tserface

Anyone who has used their website knows that Celebrity has pretty minimal computer skills. They have bigger fish to fry.

Tom

They don't have to change the seapass card, they would just need to reprogram the onboard computers used for charging drinks to know how many free drinks are allowed and how many have been used.

 

Probably wont happen. If they cannot reprogram the computers to support digital pictures and keep from throwing away thousands of prints per cruise, they aren't going to keep track of free drinks:)

FWIW, I think the selling thing was a joke. I haven't heard anything about that actually happening.

Tom

It's depressing to think that folks would actually sell the coupons.... Is this really the type of person that takes a celebrity cruise? Maybe it's time to go on a quality cruise line with folks that aren't always looking for a way to make a couple of bucks....

Yeah, that was funny. I think you could sell anything on eBay and some dummy would buy it.

The sad part is they'd probably complain to X when they turned out to not be redeemable :)

Tom

Why not sell them on eBay? Some greedy sucker will probably buy the expired coupons just as some greedy suckers buy other Elite coupons.

 

Guess it's all an honor system. However,I wonder who has the honor and who plays the system?

 

Enough said: Time to get the popcorn.

I'm not sure this is a big deal to Celebrity. There's a difference between getting a drink for a friend using one of your coupons and getting a extra drink using your drink package. They only give out three so they probably count on people using most of them.

I let my kids use our bingo coupon once and got a two for one wine deal with a friend and I never felt that much guilt.

Now... selling the coupons (which I think was a joke, but you never know around here) is a different deal.

If X cares they could solve the whole deal by just putting the coupon stuff on account with your Seapass card rather than using coupons. That would save the paper and make it so only the person who has the card could use the benefits. It doesn't look as nice sitting on the bed when you show up though :)

I think it hardly matters if you drink two drinks and give one to a friend or if you drink three drinks and give none to a friend. They likely count on you using the coupons.

Tom

:D

 

Yes and I as an Elite member am glad to recieve one and gift it to a friend!:D

That process would also minimize people trying to sell or give the coupons away. I think it's pretty lame that people would abuse the generous system they are providing for us.

Tom

The general idea is that each Elite would have 3 Elite drink credits noted daily on their account.

 

Bar servers would know the available redemption times per day (example only 5-8) and also the per drink maximum or selection.

 

When you order a drink during the appropriate times you let the server know it's an Elite credit and the server enters the order in the computer with an elite drink code and swipes your card.

 

The credits need to be used or expire daily. No roll overs.

 

Something like that. I'm sure some smart computer people could figure out the details.

We've found that you can always ask your waiter for "some crunchies" and they'll bring you a bottle of munchies to have with your drinks. This works for us in just about every bar on the ship. Some of the snacks at the party were better of course and we always enjoy the parties, but we can always find some munchies... and I'd guess you can still go to the Sky Lounge.

:)

Tom

Generally very good. The first night some bar servers look askance at the voucher, especially if they are new employees. But it soon gets sorted out.

 

The downside: no more munchies at the Sky Lounge.

I don't think there's anything wrong with suggesting something that might improve the ship. Certainly different people have different tastes and I'd never disparage someone for their comments, but I think it's fair to mention ideas.

I didn't know this thread was older or that there was a rule against commenting on threads that were older. It just popped up on the first screen yesterday and I thought it was an interesting subject. As I mentioned we went on a Princess cruise last year and really enjoyed this feature.

But, we like Celebrity better and have been pretty loyal customers so the whole "just sail that [insert here] line if you don't like [what I don't like] is kind of rude (don't remember who did that, but it was a couple of the posts here today).

Tom

Love your Lessson One..been there done that! Ha! Always great to come back and 'own up' isn't it. And I agree, nothing wrong with pointing out what you enjoyed on another Line. You never know if people would like that added to their 'favorite Line', or just to know it exists.

 

The time some of us get wrapped up is when we get into those threads of people really insisting or pressing to get something added or changed, and somehow think if others just agreed on this forum, by magic it would happen, or if it isn't on this Line then it is a major flaw and not worth cruising on. We seem to forget that nothing is free. If we added MUTS or self-service laundry (oh, why did I bring That one up???), or a full promenade and such, then something else has to go.

 

Life in the real world, beyond our musings on these threads....even on threads 18 months old!

 

Wonder what the 'perfect' ship would look like? I have a feeling it would turn turtle the first time it tried to leave the dock, or cost $10,000 for an inside SR.

 

Den

Yes, that would be Movies Under the Sun, not Stars and I agree that would be annoying. Although, we enjoyed the use of the big screen on the Oasis for a day time movie, but it wan't near a public pool. Near the pool I'd rather just have great blaring reggae music :)

Tom

For some of us the objection is not the opportunity to cozy up and watch movies at night. That is fine and doesn't really bother non watchers. The problem is the use of screens and noise during daylight hours. Totally obnoxious for large numbers of folks who want to use the pool and other attractions in the area of the screens. I will never cruise Princess again.

