Baynanno1

Living close to the port of Brisbane, as an Australian citizen the poster would be able to contact Consumer Affairs. Choice Magazine would probably also show interest in the appalling situation.

For bookings made after July 11, 2023, the automatic gratuity rate for all stateroom categories will increase and the charge per person will be added to the room account each day. $18.00 USD per person, per day for inside, ocean view, and veranda staterooms. $18.50 USD per person, per day for Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms. $23.00 USD per person, per day for guests of The Retreat.

Agreed, IF the booking was made after 4 October 2023. Much of the angst on this subject is from those who booked prior to 4 October 2023 and rightly so : * they did not receive any direct communication about the change to their booked cruise/s from Celebrity. * they are not getting all they paid for when they booked the cruise/s. * there was no reduction in their cruise fare to offset the inclusions they no longer would receive.

Blame the delay at the Port of Benoa, Bali on all those thoughtless people who didn't bother to arrange their visas for Bali before boarding! It took several days between Sydney and Bali for the 1500 who boarded our October cruise without their visas to get them sorted. Perhaps it is time to actually deny boarding as stated by Celebrity (but not enforced) for anyone who fronts up without all their required documentation!

Similar on the reverse cruise in October, when no less than 1500 cruisers arrived to board without the required Bali Visa! I don't know why people don't read what is sent out with their documents. As of May 2022, Australians have required a tourist visa to enter Bali for periods of 30 days or less, so nothing new there. Enjoy your cruise!

Occasionally tours and times are copied and pasted from a previous cruise to the new cruise without taking any notice of the actual arrival and departure times of the ship on the new cruise. There seems to be a lack of "proof readers" before information is printed.

Please everyone who reads this - select your boarding time from those available and show up at that time. There have been comments in so many threads suggesting people just rock on up whenever they want to. Boarding times are staggered for a very good reason - to avoid the absolute chaos at the Sydney Overseas Passenger Terminal in October. We arrived at our boarding time 1130, and were amazed to see a massive crowd - about half the passengers had arrived there before us! When we eventually made it on to the ship after several mis-directions, we were able to drop our carry on and pick up keycards, but rooms were not finished. Ours was finished in the evening after dinner. At the other end of the cruise we had to vacate our rooms by 7.30am, not as in the past 8am. That allows 4 hours for a stateroom attendant to turn over between 15 and 19 rooms single handed.

Your mom needs to put her hand in her pocket for whatever you are left out of pocket as a result of both areas I have highlighted in your post. Good luck! I hope you are able to relax and enjoy your cruise.

Thinking about doing that. We are still waiting, having again been advised "it is being processed" Celebrity could take a lesson from Link Airways - I had a flight cancelled - rebooked 24 hours later. Overnight accommodation covered and refund for dinner and breakfast in my account half an hour after submitting the request!

I was simply quoting some of our recent experience. December 2022 on Eclipse out of Sydney was excellent. October 2023 on Solstice out of Sydney was not the same : Boarding last year was very smooth, this year it was chaotic because check-in was opening later than in the past and many people chose to ignore their allocated check-in times. IF people stick to boarding times, yes it is very smooth. (little word - big meaning.) I don't know whether you have seen any of the numerous posts that mention their room attendants having to look after 15 to 19 rooms single handed - that's a lot of rooms to "turn over" in just a few hours between cruises. Our Room Attendant / Retreat Host was good, although our room was not finished after dinner on embarkation day. We were lucky to not be on one of the ships on which Sky Suite passengers are now required to fetch drinks and stock their own refrigerators (although we had gone prepared with a cooler bag). Also our Head Butler was very visible, continuing to perform the usual duties rather than be "invisible" in an office, unlike reports from other ships. I could say a lot more, but the topic is check-in time, so will leave it, simply saying there were many areas where reduced staffing on our October 2023 cruise on Solstice was obvious compared to December 2022.

In recent experience, check-in time starts later and out of room on the last day is earlier so that the reduced number of staff have time to turn the rooms over for the next cruise. Unfortunately many people ignore their allocated check-in time which can result in chaos at the terminal - we experienced that when about half the passengers all decided to front up as early as possible - well before the ship was cleared and open for check-in.

Good review, thanks. @hcat our first night on Solstice recently the Roasted Turbot was served in a bowl in smallish pieces swimming in a creamy sauce - rather like soup. Subsequently we asked for detailed descriptions of meals we were considering before ordering. Sauce was served in a jug.

