westcoastcruiser

We are looking at a cruise on the Rotterdam where we would use Jetblue for our flights.  The flight we would take home does not leave until around 6:30 pm from Fort Lauderdale.  
 

Does HAL in conjunction with Jetblue offer luggage direct service where our luggage would be taken from the ship and next time we would see it would be at our home airport (Las Vegas?)

Looking for recommendations on getting from LAX to Crowne Plaza, South Palos Verdes Street, for a future cruise.   Is there a shuttle?  Uber recommended?  First time flying into LAX and cruising out of San Pedro so feel a bit lost.

Any help appreciated.

Thank you.

We booked a cruise for 2024 some time ago….required a deposit of $3000 which we thought was exorbitant.  But we wanted a certain cabin on that voyage so paid it.  Like an earlier poster said, pay now or pay later.  We, too, purchased insurance!

Using HAL's laundry service is a highlight of the cruise for us!  No kidding.  They do an excellent job and it is just one more way they pamper their guests.

I agree with Ruth that knowing the itineraries you are considering would help with responses. Having said that, however, my husband and I are fairly well traveled and until we cruised Norway we were never able to easily answer when asked what our favorite place or cruise was.  We cruised HAL Niew Statendam in 2019 and it by far was breathtakingly beautiful.  We went north of the arctic circle and saw beauty and remoteness we had never experienced.   Other opinions may vary….

5 hours ago, jwb3843 said:

We love watching the wake as well!  Thank you for sharing your experiences of calm seas outside of San Diego.  That information’s moving the Aft cabin to the top of the list!!  

 

Is the $7 or $8 a day for unlimited laundry per cabin or per person?

Per cabin….such a deal.  Clothes returned on hangers or in tissue paper!  

We have done several longer cruises, including  this one.  It was fabulous .  Like you, we enjoy sea days as much as port days so this cruise was perfect.

HAL has the best laundry service at sea, imo, so no need to worry.  Especially with the heat and humidity being able to send clothes out daily just enhances the vacation/cruise experience.  We buy unlimited at $7 or $8 a day and it pays for itself many times over.

we prefer aft cabins for the quietness and the ability to watch the wake.  I do not recall any rough seas except for when we left San Diego, which is normal.  
 

we have extensive cruise history with both Celebrity and HAL and enjoy them both. HAL offers longer cruises and perhaps caters to a more “mature” (in age) crowd.  Of course for a longer cruise the cruisers will likely be retired.  
 

you are in for a treat.  

My husband and I renewed our vows just over 2 years ago for our 40th.  It was very nice and we were glad we did it.  Having said that, the ship's photographer did a lackluster job of photos.  He took very few and those he did take were not well done.  We had an opportunity to sit and chat with the Captain before the ceremony as well as one other crew member.  The cake was very nice and the included dinner at Pinnacle was exceptional.  I believe an assortment of appetizers and flowers were in our room upon arrival, also as part of the package.  

One other detail, the date for the ROV is set by the Captain or staff.  In our case, it was almost at the end of our 18 day cruise.  Since we were looking forward to this celebration, it was unfortunate we  had to wait so long for the ceremony.  

3 years ago we used Flightease for our Amsterdam business class RT trips.  Price was quite good and not paying until final payment was a huge incentive.  
 

I have attempted to check prices for future travel plans since then and routinely get error messages.  When I am able to get options, the flights are far less desirable and the price not a good deal.

Based on what I am reading with flights vanishing coupled with the inadequate website and less competitive pricing, I will book directly with the airline.

1 hour ago, pixiedust777 said:

What stateroom were you assigned to.

We paid a premium for an aft veranda.

We were assigned an aft on deck 6.  Contacted our TA and she moved us to deck 8 in an aft cabin.  She said cost is higher now than what we paid so no refund coming our way.  She tried to get us an upgrade or additional OBC but was not successful.

Got our cabin assignment.  We are B2B as well and we do not have to change cabins.  Certainly is not the corner aft FV cabin we had...and is not an upgrade either.  But we will be cruising and it will be fine.

1 hour ago, pixiedust777 said:

I mean they should be offered even if we had to pay an upgrade. I booked this stateroom on the Millie strictly for the over sized corner aft balcony. I would still like the same location on the Solstice even if that means changing stateroom categories.

Exactly.  Same with us!  Was thrilled to book that cabin.  It is comparable to a suite, in our opinion, with the cabin size and the enormous balcony.  

2 hours ago, KAE27 said:

 

You're not alone; we're still showing as going to Southern Caribbean on October 15 (booked Mexican Riviera).  

We were Southern Caribbean for a day or two, now we are back as undefined....🤷‍♀️

Also interested in how to get from one location to another.  A tour would be nice.  Does anyone have any recommendations?

