Dec 13 Constellation B2B - East/West Caribbean (Holiday) Cruise

[hrhdhd]

33 minutes ago, peanut head said:

Please explain "space holder" cruises.

 

Thanks.

Also called placeholders.

[peanut head]

45 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

A cruise booked onboard to get the onboard booking OBC and $100 pp deposit that you really don't have any intention of taking.   Later you change this booking to another sailing that you want to take.   It is less restrictive than their Future Booking Certificate.   Just make sure to make it refundable deposit so there will be no fee when changing the ship/sailing date in the future.  When you do make the move to the desired sailing you can book at any prevailing rate either NRD or Refundable.

Thanks...good to know for when we start cruising again.  Until then, I will live, or should I say, cruise vicariously through CC.🚤

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just another little tidbit to pass along if you decide to book a “space holder” cruise while onboard. By default Celebrity booking software initially marks a cruise as nonrefundable when the onboard vacation planner initially gives you a quote for a cruise.
 

We didn’t realize this until we mentioned that we wanted to have the option of using these two 2024 bookings as “space holder” cruises just in case we see another cruise or cruises that look better down the road. The onboard vacation planner said “Oh, then I need to make some adjustments and the price will be higher.” That’s when we found out they were initially setup as NRD bookings. We said the higher price was fine as we wanted them to be refundable as long as the deposit was still $100 pp/cruise. We can always change them to NRD bookings just prior to final payment if it makes sense to do so. He agreed and said the deposit was still $100 pp.

 

If you don’t know what a “space holder” booking is, let me know.

Ken, it was “somewhat” reported on a different thread that even if you booked a non refundable rate cruise on board, Celebrity is now allowing you 30 days to make the change without paying the $100 pp penalty.  Has this been mentioned.  It obviously will not work for you, since you may not book your real cruise for many months.

 

All the cruises that I have recently reviewed have a box to check if you want to pay extra to make a deposit refundable.  So Imwoukd say the current default for all bookings is NRD.  

[Ken the cruiser]

We did a 2 hour walking tour today around the old parts of San Juan. We had a great time and definitely burned some calories along the way walking up and down the streets! 😎

 

[Ken the cruiser]

Later on after eating a wonderful dinner in the Luminae, we went and watch Steve Marshall who is a comedian and illusionist in the 9 pm show. 

He did a bunch of fun magic rope tricks and the floating table trick among others. He wasn’t the best we’ve seen, but he was entertaining and that’s what matters.
 

 

And now we’re sailing away from San Juan on our way to St Maarten. 
 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

I've not personally been in this situation but know some who have done an upgrade onboard.  I don't believe the onboard upgrade will be available until the MoveUp stuff is closed out.  But these days I think there are quite a few no shows for many reasons.  On our Sept sailing 3 sky suites were open and 3 of our friends were offered paid upgrades an took them.  The upgrade cost was below the min MoveUp bid but it was a couple days into a 12 day sailing.  I suspect free upgrade chance is slim to none but a paid Celebrity suite not out of the question.  The Celebrity suite on M class is very nice if you can handle the very large step into the bathtub.

Thanks! The 18” step up into the shower/tub in a sky suite is no easy adventure either I might add. But if we can upgrade to a CS at a good price, I think we’ll be able to handle it as it does look like a pretty cool suite with a great view out that wall of windows!

[Ken the cruiser]

4 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Ken, it was “somewhat” reported on a different thread that even if you booked a non refundable rate cruise on board, Celebrity is now allowing you 30 days to make the change without paying the $100 pp penalty.  Has this been mentioned.  It obviously will not work for you, since you may not book your real cruise for many months.

 

All the cruises that I have recently reviewed have a box to check if you want to pay extra to make a deposit refundable.  So Imwoukd say the current default for all bookings is NRD.  

I’m glad Celebrity is allowing that 30 day grace period, but no, it wasn’t mentioned by the CVP onboard. But at the same time I’m definitely glad we shared our full intent of possibly using them as “place holders” so the CVP would book them as fully refundable to avoid that potential annoying issue, especially if the 30 day grace period had elapsed. Just remember you can always change them to NRD bookings as long as it’s prior to the final payment date and, of course, it makes economical sense to do so.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

Also called placeholders.

Thanks. That is what I meant to say. 😎

[Ken the cruiser]

St Maarten is on the horizon. As most of you recall this is where cruising first started by up for Celebrity back in early June. We actually had a B3B booked to go on the Millennium for about a day until we were told they had decided not to allow B2Bs. By the time they changed their minds, about 3 weeks later, we had already booked our August B3B on the Edge.
 

[countess5]

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Cheers!

[Ken the cruiser]

7 minutes ago, countess5 said:

 

Enjoy your day!

 

Cheers!

Nice picture! Are you cruising on the Silversea ship in the foreground?

[countess5]

22 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Nice picture! Are you cruising on the Silversea ship in the foreground?

