doug52

A quick update to the post above about calling at final payment and getting an upgrade.  So, obviously this policy can change at any time.

But for me at the two month before the cruise this last February, I called in to book excursions and I asked the PG customer rep if I could get an upgrade quote and she informed me to call in when we reached the 30 day ahead of the cruise.  

Now, you should probably ask at final payment, again at the 2 month mark when you can book excursions, and at the 30 day mark.  Who knows when they will allow it in the future.

Doug

6 minutes ago, JinxyB said:

I did a mock booking of our sailing, and all of the lower cost insides/window rooms are sold out….will they discount the balcony rooms closer to sailing? Or do they just drop the prices for local residents to sell out the ship?

We are booked on the 10 day cruise coming up at the end of this month.  At 30 days ahead of the departure date I contacted PG to ask about upgrades from our window cabin to a balcony.  I was given the opportunity to upgrade to a C level balcony from our E level Window cabin for $1250 per person.  So, we took the upgrade and are looking forward to a balcony.  You do need to wait until exactly 30 days before your departure date to contact PG either directly or through your Travel Agent.

Good luck!

Doug

Excellent recap Jerry.  Will be on the PG in less than 30 days and just got the opportunity to upgrade to a balcony cabin for a great price.!

Doug

Well, if you ever want to get bourbon that you can't find in the states, go visit Gulu at 76  Front street in St Maartin.  He has a great selection of high end bourbons, where I bought the Blanton's Gold when we visited there on the Edge.  Will be going back in '25 on the Ascent. 

And since I was last there in '19, he has opened a bar across the street where you can try before you buy.  My friend did that a few months ago, and he ended up buying a Blanton's Black after trying it at the bar first.

I am still hoarding a bottle of Blantons Gold I got in St Martin a few years ago.  Open it only for special occasions  as my Son also loves it and would help me finish it off in no time.

2 minutes ago, fac429 said:

This doesn't make much sense to me either, but even less sense that the Blanton's was only $18 by comparison??  Was Cuervo also $7 more than Patron??

I didn't understand their pricing either but it didn't stop me from having Blanton's at $3 over premium package versus the other less expensive bourbons like Eagle Rare at $8 or more over premium allowance. Gift horse concept.

6 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Perfect, I will be there or World Class Bar mostly.  Not a fan of martini bar, I know many are but if i get a martini its the classic one and even then it needs to be made correctly.  

Saulo was the head bartender at World Class, makes great drinks including an excellent unique Old Fashioned. When we were there he was one of three bartenders that were making their own cocktail as part of a fleet wide contest.  We got to try his cocktail, forget what he called it, but I am sure you could ask him to make it if he is still there.

2 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Which bars had it, I am on silhouette on my next 2 cruises, also the Ta in April, Ill be very happy if I can find Blantons in general

Craft social has all the premium bourbons including Blantons, Eagle Rare, E H Taylor and Old Forrester 1920.

 And a great head bartender. Forget his name,

but he is middle eastern.

And, the Ensemble lounge also had a great head bartender that keeps fever tree tonic in the back. Tip him well and he takes care of you. Also brought out Luxardo cherries for old fashions.

Great ship for bars.

I had Blanton's on the Silhouette last April on our Transatlantic cruise.  It was a $3 upcharge over the premium package.  Definitely the best deal over the other whiskeys that were priced over the drink package, including the Eagle Rare.

Here's an alternative to the pricing of the IT that I have reserved for our trip next April.  It is called Pension de la Plage, a  small hotel relatively close to the airport.  It gets OK reviews on TA and the cost for one night is about $120.  Now the reason this place is appealing is their check in time is 11am.

They do have a pool and the beach is a block away.  

I have not stayed there but you can read the reviews on TA.

Good luck,

Doug

And, since we stay on the ship for the next cruise we are in an Aqua cabin.  And Blu also shows for this 10 day cruise:

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Prime Rib  - Lobster Tail

And, still show NY Strip for everyday classics. No beef wellington.

Looks like we will get plenty of beef on our total 23 nights on board.  Now, hopefully the quality is there.

Doug

Well, unless our menu is wrong, on the Silhouette Luminae menu from April TA out of the first 10 nights they show:

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Short Ribs  -N Y Strip   - Butter poached Lobster  

No Beef Wellington but several Veal dishes which I love as well.

Doug

On 8/4/2022 at 3:34 PM, jerryd1 said:

I believe we had  fun doing small group dinners, LCR games, a scavenger hunt, looking for the best Tapas in Barcelona,  and other fun and games with you guys and the CC group on the Reflection in the spring of  2017.   That was our first TA and we've done 4 more since then.   

 

Might that be you somewhere in this picture?   😉

Thanks for the memories. I see Mark and Connie and Linda and me at the back end of this table. We are going on another TA next spring on the Silhouette. We love TA's as well, looking forward to our second one.

Doug

2 hours ago, D C said:

I really don't think Celebrity has a clue what "Customer facing" means when it comes to invoices.  Would it be THAT hard to spell out what the cryptic codes mean?

They used to, but this was all they would direct me to now.  Hopefully if enough people complain, they will put it back on their invoice.

Doug

I also had the same question a few weeks ago about our booking as I did not see any mention of the all included benefits listed on our invoice.  I had our TA call Celebrity and they directed me to the code shown on our invoice:

LOCLXALLINC NRD.

Doug

Like everyone else, our Bistro reservations disappeared from our Dine my Way booking for our Oct 30th Majestic cruise.  So, everyday I have been checking and this morning the reservation is back for our cruise.  

Everyone following this thread should check their reservations, hopefully Princess has it fixed for everyone.

Doug

I like this change! After canceling our October Star Breeze cruise, I signed us up for the 20 night combo 7 night Society Islands with the Pacific crossing next April.  We save $10 pp per day on laundry(free laundry  included over 15 days) and get the all in for $10 less pp per day. Bring on the drinks and clean clothes :).

Now, if it will only continue to improve in FP.

Doug

Agree, I cancelled our October cruise last month and got a full refund.

Will look to do this cruise again sometime in the future...

We are arriving two nights before our cruise and taking the ferry over to Moorea to stay.  Its not a bad idea to get in early.  Not sure about ATN's history, we took it once before and it was fine.

French Polynesia has now joined Greece allowing independent excursions at the various ports, see below from their Website:

Exceptions where guests are allowed ashore to explore on their own: Greece and French Polynesia/Tahiti.

Now, can start looking into private excursions for our upcoming trip in October. Just hope this doesn't change back.

Doug

Shirley,  please join our small roll call for this cruise.

Doug

That's good to hear.  We have booked our first two Windstar cruises for this October to French Polynesia and next May to Alaska on the Sea  Breeze.  And, I am still concerned for both, but especially this October's cruise.

Customer service is more important than almost anything relating to a cruise in my opinion.  And, Windstar gets such high marks from almost everyone here on CC. 

Thanks for your comments.

Doug

Windstar Star Breeze 11 night Society Islands/Tuamotu islands   October 17,  2021. Plus two nights at the Sofitel Moorea prior and one night after at Manava on Tahiti.

While we prefer private excursions,  we will put up with Windstar excursions to just get back to cruising.  Looking forward to comparing Windstar's totally renovated motor cruise ship to the fabulous Paul Gauguin we traveled on a few years ago.

...cruisers would ride or is it beggars?

Great news, thanks!