onyourmark

1 hour ago, FateHappens said:

We enjoyed a fantastic cruise on the Eclipse from Barcelona to Buenos Aires.  The only negative experience was on the last day of the cruise.  I reported the issue to Celebrity after returning home, but was rebuffed, as if my concerns were unfounded.  I am not seeking retribution or reimbursement, but felt Celebrity needed to be aware of the unfortunate circumstances we encountered.

I would appreciate input from people who disembarked in Buenos Aires at the conclusion of the Celebrity Eclipse cruises beginning on 11/23/18 or 12/9/18. 

Could you please tell me how long the ride was on the shuttle bus from the ship to the terminal where luggage was collected?   For example, were you on the bus for 5 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.

Thank you in advance.  Paula

I recall it was around 15 minutes as the bus had to exit the area where the ship docked, pass through a number of gates and out of the port area, through some streets, and then back into a secure area to the main terminal.  It was fairly well organized.  The first groups disembarked in a good pace, then around group #16 there was a delay of some 20  - 30 minutes.

We were in group 22, and disembarked about 11:15am.  Our luggage was at the terminal,  and it appeared that all the remaining luggage groups were also ready on the floor.  We had to put the suitcases through a screening machine before exiting the terminal.  Do you need more info about getting a taxi to your hotel ?

Norma, thank you for the detailed accounts. I am reading every post with great interest, as we are coming on for the crossing to Buenos Aires.  The daily program shows "Taj X on 5" under causal dining. Any idea what it means?

Is Elizabeth Captain Club hostess still on board to BA ?  Check if there are any changes coming to the program levels, as I heard from someone on the Solstice mention it.

onyourmark

I used to be able to view double the number of posts per page viewed.  Cuts down on navigation.  Has the feature been eliminated ?

How about the Preview of a post before submitting it,  so I can make sure the formatting of a "cut and paste" segments shows correctly ?

Update - after speaking to the travel agent, it turns out that the $300 OBC is coming from them, and not from Celebrity, as previously indicated. So that's actually better for me, because this is a "refundable" OBC. I am unable to use it towards the current sale, but there wasn't much there for me anyways.

So I get the email today about the Flash Sale for onboard purchases like internet, drink packages, spa etc. Of course internet 20% discount is not stackable with elite 30% discount...which really is the stupidest thing ever. If I have a drink package the elite cocktail hour is pointless for me, and can’t even get more than a measly 10% extra off the internet than a newbie. So why bother even having a loyalty program? If they’re going to undermine all the earned perks of loyalty they may as well just scrap Captains Club entirely. There is clearly minimal benefit sticking with this line.

I was on Anthem Of The Seas in February. They offered a special price for unlimited internet for the last 4 days of the cruise at around $56. Diamond level members (=Elite on Celebrity) get one day free internet as a benefit. They were able to apply the full value of one day use ($22) against the price of the special, or net cost of $34. (amounts are approximate). I did that using my remaining OBC. The point is Elite members should get the "full value of the benefit", paying 70% of the discounted price. Celebrity will make a lot more money by having many more Elite members using the internet on board beyond the free allowance.

Please clarify if OBC was a part of your of your original booking as an included Perk or not?

 

If not, then no issue, if so refer to your reservation confirmation and have X sort it out.

 

bon voyage

It was part of my original booking as an included perk. Until yesterday it was showing on my Cruise Planner,

on the top right just left of the "CART".

Today it's gone !

Until yesterday I had $300 OBC from Celebrity as part of my Baltic cruise booking. Today, just as I was ready to use them towards some excursion on sale May 11 - 14, my OBC are no longer showing in my Cruise

Planner. Called Celebrity and was told - no OBC, but admitted there are having "issues" with their system.

Anyone else having a similar problem ?

There is no "next one up". The Premium package has a price ceiling of $13 for all alcoholic drinks and you pay the difference plus 18% gratuity for drinks priced above $13 - a $15 glass of wine with the Premium package would cost an additional $2.36.

 

They changed the Classic up-charge policy sometime in 2016 when they changed the Classic price ceiling to $9 for all alcoholic drinks. You now only pay the difference plus the associate 18% gratuity - a $12 martini will cost you an additional $3.54.

Got it ! Thanks for the update. We have the classic package on the upcoming Baltic cruise June 17, so it's good to have the current rules. Is it still possible to upgrade to Premium for the last 4 days of the cruise, for one of the two people in the cabin ?

Thanks for posting the menus,,,easy to read,!

We'll give the Kingston a try,,.

Would the Aspen be only a dollar upcharge? We really enjoy it...but Kingston also sounds nice,.

From what I heard, the upcharge is only from the premium package to the next one up, whatever the name is. If you have a classic package, you pay the full cost of the drink if it is not included in the package. Anyone else has actual experience in this situation ?

Sent from my SM-T560NU using Forums mobile app

I used to be able to get the Aspen Coffee with the Classic package, but it looks like all the "spirited" coffees are above the limit.

What's your experience ?

Could you post a couple of pictures from the diamond Lounge breakfast setup ? Is there diamond hapy hour on embarkation day ? We will be on the February 25th sailing.

Your clothes are perfect. Even formal night was more casual than formal. We were onboard around 11:15, were given a glass champagne and we were off to the buffet! Parking is $20.00 a day, and is right across the street from the terminal. We live on Staten Island so were dropped off but my neighbor used the garage. No problems. I believe it is indoor parking so the car will be okay! Any other questions feel free to ask.

