AnnaNicole

Inventory management. On the HAL cruise we were told it was oversold and asked to switch ships and departure port. They offered to upgrade us to a suite and offered $1000 cash. We declined because the ship we were booked on sailed out of Norfolk and the proposed cruise was out of NYC. This was the day before the cruise and my husband didn't want to take the drive after working all day. I forget what we were offered on the RCCL cruise. It was a sweet deal. We did not accept it because we preferred the itinerary we booked. The TA told us the cruiselines will go down a list offering huge incentives until the meet capacity.

Sure there is a such thing as oversold. Twice we were offered HUGE incentives to change ships and itinerary. Once by RCCL and once by HAL.

We were on the Solstice Sept 24 cruise. We had Prime Rib the first night. It was good. Not great. I enjoyed it. I ordered the Beef Wellington with a side lobster tail. Both were awful. The beef was tough and flavorless. I could tell right away it was not tenderloin. I had no idea they changed it to strip loin. Makes sense. The lobster tail was tough, rubbery, and overcooked.

Years ago, we did a 14 day RT San Diego to Hawaii (stopped in Ensenada) on the Infinity. We had one of the triple sized balcony cabins. It was perfect for the three of us (DD was 10 yo). It was by far one of our favorite cruises. Hopefully, they will restart these cruises as we are interested in doing another one.

Did you have the all inclusive package already included in your fare? If so, did they waive the upgrade charge?

Have you tried an Express Deal from Priceline or Hotwire? You can select cruiseport area. I saw some great deals for our FLL December cruise.

It is Celebrity's casino club.

I would try another rep. FWIW, I was able to get a discount from Celebrity's Blue Chip Club on a non-alcoholic package for my husband.

Yes, you have to call them. They can also book excursions, dining, etc. I am not sure of the BCC discount on those items.

If you are a member of the Blue Chip Club (sign up, if not) you can get at least a 15% discount. I just added a Premium Alcohol Package to my reservation for only $60/night plus gratuities (total $72). If I booked via online cruise planner, it would have been $75.99 plus gratuities (total $91). The online planner was discounted 9% from $84 to $75.99. The BCC discounted 28.5% from $84+ gratuity to $60+ gratuity! Huge difference.

Thanks for sharing. We have this cabin booked for our December cruise. I was thinking about upgrading to Aquaclass and switching to one of the angled balconies due to the privacy issue. Glad to hear privacy is not an issue, afterall. Unfortunately, I cannot see the pics you posted.

We had the same experience on Solstice recently. If I did not specifically state the wine, water, etc, they gave me a Classic Package beverage instead of a premium package beverage. I upgraded to Premium because I drink Evian water and Decoy red wine at home. Evian was not available on Solstice during my cruise.

Do you know if this is true for cruises of 5 nights too?

Agree with above. Check your luggage, if you do not need it. Passengers toting luggage around the ship can be annoying to other passengers.

I am honest, but very positive on surveys. I will rate something a 10 even if it is an 8 or 9. On my recent cruise survey, I did not share the sommelier spilled an entire glass of water on my husband (He had to go change his pants. It looked like he peed himself. LOL) because accidents happen and the sommelier was otherwise excellent in his service. I did share that the guest service rep was rude, unhelpful, and embarrassed me over a credit that was not applied. She refused to apply it even though I provided proof. I had to politely insist based on her attitude and the principle of it. Pick and choose what you share based on the overall experience.

We got off the ship around 8:15am on Oct 1. We only waited in the taxi queue for a few minutes. It cost $63 to go to LAX. It was really fast because we got dropped off at arrivals (no traffic) and took the escalator up to departures.

Do you know if SV aft cabin 8355 has the bed by the balcony?

If I pre-book and prepay specialty dining reservations, are they refundable up to sailing? After sailing? The verbiage indicates they are not refundable, but I believe that is after sailing. Can someone confirm the policy, please? TIA

Probably an issue for some people due to the steep decline in testing sites. Online sites should help mitigate the problem. Many older people are uncomfortable using the online sites.

bcc blue chip club, the casino

Yes. You can get a 15% discount by purchasing drink packages through BCC. I did so for my mexican riviera cruises and the BCC rep reminded me when he booked our caribbean cruise today.

Dispute the charge on your credit card. You will be asked to provide documentation. Celebrity will be asked their side. I had to do this for a medical bill. We were overcharged the estimate and the medical outpatient facility was refusing to refund us after insurance paid for the whole procedure. Said they did not owe us. I provided the credit card company with all of the documentation and the charge was reversed.

Have a wonderful trip!!

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