neilrr

6 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Thanks for posting.  You have re-affirmed my plan not to cruise until I am vaccinated and only on ships that require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated.  I want to spend my money on a safe and fun vacation without worries.

Hi TeeRick - Saw your post here...  Amen...We are of the same mind.  We are in process of getting vaccinated and we will wait until the crew, passengers and people in the Ports are on the road to vaccination too.

It is far too risky and not the least a vacation we would consider -- wearing masks all the time.  Also, I wouldn't even think of Europe which we love.  The first cruise will probably be a 7 day Caribbean cruise out of Port Everglades where we live -- to test the waters.  Most of the cruise lines are looking at 2022 anyway.  I think 2021 is pretty much has been written off. I'm glad we all got our money back on the Iceland cruise last year.  We have 3K tied up (from another cruise) in Celebrity FCC's which hopefully we will use in 2022..  Take care and stay safe..😊 

Hi Everyone:  I will throw in my 2 1/2 cents...😁 We have a couple of larger FCC's and some small ones. We are avid cruisers -- (40+) choosing to wait until we can see some clarity.  No point in having additional stress and aggravation - lifting and shifting, booking and cancelling. 😪

Also, though we may be vaccinated -- What about the crew? What about the countries we would visit? Will they be open for tourists? Right now the world is basically closed. Personally, I don't see the summer in the Med happening. We really miss it, but will wait until things look better.  An old business saying -- I like to be on the leading edge; not the bleeding edge...

Everyone stay safe...

Happy Sailing to All - Hope we will be sailing again soon...😄    

Hi TeeRick -- Fancy meeting you on here... Sorry we didn't get to Iceland...😭 Maybe next year...😁 Hope you and your family are doing well.. Everything is status quo in S. FL... Hoping to take the sabbatical and retire out of that... I have had enough fun in school this year.. Take care and stay safe..

On 1/25/2021 at 12:26 PM, zitsky said:

Has J&J been tested against variants?

Not sure... Remember the variants are fairly new -- J&J are trying to finish the Stage 3 trials to get the emergency authorization. I was talking with a pharmacist friend who said she believes these vaccinations may be annual ritual - like the flu vaccine. Also, due to the vaccines being done so quickly, no one knows how long the effectiveness will last... Time will tell... 

Hi All!!! Good news😁 -- Johnson and Johnson "single" dose vaccine on the horizon for approval in early/mid February... It also does not require freezing cold temperatures..  Bad news 😂 - Merck decided to halt testing/production of their vaccine this morning, as it did not have the effectiveness they wanted.  

The J &J vaccine will be a game changer - we hope...😊

Stay safe and healthy...

We have been to Turkey several times and various ports.  We love Kusadasi - Ephesus is the best and the tour also included the las home of the Virgin Mary.  As for Istanbul, loved all the sights, but we found it to be a little risky.  Also, the cab drivers are thieves -  everyone was arguing with them, as they would not make change after you paid them (us included) -- and make sure you use their currency - Turkish lira -- no dollars or euros - as you will not get any change from them. 

Another lovely place is Bodrum, Turkey - seaside town in a crescent - nice little restaurants and shops.

As you may know, Turkey has moved more toward a right wing government - far away from the western and secular society which most Turks really liked.  Keep that in mind when you do your research and keep an eye on the politics there.  

Good luck and happy travels....

It is so sad.. I go back to the Horizon and when you had to pay to join the Captain's Club and the wonderful food by Michel Roux... Those were the best days on Celebrity.  We also had wonderful times on Millennium and Century....  

24 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

We get them all. Costs us nothing and we have protection, even if less than 100% in some cases. We will get the COVID-19 vaccination too as soon as it becomes available to us.

Hi there... I would wait just a bit to make sure there are no major side effects.  As a business person and not a scientist -- I like to be on the"leading edge" and not the "bleeding edge."  I definitely want the vaccine, BUT I do not want to be the first one in the door to get it... 😁

1 hour ago, blubionda said:

IF you go/IF you can go, I'd bet you could upgrade now for cheap!

bubionda - We probably could... But who knows if they will even be sailing by 3/22/20... We are in a wait and see pattern at the moment.. We would hate to give the cruise line more money at this point... I see cruisingator2 above just put out the article on Virgin Cruises holding up on their roll out too..

