bonedoc7

Go jays go!!!

Me too, sometime ago I did read there was one in Florida, but no name was given

I always book directly with the cruise company. I like having control over my bookings and I always keep track of prices. I have no problem waiting on hold if it's going to save me $ or get me new perks. In the past, I would receive major attitude from TAs every time I called to see about price reductions or new promotions (after doing dummy bookings and all the research anyways). on our last cruise, I managed to get my SIL's final balance owing go from $1700 to a balance owing of $120. Only took me 45 min on hold. I just now make sure when I have the cruise company give me a quote, it's in Canadian dollars. I don't even worry about the U.S. Equivalent. I make my decision based on our budget availability at the time.

Would be really disappointed if this new change doesnt work out. Was so excited when i read that a raw bar was on board. Would gladly pay an up charge to have fresh seafood towers for lunch

Thanks for all the opinions! I think we agree with the location location and location aspects of this trip. I did look into renting an apartment for this trip but decided against it, regardless of what it may save in $$. I know what would happen - I would be stuck making breakfast and lunch and end up cleaning up after 5 other people. I am looking forward to the coffee and pastries in a piazza watching the world go by and not having to do dishes.

Was hoping someone could offer advice, opinions. We will be in Rome next August for three days prior to our cruise. I currently have two hotels booked. We are traveling myself, husband, two kids 18&20, and possibly their friends. I currently have the St Regis booked, two rooms for two adults each. If the friend decide to join us, i made sure the rooms can accommodate 4 adults, although we would have to pay an additional $95 per extra adult. We have previously stayed there and loved it, although, it really was quite a hike to most places, but the hotel and service was wonderful. Just found a B&B right by the pantheon and booked two rooms there. The B&B is called, The Pantheon View B&B. i managed to get two rooms, one that sleeps 5 and one for my husband and i. Both with direct views of the Pantheon. According to reviews, the only negative was the breakfast was lacking - not an issue in this case since the St Regis doesnt include breakfast anyways. I love the idea of being close to the action and walking distance to piazzas for cocktails, but i also like being taken care of with great service and already know we love the St Regis. Question # 1. Has anyone ever stayed at this particular B&B, pros and cons would be great. # 2. If you had the choice between a 5star hotel away from the action or a 3 star boutique in the middle of it all, what would you choose.

Our cruise last year with celebrity I book when our dollar was at par. At that point I wasn't concerned about the dollar and didn't think to have them quote us in Canadian. Two years later when final payment was due, we ended up paying an additional $3000 or so just for the exchange rate - it was a hard pill to swallow. Luckily, the difference didn't prohibit us from going. For our cruise next year, I booked in Canadian currency and will do so going forward regardless of the rate. I never want to experience that feeling of paying more. I realize it can always go the other way, but I not a huge gambler.

You can find them in your calendar, itinerary. Look under dining and you can usually find the alcoves in there. At sea and at port are listed separately. I did have a hard time booking more than one at a time. I ended up booking on under my husband, one under my daughter and one under my name. I had tried to book the three different dates at the same time, but for some reason the system wouldn't let me. I think you go under cruise planner. I am trying to access my booking to give you exact info, but apparently both our reservations are being modified.

It would be listed separately since the pricing is different. Alcoves at port and alcoves at sea. They are cheaper during port days. I guess if you can't see them, they might be sold out

We are sailing August 2016 and I have already booked out alcove for the sea days. I booked it online without any issues. Look under your calendar and I believe you can find alcoves in the dining section. Good luck

Good afternoon!

As promised this weekend, here is another photo album, this time from Celebrity Reflection.

http://gallery.cruisecritic.com/ships/celebrity-reflection-621/

We've got 2,500+ photos (including 575 from cabins!). I adore the panoramas -- especially of the Reflection Suite (a gal can dream...)

In case you missed it, we also were on Celebrity Eclipse recently, and here are photos from that sailing, as well.

http://gallery.cruisecritic.com/ships/celebrity-eclipse-413/

We hope you enjoy the galleries.

Cheers!

Colleen

Thank you so much for sharing these! Love it. 406 days until we board, and as you can, we are counting down the days!

