Not good first impressions

[helen haywood]

Correct. You may bring two bottles of wine aboard.

[mek]

Agree! The bring-your-own water/soda brigade probably doesn't tip either.

 

Nope, I leave the auto tip on and tip extra, but I like having a couple of 2 liters of diet pop in my cabin to drink on the balcony. Sometimes I don't want an entire can of pop and even if I buy the soda card, I don't have to run to a bar to get a soft drink. All about convenience and around $3 for a can of pop from the fridge is stupid if I want something to drink in the cabin.

[fshagan]

I guess I’ve never understood complaints based on not being able to bring your own water and soda on to a cruise ship. If you can afford a cruise on HAL or Celebrity is water and soda on the ship really that much of a financial burden?

Do people complain about not being able to bring their own beverages to restaurants?

I do understand the complaints of overpriced bottles of alcohol for stateroom delivery but not the water n soda thing.

 

Our issue with it is strictly from a convenience standpoint. I believe X includes bottled water in their drink package, or has an economical bottled water package, so it's a moot point for us with them. One line stopped allowing people to bring on water and then provided "resort style" 1 liter water you could buy in 6, 12, and 24 packs at more than $6 a bottle. So it became like the overpriced liquor issue. That line has since lowered their price to a more reasonable level - $3 a bottle - and we simply buy it from them. They are still making a great profit on the bottle of water, and we are paying a price we feel is simply "cruise ship pricing" and not gouging.

[iluvdisney4]

I did not have the best experience my first cruise on the Summit. Was giving Celebrity a second chance on 3/3 on the Equinox till they left myself and several others stranded on the pier in San Juan. They couldn't dock due to bad weather off shore, which I understand, but they knew this prior to us flying to meet the ship in San Juan and never contacted anyone. When we arrived to find no ship all they could say was "sorry, nothing we can do, you are on your own now" at least 30 of us. No offer to fly us home, put us up for the night, get us to next port, NOTHING!!! The customer service has been horrible.

 

 

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[broberts]

Agree! The bring-your-own water/soda brigade probably doesn't tip either.

 

Can you provide some data to show the correlation between those who have particular beverage preferences and their tendency to tip?

[grandgeezer]

I don't understand why people can bring two bottles of wine on the ship yet a bottle of booze or some beer isn't allowed. Just think of all the money they could be making if the banned wine from being brought on board.

[Jade13]

I did not have the best experience my first cruise on the Summit. Was giving Celebrity a second chance on 3/3 on the Equinox till they left myself and several others stranded on the pier in San Juan. They couldn't dock due to bad weather off shore, which I understand, but they knew this prior to us flying to meet the ship in San Juan and never contacted anyone. When we arrived to find no ship all they could say was "sorry, nothing we can do, you are on your own now" at least 30 of us. No offer to fly us home, put us up for the night, get us to next port, NOTHING!!! The customer service has been horrible.

 

 

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Why were 30 people flying to San Juan to meet the ship? Where did the cruise start and was this the second day? Why was the weather Celebrity’s fault that they could not dock and should pay for the group to meet the ship.

 

We use insurance that covers missed connections.

 

 

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[teamflames]

I agree it started unnecessarily negative but snide and aggressive replies are just bullying and bring this whole forum down to high school behaviour. People need to start ignoring questions and comments they don’t like.

 

 

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[Bo1953]

I did not have the best experience my first cruise on the Summit. Was giving Celebrity a second chance on 3/3 on the Equinox till they left myself and several others stranded on the pier in San Juan. They couldn't dock due to bad weather off shore, which I understand, but they knew this prior to us flying to meet the ship in San Juan and never contacted anyone. When we arrived to find no ship all they could say was "sorry, nothing we can do, you are on your own now" at least 30 of us. No offer to fly us home, put us up for the night, get us to next port, NOTHING!!! The customer service has been horrible.

 

 

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I do feel bad that you missed the sailing, quite unfortunate.

 

 

My question is, did you not contact your travel insurance concierge who would have helped more directly with such arrangements? They would have been the ones who dropped the ball for not getting you to where you wanted to be when you needed to be there.

 

How late were you getting to the port? Was this a same day fly in from your home or from MIA or FTL where there are frequent flights?

 

X like all other forms of transportation have no control over weather and as such have disclaimers as such. Yet, I understand that X will never get another try from you due to something out of their control.

 

bon voyage

[yorky]

I did not have the best experience my first cruise on the Summit. Was giving Celebrity a second chance on 3/3 on the Equinox till they left myself and several others stranded on the pier in San Juan. They couldn't dock due to bad weather off shore, which I understand, but they knew this prior to us flying to meet the ship in San Juan and never contacted anyone. When we arrived to find no ship all they could say was "sorry, nothing we can do, you are on your own now" at least 30 of us. No offer to fly us home, put us up for the night, get us to next port, NOTHING!!! The customer service has been horrible.

 

 

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Bit of a strange one, i’m guessing maybe more to it than that ? Not embarkation day as a starter ?

[hcat]

Why were 30 people flying to San Juan to meet the ship? Where did the cruise start and was this the second day? Why was the weather Celebrity’s fault that they could not dock and should pay for the group to meet the ship.

 

We use insurance that covers missed connections.

