Cruise Arizona

I am considering bring a hole punch and lanyard for my key card for the first time for my upcoming Celebrity cruise and I am wondering if your key card will still work if it has a hole in it and if you can open the door with-out removing it from the lanyard. Obviously I will make sure to put the hole on the opposite side of the card and not through the magnetic strip.

Oops that header should say hole PUNCH. Can't edit the header. Please excuse my typo.

It was all about the right cruise at the right time with the right people. I don't think that my husband would have necessarily enjoyed it, but my Mom wanted to treat my sister and I for my 50th b-day, and the West Coast sailing made it just the right weather and the right itinerary.

We missed the comedy show as we thought my Mom might not like it. She kind of a fogey when it comes to comedy - she doesn't get jokes and doesn't like R rated humor.

We enjoyed our table mates, but some of the other tables around us were a little rowdy, but hey that's what Carnival is all about - having fun with friends and family. On another ship with a different dining atmosphere their behavior would have been totally out of place.

We were so impressed with the friendliness of the crew and that we were greeted by name everywhere. I am a little sad that we missed the Sea Day brunch because my sister was reading the wrong day for the Funtimes.

It certainly wasn't the best cruise I have ever taken but the value and fun was great.

I just wanted to report back that we had a wonderful time on our 4 day Carnival. We felt it was all about expectations. We chose to embrace the things that we knew Carnival was good at - we really enjoyed the Sing-A-Long piano bar, dinner conversation with our well traveled table mates, and my sister and even road the big water slide. We had the cheer package and really enjoyed the delicious custom made drinks at the Alchemy bar.

There were some negatives, but over all we knew what to expect and felt that the value was there and that this was a fun ladies get-a-way for my Mom, Sister and I to celebrate the big 50!

Yes, Guy's Burgers is on the Inspiration as is the Blue Iguana Cantina, which I liked even better than Guy's (and I liked Guy's a lot!).

 

The Punchliner Comedy Club can be "hit or miss" depending on the comic, but it's usually pretty good.

 

The Serenity Deck is definitely where you want to hang out, but the primo spots under the umbrellas can go fast. (Just don't be a chair hog there. :halo:)

 

If you have Anytime Dining, you may find long waits--we did on the Imagination last August.

 

Pizza is available 24/7 and Carnival probably has the best pizza I've had on any cruise line.

 

Finally, if one of the production shows is "Epic Rock", don't miss it. It's definitely the best cruiseship production show I've ever seen.

 

These short cruises out of Long Beach sometimes get trashed, but we had great fun last year. You will too as long as you know what to expect.

Thanks for the tips. I think Guys and Blue Iguana were added since I took the tour which I realize now was closer to two years ago. I'm excited to try those two venues. We have fiixed late seating dining. We figured that would be the most relaxing and the lease chaotic. I've heard that the 3 day cruise tends to be the crazy party and the 4 day is more retirees and families. I know going in its not the Ritz Carlton, but I am looking forward to 4 carefree days at see with my Mom and my Sister. You see from my signature that most of my recent cruises have been on Celebrity, but we've done Princess and Royal, and I've toured the Norwegian Jewel and had seated lunch. We just want to fun get away to Celebrate my turning 50 and this gets Mom and Sis away from the heat of Texas.

I don't believe that Guys Burgers are on the Inspiration yet?

Wine tour is independent, but I believe it goes the same place as the Carnival tour. We are definitely getting an internet package so I can stay in touch with business.

Any other must do's on the Inspiration?

After 24 cruises I am finally taking my first Carnival. I leave Monday on the Inspiration 4 day Catalina Island and Ensenda with my Mom and My sister to Celebrate my recent (Big) birthday and for the ladies from Texas to join me out in CA and beat the heat.

I have actually been on the ship before, as I took a tour of it about two years ago but I would love some tips on what we might really enjoy, and what we need to go check out just to say what it was like.

We have been to Catalina Island before via the ferry, so we are not going to do anything specific their, maybe rent a kayak or SUP. In Ensenada we are going on the winery tour.

