First cruise ever for our honeymoon, questions about drinks and debarkation

[Duskrider]

Howdy Cruise Critic,

 

I've been a lurker here ever since my wife-to-be and I began thinking about doing a cruise for our honeymoon. Thanks to these boards and the wonderful people here I feel way more confident in my choices and options than I ever thought I would... cruising for first timers can be a little daunting!

 

In any case, we're booked on the Solstice to Hawaii on the 23rd of September and are both super excited to be on Celebrity for our first cruise ever. My question to you folks is in regards to the drinks we can bring on board and our debarkation port of Ensenada Mexico.

 

I understand that there is a bus that goes from San Diego to Ensenada for Celebrity passengers. I also understand that Celebrity is OK with us bringing aboard two bottles of wine and a 12 pack of soda a piece. We don't plan on getting any drink packages (neither of us drink enough to make one worth the cost, we'll just buy as we go if we happen to want a cocktail), and we're both ok with drinking tea or lemonade (or Arnold Palmers :)), but we would like to be able to come back to the room and have a can of soda on the veranda every so often.

 

So, my question is this: Does anyone familiar with Ensenada know if there's a place not far from the pier where we can pick up a couple of twelve packs of soda? I don't want to bring them on the plane with us to San Diego... it would be cheaper just to buy from celebrity at that rate. I'd be ok with a supermarket or something as long as it's not hard to get to.

 

Thanks!

[red-rose]

I think you might get more answers to this Ensenada-specific-question maybe at the West coast departures page -

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=413

or else, I'm not sure maybe there is a page under the ports of call that is more suitable-

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[MicCanberra]

Hi Duskrider,

Congrats for the nuptials.

Welcome to Cruise critic also, the above info is sound advice.

I can't help you with Ensenada as it will be my first time there as well but perhaps you may want to join our rollcall at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1641153. Lots of people have done this cruise before so a re better placed to answer your questions.:D

[aashleyjc]

I assume you mean that you are embarking in Ensenada. If you are flying in, I would just have the cab driver stop somewhere between the airport and the San Diego cruise terminal so you can buy sodas. Any soda you purchase in Ensenada will likely be Mexican bottled. Granted, many prefer Mexico Coke because they use cane sugar and HFCS, but unless you have a craving for it, I would buy in SD and check it with your bags if you can. I haven't sailed Celebrity yet, so hopefully a veteran can enlighten you on whether or not you can just check cases with your bags. There are small shops somewhat close to the pier within a fairly reasonable walking distance, but you will have to walk there and carry back.

[Project_gal]

I understand that there is a bus that goes from San Diego to Ensenada for Celebrity passengers. I also understand that Celebrity is OK with us bringing aboard two bottles of wine and a 12 pack of soda a piece. We don't plan on getting any drink packages (neither of us drink enough to make one worth the cost, we'll just buy as we go if we happen to want a cocktail), and we're both ok with drinking tea or lemonade (or Arnold Palmers :)), but we would like to be able to come back to the room and have a can of soda on the veranda every so often.

 

I am afraid that I cannot answer most of your questions but wanted to correct a little misunderstanding in your post. You can bring on two bottles of wine per stateroom not per person but you can bring on unlimited sodas.

 

I am sure that you will have a great honeymoon cruise. Best wishes for your future together.

Sue

[kitkat9438]

Welcome to Celebrity and congratulations on your honeymoon. I just wanted to make you aware, in case you aren't, that Celebrity is having a promotion called 123 that gives you a beverage package for both of you in the cabin. That is equal to $44/day per person. A great savings on that 11 night cruise. It is the Classic alcohol package so only covers drinks up to $8 but it does include bottled water, soda, beer, etc. You can upgrade to the premium package for $10 more per day per person that includes everything up to $12. This is the best option as it includes most wines, martinis, specialty coffees, bottled water, energy drinks, fresh juices, frozen drinks, etc. Call Celebrity and see if you can switch to the promotion or your Travel Agent if you booked through one. I think many are able to get the deal without having to cancel and rebook. It's totally worth it not to have to mess with bringing on soda or water.

 

We also bring our two bottles of wine onboard at embarkation.

 

Here's a link to the promotion. It says a 12 night sailing saves $1,056! What a deal.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/genericHtmlTemplate.do?pagename=choose_your_offer&ICID=hom_ct_wave2013_1301_spof_gdst_link

 

 

Have a great cruise.

[cherylroslyn]

Howdy Cruise Critic,

 

I've been a lurker here ever since my wife-to-be and I began thinking about doing a cruise for our honeymoon. Thanks to these boards and the wonderful people here I feel way more confident in my choices and options than I ever thought I would... cruising for first timers can be a little daunting!

