TardisDance

Just booked POA and saved almost $1,100 on a large balcony in November 2020. 

I had Tuscan on the 1st night on the Summit May 12th sailing and the pasta was terrible.  You could tell it was homemade sure, but the sauce was watery and it way too over peppered.  My husband and I both ordered the the Strozzapreti Carbonara.   Maybe it was just an off day but was it just so bad I really don't want to try Tuscan again.  It was my first time in a Celebrity specialty restaurant.  We did end up also trying Qsine and preferred it even though it was way too much food for 2 people. 

We had a really difficult time in 2017 when we were booked for a Summit cruise out of San Juan.  This was after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.   First, we booked a hotel of on Hotwire in San Juan and they did not even acknowledge the hurricane and didn't know that the hotel cancelled all reservations . . .we had to go back and forth with the hotel and hotwire so that hotwire was aware of the cancellation and we got our money back.  Then since there were no hotels available in San Juan because they were either a) shut down because of damage, or b) booked out because of FEMA workers, we had to change our plans.  Originally we were going to stay 3 days in San Juan, but instead, we booked a trip to Orlando 3 days before and then booked a flight to San Juan the morning of the cruise.  It turned out to be a great trip anyway but it was very stressful before hand.  We didn't have trip insurance and I'm not sure if it insurance would have helped us because the cruise was in November, well after Hurricane Maria.  I'm really not sure if I would ever consider booking a cruise during or a little after hurricane season.  

We used Chilkoot for Bennett Lake/Yukon.  We did rail up, bus down.  It was great because we got the very last train car and it was just for those on the tour.  Since the car wasn't full, we were able to switch sides easily and even go outside on the car for pictures (beware it's very bumpy!).  It was totally worth booking with them for this alone.   It included lunch which was a decent sized sandwich on a roll (I think turkey was the meat) with potato chips, cheese and grapes, a cookie and bottled water.  Additional bottled water was available.  I believe there were different options if you had dietary restrictions but it had to be arranged ahead of time. 

On 1/29/2019 at 6:14 PM, tallnthensome said:

I'm not sure why Celebrity wants to target Millenials with an overly expensive cruise ..... They are not known to be a wealthy generation. They are generally lazy, broke, make low wages, and live with mom and dad. They'd be better off on the MSC Seaside, which we loved btw. The millennial cruiser could do three week long cruises on the Seaside compared to one week on the Edge and have just as much fun. In all reality Celebrity should have went the other way with more affordable cruises, not more expensive. I doubt any of the sailings are full of young, skinny, beautiful millennials as seen in their promo videos.  

You do realize Millenials can be as young as 23 and as old as 38, right?  It's a very large age range to generalize. 

I am booked on the Summit's 5/12 Bermuda sailing and noticed that there's a Tuscan Grill Mother's Day Prix Fixe Menu but it only displays the standard menu as far as I can tell.  The price difference is $45 versus $79 for Mother's Day.  Does anyone have insight as to what is served on holidays?  I've  never tried the specialty restaurants and am looking to spurge because of extra OBC this time around. 

I have been wondering if you can have your cruise re-priced with a non-refundable deposit.  I try to watch the pricing before final payment and have my TA adjust the price if it lowers.   I'm guessing you can't if it's non-refundable?  

I'm seeing that summer sale was pulled with the July 4th sale in its place. The July 4th sale doesn't include any Europe cruises but includes other parts of the world. Weird.

I'm not comparing the ships. I'm comparing the ports.

 

I'm decades older than you and have had the luxury and pleasure of seeing many, many beautiful things in nature around the world.

 

We did the Norwegian Fjords less than two months ago on Celebrity Eclipse. And Geiranger was truly one of the top five beautiful places I've ever seen. To go to the Norwegian Fjords and not see that (from the river then up the mountain by bus or car) would be a shame.

 

Remember that THIS particular itinerary is all about the scenery. Most of the ports are small, pretty but plain, horribly expensive and/or not very interesting AS COMPARED TO most other itineraries. But the scenery is THE reason to go, and it's magnificent.

 

One other thought: July and August are very crowded. May and September are preferred to avoid the crowds.

 

(Unfortunately, the weather in this part of the world is very rainy. You need to realize that Weather can make or break this itinerary.)

I am really considering Celebrity Reflection on May 26th, 2019 which goes out out of Dublin. Schedule is: At Sea, Bergen, Alesund, Geiranger, Olden, Lerwick/Shetland, Scotland, At Sea.

I never considered going out of Dublin as a first time Europe cruise but really looking into it now.

