fleckle

23 hours ago, ConnMom said:

......  I would also love a piano bar option in the evening.  I have participated in all of these activities on other cruise lines; lectures during the day and the piano bars in the evenings have always been well attended.

 

Celebrity used to have a piano bar in Michael's Club in the evenings that was available to all passengers, but that was long before they started restricting Michael's Club access to suite and zenith passengers only.

The room was also used as the venue for the Captain's Club happy hour for a while, until they added the reciprocity with Royal Caribbean.

That caused the enormous increase in Captain's Club members,  overwhelming the capacity of Michael's Club and resulting in the need to move the happy hour to a larger venue.

2 hours ago, parrothead33 said:

I was able to complete my check-in without adding a photo.

So was I.  Had no photo, so just continued on without one. Even printed out the xpress pass.

The Relief Band is a great non-medical solution for anyone who is prone to seasickness and does not want to be drugged.

It is more effective than the sea bands, which work for many, but it is also more expensive.

I am one of the numerous  people who have tried the patch and had very bad reactions to it.

Many passengers do just fine taking meclizine,   provided free of charge at Guest Relations and at the ship's medical center.

Others get by with green apples, soda crackers and ginger ale.

Then there is the stuff that you dab behind your ear.  I have never tried it, but saw that they were selling it in the gift shop on board.

3 hours ago, calicakes said:

 For the women, I assembled makeup bags with makeup purchased with coupons and received in subscription boxes.  Those went to the gals at Cafe Al Bacio, the hostess in Blu, the pastry gal in Blu.    I'll add a picture to the next post. 

No doubt your intentions were good, but realistically, makeup is an inappropriate gift to give a total stranger, since there are so many individual differences in skin color and tone, skin type, eye color, etc. 

Additionally,  some woman may prefer a liquid, others prefer a powder, and still others a cream for similar products.

Then there are the ingredients in different products to consider.

Different people are allergic to different things, and different women like different brands.

It would be so much better to give cash, or even gift certificates that they can use to select the products they really want.

Now if you know that your stateroom attendant or waitress loves a certain makeup product in a particular color and you get it for her, then that would be a different situation entirely.

To paraphrase the golden rule:

    If you do a good job at work, would your rather receive a cash bonus, or would you prefer some makeup or other trinkets that a stranger selected for you without even knowing your personal likes or dislikes?

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

Great reason not to post a photo or too much info online before checkin.  I never post my credit card or photo during online cneckin.  I would assume if you don't that the checkin at the ship would be the place where they take your photo, swipe ypur credit card, and hand you the seapass.  It would stop people who enter the wrong room getting your key seapass.  

Thanks.  That is exactly what we are planning to do also, and just hope it works as you describe.

They used to ask for only the last 4 digits of your credit card number when checking in online, but recently they asked for the whole thing. 

So we just opted for a cash account, planning to switch it to a credit card account once we are on the ship.

4 hours ago, miched said:

I dealt with a Celebrity Cruise Planner (I think that is what they are called). He promised this, that and etc.   I said I wanted it in writing and he said that he couldn’t do that and don’t worry as it is in the system.   We got on board and none of it was true.  We told them the agent’s  name and to get with him.   The response was that he is no longer with  the company.  

 

Our response was burned once and won’t be fooled again, and never used one of their agents again.  It still didn’t help us on that cruise.

 

The same thing could have happened to you regardless of which type of travel agent you used.

We had a similar experience years ago when using an agent from a well-known and highly regarded outside travel agency. 

That is why it is important to get everything in writing

Any agent who tells you "he couldn't do that and don't worry" is waving a big red warning flag at you right there.

13 minutes ago, qwerty11 said:

Gotcha. Also, what does the "up to $300 in onboard spending" mean? That seems kind of arbitrary. 

They usually vary the amount depending on the stateroom category you choose and/or the length of the cruise.

1 hour ago, bobrxlex said:

............They did manage to throw away  2 opened water bottles and use the bathroom(ugh).  You know what Forrest Gump says. So that was a very stressful way to start a 2 week cruise and maybe we were the first and only ones for this to happen to but IT MIGHT HAPPEN AGAIN.

