joelmarj

7 minutes ago, bhughey said:

After speaking to the representative last night, I was told that he needed to have the supervisor handle the removal of erroneous charge and I would receive a new correct confirmation today. So far, I've not received anything and my online X account still shows the higher price. We are traveling with friends who also received a 2nd higher invoice than what was agreed. They called X this morning as well and the rep told them that it could not be removed until final payment.

Yep, I’m said friend and they said it would come off at final payment.  I guess my only concern is that is not until next year and I would hate for the story to change then  It does sound like others here have seen it happen and resolved so I’m hoping for the best.   I must say that Celebrity would save an awful lot of money they spend in customer service if they could get their IT team to be more efficient.  How many excess calls fo they get because of issues like this.  

Are you booking on line? I am trying and it says they are not available yet Nd when chatting they say it is not up until 3PM

We were on Solstice in Alaska in May and summit in Bermuda in July and had the red carpet but just back from Infinity in the Caribbean and there was none so it seems random. Perhaps by ship/crowds? We never waited in line for ports on the Infinity but Bermuda and Alaska were definitely more busy and worthwhile.

I thought I would give a review of the culinary tour we just took while on the Eclipse New Years cruise. They had the same one described above for St Marten but that apparently got cancelled. Not sure why but someone said there was a logistics issue. The one we took was "Cook like a Lucian". It was only $99 pp and it was great. There was an air conditioned coach to take the 8 of us (thats all that can be accommodated) to a local location. It wasn't really a restaurant but was a kitchen facility and dining room for us. We each had a work station and all participated in the preparation of our meal. It was a mother and son operation and they were fantastic. The son was so knowledgable about not just their local produce and traditional food, but so much history and background on the food.

After spending about 3 hours preparing the meal and some dancing in between :) we all sat down together to enjoy the amazing feast. The food was all traditional to St Lucia and beverages including local wine and juices were provided.

We had a great group which added to the fun but the son really did an amazing job as a host/chef/dance instructor. Overall we really enjoyed it and it was well worth the $99 each.

hcat - Capt. Leo should still be on board for your cruise as he just came on the Equinox in mid November. Rossy was the Captain's Club Hostess; Take Five was the house band.

 

Some of the shows in the theater:

Dave Burleigh - Comedy

New Celebrity Production - Singers, Dancers, Specialty Performers

Not Really Three Tenors

Solomon Jaye - channels John Legend, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder

The Liars Club w/Capt. Leo and CD Alejandro

Craig Meyer - Elton John tribute artist

Natalie Toro - "Broadway, Standards, & Everything In-Between"

Garin Bader - virtuoso pianist

Mark Nizer - Comedy

Actually it is Capt Panos on the Equinox. He just came on Nov 9th as we had the pleasure of dining with him.

For now I only know that he will be on EQ on the 20th. I'll let you know if I hear anything from my spies....

Thanks!!! :)

For some reason he did not show up on Constellation.

Graeme is on vacation, a hostess is on board but I do not know her name as yet.

 

tbmrt: and Captain Panos Mantzavinos will be the master on board.

 

Thanks Jim for Reflection update..

Do you know when Capt Panos will be rejoining Equinox? We sail on the 9th and would be very pleased if he was back.

Is it just me? In all my years of traveling and many cruises I have never had a discussion with anyone I'm not travelling with about how much I paid for anything.

Honestly I'd be more annoyed at my friends that got the deal and didn't tell me that day about it. I travel with friends and we always let each other know what deals we got and compare notes. In this situation if my friends said the rate dropped by $200 I'd have been on the phone that day. But the key is also knowing the rules which is that once final payment date, there are no changes. This is just common sense to understand terms and conditions of any travel spend.

This was happening to me as well. I tried fixing it online multiple times and it always reverted back. I then called and it was supposed to be fixed but again reverted back. I called again about a month ago and I got one guy on the phipone who knew about it and said the fix is a two step manual process. He fixed the first one the way the other agent had fixed it then he said he had to go I. Manually to the system to override it and that worked. Unfortunatelyni don't know the gentleman's name but it was resolved. Not sure of the specific details that he performed but he seemed to know what to do.

We have done this cruise several times and it is indeed an issue. I was up at 6:45 and already chairs were saved. I took some chairs that were ok but not my preference. Kept my eye on preferred seats for about an hour and no one showed. I asked the pool butler and what they do is put a card in their seat and time it for 30 minutes. After about 45 more minutes and they remains empty I then asked the pool butler for the seats . He promptly removed their items and put them on the nearby wall. About 3 hours later (lunch time) they finally showed up and got into a tizzy because their things were gone. The husband quickly located their items and slithered off but the wife as all indignant and mumbling nastiness to everyone around.

It helps to proactively engage the butlers because they don't really keep track on their own but I always found they would take action.

Do you fly through NY? Bring Cooper here!!!!! We will cuddle and love him while you are away. Klondike will help too!

Well done Andrew. You captured the cruise and ports perfectly. This truly was one of the most memorable trips we have taken. The ship, the crew, the ports and most of all our traveling companions created an amazing lifetime experience.

Great review. We are doing the same itinerary October 31st and can't wait. I was surpirsed at only 2 formals but with such a port intensive itinerary it does make sense.

On the Summit a couple of years ago we were lucky enough to have a Royal Suite. Keith was our butler and was absolutely amazing. He was extremely attentive and so kind. We didn't need any unpacking and we didn't want a meal served in our cabin, so we were relatively simple guests. He still kept checking to see if there was anything he could do for us. He brought the little sandwich cart every day but I was never really interested. On the third day though we had returned from a long excursion and I was especially hungry. I told him I was vegetarian, did he have any other veggie options? A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and there was Keith, with a HUGE tray of at least a couple dozen mini-sandwiches, treats and such, as well as a big plate of chocolate chip cookies and various petit fours. Every day after that he'd bring a separate tray just for me with all kinds of vegetarian specialties.

