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Djptcp

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Everything posted by Djptcp

  1. I have always received an email from HAL anywhere from a week to 10 days before the cruise. If I'm not happy with the cabin assignment location I call the HAL Inventory Dept. to see if there is something better and if there is a cheap upgrade available. Works for us.
  2. Last year I won $8,576 on a penny Buffalo slot machine! I had over 60 free games in a bonus round and mostly buffalo across the screen on every game. (My bet was $2.40 per pull.) Pretty exciting! I was actually paid in cash - expected a check, but no, cash. Last year I also won $1,400 and $1,200 on two Buffalo slot machines on a Holland America cruise. First one in the morning and I moved to the Buffalo next to it and won the second one on it. All 3 jackpots could have played havoc with our taxes this year, but I got Win/Loss Statements that covered more than half the winnings.
  3. Thanks so much for your review. DH and I will be sailing on the Constellation in Dec. '23, March '24 and Dec. '24. We have sailed on about 70 cruises, mostly on Holland America and Carnival, but needed a change. We live less than an hour from the Port of Tampa and Celebrity seemed to fit our bill. Looking forward to new cruising experiences.
  4. We are Carnival Diamonds and Holland America 4* Mariners so lots of experience on both lines and our cruises on both are usually free ones from the casinos. We have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times and have a 12-day Panama Canal cruise booked on her for Oct. Comparing Carnival to Holland America is like comparing Walmart to Neiman Marcus. While we are loyal Carnival cruisers (closer to home ports while Holland sails out of Ft. Lauderdale and is a 4 hour drive from home) and will sail on the Freedom next month, we much prefer Holland. We sail mostly in suites on Holland and with a Neptune Suite we have access to dinner in the private Orange Club dining room. The food and crew are superior on Holland and the ships are elegant without the glitz of Carnival. Holland has music venues for the evening and some shows, but I'm in the casino most of the time. I think there is probably more to do in the evenings on Carnival. We also prefer Holland as there are many fewer kids on board. We live 45 minutes from the Port of Tampa and Celebrity now has a ship that sails from there. We have booked 3 Celebrity cruises now (comparable to Holland) and look forward to trying a new cruise line.
  5. I screen shot everything about a booking so I have the rate code, casino Free Play amount, OBC, etc. I bring the casino info with me to the casino in case the Free Play doesn't show up on the first night. If it isn't there I just go to the cage and there is a list with my name on it. I've also sent an email on the Ocean Players website and usually hear back in a few days. I also print that out to bring with me.
  6. DH and I are thrilled to learn that the Fun Times will be delivered to our cabin once again. We are not cell phone people at all and had to resort to going to Guest Services to retrieve a photocopy of the Fun Times every day. Now if they would just put a copy of the room service menu in the cabins again we would be grateful.
  7. Eating at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City is a must and you should make reservations. It has been in the same family since 1905 and the ambience and food are superior. DH and I have had lunch and dinner there many times and always bring out of town guests there when visiting us. We recently tried the Tampa Bay Brewing Company, also in Ybor City. It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Channel. It's not a dive nor a diner, but a nice restaurant with a microbrewery. Food was good with a huge selection of beers. If you are a gambler, the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel is huge with excellent dining venues. If you want some nice beaches head over to Treasure Island on the Gulf Coast. Driving on the Tampa freeways can be challenging with lots of slow downs.
  8. We have never "cheated" on ships' smoking policies and find Northern Aurora's comment totally unwarranted. I hope other Celebrity passengers are more "affable". We have strictly observed other cruise lines' smoking policies for over 30 years of cruising. Maybe choosing Celebrity was a mistake.
  9. We are newbies on Celebrity (75 cruises mostly on Holland America and Carnival) and will be sailing on the March 13, 2024 Ultimate Caribbean and the Americas cruise. The Celebrity smoking policy says there are designated smoking areas on its ships and we are curious where they are on the Constellation? Thanks.
  10. Thanks for the review. DH and I booked our first Celebrity cruise the other day - 12 day Ultimate Caribbean cruise in March, 2024. We have read many positive reviews of the Constellation which rid our fears of taking an older ship. We have sailed on 75 cruises, mostly Holland America and Carnival, and live 50 minutes from the Port of Tampa. The fog can certainly be a pain sometimes.