No

Webcam! 👀😂

 

Cheers! 

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, countess5 said:

No

Webcam! 👀😂

 

Cheers! 

That’s good. Because upon closer review when we got to the buffet, it was the Regent Seven Seas Explorer! 😂😂

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Just got back from our 4.5 hour Ultimate Explorer Cruise and Island tour we booked through Celebrity. The tour portion went to both the Dutch and French parts of the island. But the real fun part was the 75 minute boat ride around the bay! Once again everyone went on top, and we stayed below and pretty much had the whole lower level to ourselves. 
 

Where you see all the small sail boats and cruisers below is on the “free rent” French side where people are actually living on most of them. They even have wind turbines and some have solar panels to produce electricity. It was pretty cool!

 

Our bus was about 80% full. 
 

 

Lower deck on the double-decker catamaran we were on which we really enjoyed, no only because we had the lower level mostly to ourselves, but the crew and views were great!!

 

 

This ship was sunk when Cat 5 Hurricane Irma came though 4 years ago and it’s still there, on the free French side of course. If it was on the Dutch side, the rent would probably still be $20 a month. 😂

 

 

If you look closely at the sail boat in front, it has both a wind turbine which was spinning super fast and quite a few solar panels. 

 

 

The Millennium off in the distant. The RSS Explorer had just left when I took this picture. 
 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[weregoingcruising]

I would appreciate if you could inquire as to what deck disembarkation takes place.

Thank You

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, weregoingcruising said:

I would appreciate if you could inquire as to what deck disembarkation takes place.

Thank You

When we initially embarked the ship in Tampa, we entered on deck 5 which in pretty sure will be the same deck when we disembark when we get to Tampa. However, at every port of call so far we have disembarked on deck 1. 

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight after another wonderful dinner in Luminae, we went to the Game Show, The Race. Then it was on to the evening production show, Rock City, after stopping by the Martini Bar to check out their “ice counter”. Very cool!!

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Payd]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Tonight after another wonderful dinner in Luminae, we went to the Game Show, The Race. Then it was on to the evening production show, Rock City, after stopping by the Martini Bar to check out their “ice counter”. Very cool!!

 

We are reading your review and enjoying watching your vacation. We've booked our first suite for August, but just decided to book a b2b2b (because you are having so much fun!!).  We have a question about duty free (which is a big deal to Canadians with all the $$$ tax on alcohol), we typically purchase Glenlevit scotch but can't remember the price. Any chance you can drop by the shop and let us know? In March 2020 they offered a Glenlevit blend at a great price. *blend in terms of barrel years

Edited December 18, 2021 by Payd

[Ken the cruiser]

7 hours ago, Payd said:

We are reading your review and enjoying watching your vacation. We've booked our first suite for August, but just decided to book a b2b2b (because you are having so much fun!!).  We have a question about duty free (which is a big deal to Canadians with all the $$$ tax on alcohol), we typically purchase Glenlevit scotch but can't remember the price. Any chance you can drop by the shop and let us know? In March 2020 they offered a Glenlevit blend at a great price. *blend in terms of barrel years

Cool! We figure with all of the planning, preparation and travel that goes into a cruise, we usually like to go for at least 2-3 weeks if possible. But I will also say it’s definitely easier to do if you’re fully retired. 😎

 

Once we set sail from St Kitts and Nevis this evening, I’ll try to remember to find out the price for the Glenlevit Scotch.

 

[hrhdhd]

Ken, any word on onboard about a new mask policy? (Wearing indoors required.)

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

Ken, any word on onboard about a new mask policy? (Wearing indoors required.)

Nope, nothing yet.

[Ken the cruiser]

We went on a morning excursion which circled St Kitts in an open air 19 passenger van which had 12 passengers and we had a great time, mostly because we were outdoors driving around the island in the fresh air the whole morning! Got back to the ship in time for lunch up in the buffet and then it was back to the cabin to relax until it’s time for our 2 for 1 special in Le Petit Chef tonight! Here are some pictures from our trip.

 

 

In the below picture, the Caribbean Sea is on the right and the Atlantic Ocean is on the left.

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[vickykay]

Hi Ken,

 

Was that a Celebrity excursion?  Do you have any idea people were able to purchase govt approved tours at the pier?  Thanks.

[Ken the cruiser]

16 minutes ago, vickykay said:

Hi Ken,

 

Was that a Celebrity excursion?  Do you have any idea people were able to purchase govt approved tours at the pier?  Thanks.

Yes, it was a Celebrity excursion. I’m sure there were government approved tours available at the pier. But I have to be honest, we weren’t actively looking for them. Sorry.

[Ken the cruiser]

Just as a side note just in case someone currently has a cabin on the next cruise booked in this area, Deck 7 forward (both sides) has also been blocked off along with deck 2 port side to quarantine crew members for 2 weeks when they first come onboard. The interesting part about that is those cabins, except for a few inside and ocean views, are mostly balconies.