 

We got to know him well that week, and he shared that after that cruise, he was finally headed home to see him family. He saw the picture of my son in our cabin and asked about him...he teared up when speaking of his children back home. There were lots of hugs the day of departure! I think of him often and I pray that maybe someday we will see him again on a future cruise. He was a very special guy.

We had Keith on the Summit last year as well. He was great. We usually do formal with Gown and Tux but this one cruise for some unknown reason my husband decided to just bring a suit. Wouldn't you know, we got invited to the captain table. Keith helped my husband secure a tux for that night as well as getting me a hair appointment.

He also knew I had a fondness for the Celebrity cookies so every day my afternoon snack included a plate full of cookies. :D

We didn't really ask him to do anything much but he was always so eager to offer help of any kind. We have have a suite about 4 times and the butlers were always so delightful. Really just good people, so good we hated asking for things!!

Lionel on Millennium March 2012:

 

That's him!

Hi Lois, :)

 

You are right, he was never dining room staff. Orator's answer is the correct one. Lionel told me also that he came from retail and from, specifically, Louis Vuitton. Nice young man.

 

Anne

We were just on the Summit with Lionel. What a delightful gentleman. He was very kind and nice to chat with. We had a number of opportunities to meet with him and he was always such a delight.

We've done both, and have determined we definitely like late better. We felt rushed and like the day was shortened by having early. We found we had to stop whatever we were doing by 4:30 the latest. And after dinner we were still full and tired and didn't have much energy to do anything. Now we take late seating. The best part is on Celebrity they have a sushi bar at 6PM so that is our appetizers! Nothing better than sitting outside, aft with some sushi and saki. Very relaxing! No more rushing for dinner. Plenty of time to get ready and have a cocktail or snack beforehand. Some days we even take a nap before dinner. Then after dinner, usually just a visit to the casino and then off to sleep or if we napped we'll go to the lounge. We don't care about the shows and have only seen one (which we walked out of after 15 min). It's just not our thing.

stuNYC - congrats! I think you will be pleased, but I'm happy to get pictures for you and Kitycaty. Given the added space inside and out, I think you made a good move.

As for the reps at Celebrity, I think they just have no idea that these ships have cabins in the same class with different configurations. It seems like Celebrity doesn't bother to tell their staff about it and they've never been on the ships so they have no clue. Same goes for the TA's. Unless they have sailed or customers tell them, they have no clue. I think it's innocent ignorance.

teeca - pictures would be great. My email is coolglfrmom@yahoo.com

No Kity - promise it's not on your sailings! (I saw what happened to you and Bostom).

stuNYC - I've done a bunch of research on this cabin. I originally had my November cruise booked on the Constellation and had read that this was one of those secret cabins with more space and a bigger balcony. It is larger both in cabin and balcony from what I've read. Its bright and comfortable as well. I was so pleased with all I read that when I booked my August cruise on the Infinity, I immediately grabbed the same cabin (opposite side of the ship). So now, in about a month I'll be sailing and can let you know. I know you are trying to book now, but at least I can let you know how it was.

I actually have that cabin booked for my two cruises (actually 6131 for one, 6132 for the other, just opposite sides of the ship)

Don't know if you can wait until September to get the pictures, but I'll have some then.

m&pcoty - i was waiting for someone to finally list the parfait. My absolute favorite to order from room service. A real treat to start the day, as I sit on the balcony. The other mornings when I go to the buffet it's bagels, salmon and cream cheese all the way!!!!

Also, joeyancho - it's actually a proven fact that NY Bagels (and pizza by the way) are not replicated outside of NY because of the water. It has been determined that because of the composition of the water in NY it has a unique effect on the doughs used in bagels and pizza, thus creating the "unique" light, fluffy and yet filling texture that they end up with. It's not to say you can't get a good bagel, it just won't be a "NY Bagel".

Similar experience here. I am a very seasoned traveler, away on business several times a month. Put on the autopilot getting through airport security and the likes. So when it came to going to Club Med Mexico with my sister's, kids, spouses (16 in total), they look at me as the "leader" for handling the travel arrangements and negotiating the airport process. Well, we get to JFK airport in NY on a Friday morning from Long Island. Anyone who knows NY, knows the trip takes twice as long as it would anywhere else in the world. So 7 AM we're at the airport, checking everyones documents. They get to me and ask for photo ID. To my horror, I realize the night before, as I sorted out necessities from the purse I remembered saying "who needs this, no driving in Mexico" and promptly REMOVED MY LICENSE! :eek:

Well, knowing that I could not make it home and back within the hour in which we were leaving (had no car, used a car service - not to mention rush hour traffic), I had to call a friend-get him to go to my house, search for the license and drive to the airport.

Needless to say, I am indebted to my friend, and forever subjected to ridicule from my family:D .

I'm a huge travel reader. Can usually polish off 3 or 4 books in a week, especially some of the quick-read stuff.

Janet Evanovich series are great. They are very quick reads, all come in paperback and are fun to read. The titles are all in number sequences - One for the Money, Three to get deadly. You can find them on ebay easily. I think she's finished 1 - 8. You can read them in order, but it's not critical to read in sequence. (She actually came out with a short one about Christmas, forget the title, but it was in conjunction with another author, and the title was not in the "number sequence" she usually runs with.

Also enjoy the Stewart Woods books. Good mysteries, with repeat characters. Again, ebay is a great place to pick them up. Or even used book stores. Some take trade ins, so I take my olds ones and swap out for new stuff.