jerryd1

11 minutes ago, GranysT said:

I have my 1st Celebrity cruise coming up in September. One of the main. reasons I booked Celebrity, was because No Smoking in the ship, especially the casinos. Now I'm reading that they are going to allow smoking? Designating half the casino smoking and half non smoking, just doesn't cut it. When does this policy start? 

Celebrity's canned response to inquiries has been "This test is currently in place on the Celebrity Equinox and Celebrity Eclipse, and at this time there has been minimal to no impact to our guests experience onboard.  Vaping will only be allowed in certain areas of the casino for casino guests, during operating hours only. Cigarettes, pipes and cigars will still be prohibited in the casino."

If you feel, as many of us do, that the consideration of this change in policy is a mistake, please send your concerns to ExecutiveOffice@celebrity.com 

4 hours ago, gerelmx said:

Note that the Captains Club Discount applies over the list price it's not combinable with the pre-cruise savings

The fine print on the Wi-Fi page for the cruises we have booked says "Pre-cruise savings are combinable with select Captain’s Club benefits. ".     

The fine print under Wi-Fi on the Captains Club benefit webpage says "Combinable with the pre-cruise advantage only."

12 hours ago, perfect match said:

I’m now learning the differences in terminology between Celebrity and RCCL. I feel a bit like I’m learning to speak a new language! 😂 That said, how can I tell the difference between internet being “on sale” and it being a “flash sale”?

On 7/7/2023 at 11:49 AM, spammie said:

You can't do it on line you have to call. You also can't combine the discount if it is on sale.  

That's true for a "Flash Sale" where the fine print clearly shows "Not Combinable".   

You can, however, combine the Captains Club discount with the pre-cruise savings as exampled below.    The fine print on both the Wifi page and the Captains Club webpage indicate that this pre-cruise price is combinable with the Captains Club discount.     I  called the Captains Club just this week to book the Wifi on our future 2023 & 2024 cruises.   I was told that it wasn't combinable.    I referenced the fine print on the website and the representative still said it wasn't combinable.   I asked for a supervisor and, after some discussion with the supervisor, she  agreed that it was combinable and that there was an issue with the information and pricing that their system was displaying.   The final price for Elite Plus after the 35% discount was $14.94/per day for Premium Wifi using the example below.

$22.99 / per guest per day

1 hour ago, LB_NJ said:

don't like anything on the menu would probably order one of the timeless entrees.  Glad they haven't gotten rid of those like Royal has.

 The escargot disappeared from the timeless appetizers after day 3 on this sailing.

27 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

I hope you are joking about the pork and beans, 😡

I wish I was.   Here is tonight's special entrée list on the Equinox main dining menu.

1 hour ago, ABoatNerd said:

They will discontinue the buffet and force people to eat in dining rooms - savings #1. Then in the dining rooms, they will reduce the quality - savings #2.

They're not waiting for #1 to start #2......  Celebrity has "Pork and Beans" as an entrée on the dinner menu tonight on the Equinox.

2 hours ago, Lastdance said:

TBH, I never thought about asking what to do on a TA...I just get so darn excited before it that I cannot contain myself.  You have so many options, but you also can just do and be you!  From cabin crawls to parties onboard, you meet so many fun people on the roll call and have unlimited options.  I love walking the ship...each deck and as far as you can go, not to mention the gym.  Also, please allow me to stare at the wake and possible nap on my veranda...oh my, I cannot wait until October with a b2b/TA and spending additional pre-cruise time in beautiful Italy.  

I believe we had  fun doing small group dinners, LCR games, a scavenger hunt, looking for the best Tapas in Barcelona,  and other fun and games with you guys and the CC group on the Reflection in the spring of  2017.   That was our first TA and we've done 4 more since then.   

Might that be you somewhere in this picture?   😉

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

We did over 10 Westbound  crossings before I was able to talk Iain into a our first Eastbound.   As you said -- at least for the passengers you really don't notice the times changes and so much easier than doing it on an airplane.

