Pinboy

23 hours ago, gold1953 said:

this is a private guarded area of Haiti, no locals allowed unless staff

That’s correct UNTIL a bunch of Thugs want to “ join “ the fun(?) and enjoy (?) a few $$(US) or a piece of jewelry or 50 while you are in the water or at the bbq.

We are wimps and will remain on board— 

Merci beaucoup (Thank You ).

10 hours ago, jelayne said:

Sounds like they have a kid with them and want to substitute a adult friend at dinner in place of the kid.

So, let me think——— They book a suite and want to have an adult eat with them in place of their child . Correct ??

Ok then— How about this :

If they can afford the suite, just pay for their friends to join them in Laminae OR get in line at GR  behind the people removing the gratuities and ask if they can swap 1 child for 2 adults in Laminae OR eat every meal with them in their Penthouse suite.

Other than that, the best option would be to speak to the Maitre’d and perhaps a few $$ ( US ) will help ?? 
( No lecture on “ bribing “ please )

KISS——— And I’m not referring to, never mind, right beside me in the Solarium— took my mind off the “ What should I eat for lunch “ decision!!

We price a cruise knowing there will be extra charges , not only Gratuities, other things as well.
Years ago I was offered a Rolex watch —the man told me it’s a real one, asked $125 — no way, so he let it go for $75– “ Boy, You are a tough negotiator “ he told me.

Here’s the answer ——2 days 

Here’s the question—— How long did it take for my wrist to turn green and the dial got stuck on 1:17 ?

So, we keep it simple—

If the price seems fair, click, done , start packing.

Its a shame that so many people have their “ X in a noose “ over gratuities and head straight to GR to remove them! 
 

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

 

From reliable sources:

Your post is dubious! 😉

 

LOL—You just insulted 9 Cabin Stewards, 4 GR Staff, 6 MDR Servers and a few Maître’ds.

The 14 guys at the golf putting tournament and 9 women waiting for Spa treatments agreed!!! 
Who knows better than them?

1 hour ago, Club Eleven said:

I'm inclined to dress to the nines no matter what, just for the fun. But still interested to know how many other passengers

Absolutely, you will look great!!
To add:

On our recent cruise ( Equinox- Feb15-24 ) we noticed a few men in tuxedos— very nice — and happy to announce that there were no men or women dressed inappropriately or not observing the Dress Code on Chic night or any other night.

Mind you, there was a lady at a nearby table — loud, rude to her Server ( Septri ) who deserved to have a bowl of soup spilled on her by “ accident “. 

On our recent cruise ( Equinox-Feb15-24) they offered a 75% discount off the 2nd passenger, a $100 per person deposit, a lower price for NR deposit, plus additional OBC depending on the cabin and number of nights of the cruise. 
You have the option of booking with the basic drink + wifi package + gratuities added at time of booking, or book only the cruise and have the gratuities added to your account daily .

Tell ‘em you heard it from me and that you promise not the remove the Gratuities, eat tooo much, not be a lounge hog , cheer like crazy when the CD shouts “ Do we have any Canadiens on board “, and that you will listen carefully to the Captain’s daily announcement of the vessel’s location and the height of the seas.

11 hours ago, kaysha2004 said:

I never prepay tips.

Go to guest services and remove the gratuities 

I'll tip if I feel like it. 
I've been giving my cruise dollars to Virgin Voyages the lastcouple of years.  

Did you read post #9 ? Ok, Good!!
So, You are the person that fits the description!!
Happy Now??
Good!!
So, stop reading/posting on Celebrity and enjoy Virgin where Gratuities are included for ALL passengers?

It saves you a trip to GR on the last night of the cruise and stand in line with others like you!!

 

From reliable sources:

Staff are notified of who/ staterooms that remove the gratuities on Day 1 “claiming “ to tip on their own—Fact is , most Don’t tip anyone !
GR will show/ give anyone a list of the distribution of gratuities.

When a Staff member receives a cash tip for their service, they keep it— doesn’t have to be pooled.

I didn’t read the attached article, only a few posts— so, here goes.

We just got off the Equinox yesterday:

Positives:

clean ship, great service throughout, Murano excellent—MDR very good, several choices—OVC( buffet ) very good, several choices— entertainment very good— Tuscan Grill AM breakfast service superb—

Negatives: 

Nothing , zero to complain about unless no appetizers at Elite HR , no welcome aboard glass of wine, or you couldn’t understand the Captain’s daily announcement of the position of the ship and / or  the height of the waves means “ anything “(?) to you.