I couldn't read through all the comments, so many responses that provided no useful information and lots of judgement. Celebrity will ensure your requests. I know when I was just a fetus, smoking and drinking Martinis was perfectly acceptable. When i was pregnant with my first, sushi was not listed as a no no. We learn and we progress. Who knew that a simple Caesar salad (with the proper recipe of raw egg yolk) could actually be a health risk. Ask your questions, request your special menu with the servers, speak with the concierge to ensure that you are in fact comfortable with what you are eating. Pregnancy is hard enough without the worry. Enjoy your cruise! Have fun! Sleep in as much as you can, you'll appreciate it soon enough.

We didnt have any issues leaving with drinks with maritza. We did have a situation (long story) where our daughter ended up in tears leaving the bridge. Maritza had the captain not only visit our table during dinner to personally invite our daughter on a date, with dad of course, but send her flowers as well. She looked after flowers and cake for my sil (who was in an ocean view stateroom) to celebrate her birthday only because we felt it was important. Out of our group, my husband and i were the only ones with access to michaels, but she made sure to have the entire group feel special and worked hard to take care of us. We had planned to celebrate our sons 18th birthday on royal, but after maritza, we had to book with celebrity for his cruise as well. Really hoping shes on for our cruise!

Maritza did respond and all requests are being taken care of!:D

We had Maritza in July. We thought she was wonderful! She went way above and beyond for our family, even for those not in suites but in our group. We just booked our next cruise for August 2016 on the Reflection, we would love to see her again, although chances are she would have moved on by then.

Looking forward to the review. We just booked August 2016 reflection for our next cruise. Can't wait to read all about it!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We had 7 bags total for our family of 5 and then plus our carryon. The only bag that we "checked" was the garment bag holding our formal wear. We each had a duffle bag that has wheels and second separated bottom compartment. We basically used that one for all our clothes and shoes. It's a good size, and holds quite a bit - I think the lightest one was 49 pounds. We definitely over packed and didn't need half the clothes we brought. The last suitcase was a regular size one that held formal shoes, first aid kit (thankfully only needed the band aids ) my little pharmacy and anything else that we might need. The remaining bags were tagged and picked up each day, placed under the bus and then delivered to our rooms at the next hotel. The one we indicated for cruise only followed us through the tour and if necessary I am sure we could have asked for it. On the bus, we had our carry ons. We could leave anything on the bus and it was secure, so you didn't have to lug it around while visiting or going for lunch.

I packed using extra packing cubes/bags, one for socks, pjs, tees etc. this way, it was easier to find the smaller items since we were living out of suitcases.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We wore running shoes and flip flops the entire trip. We really didn't do any real hiking so left our hiking boots at home. We did luck out with the weather and it was pretty dry for the most part. We each brought 2-3 pairs of running shoes so in case it did rain (hard), we had a back up.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We definitely thought the dinner was worth it. One of the best steaks I have ever had, and I have had many!! I don't remember what excursions for Alyeska were offered, we weren't planning on doing one, so didn't take notice. I can ask my family to see if they remember.

In regards to the clothing casual is accepted everywhere. The boys wore jeans to the dinner in aleyska and that was the fanciest place we ate. Layers are definitely needed for the trip, cool in the morning, but by the afternoon warm. We also had some rain, so wind/rain jacket is needed

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

We just returned from our Alaskan cruise. We were in a suite and had access to Michaels club. We had not planned on using the club since there four different staterooms in our group, and really had no desire to sit there without the rest of our group. As it turned out, Michaels club ended up being a great part of our vacation. We loved having the dedicated concierge, who although had business hours was on call 24 hours a day. It was a great place to relax with a drink or arrange for a special tour. Maritza, took care of us like we were family. She included our entire family and went out of her way for all of us to have a special cruise regardless of the stateroom booked (sent flowers and cake to my sister in law on her birthday). I found that the butler and concierge over lapped in some aspects, but everyone was just trying to make sure we had a great experience. We booked a suite for our next cruise solely based on our experience in Michaels. I have to say, I don't ever recall seeing any food in there, but we were basically able to get any drink we wanted.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Well, unfortunately, I am going to have to do the land tour portion by memory. I know I kept the itinerary that they gave us at the beginning, I just can't seem to find it at the moment. I will probably find it when I am packing for my next trip.

