late2cruisin

3 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Oh, as a point of clarification, one does not need to be a Zenith to get laundry benefits on Celebrity. Zeniths do get unlimited laundry. However, Elites get one bag each, and Elite Plus folks get two bags each. There are also dry cleaning benefits.

 

For us, that is a fantastic perk, especially since X does not have self-serve laundry facilities. 

I agree that it's a great perk and we use it frequently. But it's wash and fold only, so the clothes are still a bit wrinkled and there's no place onboard to iron them yourself. I'm assuming on SS that the clothes we send out will be washed and pressed? That will be really nice!

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

As predicted, there is a huge amount of confusion from reusing the name 'Port to Port.'  It is really just 'Door to Door' without flights, nothing like the old 'Port to Port.'  The discounts do not apply to 'Essential,' which is the old 'Port to Port.'  Confused enough now? 😕

Except that Essential isn't really the old Port to Port, because the excursions are missing! But I'd agree that the new Port to Port is like the old Door to Door without flights and transfers (and hotels).

On 5/31/2024 at 8:00 PM, riandei said:

Fyi 10% only valid door to door

 

if you like to make your own travel arrangements, it wont apply

Actually, it is valid on the new Port to Port. I just did it.

3 minutes ago, tfred said:

X and R certainly have European and Asian cruises. 
 

And South American and African and Antarctic and Middle Eastern (well, until now) and South Pacific Island and...

And don't forget the expedition cruises like Galapagos on the smallest ships!

 

I agree that SSea is an easy upgrade to consider for Retreat pax looking for more interesting. We are on a SSea Rome to Venice 12 day this August. It was actually less expensive than a X Med cruise so it was a no brainer. 

Yes, I've noticed that SS (and other "luxury lines") can be less expensive than booking in the Retreat. 

While we're on the subject, does anyone here know what the "upgraded" champagne in the cabin is for people with SS status? I'm guessing someone on this board has received this perk.

10 hours ago, canderson said:

 

 

I'm looking at what is offered in the way of reciprocal benefits, and based upon the cabins we have been booking, I don't see that, apart from 'upgraded' champagne in the cabin, we're likely to see any difference as newly minted VS350+ members.  That said, what's up with the 10% off future bookings for 250+?  Does that apply to onboard bookings only?  Will this be extended to the match program?

The 10% off future bookings has already started and not just for onboard bookings. We just booked a cruise for next year through our TA and got the extra 10% off as well as 5% off since it was labeled as a "Venetian Society cruise". And I for one am looking forward to the free laundry benefit. Did you get free laundry on Celebrity because of the suite you booked? Or are you Zenith?

10 hours ago, tfred said:

 

 

There will not be hordes of Royal and X pax jumping to SSea.  Royal and X are 7 day, Saturday ships leaving from Florida.  Literally half the pax never get off the ship.  SSea is longer cruises, harder to get to get to ports and doesn't conform to most working people's vacation schedule. 

I agree that there will not be "hordes" of Royal and X cruisers jumping to SS, but I do think these new benefits will entice some who are thinking of "moving up" (or getting older and starting to cruise without kids, or are newly retired...)

I have to disagree that Royal and X are 7 day cruises leaving from Florida. Sure, some of them are (as are some of the "luxury line" cruises) . The ones we've taken are longer cruises, leaving from Sydney, Singapore, Athens, Rome, Southampton, Buenos Aires, etc. etc. And on the cruises we've taken, most of the passengers got off the ship at most of the ports.

We recently took our first SS cruise and we're about to leave for our second. Getting this new status on SS from our Elite Plus on Celebrity has incentivized us to book a third SS cruise (well, a fourth if you count the just-cancelled Mumbai cruise in Dec.).

On 5/30/2024 at 6:32 AM, SuziCruises said:

Did you hear any comments about noise issues?  I'm wondering about adjoining suites or suites on deck 9.   Thank you-

We were on the Nova in December and were assigned a suite on deck 9. I was concerned about noise from the pool deck above and an adjoining suite, but we heard no noise at all.

