schlimazel_traveler

Thank you so much for posting the daily schedules and the menus.

I have been getting a little concerned as I read reviews in which people say they experienced a lack of onboard activities such as trivia, games, and karaoke. Yet I can see that there was plenty to do on both of your recent sailings--games, dance lessons, flash mob, trivia, etc. So I'm puzzled and not sure what to expect! I'm sure the schedule changes from week to week depending on the mix of passengers onboard. We'll be on the January 3rd sailing and are very much hoping the schedule will be about what you experienced.

My other concern is that there are several nights where it looks like I'm going to have to ask the waiter to bring me two entrees! There are too many things I want to try.

This is our first cruise with Celebrity. Really looking forward to it!

About how much are individual prints and/or digital pictures?

I'm trying to figure out how many pictures one would need to buy to make a package worthwhile. The options offered on my upcoming cruise are 10 digital images for $175, or "all your prints and digital images" for $225. I don't remember even being photographed 10 times on a previous cruise!

 

We showed up for the Sin City comedy act 15 minutes early but there was not even standing room available.

Are shows recorded and broadcast later on the tv system? On a previous cruise on Royal we were able to watch shows and activities we'd missed on the tv in the cabin.

Oh, I didn't realize you were staying on board! I was just regretting out loud to my husband that your posting of the daily schedules would likely end today! I'm glad to see you'll continue so we'll get a chance to see which things are more or less the same week-to-week and which change. I learned from the activities staff on a recent Royal Caribbean cruise that they don't make up the schedule for each day until the prior evening, and that they base it on what seems to be going over well with the guests.

I thought that a scheduled repair to the propulsion system was the reason the 1/4/15 sailing (which we were booked on) was cancelled. I'll admit, I wondered how the ship would limp along until then...the cancellation was announced months ago.

Thanks so much for posting these! We'll be on the January 3 sailing. I see plenty to do!

Do you happen to have your daily schedules?

I'm most interested in the frequency of the corny stuff people say

they DON'T go on Celebrity for--trivia, karaoke, interactive games, etc.

I know the activities staff has been cut and I'm wondering how much of this, if any, remains. My traveling group loves this kind of thing.

Oh, dear, I see your point...the most recent reviews do seem to express dissatisfaction, and in particular draw a distinction between the recent cruises and other cruises that the authors have experienced.

My biggest concern, which isn't addressed in the reviews, is the impact of the cuts to activity staff.

Anyone have current information on that? Maybe dailies from the recent Eastern Caribbean cruise?

I'm wondering if one can upgrade the non-alcohol package just as one can upgrade the alcohol package? I think the difference in price between classic and premium is something like $4/day, so not a significant cost. Of course, it chafes to have to pay to upgrade when the package she would have gotten had she been >21 would have cost significantly more than the package she wants!

There was a thread here on Cruise Critic a month or so ago which discussed this. Several posters reported that they were able to switch from the classic alcoholic package to the premium non-alcoholic package by asking at guest relations ASAP after boarding the ship.

Good to know!

And yes, the current promotion offers a classic non-alcohol package and some free internet to passengers #3 & 4, but we have an under-21 as passenger #2 (of two) in one cabin.

I've booked a cruise under a promotion that offers free classic drink packages. Some of my traveling companions are under 21. I'm wondering if anyone knows how this is handled? It would seem "fair" to give them the premium non-alcohol package, as it costs less than the package included in the promotion, but I'm not sure that fairness or logic would enter into this. (Personally, I'd rather have the premium non-alcohol package than the classic alcohol package, myself!)

To piggyback on this topic--

What is the difference between "premium" coffee (included in the classic non-alcohol package @~$16/day) and "specialty" coffee (included only in the premium packages)? I imagine something like a Frappucino or whatever the equivalent is onboard would be "specialty," but is a latte a "specialty"? Can one just get a cup of coffee (presumably "premium")?

