lawgeek

We're booked in 1138 on Summit the next month or so. Can't wait to opine.

Hope you enjoy 1138, we sure did! I think I slept on the balcony more than the bed!

Thanks for the review. You did most of the excursions I am planning! Fishing, Helicopter dog sledding, rent car for scenic drive. Can't wait!

A similar excursion was recently posted in a trip report by jmdemos. Look above in the 2017 Trip Report List.

I think they used Baranof Fishing ....different vendor but similar experience,

Thanks for the tip Mapleleaves. The excursion jmdemos did is another that I was considering. Similar to the Celebrity one, but not quite as fancy (or expensive!). I'm likely just going to use my own judgment on whether the value is there in having the ship chef prepare the meal for us as opposed to the rustic camp (although that really looks good!). Then I will l go on whichever one my DW says that we are doing!

I am trying to get information on this excursion from anyone who may have done it. The description includes a fishing trip and then preparation of your catch by a Celebrity chef for a private meal experience. We think it sounds fantastic, but since it is pricey, would like to hear other's thoughts (preferably from people who have experienced it).

Thanks!

I am trying to get information on this excursion from anyone who may have done it. The description includes a fishing trip and then preparation of your catch by a Celebrity chef for a private meal experience. We think it sounds fantastic, but since it is pricey, would like to hear other's thoughts (preferably from people who have experienced it). I will be posting same in Alaska board, but posted here as this is a Celebrity exclusive type of excursion.

We have AQ aft in July/August, i'll let you know. Loved my Summit AQ aft to Bermuda, but that had huge deck.

IYou won't be able to do it online though. You can either call them and they can do it on the phone, or they are of course always happy to take more money from you once you're onboard! ;)

I upgraded online using OBC two weeks ago.

As others have said, we waited (:15 - :20) for Blu most nights around 7:00, while on Summit with party of four. On Connie with only two, no wait at similar times. On Equinox, no wait ever with party of four.

Although I am biased (only been in AQ in three CCL sailings), I would choose AQ regardless. Blu is, of course the main attraction, but the other small amenities are also nice. From the shower heads and no fog mirror to a upgraded mattress, there are many nice touches. We have been in AQ on Summit and the deck 11 cabins are relatively new and nicely appointed. I recommend cabin 1138 as a great aft cabin with larger deck.Bermuda is awesome no matter how you go! We would not likely sail CCL if it was not for Blu.

If available, I will order (assuming they are not the same burger patties from mast grill, as I am not into pigs with lipstick)

aaronandanna04:

As many have said here, you can transfer your booking to a TA as long as 60 days has not lapsed from the time you originally booked. This can often result in a "rebate" from the TA in the form of OBC, or sometimes even cash. It will not affect your booking in any way and not cost you anything. The only caveat is you must now deal with your TA if any "issues" arise in you booking.

Another point to remember is that you can change your booking anytime up to the date final payment is due, without penalty. This means if a better deal is offered before that time you can get that deal just by calling Celebrity (or your TA is you have one). A recent example is my July trip where I called Celebrity five days before final payment thinking I could save $100. When i was done, I netted $200 in fare savings and $450 more in OBC ($300 added perk and another $150 for some other reason). Celebrity reps are very helpsul in getting you the best deal available and it is worth it to price it out every now and then.

I found a wire from a scrubber in my food at a local restaurant. They comped my meal, though seriously did not need to. You should have asked them to comp your meal...

I just got off the Millennium May 21st in Vancouver after a 15 day trans-Pacific cruise. There were definitely problems with the food. Shrimp and hot dogs ran out several days before the end of the cruise. Bananas were also in very short supply.

 

The chef also did some strange things with some of the dishes. There was a ceviche appetizer with popcorn in it. I also had the very worst chocolate eclair of my entire life. Other people that we talked with also agreed that the food was sub-par.

Google "ceviche with popcorn" and you will find a multitude of recipes. What is strange for some, is creative for others! I, frankly, would prefer my ceviche without popcorn and vice-versa!

When I upgraded my beverage package online, it gave me the option to pay for it or use OBC. I would image the same is true for excursions. If that is the case, am I missing something here? Are they simply not allowing you to cancel anymore?

That looks like a fun itinerary, should be a blast. Nice to see a good local cruise (for me at least). The overnight in SF should be a blast! There is much to do there. Other ports are great as well. Love seeing Catalina on an itinerary. Its a small but quirky little place that I go to often (already have a July and October trip planned!) September should be great for weather as well for all ports! Enjoy. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

On our last cruise on Constellation, we did not do to well. We play table games, not so much slots. At end of cruise, they had a drawing (we accumulated several tickets playing the tables over the cruise). I won third place in the drawing, which was $200 in house chips (cant cash them in, but can cash winnings in) and wife won first place ($600). She turned that into $700 cash on tables, I turned mine back in! That was about enough to pay off our account on the ship, so a nice win!

I started getting new site on Chrome this weekend. Definitely bugs and changes, but it is a nice looking site. I was able to check in for our next cruise and also able to upgrade to premium beverage using OBC. Have had problems pricing the same cruise and others. This seems to be just bugs that could have been worked out with an extensive Beta. I would imagine it will now be done through trial and error.

I do disagree that Princess has a better site. I was recently looking at cruises there and felt it was archaic and not very intuitive.

As a final update...I held out until 5 days pre final payment date and called in to Celebrity to make another check on pricing. Before calling, I had calculated that I could net $100 extra OBC at that time by paying a little more. Since I was satisfied with that, I intended to have the new rates/perks applied and then pay my balance due.

