phoenix_dream

Agree. We've tried this on multiple cruises this past year. On some ships I could transfer and then cash out my OBC on slots and on others I could not. And to make it even more confusing, on Equinox I was able to transfer and cash out some $$, but after doing it several times (due to my experience on other ships I didn't want to load too much just in case) they prevented me from transferring any more. I was able to continue transferring the next day however. Very confusing. I'm glad on some ships we can transfer and cash out the OBC which we never used to be able to do, but I wish it would be consistent on each ship. That's why if I'm intending to do this, I always start with a small amount, as worst case I can use it to play.

We've done that also. Not a bad walk and we really enjoyed walking around that area. Looking forward to it as we are heading there a week from Saturday. Can't wait!

Ahh. Loud music. Another pet peeve. Had one of those on a recent cruise. People are so darn inconsiderate these days! (boy, do I sound like an old fogey but it's true). It's not your own living room or patio for heavens sake. And then there was the time recently where the couple in the cabin next to us liked to "get busy" with their balcony door open. At first I thought they had kids over visiting their cabin making some crazy noises .......not. It was very awkward. How do you even think about reporting that!

I don't know if that's completely true. In the cabins, yes, but on balconies I don't think it's against the law. And what law would that be? They are not subject to US laws for example. The cameras don't zero in on the individual balconies - perhaps that is not legal. But my understanding is that they do scan along the sides of the ship. Don't they use them for investigation of person overboard situations and the like? If that is the case, then they would certainly be able to capture someone leaning over the railing and dropping garbage.

This post was very disturbing. The (apparent) lack of ability or desire of Celebrity to stop the smokers is bad enough. To have someone throwing garbage on to your balcony?!?!!! Totally unacceptable. I am shocked beyond belief with how the OP says Celebrity did (or didn't) handle this! I shouldn't chastise the victim here, but I have to say had it been me I would have never accepted Celebrity's handling of this. Traveling alone or not I would have kept moving up the ladder to anyone who would listen. Keep in mind there are cameras all over the ship, and if not the smoking for sure they should have been able to document someone throwing garbage onto a balcony! And even if you can't take a photo of the actual smoking, you can certainly record the things they were saying on your cell phone. It is also a fire hazard and against the rules to throw anything overboard (and I think onto another person's balcony qualifies). We had a smoking situation in the cabin next to us on a recent cruise. Fortunately they were dumb enough to leave cigarette butts on their balcony table. They were warned once. Still did it. Second warning in writing and the security person told us they were told that if they did it again they would be disembarked at the next port and banned from Celebrity. It stopped then. I think that is more in line with how Celebrity usually handles it. Smoking in the cabin is harder to prove I think (unless the odor is excessive), but on a balcony cameras should be catching it.

I think the charge you are talking about for non-suite friends is only in Luminae? Or is it in Blu also? I wish they would just not allow suite guests, period. (and sometimes that is me so I include myself). Blu on most ships is already so crowded and it is rare (albeit not always the case) where they are willing to turn away suite guests as they don't want them complaining about them. On Reflection one cruise (the most crowded Blu) there were literally lines of 12 couples waiting to be seated with waits of 30 min+ yet there were several tables with suite guests (and yes, I know they were suite guests for multiple reasons including our waiter telling us, as our service was much slower due to the suite guests insisting the waiters go down to the MDR for special dishes).

Big discounts are a thing of the past unfortunately. And I have also found if you wait until boarding you may be out of luck, especially for any desirable times and especially on M class ships with fewer options.

Four night cruises, even on Celebrity, tend to be much more of a party crowd than on 7+ nights. Won't be the level of Carnival, but don't expect the usual Celebrity ambiance

Oops. Got my memories mixed up. You're right. I think the solution for me is to quickly get on another cruise!

Covid's been with us for over 2 years now. So how long does one wait?? I am 70 years old (in good health fortunately and quadruple vaxxed) and at my age don't know how many years I have left for travel. Hopefully many but who knows. This is not going away anytime soon, although hopefully at some point soon they will begin to quarantine in original cabins like they do for noro. In the meantime, as much as I would hate being quarantined in an outside cabin (or heaven forbid an inside), I feel like I have to take the chance as cruising during retirement is something I've looked forward to for the more than 40 years since I first sailed. If I keep waiting, I literally may never have the chance as experts say this will be with us for many years. In the meantime, I just wish they would be more generous with quarantining people in balcony cabins as even the CDC recommends.

Definitely true. Had smokers on the balcony of the cabin next to ours. We (and others) complained and they were warned first verbally, and then again in writing and told if they did it a third time they would be disembarked at the next port and prevented from sailing Celebrity again. I am not a smoker, but honestly I would feel for someone who got Covid and then got quarantined in a cabin where they were unable to get their fix. Nicotine is addicting and I'm sure stopping cold turkey, while possible, would really be asking a lot from someone already suffering from Covid symptoms. But then they often quarantine people in outside cabins without balconies (and occasionally inside cabins I've heard) and I think that is about as inhumane as heck!

I agree with all your points. One comment, though. My understanding (at least in Blu or Luminae) is that even if you tip your waiter in cash, they are supposed to hand it in to the general pool. Same for the sommelier or wine steward or hostess. The Maitre D' gets to keep his or hers. Doesn't seem right, but that is what I've been told. Now, I can't guarantee that they always do this if you get the $$ to them discretely, but that is my understanding.