 

The crew experience it differently -  On a Westbound they get an extra hour each night to party  while on an Eastbound they loose an hour each night and can't sleep in,  so by the end they really are feeling the loss.

We did one eastbound TA on RC and the captain decided to do the time changes at noon instead of the middle of the night.   Didn't matter much to the passengers but the crew sure preferred this policy because they worked an hour less each day instead of sleeping an hour less at night.    

On 7/6/2022 at 9:16 AM, Loracpin2 said:

There was a post a few weeks ago about how they were handeling quarantining on an S-class ship.

Instead of isolating covid passengers on deck 6 in balcony cabins where they  would have the opportunity to sit outside and get some fresh air, they were down on deck 3. 

They used deck 6 to quarantine new crew for 2 weeks. I'm sure they enjoyed their balcony rooms!!

We were quarantined in Deck 6 balcony cabins on the Solstice in June.

Yes, Happy Birthday to you!    Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.   It's much appreciated!

On 6/20/2021 at 1:01 PM, little britain said:

As everyone has a drinks package

No, not everyone.    Contrary to the "Always Included" moniker, there are some fares that don't include drinks, etc..

On 1/11/2021 at 2:22 PM, -Lew- said:

When checking fares for fall 2021 on the Celebrity website for cruises I've booked, without signing into my account, I'm seeing some very good fares.  However, upon signing in and going through the process, the itineraries exist, but at much higher fares.

 

Anyone else experiencing this issue?

Yes, I had the same problem.    It looks to me like the lower fares only apply to newly booked cruises that are booked during their airfare sale.   It appears if you go online or call Flights by Celebrity to book flights for a cruise that you had previously booked the fares are much higher.       

It appears to me that Celebrity having a "sale" by subsidizing flights on newly booked cruises.   This way they can have a sale without lowering cruise fares and having us rebook our cruises to capture the price drop.

We finally received the last of our refunds and FCC from the cancelled April 24, 2020 Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Reflection.   We received an email cancellation notification from Celebrity and our TA on March 24.    The refunds came in two batches, the last was the airfare refund, which showed up on our credit card statement with a transaction date of June 3rd and was posted on June 9th.

Just now, Fouremco said:

A quick question for all of you who have actually received you FCCs: were they issued in exact dollars and cents amounts or rounded up our down to a dollars-only amount?

 

Ours were rounded to the closest whole dollar amount.   

49 minutes ago, Lrtalk said:

There are articles on the web saying that Celebrity is going to offer  a third method of compensation.  Here is the copy of it:

 

• 100% full refund
• 125% future cruise credit to use on a sailing on or before December 31, 2021.
• Move your booking to a sailing in 2021.  Your cruise fare price and promotion will be protected when selecting an alternative sailing of the same itinerary type, ship series, cruise length, and stateroom category.

I called Celebrity today asking about the third option since we had booked an extremely cheap Celebrity Suite on an Alaska cruise for July 2020 that was cancelled.  I would take a similar room on an Alaska trip next summer in a heartbeat.  The phone person said they had no knowledge of this third option.  Would be interested to hear if anyone has seen anything on that as an option.

Look at https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-with-confidence     Specifically, option 3, "Same Cruise, Same Price"

5 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

If you look at all the cruise critic threads for refunds Celebrity has responded as quickly as the other cruise lines.   If you see a better fit in another cruise line please book with them but don’t expect  refund service to be anything different during a global pandemic.
Nothing like this business disruption has ever happened or could have be planned for. 

My frustration is not so much with how quickly Celebrity has responded.    It's the fact that their CEO has posted several documents stating dates and timelines for the receipt of refunds and FCC's that are not anywhere close to what is happening in reality.

