Sail away Helipad invites

[dx052]

How do I get to be invited to the sail away Helipad gathering?

[travlr21]

We were on the Summit recently, received one when leaving Bayonne and we were in a suite. Also had one when sailing into Halifax on Canada Day, they invited all Canadians I believe. An observation, no one asked to see an invite when we arrived.

[phoenix_dream]

I believe suites will be first choice for invites. Next will likely be Elite Plus and Elite guests, and next CC and AQ guests. Alot depends on how many sailaways there are on that particular cruise, and that can vary by location, length of cruise, weather conditions, and Captain preference. If you are in a suite you will likely get an invite every cruise. If you belong to one of the other categories our experience (Elite + and usually AQ) is sometimes we get invites (sometimes multiple on longer cruises) and sometimes not (on 7 day cruises).

 

 

We have never had them check our invitations so theoretically you can sneak up there if you play your cards right. Not advocating that, just saying it could easily be done.

[Doctor G]

They are sometimes issued to Captain's Club members. I'm not sure if this is for all levels or only Elite.

 

Carolyn

[jelayne]

We have been invited when we are in a suite and a couple of times because they invited Elite+.

[gerelmx]

Past Eclipse cruise in March/18, was my first X cruise, I booked inside GTY and after several price drops upgraded to veranda CAT 2C. We receive the invitation to the Sail Away at St Maarten

 

 

 

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[phoenix_dream]

Past Eclipse cruise in March/18, was my first X cruise, I booked inside GTY and after several price drops upgraded to veranda CAT 2C. We receive the invitation to the Sail Away at St Maarten

 

 

 

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Happy for you, but don't get too excited. Celebrity has a history of trying to wow brand new cruisers, but once you have sailed with them, you get thrown into the pack with the rest of us non-suite people.

[helen haywood]

We had been invited to a helipad sail away at some Caribbean port...nice to be invited but we weren’t interested. Hot, no place to sit, only warmish sparkling wine... So we were watching sail away from the Sky Lounge. There were two couples next to us and when the wives noticed the people out on the helipad they were speculating what it was. Clearly they had not received an invitation. One of the wives said “I want to be with the in crowd!” and they took off and we saw them join the party. They do not check invitations.

 

 

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[MJSailors]

We recently were on the Summit in a Conceierge (C2) cabin. This was our 2nd Celebrity cruise.

We were invited onto the heliport for sail away from Bermuda.

It was an ok experience.

Other posters are correct about not having invitations checked.

We stood on line outside of the theater for twenty minutes,then walked through the upper level of the theater into a staff only area in the bow of the ship.

We needed to climb over a rather high step- there were staff that helped passengers over this step. Then we had to walk up a flight of stairs ((possibly 20 ) to arrive at the helipad.

It was a hot,sunny day. There was no seating ,no shade and the basic view was the water facing the bow of the ship as we got underway.

If I had known about the situation, I would have gone to the deck above the bridge. There were several passengers there and I think their view was better than that of the helipad.

So, if you do not get an invitation for a sail away, IMHO, do not feel slighted. You will not miss very much.

[Mr. Click]

We have been on 9 Celebrity cruises now, we are Elite now. The only helipad invites we have ever gotten were on a 15 night cruise from Hong Kong to Shanghai on the Millennium when the captain made general announcements inviting everyone on board for some arrivals and some sailaways. It was fun but I can't see doing it on a hot day.

[Peteymil]

We have been invited many times, and we do usually go, But the truth is, unless it is a beautiful sailaway city like Venice, it’s not Any different than watching it from the deck.

[Silkroad]

Sometimes they do check invitations. We were recently invited to a sail in through the Stockholm archipelago. A crew member was checking invitations before allowing us to proceed to the gathering. I’ve been to only three, and I still enjoy them very much.

[Mirage]

Helipad invites are quite common. Have been invited whether we’ve been in a suite, AQ, or Concierge, and in a balcony. We do not always go. It’s a glass of sparkling wine, a few officers and roughly 30 minutes and we leave. It really is not that big a deal, some cruises in Alaska anyone who wanted to was invited to the helipad. They do specify closed toed shoes. If you have not been invited I guess it’s desirable, if you have it is not all that big a deal.