We have the beverage package already, and are looking forward to relaxing. Are there any theme nights or special events, karaoke, comedy, food shows that your can tell me about?

I wanted to add a little more information about he Senior, Military and Resident rates. Those rates are offered on sailings when Celebrity needs to boost sales. If you are a plan ahead kind of person they may not be available when you first book your cruise.

When the marketing department sees that a sailing needs a boost in sales, they will put out those discounted rates, and usually the rate is the same whether you are a senior, military or live in a state or province that qualifies for the discounted rate.

A good travel agent will watch for these discounts and then call you up to see if you want to take advantage. If you have one perk when you book initially and the difference is over $300 and you just have OBC you would come out ahead. If you are a beverage package person, you have to do more complicated math to see if you would end up saving like he poster above did.

However, I have seen the case where early bookings with one fo the perks ends up being a better deal than the Senior Discount. That is because often the early booking or launch rates are the lowest price on a sailing (Not always, it depends on how well the ship is selling) When the launch price is super low, Celebrity will gradually raise the price as the ship starts to fill. Sometimes they will then offer the discounted rates, but they can actually be higher than the launch price with 1 perk.

Just some thing to keep in mind.

What kind of compensation are they giving to guests who have the 7 day cruise which is now reduced to 4 days.

I had a lady I met at the LA Travel show call me yesterday to see if I could help her find a replacement for this cruise that she booked direct with Celebrity at the show. She was willing to consider almost anything as long as it was with a good cruise line and nearly the same price. She is a solo traveler and got the exciting deals price with the 150% single supplement, so her total for a Concierge Class was under $1500. Even out of Ft. Lauderdale or Miami things were either sold out or twice the price.

Anyway she resigned herself to extending her hotel stay in San Juan and just doing the 4 day cruise. I told her to just make sure that they were adequately compensating her for her extra expenses and the loss of cruise days.

My Take on Go Big, Better Best Perks.

It allows you to make it nearly "All Inclusive" in that way that suits your own personal style.

If you like to go to the spa or book excursions on board - $300 OBC is a great perk.

If your bar bill is normally more or close to what you pay for the cruise - Beverage Package - Maybe with the $11.80 per day Premium Upgrade is best for you.

If you are not a drinker and spend very little extra on your cruise - then book the Senior or Resident Rate to save money.

For years folks here on Cruise Critic has been suggesting the Celebrity should go all inclusive, but I think they worked out this scheme so that everyone would have options. Non-drinkers are not paying for someone else to drink when they have the option of Gratuties, On Board Credit or Senior/Resident discounts instead. It is a win/win for everyone.

I will tell one on myself. On a Reflection cruise, I went to bed and the turn-down chocolate had fallen down off of the pillow. So my wife and I are sleeping and a couple hours later I wake up to find something dark all over the sheets and my wife...at first fearing it was blood. Once we turned the lights on we saw it was chocolate that had melted everywhere...even in my wife's hair. Needless to say she was not happy at having to take a shower at 2:00am. Also, I felt I needed to bring the cabin steward in the next morning in person to explain to him that it was chocolate and not something else:D He said it happens all the time.

Same thing happened to me twice on the Infinity in 2007

Although passengers were probably were almost entirely English speaking, I think the announcements were also made in Spanish.

 

As in almost every one of these stories, the problem probably isn't language, it's in the lack of thoughtfulness about one's actions and the consideration for others.

I think I recall seeing that they now have Diaper Genie's in the restrooms on Celebrity.

No her price should be the same or cheaper. Call her and tell her about the price your a seeing and make sure that you are comparing apples to apples. Booking direct should never be cheaper as long as she doesn't have a service charge. It should be the same or if she has a group rate, lower at the travel agency.

One of the simplest ways to enjoy St. Martin is the Phillipsburg beach. This is just swimming beach - no reef for snorkeling but a great beach and super convenient for a family with kids.

