onyourmark

Once on board, can you check what Future Cruise Desk is offering if you book while you are on the ship ?

When at Al Baccio Cafe, if ordering a coffee with alcohol (such as Aspen Coffee) are you charged the full price if you are Elite Plus ?  (or just an upcharge charge from non-alcoholic coffee)

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

Having same issue.  They should display proper message on screen and  call center staff should be made aware of this. Wasted an hour to get a response that it's a known issue 

I should have checked here first.. 

Cruise date May 11 on Solstice Hawaii to Vancouver.  Celebrity cancelled in the second announcement of suspensions and we selected full credit vie email link on March 24.  I made a screen shot of the instant confirmation, but didn't get any subsequent email for that.

After a few weeks they still sent FCC.  My emails to have this corrected were ignored.  Finally called Captain Club on May 15, and she had someone from Accounting call me back and got FCC changed to a Refund. She said it should be another week or less.

Full refund finally appeared on the credit card, dated May 19 and posted May 21.  It is in 4 amounts showing the initial deposit, taxes, interim and final payment.  The details show Celebrity, Paris France.  (I suppose that's where they consolidate their international credit card processing.)

Surprise, surprise !

Asked for refund - today received email with FCC instead.

We booked on Solstice May 11 from Honolulu, through online TA.  On March 24 we cancelled through the link provided by TA to select preference of FCC/Refund. and March 24 received email confirmation from X that they will inactiviate FCC and provide with refund instead.

Is this a trick for an excuse to delay refund by another 30-45 days ?

I just got the cancellation email from Celebrity for our May 11, 2020 sailing.  

Does anyone have the Terms and Conditions of the FCC (offered as 125% of the cruise price) other than the deadline to use it i.e. December 31, 2021 ?

For example, can it be used as the deposit on a new cruise (either refundable or non-refundable) ?   Do you lose it if you need to cancel the future cruise ?

5 minutes ago, UKPete71 said:

 

I'm sure they've a lot on their plate already and will be announcing more cancellations in due course.

I'm due to sail on 17 April on Silhouette on its Transatlantic cruise to Southampton via Portugal, Spain and France, but know that it's extremely unlikely it will sail. Would I like Celebrity to tell me now? Yes. Am I getting stressed by it? No. They have a few more weeks to announce it before I need to worry about it.

Celebrity is still selling this cruise online.  For example, an Inside GTY for US$ 399.  Is that not misleading the customer, marketing a cruise that is not likely to take place ?  Also flying to/from it may involve 14-day quarantine which is not even mentioned ?

7 minutes ago, UKPete71 said:

 

What would you like them to say? 

They should at the very least announce cancellation of cruises that include ports which are closed to cruise ships.  Right now they are still selling such cruises on line.

5 hours ago, lexmiller said:

Yes, we are booked on that cruise and the two after that, to end in Vancouver.  I think it's pretty clear that all 3 will be cancelled.......but it's very hard to be in a state of limbo, with so much left unresolved.  We will wait for Celebrity to cancel so that we can get our cash back - not excited about FCC in these tenuous times - and we are so close to being Zenith, lol, hoping things don't go under before we hit that mark!  Least of our worries, I know, I'm just trying to chuckle during these days of so much up in the air.  We have already cancelled all of our flights and hotels and excursions we'd booked on our own.  Now, just waiting for Celebrity to cancel.

I posed the following on our May 11 Solstice roll call:

Yesterday's press release from RCL is the first time I've seen reference to port closures which forces RCL to cancel 2 cruises beyond April 11, 2020.

https://presscenter.rclcorporate.com/press-release/87/spectrum-of-the-seas-and-jewel-of-the-seas-update/

So far nothing similar from Celebrity.

Back from our Caribbean cruise on the Reflection recently.  My quest for the Coffee Card continued.

After asking a staff member at Cafe Al Bacio she asked someone else who reached into the pantry under the espresso machine and was delighted to sell me the coffee beverage card for $29.95 plus 20% gratuity, which I applied to my on-board credit.

