Janet987

What are the ages of your children now? Disney is wonderful for the little ones (and parents) due to the long hours of the kids club, including dinner and evenings. The quality of kids activities in the clubs, entertainment and stage performances/set design are unmatched by any other line. That said, as our DD grew up, she was just as happy with the kids activities on Celebrity. I think the lines are both on the high end of large, mid-market ships and the food and cabins comparable (though Disney wins with that split bathroom for families in one cabin). That is a great idea but the adjoining verandas on S-class X ships are a great innovation too. More than three in one veranda is doable but tight. Summit is an M-class, do not know the cabins there.

Would have to know more what your family enjoys and expects from a cruise. We are fans of AquaClass and BLU, but kids would need to be in an adjacent and non-connecting cabin as it is limited to double occupancy and appreciate quiet restaurants...no Disney characters coming to the table. We are trying a suite this upcoming cruise because of the new dedicated, small restaurant..but DD is now 23:). As you can see from my cruise history, we did three Disney cruises before exploring other options, and then settling on Celebrity as our favorite line.

Wave from Cary,

Great news. The porch location and design is wonderful, but the food wasn't...a raw bar and seafood will be an improvement. Will look forward to another S-class Caribbean. Is it only on Silloutte and Reflection?

We did the bridge tour in March on the Eclipse and we were only allowed in a small area of the bridge. The left hand side looking forward was all we had access to.

I have been on a number of bridge tours when my DH or DD is with me. On a rare occasion, it was offered at CC Connections; if not, I politely requested a tour at guest services, how this would "make the cruise" for them and later received invitations. We have asked the hostess at an Elite function for the Engine Room tour (see the control room, not the actual engine room) and had an interesting and quite long visit. The tours have varied widely depending which "low man on the totem pole" on the bridge that day:) is picked to lead it and how comfortable he is with English. A young American from Mass Maritime was relaxed and chatted with us who know the Cape and just described whatever we asked about; a young Norwegian engineer with perfect English spent almost all of a well-structured tour out in the wing with the glass floor, explaining every single button and switch and radar view on that secondary control panel in great detail. A few Greek engineers were not as outgoing and at ease in English, some were delightfully funny and gave great tours like the one in the Engine Room. It also depends on the captain on duty, some let us in the central main control panel area at the "wheel", some not.

We were surprised on our 25th anniversary cruise with a helipad invite, and I then requested one for another cruise with DD. Drinks are served, and the host has planned those based on invites. It would be similar to crashing any other private function on the ship and not something I would do without an invite.

This latest deal looks better though. $1599 and I assume it includes Big? Does anyone know for sure if the deal at this link includes Big?

Thanks for posting this link!

Exciting Deals include Nothing, zip...they are specifically listed in the BBB exclusions.

"Offers exclude interior staterooms, are not combinable with any other offer, promotion or discounted rate, including, but not limited to, Book & Go, Exciting Deals, Celebrity’s ChoiceAir, Interline, Senior, resident, net rates, travel agent, and employee rates. "

You aren't missing much. The email with Exciting Deals doesn't arrive until Tuesday morning, usually features four or so available itineraries with pretty photos but without details on all the prices and classes offered.

It's a reminder to look at the full list... which is often updated the Friday before, and gives all the available sailings. But if you want it, go to your CC account profile and check the 'Communication Preferences' to be your Email and include any that mention "special offers" or discounts. Best under "set up the way we communicate" check the All box.

My TA shows same requirements for X and RCI, quote:

Celebrity offers military discounts on select sailings to active or reserve personnel currently serving in the Canadian Forces, United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard or National Guard, and retired personnel from any of these divisions. "Retired" is defined as A) enlisted personnel or officers with a minimum of 20 years of service, B) medically retired, or C) 100% disabled. Veterans with an honorable discharge serving a minimum of 2 years, or 6-months in an active war zone, in any of the United States service divisions listed above are also eligible. Finally, spouses of actively deployed or deceased military personnel are eligible to book one stateroom at the military rate. The spouse of the military member must be booked in the stateroom and others in the same stateroom will also be allowed to cruise at the military rate. Qualifying guests must present the proper military ID and a driver's license or passport at the time of booking.

What you quoted from X is clear....do you have an honorable discharge from two years of service? Then you are a veteran. Have a DD214 from any service listed at any time; the definition is as broad as possible.

