chrismch

The Callao port for Lima

After reading your experience with "O" in Callao, it reminded me of an experience we had with Celebrity which kept us off their ships for 10 YEARS. Just returned last year and had a stellar experience...But here's our horrendous port experience with Celebrity.

We had just completed a Princess cruise and picking up the Celebrity one in San Francisco. Luckily we had friends who were staying over in S.F. and we could leave our luggage with them at their hotel and spend extra time together for the day.

The Celebrity ship was coming south from Canada with the ship empty in Seattle down to S.F. Even with a day between ports, there was no way it could reach S.F. with a morning embarkation. Well, there were a few  knowledgeable Cruise Critic members at the time who were boarding that understood a morning embarkation would not be possible but most likely not until after 6 pm and suggested cruisers NOT go to the port until we got an update from Celebrity. 

That update came around10:30 am on embarkation day with many already arriving at the Embarcadero port - but no ship! It did not arrive until 7:30 that evening at an industrial section of the port on the far end of town.

I don't know what all those other people did for the day with their luggage, but there was a sea of scowling faces when we got out of the taxi at 8 pm and breezed into the boading line feeling refreshed from a day of relaxing with friends around town.

Thanks to Cruise Critic, we had a great day in S.F. Love the expertise I find here!

Unfortunately, if you bought 100 shares now, at $145 per share (today's price) you'd be putting aside $14,500 for that benefit - not a great investment at that price. 

I was surprised to see the regular price for signature cocktails is $17. I'll usually order only the drink the day.

I loved St. Kitts and your tour guide as well.

Usually the only way we hear music on the tv is the background music for the navigation page.

I have made it a habit to always thank whoever is cleaning the public restrooms for keeping them fresh and clean when I use them on ships.  I do appreciate that! 

It's good you have the premium pkg as club soda and seltzer are not part of the classic pkg.  I had a classic pkg and was charged for it. Wonder if I asked for a scotch and soda and asked them to hold the scotch if it would then be included?😉

Remember how I said "people connection" on post #71? I'm going to get better at it - it's something we've forgotten how to do, I think. (the pandemic didn't help ☹️)

So true. Too many have have become too me-centric and forgotten the concept of being kind to others.

Looking back, what would you say are a couple of your favorite memories of the cruise?

Couldn't tell from the Celebrity image, but I found other pictures that showed more details.

Thanks for the updates. Can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

Looking at the 3D views of these rooms on Celebrity and it looks like there are only 2 side by side closet doors what looks like the size of half of a bifold door, maybe something under the coral display on the shelf and maybe at the desk. Have they really shrunk storage that much? Or is it an optics issue?

The 6 month expiration is standard for all cruiselines. It's even mentioned in the gov't site - got to do with the countries you are seeing. You can get expedited renewal, but there are extra fees. Definitely bring your driver's licenses and birth certificates as a back up. https://www.usa.gov/renew-adult-passport

One of our dumb in-laws brought ONLY a driver's license (no passport) to port hoping it would be okay because she didn't want to get off the ship at the ports as she'd been there before. Denied boarding!! The rest of the group got on the cruise without her. This is a 40+ year old adult who had cruised previously. No excuse just arrogance - rules don't apply to me!

The Club for Musical Murder Mystery Trivia

Looked at the image for this venue on the deck plan. Looks like there's a large open space between two mid-size seating areas. Is the whole area part of this event? Do you need to come 30+ minutes early to get a seat? I don't want to miss this event if it's on our cruise!

Have you tried each of the 4 main dining rooms? Or just stayed with Cyprus? Did you try the grilled octopus? I've had it marinated like cerviche, but never grilled. Would think it would be hard to cut.

Would be interested in your appraisal of the lobster tails at the chic night. In the past cruiselines usually offered the  5-6 oz variety which are easier to cook than the 3 oz ones I've been seeing my my recent cruises, which are overcooked.

We're cruising this ship this summer and have a few questions...Other than the featured entertainers is there anywhere on the ship where you can hear live music such as jazz, blues, or rock?

Fans of Greek food, so intrigued by Cyprus menu. Anything there you had you would NOT recommend?

Do the afternoon teas have a large variety of tea options? Any with thepyramid bags?

Did you try the Steakhouse restaurant? If so, did you like it?

Enjoying your posts!!

Help with Charles DeGaulle Airport -Cus

Our transatlantic lands at CDG and it looks like we have to pick up our checked baggage and go through customs before we can get on our flight to Copenhagan. Any tips on how to navigate this quickly so we can catch our flight out?

Does HAL offer any special deals once on the cruise for laundry or thallosotherapy pool use better than what we would get by buying before the cruise?

Okay, so no change expected in public areas.

Looking at the RCI site for planning a cruise, it shows there are "deck changes" prior to our May 2nd cruise, but it doesn't show what they are?  How can I find out?

The deck plan shows it has one on Deck 6. Do they still do morning and evening snacks there? I know I can get drinks at any bar, but we've always liked hanging out in these lounges for the camaraderie.  

Thanks for the follow up! I love that you bought something from local artists!

soccermom4... Hope you're still following this post. Just saw your info on the self-guided walking tour in Nassau that you planned on doing on a recent cruise. Did you do it? Tips and suggestions on what you learned? 

The quicker the  restaurant mgr hears about an issue, the quicker it will be fixed. You don't need to make a big scene, just gently explain the problem.  The next diners will get a better meal as a result.

When you played bingo there was at least 1 guaranteed cash winner per game. D/D has winners of casino play, no cash. Correct? Does each round of D/D have a guaranteed winner or only a "you could win"?

In reviewing the deck plans, I saw separate locations for Destination Concierge and Shore excursions and then a place for Captain's Club and one for  Future Cruise Consultant. What services do each of these desks provide? To me they sound overlapping.

3 hours ago, soloadventurer18 said:

Hi! Do you purchase this when you get off? I'm assuming so 🙂 Is there a way that reserves it for you-I'm going by myself so if I want to run back on the ship to get lunch or something and come back to the beach, would the chair still be there for me? 

We're booking the ship's tour for Bimini to Paradise Beach that includes the chair, umbrella and the "free" tram. Pre-book discount was $61.98 for the two of us. Regular price was $36 pp. We figure as a ship's tour we'll get first priority for the tram and beach location.