NO - unfortunately it is not a stretch - all entertainment areas were well above the maximum safe level of 85 dB - frequently 95 to 100 and up to 110 on our recent cruise. 5.15pm brackets were the only ones we were able to almost enjoy, usually not exceeding 90. We were told by the Musical Director that they were under instruction from Miami to ramp up the sound after the first bracket. Occupational Health and Safety??? I really feel for the crew who have to work for extended periods in those areas. As cruisers we have lost some of our previous enjoyment, but at least we are able to leave an area where the sound level is dangerous to one's hearing. **Apologies for being off topic, but I couldn't let the post to which I responded go without comment.

Should be no problem trading bubbly for wine.

We have been waiting a lot longer than 14 or even 45 or 60 days! Yes, we have been in touch more than once and have been assured it is "being processed."

If your cruise includes a stop at Bali, you will be asked to show your visa at the time of embarkation, regardless of whether you are getting off the ship or staying onboard during the stop. As this visa is only valid for 30 days, I would advise to do it not more than a couple of weeks before the cruise. (there is not an option to choose less than 30 days) The website has been improved a little. When we did ours prior to the October 19 cruise, the instructions for uploading photos were found under the photo spaces as "Terms and Conditions" The instructions and examples are now visible on the application page without having to search. Once the passport photo has been uploaded, wait until it is approved before moving on - most of the information on the passport will automatically load. Likewise, once the personal photo (following dimension requirements - not quite the same as passport photos) has been uploaded, wait until it is approved before moving on. Accommodation is the ship. Address - simply enter the postcode 80222 and the rest will fill automatically. At the end of the page don't forget to "save" otherwise it's back to square one. I believe they will only accept Mastercard or Visa, not Amex.

@Jim_Iain "I'm really surprised of the Up-charge for a Filet in Luminae." @bnurick "Hey Jim, I agree the filet charge feels inappropriate given the price per day for The Retreat and we have the same concern for our upcoming Beyond sailing." @DaKahuna "As with @Jim_Iain I am surprised to hear about the off menu order of a filet in Luminae results in an additional charge." We have just completed 15 nights on Solstice. Filet Mignon was on the menu twice (about a week apart) in Luminae at no extra charge.. Once a week was enough for me, as I like variety each day. Others may disagree, but I feel that if one is ordering from another venue, any item with a charge noted on that day's menu for that venue, it is reasonable to expect to pay that charge. On the other hand, I absolutely agree I would be unhappy if an upcharge appeared on the Luminae menu. I ordered my lunch and dinner at breakfast each day (food allergy) and was accommodated well. My orders throughout the cruise were probably about 50/50 Luminae/MDR. On one occasion nothing was either safe or appealing as an appetiser, so our excellent server Budi arranged a special salad made to order containing all the ingredients we requested.

We always put in our request for the bed to be split with a side table in between prior to boarding - this allows the room to be made up as we want it and the stateroom attendant doesn't have to spend time undoing work to reset the room on the busy turn around day.

As I said in an earlier post : ** By 1pm, anyone whose boarding time was later, was removed from the queue.

I wish I had a photo that was the chaos at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney on 19 October, when about half the passengers arrived before the ship had even been cleared for boarding. Quite unlike 3 previous Sydney departures which were quite orderly as people stuck at least close to their assigned times. Ignoring one's assigned time as has been suggested by several here predisposes to potential chaos which assigned times are designed to avoid. ** By 1pm, anyone whose boarding time was later, was removed from the queue.

We are currently at sea off the Australian coast in a Sunset Sky Suite on day 4 of our cruise from Sydney to Singapore. At this point in time, given what we had read prior to the cruise of the experience of others on other ships - we have been pleasantly surprised by the regular presence of our Head Butler Dominic, who we have seen at least once each day - often more than once. We brought a cooler bag with us, but have not required it. Our fridge has been stocked and re-stocked with all we require, water and dry ginger ale. Also a small jug of fresh milk daily for our early morning tea - kettle and teabags were provided on request. I will post again if there is anything to add during the next eleven days. Trish

Beyond belief - it seems that about half the current passengers either did not know or did not care about the visas - and were allowed to board without them. I guess half the complement of passengers is a few too many to leave at the dock in Sydney! On top of their usual work load, some crew have been bending over backwards to help all those people obtain their visas and some of those cruisers are apparently unhappy it is taking crew so long to sort out what they should have done prior to boarding IF they had bothered to read all the pre-cruise documents. Give them a break!! For some who have still not managed to obtain their visas, Celebrity has arranged (at heaven only knows what cost) for Indonesian Customs and Immigration officials to board in Darwin and travel with us to Bali.

Check "terms and conditions" under the spaces for passport and personal photo and ensure your shots comply. All the information you need is on the last few pages of the Roll Call for this cruise starting tomorrow :

Thanks for that warning!

It seems that those in USA get their refunds a lot faster than those "down under." We have been waiting now for a couple of months. Phone calls made and assured it is being processed . . . . . .