swigso

59 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Well if nothing else this thread has made me more aware about vaping.

 

People can vape in your hotel room and it will not be noticed.  

How does one know if someone vaped in their cruise cabin or hotel room before them?  They likely don't...

 

The problem is that it is being allowed in public venues I have no problem if people wish to smoke or vape in the designated areas. I just avoid them but why should I be exposed to vape chemicals in an enclosed space. If people want to vape in their cabins not a lot can be done, smoking is a different situation as the smell of smoking can easily be detected.

If it was up to me I would not allow smoking or vaping anywhere on a ship and I really wish a cruise line would come out with such a policy. 

When you board go and see the captains club host, they will provide you friend with a new sea card with elite plus status. This will allow them to attend the same captains club events as you too.

8 hours ago, RichYak said:

Agreed. My guess is that they noted the potential refund request but committed to nothing.

I totally agree as I said it felt like the agent was just paying lip service. The cruise with the NRD is the Beyond Panama Canal cruise in March. We have a S1 booked at a fabulous price and it is one we would really like to take. So we most likely will and just boycott the casino except to remove our OBC. However that sailing is no longer showing on the web site. 🤷🏻Or on any TA sites surely Celebrity would not cancel it and do a charter.

5 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

Wow that’s great news about Celebrity refunding non refundable deposits. They didn’t mention that when they emailed me back twice and then called me. I will definitely be asking for that on the 5 cruises I have deposits on if they make casino smoking/vaping policy permanent after 8/20 “test”. 

I think they advised this because my wife is asthmatic but I bet we will need to fight for it

8 hours ago, Silkroad said:

Well this is disappointing. Did she happen to say that everyone could have their non refundable deposit refunded? 

No not specifically but from her response I got the impression that they are willing to refund. We told her that my wife is asthmatic which may have been the reason. The test is not really a true reflection so maybe they will allow those 2 current ships to carry on after the test. I really do not know what they are thinking of allowing this.

We got the impression that they are just paying lip service and it will be fleet wide soon, but as people book so far in advance I really hope our B2B in March will not be affected. In any event we are looking elsewhere and will not be booking any more cruises with Celebrity. We have a cruise on Azamara in October and have been looking at Oceana, Seabourn and Silversea. I am also going to research Viking and Virgin Cruises. To sum up we really got the impression that they just do not care and the $$$ is all that matters to them 

Have just spoken to a lady from the executive office who acknowledged our concerns and told us she had noted that our non refundable deposit would be refunded. Seems that this test is going fleet wide sooner rather than later.

Will be without us good bye Celebrity.

9 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Thank you C4HCG, its nice to know that not all Celebrity passengers are like that. I Wonder how many people that vape have read this thread but haven't responded because of the vitriol they know they'd receive? I Must admit it has dampened my excitement for the cruise, I really wouldn't choose to be on a ship full of people that shout you down and call you a liar as soon as you disagree with them. It's hard to hear someones point of view whilst you're shouting at them. Seems to be the way these days though, if they don't agree with you shout at them until they do. 

Hi I think you misunderstand, if you choose to vape that is your choice but my choice is I do not wish to inhale the vapours. At the moment there are places outside where you can vape all day and night. I have no issues at all with this.

It took decades for the powers that be to listen to the medical profession and realise that smoking does damage your health. At this time no one has any idea of the long term damage to health that vaping does. I just want to be able to choose to stay away from the smoke. If it is allowed in the casino that will impact on my enjoyment so I will choose something else.

1 minute ago, C4HCG said:

Please don’t be influenced by anything you read here, go on your cruise and decide then given your own first hand experience. You will get lots of useful information here, we did, and read many negative comments, people saying “bye” to Celebrity etc, then we did our two cruises last year (not experienced cruises, these were our fourth and fifth only, all Celebrity), and loved them. We are back in September and are not worried in the slightest that we won’t love it, and two more Celebrity cruises next year. We don’t ignore negative comments here, we bear them in mind for when we are on the ship, and then we judge ourselves there.

Ok that is a great sentiment but are you happy that they will change their policy and allow vaping in the casino and perhaps other inside venues

7 hours ago, Daveywavey70 said:

It certainly doesn't emit enough for anybody nearby to be inhaling any of it and I consciously don't breathe out for a few seconds which absorbs all of it. Please don't accuse me of lying.

Please do not lecture about things that have not been proven. My wife died of cancer due to working in an environment where smoking was allowed, just like Roy Castle. She was a singer and worked in venues where at that time smoking was the norm, because of ignorance of the damage that tobacco smoke caused.

I would encourage you to stop vaping use will power if you want to stop you can.

