opuscat1

Thanks all ... I'm holding a balcony cabin on Princess for Apr 1st in the end at least for now.  I have til Jan 1 to truly decide but I'm leaning towards going.   It a decent deal in Canadian dollars and included drinks and wifi and tips and little $200 U.S. onboard credit.   I didn't really care that much where it went my plan was to just sit at a bar at the back and watch us sail away from wherever.   

Yeah I think about that one too I do prefer mid or mid-aft ship and never the front.    Some lines have better single rates than others there's threads here for that too.   I'm thinking of holding the rate I just got until xmas and after that I have to decide or not for the full refund.    Part of me thinks eh just wait and see and if it's there great I'll book it more last minute.  I think the worst thing that could happen would be to catch covid and have to be stuck in an inside cabin for a week. And right now covid is everywhere again so maybe that's straining my logic.

So I'm newly divorced and retired in my 50's.   I'll be a first time snowbird in south eastern Florida from Jan-Mar so far.   I was looking at some sailings Apr 1 from any Florida ports to start with.   As a Canadian and kinda price sensitive (see divorce above LOL) would I be better off just waiting to see what's available more last minute than prebooking anything.  I've never been able to do last minute before so I've got no experience.   I did find one that wasn't a bad price in Canadian dollars but I'm really not that fussy on ports or anything like that  I'm very open to hopping on anything but would like drinks-tips etc included too perhaps.  I want it allllll is that possible LOL.   Any advice is greatly appreciated ...

On 9/21/2022 at 6:53 PM, bluetardis said:

I’m booked on Caribbean Princess April 1-14 2023, happy solo traveler 😊

I was thinking of booking the first leg of this as new solo ... can't make up my mind.  I'll be a new snowbird up the street in Pompano Beach from Jan-Mar and I could hop on April 1 hmmmm.

I had a similar idea that I might rethread ... as a newer single (who needs to figure out how to change his picture again LOL) ... would I be better off looking at last minute deals than booking in advance? I've never looked at last minute deals.  I'm turning into a Candian snowbird cliche and I'll be in Florida for the winter til the end of March so far.   I found a decent deal on Princess as well out of Lauderdale for April 1 but I could easily sail out of any Florida port.  

Deck 6 on the hump doesn't have smoke issues. I love cabins on the hump. They are convenient to elevators and stairs, have verandas that are not obscured. The only issue that I have had was that you can hear music from the grand foyee. Music ends before I go to sleep. For me, it is not an issue. If you turn in early, you may not want a midship hump cabin on 6. hump cabins on higher levels are quieter. The

Ah yes I forgot about the location ... it's super handy to the coffee shop one floor down ... we never went up for breakfast we went for coffee, tea, and pastries every day and ate on the balcony.

It was the reflection but I think it's the same. I didn't notice anything at all honestly and like you was worried going in. There was more smoke at the sunset bar on the one side of the ship there. But it was all fine.

Check out www.stay123.com/

This looks handy too ... thanks

We stayed at courtyard marriot as well and I parked my car there for a week. They had a free airport shuttle(my wife flew I drove) but we took the hotel shuttle to the dock. They have little package deals I don't think the parking was free when we stayed last April and they wanted a small fortune per day I think I ended up buying a package of park/stay at the hotel and then purchased the shuttle tickets separately but Uber would be cheaper for sure. I find this site handy sometimes too ...

http://www.cheapairportparking.org/mia

Often the parking is at the hotels you're staying at anyway and less than half the price of what the hotel charges.

I've sailed on both and as others point out I think the kid's activities are more limited on Celebrity but then so are the adults it's just much quieter that RC. I've never taken a child on Celeb just RC so I can't say for sure but I think my last time on Reflection last April I might've counted a dozen kids if that on the entire ship I'm sure there were more buttttt. I've only been on 1 Celeb though coming up on 2 in a few weeks. If I were taking children I personally would book RC from what I've witnessed if you're counting opinions/votes LOL

I seem to recall that the excursions list once included customer reviews is that gone now or has been for awhile I'm not seeing it anymore. I can get some reviews on trip advisor I see but.

Also, I take it there is no way to book an excursion in advance and have it charged to my ship account is there? The site implies it'll be charged to my credit card and well ... I've got a largish onboard credit I'll be hard pressed to use it up unless I take my chances and see what I can book on board perhaps. Sure I could gamble it away but even after using it to pay out tips well I'd just prefer to prebook at least one excursion on it darnit.

We struggled with this our first Celeb cruise last year but ended up finding lots to drink on the classic including a standard white at dinner that did the trick. We mostly drank mohitos at the back of the boat. I'm guessing they might make'em a little less strong on the classic package but that's probably a good thing if you're sitting there awhile. The thing about upgrading let's say is if you're in port you're less likely to take advantage of it. So depending on when you board the boat you sail at 4 ... so try out your basic package. Are you in port the next day or at sea. I'm in port day 2 so thinking of upgrading on an at sea day on day 3 just to try out the martini bar this time and compare the drinks on the 2 packages this time out.

Check the list out that someone posted ... I find it amusing that Dos Equis is considered a premium beer :rolleyes:

I really like your cheese tray idea ... genius I say. Pop it out later with a glass of wine on your balcony anytime or before dinner. :)

That is an awesome picture from Maho !! !! !! We have been there a couple times, but never on a day with the 747.

 

I am addicted to the latest webcam at mahobeachcam.com ...

 

 

mac_tlc

That is pretty cool for a webcam I think you have me addicted to it playing in the background now too LOL

My darling was asking me if she should pack her own stevia ... I had no idea but figured someone would know for sure here. :)

I haven't gone searching for threads on this event but I'm sure people have mentioned the idea that perhaps profits were ahead of safety on this one. Would the captain make that call to sail or would head office tell them get out there we've got thousands of paying passengers. They are rightly taking allot of flack for the decision.