I shared the card with DW and enjoyed the coffee a few afternoons. They still asked for the Seapass card to swipe, and marked "X" on the numbered circles each time.  After 11 days I asked the server if anyone else has purchased this card. "No" , she said, "You're the only one who bought it".  Incidentally, they had a similar card for "crew", but I'm not sure what the cost was.  I'd say this is grossly under-promoted !

Hope this info helps coffee lovers (without a beverage package).

Pricing an 11 day cruise this afternoon

Total without Perks $3,241 for 2 in Concierge balcony.

Option to add 2 perks - Sail Plus: $341 per person ($682 for 2) for a total $3,922

Selected perks:

1. $150 per person OBC = $300 for the cabin

2. Prepaid Tips for 2 - $330 for the cabin

Total "2 Perks - Sail Plus" value $630, costing me $682.

Celebrity is bold enough to state regarding the final quesion: "Pay Gratuities before the cruise"

"Already included in the 2 Perks - Sail Plus package. You saved $330.00 USD"

Did I really SAVE $330 USD?  

Gross misrepresentation in my opinion.  Stay away from Perks scams.

On 9/19/2019 at 10:23 PM, cl.klink said:

 

Paul,

 

Thanks for another excellent review.

 

I did not see, in the schedule above, a Friday night Shabbat service for Jewish guests (and, of course, last week there was no Friday night for you!).  On most cruises I've been on there is a Shabbat service on Fridays at about 5 PM.  I've always found these special and one of our favorite memories of many cruises. I know you may not be Jewish, but is there a way you can find out about what happened?  I've always been tempted to do this very cruise but it never occurred to me that this option for Friday night might not happen.

 

Thanks,

- Joel

 

Paul, I read through the whole blog over two days.  I don't binge watch any TV series, but I'm sure this is what it feels like.  Pages and pages filled with lighthearted narrative and fabulous photos. 

I also wanted to check if you answered Joel's question, so not to repeat and bore your readers.

While the Friday night service for Jewish guests was not listed in the Daily, the electronic board next to Guest Services did show it at 5:30pm at the named conference room. There was a debate regarding the Friday that "did not exist" for us.  The man who volunteered to lead the service in the prior week, Shai, lives in Elkana, Israel. He sent a text to his Rabbi, who advised without hesitation that services should be held on the Thursday evening.  It was a little tricky finding the right conference room on Deck 3 near the Tuscan Grill.  After the renovation the access to the restaurant is a far cry from the original elegant entrance off the mid-ship foyer. I'm sure some folks gave up trying to find the room, but there were services on embarkation day as well as the last Friday.

Oh, and we're also doing the ABC islands in December, but it's the 11 day sailing on the Reflection. (9 days is just too short for us.  My wife dreads getting the disembarkation luggage tags so soon after getting on the ship).

Glad to have finally met you at the Martini bar on the last evening of the cruise. We'll catch up with the blog once we return home tomorrow. 

Onyourmark

And thanks to binbrooklady who knew we were on this cruise and alerted me about the blog.

19 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

Actually there are escalators and elevators to the Ginza Line platforms.

The Ginza Line - and part of the Shibuya Station - are located inside the Tokyu Department store.

You can use their elevators and escalators to get from the lower levels of the station (Minatomirai) to the upper levels (Ginza Line)

The Shibuya station map is very complex and does not show the store.  Do you mean we have to exit the station, enter the store, move up to the floor of the Ginza platform and pay another ticket ?

 https://www.shibuyastation.com/shibuya-station-map-finding-your-way/

12 minutes ago, BruceMuzz said:

Those directions will work (with a few typos corrected). It is the Hanzomon Line, and it is Omote-Sando station.

There is a slightly easier way to do this. Hanzomon Line skips Gaiemmae, but Ginza Line does not.

The Terminus of the Ginza Line is at Shibuya Station.

 

Nihon-Odori Station is about 2 long blocks (mostly down-hill) from Osanbashi Cruise Terminal. Walk out the front door of the terminal, down the hill to the town. You will cross one intersection, walk past a church, and turn right at the next intersection. Nihin-Odori Station is in the middle of the block. 

 

Note: when you board the Minatomirai Line train at Nihon-Odori, ensure that it is an Express Train or a Limited Express.

