smtcan

We were also on this cruise, travelling on Canadian passports. We spent one and a half hours queueing to be cleared to leave the ship in the line for US and Canadian citizens. There were about 800 people in that line compared to 1600+ in the other line.

I suspect that there were several reasons for the delay. The officials were late arriving, and did not have the right equipment to scan passports. Some people thought that only one in their party could present all the passports. Celebrity may have underestimated the impact of having the first stop in US territory on a Caribbean island.

Whatever the reasons, it was not the way one wants to spend the first port day after a Transatlantic crossing, especially for the many British passengers we spoke to who had chosen that TA for the three Caribbean ports. I can well understand the discontent that was generated and while we enjoy Transatlantic cruises, I would never again book one through St. Thomas.

I expressed this opinion to Celebrity, and I think that posting on this forum may make other cruisers aware so they can decide whether they want to subject themselves to this experience or select another itinerary.

Sheila

We have just returned from the Eclipse TA. We had vouchers but the Elite Lounge was still open with appetizers and visits from Officers. The only difference was that coupons were taken there instead of unlimited drinks, but the variety was better since it was the same as the Classic package. The lounge was well used, but not overcrowded. Some evenings we went there, other times we visited different bars. Drinks could be taken from the lounge, so it was possible to take a glass of wine to dinner. Many people seems to like this system, especially those who were travelling with non elite friends.

Sheila

Maybe we are OCD but we always travel with two credit cards (sep banks one in DH name, one in mine) and two debit cards same arrangements with the banks advised we will be out of country.

 

We each have one credit and one debit card for travel with lower limits in case they are compromised, seeing as banks very kindly keep jacking our other limited up very high, we always ask them to keep one set of limits below 5 figs

 

Covers as far as we can

 

Card being compromised

One banks online systems being down (a frequent these days especially if you are abroad as you will be using the card during night time maintenance times back home)

And heaven forbid, one of us not having the capacity to use the card.

 

I would never expect a hotel to hold anything on a debit card, never even occurred to me to ask

This is exactly what we do. We each have credit cards with very low limits for using overseas or for making Internet purchases, and cards with higher limits that stay in the safe for emergencies. We would never travel without the ability to deal with any emergency that might arise. Even my mother, who celebrated her 100th birthday this year has a credit card, and has had one for about fifteen years. She doesn't travel now, but did up to about five years ago.

Sheila

I wear jeans much of the time now that I have found some that fit me. On a trip to UK Marks and Spencer per una jeans were recommended to me, and they fit perfectly on my mature figure. I now order online and they ship free to Canada and US. That is fine if you know your size, but no good for taking a chance. I have gone from hating jeans to loving them, in different colours, full length and Capri style.

The thing is you'll love an inside cabin until you experience a balcony cabin. Once you've booked a balcony and strolled out there on your first sea day, the ocean spray, the fresh smell, the water curling back from the hull as the ship cuts a swath across the sea.

 

Once you have the experience and the pleasure of that sweet, private haven of a balcony, you probably won't feel the same way about booking an inside cabin.

 

Jonathan

This is an opinion I do not agree with. We select our cabin class based on itinerary and cost. We enjoy a balcony on a cruise with a lot of sea days in an area where the climate is likely to be conducive to sitting outside. On a port intensive cruise we often select inside because we will be off the ship more than on it. We have never missed a balcony when we have not had one.

Last January we booked an inside cabin for a South America cruise. Friends in our party chose to have a balcony, but hardly used it. It was too cold and windy for much of the southern part and very hot and humid around Buenos Aires. We paid about half of their price, and spent several days exploring before and after the cruise with the money we saved. We didn't regret our choice for a moment.

We have never sailed in a suite and probably never will. We have only chosen Oceanview once and wouldn't repeat that unless it was with a specific promotion. Seeing the outside without the ability to get fresh air isn't a benefit for us.

Count us among those who like to experience different places on cruises. We have been to Alaska, Australia/New Zealand, Galapagos, Greek Islands, Eastern and Western Mediterranean and Asia as well as a Caribbean cruise. The only cruises we have repeated are Transatlantics and those we combine with land based holidays in Europe, so they are a pleasant way to get home. The Caribbean is not of great interest to us, since it involves air fare, but if we could get right onto a ship we might feel differently and plan to return there.

If you haven't done so already, you should ask this question on the Ports of Call/Florida board, but first use the search engine to do some research there. (This thread may well get moved there, since it's not a Celebrity specific thread.)