4 minutes ago, smogfarmgirl said:

We haven't had a vacation in 5 years, and this was our FIRST cruise ever! We were sooooo looking forward to it! We are still considering going if Celebrity doesn't cancel, but the possibility of being quarantined if anyone turns up sick at all on the ship for 14 days would be a financial hit we can't take.  We work from home, so if they would just let us off to self-isolate (kinda like the flight at PBIA this morning) then no worries, we'd go in a heartbeat!

We are also still scheduled to go for Spring Break.... We really don't want to be quarantined either... We have an inside cabin for this cruise..🙃 As we have been to the Caribbean many times -- we always say they just change the signs, as we approach the island so a balcony is not necessary...😁 I will have to think that over in the future...

3 minutes ago, RICCruisers said:

My suggestion on the Princess offer is to take the money and run.  I am not an attorney nor an expert on financial matters.  My question would be if cruise companies get into dire financial straits, would they declare some type of bankruptcy - Chapter 7, 11, 13 or some other number.  Then after reorganizing as a different entity they are back in business and do not have to honor any previous commitments made by the predecessor company i.e. not honoring the FCC that was given?

 

Any expert in this area of business, please respond.

RICCruisers - I don't think the cruise lines would want to lose all goodwill by screwing their customers out of a FCC or previous bookings that were paid for. Who would book with them again, if they did that?  I know I wouldn't and I have been on over 40 cruises...  

1 minute ago, smogfarmgirl said:

We are waiting too, scheduled to leave the day after you.  The sooner they announce the plan, the better...we will still need a vacation, and all available funds are tied into this.  We'd still like to vacation here in SoFlo, put some money into our service industry.  Maybe if we locals with potentially cancelled cruises can still do a little something here it will help out.

smogfarmgirl - I agree -- we paid ages ago for this cruise... Hate to miss my Premium Drink Package and my Mud Slides...LOL🍸😊 We have another cruise on Reflection scheduled for July.... We will see what happens now and hope for the best... Good luck!!!

30 minutes ago, WonderMan3 said:

I’m sure all the cruise lines will follow. Princess is owned by Carnival so I expect Cunard, Costa, HAL and Carnival to be next since they are all part of that cruise family. Then there will be pressure on the Royal family, NCL, MSC, etc. to do the same. They are all likely scrambling to create their cancellation plans as we speak.

WonderMan3 - I totally agree with you. We live in S. FL and are scheduled to leave on the Edge 3/22/20. We will see what RCCL/Celebrity does. They definitely are meeting, as we speak, to see what they can do re: cancellation plans...

21 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 

Neil,

This "gap" was there at least last June. I was looking for an Iceland cruise for 2 couples, one who could only get vacation time in July, and one who wanted to cruise beginning of June.

 

There was nothing in between for the Reflection, which I found it weird, but it suited perfectly "my clients".

 

Yesterday, the one in June 5th decided to cancel (undergoing chemmo), and those in your cruise are wavering.... The husband is head of Ob/Gyb in a big hospital here, and cannot afford a quarantine....

 

All in all -- a very sad situation for everyone.

Personally, we have an "taster" on Apex 4 weeks from now .... not sure it it'll be a "go"....

dani negreanu - Interesting that nothing was scheduled in that time period on Reflection... Sorry to hear about the cancellation.  We still have everything set for the July cruise. We are taking a wait and see attitude and we will see if Celebrity cancels.  We have the insurance and everything is booked through them incl. the air and excursions.  The only thing we booked outside of Celebrity are the 4 nights pre-cruise in Dublin.  We will see what happens.  Take care and be well. 

12 hours ago, dutchclogs said:

 

Did you find any information? Have not heard that Reflection is scheduled to go into dry dock.

Hi dutchclogs - I have not seen or heard anything further... It is a bit strange.... with that gap in June and no sailing until mine on July 6....

I was curious -- we are on the Reflection 7/6/20 Sailing out of Dublin and we are taking a wait and see attitude.  I noticed that after the June 5th Sailing of Reflection there are no other sailings until ours on 7/6 (which I found strange). Is the ship going into Dry Dock? Or is it possibly being chartered? I have not seen anything about this gap. Thanks for your assistance.

22 hours ago, davekathy said:

You're on to something. With all the COVID19 posts, the Doors song "This Is The End" could be the next theme song. ✌️

davekathy - I was thinking of "Light My Fire" rather than "This Is The End... 

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

I am not questioning your opinion at all.  I just asked if this song and ad would stop you from sailing on Celebrity.  I guess the answer is no based on your response.  IMO the ad is not really influencing most people to boycott Celebrity even though some us older folk remember the context in 1967 when it was released.  I was a kid.  It did not influence me then either.  Happy cruising!

