vermonter16

No downside for me.  I'd grab it.  Yes, forward facing or aft facing - it is still a great convenient cabin with a large balcony.

DH and I always ate in the buffet, we did it once on our Eclipse cruise the last 2 weeks - it was a 12 day cruise...the buffet was not up to the standards we are used to.  Fortunately, we had luminae which was fantastic.  We also spent $130 in the Tuscan Grille and it was not worth $10 more.  Very disappointed and will not sail Celebrity in the forseeable future for that and other reasons.

19 minutes ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Are you seeing this happen? Is anyone verifying access? How is this possible?

I have seen this happen because I was a part of it as our friends were in the The Retreat.  We followed them up for sail away and then never went back.  I already felt funny doing that but there were not many people there and we only up there about 15 minutes or so just standing on the deck.

7 minutes ago, danogg said:

We are going on a cruise on the Equinox but are heading onward to Mexico for the remainder of the winter after we disembark.  I need to bring items for our stay in Mexico that are not permitted on the cruise such as a frying pan, chef’s knife, some food and spices, power strip and extension cord.  If I pack these items separately in my carryon and inform them of them when I embark, will they hold them for me for the cruise duration? 

They always have for us.  We've not had that many but we've had a knife, etc and you pick it up after you get off the ship or the night before.  I've had it done both ways.

I just got off a cruise where she was the CD.  She was absolutely great and EVERYWHERE!  

2 hours ago, southernbreezes said:

I really start to wonder if those who say they do not like them ever stayed in one?

Celebrity has lots of ships you do not like it sail on one of them.

After I cruised on the Edge (aqua class) in July I came home cancelled my Reflection cruise and booked Apex. But... the Sky Suite does not have it.

 

I stayed in one on the Edge back when it first came out and never again.  I'll either have to do a SV or a SS if we ever sail one of those classes of ships. 

As of right now, yes.  Here is the website:  https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise#pre-embarkation-test

Not a fan of the IVs but there must be enough people who like them for them to keep adding them.  I think for some itineraries they would work well but again, not for me.

Just to report...went through U.S. customs at about 5:45am and took about 30 minutes.  The time on the board said 10 to 15.  Nothing crazy though.

Yes, I do know about U.S. customs and actually just downloaded the new app for that (CPB MPC).  Been through several times but not since 2019.  Then when I was doing a search today, they said delays have been unusually high.  I hate to be at the airport for so long when we have a 5 hour layover in Denver....but I guess we will stick with the 3 hours'ish'.

We have an 8:40am flight tomorrow back to the States and I was just reading about backups and long security lines.  Has anyone flown recently and had an experience with this?  Was going to leave to be there 2 hours early but I am thinking now the normal 3...I guess better to be safe than sorry?  

Just now, vermonter16 said:

How do you transfer OBC into tips?  

I see it has been answered above.  Sorry, my Internet went out onboard.

On 9/14/2022 at 2:00 PM, Gordoncruickshank said:

 The crew don’t care what currency you tip in if it is GBP, US$ or Euros as they have their own ways of getting it converted into what they want although it their next few cruises are in Europe we would usually us euros for tips but they are happy with any currency.

 

for some time we have used obc to do a transfer to the Luminae as the do pool all tips there. Over the course of a week or two we are usually server at some time by every staff member there and it is easier to do it that way rather than chasing them around the restaurant with an envelope. We tell the staff and the Maitre to make sure they get it.

How do you transfer OBC into tips?  

4 hours ago, gold1953 said:

Her pre cruise test would be antigen. The other test PCR which is much more sensitive. She may not have been negative the day before but just not enough virus to show on antigen 

A PCR test could have shown she'd been positive months prior.  Took a PCR test a week before the cruise,  a rapid before we flew and then a proctored rapid 3 days later. 

In a corner 12th floor aft Sky Suite right now.... minimal noise on the balcony.... love it.

Just to update.... Eclipse has 2 of them.  They are in poor condition.... seats are loppy and the chains haven't been oiled since they apparently got them.  The rails were black.... cleaned them up the best I could.   One of them has a terrible bumpy pull....  But, they are concept 2s so they still work lol.  

18 minutes ago, snowmc said:

It was the fuel barge.  Without fuel, they can't sail.

Yes, but were the workers already on strike?  

Why did they allow the tie up in the first place when the workers were already on strike?  

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

I'm curious why you would want to spend 3x-4x as much for a PCR test when an antigen test would suffice.

Maybe unvaccinated?

11 minutes ago, djh said:

So let me get this straight, the barge company (actually it’s employees) are refusing to move the barge and holding approximately 4 to 5000 people hostage? Sounds like the law enforcement or the government better get involved soon or things might get very ugly. 

Exactly.  

Wow, that absolutely sucks for those passengers on board.  I wonder if they let them get off or if they have to just stay on the ship.

17 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

We have always bought annual policies from Allianz.  The only thing that I can say about them is that the one time I had to cancel a cruise they handled it well.

 

The main problem w Allianz is that the basic level for trip cancellation is low although you can increase it to up to $15,000.  This means that if your trip losses are more than $15,000 you are maxed out on that part of the policy and are not covered.  That is enough for me especially as I can self insure if necessary for anything more than that and my main interest is medical and evacuation.  

 

DON

I am good with the cancellation policy and saw that it could be upped.  Thanks for your input.  It definitely makes me feel better about it.  

16 hours ago, kwokpot said:

There's no need for the luggage tags to be in color. 

Normally I would agree.  But, 2 times we printed our tags in b/w and they did not wind up at our door.  We went looking in the halls and found them on another floor.

On 8/23/2022 at 1:08 PM, 3girlsmom said:

That makes sense! We usually stay within a couple blocks of the waterfront station and the dock so it’s super easy for us. 

We have a particular hotel we like as well - just not as close to the Sky Train.  We've used the Sky Train before just not from the airport since it is just a wee bit too far.

Thanks for the advice.  I am thinking about getting an annual plan through Allianz as I am more concerned about trip interruption, delay, etc. and they seem to provide a decent amount.  And I could just use that for our trip in January next year to an all inclusive.  Like I said, normally I buy a plan specifically for the trip as I did with Steve at the Trip Insurance Store for one in November of 2023....but this one just didn't seem like it needed a full plan.  I am more concerned about trip delay and interruption, etc with Covid and the airlines.