2 hours ago, saminina said:

So a Zenith from Celebrity coming on SS for first time will get free laundry.   But you will miss the free Budweiser happy hour.

Not just a Zenith- an Elite/Elite Plus will get it also! Since I'm going on my second SS cruise in a couple of weeks, I'm very happy about this!

We all have our answer now (whether we like it or not). The Dawn cruise is cancelled and the Whisper is still on, but reduced to 14 days (leaving Mumbai on Dec.8) At least they made a decision before final payment is due...

1 hour ago, billc23 said:

I could not book a Silver Suite as a P to P booking.

OK, got it. I did not think of a Silver Suite as an upgrade, just a much better (and more expensive) suite 😀

1 minute ago, billc23 said:

Exactly! I asked that from the start. To me, the old P to P was to get a lower price and a non refundable deposit. If  one desires an upgraded room D to D is the only way to go.

I'm not sure what you mean by that last sentence. What does D to D vs. P to P give you in the way of upgrades? (Unless you're talking about the 2-category upgrade that is currently on promotion.)

7 hours ago, agape01 said:

 

Well, this is my theory on why you got the free transfers.

Due to your status at CC and SS is a RCI company, my guess is that they decided to comp you the transfers as a way to acknowledge your business with RCI as a whole.

I would agree with @mchell810 to leave it alone to see whether would SS really give it to you but at the same time have a Plan B as a backup if things changes.

Hah, wouldn't THAT be nice! Although I'm guessing they are indeed Zenith with Celebrity, I think there's almost zero chance that they are getting that benefit (or any other benefit) from their Celebrity status.

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

Is your deposit refundable less the $250 pp admin fee??

THAT would answer the question. If your deposit is (partially) refundable, you didn't book the old Port to Port.

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

The old Port to Port never included transfers. The deposit was also non refundable - typically at 15% - but the price was a bit lower. Now the Port to Port deposit is refundable and does not have the pre cruise benefits. Port to Port always restricted cabin choice as it does currently. It is confusing and unfortunate that they used the same name.

Yes, that's the way I understood it too. But someone said that if you booked the old port to port, you would have transfers included. The OP said that he booked port to port and his booking showed included transfers. Sounds like a glitch, or else he didn't actually book port to port. 

Wait, what? We booked the old Port to Port and it doesn't include anything until we are on the ship- no air, no hotel, no transfers. Am I missing something? I thought transfers were only included on Door to Door (with or without airfare).

6 hours ago, FauxNom said:

Do you have to reserve the sauna? It looks gorgeous and i can imagine demand is high. Also, is there a steam room? 

I'm boarding the Nova in September so I'm avidly following your thread!

Yes there is a steam room and a sauna. Neither have to be reserved. When we were on board in December, we were the only ones using them on that day. (Not co-ed, BTW)

6 minutes ago, TakingFlight said:

Was Pommery ever available on Nova? On our March cruise only Monopole Blue Top was provided. Not my favorite. 

We had it on Nova in December.

3 hours ago, agape01 said:

I'll be on the Nova in September and was wondering whether is there anyway to have a look at the room service menu?

I don't have a copy of it and I'm not sure if it is available on the SS website. You can't order whatever you want from the restaurants (which apparently is possible on the other ships). There is a limited menu and also an Otium Spa menu. I remember we had pate de fois gras, lobster ravioli, butter chicken (Indian style) and a nice dessert. Also chardonnay, served by our butler. You can also get other things on the Otium Spa menu, like truffle popcorn (highly recommended!)

LAL Cruiser-

There's a post of Facebook today from someone on the Whisper, showing the new Arts Cafe that was added. It doesn't look like much else has changed. So, still no Asian restaurant (I'm OK with that), still no SALT kitchen and bar (not so OK with that) and no Silver Note (not happy with that). We'll see if your predictions are right...I'd consider moving to Whisper for the right incentive. Keep us posted if you get any new info.

