CYNSport

I thought the highest match for reciprocity  on Celebrity with a C&A status was Elite, regardless of the C&A status level.

I rarely have pockets, so I like to use a lanyard on the ship. I am both amused and  gobsmacked by those who have firm opinions about whether or not other people should use them. This is, of course, the tip of the iceberg when it comes to opinionated cruisers who post on this forum. 🤯 

Yes, Celebrity gives reciprocity (matches your RCCL loyalty status, up to Elite on Captain’s Club, but no higher, no matter what your status on RCCL is). You do not accumulate Captain’s Club points based on RCCL cruises. You collect Captain’s Club points only from cruises taken on Celebrity or Azamara. 

6 hours ago, pthjudy said:

If I call Azamara will I get a correct answer? Often what happens on a ship is very different from what a rep on the phone knows and tells you. 

I would say it’s unlikely they would know the correct Information. ShorEx (or Destinations or whatever they call it) is, unfortunately, a weak link in the Azamara information chain. Even on board, the Shore Excursion Desk is notoriously unreliable with their information. OTOH, we have had many excellent shore excursions on Azamara. 

I haven’t been on this Azamara Excursion, but Panoramic Tours are typically driving by the sights as you are envisioning. I noticed that the full description indicates “lunch plus one hour of free time”. https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/shore-excursion-details/CV4L

I hope someone who has been on this tour will respond. Enjoy your cruise!

36 minutes ago, bengaltiger1 said:

 

Celebrity UK vary the ‘incentives’, but usually the classic drinks package is included.  I got that and WiFI for a cruise next January.  We know they aren’t free really, but that’s the way it is over here.  The current offer is the classic drinks package and gratuities.  

 

 

Enjoy your cruise! 

1 minute ago, bengaltiger1 said:

The OP is from the U.K.  We don’t get a choice of perks.  The classic drinks package is part of a promotion to encourage people to book the cruise.  We can’t remove it. 

Thanks for letting me know this. I knew there were different booking conditions (deposit status, etc), in the U.K., but didn’t know that the perk situation was so fixed there. 

Because that is the perk you chose when you booked. I really can’t see them refunding you the difference when it was a bundled price on a “choose your perk” booking. 

In our four Med cruises, we found them to have more Europeans aboard than cruises that originate in the U.S.  They are more likely to be able to make last minute travel arrangements (plane or train) at reasonable rates. Also there are consolidators in the US who bundle cruises and air for cruises that aren’t selling well.  We have yet to be on a cruise that wasn’t pretty close to capacity. Have a great cruise!

In my dealings, my TA always had to call Celebrity to reprice or to change staterooms, etc. They can’t enter Celebrity’s system themselves and make changes,  as far as I know. 

We had a cruise cancelled by Oceania. The third cruise after the inaugural cruise for Riviera  (completion delay). Offered very little (some trivial amount off a future cruise). Our cruise insurance paid for lost expenses. We avoided Oceania ever since.

We found Celebrity through dear friends who sail frequently. We had traveled with them on land independently.  They went on our first cruise with us in 2013 and several since! Hadn’t really known about Celebrity  before then.

3 minutes ago, Cruise it or lose it said:

Are the people who check you in employed by the port or the cruise line? I've met more than a few clueless people at the port.

I think most of the people we’ve encountered were port employees. There are some Celebrity supervisors around to handle big problems.

There is no self service laundry on Celebrity. Have a great cruise anyway!

8 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Nothing to do with it; the whole cruise was not like a normal X experience. There were many large groups on board, together with stag and hen parties. I believe they just wanted everyone off ASAP. Mini cruises, I’m sure, are not top of the favourite list for most staff on any line.

Just wondering what port(s) you had on such a short cruise out of Amsterdam. Just nosy 🤓

A dozen cruises on Celebrity and never had this happen. Only heard announcements after the time we were instructed to vacate the staterooms and then we were in our designated disembarkation location.

But, these seem to disappear the last few days of any cruise we’ve taken. I’ve always wondered why and had visions of someone’s stateroom stacked high with them. 🤪

We have a dozen or so cruises in AQ, about a third were on M class. We have never been allowed to order off the MDR menu (except for the “always available” list). Many people report being able to order from the full MDR menu in BLU, but from my experience, this is not always the case. Of course, like many on many things, Celebrity is consistently inconsistent. 