 

Mirage

[ghstudio]

It is fun the first time...and I think it's better to see the helipad voluntarily at a sail away party than at other times that might not be voluntary...right?

 

For me, it was interesting the first time as an experience. After that, I've only accepted the invitation when I wanted to be closer to the water, perhaps watching penguins, on the Antarctic cruise (they opened the helipad to us brave souls with warm jackets and it was worth it).

 

If you do get an invite...go. If you don't, you've only missed the experience, you haven't missed any outstanding view.

 

Perhaps you could get an invite by talking to the captain's club host(ess) or even guest services....."I'd love to take my wife/husband...an experience for our honeymoon" (or your own plausible white lie).

[watchdiva]

The first invitation for a helipad sailaway was a fun experience. Subsequent sailaways we were invited to we preferred to be on our balcony enjoying the AFT view. For us it was a one and done.

 

 

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[cruisestitch]

Often the suite manager or Michael’s Club Concierge are at the door. It would be embarrassing to be caught trying to sneak into a party to which you weren’t invited.

[Northern Aurora]

It seems to me that the last few years Celebrity has been doing more helipad sailaway events at interesting ports. The last few years we have received at least one invitation per cruise. And the events have been organized by Captain's Club level or stateroom category.

[39august]

On our recent b2b on Equinox we were invited once each week. We are Elite,due to our RCI status. And we stayed in a concierge cabin. I expect how many Zeniths and Elite Pluses on board will impact how many Eliste, aqua or concierge cabin cruisers will be invited.

[Orator]

Michael's Club Concierge creates a list for Suites and Zeniths. Captain's Club Host/Hostess creates a list for Captain's Club members. On Summit cruise only Zeniths and Top Suites invited to sailaway that passed the Statue of Liberty. The best way to secure an invitation if not a top level cruiser is to be friendly and respectful to staff.

[hcat]

We've been invited and attended a number of times..There is a designated meeting place and each time there was a guest list that is checked off and and escort provided up to the helipad.

 

If you want to go, ask Cap Club rep, guest rel or suite concierge...and they will do their best to include you,

 

You need to be able to walk up open stairs, wear closed toe shoes...no flip flops, tolerate lots of sun...no shade, few chairs if any..sometimes there are drinks and goodies...not always the best views depending on the port but a fun event to mix and mingle with Officers, staff and other passengers! And you walk thru and get a peek at crew social area.which is very nice

[mom23guys]

Michael's Club Concierge creates a list for Suites and Zeniths. Captain's Club Host/Hostess creates a list for Captain's Club members. On Summit cruise only Zeniths and Top Suites invited to sailaway that passed the Statue of Liberty. The best way to secure an invitation if not a top level cruiser is to be friendly and respectful to staff.

 

 

 

We were in a Sky Suite on the Summit and were invited to the sail away past the Statue of Liberty. The Michael’s Club hostess met us in the Theater and we had to give our cabin number.

 

 

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[Silkroad]

On our recent b2b on Equinox we were invited once each week. We are Elite,due to our RCI status. And we stayed in a concierge cabin. I expect how many Zeniths and Elite Pluses on board will impact how many Eliste, aqua or concierge cabin cruisers will be invited.

Different groups are typically invited to sail aways (or sail ins) at different ports. Our recent one was hosted by our Concierge (we had a Concierge cabin). I believe Elites and above were invited to a Sail away from Stockholm, while we were invited to a sail in.

[cangelmd]

We were not invited to a sailaway, we went to the helipad for a "sail-in" and docking in San Juan. Up at the bow sailing past El Moro was spectacular, especially since we had been to San Juan the year before (before Maria).

This was in January in Puerto Rico so it was warm on the helipad, I'm not sure I would want to do it during summer

[travlr21]

Michael's Club Concierge creates a list for Suites and Zeniths. Captain's Club Host/Hostess creates a list for Captain's Club members. On Summit cruise only Zeniths and Top Suites invited to sailaway that passed the Statue of Liberty. The best way to secure an invitation if not a top level cruiser is to be friendly and respectful to staff.

 

We are Elite + and were in a Sky Suite on the Independence Day cruise this year when we had our invite for the sail away that passed the statue. We must be blessed.

[Essiesmom]

I did a B2B2B on Millie out of Miami and got invites to the second and third departures from Miami. If I got another invite, it would depend on the port. EM