself if I would make the cost of a week 'pass' worth it.  It seems I can't yet purchase it online, it shows up but it doesn't allow me to actually add to cart which I'm guessing perhaps the cruise has to be a bit closer as mine isn't until end of May so 6 months from now.

I enjoyed the TS every day on my 10 day Eurodam cruise last month, it was $198 of OBC that I needed to spend anyway.   Had to wait to purchase it onboard to use the OBC, they did throw in a free 'scrub' and loofa (which looked homemade) since I purchased it on embarkation day 🙄.

I noticed HAL's website was having intermittent problems with purchases and saving information yesterday.  Perhaps that is still ongoing.  You can try again.   I've found that the HAL website seems to work better in Firefox rather than Chrome.

1 minute ago, rafinmd said:

Bon Voyage all, especially @TickledBlue.  I'll try to treat the Eurodam well until your turn comes.

 

Roy

Thanks, hope she treats you well in the meanwhile 😁

17 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Note:  I posted last night;s dinner menu and the first 2 Daily Programs on my blog this morning:

 

https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/2022/11/11/thursday-november-10-2022-not-half-moon-cay-board-eurodam-fort-lauderdale/

 

Roy

So glad you're finally onboard only a day late.   Thanks so much for the daily programs, they'll provide a good preview on our cruise that's right after yours.   How's the speed of the internet aboard?

12 hours ago, SetAnOpenCourse said:

If the sailing is undersold I’d guess that you’ll be upgraded to a “better” stateroom, so, possibly to waste money on club orange.  Or they may try to upsell you, in which case applying the club orange towards it (as reported above - I haven’t done this) seems a good deal.  But, if they have your money from club orange already, maaaybe they’re motivated to send the upsell offers to people who they can get more money from in the upsell (ie, not deducting club orange).

I completely agree with this.

FWIW, I just got my VH GTY cabin assignment 9 days ahead of the cruise -- It's a VB cabin, couldn't be much happier considering the cost savings over booking the upgrade or that of booking club orange. 

I'm still waiting for a more reasonable price on an upgrade to a signature suite since they have nearly 2 dozen of them still showing as available.  I'm pretty sure that the offer will be coming next week.

Given the research that @sailingdutchy did, I serious doubt that you'll end up in a VH cabin.  HAL will likely assign you to one of those other upgraded categories.    I've booked many GTY cabins on, like 15 cruises and got the bottom category only twice only on full sailings.   If you aren't particularly picky with your cabin location, you'll probably be satisfied with your assignment

I'm betting on this myself on my upcoming Eurodam cruise -- currently in a GTY VH cabin.   Even if they assigned me in one of those 4 cabins, I'd be very surprised since it appears like the ship is only 60% booked but I still would be satisfied.  I did get a couple of offers to upgrade to a Signature Suite but I didn't see the value.  

9 minutes ago, Dave1111 said:

Hopefully the next cruisers [wife & I] scheduled for the 20th do not suffer losing another day. Original cruise at time of booking was 11 days, changed to 10 days and lost a port call.

5 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

I'm quite sure you will board as planned.  At least hope so as I have plans for Sunday and Auto Train Monday.  It would be tight to get to the train, especially if we are back late.  My cruise was originally 10 days and then moved to 11 days at your expense.

 

Roy

I'm quite sure as well (barring any additional weather issues on the 20th).  HAL won't let these delays propagate through subsequent sailings.  

ANY cruise line can and will change the itinerary for any reason they see fit.  I've had Key West stop bumped from a Celebrity cruise late last year because of Key West politics.

I agree that Bimini as substitute isn't a good trade though.  It's a either a beach day or (as I would do) make it a sea day with less people onboard.  

Eurodam - 20-Nov-22 - 10 day Panama Canal Sunfarer

- first time celebrating Thanksgiving on a cruise

We'll be on the ship for the next cruise on Nov. 20.   Looking forward to reading your blog.  Bon voyage!

15 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Just be aware that the taxes & fees will be higher for a cruise through the canal. The ships pay a set amount for passage and that is divided among the passengers. They are quite a bit higher than other cruises. Maybe someone who has done the cruise can comment on what that amount is.

Taxes and fees were $455pp on our upcoming Eurodam 10-day cruise.   Pretty steep, but if you want to do a Panama canal cruise, it's going to be pricey whether or not if the cruise cost is covered.

So far, the Zaandam is the only HAL ship that we sailed on (twice, in 2005 and 2022).   Was really impressed with how well it was kept up back on our June Canada cruise.  Would not hesitate on cruising on it again.

10 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

Do you have to do blank booking to see or is there another way to see how many cabins have been sold? 

I did a mock booking on the Celebrity website to see availability of each cabin type.

CELEBRITY MOVE UP TRACKER 

• Ship:  Infinity
• Length of Cruise: 7
• Cruise Sail Date:  10/08/2022
• Date email offer received:  07/25/2022
• Captain’s Club Tier:  Elite
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
• Current Cabin:  Inside
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category: Veranda
• Bid Offer:  110/PP
• Notification Date: 09/21/22
• Accepted / Rejected  Accepted

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Min bid for ocean view: $50pp, veranda: $100pp.  The winning bid of $110pp was still considered weak.  As of 17 days before sailing, it looks to be about 60-70% booked - there's a lot of ocean views (more empty than occupied), quite a few verandas, and several Celebrity suites still available.

2 minutes ago, Terre said:

$90

Now that's inflation.

Thanks for the great review.  We'll be on Infinity in 4 weeks with the same itinerary as you.  Do you remember how much it was to rent the golf cart?