With military and other special rates, X is discounting the classes of cabins on a sailing that have not met projected sales by some date, and they make that discount available to as many people as possible. When on the X website checking prices, sometimes I skip the drop down state menu to save time, or only check senior and not military, but if later recheck them, they are the same discount, if offered. One Veterans Day, there was an extra bonus for using the military rate, but often it is no different from senior or resident. Senior starts at 55, not 62 or 65, and if you don't Qualify for a discount from either age or service, then the whole state gets a deal. :)

We did an eastern Caribbean cruise Christmas 2008, so it was a while ago and the timing depends on your ports etc. Also it was one of the Solstice's first cruises, so the cruise director and chef may have gone all out. But in the MDR, Christmas Eve had a special menu with turkey, roast, etc and it was a formal night. Christmas Day morning was in the Virgin Islands, we sailed to Norman's Island on a catamaran. When returned to the ship about 1-2pm, there was a Christmas brunch buffet, with elaborate Christmas foods and dessert displays, though I was still full from dinner the night before, it looked lovely. Late another evening there was an elaborate holiday dessert buffet, gingerbread house competition, Crew caroling, Santa after the Christmas Day brunch, so a number of special activities throughout the week. We were with our DD, and only tried one speciality restaurant not around the holiday itself when the MDR offered special menus and decor.

Do a Google search for a topic like 'discount, last minute cruises' and many agencies will pop up in the first two search pages. You are the best judge of the quality of service received, ask specifically about cancellation charges, OBC, etc. I did not like the "order taker" first contact and expect one agent to have some interest in my booking.

I have used a service where agents bid for my specific cruise, and both times found small agents willing to negotiate who had group rates, but have ultimately settled with a big agency known for its good newsletter, informative website and one agent who takes my order and supports me from then on with changes, special requests, and any problems that my occur.

Double post...removed

Have you checked their brochure about it?

http://www.celebritycruises.com/media/en_US/pdf/brochure/CELBrochure08_email.pdf

As Curt mentioned, I have also heard of missing port/weather disasters. Don't even think of Grand Caymans as a location.

Not mentioned yet, when you check-in, X gives you "mini daily" that lists open houses, hours of bars and restaurants ( Aqua Cafe is open for lunch too ..or was) but often only the Oceanview Buffet is listed for lunch. If you do want a popular fitness class with fee, like spinning, you might want to sign up at the gym open house. Internet Cafe may have bonus minutes for signing up the first day. Best selection of books at the library first afternoon. Open houses at the spa and speciality restaurants, I usually go to Blu to introduce ourselves, meet some staff. Though we are so looking forward to a quiet lunch at Luminae this upcoming cruise. Never miss SailAway, and take photos then, because no matter how many cruises taken, it is always exciting casting off the lines and heading out to sea.

I have a traditional dining time on mine. I don't think they'd put people in Select because that would require you to pre-pay gratuities when the final payment was due.

Read through Kevin's thread on Luminae, great info, photos, everything you need to know!: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2235956

So successful (for the cruise lines), others pile on:

Received an email from Holland America:

Book select cruises and receive all four offers below:*

1 FREE SIGNATURE BEVERAGE PACKAGE (up to US$1,400 value)

2 FREE PINNACLE GRILL DINNER (US$58 value)

3 REDUCED CRUISE FARES for 3rd/4th guests

4 50% REDUCED DEPOSIT

BOOK A SUITE and receive all four offers, plus US$300 onboard spending credit per stateroom and a FREE Canaletto dinner!

$1400 in liquor...Really?

What am I missing? Where are you seeing the green special offer banner?

 

There was just one A1 cabin open on our upcoming cruise, so I decided to price it out.

Midwestchick,

If your cruise is almost sold out, a popular itinerary, then you may not see any special offers. But if you search for ones not selling well, you have the option to book without BBB. From the X website, Find a Cruise, I searched for only the month of December for Caribbean. View Offers. Almost every sailing, including Holiday ones, have a green banner over almost every class. First result page are the three BBB prices, but under is "Want to see if you qualify for a different discount?" Enter state, senior, military, CC etc. For Reflection Christmas cruise, the $1399 drops to $1149 with military.

Since we have Elite drinks and internet, and my on-line TA will likely give some OBC to pay for grats, saving $500 with a discounted price works out in this case. Discounted prices are still there without BBB, and well before sail date.

Signed, "loyal" CC member sipping my "free cappuccino". I didnt buy a 123Go and won't a BBB..doesnt matter what X calls it. :)

Oh, wow! Thank you for those gorgeous photos, amazing weather indeed. Hoping that the rest of the week remains perfect for your cruise. One month today we will be in Vancouver. If you have a chance, let us know the section of Inner Passage sailed today. Enjoy every minute!

