SLOTheta

Hello, From my experience on Holland, you get comped or reduced fares based on casino play. I received this Celebrity cruise for almost free, due to my MGM platinum status in vegas. I would suggest the next time you are on a Celebrity cruise, make sure you spend time in the casino every day. When I’m on Holland, I gamble every day, about $1000 a day…I’ve been doing the same on this cruise, so it will be interesting to see what offers I get when I’m done. We are on day 2 and I’ve lost quite a bit ($1500), hoping I get something good from all my gambling.

Hello! This is my first cruise on Celebrity. I have sailed on Holland several times. I was given a “free” cruise due to my MGM Platinum status. I get a free cruise every year, but I’ve never taken advantage of it. I’m really glad I finally took the plunge. My original offer was for an inside room, I upgraded to Aqua Class for $500 for 2. What a great deal. I get seasick, so I picked a midship room. I wish I had splurged for the Retreat. Next time. My sister and I arrived on Friday night and stayed at the Courtyard at the Long Beach Airport. They have a convenient free shuttle to the hotel. We downloaded the app, checked in and selected a 1pm embarkation time. I pre-paid for premium internet. It was pricey, but glad I bought it early. I wish I had know that pre-buying excursions and dinners early closed 2 days prior. I would have pre bought more things! We took an Uber to the port, it was easy and was dropped off right in front of 93. $25. I was surprised to see how empty it was. A porter took our bags quickly. We breezed through check-in and security. Our 2 bottles of wine we brought, along with a few sodas and water bottles weren’t a problem. Our room was quite nice, except that the beds a super tiny (or feel that way). I’m not a large person, 5’7, 140, but I felt like a giant! We went to our muster station, it took about 5 mins. Our room steward Ronald was helpful and very accommodating. We signed up for the Veuve Clicquot dinner at $200 a person. I wish I had seen this and pre-bought it! Darn. It’s only 5 couples, looking forward to this small group experience. Our first meal was a mix of the buffet and the grill. I picked up pasta and pizza from the buffet and a garden burger at the grille. None of it was all that tasty, very bland, but did the trick. I wasn’t a fan of the French fries, they were a bit tasteless, which seems to be not worth the calories. My sister said her burger was also a bit tasteless We gambled in the casino that opened around 5:30pm. We don’t have a drink package due to the casino rate, I was pleasantly surprised that drinks were free while gambling. I thought it would be bottom shelf stuff, but I was happy to see it was pretty good vodka, I ordered many Tito’s Moscow mules and extra cans of club soda. I tipped well and the servers came often. I lost my shirt playing slots and 3 card, but did ok on roulette. I had a few 4 of kinds playing VP, but nothing too exciting. Our first dinner was at Blu and it was delicious. I ordered shrimp cocktail and escargot from the MDR menu without issue. For my entree I had the miso soba main lobster. Absolutely Devine! The crème brûlée for dessert was yummy. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon blanc, it was $18, a bit pricey, but good. We headed back to the casino until about 1am. No luck, but lots of fun and free drinks! Good first day.

Thanks @SusieV for this great post. I am going on my first celebrity cruise and will be on the Solstice for the 7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise out of LA on 11/19. Which nights were the “Chic Nights” ? Did you eat in the MDR during these nights? Was the food any better on chic nights, than other nights in the MDR? We typically like to dress up for Holland America’s “gala nights” did people dress better on these nights? We also wanted to try Murano, did you eat there? Any recommendations for a first time Celebrity Cruiser? We are gamblers, did you check out the casino much? How was it? We have have a room on the 7th deck, mid ship, that seems pretty ideal. We were thinking of trying a MoveUp bid to Aqua, Retreat is sold out. Do you think it’s worth the risk? Thank you!

Did you end up bidding? I’m in the same situation as you. I have a casino cruise where I paid to upgrade from the free cruise to a Veranda. I’m wondering if it’s worth the risk to bid for an Aqua class if I have a great veranda room now (7th deck, mid ship) and worried if I bid, I’ll get a worse Aqua room.

We will also be on this cruise. I’m new to Celebrity and also have this cruise through BCC (via MGM). Our original deal came with a free room, but we paid for an upgrade to Veranda. I was thinking of trying the MoveUl Bidding option. When I saw the aqua class rooms, it said they come with free wifi and classic package. Since you have a cruise only fair, does that mean you didn’t get these when you booked? I wonder if you get them if you bid for it We can’t wait for our first cruise on Celebrity!

Thank you both for your prompt replies! I was slightly leaning towards Murano, since I love French food. Thank you for the push

My husband and I will be on our first Celebrity Cruise over Thanksgiving. We’ve been on Holland and looking forward to trying this cruise line. There are 2 specialty dining options Murano (French) and Tuscan Grille (Italian). Both sample menus look delicious. We live in California and lucky to have a wide variety of restaurants and great options to select from. What would you recommend if you only had to pick one? Thanks!