I keep checking our reservation.  We went from "undefined" to the San Juan cruise and now we are back to "undefined".  Maybe this means we will hear soon??  I keep checking.  Since we were in an aft FV I imagine we will end up with something entirely different.  Keep waiting, keep checking 😊

We have corner aft family veranda cabin booked for Mexican Riviera on Millennium.  Nothing really comparable on Solstice..  Concerned about what we will be moved to.  Have call into our TA.  

We are looking to book a cruise around Japan in spring of 2024.  Any idea when these cruises will be released?

I have routinely done just that....carry the bag with me.  It usually has electronics, medications, etc in it and just do not want to risk it going sideways after me being protective of it for the entire trip up to going into our stateroom.

I did not receive any notification but found the change myself when I went to check flights/prices.  Our flight was changed from a non-stop to one stop with a huge layover.  I booked my cruise online through AAA and was told by AAA agent that Celebrity is handling flight changes based on priority and since our cruise is not until next year, I should "sit tight & wait". 

Today I checked flights and found a similar non-stop at a slightly less expensive price.  Again, AAA wanted me to continue with the "wait and see" approach.  Fortunately by calling Celebrity Air I connected with a very helpful person who changed our flights for us and got us our seat assignment.

I will continue to monitor and be my own advocate.  

15 hours ago, travelwide said:

Steve at tripinsurancestore.com is not only very knowlegeable but also very friendly.  Each state has it's own policy rules and he is knowledgeable on all of them. We highly recommend him.

We, too, have used Trip Insurance Store and spoke to Steve many times.  We always bought trip insurance never thinking we would need it.  However, we have filed two big claims.  One when I had emergency surgery two weeks before we were to leave on a lengthy cruise.  And the second one was when my husband took ill during a cruise and the ship's physician recommended we disembark and get medical treatment not available on board.  With our first claim it was with a policy purchased through Insure My Trip and they were less than helpful in their follow up and claims administration.  Lesson learned!!  It took almost 4 months before I saw a dime despite completing all paperwork as requested.   

For our second claim I had purchased our insurance through Steve at The Trip Insurance Store and the process was much smoother.  It confirmed that price is not the only factor when purchasing.  It also depends upon who administers the claim and are they accessible.  With our first claim, we could never speak to the person processing the claim yet they kept asking for things I had already submitted.  Very frustrating.  Of course, now we will never travel without trip insurance and without the backing of the agency selling it.

We never buy the insurance through the Cruise Line.  We purchase from Trip Insurance Store where Steve, the owner, or his staff, talk through with you what your needs are based on where you are going.  He is an excellent resource and has the latest information on how COVID has affected trip insurance going forward.  Highly recommend!  

We spent 3 weeks on the Niew Statendam two years ago.  We really like the ship but felt the Lido was undersized for the ship.  On port days when people were scurrying to have breakfast and disembark for a tour, it was very difficult to find seating.  The master dining room was fine and we had no difficulty with timing or meals.  The ship itself is beautiful and, of course, the crew is awesome.

We have done this trip a number of times.  Love the sea days.  For us, there is plenty to do...but we are gym rats, love the hydrotherapy pool, reading, sitting on our balcony and watching the water.  My husband plays table tennis and I play pickle ball so that also occupies our time.  It is what you make of it.

7 hours ago, Cornus said:

I had the same experience...my crossing in June on QM2 was cancelled in April and I immediately requested a full refund.  I was notified that it would be processed within sixty days.  This never happened and after waiting for a longer period, I finally got tired of waiting and filed a dispute with my credit card company which appeared as a credit within days.  Cunard finally did issue the credit and the cc company just charged back the disputed amount.  

 

Quite different from this is a Viking cruise I had booked for this coming January.  I received an email a couple of weeks ago that it too has been cancelled.  I requested a full refund and was notified that it should appear as a credit on my cc account within three weeks.  I check my account on line frequently and the Viking credit was there within a few days, a much better response than Cunard offered.  

Thank you.  I just decided to dispute it with my credit card as well.  I am tired of calling and receiving no definitive information.  Holland America cancelled several of our cruises as well and never had to follow up with them at all.  

We were booked on our first Cunard cruise scheduled for next summer.  In August we were notified that Cunard cancelled our cruise.  We immediately submitted our request for a refund per their instructions.  It is now 3 months and we have not received our refund despite promises our refund is "being processed".  During this challenging time we had other cruises booked with other cruise lines and those refunds were promptly handled.  This is our first encounter with Cunard and we are disappointed at their lack of customer service.  None of the representatives we have spoken with can offer an explanation or estimation on timing.  Has anyone else experienced this?