Hmmm, with this new system, it looks like anyone could take the keys to any cabin and go in and use the bathroom, or take the bottled water or whatever else they wanted out of the cabin.

Also, with the new room numbering method someone could be at the "right" room number but on the wrong deck and not even realize it.

Each time they fix something on the Celebrity website, they manage to mess up something else.

Even the features that do work were poorly designed,  for the most part being cumbersome and inefficient.

Their motto appears to be:

   "For anything simple that can be accomplished easily in only one or two steps, make sure you program it to require the user to go through at least 10 steps."

But one feature of their website that appears to work flawlessly is taking our money. 

We never have a problem with making payments online.

It is easy to see where they put their priorities. 😉

51 minutes ago, Pickels said:

IMHO....with all this talk about embarkation; is there a line?, need a number?, when can we board?, etc.  It's starting to seem that a Sandals Resort is so much easier.  Get picked up at the airport, get driven to the resort, check in, and Boom! it's done!  We've done both, Resort and Cruising.

Only for those who arrive early in the day, when there are crowds and lines.

When we arrive later in the day, after the mad rush is over, we just walk right on.

10 hours ago, Shaco said:

My DH and I will land at Heathrow at 8:30am on the day of embarkation from Southampton. Embarkation is at 4:30pm on a weekday. Can anyone guesstimate how long it will take us to get through luggage claim and British Customs? I believe the trip from LHR to Southampton 

takes approximately 90 minutes. Can we make the cruise under this timeline?

Can you make it?

None of us can know.

It will depend on a combination of circumstances that day.

You should be able to make it just fine IF your flight is not delayed, or canceled or diverted and if your checked luggage arrives with you on the same flight, and if there are no problems at the airport on either end, or on the trip from Heathrow to Southampton.

Be sure to pack all essentials and enough clothing for at least 3 or 4 days in a carry-on bag,  just in case your checked luggage doesn't make it.

Also, for peace of mind, do know your backup options for catching up with the ship at the next allowable port, should that be necessary.

Another important factor to consider that I don't believe has yet been mentioned is the passenger's own temperament.

There are some people who become emotionally upset (even hysterical) about a delay or cancellation and the possibility of missing a ship or a flight,

and then there are those who can just shrug off setbacks, take it all in stride and revert to Plan B.

Good luck!

2 hours ago, Arno. said:

I'm not sure, depending on the alignment of the stars and the glass of wine I just consumed but...were the free movies available only on S-Class ships and not on M-class?

 

The last time we cruised on M-class (end of 2018) they still had the free movies.

When you first turned on the TV, it would tell you what the featured free movie was for that day and listed the times it would be shown.  It usually repeated several times throughout the day.

 It looks like X keeps trying to think up more and more ways to charge extra for things that were previously included and that their regular customers (euphemistically called "guests" 😉) have come to expect.

I think these cutbacks tie in with their refusal to add another Captain's Club level.

Rather than offer "loyalty" incentives, they are trying to attract new customers who will be unaware of all the features that are being eliminated or diminished.

For those of us who love the old Celebrity, it now becomes harder and harder each time to decide whether to book another X cruise, or head elsewhere.

X management may not care so much about losing the older generation, but surely they must realize that when we move over to another cruise line, or a different type of vacation, often our adult children move over right along with us.

On 8/19/2019 at 2:15 PM, Bruin Steve said:

Interesting that another company has co-opted the moniker "SPB Tours"...

There is one longstanding, well respected tour company named SPB Tours in St. Petersburg that we and others have been dealing with for many years--the one found at:

https://www.spb-tours.com/

 

The woman who owns it is named Viktoria Rother and she runs the operation along with her husband, Steffen Rother.  We have met both of them.  In fact, when I saw her again at the pier in St. Petersburg this summer, she greeted me warmly...like an old friend.  We met her husband Steffen, in Warnemunde during our previous Baltic cruise.  I really don't have a problem giving them my credit card information--they've had it from three different tours over several years--and it never resulted in any problems.  Being Russian doesn't bother me.  This is not the Russian Government or the KGB...It's just a small business.  You give out your credit card information to people you don't know EVERY time you use your credit card--all over the world.  There is always the opportunity for thieves to use that to steal from you...even when using the card in places other than the internet.  Doesn't stop me from using the convenience of a credit card.  As I said, we've never had an issue nor have we heard of any security breaches related to SPB Tours. 

