phoenix_dream

I think a lot depends on the type of excursion as well, and as is true for all things Celebrity, there is consistent inconsistency. For some excursions, such as helicopters as mentioned, it is really important to know the weights. For others one wonders where/how they determine that number - either the insurance company, vendor, or Celebrity. And sometimes they will weigh, you and other times not. I suspect except for the helicopter type, they will only even consider weighing you if you look way over the limit. I also am really bothered by the age restrictions. Same comments apply. I am over 70 but in good physical shape, better, actually than many 55 year olds. But I can't go on some excursions because of that. Frustrating. But you can usually find similar local tours which are more reasonable in their requirements.

Too bad Celebrity can't realize from this that people love real balconies and will go way out of their way to try to book them, especially the ones that are not suites as they are the only ones built that way. I know some people book them for the view as well, but I suspect a high majority of balcony lovers who can't afford suites grab these ASAP.

Are you talking about the Doubletree in Melbourne? We stayed there several years ago and loved the location but it was a bit worn and torn. If that's been remodeled that would be a great choice.

Your first sentence asked for specific and documented incidences if i remember the wording correctly. That implies disbelief. But if you mean it is not a common widespread practice then we do agree on that.

Of course I know those don't apply. I am talking about how they handle embarkation and disembarkation and what type of shuttles they may offer. Apparently I jumped the gun as they aren't sailing out of their yet, of which I was not aware, but I am thankful for the helpful suggestions I am getting.

I keep thinking the vacation situation will start to lull as people start looking at their credit card debt which is the largest in history. So far I am still waiting. You will not find what you are looking for, at least on Celebrity. All ships are jammed these days. I share your frustration. This may sound incredibly selfish and self-serving, but as a senior with who knows how many years left to be able to do this, it gets frustrating to see everywhere I vacation so crowded. It makes my remaining vacation travels much less fun (although for the record I truly make the best of it that I can). Judge me as you will for saying that. Anyway..........you might find a little bit fewer crowds by booking suites and hanging out in the suite areas. The E class Retreat areas are particularly nice, although IMHO I have found the rest of the ships on that class to be even more crowded and noisy than S or M class. I would also recommend trying to book when kids are in school. This is not a kids versus no kids comment - what I am meaning is that when families bring kids there are more people per cabin and therefore more crowded overall. Just a fact. Same goes for longer cruises (although there are fewer and fewer of those, especially in the Caribbean). They may also be fairly full but usually filled with older people who are not out and about quite as much as the younger crowd. The only other option as I see it is luxury lines with more space per passenger ratio, but those are often considerably more expensive.

It is certainly not typical, but yes there have been several news articles about passengers getting bumped due to overbooking. A quick Google will tell you that. I haven't read about any lately but it did happen not all that long ago to several cruise lines. Don't recall if any were Celebrity.

Thank you. I wasn't sure when it started.

As to kids onboard, honestly what someone experienced last summer may not be true this year. Celebrity has made a very concerted effort to entice younger families to cruise on their ships. I have seen many more kids on Celebrity this year than ever before (granted, not nearly as many as one would see on Royal or Carnival for instance). I would say that it is less likely that a lot of kids will be on a 12 night cruise. Generally speaking, the longer the cruise the fewer the kids and that is a pretty long one. I've never cruised HAL so have no input there

And theoretically they do. Suite access is supposed to be if available. We did have a bad experience once on Reflection, though. As you may know they have more AQ cabins than other S class but the same size Blu. We often had to wait 30ish minutes because of all the suite guests, including a large table next to us that kept ordering items off the MDR which caused the waiters to be gone for long periods of time. (I know this because we were friends with the waiter and he told us the problem). Other than that, when sailing in AQ many, many times, I've never found extra suite guests an issue. When we're in suites and we want to eat in Blu we go later so as not to interfere with the AQ folks.

thank you for the insight. I actually used to live in Cocoa (inland from the beach) many years ago, but that was way before my cruising days. I definitely want to do some sightseeing beforehand. Love visiting the Space Center, and taking in some of the other attractions nearby. I fondly remember Ron Jon's from years ago. I will look into that hotel.

I mentioned that in the first sentence of my posting. I definitely will. I want to hear from some Celebrity experiences as well.

And also practically speaking, what if a 5/6' 120 lb person can barely walk down a hallway unassisted, let alone manage narrow, steep stairs or ladders on a rolling boat? I agree it's their excursion and their rules. But I disagree that tour operators would have different restrictions based on the cruiselines . There is zero logic to that. I guess we need to remember that this is the cruise line that has eliminated footstools and loungers on balconies for "safety" reasons. They are covering their you-know-whats six ways from Sunday, while their parent company is still putting footstools and loungers on their newest ships. There is zero logic to that either.