We parked on level 4 (out of 5) and were at the end of the covered area. The rest of level 4 and level 5 were not covered. There is staff to explain to you about parking before you get to the parking gate. You take the ticket (sometime the guy pressed the button and gives it to you so you don't have to extend your hand too far). You take it with you on the cruise and remember where you put it because you need it to pay the parking fee after the cruise. There are a few pay stations just outside the entrance. If you pay cash, the machine does not take $100 bills. The credit card machine did not require any chip pin to be entered. You get the printed receipt and the validated parking ticket which you need to insert when you exit.

The $20/day parking charge includes all taxes and fees.

We're also just back from the 9 day cruise. We had some minor issues with the cabin. Seon, our friendly steward, made some calls and followed up to ensure the issues were gone. TV satellite service was spotty for several days. Guest relations apologized and said it's being worked on. Select dining reservation system is flawed so best to make reservations before the cruise. The Captain Club hostess Rati was eager to help with many issues.

The comments here by the frequent Celebrity cruisers are accurate. No cruise line can get a perfect score, and I'm happy with 80+ % for what I'm paying.

Back from our trip. We ended up getting 3 day Amsterdam Travel Card and then a 2 day Amsterdam and Region Travel Ticket (used to visit Zaanse Schans, Haarlam, Zanvoort aan Zee,Keukenhof), and and a 1 day GVB pass for the final rainy day to do museums and Indische Buurt district.

Two mishaps: Stepping out of the tram in Centraal I missed a step and fell on the asphalt, badly bruised right hand and cut my palm on the steel tram track. Taken by ambulance to hospital and required 8 stitches. No payment was requested and everyone was very nice.

Some stations like Amstel have both Metro and Rail tracks on the same platform. I checked out on the rail platform while my pass was a GVB only. I was then unable to exit the station and was "trapped". I managed to exit the gate behind another person and went to Information booth to have the pass "fixed" to show proper exit. He said it happens hundreds of times a week.

Thank you Ine. I just didn't want to buy the ticket at Centraal, and then not being able to exit in Sloterdijk.

Don't I have to do this with the card reader to get through the turnstile /gate ?

I will arrive in Amsterdam on a cruise, staying at the Urban Lodge hotel near Sloterdijk tration station. I was considering buying the Amsterdam Travel Ticket for 3 days at Amsterdam Centraal train station. It is not clear from the website (link here) if it covers unlimited train travel between Centaal and Slogerdijk, because I'm not taking the train all the way to Schiphol station.

https://en.gvb.nl/amsterdam-travel-ticket

Will the ticket allow me to exit at Sloterdijk ? Will I be able to travel from Sloterdijk back to Centraal ?

Going on the TA April 23. Can you let me know who the Captain and Cruise Directors are and if they're staying on for the Transatlantic sailing ?

We were in 3114 on the May 22 sailing.

See my review here (including comments about the cabin)

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=535666

We had cabin 3114 on May 22-29 sailing. The door is facing the double door entry to the corridor. Very quiet area. Large window is about 6 ft. diameter.

Excellent lighting in the cabin. Toilet fixture somewhat taller that elsewhere (i.e. shorter people may find that their feet don't reach the floor when seated.

Shower curtain tends to wrap around your body. My solution is taking one of the hangers from the closet (with two silver clips) and attach it (upside down) to the bottom of the shower curtain to add weight.

Our bathroom sink was draining very slowly when we arrived, but they fixed it quickly. We were also told the safe is a newer model in this cabin.

Hi, can someone help me with understanding what "premium coffees" are included in the classic and premium drink packages? Some in this thread have mentioned using their package at Caffe al bacio, but the celebrity website isn't clear as to what is actually included in their plans regarding espresso/coffee drinks at al bacio? Any insight is appreciated!

Thanks!

We just returned from the May 22 sailing and enjoyed the classic package.

Everything at the Caffe Al Baccio was covered by the package (under $8).

Natalia provded flawless service even late in the day (open to midnight).

We tried Aspen Coffee, Cafe Ole (both with alcohol) as well as Americano, Cappuccino and of course the pastries, which tasted better here than elsewhere on the ship.

Stateroom 3120 is one of the new staterooms that they added on Summit during its refurb in 2012 (cabins 3112 to 3144). This area used to be the old conference center so each stateroom has a huge window. It's a connecting cabin, but you will like the location on the ship. It's got it's own passageway, and is in a very quiet area on the ship.

 

We sailed in 3112 and will be in 3114 this coming weekend. We love these OV staterooms.

We are in 3114 on the May 22nd sailing. Your comments in this Forum were very helpful to me when I booked (two weeks ago before prices shot up).

I think you are going again on June 5, which we were considering, but the timing worked better for us for May 22nd. (attending a wedding in NJ May 29th).

I would have liked to meet you and Maureen again. We sailed with you (and a huge roll call) on the Reflection Transatlantic in 2013 (our first). We enjoyed it so much that we did TA for the next 2 years. Repeated on the Reflection in 2014 and then Allure of the Seas in 2015.

Pretty good view - 9727 would have cleared some of the "sails".

We are on the Allure October Westbound TA in Boardwalk Balcony 8727 (second from aft). Is this the first Westbound for the Allure ?

To what extent will the Aquatheatre backstage sets and video screens obstruct our view of the ocean ? What about sun and wind ?

Are you sailing on the Allure TA from Barcelona October 25 ?

I think you are on the roll call there.

My cousin in White Plains has vertigo so I'm sure she'll find this thread helpful.

onyourmark