Anchorage (Sunday),

We arrived at 2 pm. You make your way towards the baggage claim and you will find a celebrity rep who will direct you where you bags will be coming out. Once you identify your bags, there is a luggage cart that everything goes on. You really don't have to worry about your bags for the rest of the tour. We arrived at the Marriott Downtown Anchorage by 3:10 pm. There is another celebrity rep checking you in and handing out room keys. We also signed up for information sessions with our guide. There were four guides and four buses for the group, I am assuming that we were all doing the 5B tour, since we all went to the same locations and hotels at the same time. The information sessions were for 3, 4, 5 and 6. We signed up for the 4 pm session. Our tour guide was James. We went to our rooms. We had three rooms for our group, ours, the kids and the grandparents. We were always given rooms side by side. Once in our rooms, it really only took about 15 minutes to get our luggage. It was a little confusing at first, since right off the bus, they had no idea which Ferguson was in which room. We helped the Bell boy organize and then went down to our session. At the session James introduced himself and gave us the itinerary for the week (which I know I will find it in October on our way to Berlin!) and the available excursions for the week. He also gave us luggage tags, so they can identify each different set of Fergusons. We were given two different types of tags, one that will follow you throughout the tour, will be delivered to your room each stop. The other one is for anything you want to store for the cruise only. We packed all our formal wear in one suitcase which we didn't see again until the last night. James was very nice. We filled out our excursion forms right there. We knew which ones we wanted and apparently they can sell out. We decided on the glacier flight in Talkeenta (expensive, especially for a family of 5, but well worth it!) White water rafting in Denali (there is also a float excursion that you do the same rapids (category 2,3 & one 4) but someone is rowing for you. The dinner theatre, also in Denali (really a lot of fun, bbq style dinner that was good enough) and then we upgraded to the Tundra 8 hour tour, also in Denali. The good thing about the tour, James organized our excursions so that they didn't overlap. With the days being so long, we were able to white water raft at 9 pm.

Once the session was over, we went back to the rooms, changed and then headed out to explore Anchorage. We had dinner reservations at Glacier Brewhouse, which was a good thing, since it is a busy place. I would say, it was not what I expected. I was expecting a small (ish) pub style rustic restaurant. It ended up being a very large country/modern restaurant. The beer was excellent, our food was good. We then went back to the hotel to bed.

If I remember correctly, our bags needed to be outside the door by 6:00 am and we were departing at 7:30. Luggage was picked up promptly at 6:00.

Talkeetna (Monday)

We met at the lobby for our group. All four groups were waiting to depart to go to the train. Like I mentioned before, there were four buses. Approx 35 people per bus (with a capacity of 55, so lots of room). We did leave at 7:30 and departed for the train station. Unfortunately, just before we got to the train station, it turned out that the train needed to be fixed. We waited on the bus just outside the area of the train until the brakes were fixed. We were about an hour delayed, so not a real issue. The train was incredible. We were all seated in the top part, and then they would come by, row by row and invite us down for breakfast (added cost). We really didn't have to worry about saving seats or lining up to get seats at breakfast (it was delicious!), we just needed to wait our turn. I would say, that since we were late, I think we went a little faster on the train, so it was sometimes hard to see things, but everything about the ride was amazing.

When we arrived at Talkeetna, the bus was waiting for us. We went to the little town of Talkeetna to explore and have lunch. Great little place. We had a few hours in town and then drove to the hotel. Our rooms were ready for 5 pm. We stayed at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. It was a very nice resort like hotel. That evening we did the Flight seeing - amazing! We did have dinner at the hotel once we arrived back from our excursion, and it was a very pleasant experience. The next morning, we had a little more time. I think bags out by 9, and departure by 11:00.