The same here.  On our tour with SPB, some paid with cash and others with credit cards.  They accepted US dollars. 

No problem at all.  They even drove a few people over to an ATM to get cash.

Viktoria personally met with us all the first day, split us up into the appropriate groups and introduced us to our tour guides.

Our guide was wonderful and spoke excellent English.

But the cruise passengers with whom we spoke who were in the other  groups were very pleased with their guides as well.

A nice feature was that they had enough guides so they could group people with common interests together and take them to special places they had requested, even if they were not listed on the "official" itinerary.

So if there is someplace you want to see or something you want to do that is not listed on the itinerary, do contact her and let her know about it.

3 hours ago, Tourist1292 said:

I would not do that. It is a lot easier to get price adjust and pay on the final payment due date than getting refund.

We also pay the remaining balance in full on the final payment due date, which is the last date to cancel without penalty.

Until then, we prefer to keep our money in our own bank account instead of the cruise line's bank account.

(The exception would be unusual circumstances, if there were some advantage to be gained by paying earlier than necessary, such as the situation previously described by Lilikins).

4 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

I do it nearly every cruise.  You are not limited to family members.

Right.  They don't know or care what your relationship is to the other person, only that you fill out the form correctly and sign it.

It can be a nice way for family members or friends to contribute to buying an expensive gift for someone by pooling some of their non-refundable OBC.

The starting/ending location can be an important consideration for those who are prone to seasickness or just dislike cruising in rough waters.

We have family members who refuse to take Caribbean cruises from Florida or New York/New Jersey because of the likelihood of hitting rough waters along the Atlantic coast.

When starting and ending in San Juan, you cruise in much calmer waters.

But then you have the longer flights getting down there and back.

There are always trade-offs.

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Is it economically feasible for you to upgrade your first leg to the next category to gain the extra points you need to make Elite after your first leg? Besides getting the free drinks between 5-7 pm once you make elite, you each will also get a free bag of laundry on your second leg to wash all your dirty clothes from the first leg!

It should be easy to do the math and calculate the cost of upgrading enough to gain the extra points needed to make Elite after the first cruise vs. the cost of paying for drinks and laundry themselves on the next cruise, also taking into account any additional benefits that may be derived from the upgrade.

Another factor to consider is the tradeoff between ordering and paying for drinks you really want, whenever you want them, vs. the restrictions of needing to order from a very limited menu,  only during very limited hours.

Those "free" drinks between 5-7 are hardly worthwhile if they are not drinks that someone really likes or would otherwise choose.

But then again, I am thinking of a couple of guys I know who will drink anything alcoholic as long as they don't have to pay for it. 😉

9 hours ago, capsplace said:

This is great news!  We will certainly reach out to Capt's Club to see if we can get those Elite perks!  Appreciate the feedback.

Did you miss Sassett's post #21 ?

10 hours ago, sasset said:

I re-read it. I think you're right. In our case we were 7 points short at the beginning of the first cruise and satisfied Elite Plus prior to the second cruise.

Your situations are entirely different.

Sasset had the necessary points after the end of the first cruise. 

Therefore, Sasset was legitimately entitled to the upgrade on the second cruise and was not asking for any exception to be made, because no exception was needed.

Capsplace will still be short of the necessary points after the end of the first cruise.

But capsplace will have the necessary points after the end of the second cruise, and therefore will honestly and legitimately qualify for the upgrade on the cruise following that one,

(avoiding the embarrassment of begging for a special exception that would most likely be denied anyway).

1 hour ago, txd said:

Davekathy, what will happen if you have two different cabins and not the same for both legs of the trip?

Not Davekathy here, but I think I can answer this one as it is something we have done many times through the years.

The stateroom attendants will move everything for you.  They bring around a hotel type luggage cart with a hanging rack. 

