mickeysgal

 We are debating on which restaurants to book.  We have Onda booked and want at least one more...its between Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Ocean Blue.    Has anyone tried Ocean Blue?  I see plenty of comments about Cagney's and LeBistro, but not that many about Ocean Blue.  We will be on Encore.  Which do you recommend? 

On 11/4/2022 at 10:11 AM, Two Wheels Only said:

For the Breakaway Plus Class of ships (Escape/Joy/Bliss/Encore),  the size order for depth is 9, 12, 15, 14, 11, 10, 13 from deepest to least deep.

 

The sizes and configurations of the staterooms are the same throughout the class but the stateroom numbers can be slightly different.

 

The bed location can be near the balcony or near the closet. There are also slight differences in balcony width within each deck even if the configurations are the same. For example, Bliss 9324 and 9922 are both the same configuration (bed near closet) and both balconies are the same depth but the balcony for 9922 is slightly wider than the balcony for 9324. 

Two Wheels Only - can you tell me which staterooms on Encore Deck 9 have the bed near the balcony and which have the bed by the closet?  Is there a list somewhere? 

Anyone have any insight on this ?

Nope.  Big design mistake if you ask me.  It didn't have to be a grand space, but it would have been nice to have something.  

Does anyone have a list of the specific cabins blocked by the window washing equipment for this cabin category?  

On 9/25/2022 at 9:12 AM, stefanny28 said:

Just a quick question regarding Ramses Tours deposit and payment ppolicies:

I have just booked 2 tours with Ramses for next July 2023. Mohamed was very quick to reply and I used the link provided in his booking email to make the deposit ($100US for each tour).

Now Rokaia ( who is she?) is asking me to pay 40% of the tour price by credit card now!!!

I am confused and sent them an email to ask them to clarify: I thought that the $100 US deposit is all that is required and the rest we can pay by cash or credit card.

I really don't want to pay the 40% now, there's still 10 monthsd before my tours and with the uncertainty that we are experiencing now, that's not what I want to do.

 

Can anyone tell me what was their experience with the deposit and full payment with Ramses tours?

 

Thanks

We have Ramses Tours booked as well.  What was the resolution for this?  Did you have to pay out the 40% prior?  I thought this company only wanted payment upon completion.  

Does anyone have any recent information to share about Ramses?

On 1/15/2023 at 9:55 AM, dbirds said:

After looking at both websites for these companies, I realize they are the same company.  Does anyone know why?  Is there an advantage to book with one versus the other?

 

Thank you in advance!

Thank you for asking this.  I've been wondering myself.  We have booked with Ramses, but having issues getting them to communicate back to us.  Making me very nervous about using them....

What tour company are you using for Egypt?

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

The chairs are low backed with no recline, the table is minute and there are no footstools.

Exactly. Not the most comfortable. I’m surprised that more people haven’t mentioned this. It’s truly cheap outdoor furniture and frankly, I expected better. High with a supported back with an optional recline would be nice . And a bit larger table with space  to put a couple of things on. 

Just now, kearney said:

Last Sep I got covid on the last day of our cruise... My husband tested negative..we were given a choice... I could go to deck 3 to isolate.. or we could stay together in our cabin on deck 6. Since we planned on driving 11 hours home the next day, we decided to stay together in our deck 6 cabin. Policies are fluid as the disease changes.. but that is what we experienced. Earlier comment that cruise lines 'don't want to know", I am not sure this is valid. CDC regulations changed which is one reason we don't see figures. Also, lets face it ..it is everywhere... and if you are concerned... Stay home. 

Yes that was the policy last summer/fall. Looks like it has changed to allow people to stay in their cabins. We too were moved down to deck 3 - we chose to stay together- and it was an absolutely miserable experience overall (apex) and wouldn’t wish it on anyone. In the event we get it again with our upcoming cruise, it’s nice to know they are allowing people to stay in their original cabins. 