Hi TeeRick - We miss you on our thread... Sorry you are not traveling with us... I thought the ad was a bit strange, but most Millennials will not get it anyway.  Maybe Celebrity is starting the a new 60's Boutique (with all the goodies) on board... LOL  

The next song for all of us children of the 60's will be done by Jim Morrison of the Doors to keep up the theme... LOL😁

1 hour ago, Maykitten said:

Any advice on best options to get to the port from Rome centre or airport?

We have used for both Princess and Celebrity for their city transfers from the Crowne Plaza (past St. Peters Square) to the ship which was wonderful.  To get to the airport or the city we used a taxi/limousine service -- I believe it was Rome Shuttle.  They were prompt, efficient and on time. I would also look at Trip Advisor.  They have 5 stars. I would not suggest using the train unless you do not have any luggage...😊 LOL.  We try to make our lives as simple as possible when in Europe... Good Luck...😀 

On 2/8/2020 at 5:26 PM, richard1s said:

My wife loves slots and I also enjoy machines as well as all table games. However I found the table minimums way too high for my comfort level on this cruise. While I can afford a $15 BJ minimum, I also know that you can lose very fast at that level. I am mainly there to pass the time and have some fun and experience interaction with fellow passengers and dealers. Those minimums are too high a price to pay for that benefit. A $10 minimum on 3 card poker quickly becomes a $30 hand, and wagers at craps play can also get really steep, really fast.

 

richard1s - I totally agree with you. My Partner and I like to go to the casino to have a little fun. We also only had $10 and up BJ tables - which I did play a bit (with some left over non-refundable shipboard credit) and won, but I also enjoy Three Card Poker and $30 per hand is too steep for me. Celebrity (and other casinos too) would rather have croupiers standing around at an empty $25 or $100 per hand table rather than opening a $5 table that would be full... I really don't get that logic at all... 

This was Christmas week and though the ship was busy the casino was not. They did give $5 credit on slots one night. By little gambling done, we actually left the ship with more than we came with...😊  We will be on the Edge in March so we shall see.... Happy travels...🛳️

Hi all!!! This is such a popular trip many of the stateroom categories are sold out... We look forward to meeting others traveling on this cruise... See you soon...😁

Hi all!!! Forty Days from Sail Away!!!🎈 just checking to see if anyone else is traveling for Spring Break... See you all soon...😁

On 1/19/2020 at 8:43 AM, doskram said:

Has anybody been on their cruise yet that had their package automatically upgraded ?

doskram - Follow-up ---Just got off the phone with Celebrity... The Celebrity Rep initially was unaware of $14 surcharge on the Classic package perk --- so she contacted a resolution specialist and they new what I was talking about and they are in the process of making the change to the Premium Package for me and my Partner.  She said I would have a confirmation later today. 😁 Good luck!!!

On 1/19/2020 at 8:43 AM, doskram said:

Has anybody been on their cruise yet that had their package automatically upgraded ?

I had the same question -- as we paid the $14 PP PD and received it back from the TA as a OBC for the entire $196 for the two of us. Are they still going to upgrade us to the Premium package?  I will call Celebrity today and see if I can find anything out.. I will get back to you... 😁

Hi there: We were on the Dec 20, 2019 sailing on Reflection for Christmas... The prices were also raised to $70 for the Specialty Restaurants - which is crazy, but we started talking with one of the guys outside the buffet area and we were able to get Murano's for $50 PP.  We also did the lunch at Murano's for $30 - which we have been to before and really enjoy. They had that $119 dinner -- but it was on Christmas Eve and they were serving lobster in the MDR that night -- so people who had made reservations from our MDR table cancelled them... 

In addition, all table games in the casino were $10 min. and if you play 3 card poker it would cost $30 per hand. I played a bit of blackjack and some slots, but that was it... 

Personally, I think Celebrity is reaching too hard for that higher level (i.e. Azamara, Oceania, etc..) who are really not their target market. They are also attempting to go after the Millennial crowd (with the new cutting edge style of ship) which in general can not afford the Celebrity product. This is obviously reflected in the reviews (by the regular Celebrity crowd) of the new Edge and the adjustment that Celebrity has made in the cruise pricing on the Edge. We have been travelers on Celebrity going back to the Horizon.  We shall see how their strategy works out for them.  We will be going on the Edge in March and are hoping for the best. We are back on the Reflection in July...

Happy Sailing!!!🛳️