I go to gamble in Vegas every other month, sometimes every month (From CA). I’m platinum at MGM. I play a mix of table games, slots and VP. I’ve won 3 jackpots this year. When I gamble on cruise ships, I know the odds are much worse than land based casinos. But, I do it because I enjoy it. If you play VP, you need to play something other than jacks or better. If you talk to any casino bartender or staffer, they all tell you to play Double Double or Triple Double due to the payouts. I played on our last HAP cruise and paid for my trip with my winnings on VP. Play knowing you’ll lose all your money and enjoy the winnings when they come.

I’m new to Celebrity and a MGM Platinum member that received a 5 or 7 day cruise (inside room) for free when I gambled during an event weekend (Cruise Pick up weekend). I was skeptical and thought it was going to be horrible dates in and places. I was surprised to see that the Mexican Riviera cruise during thanksgiving week was available. We were looking at a similar cruise over NYE with HAL and the “free cruise” was $800/pp with the casino offer. Not a good deal. With these MGM free cruise offers, you can only upgrade 2 classes, we upgraded to Veranda for $20 a day. The cruise for 7 nights was $560 for 2. Much better deal than HAL. I gamble A LOT (thousands a day) and HALs cruise offers aren’t great. I’m looking forward to trying X and comparing the casino/offers

Our 2nd day was a sea day and it was 4th of July. The staff started off the festive day with a towel animal zoo on the Lido deck. So imaginative and fun to walk through the “zoo” Tai Chi is every morning on the lido, my mom went each day. We tried the 9am pickle ball drop in, but it was rainy and super windy. Our group had booked the family cabana on the 11th (haven). It was so windy and cold, we didn’t get to enjoy it. I would not recommend getting a cabana on an Alaskan cruise. We’ve booked one for our Mexico and European tours, they were great. Alaska is too variable. We had a nice lunch in the MDR. The calamari was tasty, along with my salmon. There’s salmon on every menu, every day. It’s good I like salmon! During our lunch, the staff 4th it July parade came through the MDR. Very festive We caught a showing of a narrated movie on the Iditarod on the Main Stage. Learned quite a bit about the race. We played Trivia in the Crows Nest. It’s been nice to have a trivia option each day. We also had to partake in another set of espresso martinis from the wonderful bartenders in the Crows Nest With our GAP group rewards, our group organizer opted for an evening reception in the Crows Nest. They closed off the large library area and served us appetizers and drinks. We had an opportunity to meet everyone in our 24 person group. I wish I could say the food was extraordinary in the MDR. It was good, not great. I had fish again. The eagle mold chocolate mousse was quite nice. I hit a very nice 4 of kind at the end of the evening and came back to a lovely elephant towel animal.

Awe, thank you for remembering! I’ve really appreciated all the tips and information this board has provided. I’ve had to push my Mom out of her comfort zone. But, she’s been a trooper. It’s also nice that my sisters have stepped up to help. I can’t believe it’s been 5 years since the Mediterranean cruise. We are celebrating the couple who we went on the first cruise with and now on their anniversary cruise. They were the ones who lured us into the wonderful world of cruising. We flew Southwest to Seattle this time, no first class for us. But, we did take my mom to the Centurion Lounge, her first airport lounge experience (pic below). 😀

Luckily, our results came back and we were able to do VeriFLY. It’s a must! The line for VeriFLY was fast and the staff were efficient. If you complete your ArriveCAN and VeriFLY, you can get through in a few minutes

We had our first meal after we were situated at the Dive In. The chicken sandwiches and cheese fries were yummy! We sat outside on the sunny deck at the Lido pool. This is the first time getting wi-fi and the drink package. What a difference it makes! we will never sail again without the Have it All package! No more worrying about running to happy hour, paying corkage or roaming charges. We were determined to try a drink at all the bars for our first day - we made it to almost all of them - Ocean, Aft Bar, Gallery and Crows Nest. Almost all the drinks we wanted were $11 or less, I did upgrade to a Miraval rose for an extra charge of a couple of dollars. At all the bars, there’s a Have it all and More sign where you can pay the difference and get an upgraded drink. The bars were short staffed, with only 1 bar tender working. All wonderful, but they we’re working really hard. The best drinks were served at the Crows Nest. We had yummy espresso martinis to start our evening. Before dinner, we bundled up and walked on the Deck 3 promenade. Chilly, but nice to get some air. We saw a few dog relief stations set up with the pups names. Cute! We had dinner at 8pm at the MDR. We had 4 tables next to the window. It was wonderful yo look out while we were eating. The salmon was decent. Nothing extraordinary, but good. The service was very good, as as always. Our friends were celebrating their anniversary on this cruise and we’re given a nice treat after dinner We ended our first night in the casino. I like how they have a $5 craps table $5 3 card table. I was in Vegas last month and 3 card was $20 min for each spot. I didn’t win anything, but a member of our cruise group won two back to bank $1300 hand pays at one of the machines.