Ah, that certainly a good point. I'm not on Solstice until April. There wasn't much going on when we sailed the Silhouette, but you're right Solstice is a different ship so that wouldn't work. I can't wait to see the hot glass show. It sounds intriguing.

Tom

We were on the Solstice in October and on most nights there was a hot glass show in this area. If they were to also offer movies at the same time it would take away from the ambiance as you wouldn't be able to hear what was being said at the hot glass show.

We went on a Princess ship last year and went to one of the movies (I think it was Mission Impossible). We cozy-ed up under blankets and watched the movie and had a really good time. They brought us popcorn, coffee, and cookies.

I can't imaging why some would be so adamantly against this idea. If you don't like it just go to bed.

I wouldn't want to have it going all day, but I thought it was a fun late evening activity when we did it on Princess. The sound was good, the movie was fun, and we had fun as a family watching.

I would think it would be fun to have these on some nights on Celebrity. Especially on S class ships where there really nothing going on up on the grass at night anyway.

Tom

This is way tooooo funny - not having MUTS makes you superior and more elgant - absolutly too funny to even reply to but hey that's what these boards are for - right:).

 

The fact that jeans are allowed in the dining rooms on non formal nights on Celebrity must really FREAK some people out - how dare Celebrity stoop to a Wal-Mart class ship.

 

Like some of the others who have actually been on a ship with MUTS there are plenty of full service pools away from MUTS but let me tell you something :) it was totally awesome to watch the superbowl under the stars in the middle (well not exactly the middle) of the ocean. AND Titanic at night FUN - getting up at 4 AM to watch Prince William get married cool. Life's too short to care about MUTS let alone think it makes one superior not to have it. Really - you like MUTS fine - you don't like MUTS fine I don't think it makes one brand better or worse than another just different from each other. I mean that rock climing stuff was started by RCCL who owens Celebrity.

You probably won't see this since you've exited the thread, but I think that's a good idea rather than posting a bunch of personal slurs. If you have information or opinions that differ why not just post them rather than attacking Cruisetrail who obviously put a lot of effort into sharing his opinions (which look kind of expert to me).

Thanks Cruisetrail for all you've put into this thread. I think it's a great read and super informative.

Any ideas on room 1076 on Solstice? :D

Tom

"Expert" review? I guess "expert" is in the eye of the beholder. If you have the dual role of "engeneer" and travel professional, I'm surprised at the amount of time you have on your hands (do I smell something?) As a previous poster mentioned, why don't you provide some links to some of your other expert reviews on other ships/lines. That may lend some credibility to this mission of yours.

 

Shame on you for trying to pass yourself off as an expert just because you have a few photos. At the very least, you should take a step back and draw the line at providing advice to newcomers like you're some sort of authority. I've yet to see you refer anyone to the sticky on this board with feedback from people who have stayed in the S-class staterooms. People that have actually stayed in those cabins have far more qualified comments than any you can make. I feel bad for the newcomers who are worrying now about their choices based on the nonsense you're feeding them.

 

And with that, I too am exiting this thread. I tried to stay with it because I enjoyed the photos, but your personal bias and constant agenda have turned me off completely.

 

Enjoy!

We thought about trying AQ on our upcoming cruise, but decided that since we mostly eat healthy in our normal lives we really didn't want to eat at a health food restaurant on the ship (need a vacation from that as well). We also like sitting at tables with other cruisers and it looked to us like the tables in Blu are mostly made for smaller groups. We know you can eat in the MDR if you are in AQ, but we don't really use the spa services so the extra cost for AQ doesn't seem worth it if you don't want to eat in Blu anyway. CC is the next best thing IMO.

Tom

You are correct vis-a-vis CC on the M class. AS far as we are concerned, AQ is our preference on the S class.

We've had that happen on two cruises now. We just book the veranda room and then watch the prices and sometimes the CC cost actually goes below what we originally paid for the veranda then we switch. The amenities are nice and we use most of them. Don't care about the extra cruise points since we are already at the top level, but if they ever change that to add another level then that might change.

The footstools are really nice for us tall people. We like to sit on the veranda and read on sea days. It's a great way to decompress. We also like the upgraded bedding and we typically drink the sparkling wine and, at least eat the grapes from the fruit (we usually tell them we only want grapes) and pick at the canapes.

But, mostly we've done it since it actually saved us money since they tend to have trouble selling them.

Tom

The only reason we booked CC on our upcoming Alaska cruise was because it was actually $10 pp CHEAPER than the standard veranda cabin. Not only cheaper, but a bigger OBC and of course the extra point (altho we are already elite due to status on RCL). A win, win, win.