 

Hertz has a downtown location close to the pier, with a shuttle. We did the reverse last year, dropped a car off there and were shuttled over to our ship. It was the worst-run car rental location I've ever experienced in my life. Perhaps it has improved since then.

We dropped a car off at Hertz last year. The location was very disorganized and we had to wait ages for the shuttle. We usually book cars several times a year with Hertz in Europe and US, but would never use that location again, in spite of the good price.

On our recent Princess cruise there were bridge lessons in the morning and organized play in the afternoons on sea days. They seemed to be quite popular but the provision of hosts for this took the place of a second lecturer, so the destination speaker (who was excellent) was the only one. We really missed the stimulating speakers that we have enjoyed on previous cruises with Celebrity and other lines. I don't know if this is usual on Princess, but it didn't appeal to us.

Sheila

Thanks very much - I think I'll change the cabin while we still have choices.

Sheila

We have just booked this cabin, but I am a little concerned about the smoking area on deck 5. We prefer the port side for a westbound TA, but have never been in this location. Can anyone tell me if smoke will be a problem? I have checked the spreadsheet which we have found to be very helpful in the past, but there are no reports from this actual area. There are other cabins available in the category, so advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

Sheila

We have had a passenger choir on two Celebrity Transatlantics, one on Solstice and one on Eclipse. I think it depends if there is anyone on the Activity Staff who is interested. The one on Solstice was particularly good fun because we were accompanied by a member of the jazz group. The other one used taped music if I recall.

Sheila

I know that for avid bridge players, the game can be an important part of their activities, but on any cruise these people are in a minority. I agree that Celebrity should provide space for them to meet and make sure information about the meeting place and time is readily available, but I think that that is where the responsibility ends. Many cruisers would like to pursue their particular interest on board and it would be impossible to provide for every one.

Sheila

Very glad to hear Chandru is returning, I hope we can cruise with him again one day. Does anyone know who the CD on Solstice is now, or will be in October?

Sheila

Is Chandru back? Last we heard was that he had gone home because of a health emergency. I hope all is well with him, he is one of our favourite Celebrity people.

Sheila

Is is really about the type of cruise it is. All excursions are included. All tips are included. They made it a painless, cashless trip so everyone could concentrate on enjoying the cruise and the fabulous places they were going to see and experience. It made for a great trip, never worrying about what anything cost. We were able to take all of the excursions, did no thave to pick and chose. I do not think that the additional cost of the drinks to Celebrity were enough to have to charge passengers fo rthem separately. Just my thoughts on a great trip

I agree with this. It is certainly not a cruise where you sit in a bar all evening, or where you sit by the pool and drink frozen cocktails (if there was a pool!) We enjoyed wine with dinner and cappuccino type coffees, but there was very little opportunity for more than a drink before dinner. The cost of providing alcohol would be nowhere near the cost of the drink packages on conventional cruises.

They busted two of our Samsonite suitcases and told us they would replace them with Walmart suitcases. We kept the busted suitcases.

Celebrity broke my hard shell case - it was cracked right through. They offered to replace it, but the replacement was an enormous cheap suitcase. We declined, so they gave us some duct tape and a claim form to send to head office. We sent in the form and have heard nothing back since last November in spite of several phone calls and e mails. It hasn't put us off sailing Celebrity, but it is the first really bad customer service we have had from them.

Sheila

We have never sailed in a suite, or had a butler, so I can't comment on those, but we have found Celebrity and HAL to be very close in terms of service. We have never had a problem on either that wasn't solved quickly and to our satisfaction. Our line of choice is Celebrity, because we prefer the S class ships, but would happily sail HAL if the itinerary was right. For us, both these lines are well ahead of RCI and the other mainstream lines, although if we were traveling with children we might make a different choice.

Sheila

We have enjoyed Select Dining on three Celebrity cruises. We were always asked if we wanted to join a large table or eat by ourselves. The wait time was sometimes five minutes for a two top, but never longer than that. Generally a large table was not served until everyone was seated, but if there was a delay filling the table service began, and usually no one else was seated once the meal had started. This did leave empty seats occasionally.

Sheila

A cooked breakfast is available in all cabin classes. DH had bacon and eggs several times although I prefer the continental option. We haven't experienced the CC one yet, but understand it has more variety.

Sheila

I think that list refers to balconies on the hump with the X sign on the 'glass'. We were in 6219 on the Solstice and that had part of the X on it.(it didn't bother us)

6291 doesn't seem to be on the hump, so the obstruction, if there is one, would be the lifeboat support and the lifeboat below the balcony.

Sheila