alcman

On 1/5/2020 at 6:26 PM, Bo1953 said:

Thank you - except when pulling out and reading my most 'recent' official contract with X, there is no wording about gratuities OR "During Your Cruise" section.

 

Maybe we have different official contracts?

 

Thank you again and bon voyage

This is from my edocs for a cruise in January 2020, The"things to know" section:

Gratuities
A $14.50 USD gratuity ($15.00 USD for Concierge Class and
AquaClass guests and $18.00 USD for Suite Guests) will be added
to each guest’s SeaPass® account on a daily basis. This gratuity is
shared by Dining Services Staff, Stateroom Attendants and other
Stateroom Services Personnel that work to enhance your cruise. The
daily automatic gratuity amounts are recommended and are based on
customary industry standards.

I am not arguing that this is an enforceable contract term, but its there and it is whatever it is.

17 hours ago, mom says said:

Alcman, did you read the post before yours? What is your basis for alleging the cruise line dropped the crew's contracted base salary by a commensurate amount?.

If you actually read what I wrote, I didn't allege anything.  I merely responded to the assertion that the increase is going entirely to the crew, an event I would be happy to see happen.  I only pointed out that there was no proof of that and that Celebrity could just as easily have conformed its contract in many ways.  Nobody o this board has any proof of where the charged gratuities are going and what effect they have on Celebrity's bottom line.

BTW, not that I owe you any explanation, I always tip substantially beyond the required gratuities and appreciate how hard the crew works.

8 hours ago, mom says said:

Um, no. This current increase goes to the crew gratuities. There is no revenue for the line.

I don't think that is a given.  The crew receive a combination of some base salary, tips distributed from the pool that this charge feeds and personal tips handed out by passengers.  Celebrity could have just dropped its contribution to base salary and balanced it by upping the taxed gratuity.  Technically, they can say all of the increase goes to the crew and still up the company's bottom line.

21 minutes ago, WeLuv2TravelAlot said:

I understand that when you use your Dining Plan at Pinchos or at Food Republic that you are allowed to order 4 menu items.

 

Does anyone know if it is possible for 2 people to go to Pinchos or Food Republic and only order 4 items total (2 items each) so that only 1 dining credit is used?

 

Thank you for your help.

We just did that on Escape.

We got this as well, but I'm not impressed with a 10% discount after a 40% increase.

For what is worth, we upgraded our elite plus to unlimited package to unlimited and it cost $175 for a 12 night cruise. This meant the original,price was $269. So it looks like they raised the price $30 recently.

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The definition of etiquette is the customary code of polite behavior in society. It would seem that reading through this thread that the majority of the reported sightings stem from a lack of etiquette. I am not pointing fingers anywhere other than to point out that society seems to have let this "polite behaviour" slide. There is a distinct "me first" or "I'm more important than anyone else" attitude that has invaded society and as a result, threads like this will continue to proliferate. (but they are funny to read :-) )

I agree completely.

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We were on Eclipse on January 22 with 4 others and the experience in Blu was great. Fahtih was extraordinary and our waiter ZaZa was the best. Jasna was our Sommelier and she did a fantastic job of getting us wines we loved to drink. Just loved the experience of going to dinner because of them. ZaZa and Fatih even checked in with us while we ate in the specialty restaurants to make sure our experience there was top notch. Could not ask for better.

We were also on that crew and our experience, other than we were AQ, was similar. The onboard entertainment did not quite cut it. We had Mohammad in Quisine and he was great. Our wait staff in Blu was extraordinary, Fatih, the Matre D', his assistant Ghanna, ZaZa our waiter and Jasna, the sommelier were great. Whatever we wanted, always made the dinner. ZaZa always had my bowel of fresh Jalapenos ready when I sat down and Jasna always had some special wines for us to try.. By the way, our experience in Tuscan was not like yours as we had an extraordinary meal for 6 served in an appropriately timely manner. It may be that Fatih and ZaZa showed up to introduce us to the staff and check on us in every specialty restaurant we went. Overall, a really great vacation.

Now showing on screen number 1, in the YouTube theater...

 

Rosie and Bill cruise Celebrity ECLIPSE - 14 Nights! January 18 - February 1, 2015:)

 

 

I compressed a 14 night cruise, into a video that is less then 20 minutes.:D

 

Enjoy and thank you for watching.:)

 

BILL

Wonderful video. It was a great cruise.

I guess I'm not most people either nor are a lot who cruise with Celebrity who like the bands.

