Jdpapillion

On 4/2/2019 at 12:10 AM, Mrs. Winks said:

Hey Jdpapillion. We have not tried HAL but have sailed on Princess, Celebrity and RCCL with the most loyalty points on RCCL. I have been forbidden by the boss (at least I let him think he is the boss) to book anything other than RCCL as he is a loyalty points snob. In fact he spent one entire weekend waterboarding me and chanting "we must stay Loyal to Royal!!" Although the torture was not nearly as offensive as some of his reviews, I eventually acquiesced so I could go back to watching my Bravo "Housewives" shows. Our next adventure will be on Freedom in October. It is a Halloween cruise and should be a howling good time!! I'm sure there will be a scary review to follow. Can't wait to see what I will be up to this time!!

 

Haven’t been on CC for awhile - next cruise isn’t till Feb 24 on X-Sillhoutte so it’s too depressing to read about cruising when it so far off 😫.  Can’t wait to see you photos of Halloween cruise - you will do it up right I’m sure👻☠️😈.  BTW- Housewives fan also! (LVP gone / Not gone 🤔)

What about Below Deck?  The Winks need to be a charter guests 👏👏👏👏👏

FYI - We enjoyed HAL Nieuw Statendam; beautiful ship - but we were just plebs with no status like we have on X.   

Hi Winks & Mrs Winks!

So glad you have cured my qestioning mind - maybe we would like the mega ships?  NO, I would not!

So love all your reviews and when I am getting ready for a cruise I look to see if  you have a new review of -any ship - gets me in the cruise mood.

We have mainly been Celebrity cruisers but are but want to try new ships (I am ship freak).  That said, we are heading out on the HAL Nieuw Statendam in couple weeks.   I have heard good things from friends (we are all mid 50’s) regarding classic style cruising - good food, deck space NOT dedicated to jungle gyms and go-carts, decent entertainment and music speciality bars.  Of course we are starting out as plebs with no loyalty status.   Yikes, how will we survive??? We shall see!

Have you and Mrs. Winks tried HAL yet?

Looking forward to your next cruise adventure!!!!

On 12/2/2018 at 4:22 PM, dshroyer said:

I posted a video on Youtube regarding the signature beverage package.

 

 

 

Thanks for the beverage breakdown and the good tips on happy hour specials.  

Thanks for info. We are trying HAL for first time on NS in March.  

Can anyone give me explanation of what the VQ Veranda Spa class includes.  TA just said admittance to Spa - is there special relaxation rooms or Persian Garden-like lounge similar to X or entrance to Retreat.

Also, since we are doing last minute, interested in the Retreat - if you don’t get a cabana can you reserve lounge chairs?  We enjoy quiet, full-sun lounging from 9:30ish to Noon.  Any hidden spots (near pool not important).

How is the fitness center, yoga or Pilates classes - fee?

Have heard great things about HAL, Kdam so I am excited to try the Nieuw Statendam.

appreciate any advice to make a great first experience.

Appreciate the advice!

It will be interesting to see where they place the new areas. The suite area would almost have to take over the existing Solstice deck. I can’t imagine they would get rid of the lawn, but it is a lot of under utilized real estate.

I think it's time for the Lawn space to be repurposed. Every cruise I have been on it not used for anything excep a random wedding. We like the Solstice deck for 3-4 hours of sun, but I have a feeling that this space will go to Suite class which is unfortunate.

You might want to look again, Edge does indeed feature AquaClass; I'm holding a reservation for 10 March 2019... Though not necessarily clear on the deck plans, I have been assured that all Aqua Class cabins on Edge feature the new "infinite veranda" concept...

 

Could be that AquaClass is "sold out" on the dates you are considering...

Yes, Mar 10 was the date I was looking at, so possibly it is sold out. It should show that, in my opinion. Caribbean itineraries not thrilling me, but the real reason is to see the ship, of course.

I read on another thread that AQ staterooms are on decks 9 & 10. I will have to hunt around to see if any TA have AQ available. Would hate not to have Blu.

...As Tee Rick says "you pay more, you get more". It's not surprising at all that X introduced The Retreat.