This is our first time on Celebrity, so I don't know how bad the "non-premium" coffee will be. Our experience on Royal was that it was truly, truly undrinkable and we are by no means coffee snobs. I imagined it was intended to drive business to their onboard Starbucks outlet, but I don't care for that coffee either.

Thanks! Good to know.

Please forgive me if this has been addressed. I think I saw it asked, but not answered, in another thread.

We have 21 measly cruise points on Royal Caribbean--I believe that makes us (and everyone who has sailed once before) "Gold" in the C&A parlance.

When I booked with Celebrity, I enrolled in the "Preview" level of Captain's Club online, which gives me a CC number but, obviously, no benefits yet.

I didn't call either Captain's Club or C&A to establish any linkage in the memberships.

I know that I cannot combine points on the two lines.

I know I'm not eligible for any special perks on EITHER line yet.

But is there any reason whatsoever for me to somehow link my two numbers together?

How would I do that? Call C&A? Call Captain's Club?

If I'm doing this, can they issue CC numbers for the rest of my family while I'm at it?

YES... Going to a Concierge Cabin(s) would most certainly qualify.

 

Sounds like "the math" works in your favour

 

Wowzer about the TA additional OBC offer... Guessing you are saying you missed out because it has since ended.

 

Cheers!

Actually, I was mistaken on both fronts.

The promotion from the TA was still available, and I went ahead and booked two C2s without cancelling the veranda cabins I'm holding through Celebrity.

But the price difference is more than I thought because I had forgotten to subtract out the gratuities from my other booking.

So the price difference is almost exactly the amount of the OBC.

Which more or less means I've traded ~$560 in cash for ~$560 in OBC. Unless I know for sure I'm going to spend $500 per stateroom on board, that actually doesn't seem like a great deal, considering that people aren't that wowed by the perks of Concierge Class.

I think I'd come out ahead if I just budgeted $500 per stateroom to spend...most likely we wouldn't spend it! Particularly not with drinks and gratuities already paid for.

Now I'm debating going back and cancelling the C2s I just booked!:confused:

I have two 2A verandas on Deck 7 with the Bermuda all-in promotion (pre-paid gratuities and drink package). If I upgrade to Concierge class, is this considered a "new booking" and eligible for the all-inclusive?

When I first considered this a day or so ago, I noticed that a certain TA was offering the all-inclusive promotion PLUS an extra ~$250 OBC. I considered just booking with them and cancelling the reservation I made directly with Celebrity, but I didn't jump on it fast enough.

I need to do the math, but it looks like the fare could be as little as $355 extra per stateroom. If we think we could spend $300 OBC, then it's really about $55 extra to be in Concierge class.

I'm not sure what difference we'd notice.

A bit of an update--I called to ask an agent to check whether the Bermuda All-In promotion was, indeed, noted in the reservation in their computer system as the agent I spoke to a week ago said it was.

Of course, it was NOT.

He came back to tell me that there was a $200 price increase, but that somehow he'd managed to convince the Powers that Be to honor the rate I booked last week.

Then he sent me documentation that STILL didn't note that the All-In promotion was applied.

Now I'm on a very long hold waiting for him to come back from going somewhere to fix it.

I am beginning to understand why people use travel agencies.

I have NEVER ONCE gotten documentation that said exactly what the agent on the phone said it was going to say. I take notes!

Now at least I've learned that I will not hang up the phone until I've reviewed the documentation.

I just got off a VERY long call with Celebrity.

I had a reservation on a 5/31 cruise to Bermuda on the Summit, but needed to change the date to 5/24, plus I wanted to take advantage of the Bermuda All-in promotion.

The agent said I could do this without cancelling and re-booking.

However, the documents DO NOT say anything about the pre-paid gratuities or the drink package that the All-in promotion provides.

The agent said it would be added to the reservation in 7 business days.

I said, "That seems a little nutty, doesn't it, that my documents do not actually document the promotion?" And he assured me the call was recorded and that if anything went wrong and the promotional items weren't added as he said they would be, I could get it fixed.