Just let them know about it in advance.  I also request one of their large plastic trash bags as we just toss all our shoes in the bag for the move so we don't need to pack them.

The bag of shoes rides right on the luggage cart for the move.

Essentially,  try to leave most of your clothing on hangers as the stateroom attendants will move the stuff on hangers directly from one closet to the next, so you don't need to pack any of it. 

You only need to pack up the loose stuff,  (everything that is in drawers, on shelves, on the countertops, wall or floor). 

Almost everyone who has done this a few times has worked out a system for doing it that works best for them.

It takes us about 10 to 15 minutes to pack up everything in our stateroom that is not on hangers and have it all in the suitcases, ready to be moved.

Once we are in the new stateroom, it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to unpack it all and put everything away.   (That includes wiping surfaces down with Lysol wipes and putting the empty suitcases away under the new bed.)

One more thing: we like to contact the new stateroom attendant in advance and ask him/her to give us a call and leave us a message the morning of the turnaround day to let us know as soon as the previous tenants vacate their cabin so we can transfer the contents of our safe to the new safe. 

We let them know that we want to do that right away early in the morning, before they even clean or make up the room.

That way we we don't need to carry valuables from the safe around with us wherever we go on the turnaround day while waiting for the new room to be ready.

Also, if they know who will be changing rooms that day, they try to get the rooms for those people ready first.

It is commonly called the "Concierge" lunch as that is the only passenger group always invited to attend based solely on their stateroom category, although it is actually a hodge-podge of different groups of people who are invited to have lunch there for one reason or another. 

Many of the others were already  having lunch in the MDR on embarkation day long before Concierge Class was added.

Some of the other categories who have lunch there are visiting entertainers, guests of staff members, visiting travel agents and their guests, corporate visitors, local  visitors having business with the cruise line or ship personnel, and of course the aforementioned B2B passengers.

Concierge Class passengers had been complaining that they were paying extra without receiving any worthwhile additional benefits for the higher price.

So X decided to toss in a few more extras for Concierge Class that would cost the cruise line little or nothing to provide.

They use only a small part of the large dining room for the embarkation day lunch, so they can easily set more or fewer tables, as needed.  The limiting factor is the size of the serving staff assigned there at lunch that day.

36 minutes ago, Cruise it or lose it said:

I'm surprised no one has said that the toilet paper on board is made that way not to plug up the system and the comfy stuff is what causes the overload and the smell.

 

But the worst thing about it is that the inconsiderate people who insist on bringing and using the comfy stuff then clog  up the sewer line not only for their own cabin, but for all the other cabins up and down the corridor that are on the same sewer line.

30 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

Is it possible to transfer some of your refundable or non-refundable OBC to another passenger's onboard account?  🍷

Yes, we have done that.  Just go to Guest Relations and they will take care of it.

Or the Retreat Concierge can handle it for you, if you are in a suite.

I'm not sure if that is the correct current title since it recently changed, but I am referring to the person who used to be the Michael's Club Concierge.

Elite Plus members still get two complimentary bags of laundry.

For the complete list, see

  Captain's Club Benefits & Membership | Celebrity Cruises

47 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

I usually agree with you but in this case I have to wonder what was the point of this exercise in futility? Do we know anything today that we did not know yesterday?

Well, at least there were two things that made it worthwhile.

(1) - We now know that gerelmx  has received confirmation from LLP herself that the advice we have been giving him here on Cruise Critic is correct and there is no problem with his B2B2B cruise booking.

So he can simply ignore what his TA has been telling him. 

He is one person who should certainly be very happy about this thread. 

(2) - The other is post #52 in the Foot Stools thread, which I am guessing numerous posters are saving and/or printing out to take with them on their next cruise.

Can't you picture it now. 

Butler or stateroom attendant:  I wish I could provide you with a footstool, but there are no footstools available.

Passenger:  But the CEO promised us footstools -- here are her exact words.........

The stateroom attendants refill the ice buckets twice each day,  when they service the rooms, and other times upon request.

Or you can take your ice bucket up to the buffet and fill it from an ice dispenser there yourself whenever you wish.  No waiting.