 

Those folks who book a more affordable category can't complain that those of us that are paying premiums are unfairly getting more than they are, or hope that "the upgrade fairy" will visit them and are disappointed when she doesn't. It's not classes, it's supply and demand - a free market enterprise.

X has more than doubled the cost SS. I would like to be able to pay for a larger room option and forgo Michaels Club (it been a yawn every time) and Luminé has a very limited menu and is often sparsely used. When I have been on other large ships that have separate retreats and havens, they reduce the usable deck size and make these areas seem closterfobic, IMHO.

The cost keeps going up as they offer economic class divisions which is fine - if you like to be stuffed into smaller spaces that are "exclusive". I love lux, but for those $$$ I would rather it on a lux cruise line where everyone is enjoying all the amineties together throughout the ship.

Agee with posters here. Love Blu. To me, it is much more enjoyable table for two then the MDR. Always seem to strike up nice convo with tables next to us. Enjoy the food. More creative. Actually like it better than Luminé which has a very limited menu and can seem empty at times.

Question - does anybody know if they are eliminating Aqua Class & Blu from new Edge ships. Looking at some future itinaries and there wasn't stateroom selection for Aqua Class. That would be sad.

... FV means looking backwards and I am not sold on that yet so CC it is...and I think we get extra Captains CLub points too....

I felt the same Re aft view until we experienced it on our last cruise on Eclipse Jan 2017. Unreal. Yes, you walk the whole ship to get to your cabin, but then it's like you are in you own world!

This cruise was an onboard booking from almost 3 years ago obviously had to move from original which I did directly with X. $250 dep total. I have done about 7 direct bookings - somewhat enjoy price-drop monitoring basiclly to get better cabin or class, but having heard the extra OBC over the years, I have booked with a TA referred from a friend. I did my research (part of fun form me) on a TGiving 10 day which was pretty booked. Criteria for me is AQ forward (hate overhang/struts covering balcony)-bed by bath. She secured what we wanted, saving about $800 w/ Bev/300 OBC + $175. SUPER! BUT $900 deposit. Yikes. Also our final payment is due 90 days vs 72 days out. Ok, NBD for this cruise 6 mo out when we booked in June - but I like to have future cruises spread out - not at $900 deposit rate, though.

It has been my experience with X that I have never spent more than $250 dep. X direct has always said...since you are loyal cruiser... Small deposit.

ALSO - anybody's else experience the lack of attention and good deals with FUTURE CRUISE SALES on board lately? Just another change. I like it better when nobody wanted to cruise 😆

Oh WOW. Thank you so much for posting the picture. It really helps us decide on the aft facing balcony. Thanks again!!

Yes! Great photo. Not bad at all. Aft cabins rule!

Hello everyone. Well, as the title suggests, I am thinking of booking an aft facing cabin on the Reflection. Can anyone tell me please if those cabins are fully covered, half covered or not covered at all? Thanks so much.

The best is deck 11 or below if you want open, which we like. The deck right below the Ocean Grille has full coverage which makes the cabin much darker and you I am sure you would hear chairs scraping. The complaints of soot were never an issue for us or I didn't notice it. The Aft is awesome. We had a Sky Suite next to corner and it was so relaxing. I wish that they had a couple in Aqua Class. I like Blu better than Luminé, just a livelier atmosphere and more options on the menu.

I logged on again on my desktop PC yesterday to see if I could accomplish anything. Worked better on PC using Chrome ( I do most of my searching from iPad - maybe develop an X APP).

-Login certainly is hidden.

-when you do find it and log in, you should be taken to your Dashboard, but you are just static on a marketing page. That needs to be fixed.

- if you are in a booking to see available cabins/promos/pricing and need to go back - you are totally logged out and must start again.

-I have saved itinaries that I want to delete - no option for that,

BIG BATE/SWITCH ISSUE:

I was in a booking under cabin selection. In Aqua Class, the photo is for a Sky Suite, but the description is for the regular 194sqft cabin as is the selection by deck. An experienced X Cruiser knows, but if I was new and thought that is what my cabin looked like - PISSED! Big truth in advertising issue, Celebrity.

I feel for all of you trying to get pre-cruise stuff done - good luck!:mad:

I don't like the idea of a separate suite area. For the same price that they want for a suite on Celebrity, we could go on a smaller, more luxurious ship where everyone is a suite passenger.