It has to be a 7 day cruise, so the Sapphire July 13th and Holland cruises are ruled out. Silversea is way, way out of my budget.

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On the basis of the ports it is difficult to decide: Basically it would be Alesund & Flam VS Olden & Geiranger. I would particularly like to have Flam and Geiranger

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My husband and I are in our mid 30's looking to do our 1st cruise in Europe in 2019 to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.

We have only ever cruised on Celebrity and NCL and like both. With that said, we really enjoyed our recent cruise to Alaska and are looking at the Norwegian Fjords.

NCL does not seem to offer this itinerary next year, so the options are either Celebrity or Princess, which we've never tried before. The choices are 7 day on the Celebrity Silhouette in September or a 7 day on Sapphire Princess in July. We have been on the Silhouette before and love the look and feel of the ship, but we do not mind older ships (We like NCL Pearl and Gem, Celebrity Summit not so much but this was service related). We also don't need loads of entertainment and nightlife as we are mostly interested in the ports.

If you had to choose, which ship would you go with and why? Both sail from Southhampton. We are from NY so airfare will need to be factored in (it appears end of Aug/Sept, flights are cheaper?). Also, we would definitely want to book a balcony.

Celebrity Silhouette - Sept 1st to Sept 8

Itinerary - At Sea, Bergen, Alesund, Flam, Stravanger, At Sea

Prices for balconies start at $2,409 pp, would probably opt for refundable deposit for a $100 more pp

We would get the classic beverage package promo and one of us would likely upgrade to premium on board

Sapphire Princess - July 6th to July 13th

Itinerary - At Sea, Stravanger, Olden, Hellesylt (for only a few hours), Geiranger, Bergen, At Sea

Prices start at $2,199 for regular balcony, $2,444 for premium (need to determine if extra space is worth the costs)

Sip N Sail promo would be included

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If you get the larger size budlights in those aluminium bottles with the twist off caps, they will open them but leave the cap so you can close it.

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I believe the brand NCL carries is Gosling's. I've seen it at the bar when they make Moscow mules and dark n' stormys.

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Thanks, I'm on the June 10th sailing. I was on the Gem last June and surprised that Pearl's O'Sheehan's doesn't have breakfast or lunch. The Gem did anyway. It seems odd but good to know.

I'm on this sailing as well. There was an upgrade bid email several weeks ago so I'm guessing those upgrades were already assigned?

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Saw it on the Breakaway . . .it really wasn't that impressive

What does this 100% credit count toward? An equivalent cruise for number of days, cabin type, etc.?

Thanks for the menu photos! So happy that the Pearl still has the old menu that includes Pizza. I am going to be on the June 10th sailing so I can't wait!

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I think Princess is the only line that has fresh water pools.

Ah now I know why taxi/tour companies aren't responding to my emails. Didn't know about the holiday.

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I would just wander around the Inner Harbour, lots of action there. Victoria also has a lot of craft beer pubs to enjoy.

 

 

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Any good pubs that you would recommend? Considering just walking the Inner Harbor, then walk down to see lit up Parliament Building, and then to Fairmont Empress.

Wouldn't be a crime if you miss the ship anyway...............Victoria is the last night of the cruise anyway and Seattle is only 100 miles away. Could easily rent a car and drive it, only a ferry ride and 80 mile drive away from Seattle.

 

Pretty sure if you miss the ship you could arrive in Seattle way before that cruise ship gets there and meet back up with it.

 

Just be sure to take your passports !

 

Good Photo opportunity too............I have been on dozen of cruises and have taken lots of pictures and video's but I don't have any with my cruise ship sailing away from any of the piers........ great opportunity as I see it. Quote under the picture in the video " There goes my ship"

 

Jimbo:)

Yeah this trip is with my husband's parents and his sister, that would go over really well . . .:rolleyes:

If you were going during the day I would say a taxi.

 

Just keep in mind that if you have a problem getting a taxi on the return you do miss the ship.

 

Keith

Yeah, that's the problem. Upon further research, I didn't realize that Butchart Gardens is an hour away, so I'm not sure if it's worth it now. Any suggestions about other things that may be open in evening?

My family of 5 (me, DH, MIL, FIL, SIL) are going on an Alaska cruise on NCL Pearl. We are going to be in Victoria, BC on 6/16 in the evening 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. I've been doing some research and the Butchart Gardens looks interesting. However, the NCL excursion of $129 pp is a bit steep for 5 of us. Based on their website, they should be open to the public at later hours starting on 6/15. I saw posts about CVS tours picking up at the cruise port but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. What would be the best way of getting there and then back to the port?