You can take the water taxi from the pier area - buy a rt wrist band. Get off at the pier on the center of the beach.

You'll be greeted by friendly sales men who want to sell you two chairs and a bucket of beer for $20. You can usually talk them down to $15. Once they have seated you on the beach chairs they will bring you your "bucket of Beer" but you can probably also swap it out for virgin daquiris or the like. The guy that seat you will serve as you beach butler for the day and check in on you, bring a menu from one of the beach front cafes and you can order food. The kids can play and swim on the beach.

This is the Philipsburg Beach - which was built up through a dredging operation when they built the beach front boardwalk maybe about 15 to 20 years ago. Nudity is not allowed on this beach so no worries about the kids. If the kids need to use the facilities, they can go in the beach front restaurant that is supplying the beverages and food. You can usually get free wifi, but you might have to go to the restaurant for it to get a good signal.

You can also "shop" from your beach chair as sales laidies from local places will walk up and down with their wares. If they don't have what you are looking for, they will go back to their shop and get you the size/color you need.

You can google the internet for pictures to get an idea of what it is like. We have done this the last 4 times we have been in St. Martin. Kids were 11 and 13 on time, 14 and 15 1/2 the other time. And the last two times it was just me and hubby.

I would suggest googling the name of the beach and you'll see lots of pictures.

I did a search but could not find any one thread which answered all my questions, so apologies for starting a new one.

 

Last couple of cruises have been on Norwegian. Just booked Solstice to Alaska for August 2017 and have a couple of questions.

 

1. I am used to Freestyle on NCL where you can dine whenever you want. I understand that Celebrity has two set times for dining but then also has an anytime option. We've been on RCCL once in the past 10 years and I remember this being the same. Any estimate on the percentage that choose set times and the percentage that choose anytime? If we are a group of 6, would there be waits for anytime?

 

2. What are the complimentary dining options besides the main dining room and the buffet? For the specialties, are they flat fee or a la carte?

 

3. How is Celebrity with food allergies? Our typical procedure is to meet with an Assistant Maitre D upon embarkation, and order each dinner a night in advance. For buffets, we ask a chef to walk us down the line each day and advise what to avoid. Is Celebrity the same?

 

4. What is the kids club like? My kids are 10 and 8.

 

5. How is the fitness center? Are there free showers and steam room or sauna, or are these only in the paid spa area? The gym on the big Norwegian ships was inordinately crowded. And their newest ship didn't even have a locker room for the hoi polloi who didn't have a spa pass. I like to work out in the morning and take a shower at the gym so I can avoid getting in the way of the rest of the family.

 

6. For the Lawn, I see some pictures of people playing croquet. Is there a designated area to do this or do you just try and get the people lounging on the grass to make room, do you have to sign up, is it competitive to get because there is only one set,

 

7. I know there is no self-service laundry. Is there a fill the bag special midweek and how much is it?

 

8. Is there a feeling of constant competition? The last two times on Norwegian we always felt like the ship was so crowded, and would sometimes stand in line for 45 minutes to do the ropes course.

 

9. Any tips or tricks or "must do" things on Solstice?

 

10. Is disembarkation on the last day a nightmare? We always do self carry. We are on an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle. The ship supposedly docks at 6 AM on the last day. Would we be able to make an 11 AM flight out of Seattle?

 

Thank you to anyone who can provide help. We are so excited to be cruising on Celebrity. Had a great time on Norwegian the last two cruises, but the product seems to have gone downhill and the new CEO is cutting costs and nickel and diming everything. Looking forward to trying out X!

1. We have done the flexible dining time with a 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm reservation time. I think it conflicted with shows, but others in my party were not interested in shows. Celebrity no longer requires pre-paid gratuities, which puts them more in line with what others are doing.