Express is 急行 or きゅうこうin Japanese. (pronounced kyuukoo)

Limited Express is 特急 or とっきゅうin Japanese (Pronounced tokkyuu)

An Express or Limited Express will get you to Shibuya in about 30 minutes.

A local train 普通 or ふつう (pronounced futsuu) will take you over one hour.

 

When you disembark the MinatoMirai Line in Shibuya, look for signs to the Ginza Line.

Board the Ginza Line train (it is the terminus, so you can only go in one direction).

Unless it is rush hour, the train is not so busy at Shibuya.

The first stop is Omotesando.

The second stop is Gaiemmae.

 

Thanks for the tip.  I'm trying to avoid the transfer in Shibuya to the Ginza line because it involves going from the lowest underground level to the top above-ground level (Ginza line), and there is no escalator or elevator to connect them, as far as I know.  That's why I might find the transfer at Omotesando easier.

We're trying to confirm that the route below is the best for commuting on Sunday September 22 when disembarking from the Millennium to Gaiemmae station in Tokyo:

From Osanbashi Yokohama Cruise Terminal  - Walk to Nihon Odori station -  take MINATOMIRAI Express direction WAKOSHI

Change in Shibuya to Tokyo Metro Hanzomonj line (Z1) for one station to Omoto-Sando (Z2).  Is there an escalator/elevator to the Hanzomon (Z) line one level up from Fukutoshin (F16) ?
At Omoto-Sando change to Ginza line (G2) – on the same level - for one station to Gaiemmae (G3).  Exit 6 from Gaiemmae and walk to our hotel Nippon Seinenkan.

Yes, those are the cards I was asking about.  Sure, they are not "free", but give you a decent discount on the non-alcoholic specialty coffee. 

Only on the Eclipse you say ?  Pity...

Anyone sailing recently on the Millennium - did they offer a "coffee card" at Al Baccio Cafe ?  

This may be an ad-hoc offer on some ships.

Thank you all - the mystery is solved.  I found a sailing with deck 10 balcony cabin, shown as 2C.  Oddly enough, when you select the "deck view" to select a cabin, (the Celebrity site), they use the pre-refurbished deck plan which shows no cabins at all.

1 minute ago, FlorenceItaly said:

It is highly possible Celebrity has not notified the outside TA's and online agencies that this has occurred.  

Even on Celebrity's own website there are no cabins shown as available in 2C or any category.

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

It is reported that they have been reclassified as 2C Veranda Staterooms.

ETA:  Deck plans

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-millennium

Interesting.  However, not one of the websites where you can book a 2C cabin shows any available on deck 10.

9 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Try www.cruisedeckplans.com. They may have more up to date info.

They show deck 10 with the 13 A1 cabins  1000 - 1024.  I  actually checked before posting.

Are there Aqua cabins on deck 10 post-refurbish on Millennium ?  They don't show up as available on any cruise we've looked at.

For a while you could book the 13 new A1 cabins, and one day they just disappears.  I thought maybe one travel agent took them all, but maybe there's another reason.

Did Celebrity mess up building these new cabins with adding the protruding balconies ?

Just curious if someone else has more info.

Following with great appreciation.

We were with you the Eclipse both Baltic and TA to Argentina last year, and actually talked to you at the specialty bar.  We're on the reverse sailing in September.  Would love to know if a Coffee Card is offered at Al Baccio Cafe during your sailing, and how did the "surf" package work out to only $84 with Elite Plus discount ?

After reading reviews about the poor reading lights in the refurbished cabins I picked up a couple of USB portable lamps at CDN $5 a piece

https://www.aa-e.com/usb-portable-lamp.html

When we boarded the Eclipse TA last November we asked about a Coffee Card when someone was selling beverage packages. He said NO - get the non-alcoholic package. Even at the Al Baccio Cafe they said they don't offer it.  After the cruise our friends told us that YES - they bought one, and when it was finished, they bought another one.  We are on the Millennium TP in September and wonder if it will be available for purchase.

We don't drink sodas, and enjoy the specialty coffee at Elite breakfast event.  We'd use the Coffee Card for afternoon and evening.