Boatharbour

Sorry I should have clarified that Celebrity identifies four of the most common allergens, not only at the buffet but also at other dining areas. This can benefit a significant number of passengers. There were some lapses in the specialty restaurants and daily specials in the MDR but overall it was handled well. GF restrictions are fairly new for me and I dislike making a fuss by having to ask staff for guidance at every meal. Listing allergens is so common world wide I’m surprised HAL doesn’t do it. Despite this we’re motivated enough by all the changes to give HAL a go.

I’m in the same boat as you with gluten free. Although I think Celebrity does GF really well, I’ve jumped ship so to speak with HAL. My research shows that they handle it pretty well, although the food at the buffet isn’t labelled unlike the OVC. Staff will guide you through what’s safe, but it’s not quite as easy as simply reading an allergen label on each dish. I have sent an email to HAL asking if they plan to introduce allergen labelling as its now common practice worldwide. I’d be interested in reading what you find out with other lines. Without this thread I may have stayed blinkered for a while longer.

Available in Australia too. Rebooked several excursions tonight and saved hundreds of dollars with 45% off. Thank you!

It’s the Nieuw Amsterdam. I’m astounded at the price difference it was a no brainer. We’re in an aft Neptune suite with wrap around verandah. Plus HAL goes to Glacier Bay unlike Celebrity.

We’ve just booked a HAL cruise to Alaska after only ever sailing Celebrity. The price difference was so large that we couldn’t ignore it just because of loyalty. Celebrity Aqua sky suite was over AU $20,000 AI - for a 7 day cruise! With HAL we booked a Neptune suite AI for just under AU$12 000. We have one more cruise with Celebrity coming up in 2024 (booked at 2022) pricing and will then look elsewhere.

That’s a shame. Listing allergens is common practice now for many reasons so I wonder why they’re behind on this. We’re trying HAL after only ever having sailed Celebrity. For all the current criticism of Celebrity they handle food allergies really well. Nearly every dish at the buffet was labelled with allergens which made choosing really easy. No need to order ahead and there were plenty of choices, We’re still very excited about our first HAL cruise to Alaska in 2025 though and who knows things may change before then.

Do you recall if the food items in the buffet have common allergens listed? I read reports from the past that indicate they don’t. I’m hoping HAL is now more up to date in catering for allergies. I’m (reluctantly) on a GF diet.

I would be ok with that. I wouldn’t want to lose the $100 fee because I booked a non refundable fare and they canceled. Well, after Celebrity emailed us to cancel our cruise and told us that our deposit could only be returned as another FCC, our credit card received a full refund today.

What is it with all the surveys? Received a third survey overnight. The first two are the same as others have received. The third is a pre-cruise survey so they can “continue to elevate our hospitality”. Slightly baffled as we’re not cruising for another 7 months. I clicked on the link anyway and the first question is about my interaction with Irina. No idea who she is, but we haven’t initiated any “interaction “ with anyone at Celebrity.

When they cancelled our Antarctica cruise, the FCC wasn’t refunded in cash. It can only be used as another FCC.

We went to an Alaska presentation on board and were definitely told the same thing. However when I went to purchase a FCC on the same cruise I was told it was whatever the promo was at time of the actual booking, We felt slightly duped but bought the FCC anyway attracted by the low deposit. A day later we booked a cruise to Antarctica. Three weeks after that Celebrity cancelled the cruise and offered us $200 OBC as compensation. I’m unsure if we still keep the original OBC. All the changes made us open our eyes to other lines and we’ve now booked with HAL. For $200 PP we can take out cruise cancellation protection. Far less than the refundable deposits charged by Celebrity.

We took this cruise in July and thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report beforehand. I’m looking forward to reading this one too. We heard the same comment over and over from those who had taken the Berlin excursion from Warnemunde - it was a long day. We decided to take a train to Rostock and Schwerin Castle instead. Schwerin was only an hour away by train, so what could possibly go wrong! While we were at the castle I received a call that my mother had passed away. We decided to head back to the ship. Walking back to the station we noticed strange looking clouds. Not clouds - smoke. The railway museum was on fire and all trains were cancelled. We were stranded. One taxi, three trains and four hours later we arrived back at Warnemunde after being assisted by a carriage of passengers, many of whom were drinking beer and peppermint schnapps on board. They found it amusing that two Australians were on their local train and went out of their way to help us get back. I’ve never been so glad see a ship in the distance as the train finally pulled in. We then had time left to walk around Warnemunde and thoroughly enjoyed it. Interesting shops, lots of nice restaurants and a wonderful group of male singers standing on a boat singing sea shanties and other songs. Truly a memorable day without the long haul to Berlin. Following your adventures.

We had turn down service and chocolate on the pillow every night on Apex in July.

I agree with your summary 100%. This was also our experience on Apex in July. We cancelled most of our MDR reservations after several disappointing meals. The food in the OV for dinner was surprisingly good and the specialty restaurants very good to excellent.

We were on the Apex in July and the FC desk was very busy on sea days and extremely busy on the last day. We purchased a FCC for the first time and then used it while on board to book Antarctica 2025. The low deposit and OBC were the draw cards. Barely three weeks later, all these cruises were cancelled yet bookings were still being taken right up until the announcement. Unless we can apply the credit to a previously booked NZ cruise in 2024, we’ll probably let it go. All of this uncertainty has led us to try another line , another destination in 2025.

This morning I booked our first non-Celebrity cruise with HAL. We’ve always been so happy with Celebrity but too many changes and cancellations caused us to question our loyalty. I did look at some of the premium lines mentioned in this thread but they all came out around AUS$3000 per couple more for similar itineraries. That would pay for our shore excursions and then some. I do have a FCC from our just canceled Antarctica cruise and may end up simply forgoing it as we won’t be cruising twice in one year.

Ouch.

First time cancellation for us so could someone please explain the $200 OBC. Is this on top of the OBC we had for our Antarctic cruise? Or do we lose the OBC associated with the cancelled cruise?

Received an email overnight cancelling our Antarctic cruise, reinstating our FCC and giving us an $200 OBC.

Our booking for Antarctica 18 Jan 2025 is still showing in my app. I did notice there were a lot of sunset verandahs still available last week which I thought was a little unusual given they usually sell quickly.

There was definitely a shuttle fee for most ports(including Copenhagen) on our 19 July Apex Baltic cruise. It actually cost more to buy the shuttle tickets on board than buying shoreside as you boarded the bus. Hop on Hop on buses were servicing many ports, so that it another option.

Absolutely agree. Indeed the vast majority of guests on this cruise followed the dress code.

No comment. No judgement, just responding to above. On Apex two weeks ago a woman walked into Fine Cut for dinner in collarless tee shirt, denim shorts and wearing rubber flip flops. She wasn’t turned away.

I take a “Scrubba” wash bag, plus a stretchy clothes line and use on sea days.

I’m glad you mentioned the cereal as there wasn’t a GF option. I too carry my own cereal on my travels. I just pop a meal size portion into a resealable plastic bag each morning and take it with me to the buffet.