 

BTW, I'm not the demographic that Celebrity is trying to attract. Some of us older folks like the bands/music.

 

Wish people would just speak for themselves and not say they are speaking for most people, when they are not.

I agree completely. Some one complained about loudness on our recent Eclipse cruise and was heartily shouted down. I am amazed that without the slightest actual data, someone can speak for us all.

Hi all,

 

We installed an update for the website in the middle of the night. Please let us know if you continue to have any issues.

I cant log in as of 3 pm Eastern

16th in New Jersey; no access yet.

You're not.

I booked Silhouette again. I'm also looking at Silhouette Eastbound, but will decide and book it while on Connie next month if we decide. You get a better deal (OBC) booking while on a cruise than booking now, except now you get great cabin assignment.

Hi wine-o. We met on the inaugural Silhouette trans. We booked this one too. Looking forward to seeing you again.

Jerry

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First, before heading to the airport:

 

IPAD: Thank you for these tips, but I am confused about some of them.

I have an iPad, and have traveled on 3-4 cruises with it. I don't remember having to do steps 1 or 2. I am a fairly knew user.

 

1) make sure auto program update is off (it's probably on so you have to change it). You don't want the ipad updating software on the ship's link.

 

Where is Auto Program located on the iPad. Perhaps mine is off already. Is this for Apps, as well?

 

2) set the ipad to airplane mode...and then turn on wifi. You do not want it doing anything over the phone lines....only when on-board, using the ship's wifi.

 

Phone lines...what phone lines and how could it do anything on phone lines?

 

I have never put my iPad on airplane mode, or again, perhaps it was already on. So, I went to check it out. It was set to off. My WiFi is always on at home, which it was when I checked. However, when I turned on to airplane mode, my WiFi went off. I have an option to turn it on with airplane mode on. Why is that? :o:confused:

 

3) find a mail package that will download the body of your mail, not just the subject lines...and make sure it works at home. Practice getting mail, signing off, responding to mail offline, then sending the mail. This is critical to keeping cost down.

 

Any suggestions for a mail package program?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am getting ready to activate my new iPhone. I have no business getting one, but thought the texting would be easier than my flip phone. :D :o So do I need Data ON to text? I do not want to get Voice or calls.

 

I remember my brother using one last year to text and make/receive calls when my sister was ill. He DID NOT buy a plan from the ship. He bought something from Verizon, but instead of his smartphone, they gave him a loaner. Not sure why.

 

iMessage, the text app on an iPhone, defaults to using data when it connects to another Apple device. Just change the setting to send as sms and you will not need data to send texts and receive texts.

Turn off cellular data and you will only be able to get voice and texts. However, if u get a call or go to voicemail you will be charged.

Of course it's cheaper to go to a hotspot, but not always convenient while on vacation. Don't want to take time away from the vacation activities to get free Internet if all it costs is $25 to avoid the search. It just depends on where you balance personally balance cost and convenience. Also, checked the Verizon site and it appears St. Thomas is $1.99 per minute for voice, but it indicates data is "domestic".

I'm a regular sailor on Celebrity, but I'm not mobile-tech-savvy and I don't use technology onboard, other than the ship's own computers. I understand the limitations of being online at sea...but not the details of how you'll be charged by your carrier. Now I'm advising my boss on taking his devices with him and need some help. I've already informed him that he needs to buy and internet package and work with the computer lab to configure his devices to use on board.

 

1. When you use an iPad to access the ship's internet service in a foreign country (South America), is it technically FOREIGN coverage? Or is it domestic since the ships are based in the US (assuming they might be using a domestic carrier to provide service)?

 

2. Similarly, if you use an iPhone for calls TO or FROM THE SHIP (not in port), are you using foreign or domestic coverage?

 

The user's carrier is Verizon. I'd really appreciate some education on this matter so I can look super smart, and not have to deal with a gigantic expense report when the trip is over. :)

In addition to all the great advice, I would note that Verizon offers a $25 per 100 MB of data option. I purchase that in order to use my iphone while in port. If you exceed 100 MB, they will automatically renew it. Much cheaper rate than if you do it without the package and inadvertently download data or mail. Note that iMessage is a data user to other Apple products and that google maps (or any other mapping program) is a huge data hog.

Jerry

We did the walk from Villefranche and had no problem. I thought the visit was worthwhile and especially enjoyed the gardens. We then bused to Eze (also very easy) from the mansion.

Jerry