Dd3thomas

23 hours ago, prmssk said:

That is an old list.  Concierge no longer gets priority anything.

 

Here is a link to Celebrity's page regarding Concierge Staterooms with the current benefits (scroll down a bit):  https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/concierge-class-stateroom

Thanks for the info!

Can anyone confirm this perk list for Concierge Class on Apex (Edge Class ships): Mostly trying to confirm the priority check in and debarkation - and does the priority debarkation also happen at each of the ports with tenders?

Perks (as listed on Cruisedeckplans.com)

Concierge / Priority Check In / Priority Luggage Delivery / Priority Debarkation / Afternoon Canapes / Complimentary Shoe Shine / Fresh Fruit / Fresh Flowers / Welcome Champagne / Priority Dining Reservations / Thick Cotton Robes / Pillow Menu / Celebrity eXhale custom premium mattresses / Interactive Samsung flat-screen television system / Complimentary tote bag / Upgraded room service menu / Use of binoculars and golf umbrella / Hansgrohe massaging shower-head / Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge / Extra hand-held hair dryer / NEW dedicated onboard concierge desk, concierge service available during check in, exclusive destination seminar, exclusive welcome aboard lunch in main dining room from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. /

@Mercruiser and @Petoonya 

That is what we did, original Tahiti cruse for Jan 7th, 21 and got cancelled so we went to Maui instead and had a wonderful time.  We stayed at the Wailea Marriott and it was almost like having the resort to ourselves. Weather, staff were exceptional.  We traveled all over the island exploring and did some excisions - sunset sail/whale watching, Lahaina, etc.  Rented a Jeep, did the best Road to Hana trip - no buses, crowds, could stop wherever we wanted. Some restaurants were still closed and the open ones were at reduced capacity so we just made sure to have dinner reservations in advance.  Flight to Maui was about 60% full but way back to US was 100%.  We got our covid test done at the airport and used the Hawaii Safe Travels site with no difficulty.  It wasn't Tahiti but a fabulous trip none the less.

I ended up rebooking Jun 10th last week. Even though the price was higher, they honored my original booking price. The gentleman I was working with did suggest us booking June/July or later. Wonder if he knew this was announcement was coming?

On 10/10/2020 at 7:05 PM, Petoonya said:

This is for @Dd3thomas too. I wish like heck you didn't cancel and maybe you haven't as yet? There's a poster on the WS board who sails in January and spoke to a WS rep who gave her a great offer. She can switch to any other 2021 cruise for same price and any extra amenities WS had given her. If that interests you please check out the WS board....the poster lists her email. My sailing is 4/29 and that's the date I'd like but could change to whatever....

Thanks again Petoonya for this info. Got everything rescheduled today. WS did great by us and honored our original price, added some great perks and moved us to June 10th sailing. This date allowed us to switch our AA air to PPT and United back and only cost us $54 total in fair difference. 

We are biting the bullet and rescheduling our current Jan 7^th, 2021, 7 day Tahiti cruise on Wind Spirit for later in the year. Thought about canceling the cruise and still go for a island hopping visit but the Windstar staff is being awesome about switching dates and mentioned that in Nov of 21, the Breeze will be there.

That got us thinking, do we reschedule Apr-Oct on Spirit or wait and try Breeze? This will be our first Windstar cruise and first time in Tahiti. Looking for feedback on what people’s opinions are on the two ships – Pro’s/Con’s – which is the best for that area/cruise?

Please let us know what you find out. I think you and I both have about 6-7 weeks before we have to make a final payment or cancel for Jan 21 cruise.

On 10/10/2020 at 7:05 PM, Petoonya said:

This is for @Dd3thomas too. I wish like heck you didn't cancel and maybe you haven't as yet? There's a poster on the WS board who sails in January and spoke to a WS rep who gave her a great offer. She can switch to any other 2021 cruise for same price and any extra amenities WS had given her. If that interests you please check out the WS board....the poster lists her email. My sailing is 4/29 and that's the date I'd like but could change to whatever....

Thanks Petoonya!  I have not canceled my reservation yet.  We really, really want to go and have the cruise, even being the first ones and the safety protocol being high with masks, distancing, etc.  It's really Windstar and if they will cancel.  If they do I just don't want it to be at the last minute after I have it non-refundable or cancelation penalties period for some things like pre/post hotels.