Denali (Tuesday and Wednesday)

We left the hotel promptly at 11, on our way to Denali. About 5 minutes into our journey, our bus broke down, well at least an engine light went on. They called back all the other buses and we met at a gas station. They divided our bus between the other three. We joined Paul's bus. Paul was also a very nice guy. Funny, they each had the same little side jokes, told slightly different. The trip to Denali was a little more stressful for us. Since we no longer had James with us, or any way to contact him, we weren't sure about the timing for our excursions. We had three booked for the two days, but didn't quite know what time. We had planned on stopping in the little town of Denali (near the princess lodge). We really only had 1.5 hours here, and found everything a bit rushed. James ended up not going to the town, but went straight to the lodge, so we felt a little displaced. Once we got to the lodge, Denali Park Village, we managed to find James and got our excursion times. At first glance, I was not impressed with the hotel. The main lobby was nice enough, but the rooms were scattered throughout the property. When we entered our room, it was dark and muggy. We opened the windows and put on the fan. The kids room lock was broken, and they were not able to enter their room. We all changed in our room (we only had 20 minutes before the white water rafting excursion picked us up) and we called to have the kids room fixed. My inlaws had no interest in the excursion, although they would have loved the float one and we would have been together. They stayed behind to make sure the door was fixed and to have dinner. We arrived back at the resort by 10:45 and quickly went to get dinner at the restaurant. We managed to arrive at 10:55 and were given attitude (kitchen closed at 11) The bar area served appetizers and pizza until midnight, so we were expecting to sit there. The hostess (which I think was the manager) gave us the attitude, but still sat us in the main dining area (which all flows into the bar area). The servers were amazing. Everyone else at the hotel was great.

Next morning, our tundra tour was for 8 am. It is a small bus that holds 55 people. There were 54 of us on the tour. You really do spend the full time on the same bus. The seats were crowded and uncomfortable. Thankfully, we do stop every couple of hours for a stretch and bathroom break. The ride in, was amazing - we saw caribou, mountain goats (apparently, they were on the other side of our bus) and lots of bears! It really was amazing. The only animal we did not get to see was moose. Our ride back down, was a little more restless and tiring. We all took turns falling asleep. We arrived back at the resort at 4 and explored a little. It really grew on me. We were in the newer section where there was a grocery store (sold coffee and home made donuts, plus other necessities) a bar, a little chapel and some souvenir shops. Once we forgot about calling it a resort, but thought of it as a camp ground, I ended up loving the place. We had some wings, beer and potato skins at the bar next to our room (not in the main building) and it was great. We left for the dinner theatre. It was family style bbq, loud, rowdy and fun. The food was good enough and we were entertained.

Alyeska (Thursday)

Thursday was the longest day for travel. I think we Denali by 9 and arrived in Anchorage for lunch time. We only really had 2.5 hours in Anchorage. We decided to use some of the time to get to a liquor store to buy wine for the cruise. Unfortunately, my mother in law took a nasty fall on our way to buy wine. Thankfully just scrapes and bruises, no broken bones. We brought her to a rest room and cleaned her up then went to buy our wine. We had lunch at a pizza place called Fat Ptarmigan. Great place to have a quick lunch, amazing pizza. We told our server we only had an hour and she got the job done. Highly recommend it.

We met the bus and drove the rest of the way to Alyeska. The resort was wonderful. They give you Tram tickets, and even if you don't have reservations for the restaurant, its worth the ride up. There is a hiking trail that you can climb all the way, which would have been great if we had known about it. Dinner was amazing. I would say, be prepared to spend about $75-$100 each. Our wine choice is a little more pricey, so we spent $125 each.

There is a wine store in the resort, so I wouldn't go out of my way in Anchorage to find a liquor store, wait until you are in Alyeska.

Seward (Friday)

We received all our luggage, including our formal wear. At this point, we were told to put our cruise tags on. Bags out by 7 (?) and we didn't see the bags again until our stateroom on the cruise. We had breakfast at the starbucks and then left for Seward. It was a short drive, about 2 hours. We went to the Sea life centre. Walked through it quickly, we really only had two hours in Seward and I think we were all anxious to get on the ship. We arrived at the cruise ship around 2:15. The check in process was amazingly quick and staterooms were ready by the time we boarded. Unfortunately, we didn't receive our luggage until after sail away (just our room, others received it before dinner), so I would recommend wearing something that you feel comfortable wearing to dinner just in case.