13 hours ago, lexmiller said:

Passengers on the Eclipse currently in isolation are definitely allowed to remain in their own cabins.  Another improvement in this horrible process is that your cabin partner is allowed to remain with you if they test negative, and are allowed to leave the cabin and ship, while masking - however, the partner is tested daily and can only move around the ship if testing negative.  

Thank you. So glad to hear people can stay in their own bought and paid for cabins. At least it makes a bad situation more tolerable. 

On 12/26/2022 at 1:48 PM, lexmiller said:

Another update on covid quarantine - Australia and New Zealand are still unyielding about back to back passengers - they must be tested, having to undergo monitored B2B testing and if positive, if an Australian itinerary, must be in isolation on board for 5 days but if there are New Zealand ports on the itinerary, the passengers must be in isolation onboard for 7 days.  Some passengers onboard the Eclipse now, who tested positive in the mandatory monitored B2B testing dragnet, were told they'd have to stay in isolation for 5 days and then just when they thought they were going to be sprung from covid jail which was just in time for Christmas as it so happened, were told nope, too bad, you have to stay in jail for an additional 2 days because those are the rules which New Zealand has made.  How extremely disappointing for these guests and frankly for the cruising community as a whole.  I would love to know if mandatory monitored B2B testing is occurring anywhere else in the world any longer - I don't think so.......?

For those that get quarantined, are they still making them move out of their cabin to a lower desk with ocean view cabins or are they finally allowing people to stay in their own cabins? 

12 hours ago, lexmiller said:

I wish people who are currently cruising in Europe now would chime in with their experiences regarding testing to board and B2B testing (OH, and this is my edit - it's January, not much cruising going on currently in Europe! Oops!) - that would be very helpful.  I recommend that you do as I have been doing for several months now - monitor roll calls on that other social platform and ask questions.  You usually have to ask permission to monitor the roll calls on that other media platform which is fine.  The roll calls here on Cruise Critic vary a lot as far as passenger participation on said roll call.  I find the other media roll calls to be generally much much more active - I think because the other platform is simply far easier to use on your phone.  

My personal focus right now is on Australian/New Zealand/South Pacific/Hawaiian-TransPacific cruises and for me, the B2B mandatory MONITORED testing is what is paralyzing us - I am following all of the Eclipse roll calls and people are getting snared and forced into isolation even though they are asymptomatic, feeling great, etc - Australia and New Zealand are over a year behind the rest of the cruising world due to their near zero covid policies which they held dear up until recently.  This makes cruising there fraught with anxiety.  Testing to board however, is not bad as passengers are only required to do a home self-test, NOT MONITORED.  

 

I’m feeling confused- what other media platform has roll calls? FB?  I thought roll calls were only here on cruise critic.  
 

On 12/26/2022 at 1:48 PM, lexmiller said:

Another update on covid quarantine - Australia and New Zealand are still unyielding about back to back passengers - they must be tested, having to undergo monitored B2B testing and if positive, if an Australian itinerary, must be in isolation on board for 5 days but if there are New Zealand ports on the itinerary, the passengers must be in isolation onboard for 7 days.  Some passengers onboard the Eclipse now, who tested positive in the mandatory monitored B2B testing dragnet, were told they'd have to stay in isolation for 5 days and then just when they thought they were going to be sprung from covid jail which was just in time for Christmas as it so happened, were told nope, too bad, you have to stay in jail for an additional 2 days because those are the rules which New Zealand has made.  How extremely disappointing for these guests and frankly for the cruising community as a whole.  I would love to know if mandatory monitored B2B testing is occurring anywhere else in the world any longer - I don't think so.......?

Ugh. We have a back to back scheduled. Strongly considering dropping the shorter first segment . No way do I want to put myself in a potential situation like this after traveling halfway across the world . 

On 1/1/2023 at 6:30 PM, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

The B2B discount (not additional OBC) is not a great amount of money.  Really short cruises don't qualify.  Check your invoice.  If it has been applied you will see something like  "B2BSAV" with the dollar amount.  If you booked directly with Celebrity then contact them.  If you booked with a travel agent then contact the agent.  Sometimes the B2B discounts are not automatically applied until you ask.