LAL Cruiser- I'm wondering the same thing. If they manage to get the Whisper to Mumbai, how many more passengers from the Dawn could it accommodate? It's a smaller ship and is probably fairly full as it is. We too preferred the Dawn as it's newer and has more restaurant choices. On the other hand, I really like the itinerary and, at the price we booked it, we couldn't find anything comparable to replace it (even with 20% off) I just hope they don't keep up dangling too long...

I might be able to help with some of your questions, since we were on the Nova a few months ago (it was also our first Silversea cruise; we had done several cruises on Crystal before that).

The spa facilities are free (other than the treatments you pay for). We used the sauna and steam room (separate for men and women) as well as a small pool between the men's and women's changing rooms.

As others have said, you can book the excursions as soon as your deposit is paid. They will be added to your onboard account (if not included) and will be charged when you take them.

As others have said, the restaurants can be booked 120 days in advance at midnight GMT. So figure it out and get online ASAP if you want to be sure of getting your choice. The restaurants you can reserve are La Dame ($160pp; we didn't try it), Kaiseki ($80pp for dinner, which we didn't try but free for lunch, mainly sushi/sashimi). The included restaurants that you need to reserve are La Terrazza (Italian for dinner), the Grill ("Hot Rocks") and Silver Note (very hard to get into, so if you're interested book early!) We only managed to get one reservation for Silver Note and we loved it. It's like a supper club with a unique menu (small plates) and piano and a singer. You don't need reservations for Atlantide (sort of the main restaurant), Salt Kitchen (cuisine local to where you're cruising) and Spaccanapoli (pizza made to order, open for lunch and dinner). There's also room service, of course (we tried it once after a late excursions and enjoyed it.)

Let me know if I can answer any other questions! BTW, we are sailing on the Dawn next month for our 50th. Can't wait!

5 hours ago, LAL Cruiser said:

 

I had some tme on my hands and figured out what is going on...Play with the booking engine and you can confirm what I deternined....the cruises that I suggest below as canclled show odd messages on the site (Too Busy, come back, etc) when attempting to book. The Dawn voyages now show waitlist only (and the voyages per my info were not heavily booked a few days ago.)

 

DAWN - Nov 17 and Dec 4 cruises will likely be cancelled.  The DAWN will have about 36 days to make its way from Athens to Singapore, probably empty via Cape of Good Hope.  That is roughly the amount of days needed with a stop here and there to fuel and provision.  The Dawn needs to be in Singapore  for the Christmas/New Years journey and then the world Cruise out of Tokyo,

 

WHISPER - Nov 7 and Nov 17 cruises likley to be cancelled.  The WHISPER will have about 28 days to make it from Athens to Mumbai via the Cape again probably empty.  This should be enough time for Whisper to make it to Mumbai depart Mumbai per schedule.

 

It is time for SIlversea to let us know what is going on, I will call again after the weekend.

 

 

Yes, I came to the same conclusion. It's interesting, though, that the Whisper is still showing up as bookable. I don't see how that ship has any better chance of making it to Mumbai by Dec.4 than the Dawn does.  If I remember correctly, final payment is coming up soon (end of June) and if they don't cancel before then, it looks like I'll have to throw good money after bad to keep from losing the deposit (we booked Port to Port)

BTW, we'll be on the Dawn in June (Norway cruise) so I will be talking to the FCC then. It should be interesting...

11 hours ago, drron29 said:

Left Athens on 16th January. The Feb 11th Mumbai cruise was put back 3 days.

Wow, that's discouraging! I guess our Dec.4 cruise WILL be cancelled. I just hope they make the decision soon!

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

They will cancel the last Med cruise and the Mumbai to Singapore cruise. That will give them 35 days to get to Singapore. If the Med cruise only is cancelled They would only have 17 days to get to Mumbai by December 4th. But the Moon took 29 days to get from Athens to Mumbai earlier this year.

I thought it was only about 17 days...(without passengers, of course). I may be remembering wrong. (Or they could try going through the Suez Canal like Crystal Symphony recently did!)