  11. I went to complete the Health Assessment for our Sat. cruise and the same thing - no credits, no booked cruises, and no cruise history. Also glad we aren't the only ones!! I emailed our PVP about it for help. Must be a computer glitch.
  12. Thanks for the info. Interesting article, too.
  13. We just booked the Freedom for a 5-day cruise in April and when we went to order a bottle of liquor for the cabin, we could only order beer or wine, no liquor. When did this start?? Coincidentally, when we went to order a bottle of liquor for a Holland America cruise in October, 2023 there were only 6 choices (1 rum, 1 vodka, etc.) with a huge price increase. There used to be many liquor choices. Holland is owned by Carnival Corporation. We were able to order a bottle for our Jan. and Feb. 2023 Holland cruises, but those were ordered in late 2022 with the many choices.
  14. I think you will love Holland America. DH and I are 4* Mariners on Holland and Diamonds on Carnival, so have lots of experience on both. The Holland ships are much more elegant than the over-the-top 70's decor on the Carnival ships. The food is superior on Holland, the crew is more gracious, the ambiance is more to our liking, and very few kids. We tend to meet more people on Holland ships than we do on Carnival; I guess because we are closer to the Holland demographic than on Carnival these days. Our last few Carnival cruises have been less than satisfactory with the passengers. We haven't sailed on NCL in many years so can't make any comments about NCL now. Friends of ours who were dedicated Celebrity cruisers now prefer NCL.
  15. I receive emails from the Holland America Inventory Dept. a week or so before the cruises (not every cruise). We jump on the Neptune Suite upgrades (always a cost but not so bad and always worth it). Usually receive the upgrade offers a couple of times a year and we can choose our cabin.
  16. Start with an Emperor's Nectar cocktail. Then shrimp tempura and lobster pot stickers. The wasabi tenderloin or lamb chops. Then top it off with a flight of the 3 delicious sorbets.
  17. DH and I have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times since she debuted in 2021. Love, love it. Only complaints are the way too loud music in the Blues venue, smaller Neptune Suites, and the tiny casino. Food is superior in the Tamarind, Rudi's Sel de Mer, Canaletto, and the Lido Marketplace. Have never eaten in the main dining room. The decor is modern and understated, great crew.
  18. DH and I have sailed on the Rotterdam 4 times in the past year and I agree that the music is just way too loud. I've tried listening to the Blues groups from the 3rd Deck above the venue, but I can't stand it, just hurts my ears too much. Having said that, we love almost everythig about the Pinnacle Class ships and will sail on the N. Statedam in Jan, and Feb. I probably won't be able to listen to the Blues groups, but will enjoy almost everything else aboard the NS. My other major complaint about this class of ships is the tiny size of the casinos. At least I can smoke in them.
  19. When you did the check-in for the onboard accounts you must have checked the boxes on each credit card to allow both access to both cards. Look at it again and make the changes.
  20. DH and I have sailed on the Magic 3 times since July 2021 and loved it. The specialty restaurant, Cucchina, is wonderful and we always ate there at least twice on each cruise. Loved having the two casinos (am a smoker) as it was nice telling smoke complainers to go to the non-smoking casino.
  21. Did the OP not think in advance that Thanksgiving week would have a lot of families with a lot of kids??
  22. Emperor's Nectar in the Tamarind - wow!
  23. We have sailed on the Rotterdam 3 times and sail again on her next week. Highly recommend the Canneletto and the Tamarind. We are trying Rudi's Sel de Mer next week so can't comment on it yet, but the menu looks delicious. The Asian noodle dishes in the Lido Market are very tasty.
  24. DH and I are 4* Mariners and have sailed on 2 Holland cruises since we reached 4* status. We were not invited to any awards ceremony, but DH did notice one being held on the NA in October. We will be sailing on the Rotterdam for 11 days starting on Nov. 30th so we'll see what happens. Truthfully, we didn't know 4* received any kind of recognition, although we used to enjoy attending the Mariner luncheons.
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