 

But this is a rare case and I would usually agree with most of the above posters that the perks of a CC are not worth it to ME, especially if it is significantly more $$$.

I agree with you Larry. From what I know about the GE program (although it sounds like a security hole waiting to happen to me) it is designed for airports. The 'location' list is here: http://www.globalentry.gov/locations.html

I don't think it applies to cruise ports. We're never in a big enough hurry to get off the ship that we'd assume we should be able to cut in front of someone else (Elite or not). We think it's cool that there is a special perk for a place to sit for Elites, but that's sort of like having a special line to get on an airplane. Unlike airlines, and as you said, we've never gotton on first because of it. We just have a slightly nicer place to wait and sometimes free cups of coffee or water.

I've never seen an Elite member walk past everyone in line to get in at the front.

That said, if there was some cruise port sanctioned reason why they should be able to then I wouldn't gripe about it. Well, not out loud anyway :rolleyes:

Tom

If you re-read my response more carefully you'll see that I was responding to statement that referred to situations where there are normally kiosks but where the kiosks were not operational. This is not the situation at any cruise port that I've ever heard of. I also said that I didn't think the program was ever designed for cruise ship disembarkation.

 

If the program specifically listed the right to jump to the front of the line at cruise port disembarkation regardless of whether or not they had the kiosks then I might not like it much but I'd feel differently.

 

Perhaps I did jump a bit in posting my first response, as I don't think the OP intended to jump the lines if he did not have that right; he was probably just inquiring to determine if he did have that right. But the direction of the thread was making me a little grouchy. In any event, I stand by my assertion that I think it would be inappropriate for anyone to use the program as an excuse to jump the queue when the right did not actually exist. We all know that those that jump the line without the right to do so often get away with it even though it might be breaking rules or policies and be an ill-mannered practice.

 

This all differs from the rights given by the cruise line to Elite cruisers. In that case the rights are part of a well publicized program that specifically applies to the situation at hand. While it doesn't make much of a difference, I'll also point out that Elite members do not have the right to jump the queue to board the ship. What they have is a separate check in area which in some, but not all, cases has a shorter wait than the general line. Before and after that in the process they wait in the same lines with everyone else.

So far as I know no one was checking. We just walked through the line, gave them our suitcases, and then went upstairs. They did check our paperwork before giving us cards, but that's pretty normal and it would have been tough to turn us back at that point. Since they were loading the suitcases by deck they may have been visually checking the tags then, but we didn't see or hear anyone mentioning it so either everyone was on the up and up or they didn't care. I suspect the latter. We thought it was brilliant that they would loading the suitcases by deck. That has to make their jobs much easier than the typical mash of suitcases altogether we've seen on other lines.

Tom

Were they actually having staggered boarding or did you just show up and board? Did somebody check to make sure you were coming at your appointed time? We had no such experience ourselves. But perhaps it's a moot point now.

We just did this on the May 27th sailing and it worked out great. We were through the lines by about 11a and on the ship around 11:30a. We had our room right when we got on the ship and our luggage by around 1p. I can see where this sort of thing is necessary in Seattle. The port is a real drag. It's tough to park, very crowded, and extremely understaffed. It's also difficult to get to the port if you are driving your own car (lack of signs, off ramp kind of obscure, etc.) Our GPS took us to a dead end street based on the address on our documents, but fortunately, we could see the ship off in the distance so we made our way to it eventually.

I can't imaging the pandemonium if everyone showed up at the same time here. It was over the top crowded with people leaving from the previous cruise and people arriving for the first section of boarders as it was. The only other thing they may be able to do is just start boarding everyone at around 1p after the previous cruise clears out and that might work if everyone doesn't show up early.

I don't know about other ports, but our experience at Seattle was good with the staggered boarding. Of course, easy for me to say since we were scheduled to get there at 10:30a.

FWIW, they ran the buffet all day so even if you got on later you could still get some food right away. You may just have a later lunch than some others, but there was plenty left.

Tom

Has anyone gone through staggered boarding in Seattle? Apparently, Princess is requesting that do staggered boarding in May to get on board the Star. Though, the fact that you have to click through 5 things to get to the announcement, makes me wonder.

 

I figure I need to check out of my pre-cruise hotel by X time, and the only logical place for me to go is the port.

If you go later with them or them later with you would Princess turn you away? I'd guess not since you need to get on the ship. So, if your boarding is at 1p and theirs it at 2p you could just wait and still all go together I'd bet.

Of course, I don't know anything... I'm just guessing. I think they're always happy to have people come later.

