sweetp0618

We had an IV cabin on a 21-day B2B NZ/AU. We loved it, especially for scenic cruising. We used it a lot more than we do a traditional balcony.

We used Uber. 

10 hours ago, Condogirl said:

I have another question when you rolled your luggage down from the Marriott in Sydney. Did you go back to the Marriott and then walk back down to the pier? We will also be staying at the Marriott in January to board this cruise. Also, tipping. Did you tip the porter at the dock? Do they accept American dollars? Is there a money exchange onboard the ship for New Zealand Dollars? We are going on several excursions through TripAdvisor and it does not include gratuities. The first stop in Dunedin is an early excursion and I will probably not get to an ATM or Bank. Thank you. Really enjoying your updates.

I overheard GS say they won't convert money because they use USD onboard. We didn't use any cash on our B2B in Feb - March except to give additional tips to the crew onboard. Tipping is not common or expected in either country and there wasn't a place we went that accepted cash - they wanted cc, even small vendors. I offered a bellman a tip and he looked at me like I had two heads and refused the $. Both countries pay all workers a living wage and people who live there would rather visitors not tip. I learned this on CC and observed it while we were there. Happy travels!

I was on Edge B2B recently and the upcharge lobster roll ($17) in Eden at lunch is much better than the lobster in the MDRs.

I was on the Equinox in early Nov. in a SV. on deck 6. We had the best room attendant ever. His name is Jun and he was delightful.

I hope you get your cabin issues resolved. 

52 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I am quite sure you pulled a quote out of context and since it is from over 4 years ago I am certainly not going to dig through this thread to determine the context.  

If you don't like it, why waste your time commenting?

34 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

@Mary229 I was rather surprised that @sweetp0618 chose to drag a 4 year old quote forward.

I think this subject deserves discussion but they should start a new thread. I read part of that old thread and the general tone was that actual service animals were amazing and helpful. The problem was when the entitled few who need to bring their ill behaved and untrained pet on the cruise, claiming they are a service animal. By the way my personal feeling is seeing eye dog yes, emotional support ferret, or ostrich or snake or whatever, not so much.

I didn't realize until after I hit send that this is an old thread. Sorry.

On 5/13/2019 at 6:20 PM, Mary229 said:

No. No to dogs or any other service animals.   I think the Queen Mary allows dogs but they are managed in kennels by QMII kennel master. There is a cruise for everyone, after all. 

 

 Cruise ships aren’t governed by US ADA regulations. 

So you support discrimination against people with disabilities? Why should I be limited in my cruise selection because I have a disability? How would you feel if you were in my shoes?

On 11/15/2023 at 9:27 PM, ISABELLA said:

Finally! Some positive reviews about Equinox. We are looking forward to our upcoming cruise on Equinox in 2 weeks. 

I was on the Equinox with friends the week of Halloween. We had a great time. The food was really good in the MDR and buffet. The entertainment was OK but our cabin was in good shape and our cabin attendent was awesome!

If booking on Infinity, be careful which cabin you book. We sailed for 14 days in Feb/March. Started in balcony cabin 6095 -  no heat. After they fixed it, our smoke alarm went off due to smoke in the cabin. After reporting the emergency, we were moved to a concierge cabin (9032), which had no air conditioning, - the cover was off the thermostat, and the balcony ceiling was rusted and hanging down when we moved in.

I read before we left there were these issues with some cabins. Guest services compensated us with future cruise credit. We had a great trip! We didn't let these issues affect our trip. That said, I wouldn't cruise on Infinity until it's been in dry dock.

I was on Infinity in Feb and rode the elevator with a crew member with a nametag identifying him as a dentist. I wonder if they have a dentist on board long cruises (14 days). 

My TA told me this week that Infinity is supposed to get a retrofit Q3/4 2023.

We spent 2 weeks on Infinity in February and the ship is in sad shape. Normally, things don't both us, but the first cabin (6095) we were in didn't have heat (we were headed to Antarctica) and we were sleeping with 4 layers of clothes. I finally called maintenance at 7 pm one night. Engineering came and worked on our heat using a panel in the hallway. Around 11 pm, I was in bed when the smoke detector in our cabin started alarming and there was a burning smell. I called the emergency number - the person who answered was rude because (supposedly) the emergency number was for medical emergencies. I guess a potential fire in a passenger cabin isn't an emergency? Someone came and took down the smoke detector and left. After many conversations, we were moved to another cabin (9032). We had to move our own stuff at 1 am.