I found the post you mentioned about them honoring your price for future bookings.  The same poster was the one that helped me get my final payment date extended until 30 days out.  It's good information to know and I already have the WS contact that helped me last time.  That could be a good option because I was worried I would not be able to find anything close to the same deal I have now without a big increase in cost.

My drop dead decision point is basically Dec 1st.  1. We move forward, pay in full and cross our fingers. 2. Pull the plug on cruise and do a land based vacation during the same time. But now we may have an option 3 - to PIF and reschedule later in the year with them honoring our initial price IF it is canceled by WS.

4 hours ago, Mercruiser said:

My "Plan B" is to go to Bora Bora and Moorea and stay at a resort, for free, using hotel frequent guest points. I already have this booked. The advantage of this over a cruise is no money down and I can cancel a week ahead and still get my points back.

I'm kind of in same situation, except we are on the very first Jan 7th, 2021 cruise.  Got a great price on the cruise, still only have the deposit paid.  With a tip from someone on the boards, I contacted Windstar and they extended my final payment date until 30 days before sailing.  That was suppose to give late Oct and Nov to see how things were going on the first few cruises and make sure they weren't going to stop them or FP shut down again.  

I'm still on the fence.  Looking at backup Plan B similar to yours.  I've been watching some of the other travel boards and the land base vacations are starting to be hit or miss.  People are reporting that even if you can get all the testing done to meet the time and government standards, get to Tahiti, that Air Tahiti has been canceling a good amount of inter island flights and some people have been stranded.  

I basically have to Dec 1st to decide........

16 hours ago, aururab said:

There is a thread on another major travel forum where people discuss more land based trips where many outline places they have been able to get tested in time for anywhere between nothing and $250. Many insurance companies cover a portion of the costs as well. 

Aururab, can you help with what site/forum that is?  I'm struggling to find a place in Phoenix, AZ that can get results back in time AND on the Tahiti Gov approved list. I've made dozens of calls and emails and no luck yet. My plan A right now for our Jan cruise is to fly out to LAX 2 days early and use the lab on the Air Tahiti Nui site in Hollywood. That's 2 extra nights in LA area on top of testing cost.  Looking for a new plan A.

On 8/30/2020 at 12:06 PM, Jojo Inferno said:

@Dd3thomas my husband and I were on the last planned Tahiti cruise for 2020, setting sail on the 28th. We are now scrambling to decide if we will do a cabin charter or scrap the whole trip. What catamaran's are you considering?

 

We're eyeing the Bora Bora Dream 8 Days via Dream Yacht Charter, but making it in and our of Raiatea with luggage (I'm planning to bring my SUP) adds another whole level of logistics.

I'm still researching, saw the same Dream Yacht Charters as an option.  Also found some possibilities (not checked deeper into or reviews yet) on  12knots, tahititoursme.com, and poseidoncharters.com.

This would be our first time going to Tahiti and most of the yacht cabin rentals leave from the outlining islands.  You may already know but I discovered that Air Tahiti has multi-island pass options that appear to be about the same or less than what I was looking at for just PPT to Bora Bora round trip.

2 hours ago, susiesan said:

Thomas: which hotel are you staying at with hotel points? 

Pre cruise we have the Intercontinental by the airport booked. I couldn’t find anything on Tahiti to use Marriott points for but you can go to www.useaamiles.com and use American Airline miles to book a hotel. Both my husband and I travel for work so we had lots of miles. I used AA miles for the airfare to PPT (Air Tahiti Nui is not part of the alliance but are partners) and the pre cruise hotel.

We used Marriott points for Bora Bora (St. Regis) and splurged for an over the water bungalow the one night in port and used activities.marriott.com to book a half day lagoon sail. Return flight we used a United points.
All things considered, the Windstar cruise is the only thing we are paying money for so far, and that was super discounted. We expected to book other excursions but I have not researched any other stops.

I am finding a few 5-10 day “rent a cabin” on catamaran cruise that could be an interesting backup.

3 hours ago, susiesan said:

D3thomas: have you asked Windstar for a delay in making the final payment so you have time to see how things are going? I am on the cruise after yours, Jan. 14, and I don't have to make the final payment until Dec. 15.