Tom

Like I said on another post, on my several cruises, I have never complained about waiting and I have never heard anyone else complain either. But, having said that, I am not really the complaining type either. The only reason this matters so much to me is that I talked two other couples into going with us, telling them how great it is and now, we won't be able to take a cab from our hotel together, board together and I won't be able to help them get their cruise started in the way I said I would. I actually talked to them at length this weekend and one couple is actually considering canceling before final payment is due. (There are also other problems, not just staggered boarding, but it may have thrown the balance because this would be both of their first cruise and they have not traveled much, so?). Anyway, the only reason things will change is if Princess knows their loyal, and even first time cruisers, don't like the new policy..........Are you listening princess? We don't like it!

Deck - 9

Cabin # - 9251

Class – Concierge

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Bed near?(balcony or bath) – Balcony

Quiet Cabin (With comments on problems. Note if connecting. ) – We never heard anything at all. Not even announcements unless we went out into the hallway. It could have connected to neighboring cabins, but we didn't since we didn't know the people there. We never heard anyone noise at all even with the door open.

Balcony View - No problems with view. Only two comments. If you look back you see the hump cabin balconies so you lose part of that view and, of course, if you look down directly you see life boats, but the view is quite nice.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal, really enjoyed the foot stools that come with the CC cabins. We sat out here a lot with our feet up just watching the sea go by.

Was wind a problem? Not at all unless the balcony door is open and someone opens the front door then everything blows like crazy.

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? NA

Any specific problems with this cabin? Nothing at all. We had to get used to the storage differences, but we found places to put everything.

Any other comments? Incredibly beautiful ship and great room.

The purpose is to put faces to screen names from Cruise Critic and meet up with the people you've been talking with on your roll call for sometimes months. Sometimes some of the crew show up and the often provide morning type drinks (coffee and juice) and cookies and other snacks. On rare occasions the ships have provided some fun free stuff (souveniers). But mostly it's a time to hang around and just get to know people you've been chatting with online. It's kind of nice to see the faces because we often run into others on the ship all through the cruise.

Tom

Can someone please explain the details of a connection's party?(We have signed up for ours) What is the purpose? Exactly when does this happen in terms of a timeline after we board the ship? How long do they last? Does the party interfere with other things we may want to be doing when we first board? As a first time cruiser on Celebrity I think I'm going to be so exicited exploring the ship and settling in, do I really want to take time out to go to a connections party? Please help out here. Thanks. :confused:

I've never been on a Princess ship with this facility, but they did have a big theater on the Oasis and we loved it. It wasn't near the public pools, but it was a lot of fun to sit there to eat and watch whatever they had going on and it made the aqua shows a lot easier to see.

If it is only at night and set up for people to watch movies "under the stars" I think that would be pretty cool too. We're mostly inside during the night, but that might be enough to get us to venture out. I think so long as they didn't play it so loud that they bothered people inside. Nothing like hearing the sound from a movie you can't see.

Tom

We're planning to cruise Celebrity for the first time and I was just wondering if they had a program similar to Princess with outdoor movies at night. TIA, Heather

I love it in the Caribbean if they have a good reggae band playing. It covers over the noise of people screaming around the pool and snoring nearby and makes the experience a lot more tropical. I can get silence around the pool in our backyard :) I don't have an iPod and I'd be scared to swim with it anyway.

Tom

Thank goodness --- we hated the music around the pool during the day. Why can't we be left in peace --- if people want music then they have their own ipods ....

 

Sorry if we sound miserable but the peae and quiet was why we went with Celebrity and found that the Solarium (no sun though) and our aft cabins were the best retreats for our peace and quiet.

 

:)

If you cancel before the final date you would get a refund. If you just don't go then I don't think you get the refund, but I'm not sure since I've never "not gone" :)

I think they do prepaid for Select dining because you may not have the same waiter every night. I'm not sure why you have to prepay all of the gratuities and not just the ones for the dining room. For example, I can't figure out what using Select dining has to do with your room attendant, but it is what it is.

I think prepaid gratuities are really a "fee" since they are not negotiable (they just charge you the whole amount, whereas otherwise it is up to you how much you tip). I also think it's unfair that they collect the money so far ahead of the cruise since tips, as you say, are typically paid after the service is rendered.

There have been tons of conversations about it on this forum (you can use search to look around). I think most people just drink the Kool-Aid and go with it. Not much choice really if you want to sail.

Tom

Hi,

 

I am new to the forum. I am about to book Silhouette and the agent sent me the note below: "The only available dining time is the open dining. Celebrity requires anyone on open dining to pre pay their gratuities. I have waitlisted your party for Late dining."

 

I have cruised a lot and have never encountered "prepaying" for services not yet received. Has anyone else encountered this? How does this work? If I book and then don't travel, wouldn't I lose the gratuities???

 

I would appreciate some assistance since I have to make up my mind by later tonight (Sept 29, 2011).

 

Thanks.

 

sparot5