3. With food allergies you might want to consider fixed dining times or requesting the same table, waiter and time every night with-in the flexible dining option. I know its not exactly the same as allergies, but my daughter is a vegan, and they knew to bring her the next evenings vegetarian menu so that she could select items which could then be made vegan by omitting diary and eggs. It was nice that she only had to explain this to one waiter one time and then it was automatic the rest of the cruise. In any case I would got the afternoon you board the ship and speak with the Maitre D'.

4. My kids are in college now, but back in the day when they were 8 and 10 the loved the kids club. However we also made a point to do family things together like board or card games, or a nature lecture. Brent Nixon is scheduled to be the naturalist lecturer on the Solstice this summer and I my son loved his lectures and didn't miss a single one on bears, whales ect. Son was 12 on that cruise.

5. Gym is always crowded on sea day, I believe the showers are free, but the heated spa beds and other areas require a paid admission.

6. The lawn is really laid back, they usually have a set time for croquet. Bocce ball has its own area, and I don't remember ever waiting to play, but if some one else it playing you would have to wait. I believe that they may put in the obstructive cabanas on the lawn club before you sail, but there is still plenty of room to play, it just ruins the open view from that area.

7. not sure, I always use my elite coupon,

8. I have never felt overwhelmed or crowded on a Celebrity ship. There was never anyting I wanted to do that I had to wait for other than maybe Karaoke, where you just wait till your turn comes up and sit back and support the other brave souls who are up there singing.

9. I have two must do's on Solstice Alaska. One is the a fore mentioned naturalist lectures by Brent Nixon. Entertaining and informative, although he's been accused of using hyperbole at times. The second it the Corning Museum of Glass Hot Glass show. We first got hooked on this on the Solstice Trans-Atlantic - kids were 11 and 13 for that one. That loved watching the gaffers make their incredible art pieces - but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. Another Mom of young kids told me on the Solstice in 2015 that her kids were board to death. So I guess it depends on the kids, but I think my son like both the fact that it combined art and science. (He was a big Mythbuster's fan)

10. 11:00 am may be cutting it close, but if that is your flight time you will definitely want to self dis-embark, and pack so that this is easy to do. They may not start disembarkation till after 8:00 am. You'll have to catch a cab back to the airport and it is at least a 45 minute drive.

Celebrity still nickels and dimes on a few things, like specialty dining, Zumba classes, spas and a few other things here and their, but we have found that with the beverage package and on board credit, we have very little additional expenses. But room service is still free, MDR food and Buffet food are excellent, and you don't HAVE to do specialty dining to have a great dining experience. I would suggest if you are a wine drinker that you upgrade to the premium beverage package for a broader selection of wines.

Often Celebrity will offer a discounted rate that won't include the Go Big, Better Best Perks. Be sure to check on that.

The Oct 2016 promotion is 1 perk for Ocean View and above (Suites get all 4), and the a Buy One Get One 50% off fare.

They also might have a Senior or State Resident rate on your cruise that doesn't include any perks.

Be sure you understand what the new promotional perks are before you refare. If the net is in your favor then take the new pricing, if you come out better with the perks and previous pricing then stay with what you have.

If you can save $750 per room, but you give up one perk - $300 OBC, then you obviously come out ahead. If that $750 savings results in you giving up both a beverage package and the OBC, then you have to weigh how much you might spend on board with-out the beverage package and OBC vs the $750 savings.

Is there a way to find out how busy a ship was on a previous cruise and how busy it will be?

 

Trying to do a comparison between our last Eclipse cruise last May to the Norwegian Fjords and our next one to the Western Med in September.

 

 

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It might be hard to get good feel for it now that your are home. In the past we have inquired with the staff while on the cruise as to how full the ship is.

Since you can't go back an ask on that other cruise and you want to know what to expect before you get on this next one, you might try to find out the numbers of 3rd and 4th berths still available to be booked.

It can be a little confusing as Celebrity has more 3rd and 4th beds than they can actually fill. Unlike Royal Caribbean and Carnival, Celebrity will let 2 people book a 4 berth cabin sbecause their strategy is not to fill every bed. The other two lines will not let you book a cabin with 3 or 4 beds for two people. Their might be rare cases where they would or last minute bookings when this restriction is lifted, but as a general rule you have to have 3 or 4 people for a 3 or 4 person cabin.