I think I agree with you. We have cruised a couple times in Sky Suites as we like the bigger stateroom and balcony. We enjoy our quiet time there. We love Blu and now that Sky Suites are included in Luminé, we enjoyed that venue and the Michael's Club concierge service but not as enjoyable for pre dinner cocktail. Everyone stayed to themselves and didn't mingle as you would if you were sitting at one of the bars.

We enjoy X Solstice and Milinium class ships, but the Suite Class is getting extremely expensive so we are looking at Seabourne, Viking and others that offer 300-400 sqft cabins, all exclusive fine dining, excursions, drinks. It's all about the extra space and high-quality dinning for us, not being separate from the rest of the passengers.

In an effort to provide all of our guests with the best possible web experience, we are limiting traffic to our new site at this time so we can test in a controlled environment. This will allow us to learn and get feedback from a small population of users as well as rectify any disruptive issues.

Laborious to navigate for experienced users to search and get things done! Did not work well on iPad at all. I was searching for a cruise for us and family members and I couldn't email itinerary. Also, if I wanted to go back to previouse page, I was asked if I was sure I wanted to exit and logged me out. After six or more times of being logged out, I grew weary. Beautiful photos are not a replacement for concise information, quick access to searches and booked reservations.

I am sure glitches will be worked out but it is still a very laborious site meant for marketing NOT booking. Very disappointed right now. :mad:

You are correct! Basically invitations are based on who's doing the inviting. Usually the Captain's Club Host, but often the Michael's Club Concierge. The MCC usually limits invitations to those who are entitled to use Michael's Club. It's the Captain's call whether to allow a helipad sail a way.

We were invited to a sail-in on the Infinity heli pad by Michaels Club concierge. On a 10 day Equinox we had an awesome CC member from our roll call that worked her magic for a bridge tour which happened on our last sea day. The tour was just 10 of us that she asked. Really enjoyed the time spent there and hanging out on the bridge wing with the captain and his officers. What a view. Fun and glad we had the opportunity,

I would say it never hurts to ask, especially if you are in an active CC Roll Call (I have learned so much from fellow CC members :hearteyes:).

They are renovating Cinnamon so there is no food or chair rentals. You can still go to the beach.

 

The only beaches you can count on getting a taxi back are Trunk and Cinnamon. Trunk is a nice beach but it is where they send the turists. There are better beaches with better snorkeling but on a cruise you really cant get to them. You would have to stay on St. John or St. Thomas

 

The ferry stars at 6 AM and runs on the hour

Thanks for the update. How did the town fair? I hope Cinnamon will be open in 2 weeks.

Heard from our friends who live on St. John and they told us they same thing...plans are for Cinnamon facilities to reopen the first week of November. But do factor in island time. It could be later than that.

 

Yes, the do rent chairs at Cinnamon....or they always have. The rent snorkel gear, beach chairs, etc.

 

It is a very pretty place!

Hi Host Anne - great info on the thread and have read most of it. Glad I skipped to end reminding me of H-Matthew issues. We will be in STT Nov 21. THinking the Celebrity excursion St. John's on your own, is best way to go for first timers. We have cruised Caribbean many times, since we live in Fl - haven't done a whole lot of exploring beaches, but are ready now.

Question? Thinking the excursion leaves from Havensight - the route on maps I have seen brings the ferry into a different dock from where the Red Hook Ferry docks. Are the main shopping/dining/taxis at the other dock, and we should head there first. Thanks for your help on this informative thread!

I'm not worried about the port days, but this cruise has two sea days. Are there things for 20 somethings to do? Will they feel bored? What is the night life like if they do want to go dancing and such?!

The Refelection is the right ship. We were on 7 night eastern and there were plenty of young adults 20-30. They have a late night dance event in the Solarium with a SOBE feel they will love. When I was 22-poolside with my BFF and a spa/fitness visits would be a dream day!

I have read enough threads about their future cruise scam that it has poisoned me against even considering buying into it. There are too many hoops to jump through especially since they started with big, better and best. They really need to simplify this product. The way it's set up now it's like buying a pig in a poke or flat out bait and switch. Any incentive that was on the table when purchasing the future cruise should follow any itinerary no matter what the price.