This seems VERY odd. Does it seem possible that this is really how it works? I accept documents that don't match what I believe I've agreed to?

I'm not experienced with Celebrity at all, or really much with cruising in general. If this is normal and I should chill, let me know.

My husband celebrated his 50th birthday onboard the Grandeur of the Seas. Several members of the wait staff gathered around his (surprise) birthday dessert with candle to sing "Happy birthday dear [never-used-first-name]!"

We got a chuckle out of it.

The other advantage of the soda package (which costs only about $7/day) on ships with Freestyle machines is that the selection is much greater than you'll find at the bars. I believe they have only Coke, Diet Coke, and Ginger Ale on tap (maybe Sprite)? And in cans, you can get Sprite or Sprite Zero. But the machines give you many, many more choices. Lots of diet options, too.

I am going in October and will be my first RCCL cruise, I have previously done multiple Disney cruises and one Carnival....

 

Also has anyone brought water or soda on board? I know they say no but I have been reading on here that some are bringing it on. I figure we should try, whats the worst that can happen, they throw it away!

We brought water onboard the Enchantment when it sailed from Baltimore. Just brought a shrink-wrapped case of sport bottles, put a luggage tag on it, and dropped it off with the porters with the rest of the suitcases.

I wouldn't bother bringing soda unless I had very, very specific preferences! The Freestyle machines have a million choices and the soda-only package is not very costly.

The Clinique prices were more or less the same as at our local mall, but tax-free.

If you've sailed on the Enchantment, the Grandeur will feel very familiar. What will be strikingly different is the size of the Centrum and the stretches of decks that overlook it. Things like the office for the Next Cruise bookings just don't exist on the Grandeur--they are kind of squished into corners of deck 4 and 5 which is just open seating area on Enchantment. There's a bar between the casino and the Centrum on the Enchantment, if I recall corrrectly, that is also "missing" from the Grandeur. The pool deck, too, seems small.

BUT the good thing is that all the other spaces are the same size as on Enchantment, but there are fewer people. The Windjammer, the theater, the main dining room, the Solarium, etc., are exactly as on the Grandeur.

I think, overall, we liked it better than the Enchantment because it seemed less crowded.

Thanks, all!

The refund was processed quickly, just wrong.

They only refunded $27, for some reason.

It took some arguing (believe it or not!) to convince them that we were owed more than that.

Eventually, we did get the taxes, fees, port charges, and gratuities back, and someone once again said something about $500 but then corrected himself. So my husband wasn't insane to think that is what he had been told.

I then spent another 45 minutes resolving the NCC issue.

Marissa, at the loyalty desk, was brilliant. Completely understood the issue, told me I was absolutely right and that the booking agent had erred. Transferred me to someone in resolutions and we ended up going around and around for a bit but eventually I got $100 credited back to my card for the OBC I should have, indeed, been given.

The rules have changed since I purchased that NCC and Marissa was the first person who seemed to understand that I was entitled to the terms under which the certificate was purchased.

So, essentially, we had to catch two errors in order to get about $350 of our own money back...but it's taken care of.

THEORETICALLY.

I will be watching that credit card statement CAREFULLY.

Refunds take MUCH longer than charges....don't know why, as they are both but a click of a button! Give it 2 weeks....could be sooner, but it shouldn't be longer!!

 

How much were the taxes and grats? Seems like $500 is a bit much!

My husband was surprised by the number, too. And of course, didn't write it down.

The booking says taxes, fees, and port expenses of $178.57.

The person on the phone is trying to tell my husband that all they needed to refund us was $27.

This is pretty aggravating.

We had other issues with this booking, too. They didn't credit us the OBC that the NCC entitled us to, nor did they credit us the $100 we paid for the NCC. But they seem to think they did.

I'm not getting a very good feeling about Royal's business practices from this experience.