So that being said, with Celebrity having more beds than life boat capacity, they close the bookings to 3rd and 4th guests even when you can see a cabin available that will hold 3 or 4 people.

So what this means in terms or how crowded the ship might feel or not crowded is that when they have maxed out on those 3rd and 4th berths, the ship will fee more packed. Even then, I think Celebrity still feels spacious.

Last summer we did the Solstice Alaska and there was a large group doing a fundraising cruise which had many families. It was also mid June so school was out. About 4-5 months before the cruise, it was closed to new bookings for 3rd and 4th persons. I was with a smaller group on this sailing and one couple wanted to bring their son, but they would have had to booked two rooms in order to do that. We brought our daughter along with us as we added her early to the booking. My son's schedule was a bit up in the air, so by the time we go around to considering adding him, we couldn't add the 4th person to the room.

6:00 dining was over booked and they had to seat our group in the area that was normally reserved for flexible dining. With the addition of Luminea taking up some space, this was really the only place where the ship felt a little too packed during that 6:00 dining time. Really we didn't feel squeezed at all any other time.

When we sailed on the Trans-Atlantic on the Solstice years ago, I imagine there were very few 3rd and 4th berths sold because there were about 10 kids on the whole ship and the crowds were very thin.

So now to make a long story short the ships almost always sail with every cabin sold, but it is those 3rd and 4th berths that make the difference. You could check from time to time and see if they are still accepting 3 and 4 person per cabin reservations. Is your cruise during a break time? If school is back in session in Europe as it is here you are not likely to have very many 3rd and 4th cabins filled.

I hope that helps. You might even call Celebrity and ask them.

We had the opposite happen. Princess's insurance refused to reinburse us due to my father dying of a heart attack while we were on a cruise. We left to make arrangements. Our claim was denied.

Wow that is messed up. I guess the Princes policy must spell out the illness of a non traveling party can't be pre-existing either.

That is why it is good to shop around and compare policies. In the case of my Dad's illness I had a policy where the fact that his condition was pre-existing did not matter. Many policies only apply the pre-exisiting condition exclusions to traveling policies. But every policy is a little differnt.

Most policies are non-refundable if you purchase them upfront, that is why people usually wait till they are at the beginning of the cruise line penalty period before purchasing them. So check on that.

Some travel agencies have negotiated the ability to refund the cost of the travel insurance if the guests cancel outside of the penalty period.

For example you purchase upfront your travel insurance with XYZ Travel for your cruise 2 years from now. A year from now you cancel because you decide that cruising isn't right for you and your receive a full refund from Princess. XYZ Travel is also able to refund your insurance premium because you cancelled before you needed it. However if you cancel during penalty period and your Penalty is $500 but you paid $500 for the insurance, then you have to use the insurance to refund that $500 and the insurance is not refundable.

So check with your travel agency and see if they have negotiated a refundable premium with the travel care provider. If they have then I always think it is a good idea to purchase up front. If not you have to weigh the risks of purchasing the travel insurance way before you need it. Also, they may be able to move the insurance to another date if you reschedule your cruise outside of cruise line penalties.

Absolutely, totally wrong. When you buy insurance, you are buying it for you. Not every friend, relative, etc that is not traveling with you.

Two years ago I had a cruise to Norway booked and had insurance through Berkley Leisure Care. My Dad had been diagnosed with lung cancer in Sept and our final payment was due in Feb. In March, they discontinued his treament and he went into at home hospice care. I was so concerned so I called Berkley when my trip was still over two months out.

I know this sounds awful, but if he had died with-in the month, we could have still taken the cruise. After a month of morning it would have been a good chance to relax and move on. But he was tough and hung on for while. That was great because I was able to visit one time when he was still conversational and one last time and be with him at the end.