The entire Staff works so hard to satisfy all of us, yet as evidenced on CC, there are way too many that just can’t allow themselves to be happy.

LOL— come to think of it, there were no round tomatoes at the buffet!!!

( A missed opportunity for a complimentary Specialty restaurant ) 

2 hours ago, swjumbo said:

It’s not just on board. 
There are a few culprits on here as well.

There was even someone last year who complained that her ice cream melted too quickly!!

I kid you not!

Oh Boy— now you got me going!
I just can’t imagine how, why some of the threads are posted.

The person has to think “ Holy S—t, This is serious stuff— I gotta let everyone know that there were no round tomatoes on the buffet “ !
So— that reminded another CCer —“  *****, that reminds me— they didn’t have any shredded cheese either “!

Which reminds Me— bring a knife and cheese shredder on our next cruise.

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

OP needs to look at Cruise Critic cabin reviews before deciding.

Makes very good sense— To sum up:

Don't select a cabin under the pool , the OVC ( Buffet) , the theatre or beside a cabin with a pineapple decal hanging upside down. 

 

After being in Aqua Class a few times, the 5 night Specialty restaurant package, plus a full cruise Persian Garden pass would be a better value, thus, our choice.

Please note—In Aqua the tables ( for 2 ) are very close to each other, the food and service are excellent, really nothing to complain about.

You are thinking about a cruise 1.5 years from now.

My suggestion:

What’s the rush? 
Wait until you are on your May cruise and purchase a “ Future Cruise Credit “ ( $200 —6 months to book a future cruise or you can get your money back—receive additional OBC ( amount depending on cabin accommodation and length of cruise— $100 deposit per person).

Based on our experience, it worked very well.

Another suggestion:

If you book with Celebrity, you have 90 days to transfer the reservation ( in its entirety) to Big Box Travel and receive about 8% back on a Gift Card after your cruise.

Been there, done that many times— never a problem.

1 minute ago, C-Dragons said:

I will probably regret this, but I have to ask… How would you know NMTTraveler had Playboy magazines ? 😳

LOL--- No regrets necessary--- Don't know NMTraveller --- Never met anyone on CC ( be fun to though )---

Now about Playboy magazine-----

NMTraveller said;

"Something that you could put on your coffee table"----- (assuming we have a coffee table). 

"Rather impressive --Full color photos "---- It was the first magazine that came to mind that was

 impressive and had full color photos. Holy cow, that's Marketing 411 ! 

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

The magazine was actually rather impressive.  Full color photos of the destinations.  Something that you could put on your coffee table.

" Rather impressive --Full color photos "

LOL---It would look nice right beside your Playboy magazines .

40 minutes ago, T.O.cruisers said:

on Eagle Beach.

That reminds me----

A few years ago I found a gold wedding band ( no diamonds !! ) in the sand--- no one around--- into my pocket. Back on the ship I showed it to a Jeweler --- 

" That's gotta be worth over $2000 just for the weight of the gold "

Back home--- went to sell it for the gold value---- The Jeweler did the magnet test, handed it back in less that 1 minute----- " I wouldn't give you $10 -- it's not gold ".

LOL-- I guess you get what you pay for--- Unless there are no , etc, etc on the buffet and you " report " it on CC instead of with the proper " Authorities " ( the STAFF on board ).

4 hours ago, Hydro ergo said:

I'm posting this here because it seems like all cruise lines handle ship time vs. port time differently, so I'm looking for an answer specifically for Celebrity. 

Best to double-check the Daily Program as well as the replies attached.

You don't want to " Star " in a Pier Runner video.

2 hours ago, miched said:

There is a lot more stuff but I don’t want to expose all of it. 🤷‍♂️🤗

LOL--" a lot more stuff "---- I got it--- The towels and pillows !!

You're probably the person that takes all the pens, so, that a non-suite passenger like us didn't have a friggin pen in our cabin ?? 

So, I head down to GR and the pretty 32 yr old says:

" Sorry 'bout dat. Pens are only provided in suites--- but, I can let you borrow one ". 

( " borrow one "----- She musta known we are Elite Captains Club members )

LOL-- The answer is "None"

The question is " How many pens and chocolate covered strawberries were delivered to your cabin later that day "?

3 hours ago, poffles said:

1--They don't serve a 'full' breakfast which also doesn't work for us and we ended up mostly giving this a pass.  Even without a package I'm not sure we would want to resort to this every morning for our coffee.

2--and with CAD exchange on top of that OUCH. Great to have choices.

