garyl62

I booked this a few days ago on the "Black Friday Sale" (one of the many 💁‍♂️) and it was $45 PP, down from $55. We'll be there on New Year's Day. What I don't understand is why someone would book the same trip but have a lunch included for an additional $60/70 PP. For that extra money you get one item from "the provided menu" and another Bahama Mama.

We are on a 4 night Holiday cruise out of FLL on Silhouette that departs December 30th so the only "holiday" is New Year's. NYE will be a sea day and I'd guess that will be our Evening Chic day as well. Knowing it's just a 4 day cruise in the Caribbean I'd suspect things would be very casual, however with it being NYE my DW is wondering if people may elevate their dress a little that night. Anyone have some experience they could share on what activities might be planned (the planner hasn't populated yet) and what the overall dress and vibe could be like? Thanks!

Nice looking group there Jim, looks like you had a great day. Sometimes it's nice to be back on a familiar line, especially when they want to make sure you feel appreciated.

Happy Birthday Jim! They did a great job decorating your suite and the cake looks to be a nice upgrade from the one they have previously served. Hope the rest of your day has been fantastic!

I typically take three screen shots, the beginning, someplace in the middle with a point of interest or person on the screen and then at the end when everyone is waving goodbye. In my mind that shows them I was actually there the entire time and didn't just come back at the end and take a screen shot sometime after it ended. Only had to submit those 1 time, otherwise I have always received the credit when appropriate.

I'll vote for Miami, a lot more non-stop flights from Chicago to MIA than FLL. We sail out of Fort Lauderdale more often, but almost always fly RT ORD to MIA and take ground transportation to and from the port. Also being a larger airport MIA has a lot more airline club rooms. Which port they use doesn't matter, but since much of this has turned into a discussion about airports I decided to "cast my vote"

Thanks for taking us along, it's unusual to follow along on Galapagos trip and while it may be a couple years away, it's still something I'd love to take in the not too distant future. I appreciate the info about the pre-cruise days as well since it's harder to learn about those from Celebrity's website.

I'll chime in and say we're looking forward to a short December cruise on her also. It seems forever ago, but we were fortunate enough to book on the day these sailings were released and we were part of the "pricing error" reservation crowd that caused an uproar back then. It eventually calmed down, we're past final payment and just a couple+ weeks before check-in will open!

I've been able to take a few sailings that I normally wouldn't have looked at because someone found a good deal and posted it here. I'm wondering if anyone has come across anything on the batch of new sailings that were just released. After checking a few trips I had in mind I've seen some interesting itineraries, but nothing that jumps off the page as a great deal.

Taking a one way south from Seward allows you a few days before to take in a land portion in conjunction with your sailing if you'd like. You need to see inland areas to get a good complete Alaska experience. Doing some land portion first allows you to relax onboard after your land trip and before you head home. The Summit has been updated and offers great viewing options from many deck areas so I wouldn't be concerned about sailing on her. IMO, taking a one way gives you a more complete experience.

Thanks for posting the link, I haven't received the email yet, but watched it and saved a couple screenshots. I enjoyed it, not sure I'll do anything they promo'd but it was interesting to see.

That bed is closest to the window/balcony and the pillows are to the bow of the ship. Hope that helps. (Just look at the deck plan and the head of the bed fits into the notch that makes the cabin a little wider)

Huk apparel just launched a frequent shopper program that I received an email about called the "Captain's Club" I can't imagine they didn't research it first, but it seems like a trademark infringement or something else that is going to become an issue between them and Celebrity.

Glad to join along early in your trip, sounds like it will be a great experience, looking forward to following along!

I'm wondering is anyone knows who is the Captain on Silhouette now and what their schedule is.

We had this suite just over a year ago so I looked through my photos, but unfortunately I don't have one in the bedroom with the door closed. There is a sliding door between the bedroom and the living room, but there is a film on the door which blocks much of the light. If you have the living room curtains closed the bedroom will be very dark and if you just open a portion of the curtains it should still be fine. Although if she expects it to be pitch black she may wish to pack a sleep mask. It won't take much room and she'll be prepared. We really like this type of suite, the extra door to the bathroom was a great layout and allowed us to really be on slightly different schedules without interfering with each other's sleep pattern. Enjoy! Here is a link to my "Live from" thread. No photos of the bedroom, but you may see other things of interest.

Typically guests are not allowed in the Retreat deck or lounge, but can come to Luminae for a fee when available. Exceptions may be made by staff at times, but only at their discretion. For example our adult daughter (21 at the time) was in a balcony cabin when we were in a sky suite and she was welcomed into Michael's Club. The host told us "we like to keep families together" and she dined with us anytime she wanted, for which we were charged a fee. We've also had friends sail with us who were in a balcony cabin and we were in the PH suite and on that trip they were not allowed access to the Retreat initially, then after the Retreat manager found we were in the PH and sailing with friends, all things changed and they went anywhere we did and there was never a charge for Luminae either. We didn't complain or question the initial decision by staff in the lounge, but though a completely different conversation the manager found out we were sailing with friends and he recommended we bring them in. Some things you just won't be sure of until you sail.

We really enjoy "Jared Freiburg & The Vagabonds" and if we knew they were on a cruise in a time frame we were considering it would push us to booking. Doubt we'd cancel if they were canceled. As many have said, the entertainers publish their schedule many times and back in January Jared posted their cruise schedule for all of 2024 so if someone is looking for a particular entertainer they could try searching online for the schedule and see if it corresponds to a sailing

Sign me up for the CC party! Just booked with a refundable deposit so I could lock in the deal but still have an out when we closer to that date. I tried to book a B2B but both sides were 1/2 as long and the same or more money. Now let's hope airfare from ORD will be summer sale priced too!

Thanks, I realized I had mis-read the notice from Celebrity. The new itinerary listed each day and included the information that Grand Cayman was a tender port. I just skipped over "Grand Cayman" and assumed all the information included was about Falmouth.

On our March 23, 2024 Ascent sailing Labadee was changed to Falmouth, Jamaica. We've never been there so will look into options on land, although the port times are 7:00 - 3:00 and it's a tender port. This is already a "stay on board" trip as we have 3 sea days, Grand Cayman and Nassau as the other ports.

Can the AARP cards be used for final payment if you go through a TA? The charge on my CC always shows as "Celebrity Cruises" and not the TA so wondering if that's possible.

Glad to learn this, @NorthStarStateCruiser we're also on this sailing and I've been looking to book some specialty dining times too. Glad you asked the question.

Completely agree. One of the differences is the non-refundable vs the refundable. I look at the Non-R as just a credit for my overpayment and that's what I try to spend. The refundable goes back to my CC or I get it in cash out on the last night of the cruise. So that's just money I let them borrow for a while. I guess it cost me a little, but at least I knew it was coming back to me and I wasn't forced to spend it with the cruise line someway.

We typically have sailed in suites and many times there is 2-300 OBC per person as part of that package so that OBC, coupled with OBC we receive from our TA we always have over $1,000 OBC for a 7 day cruise. I think the most we've had is about 2,300. Our next trip is in March on the Ascent and we are in a Sky Suite. Our OBC break down is 300 for booking onboard, 50 bonus, 600 Retreat Guests, and 1000 from our TA so 1,950 total.