I will also search the departure port pages, but also looking for some specific info about sailing Celebrity out of Port Canaveral. If anyone who has done it can report back on their experience? Particularly if they want to fly in several days earlier and rent a car and stay in the area? Does Celebrity offer shuttle service from the port back to Orlando? Has anyone used it and how might it compare to private services or Uber/Lyft? Are there rental car options available that don't charge around $400 PER DAY for a one way rental should I want to do that (yes, I typed the number correctly!). Is it worth it to stay outside of the immediate area and Uber to the port? I can't believe the prices of hotels I am seeing for early March (yes I know spring break is starting but shouldn't be too bad that early). I thought Lauderdale and Miami were bad - they're nothing compared to these prices. I strongly advise anyone considering sailing out of that port do some research prior on these things. I already booked my cruise and now almost wish I hadn't. I don't think that area is really geared up yet to handle the huge increase in sailings caused by the addition of more Celebrity and Royal ships (not to mention other lines). Any input would be appreciated and fingers crossed I can figure this all out without needing to take a second mortgage out on my house.

Is it possible? Yes. Will you always be able to make it? No. Lots of questions to ask. Are there many other ships in port and how big are they? Do you have any priority for early disembarkation with your cruise line? Do you have TSA precheck or Clear? If TSA be advised that the increase in Clear passengers and the way they put them at the front of the line is really hurting TSA entry times. Also consider capacity on the flight after yours if you miss yours. These days most of them are 100% full, and more people will be booking the later flight so your odds of getting on the next flight out are very, very slim.

And it's even better if you book it yourself using an Alaska TA! Years ago we saved $300pp doing our own, for a three day add on which included Denali and a stay at a Princess lodge.

Trust me, don't get your hopes up too high! It's Jamaica after all. I will say we did a nice snorkel trip there years ago. It was my first time snorkeling at the age of 60 and I was a nervous wreck - the people were very patient and nice to me. But the port overall -nothing to write home about

I agree. I'm all for giving more benefits to suites considering the pricing, but this will cause problems. My favorite part is the beds but I gave up even trying years ago with people hogging them for hours and hours, often taking long naps on them. Then they created AQ Sky Suites so people who wanted better locations (i.e., not under the buffet with rolling carts all night!!) had to pay extra to get those and added them to the mix - a sore point with me as I literally had to do that with a booking I made yesterday as the only remaining SS were in the worst spots under the buffet. That change made me very, very unhappy. Now adding high level suites? It's unsustainable and unfair.

Last time we did this, over a year ago, we were told tips are still pooled the same way they are for automatic tips. So not sure this is new.

I've stayed in 2133 - very close. There were carts rolling beginning around 3 am and lasting most of the day and evening off and on regularly (sorry, don't recall when it stopped). I would not say it was very noisy - it was a muffled sound like you might hear thunder off in the far distance. It was not enough to really bother us and did not keep us awake at night. It is frustrating, though, that they chose to put some of their most expensive cabins right under the buffet! An alternative rather than downgrading might be to move to an AQ Sky Suite - they tend to be more centrally located so they noise (if any) is much less.

What it boils down to is that cruise lines keep building more and more and bigger and bigger ships and they are currently sailing full (especially, but not exclusively those like Alaska which have shorter seasons). Almost every port you go to will be crowded wherever you sail. In Alaska I advise booking any excursions early as the towns are small and only have so many available. I usually recommend independent tours, but those are even less available so check really early. Don't plan on catching one in port like in the Caribbean (there are some but it is really hit or miss). Also if you plan to rent a car (in Skagway for instance that is a great idea) book WAY early as those book up very quickly. ps I love sailing to Alaska, have done it many times, but I have to say my Norway cruise was absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend it.

But if we have a liquor package, we are actually saving them money when we are lounging in our balconies!

Thank you so much for all the detailed info. I really appreciate it!!

Hi. Was reading this, and noticed you were going to be on a ship I was considering - the 9/14 cruise. My hesitations - first, I am susceptible to seasickness. Do you find a lot more motion on a ship this much smaller? The smallest I have ever been on is Celebrity Horizon and I am hesitant to go smaller. I was tempted by this cruise as I love Alaska and much of the cruise will be in calm waters (coast of California could go either way). Second, I am unclear about benefits. As a fellow Zenith (we met last year at one of the CC gatherings🙂) I am concerned about what will not be included that I am used to. Not sure if we could afford one of their suites. Any advice? They seem to have a good sale going on now, for example with champagne, wine, and more, but I have no idea what "more" encompasses and can't find anything on their website. Any thoughts you could convey would be greatly appreciated!

I can tell you why I don't - the motion. I am very susceptible to motion sickness and I have always found the smaller ships (which comprises the vast majority, if not all of luxury lines) to have a lot more motion. The larger ships also have more variety of things to do, although truth be told since I love to relax onboard I would love to sail a luxury line if they were larger.