Hello! It’s our first cruise since our Mexico adventure right before Covid in 2020. We are super excited! We have a great group of 20 who have cruised together previously. It’s a multi-generational group this time - parents, grandparents and 20-something kids. We are in our early 40s and 50s. It’s my first time traveling with my Mom, sisters and husband. I support my Mom and she lives with us…We are both Leo’s…wish us luck! We are are celebrating my Mom’s 75th, our friend’s 5 year anniversary from when they were married on an HAL Mediterranean cruise and my husband’s birthday. Lots to celebrate! We arrived on Saturday night and stayed at the Spring Hill Suites in downtown. I was shocked at the hotel pricing ($300/night). I wanted to stay close to the port, and this was 11 minutes away. We took and Uber XL to the port and the security and driver said they had to drop off in a specific area. But, I saw a bunch of cars and taxis drive directly to the terminal. Wouldn’t be an issue typically. But, it was raining and my mom was in a walker. We trekked out to the terminal for our 12pm check in. It was super busy and a bit chaotic. You MUST do VeriFLY and ArriveCAN if you want to avoid the long line. The line was was a fast track lane that was MUCH shorter and organized than the labyrinth that was the regular line. My Mom’s Covid test was rejected for some unexplained reason in VeriFLY. But, since we were all approved, they let her check in with us. The line to get in the ship was about 15 mins long. Be prepared to wait. We met our room stewards almost immediately after getting to our room. They were quick to offer assistance and help us get settled. We had a bank of 4 rooms and they unlocked all our balconies so we could have one long balcony. Our muster was super easy, check in anytime between 1-2:30 and watch a video on TV. We headed to the Ocean Bar to get our first drink. The Bees Knees and Brooklyn were delicious! It was freezing and raining, but we bundled up and explored the outside of the ship. Hubby and friends shot some hoops in the rain and hung outside in the Aft Bar for the sail away. They had moved the sail away festivities inside to the Lido, we still wanted to brave the rain, wind and cold to see Seattle on our way out. I will report more on my next break!

I sent my OBC request earlier this month and I didn’t see it show up in my account. I called: World Cruise Reservations Tel 800 522 3399 I was on hold for about 20 mins and reached an agent who could help. She said she saw my email request, but it hadn’t been processed yet. She processed and I received an email about 10 minutes later that had my booking with the extra $100 OBC applied to me

I’m glad to hear it was easy to get off the ship without a passport check. My sister had to send her passport back, only has a copy and her original naturalization papers and she didn’t want to have to carry those around in Victoria. I am sad to hear that food wasn’t good. Our last cruise was December 2019 on the Koningsdam and the food in the MDR was amazing each night. We always have set seating for 8pm in the MDR and many nights we ordered two entree each since we both love to eat! Hopefully, they are just figuring out the food kinks and the food will be back to normal soon. Thanks again for your amazing post. I can’t wait!

I booked the Port Valet in advance online for our cruise. We leave today and come back on Sunday. Was there a notice that Port Valet wasn’t available? I entered in all our information and received a confirmation

Thank you for your awesome review! We landed in Seattle last night and boarding today. This is the excursion we booked (Whale Quest and Mendenhall Glacier). What time did you leave the ship to meet your guide at the port? Our paperwork shows departure at 1:30pm. Did your excursions and dinners show up in the app? None of mine are showing. Are there signs pointing you where to go to find excursion check-in? How long did you have at the Mendenhall Glacier? My mom uses a cane to walk, is it pretty easy to get around? I would like to peel off and try to hike around a bit. Should we bring anything with us? How was the temp on the whale quest and walk around the glacier? What would you suggest we wear? The weather seems all over the place, I’ve definitely overpacked! It currently shows 80 degrees in Juneau for our day. Thank you!

Thank you all for your prompt replies and great help. I took my Covid test today and hoping the results come back in time so I can complete the VeriFLY app.

Thank you! This is helpful!

I made an appointment for today through Quest and it was no cost- billed to my insurance. It was a drive through contracted with Rite Aid https://patient.questdiagnostics.com/no-cost-covid-test

Hello, We are taking an Alaskan Cruise out of Pier 91 on Sunday. Does anyone know if this cruise terminal has a VeriFly fast track lane for check-in? If you have used it, was it easy to find and what was your experience like? I've heard it can be hard to find at the Ports who have VeriFly

Hello, We are taking an Alaskan Cruise out of Pier 91 with Holland America. Does anyone know if this cruise terminal has a VeriFly fast track lane for check-in? If you have used it, was it easy to find and what was your experience like?

On the App: Clicked Experiences, then Dining and Drinks. It showed up under Wins, Cocktails and Bars Screen shot

Thank you! I was thinking about upgrading to the Elite package, but I see that this offer is on our Alaska cruise next Sunday!! Woohoo. Logged into my navigator account and saw this!