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 

I think limiting BLU  to AQ class only,  is the only way to go after adding more AQ Class cabins.   However,  I doubt  suite guests would be very happy,  and it would  be a non starter!  They orig were given BLU access prior to Luminae coming on line,..but that was ages ago.  Adding more people to AQ Class, and having  fewer staff with a slower kitchen has really changed BLU recently..something has to give.

 

We have been in AQ/ BLU since it was introduced but are not booked in AQ class for our next 3 cruises...We will see how things go after that..

We have chosen AQ Class since we first cruised with Celebrity, because we liked the dining concept. But, it’s less appealing when it’s overcrowded. I think Celebrity lucked out with AQ because they discovered that what people really wanted was a smaller dining room (not necessarily “clean sauces”).  So, Suite Guests insisted on being allowed in. Since our first AQ Cruise in the pre-Luminae days, there were Suite Guests in BLU. Then came Luminae, but Suite guests were still permitted to choose BLU. That would have been the time to make BLU exclusive to AQ. But, Celebrity chose not to do so. It will be much harder to do now. But, surely, they could tell Suite guests that they can’t order from the MDR in BLU and, if they want this option, they should stay in Luminae. We have considered booking non-AQ, but haven’t done it yet. Yes, we could book a nice Veranda cabin and eat at the Specialty Restaurants every night and it would still be less than many AQ fares, but I really enjoy the atmosphere in BLU. My DH, an actuary, has a more mathematical approach (“BLU is worth X per day and when it’s greater than X, then book a regular Veranda”). I think I would really miss BLU, though, if it’s crowded, noisy, and slow, then maybe not so much?

43 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

We've always loved Blu but have been in suites the last few cruises and I can not imagine why anyone would want to switch and eat in Blu instead.  In Luminae you can order from any menu, and they will also make anything reasonable that's NOT on the menu.  (unless it's the Edge, I gather they are more restrictive in Luminae)  

 

The times we have eaten in Blu when in Aqua we never experienced the wait times that everyone talks about so I guess that may be a new, NOT wanted experience for us. 

Interesting! We haven’t sailed in Suites on Celebrity, so didn’t know you could order from any menu in Luminae. Makes me wonder why Suite guests even come into BLU anymore.

6 minutes ago, Ereggae said:

Just got off Summit and folks tend to come early to get seated, especially by the window or with your favorite waiter so there was already a line before opening at 5:45.

Even before the changes, on our most recent cruises (Both M and S class), BLU staff said people would line up prior to opening,  We eat around 7:00 and had to get a buzzer about half the time on our Med cruise in September (didn’t ever ask to sit by the window and never did).   Perhaps they’ll limit the Suite passengers to a real “space available” status in the future. II’ve read a few posts in which people staying in Suites say they prefer to eat in BLU.  Celebrity hasn’t done much to establish BLU as only for Aqua Cabins like Luminae is only for Suites.

Last September, we booked a half day tour with Barcelona Day Tours for disembarkation. We were picked up at the Port around 8:30. Had a great, small group, 4 hour tour of Barcelona, including Park Guell and were dropped at our hotel afterwards. The taxi queue was very long as several ships were disembarking at the same time, so not everyone experiences easy ad hoc taxi pick up. We had been to Barcelona before, but still enjoyed getting a tour. Also, when we were leaving our hotel to go to the airport, our hotel recommended prebooking a taxi, (which they did for us) and I would that recommend to you as well. Have a great trip.

Not that I am aware (and we’ve taken a dozen Celebrity cruises).

8 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Here's what I'm hearing from some of you:

 

A generator onboard is REALLY expensive, so even though we have 2,500 passengers, and 1,500 crew, we're only going to have on board an electrical generator with a capacity for 2,000 people.  So, to solve the problem, we will charge $300 a week to anyone who wants to use unlimited electricity, and the rest get power only certain times of the day. 

 

See how ridiculous that is on a luxury cruise line?  They need wifi capacity for everyone.  It's doable.  

Here is what what I’m hearing from you: I REALLY WANT FREE WIFI! I WILL BROOK NO DISAGREEMENT!

Have taken more than a dozen Celebrity cruises, never had my cabin switched. Cruisestitch makes an excellent suggestion.