Celebrity Pass renamed Premium Access Pass

[Nauty]

1 hour ago, CruisematicVA said:

Are you on the June 4th sailing? If so, I'll see you on there!

 

I believe we only have one tender port, but if we weren't staying in the Retreat we'd get Premium Access as well so I hope it's a good value for you!

 

Yes I am. Cannes and Santa Margherita are both tender ports. 

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

1 hour ago, Nauty said:

 

Yes I am. Cannes and Santa Margherita are both tender ports. 

According to the Celebrity website, we are docked at Santa Margherita... See the screenshot below.

[Nauty]

2 hours ago, CruisematicVA said:

According to the Celebrity website, we are docked at Santa Margherita... See the screenshot below.

That must be an error. Santa Margherita has no dock for cruise ships. I’ve been there a few times already.

[FamilyAtSea.travel]

15 minutes ago, Nauty said:

That must be an error. Santa Margherita has no dock for cruise ships. I’ve been there a few times already.

Good to know, thanks!!

[CF11]

We are on board now for our second week and purchased the premium access pass.

 

We found that the staff at the terminal were not familiar with this pass, plus we didn't have anything on the luggage to state we had this.

 

It was just lucky that one person seemed to know about it and we were taken through very quickly.

 

As to whether the luggage arrived quickly I'm not sure as there were plenty of other suitcases about when ours arrived.

 

With regards to the reserved seating at the theatre it is one section of the front row of the balcony and when we arrived we were told that we didn't have the premium access at which point I was quite annoyed and it would transpire that you have to have this on your room card.

 

To be fair the lady in the Theatre got the cards reprinted with it on.

 

People were waiting at the top of the aisle for the premium access area to open up 5 or 10 mins before the start of the show to grab the front row seats.

 

On the second week we had the same thing again it wasn't printed on the cards. So we had to go to Guest Services to get it done and once again some confusion about it.

 

I did mention for them to tell the bosses that it would be a good idea when they bring a new product out to advise the staff!

 

We haven't had any tender ports 

 

The premium WiFi has been very good.

 

Hopefully as time goes on they will be more familiar with this access.

 

Whether it is worth it or not depends how much you pay I guess, and if the premium benefits are things that are important to you.

 

I hope this helps other cruisers.

 

 

[CF11]

 

 

This is the premium access information that was in the cabin which may be useful. Applies to Celebrity Asventi

 

 

Edited March 4 by CF11

[Saturngrl]

For those who have purchased this perk, will you please answer the questions below: 

1.  "Early terminal access" -does this mean you can enter the terminal when it opens at an early time?  And/or does this gain you priority boarding after suites and handicapped/assisted? 

2.  Does this include disembarkation on the final day at a time of your choice, similar to the Key?  

 

 

[familythree]

1 hour ago, Saturngrl said:

For those who have purchased this perk, will you please answer the questions below: 

1.  "Early terminal access" -does this mean you can enter the terminal when it opens at an early time?  And/or does this gain you priority boarding after suites and handicapped/assisted? 

2.  Does this include disembarkation on the final day at a time of your choice, similar to the Key?  

 

 

1. When we signed up for our cruise on the Apex, the only boarding “appointment” time left was 2:30. So when I saw Premium Access offered, I jumped at it because it said you could board at any time. So we went at 11:00 am and walked right onboard. We also had access to our room as soon as we boarded. There was info and an invite to lunch there on the desk when we arrived. They had a very nice embarkation lunch starting at 11:30 in one of the MDR restaurants, and even though there were no signs or info anywhere about it (and the invite didn’t say where??) I asked at the restaurant and she said yes, we were invited to join that luncheon. It was labeled on the sign as “Concierge and Suite Guests only”

 

2. Yes, with Premium Access you can disembark early without any wait. Again had to ask someone though - most staff we encountered didn’t know what Premium Access meant, and there were NO signs for it anywhere. I guess it’s still too new? We liked it and thought the perks for us were well worth the money since we were only in a regular Infinite Veranda stateroom.

[Travel Daddy]

I have put together an informal and review video of the Premium Access pass after my most recent cruise a couple weekends ago.

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 hours ago, Travel Daddy said:

I have put together an informal and review video of the Premium Access pass after my most recent cruise a couple weekends ago.

 

Without watching , I know it is not worth it to me 🤣

[Tigermad]

7 hours ago, Travel Daddy said:

I have put together an informal and review video of the Premium Access pass after my most recent cruise a couple weekends ago.

 

Doesnt seem right they don’t even reserve the theatre seating. I would be asking for a partial refund if it were me. 

[Travel Daddy]

2 hours ago, Tigermad said:

Doesnt seem right they don’t even reserve the theatre seating. I would be asking for a partial refund if it were me. 