Anyone see the various Anthem of the Seas videos and pics out today from the ship in the storm this weekend ... sweet LOL

Thanks everyone for all these suggestions and links it's nice to know we're a friendly bunch eh :)

I think I'll pack a few ginger pills in any event, maybe a little Bonine. I wasn't bad on my last cruise I think I felt a little iffy a coupla nights but we also had the flu the week before boarding. I find as I get older though I've had some vertigo caused by sinus issues now and again which is always fun. I'm more concerned about my wife she's never been on a cruise and I just want to be prepared for her. Nice to know they have some pills at guest relations too.

I did patches our first few cruises. Not crazy about the dry metallic taste in your mouth, but tolerable.

 

So no choice is perfect. Green apples, crackers/bread, Sprite, fresh air are easy (and cheap). Ginger--pills, tea, gum is next least intrusive alternative. Then sea bands. Then Bonine. Then the patch.

 

 

(regarding the bands--did she have children's bands? or does she have large wrists? I haven't tried them...just troubleshooting here)

So it looks like the patch might not get so many great reviews with some of the potential probs and DON'T TOUCH YOUR EYES lol. I remember buying Dramamine on the ship and it was about 5 times what you'd pay on land so I want to bring some choices for sure.

As for the bands it was me not my wife ... They were regular ... I think .. seems so long ago. Just the one hand and not the other it was odd.

My darling and I are on the Reflection in April and this will be her first cruise. I've been on a few with my first one returning from Bermuda to New York in a nice Hurricane blowing up the coast. It was like a youtube video you see with glasses crashing from overhead the bars and even the crew was sick. Ironically that didn't bother me ... it's the very slow movements of mild seas that sometimes gets to me after a few days.

So anyway ... I see some ideas in other threads but thought I'd start one with only others recommendations from patches to meds to bands. What do you use and did it make you sleepy etc, other side affects?

I had some success with bands but I'll need a bigger size. My daughter on the last one noticed my right hand was swelling up about 25% larger than my left it was cutting off circulation LOL and I didn't even notice. Gravol like meds put me right to sleep I can't even function. Great for bed time I suppose.

We have got the classic package included in the cost. What would premium package give us over the classic. When we booked we were given a list of drinks that the classic package included. Quite comprehensive I thought..... But all this talk of better cocktails has me wondering if I should upgrade when I get on board....

 

So..... Does anyone have a list of drinks covered by the premium package (cocktails included) and would you have any idea of our upgrade costs on a 13 night cruise in October 16.

 

Cheers Gary

Oh. First time I have sailed with a drinks package too....

Hey Gary ... Celebrity have the basic site here ...

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/media/celebrity/shared_assets/pdf/Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

They don't list which wines or specific cocktails the wines are probably ever changing. I'm sure you can get whatever cocktail with the cheaper brand of booze on the left side.

I'm gonna try and stay on classic for awhile we're in port each day 3 days in a row I figure how much premium alcohol would I be drinking while we're on shore. Then we have 2 full sea days I'll check on upgrading then for the last few days.

Upgrading to premium is about $75 per person for the week...money well spent...you never worry about whether anything is included...we have never been denied anything we ordered. Also, with premium if you ordered something higher and they did charge they only charge the difference (so if $16 drink you would pay $3) with the classic you would pay the full $16.

 

We never regret paying the fee...taking away the stress about whether something is covered or not is worth the $150 (both of us) for the week.

People seem to fall hard on one side or the other on this point. This'll be my first time with a drink package I'm going to try the basic one first. Figure we're at sea the last coupla days and if we find we want to try more things we'll upgrade then. I'm from Canada and the upgrade isn't nothing ... and given the very very low prices of various beverages in the U.S. compared to Canada spending another $150-$200U.S. feels like I'm buying out the liquor store in some fashion. If you look at the Celebrity website the cost of the classic package if you believe them and were to buy it without it being included is $77 per person Canadian per day ($55 U.S.). That's close to $1100Canadian dollars. Surely I can find something palatable for that amount of money LOL.

With the state of the Canadian dollar,we will be passing on the specialty restos. We've done them all anyways. Unless of course,there is some kind of "fire" sale due to lack of interest.

That is an excellent point. As I was reading through the "I Survived the Classic Drink Package" thread I was wondering about people surviving not dining in specialty upsold restaurants. I remember cruising when no such thing existed and they strived to make the best food in the MDR. You pay so much to go on a cruise to start with and with the pleasure of now paying a premium as Canadians welllll.

A Caesar uses Clamato instead of Tomato juice. I think it is a Canadian thing.

A Caesar is indeed Canadian ... vodka, Clamato, dashes of hot sauce and Worcestershire served in a celery salt rimmed glass perhaps with a dash of pepper. Most excellent ... my father is an old pro at making these

This was a very useful thread someone should start a Tips for Canadians sticky or something :)

So after searching for exchange rate information and reading through these pages my take away in a nutshell is:

1. Buy OBC where you can, much better exchange. But you would've had to have booked your cruise in Canadian Dollars. That part seems annoying and I wonder why but so be it.

I booked mine in U.S. dollars alas via an online TA that had a bunch of rooms in a group I figure quite a few people probably do something similar you seem to get a little better deal. Well, better than on the Celeb site directly.

I digress slowly to my end question ... so is the exchange rate posted only for buying OBC then? I've read in other threads it's a terrible idea to let Celebrity do my dollar conversion for me? But if they use the same exchange rate as OBC purchases I would be a fool not too. I've yet to check the box on my boarding pass on whether to just allow my CC company to do it or to let Celebrity do it. I suppose I could check with Guest relations when I'm on the boat and change it one way or the other? I don't sail til April so it's a little bit yet. Tx