Have sent an email, we will not sail on any ship that allows smoking or vaping indoors. We are going back to Azamara in October and may well look at Oceania for our March cruise

If Celebrity allow vaping in the casino we will be looking elsewhere 

we now only have a B2B cruise booked for March 24 and a Hawaii to Vancouver booked in May 25. We will not be booking again if this happens. Seems the new CEO wants to turn Celebrity into Royal.

8 hours ago, deputybubba2 said:

Oh this looks like a different balcony, maybe 9374 ?  9376 looked like the inside photos you posted, but I think the balcony is not a wrap around, at least on Solstice ?

I would love to be wrong though...  here is the deck layout...

Thanks for all the info !

Hi

my pics were from the Reflection, I think some of the S class have additional cabins. From my research the corner aft Sky suites all have the same interiors but the balcony size is different as you go higher. The pole is not really an issue, you just get used to it being there. The entrance hall is great as it makes the cabin very private.

The balcony was fantastic, the views were wraparound, we loved this cabin and the walk to everywhere meant we got plenty of exercise.

We stayed in 9376, the layout will be the same but the balcony is smaller.

Do not know about splitting the bed though.

We always use a TA the one we have is great never had any problems and always gets us a reduction when one comes available 👍

I have a friend going on a cruise in 10 days I will ask and report back 

What happens if you book a future cruise on board 😎

5 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I doubt it but the waiters may accommodate.    From what I remember you could not get a drink in Retreat.    They didn't even have bar tenders on duty.

We were on the Reflection in March and stopped at GC, we went ashore to have lunch due to the new rules, Michaels bar was closed. However we boarded the Edge and when we visited again discovered that the retreat sun deck bar was open. 

7 hours ago, hcat said:

no one replied..

dh prefers itin 1 so I will check sale prices and try to get the $100 booby prize!

Think I would go for the Key West cruise. Then just stay on the ship and enjoy the views and service.

The HOHO Buses are a great way to see the city. @niksmom630

your review is great the pictures bring the ship to life, felt we were on board with you. I notice that you have status with RCI you can have your CC status matched.

This means you would be most likely Elite or Elite + and have all those benefits.

safe trip home

As an aside we have an Azamara cruise booked in October and the Memorial Day sale meant the same cabin was £2500 cheaper. I was prepared to lose my £500 deposit and rebook which meant I was still saving £2000.

However my TA sent me the confirmation and my original deposit has also been deducted from the balance due, so very very happy.

From experience the upgrade can be done and in the past I have been able to upgrade to an Aqua 1 for the price of a 2. One of the reasons I like to book on board apart from the savings and OBC is that you can move or change the booking as many times as you like. Personally move to Aqua we would always do it.

18 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

We considered booking Azamara pre-Covid but did not do it due to a work conflict. We have very recently (this week) begun looking at specific cruises due to very attractive offers and are browsing threads here on CC to educate ourselves on Azamara since the sale in hopes of making an educated decision. 

We do not have unlimited funds available - this is a splurge for us and we want to be sure we're acting responsibly as well as getting the best value for our investment. This conversation gives me pause.

Thoughts, suggestions, recommendations? What would you do if you had an opportunity for a do over?

I feel for everyone on this thread who has not received proper treatment from Azamara and am not looking to be the next in line, but don't want to miss out on a great experience if that could be my outcome.

Hello

here is some positive news:

I booked a cruise in 2020 and paid the £500 deposit, then Covid happened. We moved that cruise twice finally settling on an Istanbul to Athens sailing on Oct 14 this year. Then we were notified that Azamara had agreed to charter the ship for the next sailing and it would now be round trip from /to Istanbul.

Because it was so far out there were no incentives or OBC but then followed a very good promotion so we upgraded to a continental suite.
Because I am a cruise nerd and follow prices I saw that there was an amazing sale this week and the price for the same cabin had been more or less halved per person.

I spoke to my TA and asked her to cancel the booking and rebook at the new pricing I was fully aware that I would lose my deposit but would still save £2k.

She explained that I would need to pay another £500 deposit which I was happy to do, but she would see what she could do. I received my new confirmation and lo and behold I have the new pricing my new deposit was taken and my original deposit has also been deducted from my final balance. The $500 OBC was forfeited but due to exchange rates I am even more better off.

My TA worked wonders and Azamara have come up trumps I did not expect this. But, I have used my TA for years and they are fantastic so there will be a nice gift sent to them.

Many thanks for the swift response looks like we will not be able to stay on the ship.

Never mind have a great trip with your mum

Hi

looking forward to your review, you mentioned that you did a Hawaii / Alaska cruise.

Were you allowed to do that or did the ship return to Vancouver. We are looking at doing the same trip in 2025 but the ship returns to Seattle and it seems we cannot do this because of the Jones act. Appreciate your help.