It really was an amazing trip. In the end, our view on things. It was a busy week, with lots of travel. Even though we didn't have to worry about our luggage, you were living out of the luggage for the week, so pack with that in mind. I am glad we did the land portion first, I couldn't imagine how tired we would be if it was after the cruise. Recommendations, if anyone with Celebrity is reading, it would have been nice if we were able to make suggestions for our hotel rooms (ie, connecting rooms, king bed etc) Also, in some of the buses, we saw other teens / kids. It would have actually been nice, if we were divided with that in mind. We had a great group, it just would have been nice if the kids would have been able to meet other kids while on the land tour. I guess, I would feel sorry for the one couple that got stuck with a whole bunch of families, but for our situation, the kids would have loved it. You will have a great time! :D

Just came back from the 5B tour. It was incredible!! We arrived in anchorage at 2:30. Met up with a celebrity rep at the airport. They took care of our luggage and we then took the shuttle to the hotel, the downtown Marriott. We only had to wait for about 20 minutes for the shuttle to leave the airport, which was not bad. Once at the hotel, there was another rep to hand out room keys and to sign us up for the information session. Our luggage arrived to our rooms and everything was taken care of. By 5:30, we were on our own and going out for dinner. We had previously made reservations for glacier brew house. I highly recommend reservations if this is on your list. Usually for the week, bags out 1.5 hour before departure time. It ranged from 6 am bags out to 10 am. We spent many hours on the bus, but they always made sure that we would stop ever 2 hours or so to walk around and stretch. Train from anchorage to Talkeetna was amazing. We had a few issues along the way, brakes broke down on the train (before we got on) and we were delayed about an hour. Our tour bus broke down on our way to Denali, but there were three other tour buses in the group, so we split up and joined the other buses. I have to say, despite any issues, it was all handled efficiently and without any real stress.

I highly recommend dinner at the aleyska resort (7 glaciers). You could probably already make reservations, I made ours 6 months ahead of time. It can get expensive, you are looking at about $125 pp with drinks.

Once I unpack, just got home last night, I will go through the paperwork I had and can give detail accounts of the land tour portion! It really was an incredible trip and well worth the early wake ups!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

If any of you have done a celebrity cruisetour that includes a night at the Aleyska resort, did you have time to eat dinner at the restaurant on top of the mountain that you get to with the tram?

 

Thank you!

I have seen all your questions regarding Alaska. We are doing a land tour with celebrity starting Sunday, this season it's called 5B. We start in anchorage, then Talkeetna, Denali for two days and then the Alyeska resort last evening before arriving in Seward to do a southbound cruise on the millennium. We have made reservations at the seven glaciers restaurant and I am really looking forward to the dinner. I am not one to write reviews, but I promise to come back and answer any questions you may have.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thanks, I really appreciate you taking time to write. We are doing the 5B land tour which ends in the morning in Seward at the sealife centre, so hopefully we can board a little earlier.

Thanks again, we are definitely looking forward to this vacation!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

That's wonderful to hear!! We are also doing a land tour prior to our cruise next week. I have heard that the land tour portion could be very busy, so we definitely wanted to do that first, then cruise southbound to Vancouver. As you were two couples, were the hotel assignments close together? Not sure if you had your reservations linked online. We are traveling with the kids (booked in a connecting stateroom, so they would get their own hotel room as well) and my inlaws. Also, was wondering what time you arrived at the port from the landtour. Ours ends in Seward, so hopefully we can board early afternoon. Last question, which I haven't been able to find is the time of the safety drill on board.

Thanks in advance!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

I might be wrong calling him a butler, not sure what his official title was. We were on the Diamond, in the Grand suite, and he took care of us. Not just the room, but everything that we could possibly need. He handled our reservations, meal service, snacks in the room and made sure our formal wear was pressed (even though, I hadn't asked him to). Regardless of what his official job title was/is, he was the best we have ever had. He could have been our stateroom attendant (although, I know he had someone else helping him out as well) and he just went he extra mile. :)

Our first (and best) butler was on princess. Wei (pronounced as we, not sure how to spell it) was absolutely amazing. He would always surprise us with little treats, milk and cookies, hot chocolate for the kids (spiked ones for the adults). We were cruising Alaska and he would come with extra blankets when it was cold. He seemed to know what we wanted before we even knew we wanted it. Unfortunately he ruined us for anyone else. Next time we booked the same suite on princess, our experience was less then mediocre. Our first with celebrity was good (we had Chip) and I am looking forward to our next Alaskan experience on the millennium.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app