We have successfully booked onboard and moved to another ship and date keeping all perks of the 123Go promo. I am sure that it was still within the same promo time as they ran 123Go forever. All of the sudden that cruise is coming up and new pricing makes the onboard booking switch in a sky suite look like the The best deal ever!!! Actually more than a 2 for 1 fair. Only because they have raised prices of suite category so much since the changes.

Celebrity used to be a leader INHO; marketing their brand with class. A wonderful niche cruise line with not-to-large elegant ships -sans water slides and rock walls, great food and consistency. Now they are acting more like down market lines but up pricing close to lux brands for 300 sq+ staterooms.

I still think there is a benefit to book on board, but a good TA is the way to go for us from now on. Let them fight the battles and you end up getting more.

TRULY SPECTACULAR! I am a new fan and can't wait to view your other adventures. Thanks so much for your attention to detail and wonderful eye thru the lens.

Great review! We are looking to go back to Alaska and book on Millenium. Love that size ship. We did the Solstice last July and it was wonderful. Tracy Arm w Alaska naturalist Brent Nixon quiet narration was goose bump producing. We really didn't see much wildlife so was thinking of doing earlier in season might be better.

We fly S. Fla to Anchorage- can't get much further! Is there an excursion or ability to stay on Kodiak pre-cruise, if anyone knows. Would love to go there.

How long is the train from Anchorage to Seward? Do you book that with Celebrity?

Thanks again for your review and photos.

Thanks Winks! Always a fun read and I think the ship shows beautifully. How would you compare to older Clebrity ships like Connie and Summit? There are very few options for Cruising in the summer months and this could be an option based on your review. Can't get into Oasis class either - why not just stay in a shopping mall. I want to know I am on the sea.

The Snapchat was a winner! Can't wait for your next adventure.

Wonderful review. We did this cruise last year in July. Supposed to be the best weather month, but yours was much better. The errie marine layer we had out of Seattle up to Ketchikan was actually spectacular. We get plenty of sun/blue skies in Florida. To all those heading out. Prepare for rain and enjoy whatever you get. So spectacular.

"This...is Tracy Arm". Brent Nixon is a treat and I can't imagine experiencing TA without him. My BIL repeated the mantra for the rest of the cruise.

DId you make any of his naturalist talks? We enjoyed them all. HIs wife's were a bit hokey on the ports of call history, but I always picked up an interesting bit of local knowledge.

In Ketchikan - if not doing any tours head up to Creek Street and take the funicular ride up to the lodge for lunch with a view. We enjoyed King Crab legs and a nice Sauvignon Blanc then walked back down to town on a nice (slippery, yes) trail and learned all about the salmon runs and ladders.

We will be going back to Alaska for sure. thinking about the Millennium which does a one way. Probably Southbound for us. You can't be further away than S. FLorida, yikes! Your Vancover port experience scares me. I have read other reviews of issues there. Seattle was a breeze. Cab dropped us off 11:30 is and all four of us on board in less than 30 min!

Is the Aussie Exec Chief still on board? Last year was his first. Loved him.

Thanks for your great review and looking forward to the rest!

BTW - Constellation is our fav, too! Doesn't look like she is coming back to states for awhile.

Thanks for post. Much better info then the news had, for sure.

So happy to see your latest review. I think I have mentioned before - you are the "Gold Standard" of cruise reviews.

We love The Connie and I wondered how the Summit would compare. Looks like some exterior TLC should be in the immediate future. Biggest surprise was the port in Martinique. I was there on a company cruise w/Carnaval over 10 yrs ago. The ship docked in the saddest part of the island and you had to take a horrendous cab ride to town and people where miserable. We swore to never return. It looks like the country decided to make a commitment to making tourism a priority.

We are headed out on the Equinox in Feb. the original itinerary included Dominica but the eliminated that stop to do an overnight in St. Martin. Was not happy, but will make most of it. We enjoy the ship and being at sea not on the dock. Maybe we will hit a good beach for day 2 - ANY RECOMMENDATIONS from Mrs. Winks???

Thanks again for your photos, humor, and time invested! Hope to see you on the High Seas sometime.