 

I complained both on ship and called in after returning from my trip.  They apologized but did not seem interested in giving me any kind of refund.

[Ellis1138]

I wasn't going to get it, but at $17.99 per day on sale, it was cheaper than the wifi for my sailing. And I notice it doesn't say "priority access to the ship", it says "early access to the terminal." That's a very different thing. 

 

[dreamer321]

Since I booked cruise-only and don't get any free WiFi with my Captain's Club Select status, I thought I would take advantage of the current sale since Premium Access was cheaper than Basic WiFi for one device only. I'm booked Concierge so I already have access to embarkation lunch in the MDR.  It will be nice to have complimentary room service for breakfast or lunch on my balcony on a sea day ( I have 6 sea days on this cruise ).  Since I'm traveling solo I only had to pay for one pass. I don't care about the other benefits of Premium Access.

 

Overall, it seemed worth it to me.  

[dreamer321]

 

10 hours ago, Tigermad said:

Doesnt seem right they don’t even reserve the theatre seating. I would be asking for a partial refund if it were me. 

I think the reserved seating in The Theatre is only done on Evening Chic nights when they set aside a section for Retreat guests and Premium Access holder are also allowed in that section.

 

[StopTheWorld]

12 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

 

I think the reserved seating in The Theatre is only done on Evening Chic nights when they set aside a section for Retreat guests and Premium Access holder are also allowed in that section.

 

On Apex this summer there was reserved seating every night for Premium Access. A member of staff stood in the aisle and checked your sea pass card before letting you in, and all the seats had “reserved for premium access cards on them.

[MNSails]

On 9/3/2024 at 11:02 PM, Travel Daddy said:

I have put together an informal and review video of the Premium Access pass after my most recent cruise a couple weekends ago.

 

Thanks for the video. A few follow up questions regarding logistics as I have Premium Access for a cruise on Reflection in a few weeks -

 

1) Was there a separate check in line for access at the port for Premium Access?  If so, was there clear signage and what port did you depart from?

 

2) How did staff know you had Premium Access when boarding? I didn't see it listed on my Xpress pass. Also no notation on the luggage tags that I could see.

 

3) Is Premium Access indicated on your Sea Pass card?  Wondering how they check folks heading into the lunch.

 

4) What was served at the welcome lunch?

 

Thanks!

[Travel Daddy]

12 hours ago, MNSails said:

 

Thanks for the video. A few follow up questions regarding logistics as I have Premium Access for a cruise on Reflection in a few weeks -

 

1) Was there a separate check in line for access at the port for Premium Access?  If so, was there clear signage and what port did you depart from?

 

2) How did staff know you had Premium Access when boarding? I didn't see it listed on my Xpress pass. Also no notation on the luggage tags that I could see.

 

3) Is Premium Access indicated on your Sea Pass card?  Wondering how they check folks heading into the lunch.

 

4) What was served at the welcome lunch?

 

Thanks!

 

There were 2 dedicated Premium Access lines in the main lobby if you arrive before 11 am.  At 11:30 am the Premium Access lines turn into regular lines and you have to wait in line as everyone else.  The lines do have the Premium Access logo on them.

 

They will be able to look it up on their tablets when checking you in.  The luggage tags did not have any indication, I told the luggage porter I had Premium Access, he said yea, sure.  I didn't get my bags for 4.5 hours.  It was after we had already set sail.

 

The word ACCESS is listed next to your stateroom on your Sea Pass card.

 

I will upload a picture of the  menu from the welcome lunch here.

 

Edited Saturday at 03:13 PM by Travel Daddy
Change HEIC format of picture for compatibility.

[Travel Daddy]

On 9/4/2024 at 5:41 PM, StopTheWorld said:

On Apex this summer there was reserved seating every night for Premium Access. A member of staff stood in the aisle and checked your sea pass card before letting you in, and all the seats had “reserved for premium access cards on them.

 

That is what I have experienced with Royal Caribbean's "The Key" which is the equivalent of Premium Access.

 

I will be sailing on the Apex with a Sky Suite in The Retreat in November.  The Retreat supposedly comes with all the features of Premium Access + concierge and a butler.  I will be excited to actually be able to use the reserved seating.

 

Where was the reserved seating in the Theatre?  Which rows?

[Suzi66]

13 hours ago, Travel Daddy said:

 

That is what I have experienced with Royal Caribbean's "The Key" which is the equivalent of Premium Access.

 

I will be sailing on the Apex with a Sky Suite in The Retreat in November.  The Retreat supposedly comes with all the features of Premium Access + concierge and a butler.  I will be excited to actually be able to use the reserved seating.

 

Where was the reserved seating in the Theatre?  Which rows?

On the Edge, Solstice and Millennium it was most of the upper deck of the theatre other than the very back row.  This is also where the Premium access reserved seating is as well.