 

 

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Would like to hear more. Was this a TA or family/friends organized group ? Did you miss the sailing date originally? Why no assistance from the Cruiseline or its Port Agent? Sounds odd..could u meet ship at next port?

[Tatka]

From what I see, Equinox sailed from Miami on 3/3 and was scheduled to dock in San Juan on 3/5. Why didn’t you board in Miami?

[excitedofharpenden]

From what I see, Equinox sailed from Miami on 3/3 and was scheduled to dock in San Juan on 3/5. Why didn’t you board in Miami?

As I understand it a number of people (including the takeover Captain) missed the ship in Miami because of the bad storm in the NE US. That same storm system caused huge swells and the ship couldn't dock in San Juan to pick up those passengers that were going to catch up.

 

Phil

[iluvdisney4]

As I understand it a number of people (including the takeover Captain) missed the ship in Miami because of the bad storm in the NE US. That same storm system caused huge swells and the ship couldn't dock in San Juan to pick up those passengers that were going to catch up.

 

 

 

Phil

 

 

 

This is true. Flights cancelled Friday and Sat 3/2 and 3/3. They knew in time to contact us prior to our flight that they would not dock. When I called Celebrity from San Juan they had not made any calls to advise they couldn't dock. I would never have flown to meet them. Then to have them tell me Sorry but you are on your own. They are in process of refunding my flight cost but they were going to put me on the next cruise 3/10. Cabins full. They are all apologetic but now deciding how to go about another cruise if at all. Long story behind trip insurance but even according to them, once I met my end of meeting next port (and they made no attempt to contact me) that TI was not necessary. Therefore offering the following cruise. Of course now 2 weeks later the battle of cruise credit and how long the credit will be for is what they are deciding if I am entitled to.

 

 

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[iluvdisney4]

Also, unless you have been stranded then you can't understand how I feel. There were 10 people from Canada who had to try and book through Miami overnight. Not sure what they did. A grandmother with her granddaughter shared a taxi with us. They called 2 hotels on their own trying to get a room, to be told they were still housing hurricane victims. When Celebrity calls you 2 days after to say they would look into why we weren't contacted about San Juan and that we never should have been stranded tells me they know they were wrong just a lot too late!

 

 

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[George C]

Our major line is rccl, but have done several Hal cruises and just got of summit, really liked ship and food , buffet was much better than Hal. Entertainment can be questionable on both lines. Hal about 5 years ago let you take on all the wine you want but they stoped that and we stopp d cruising with Hal. Suite perks are also much better on celebrity

[GottaKnowWhen]

I have a friend who has only sailed on HAL until now and is about to sail on the Reflection. He was shocked at how much more it cost to order a bottle of scotch to his room. On HAL it was about 50% less and I think X now puts a delivery charge on top of the cost of the bottle when it is delivered to your room. I think the X bottle of scotch came to $100 +15 delivery. That really is quite unreasonable.

 

 

 

It really depends on how many bottles one needs to get through a cruise. If one is enough, then $115 may be more than one would pay in a discount store, but so what? The bed per night is costing more than most high end hotels or resorts, but so what? The day on the beach is way more than you would pay on a Southern Florida beach, but so what? Think of the cruise as a total package of experiences. If the total cost is too high, stay home or do something else. If the cost/value is comfortable for you, then don’t niggle over every detail, every individual cost. Or you will quickly lose sight of the value you saw in the total package to begin with.

[excitedofharpenden]

This is true. Flights cancelled Friday and Sat 3/2 and 3/3. They knew in time to contact us prior to our flight that they would not dock. When I called Celebrity from San Juan they had not made any calls to advise they couldn't dock. I would never have flown to meet them. Then to have them tell me Sorry but you are on your own. They are in process of refunding my flight cost but they were going to put me on the next cruise 3/10. Cabins full. They are all apologetic but now deciding how to go about another cruise if at all. Long story behind trip insurance but even according to them, once I met my end of meeting next port (and they made no attempt to contact me) that TI was not necessary. Therefore offering the following cruise. Of course now 2 weeks later the battle of cruise credit and how long the credit will be for is what they are deciding if I am entitled to.

 

 

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I don’t know what the exact timings were, but when I looked on Marine Traffic, the track of the ship seemed to indicate they were heading toward San Juan and then had to turn away. So the intention for however long seemed to be to dock there and Mother Nature had other ideas. Hopefully between Celebrity and your travel insurance you’ll get straightened out and able to take another cruise. If it’s any consolation this seems to be a very unusual and unfortunate chain of events for you.

 

Phil

[Bo1953]

I have a friend who has only sailed on HAL until now and is about to sail on the Reflection. He was shocked at how much more it cost to order a bottle of scotch to his room. On HAL it was about 50% less and I think X now puts a delivery charge on top of the cost of the bottle when it is delivered to your room. I think the X bottle of scotch came to $100 +15 delivery. That really is quite unreasonable.

 

If unreasonable, then do not order. Many of our friends order this service in advance and have no issues with the cost as it is what they want in their room.

 

A few, like your friend, find it unreasonable and do not order and just use their Premium Beverage Package for their drinking needs... in their cabin.

 

Like many others who go on vacation, we budget for such items if we want them and understand that the cost is going to be more than what we may 'usually' for same product at home. If it is more than what we want to pay, we choose not to and do not complain about it, as it is what it is... we just enjoy!

 

bon voyage