21 minutes ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

I am fine with what they have done. They have been coping with impossible conditions and doing what they can. I would need to check my notes, I have had some refunds, probably not all, I can wait. I think that if More people would have patience and not constantly call and email and demand status updates, if more would let them get on with the job, it would be smoother. I am pleased to see the standard flow of ads and specials, it is nice to know that Celebrity, like me, is looking ahead...

Celebrity's responsiveness, timeliness, consistency, and ability to live up to their own promises, compared  to that of the multiple airlines, the other cruise line, the hotels, the shuttle companies, the excursion providers, and others that I've dealt with while unraveling multiple cancelled trips due to the pandemic,  has been by far the worst of all of them.   

We love cruising on Celebrity but on a corporate level they have really failed at communications and customer service right now.   On an individual basis,  I've talked with some really fine representatives who seem to be doing the best that they can with the cards that they have been dealt.

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Your email should look similar to this. Additional information and instructions are included below the box.

 

Our FCC did look like this but the Certificate Amount had no correlation to any of the amounts that we paid for the cruise.     

Yesterday we finally received FCC for our April 24 TA on the Reflection.   Unfortunately, the amount reflected in the FCC makes no sense what so ever.     We've not received any refund for our refundable airfare, prepaid gratuities, taxes, or the like.   I was under the impression that we would.       Even so, the FCC is more than 125% of our basic cruise fare.    If I try to replicate how Celebrity came up with their FCC amount,  no matter which of the above pieces are added into the equation, the amount of the FCC does not reconcile.

Such a convoluted system!!!

I finally received an email this morning from Celebrity regarding our cancelled cruise.    According to this email,  Celebrity will credit our CC "within two billing cycles" for our Select Dining reservations and our complimentary Elite Loyalty Internet Minutes.    Both of these things were "complimentary" and cost us exactly.........$0.      Nothing further mentioned in that email about the real refunds and FCC for such frivolous things such as  cruise fare, taxes, port charges, airfare, etc.    

I guess I should take this email  as progress, but all it really does is further demonstrate to me what a screwed up accounting  system that RCCL has.

1 hour ago, cruisnuts said:

When logging into our account on Celebrity website and viewing past cruises it’s listed as if we actually went on the cruise.... Is anyone else also seeing this?

Yes, it appears as a "Past Cruise" until they process it.

56 minutes ago, Josie201 said:

We were on the March 13 Reflection that turned back two days into the cruise.  We were promised a full refund and a 50% FCC.  We got the FCC about four weeks ago and today received the full refund on our credit card.  I sent an email to LLP last Friday.  Got a call Friday, another call Monday to tell me my refund had been processed, and today it’s on my credit card.  
 

Very frustrating overall, and you should not have to resort to writing to the president, but I’m glad it’s resolved.   
 

Looking forward to better seas ahead.  

I sent a snail mail to LLP last Friday, should have been delivered to her office on Monday, and I've not heard a word related to that correspondence.

17 minutes ago, omeinv said:

The idea that Celebrity is deliberately delaying cancellations in order to get customers to complete final payments may seem to be the case viewed in a vacuum.  However, I imagine their position would be that the Corona Virus pandemic is a fluid and rapidly changing situation, and they hope to delay cancellations to enable as many customers as possible to complete the cruise the customers (putatively) wish to take.

It was long after Canada announced that their ports were closed to cruise ships larger than 500 passengers until July 1 that Celebrity finally cancelled their Alaska cruises.   There was no way, based upon US law, that they could operate these cruises without a port call in a foreign port, Vancouver in this case.    So, why then did Celebrity drag their feet to announce the cancellation of these cruises unless they were hoping a large number of passengers would simply cancel first, for the lower non cash back 100% FCC?   I don't believe for one minute that Celebrity management expected Canada to change their mind or that the US would allow an exemption to  long standing regulation that applies to foreign cruise lines operating foreign registered ships out of US ports.

39 minutes ago, M&Msmom said:

We were booked on the same cruise. We also immediately requested a refund.

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems like those who request a total refund are getting their money quicker than those who requested FCC with a refund of taxes, etc.