 The "new" cabin didn't have a cover on the thermostat. We went out on the balcony and shut the door. It took us 10 minutes to open the door to get back into the cabin.The door was partially off the track. It was never fixed. The refrigerator didn't work. As we moved closer to warmer weather we realized the air conditioning in our "new" cabin didn't work, which is probably why the people originally in that cabin moved to a different one. The roof over the balcony was rusted and falling down. 

We are not complainers, but that ship is in ridiculous shape and is in extreme need of a retrofit. 

Duplicate post, sorry.

I was on Infinity in February. There were two "gentle"men who saved 4 loungers by the windows in the solarium along with a table for 4. They hardly sat in the loungers. After watching the loungers go unused for 2 hours one day, I went over and started clearing the towels off one of them. One of the men shouted, "lady, lady, leave that alone, it's our chair." I saw the same thing happen to someone else the next day. On the third day, someone got a pool attendant to remove the towels from these guys' loungers. One of the guys jumped up and started screaming at the employee. Security appeared in no time. The guy yelled at security. I thought (hoped) they would take the guy away, but he promised to stop being a chair hog and security departed. It was a 14-day cruise and the two men kept their agreement not to hog chairs for the rest of the cruise.

I booked the one day tour (Private Day at Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires with Airfare) through Signature Tours. You can also book using Viator, but it's less expensive to book directly with Signature.

Thank you!

3 hours ago, barcrab said:

We just did a similar, but spent one night. My suggestion would be to tip as you go. Those operations are very efficient, but each person plays a different roll and should be tipped accordingly. Since tipping is not customary, all tips are very appreciated.

My biggest post-op problem was dealing with steep ramps. We had an especially steep ramp boarding/leaving Equinox in FLL. It took two people to push those in wheel chairs up the ramp with frequent rest stops. I still hate steep ramps many years after 2 hip and 2 knee replacements, but I'm good on stairs and on uneven surfaces as long as I pay attention.

Have an awesome time on your cruise and I hope you have a quick recovery!

On 1/22/2023 at 11:20 AM, RHudson1825 said:

I am the beyond next week so will see for myself. I find that many people like to complain. The worst food on a cruise for me was NCL right before COVID. 

I agree. The last cruise on NCL was our last. The food was disgusting and the ship was really crowded (pre-covid).

Hi I'm taking a private tour to Iguazu Falls in March. I'll have a driver take me to the airport (and back), RT flights, a driver to/from the Falls, and a tour guide at the falls. I'm paying one price for the day. Should I tip each person individually or provide a tip to the tour organizer and have them split it to share with all of the people playing a role in my excursion?

Thank you for any information you share.

Patti

sweetp0618@aol.com

I was on the same sailing. I went with a friend who was a cruise newbie and she's hooked! Veranda cabin. The food and service were outstanding. Entertainment was good to very good. Spent a good deal of our time in the solarium and on our balcony. This was the best Celebrity cruise I've been on. I was especially happy after an underwhelming Alaska 11-day in September that had poor food and service.

Where did you meet up for the tour?

5 hours ago, shipper50 said:

Thanks for the tip. But with me spending $3108 on the cruise alone, and being a lowly retired steel worker not sure that will happen.😊

Hi! My friends and I spent several days on a land tour in Alaska, and then took a cruise from Sewerd to Vancouver. We were able to do it on our own for about a third of the cost of a cruise led land tour.

We flew into Anchorage and took a dome train to Denali. We stayed at the Denali Dome Home B&B. The owners booked our train - they knew the best train to take and got our tickets at a discount. We also rented a car from them. We took a bus tour of Denali, which was very inexpensive and we saw tons of wildlife, including bears. After we returned back to Anchorage, we took a train to Seward, which is one of the top rated train trips in North America. We stayed in an AirBnB in Seward and spent a couple of days whale watching, visiting the Sealife Center, and doing other tours before getting on the cruise.

Everything was very safe and I wouldn't hesitate to do it on my own. We got to do what we wanted, stayed in very nice places, and never had to wait for other people to board buses, etc. 

We were on the same sailing. Most of our cruises have been on Celebrity but we also occasionally sail other lines. Agree with the comments about the hard working crew. The food was awful. We were shocked. We've never had such bad food (except, maybe, on NCL). We've got other cruises booked on Celebrity - I'm hoping this was a one-off situation. Interestingly, the food was good the last night of the cruise after being in Victoria. 

On 5/18/2022 at 6:50 AM, D C said:

Seriously?  What time of day did you call?

 

I also called on Monday and got the "no exceptions, the new price is the price".  I proceeded to email both the celebrity engagement center and the "CEO's office".  I received a phone call back Tuesday from the CEO's office and their line was "It's still not that expensive".  

Around 2 pm.