 

I have a B2B2B2B series in March.  The first is a five night and we have a $50 discount.  The second and third legs are eleven nights and we have a $100 discount for each leg.  

Our first is a 11 night , then a 6 night. We initially booked with celebrity- I’ll call and ask. Thank

you! 

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

And don't forget to get your B2B discount.  There is a small discount for B2B legs which is determined by the length of the legs.

We just booked a cruise that will now be our first b2b.  What discount???

I’ve sailed both lines several times . Celebrity we’ve sailed several times in Northern Europe and NCL we’ve sailed several times in the Mediterranean. That said, it’s all about the itinerary. Ncl has some really nice itineraries. Celebrity has nice itineraries - some with overnights which we prefer. Cost wise- NCL has great rates - and we’ve been able to sail in suites with them whereas financially we can’t touch the cost of suites with Celebrity. I do prefer the classy look of Celebrity. But the entertainment in our opinion is better on NCL. So - you can’t go wrong either way. Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary. Perhaps put a booking in place with NCL and then see what Celebrity offers. You can also cancel before final payment. Have fun! 

43 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

Just to clarify, the featured specialties of any one of the four MDRs can be ordered in any of them.  Meaning you can order an appetizer from Cyprus and an entree from Cosmopolitan while seated in Normandie.

Now that I don’t know- the waitstaff never pointed that out to us. We just ordered off the menus in our hand which were specific to the restaurant we were in at the time. 

We were recently on Apex - by the time we booked the cruise, Anytime was unavailable and we took the 6pm time slot. That said, we did try to go and change it on day 1 and they said we didn’t have to change it. All they said to do- since it was just the two of us (and not part of a large party) is show up where ever we wanted to dine and whatever time we wanted to dine.  And that’s what we did, and we never had an issue. On each restaurant’s menu, there were the featured specialties of that restaurant and a core group of standard selections that were the same no matter which restaurant we visited. 

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

On any given deck (7-9), there are 8 balcony cabins. 4 are FV cabins and one is a handicap accessible cabin. The remaining 3 are SV cabins and are pretty much equivalent. Some might prefer they SVs closest to the center. 

Thanks. I do appreciate all the help you’ve given on these sunset verandas. We ended up booking a deck 7 one. 

2 hours ago, UnorigionalName said:

 

So it was expensive, and you are surrounded by people happy to pay the price, but you think only you appreciate the ambiance and not your surrounding cruise passengers that paid the same good money that you did?

 

You realize cruise companies use dynamic cabin pricing right? Why do you think the E-class ships can demand such a price premium? 

 

 

Who carries physical books in the day of kindles and e-readers.  

 

Geez, maybe the ship isn't for you.  Is it wrong for ships to be for other people?

 

Me! I still like the feel of an actual book in my hand. 

Whether I’m reading a real book or using my kindle, I do wish there was a library on E class ships. I miss it. 

Thank you all for these responses. To take it a step further, are all the cabins/balconies the same on each deck? In other words if you pick deck 7, is there one non handicapped cabin “better” than others? Or are they all the same?  

6 hours ago, Cruise Gopher said:

Pick the Penthouse! I’m laying on the deck of the Penthouse of the Millennium as I type…

That deck is simply unbelievably decadent. Enjoy! 

35 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Either Deck 7 or 8 is good choice. Any of the 3 SV on that deck would be fine.  The ones closest to the center would be 7208 and 8172.

 

Note that Deck 7 aft balconies are about 3 feet deeper than Deck 8.

 

Constellation, Nov 1 2022, somewhere on the North Atlantic Ocean

Thank you for helping with your response. I do appreciate it.
Is this a pic looking down onto deck 6 penthouse suites? 

Trying to choose a stateroom - sunset veranda- on deck 7 or 8 on Millennium. Is there any reason to choose one deck over another , and further, any particular cabin on those decks?