 

In any case, we're booked on the Solstice to Hawaii on the 23rd of September and are both super excited to be on Celebrity for our first cruise ever. My question to you folks is in regards to the drinks we can bring on board and our debarkation port of Ensenada Mexico.

 

I understand that there is a bus that goes from San Diego to Ensenada for Celebrity passengers. I also understand that Celebrity is OK with us bringing aboard two bottles of wine and a 12 pack of soda a piece. We don't plan on getting any drink packages (neither of us drink enough to make one worth the cost, we'll just buy as we go if we happen to want a cocktail), and we're both ok with drinking tea or lemonade (or Arnold Palmers :)), but we would like to be able to come back to the room and have a can of soda on the veranda every so often.

 

So, my question is this: Does anyone familiar with Ensenada know if there's a place not far from the pier where we can pick up a couple of twelve packs of soda? I don't want to bring them on the plane with us to San Diego... it would be cheaper just to buy from celebrity at that rate. I'd be ok with a supermarket or something as long as it's not hard to get to.

 

Thanks!

I'm not sure if I would stop in Ensenada for soda....... I wouldn't leave the ship once I got to it. That is not a part of Mexico I would go wondering around looking for soda......regardless of cane sugar or any other magical ingredient.

 

I'd buy soda in Hawaii...... and pay the higher prices for a few sodas here and there on the way to Hawaii........

 

 

Congratulations and welcome to Cruise Critic:)

[tfrcal]

I'm not sure if I would stop in Ensenada for soda....... I wouldn't leave the ship once I got to it. That is not a part of Mexico I would go wondering around looking for soda......regardless of cane sugar or any other magical ingredient.

 

I'd buy soda in Hawaii...... and pay the higher prices for a few sodas here and there on the way to Hawaii........

 

 

Congratulations and welcome to Cruise Critic:)

 

I agree, most of that part of Mexico is not the best, buy in San Diego and put in a small duffle bag to check or carry on. Once you take the bus from SD to Ensenda just get on the ship.

[Duskrider]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

 

I'll talk to our TA about the 123go promotion. We're already booked at a pretty good rate so it may not work out, but it's worth trying for sure.

 

Getting soda in San Diego would be great, but I'm so unfamiliar with how the whole process works that I don't know how we would. I was under the impression that the bus to Ensenada would pick us up at the airport and we wouldn't get to spend much time in San Diego, or any for that matter, outside of the airport.

 

As for picking soda up from Hawaii, am I wrong in thinking that embarkation is the only time you can bring drinks of any kind on board? I thought I heard somewhere that you couldn't bring drinks on from ports of call after the cruise had started.

 

Maybe I'll pose this question elsewhere... there are so many forums here sometimes it's hard to know where something goes. Thanks again.

[rwr235]

Thanks everyone for the responses!

 

I'll talk to our TA about the 123go promotion. We're already booked at a pretty good rate so it may not work out, but it's worth trying for sure.

 

Getting soda in San Diego would be great, but I'm so unfamiliar with how the whole process works that I don't know how we would. I was under the impression that the bus to Ensenada would pick us up at the airport and we wouldn't get to spend much time in San Diego, or any for that matter, outside of the airport.

 

As for picking soda up from Hawaii, am I wrong in thinking that embarkation is the only time you can bring drinks of any kind on board? I thought I heard somewhere that you couldn't bring drinks on from ports of call after the cruise had started.

 

Maybe I'll pose this question elsewhere... there are so many forums here sometimes it's hard to know where something goes. Thanks again.

 

Hi,

 

As MicCanberra suggested in Post#3...probably the best place to get the info you are asking about is on the Roll Call for your cruise...Just follow the link Mic posted, and you'll get some wonderfully helpful responses...to everything related to your cruise....Go to the last page, introduce yourself...and ask your questions there...then go back at your leisure and read over the Roll Call thread. They will also be able to shed light on the Airport/San Diego Pier/Bus Transfer to Ensenada process.

 

Enjoy...we did this itinerary in Oct/Nov on the Millennium...wonderful time !!

 

Woody

[MicCanberra]

[/i][/b]

 

Hi,

 

As MicCanberra suggested in Post#3...probably the best place to get the info you are asking about is on the Roll Call for your cruise...Just follow the link Mic posted, and you'll get some wonderfully helpful responses...to everything related to your cruise....Go to the last page, introduce yourself...and ask your questions there...then go back at your leisure and read over the Roll Call thread. They will also be able to shed light on the Airport/San Diego Pier/Bus Transfer to Ensenada process.

 

Enjoy...we did this itinerary in Oct/Nov on the Millennium...wonderful time !!

 

Woody

Good advice, but then I would say that.:D

In regards to the 123 promo package, if you have received a reallly good deal, you can still ask your TA but it may not be worth it.

The package costs $44/day/person as stated but it also includes the 15% gratuity so it is actually $50.60 /day each.