We decided to cancel about 3 weeks before the cruise because he was still with us and I wasn't about to be in Norway when my Mom needed that daily phone call from me.

Pre-existing condition for most policies applies only to the traveling party. But check all the t's and c's, policies vary, but for the most part it is just the traveling party.

We filed and they refunded everthing.

I was also surprised by the behavior of our sommelier as we've never had a bad one. I can "get along" with anyone but when I'm leaving a table with half a glass of wine in hand and he says "you're not going to pour that out are you, because I won't pour you as much next time" that was enough for me. That's just one example of Siraz rudeness.:eek:

Well that is odd, i think I would find that off putting too.

Thank you both for amazing reviews. We are booked on the Infinity in September for the RT Vancouver Pacific Coastal Cruise.

We are very excited just to have a relaxing cruise on the Infinity whom we haven't sailed in over 10 years. Our daughter is going off to college and this was a good time for us to get away after she leaves.

We are most excited about San Francisco as my husband and I both visited but never together.

Our original itinerary was to stop in Astoria, which I had been excited about, but it got changed to Nanaimo and then overnight in SFO.

I am surprised to hear that the original poster was un-happy with his sommelier, hopefully just a one off or personalities that didn't match up. We cruise Celebrity primarily because the excellent sommelier service over Princess and Royal Caribbean, so hopefully just a one-off.

More than likely either the Family Veranda is sold out or it requires a 5th person to be able to book it. You have to call in to book it and only if the sailing is low demand for families like a trans-atlantic, would you be able to get it approved for less than 5.

Two connecting balconies has worked well for us in the past. The two bathrooms is a life saver. The only caveat is that the the interconnecting rooms end up with very little privacy since the doors are propped open when the extra inter connecting door is set up flush with the hallways. It works well for a family, but you would never do this if you were two couples, or if Mom and Dad want some alone time.

One poster suggested the balcony with the inside across the hall. It has to be directly across the hall and with the Go Big Better Best promotion, you wouldn't want to put a parent in the inside cabin and loos the beverage package if that is the promotion that you would take. If you go with another promo it doesn't matter, but the beverage package is a big deal.

The "Free" classic beverage package through Celebrity does include the beverage gratuities for drinks included in the package. This is important to know because other lines like Norwegian charge you a service charge even when they give you the package for "free".

I'll use round numbers for easy math, but on Norwegian if the beverage package was to cost $600 and they give it to you for free, they still charge you $108 (18%) as a service charge. They do that for the free specialty dining too.

With Celebrity it is a free Classic Beverage Packaging Including Gratuities - so no line item charge for gratuities for the free classic beverage package.

If you upgrade to the Premium package either onboard or before your cruise, the per day price is $10 + 18% gratuities. So I usually tell people it is $11.80 per person per day for the upgrade.

As long as you drink strictly from the Classic Package there is never an extra charge when they give it to you for free.

Do away with the new pricing structure that incorporates promotions and give us just the low price. X's prices have mushroomed.

 

I would like to see a North Cape of Norway cruise.

On many sailings, Celebrity does offer Senior, State Resdient, Military, Police and Fire Rates that are significantly less than BBB, but they usually don't come available until 6 mo before sailing, and of course don't come with perks.

I wonder if they would consider offering a BBB rate and a "No Frills" rate from launch, however that would not simplify the pricing structure at all. Yikes It would make it more like Carnival with one price for refundable deposit, one price of a cabin category upgrade, one price with the Better Homes and Garden advertisement offer, ect.

We really like BBB especially when it includes two perks. My husband and I enjoy our wine and the Bev package means that we can get off the ship with out a bill. Our on board spending including gratuities, beverages and shopping is usually over $100 a day, so the Bev Package and $300 OBC is always a better deal for us on a 7 day cruise. Bev and Gratuities for a 12 day or longer cruise.

I'd also like to see BBB on re-positioning cruises.

If you could have conference call with the Celebrity VP of Sales and Marketing, what comments would you have for him.

Positive and Negative feedback, Areas for improvement?