I'm not really sure what happened, but when I got my final statement, my cruise price was $50 pp less than I could get on the website, I got the extra $300 obc perk (only go big was cost effective at booking) and another mystery $150 obc was added in. Final talley was that my actual total price was $100 more than originally booked for the stateroom (total), but I received an additional $450 OBC ($600 total after adding original on ship booking bonus). Certainly worth the wait and making the phone call! Good job Celebrity!

Coopers Island Nature Reserve - Way off beaten path and on a peninsula that gets very narrow (this is in the St. George side of the island, but the opposite end from the to. You will first come to a very busy beach that seemed very local. If you go to end of road and park, walk past the "gate" which (was just a walk-through barrier to prevent auto/scooter traffic) and walk about a half mile on the little road. You will eventually see the water on the right past a grassy field. There is a beautiful cove with sandy beach and it will likely be near deserted. We shared it with a couple of young girls further down. At one point a jet ski tour stopped by to get wet, but otherwise not a soul. We were told this was Turtle Bay by a local who sent us there. Maps say Turtle Bay is as enter on the other side of the peninsula in a not as nice area and next to the busy beach. We swam laid in the sun and saw turtles (3), so we agree with the local.

I admit that this likely requires a scooter or cab ride (no rental cars on island and not sure if bus gets over there), but well worth the trip if you like beautiful crescent shaped beaches that are nearly vacant. A highlight of our trip for sure.

The following is an article regarding the coroners report. Looks like a natural death. Diving is not unsafe, but many deaths occur with unfit and/or older divers. If you are an infrequent diver, make sure you condition yourself before diving, particularly at an older age. God rest his soul.

http://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/sourced-information/autopsy-performed-diver/

As most posts on here regarding CCL's telephonic service seem to be negative, I would like to tell a quick story about an experience I just had.

With my final payment date due in five days, I decided to make one final look at website and see if I could get a better deal. After some calculation I saw that I could be $100 better off by booking today's rate after considering extra perk ($300 OBC), as my earlier offer only included classic beverage.

I called CCL and spoke with a CSR who ran the numbers and said she could save me what I thought. She told me overall price and I mentioned my prior deposit and she said it would be applied. Whole conversation took 3-4 minutes.

A few minutes later I received my final statement reflecting my payment and changes. I noticed that I actually saved $50 per person over stateroom rates on internet. I did not realize this and it meant my overall benefit over prior was $200 :D. I looked at the total paid and was perplexed that my final payment did not reference my $200 deposit. :confused:

I called back and spoke with a new CSR and explained that I don't think i was credited with my original deposit! He read my summary, and noted my total payment amount, which I agreed was correct, except it does not account for my $200 deposit. He looked at my prior invoice (as I was noting the difference sine that one showed the payment) and tried to explain what the difference was. I was perplexed at why this guy can't see what I see here. After a bit of back and forth it finally dawned on me what he was actual explaining and I was just being very slow. The credit was added in and i was only chaged for the final balance less the deposit. The invoice did not say this, but he did conmfirm the payment. Overall, he was patient, professional and handled my situation perfectly...Kudos to Celebrity CSR's!

Cruisy:

Can't give comparison to club class on Princess as I have not experienced. I can comment on AQ as our July 28, 2017 sailing will be our fourth in AQ and second on a Solstice class ship. AQ was what attracted me to Celebrity in the first place...well that and that first cruise was the first I had seen a booze package available on any cruise line!

AQ is the reason I have shown some loyalty to Celebrity. Our past experience on larger ships was good, but dining was always meh. On one HAL cruise, we resigned ourselves to eating the specialty restaurant Pinnacle Grill as the MDR was not very good (PG was awesome though and cruise was awesome otherwise).

With AQ, we get a small dining venue experience with better than average food. Blu is a great venue and I would hate to cruise without that option. I also love the breakfast in there.

There are also other amenities that we appreciate including the shower and the heated mirror (on most other cruise ships I would have to defog the mirror with hair dryer after every shower). Also, PG is an awesome perk on the S class ships, not so much ***** M class though!

I have been comparing pricing overall with Princess as my final payment is due in a few days, I cannot find what I would consider to be a comparable deal.

If you are sailing on 7/28 on Solstice, please join our Roll Call as it is very lonely in their right now!

I also note that you cannot upgrade unless there is actually a cabin available in the lesser class. For example I received the free upgrade from A2 to A1 on my upcoming cruise. When the price dropped on A2 recently that would make a rebook worthwhile, I could not get the A2 rate as there were no cabins available, only Guaranty category bookings. The A1 rate is higher than what I paid so it was not worthwhile to rebook...yet!

1138 is a real nice cabin and sold me on the aft view! We had it on Summit June 2015 to Bermuda. I slept on the huge deck several times! Enjoy!

As an update...Received another email today saying my reservation had been cancelled, but I could try and save it by contacting Celebrity. This was interesting as The prior email said I had two days left to pay and this was sent not at the end of the day. I called Celebrity and my reservation was intact and pay date still May 14. 2016. Checked to see if I could get better price, but not better than what I have right now, but has come down to about equal, all things considered. Also took the opportunity to make them add my OBC for my on board booking. For some reason it was not on there. Now I have a confirmation with pay date and OBC on it. Celebrity rep had no explanation for emails, but said he was going to ask a supervisor why they were being sent. I was actually going to pay today, but after my call I decided to wait. Even if there was aproble the neighboring cabins are available and essentially the same (i.e. A1 aft). I will update with any changes and thank you all for chiming in. It really helps to have info from several sources!