 

Congratulations on becoming Elite ---

LOL--- When we " graduated " to Elite last year, we found out that over 80% of passengers are Elite or higher--- so much for that.

1-- What some people do ( us ) is go to the MDR instead of the " Slugfest on 14'' ( Buffet ) for breakfast, enjoy being served , then walk the deck for a while--- 6 minutes (?? ) later, go to the Elite breakfast for a " fill-up " at The Tuscan Grill--- nice plated dishes, beautiful view, great service.

2--Our Canadian exchange rate !!! ( There goes my day )-- I try to use it as an excuse to not buy something (4 Lacoste t shirts for $20 ), but how can you go wrong at that price.

( I'm the only person on our street that uses ( not wears ) Lacoste t shirts to wash the car )

Great to have choices ??? LOL---Not so fast !! Ya wanna spend the rest of the cruise etc, etc---over the exchange rate for " another " swimsuit cover-up  ??

14 hours ago, Niavlys Ruofud said:

Hi everyone, 

 

Are we allowed to bring a small handheld steamer onboard Celebrity ship?  I cant find anything about it anywhere. It is very small (12 inches or so), 1500 watts and plugs-in.  Thanks in advance for your input.  

Pas Capable--- ( Not able to )

Go Habs Go !!

6 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I've read that you have to be in the room when they do it.

What do you do while he/she is unpacking? 

" Do you mind putting my Patrick Mahomes shirt on a hanger--- He's a football player-- no in the USA we call it soccer--- Well, first one team kicks the ball--- NO, that's funny but that's not what it means, etc etc .

You're married 4 years--- very nice---  of course we would like to see pictures of your children-- HOW MANY ??  ( That's the set-up for a few $$$ )

OH Boy, we've been on lots of cruises--- Too hard to tell which was our best -- They were all very good -- Yes, the service on Celebrity has always been very good---- except for the time when our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time----- When?? I think around 1992 ?  No , I didn't complain at GR--- I'm allergic to chocolate covered strawberries "

1hr and 60 minutes later----

Isn't it much easier to unpack yourself so you don't have to do a room search for your Patrick Mahomes shirt ?

1 hour ago, Jason26 said:

Currently on the Silhouette, 10 night Southern Caribbean. Well into day 3 and I’ve noticed there is no shredded cheese on the salad buffet.  Is anyone aware of a cheese shortage?  Are cows on strike?

 

Jason

First a post ---No round tomatoes on the salad buffet !!

Now a post ---No shredded cheese on the salad buffet !!

LOL-- Why didn't you ask for some on day 1 ??

Holy S--- What's next ?? 

22 more complaints like this and I'm "jumping ship"--- ( No, not off the ship ) !!

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It was the thrill of the hunt...

 

LOL--- No disrespect--Let's stay friends--

Don't ya think there's better ( more fun ) things to enjoy the " thrill of the hunt " than getting a deal on toilet paper ???

Example---- Let's say I'm sitting in the Solarium , very few seats available, " you know who " is  in the cabin, and this beautiful 32 yr old hops onto the lounge beside me, etc, etc---

Guess what happens ???  I wake up !!

1 hour ago, mayleeman said:

@Pinboy You are correct that most of what I wrote doesn't apply directly to you, so sorry to have lumped you in.  Still, since you admitted that you can't get some complaints out of your mind, do you at least understand why I used "obsessed"?  🙃

 

But the comment you made that raising your hand and politely asking for help "works every time" was really why I wrote the extended version. We were very frustrated, very polite, and still ignored. It happens, and not just due to staff cuts recently!

No apologies necessary—Excellent points.

Agree with your frustration re poor service, especially being ignored.

“ obsessed “ ? Who me ?

You noticed ?  Ok , but only when necessary ( LOL).

Example — The “ old fart “ with the 32 yr old— holy cow — I keep wondering if —

( not really, but makes for some CC fun talking about it).

14 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

1--Both of you serm obsessed with other people's complaints, as you constantly discuss how you would have solved the problem or you ask the posters to justify what they wrote.

 2--"I'd have handled it better/I'd have solved the problem/You are just whining" and "Prove it" comments.  

With due respect--- no harsh feelings-- To explain:

 I do enjoy reading your posts and perhaps you misread or didn't understand a post of mine in the context it was written. 

1-- Not " obsessed " with anything--except maybe some of the total nonsense complaints we've all seen posted recently on CC. 

Never asked anyone on CC to "justify" anything-- might have commented or suggested what I would do, but, never asked anyone to "justify" why they did what.

2--Absolutely got the wrong person here--not one quotation applies to any post I've written.

Let's just move on--