However, if you do not drink much, it may not be worth getting the package to lose other benefits from your deal (OBC or similar).:D

[Duskrider]

Good advice, but then I would say that.:D

In regards to the 123 promo package, if you have received a reallly good deal, you can still ask your TA but it may not be worth it.

The package costs $44/day/person as stated but it also includes the 15% gratuity so it is actually $50.60 /day each.

However, if you do not drink much, it may not be worth getting the package to lose other benefits from your deal (OBC or similar).:D

 

You're exactly right. I contacted my TA and she told me that we would need to re-book to get the deal, and the upswing in cabin prices since we booked are significant enough that I'd need to be sloshed constantly to get my money's worth.

 

Not a terrible idea, but probably not the best for a honeymoon. :)

[bigmjh]

I was under the impression that the bus to Ensenada would pick us up at the airport and we wouldn't get to spend much time in San Diego, or any for that matter, outside of the airport.

 

I believe the bus from the airport will most likely be taking you to a check-in point (for us on a May cruise it will be the Sheraton - right in the heart of downtown San Diego). There we will be checked in and then bussed from there to the ship in Ensenada. Ensenada is not really set-up to handle passenger and luggage check-ins.

 

There should be lots of time in the interim to find wine and sodas in San Diego.

[Project_gal]

As for picking soda up from Hawaii, am I wrong in thinking that embarkation is the only time you can bring drinks of any kind on board? I thought I heard somewhere that you couldn't bring drinks on from ports of call after the cruise had started.

]

 

It is only wine that you are only able to take on board at embarkation. Soft drinks could be taken on board at any time. However, if you buy a large crate, you would have to carry it on yourself any time but embarkation. At embarkation you could stick a label on it and check it in with your other luggage.

 

Sue

[mikechass]

We did a two week trip to Hawaii out of LA on Princess.

When we stopped in Hawaii there were shuttles EVERYWHERE taking people to WALMART of all places.

People were bringing cases of pop on board at every port.

 

I wouldn't worry about the pop

And we went to Ensenada, we went off in search of an internet cafe to call my kids from.

I won't even step off the ship if we ever venture back there.

Not to sound terrible, but when you are coming off a massive luxury ship, it is easy to feel HORRIBLE by being begged for change by all the kids who are out with their mom's right outside the gates.

It was heartbreaking and I felt like trash saying no.

I bought candy and school stuff for them but they didn't want any of it. Just money and truthfully, the kids that were out there begging should have been in school anyways, so the supplies were useless.

 

Hope that helped.

[rnrcruzin]

Welcome to Celebrity and congratulations on your honeymoon. It's just a suggestion, but you may want to wait until after the muster drill to start your private sail away party.

[dz9yvr]

If you do decide to go please confirm that your wife's name on the reservation matches her passport or other documentation. Even if she intends to take your last name, it would probaly be easier to use her maiden name on the reservation so that it matches the passport. Otherwise you will need to get a copy of the marriage license to establish the paper trail

[MicCanberra]

If you do decide to go please confirm that your wife's name on the reservation matches her passport or other documentation. Even if she intends to take your last name, it would probaly be easier to use her maiden name on the reservation so that it matches the passport. Otherwise you will need to get a copy of the marriage license to establish the paper trail

Good advice, do people getting married nowadays still take other people's last name?

[red-rose]

Good advice, do people getting married nowadays still take other people's last name?

I don't know if it's different in Australia, but according to the WSJ, in the 2000s, only 18% of women KEPT their names. (down from 23% in the 1990s) http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/05/08/the-name-change-dilemma/

[MicCanberra]

I don't know if it's different in Australia, but according to the WSJ, in the 2000s, only 18% of women KEPT their names. (down from 23% in the 1990s) http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/05/08/the-name-change-dilemma/

Interesting, I would think that it is higher than that in Australia, but then a lot are defacto and not getting married at all.:D

[red-rose]

Interesting, I would think that it is higher than that in Australia, but then a lot are defacto and not getting married at all.:D

Good point. I know that it is no secret that less people are getting married in the States now than in the past. As a very broad generalization, I imagine that the "kind" of people who are more likely to get married are also the "kind" of people who are more likely to change their name.

[Duskrider]

Good point. I know that it is no secret that less people are getting married in the States now than in the past. As a very broad generalization, I imagine that the "kind" of people who are more likely to get married are also the "kind" of people who are more likely to change their name.

 

 

In our case we both come from pretty traditional families so getting married is the thing to do and she's taking my last name. Bless her heart because my last name starts with Z and is hard to pronounce for most folks. lol

 

And the reservation is in her maiden name as is all the paperwork for any of the stuff we're doing while on the honeymoon since her passport and ID will still have her maiden name... but thanks for the heads up.