kiwichick62

3 hours ago, KiwiCruiser59 said:

Kia ora kiwichick62! Thanks very much for your reply.

We got a great deal for our back-to-back cruise through Vacations2go but never saw any Sales on beverage packages, etc.

5% discount was what was available on the Celebrity website, which seems a little tight...even though it was promoted as a "Sale." As far as the Specialty Dining, the last time we were on the Equinox, we had a number included in our cruise fare...not anymore, apparently... AND now, it's more expensive. I'll see what they say when I call them.

We're from Roto'Vegas and looking forward to escaping the early Winter!    

Have a fantastic time KiwiCruiser. Ours is a Baltics cruise 24th of May.  We are flying out Sunday night as we have a Rhine River cruise first.  Flying Emirates so it is 17 hours to Dubai - 3 hours layover - 7 hours to Zurich.  😱

Sorry, I see you are sailing soon so much of what I posted wont apply.

We booked our up coming cruise online a year ago.

Upgrading from classic to premium beverage package.  We paid for an upgrade on the website.  Months later there was a 50% off sale.  We cancelled our first upgrade then purchased again at 50% off, again on the website.  Same as shore excursions, we rebooked when there was a 40% off sale.

Cruise fare - there were big price drops months after we booked.  Phoned Celebrity and they repriced our cruise for us twice - saved us thousands.  You can do this before final payment is made.

Specialty dining - the website says it is cheaper to buy before you get on board so who knows.  On full sailings specialty dining can get booked out.

Where are you from to?  🙂

Thank you for your replies, very helpful.  🙂

If we play the casino slot machines on our Baltics cruise do the machines accept notes and if so do we need US dollars to play them.  If we don't have cash do we need to get cash out onboard or use our sea pass that charges our credit card? (5% fee for doing this?)

Many thanks.

Keep an eye on the fares you have booked.  If the price drops for the same cabin category booked phone Celebrity, they will reprice your fare if you have not made final payment.  You keep any cruise bookings already made such as dining, excursions or all inclusive packages.  I did this twice for my upcoming cruise and saved thousands.  The only thing I lost was $50 onboard credit.  

3 hours ago, Nauty said:

I also purchased Premium Access for an upcoming cruise. Just completed the online check-in and there’s no indication on our Xpress Passes that we have this. We’re still 45 days out from the cruise so luggage tags are not available yet. It remains to be seen if it will be on there once the docs are ready. In any case, could it be because guests still have the option to cancel the package until a few days before the cruise? That’s just my guess.

I purchased the pass when it was first on sale.  My Xpress pass has a key icon next to my club membership level.  This is for my cruise 24th of May.

Basic  wifi, one device is available in the celebrity app. $18 USD a day.

3 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

We lerrrrve Murano.  This one we have done previously.  
LCG was pretty good.  I will come back with more details in the morning.

We are getting ready to catch Captain Kirk’s performance in the theater.🤩

He sings and plays the guitar.

Thanks again.  We will be on the silhouette late next month and have booked for Murano and LCG.  
 

Have fun on your cruise. 🛳️

Great post thanks.  I will be interested to hear about Lawn Club Grill and Murano.  🙂

Thought this was going to be another negative cruise review.....

On 3/30/2024 at 1:10 PM, catspaw1 said:

Thanks Kiwi. We sailed with a lot of Kiwis & they always told us how beautiful NZ is. Can we get around as an independent traveler without renting a car? Driving on the left is hard for me. The cruise sounds great. We thought we would get a one way cruise & see NZ by ourselves after the cruise 

Hi Catspaw, I think it would be difficult to travel independently without renting a car.  Maybe someone else here has experience with this? 

3 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

Southernmost on TripAdvisor they say the good places to see NZ are further from the cruise port. Their advice was to take a land tour. We want to go to NZ also so would like to hear comments about this. We have never taken a European cruise as I can't imagine going to Rome for a few hours! We spent 5 days there on our own & didn't see everything 

A cruise around NZ is a nice introduction and many attractions are reachable from cruise ports.  We did a 14 day cruise from Auckland to Sydney in 2019 and enjoyed seeing our country in a different way to road trips.  I do recommend land tours for the South Island for visiting places like Queenstown.  Also highly recommend the various tourist train trips available for seeing some great scenery.

Welcome to Auckland!  Turned the sun on for your arrival. ☀️ but watch out for showers later this afternoon.  🌦️

Expect most shops (stores) to be closed Good Friday and Easter Monday.  As mentioned it is a four day holiday so there will be locals out and about enjoying the good weather.

Hope you will enjoy your time here in New Zealand, hopefully we can turn on some fine weather for you.  Looks like you will be here for Easter - a 4 day holiday in NZ.  Note that most shops are closed on Easter Sunday.  Have a great cruise, I will be following along.

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Unless they changed it the description said priority access to terminal, not boarding.  In the info it suggests selecting a boarding that would allow you to be on board for the lunch.

From Premium Access FAQ -

Q: What if the early arrival window is not available
when I check-in?

A: Look for signs with the Premium Access logo for
priority boarding and proceed through the
check-in process.

Q: If early access is not available, does Premium
Access include priority boarding?

A: Yes, look for signs with the Premium Access logo for
priority boarding.
 

Priority access is also a perk for people with a Premium Access pass.

Small servings for such big plates.  If those are servings for adjults I wonder what their childrens menu portions are like.  🤔

Did you make it to the gym or did you head back to Al Bacon?  🍰

Al Bacio will be forever known to me as Al Bacon.  I am sure to confuse DH when I tell him I want to go to Al Bacon for a coffee.  

How was the Pad Thai?

8 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

thank you! There is no OBC on the 2 cruises I have booked in 2025, so nothing to lose if I call to reprice. I just wanted to make sure they don't charge for repricing as if it were a "cancellation and rebooking".

No charge was involved.  I have learned that you need to keep an eye on prices yourself as Celebrity won't tell you if the price drops.  😂  I booked on their website so I was able to phone them.  I guess if someone uses a travel agent they need to get the agent to call.

11 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

it was! I just checked my 2025 cruise and it's $300 cheaper. So, I can call and reprice, even with a NR deposit, right? They are not going to cancel and rebook, are they?

I saved thousands repricing my cruise twice before final payment. All it took was phoning them, they did not cancel and re-book my cruise.  Kept my AI package, extras I had paid for and state room but lost my $50 OBC.  This was with a NR deposit.

Thanks for the menus and food pics.  Gives me a good idea of serving sizes and if I should order two entrees if I am very hungry.  I am eating carefully to lose a few kilos before my May cruise but once on board all bets are off. 😂

We upgraded to premium during a 50% off sale . Think 50% off is as low as they go.  They can have random sales for specific cruises so you need to keep a frequent eye out.  As Liao mentioned, buy now, cancel then buy at the lower price if you see a better sale later on.

Your live reporting is fantastic and fun to follow thanks.  Looking forward to your reports for this cruise.  Have a great time.