I did, they extended by final payment date till Dec 5th.  We also used points for airfare and can get them back without penalty. I used our hotel perk for pre cruise room with no down payment and can cancel all the way up to 72 hours prior with no penalty. My pre booked Bora Bora excursion was done through Marriott Activities, again no worries, all refundable.   We REALLY want to go, even if they cancel the cruise and Tahiti stays open. 
You make great points about the rebooking and cost.  We got an amazing price as well and can’t get that later on in the year.

I guess I will start researching backup options Just in case and be try and have patience to see what happens.  At 30 days out we will know more.

Well I am conflicted.  We are on the Jan 7th, Tahiti Cruise, IF they sail, we would be the first ones. This would be first time to Tahiti and we have never sailed Windstar before so we wouldn’t have anything to compare it too as far as pre/post sailing quality and any restrictions they put in place. Was really hoping that the fall sailings would give them time to work out the kinks and they would have everything figured out by Jan.
I guess I will start looking at backup plans to just fly to Tahiti and island hop, see what that looks like or options to reschedule later in the year? Maybe being the first and nothing to compare it to wouldn’t be that bad? It’s just a lot of $ to sit on hold, waiting on an IF? This was scheduled as a big special birthday, once in a lifetime type of vacation. Not sure what to do, keep date and island hop on my own, hope the cruise happens and be the guinea pig - advice please.

We have used Viator in Italy and in Taiwan.  Multiple times on each vacation.  Always been a great experience and the quality of the tours were top notch.  It also looks like Marriott has teamed up with Viator on their activities.marriott.com site.  Prices of the tours are the same on either site but when you book on the Marriott activities site, you earn Marriott points that go to free night stays.

We were able to use points to get to Tahiti and only needed to pay for the way back.  UA from PPT to SFO $200 one way for Jan 2021.

48 minutes ago, lamo0050 said:

Ugh! This is so disappointing. We are doing a family cruise and now 2 rooms are Haven and 1 is a Suite so we can no longer enjoy the same amenities together. And of course the prices have gone up significantly to switch to a Haven cabin so we can all be together.

Will be interesting to see what the differences are in the Suite amenities vs what they previously were as Concierge.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I wonder if you could call NCL and explain, especially since you booked prior to the category change and see if they will upgrade the 3rd cabin? Or allow them to have the same amenities as the other two? You want the family to be able to do things together and the way it was booked, you all were the same. You don’t want to leave one cabin out.

We sail Nov 14th, was a CA 14778, now shows HI. From what my agent said and the web, looks like they only made the CA (now HI) and CB (now HJ) cabins Havens so added a total of 30 additional Haven cabins. CC, CF are now penthouse SC and family SP suites. The mini suites MA are now broken into 2 - M4 Fam Club balcony suite and MA Club balcony suite. 

1 hour ago, tpfelt said:

Can anyone give me information of the ones we were 10700 on the Joy. The Layout? Thanks!

I can’t find anything specific for Joy, but these are pictures of the Bliss, 11700 (listed as sister ship)and the same category. Might be similar?

On 4/3/2020 at 7:01 AM, Norwayrider said:

It is not a free site, are the deck plans more detailed than you find on the net? Im a litt hesitant to pay something I dont know what is..

Sorry, there is a members and non member site, the public site has 70% the same info. https://cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/cruiseline.php?line=Norwegian

44 minutes ago, Wendy&Grumpy said:

 

It appears they're doing exactly the opposite. CA & CB are being reclassified to Haven (HI & HJ I think) and CC & CF are being reclassified as Suites (SC & SP).

I had not been following anything cruise related the last 6 weeks but just signed onto my account. We sail Nov 14th, and had a CA suite, my reservation is now saying Haven, HI category for our cabin now!!!! 

There are pictures from May 2019 showing a CA cabin with no pillar. From what I can tell, I think the CC and CB’s have the pillar and the CA’s do not, but don’t know for sure. Is there a specific cabin number you are interested in?   Also says this, “Category CA is 420 square feet, CB is 355 square feet, CD and CE are 269 square feet.”

Here is a video link for a CB cabin 14796.

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/youtube.php?id=11256

We will be traveling next November on the Joy in a CA cabin.  Some people have posted pictures and videos on this site of the CA, CB and CC cabins on deck 14.  Hope this helps.

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Norwegian-Joy

Thank you all for the info!