Elkay, How lucky for you, what an exciting cruise! I dont know how long it will take the ship to pass Cape Flattery, but after leaving Vancouver, it travels through the Gulf and San Juan Islands, then Strait of Juan de Fuca. All of it is stunning scenery, with orcas or killer whales often in that area. I've only seen the strait from the Vancouver Island side and the islands and whales from ferries going between Victoria and Vancouver, but I would delay dinner until past sunset to enjoy as much of this area as you can.

Going north through the Inner Passage there is a narrow gorge, Seymour Narrows, that is safe to pass only at certain tides. I'd like to see it, but not if it 2 am:)

Checked a number of December sailings in the Caribbean. The green "special offer" banner is on many classes for many sailing and ships. The first page has the three BBB offers but under those three blocks is:

Want to see if you qualify for a different discount?

That links to the usual senior, military, CC, etc. page. Some of the resulting discounts were worth foregoing the Big price, though it was re-offered as an OBC for the same net price.

I have another question about the timing of this sailing. If the Mille leaves at 4:30pm, where are we on the inside passage the next day when it is light again? The first full day is "Sailing the Inside Passage" but if the ship cruised at regular speeds overnight, would we, for example, miss seeing all of Vancouver Island? I have a very detailed cruising map, what section of it do we see the first day?

Thank you for all the tips for places to enjoy sailaway and going under the Lions Gate bridge. We have been to beautiful Vancouver before and look foward to our three days there before sailing to Alaska

Question, and please forgive me if it has already been discussed in either the Stupider or Bigger thread. Point me in the right direction if it has, but we almost always book last minute so I haven't read all the posts.

The Terms and Conditions of BBB read:

Offers exclude interior staterooms, are not combinable with any other offer, promotion or discounted rate, including, but not limited to, Book & Go, Exciting Deals, Celebrity’s ChoiceAir, Interline, Senior, resident, net rates, travel agent, and employee rates.

Doesn't this mean X will continue to discount both before and after final payment; with lower fares as they do now, and without the BBB? If five months before sailing the sales of verandas are far short of estimated, won't we still see senior and resident rates (both at a discount and without BBB) to move any slow selling class? And after final payment, anything goes. There are 22 sailings on Xciting Deals for next Tuesday. It would appear the only ones forced to take perks they may not want, are cruisers who book far ahead at "rack rates" for certain itineraries. Or take Choice Air without BBB. For anyone who thinks the new pricing structure is stupid, hold off purchasing then we can all continue to get the same discounted fares without BBB. ;) Or have I missed something??

Steve, Casino is the other top source of on-board revenue. Maybe one of the perks should have been $100 of chips and tokens for an extra $110.:rolleyes:

Back to pricing, it doesn't matter what the discount is called, cruise lines sailing from various departure ports have ways to sell the remaining inventory of cabins. At a certain date, if x% of x class cabins remain unsold, they could drop the published price, offer a discounted group rate to a local TA or big reseller of last minute cruises, put cabins to opaque bidding sites, add "free perks", invite certain selected groups in their database, offer senior, veteran, whatever discounts, use guarantee rates, put the remaining classes in Xciting Deals, etc. I am OK waiting for these discounts, not everyone has the same flexibility with dates, flights, and risk that a certain itinerary sells out. If you have that flexibility, there are "discounts" to be had for unsold inventory.

As PhoenixDream mentioned it is by State in the US...I do not know if the same type of territory resident discounts are used in Australia. Because NC has many cheap, last minute flights to South Florida cruise ports, we may see a NC rate as good as the last minute Florida resident rates. Alternately they drop states where the flights would be expensive, to make the cruise more affordable. Right after we bought upcoming Alaska cruise with a senior, the resident rate dropped further.

As Elite, a few drinks pre-dinner and the 2 bottles of wine we bring on board is more than enough alcohol for me to make waiting for post-final payment discounts worth it. :)

For most cruises, I do not purchase until after final payment. Now with the Go Stupider choices, it will be every cruise :) While we have found a few good senior rates and a military one around Veterans Day pre-final payment, these discounts seem more often used by Celebrity after final payment to fill any class in any sailing not selling well. Even on the same sailing, suite could be the best offer is a resident rate, AQ could result best offer a senior rate. As the inventory sells down toward sail date, any of the discounts could be used to boost sales and a TA group rate might best them for a certain category.

And check everything that might apply. Some resident rates I have been watching were lower than senior and military. X will give you the best one.

And you can invite the parents to join you in Luminae on a space avialable basis, which should be OK if eating early. A steep $50 pp for dinner, but a nice treat.