Raxter54

Appreciate the inputs. Some decisions to be made...

Not a photography question, but maybe some people with optics expertise could recommend a good set of binoculars to take on a cruise. Looking for something with an 8x or 10x magnification, and 40-50mm objective lens. if anyone has a recommendation, a suggestion, or any experience with them, I would appreciate hearing it. Thanks!

54 minutes ago, Ellaleah said:

That is certainly possible, but it is fishy at the least.  The same letter that said there would be no Apex cruises 10/23/24-11/23/24 showed our 11/3/24 cruise being substituted with a 11/9/24.  No one at Celebrity knew anything.  Btw, when I called Celebrity several weeks before to see why our cruise was no longer showing on it’s website I was told that they must being doing maintenance.  I called again a few days later and was told it was sold out even though it was so very far out.  That was not believable in itself.  This whole deal was anything but normal!

Yeah, very confusing to say the least. 🙄

1 hour ago, Ellaleah said:

I’m pretty sure that I have seen many cruise ships that do not go into dry dock every 3 years or anything near that.  I am also pretty sure that there were errors made in the pricing o& the 11/3/24 cruise.  I’m not sure there is any dry dock.

According to the Celebrity website, the last cruise of the Apex in October 2024 is the 12th, an 11 night cruise that starts and ends in Southampton. The next scheduled cruise is a 12 day trans-Atlantic on November 9th, starting in Lisbon and ending in Ft Lauderdale. That leaves a 16 day gap, plenty of time for a 2 week dry dock....

5 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

You know that Apex is only 3 years old? No ship gets extensive updates after that time, why should it?

Yeah, which makes you wonder - 3 years in service, and almost 1 1/2 years of that in "moth balls", why does it need a dry dock anyway? Just curious....

Here's the e-mail about the dry dock. Looks like some of the cancellations are due to rescheduling after the dry dock. Yeah, 2 weeks is just a refurbishment time...

The Apex is now scheduled for a dry dock in late October 2024 into November. I was wondering if anyone would know how extensive Celebrity dry docks are? Will it just be a "refurbishment" dry dock, just tidying up things, or will it be extensive, adding new venues and upgrades? Just curious, since we sail on her in February 2025. If nothing else, maybe she'll have that "New Ship" smell when we get on 🙂

Don't really like any of the Celebrity shore excursions for our Feb 2024 Apex cruise. We've done Nachi Cocom numerous times in the past. Was wondering if anyone had recommendations for another all-inclusive day-pass location on Cozumel. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

1 hour ago, NJRonbo said:

However, that soda package is part of the Zero Proof premium non-alcoholic package which I am assuming everyone is pissed off about because it's significantly more expensive than the once-available soda package? 

That about sums it up. Luckily we purchased the soda package back in June of last year, before it disappeared. I assume it will be honored for our February cruise. I guess us non-alcohol drinkers who have been thanking the buyers of the alcohol packages for subsidizing part of our cruises are now being forced to ante up like the drinkers 😏 Not looking forward to lugging 12 packs of soda on the ships...if the cruise lines don't get rid of THAT option....

35 minutes ago, Guppy99 said:

The beverage packages got way out of hand. It makes perfect sense to have non-alcohol, classic and premium.  Trying to personalize so that each person only gets what they will actually use is ridiculous. When you take a cruise, you either buy into an all-included experience or go do something else for vacation. IMO

No. You buy the basic package, and add on what you will need/use, then go sailing. IMO....

1 hour ago, read2learn said:

I was disappointed that the soda package was no longer offered as well. I don't drink tea or coffee so the non alchol package had no value for me. I was on a cruise 2 weeks ago and a can of coke is $4.80! $4.00 for Coke + .80 gratuity. 

Quick question - what sodas are available on the Apex? DW will be disappointed if they don't have Dr Pepper or Mr Pibb...

9 minutes ago, read2learn said:

I was disappointed that the soda package was no longer offered as well. I don't drink tea or coffee so the non alchol package had no value for me. I was on a cruise 2 weeks ago and a can of coke is $4.80! $4.00 for Coke + .80 gratuity. 

Doing away with a $9 dollar a day soda package and replacing it with a $30 a day non-alcoholic package seems like a money grab to me.....

6 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Edocs and luggage tags are available for viewing and printing approximately 30 days prior to your sail date. 

Much appreciated. You would think Royal could change the luggage tag notification to say "Available 30 days prior to your sailing." 🤔

Just a quick question - when are luggage tags available to print out? We are now at 43 days til we cruise on the Allure OTS on Feb 12th, Check-in has been completed, arrival time selected, all info uploaded, boarding pass loaded. But the "View Luggage Tags" section is greyed out and says "This guest is checked in. Their luggage tag is still processing, so come back later to print a copy." I would think since they have our name, our booking number, and cabin number, it wouldn't take much "processing"  to produce a luggage tag. I know, 1st world problem.....

Did it on the Allure in 2019, looking forward to eating breakfast there again this February...

Just received an email from "info@princessupgrade.princess.com" with a chance to bid for cabin upgrades. But clicking on the link, it goes to "upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer". Is this legit? Does this 3rd party handles Princess's upgrade bidding program?

If it is legit, one more question - we currently have a mini-suite on the Ruby for our February cruise. One of the upgrade bids is for a "club class mini-suite". Is this an actual room upgrade (where we would be moved from our current room) or just an upgrade to amenities? Asking because I don't see a listing for "club class mini suite" on the Princess website...

TIA for any information...

Our first Princess cruise is in February. I've ordered our Medallions to be delivered. Does this change mean we will have to pick them up in Galveston?

3 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

To me, in the 21 years (and now 21 years and 1 day) I've been on Cruise Critic, I've seen the Cruise Line Forums degenerate from posts with good questions cruisers have and getting helpful answer from fellow cruisers to a conglomeration of Nabobs of Nattering Negativity that bring no useful information for those seeking it and crowds out the posts that do.

+5 for the Spiro Agnew reference 😁

On 10/28/2022 at 6:42 AM, skynight said:

One MDR open for lunch usually from noon to 1:30. On the Ruby it is probably DaVinci Dr deck 6 mid ships

International Cafe with paninis, salads and some other selections

Horizon Ct. buffet Lido Deck aft

The Salty Dog Grill and Slice Pizza by the Lido Pools

You may be able to order off the app for delivery anywhere on the ship.

Hmmm, never considered using the app. Might be a possibility...

Being a new Princess cruiser, I was wondering what dining options were available on the Ruby Princess on embarkation day? i assume the buffet and Salty Dog Grill would be open, but was hoping to avoid crowds as much as possible. Are any of the MDRs open that day?

Feb 19 2023 will be our first ever Princess cruise on the Ruby Princess. How far out from your sailing date will you be able to select your arrival group on the Medallion app?

26 minutes ago, tinaincc said:

We have an opportunity to move from Deck 7 SV to deck 11 SV...is there any real difference?  Seems to be a good thing to be further away from EDEN?

That would put you between decks that have SV cabins above and below you. Not sure how noisy it is over Eden, but this would definitely be quieter...

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Check it again later. Odd, I have ordered mine into the end of 2023 cruises.

 

Does it allow you to ship to home?

You still have a lot of time, if they didn’t open it yet, for some reason. 

 

I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact there are no Princess ships sailing out of Galveston until the Ruby Princess moves there in November?

Well, I went into the medallion app, went to the shipping section...and it says shipping to the port is not available🤨 Guess I'll wait a while and see if it becomes available closer to final payment time...