I think your first sentence statement is quite extreme. Change the wording to say you need to be prepared that you may get Covid and then I would agree with you. If positivity rates are running 1-3% or so, then that means 97-99% of people onboard are not getting Covid. Even allowing that many do not self-report due to the strict quarantine rules (or being just plain stupid and not realizing they might have it), and that some people test positive when they get home, the percentage is likely still quite low. You might read on these boards that this person and that person etc. got Covid onboard or when they got home, and it seems like everyone onboard is catching it, but also keep in mind that people are hundreds of times more likely to post about negative experiences than positive ones. That's just human nature, such as it is. Yes, there are no guarantees and yes, most of us will catch it sooner or later no matter what. But to say assume you will get it just because you are on a cruise is not a statement backed by fact.

I can't speak to the aft facing cabins, but we have sailed several times on the side AQ cabins on Deck 11, generally those further forward. We never had any noise issues. On occasion, when sitting on our balcony, we could hear the movies above us, but as a muffled background noise which did not bother us at all. In warm sailings, we did have an issue with the lack of an overhang. On our last cruise in March to the Caribbean we rarely could use our balcony because of the sun shining down and the heat (and we love sitting out there, reading and just watching the sea go by). I would not hesitate to book those cabins on cooler sailings like Alaska, but I would think twice before booking them again in hot regions.

I am interested in this as well. If all goes according to plan we will hit Zenith level after our next two cruises in July and August of this year (perhaps even after one more depending how many Power Up points we can grab - we are very close). I know nothing about a Zenith phone number. I am presuming Celebrity does not publish this and only Zenith's know what the number is? I'm also wondering, if we had purchased an upgrade to Elevate or Indulge for future cruises, will we be able to cancel it once we hit Zenith, as (except for the OBC) the perks will then be part of what we qualify for?

I'm a bit confused. You said they would not test you on Friday and then said they told you to come back on Friday? Or did you mean your cruise was Friday? Did you have an appointment? And you say CVM has moved. To where? And if they are not testing at the port who is doing that upstairs testing you mention? This stuff is all so confusing!

I read on other sources that the testing site at the cruise port was closed in June for refurbishment of some sort. Does anyone know if it is open again? It allows bookings on its site, but I don't want to count on that and find out it is closed when I cruise later this month. Don't want to do the airport location as we are flying in 3 days early and I would have to Uber there and back - I can walk to the cruise port area.

The cabin is the same on S or E class only. On M class the cabin is larger than regular balconies (although roughly the same size as those on S class)

Question for those who have been paying closer attention than I have to these types of things. Didn't Celebrity initially say that even if you asked for FCC if Celebrity cancelled your cruise (and that is a key point here), you can at any time change your mind and ask for a refund instead? I thought that was the case? Or maybe even if it was, by booking another cruise that offer becomes void?

No one can tell you for sure if masks will or will not be required at the time of your sailing. We can only tell you what happens now, and that is that masks are optional until or if the Captain says otherwise (which is based on the caseload onboard and can change mid-cruise). Some currently wear masks onboard, and many passengers don't. Truthfully (and this is not meant to sound snarky) if wearing a mask bothers you enough to avoid cruising you might not want to take the chance as the policy could be changed at any time, or mid-cruise.

I personally don't understand when people say the Blu portions are smaller, or that the food is too "healthy" (not heard the latter on this thread, but on others). I have 65+ Celebrity cruises under my belt in MDR, Blu and Luminae. I have honestly not seen any differences as far as portion size. Anyone who would leave Blu hungry after appetizer, salad, soup, main course, and dessert has quite an appetite IMHO. And as you say, order two of anything if you're concerned about that. And for anyone worrying Blu is too "healthy" it definitely is no healthier (or less) than any other dining room. They used to advertise it (maybe still do?) as "clean" dining, whatever that means. To me it's just good food. I do agree the tables for two can be close together, especially on S class ships. We look for tables along the walls where we can have more privacy, but I know these aren't always available. Recently it hasn't been an issue due to reduced capacity but it is likely getting closer to normal lately as bookings increase.

MDR is usually only open for lunch on sea days. We sail Aqua a lot and usually just grab a bite to eat at the buffet or pool grill

A version of this has been the case on our last several cruises recently. The app was missing much of the entertainment, some was added mid-cruise, and some changed during the sailing

And therein is part of the problems with the wine package these days. Have been on multiple cruises since last fall and have had real issues getting our standard wine requests in both Luminae and Blu. Decoy is a good example. Some ships had it. Some ships did not. Other ships we had to "battle" with our wine steward for a bit and they finally tracked some down. On our most recent cruises we were fortunate in that the sommelier was able to offer us some wines normally sold only by the bottle. But at the same time, we sometimes had to drink wines on the classic package, even though we were paying for the premium package. Their options for red wine at least were very meager on all of our cruises since the pandemic, save for when they were willing to open those usually sold by the bottle. I personally don't feel like shlepping four bottles of wine onboard and we like a pre-dinner cocktail, so we will likely stick with the premium package. But IMHO if premium by-the-glass wines are not available they should always be offering an appropriate substitute, even if normally sold by bottle only

Just wanted to add my two cents about ship's conditions on this thread as it is related IMHO. Just because a ship has not been revolutionized does not mean it is in bad shape. For example, while Connie's updating was postponed there was a lot of work done on her to update her look. Many of the rugs and upholstery was updated and while I can't swear to it, it felt like new mattresses were installed. I think the biggest impact for non-revolutionized sailings is for suite passengers. There will be no Retreat Deck and Michaels Club will not be remodeled (although honestly as regards Michaels I think that is a plus rather than a minus - much prefer the more comfortable club like atmosphere to the revolutionized hospital operating room feeling)