AdventureJes

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Just so happened to walk by, yes, there’s a “cooked to order”/live pasta station and near it is a “cooked to order”/live stir-fry station.  I was on the equinox a few times including last October, they had made to order pasta back then and I believe it was open after the buffet closes at 930 

Thank you! 

Do you happen to know if the past station in the buffet is back to the old "cook to order" model?  I sailed last year and they just had pre-cooked pasta casseroles available and I really liked choosing what I wanted in my pasta dish.  They said the change was due to safety protocols so I'm curious if that has changed yet.  Thanks!

Has anyone tried this yet who had booked a guarantee room? I'm not finding pricing or even the option to select it for the itineraries that are a year out for my cruise and wonder if they have that rate blocked for a reason. I got an amazing price on a suite guarantee and would like to push it, but am not sure if I have to find something using the same rate. Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. 

Royal Caribbean announced this morning the ability to do a "Lift & Shift" of currently booked cruises allowing you to push your already booked cruise out a year. There are some restrictions as far as dates go, but it seems like it is a good option for those who booked good rates and want to keep them. I can't find if this applies to Celebrity cruises as well, but if it does I may do this instead of cancelling for the full refund. Has anyone else seen this and what are your thoughts?

I called Celebrity a few weeks ago to ask if I could get an extension on final payment as I had final payment due for a June 21st cruise. They wouldn't extend it. While I doubt the cruise will happen, I did go ahead and make final payment so I can reassess if I want the refund or FCC when they do cancel. If they don't cancel and things somehow change between now and June, I'll re-evaluate if I'm going to take the cruise closer to that time.  Had I cancelled I would have either lost my $500 non-refundable deposit or had a FCC for $500 with no way of getting the money back in my account, I had seen mixed comments about what happens to non-refundable deposits so didn't want to risk it.

I've been contemplating the exact same thing. I have the Infinity June 21 Rome-Venice booked in a suite at a very good price with a great deal of OBC and 4 perks. I have until Monday to decide if I'm going to make final payment or cancel and hope my non-refundable deposit gets converted to a FCC.  I am torn between paying and hoping for the best or cancelling and trying to book something when this is all behind us. Even if Italy is somewhat back to normal by mid-June, I'm in the US and know there is the chance that there could be travel restrictions against US travelers at that time. When all this started, I was getting emails about how they were doing more cleaning and screening, but people still got off ships and tested positive for the virus. I really wish Celebrity would push final payment to 60 days to give everyone a chance to see what happens in the next 30 days before committing. Good luck with whatever you choose.

I booked a sky suite guarantee and was assigned an accessible cabin within days of booking, my cruise is still 4 months away and there are no accessible suites available for my sailing  showing now. It doesn't make sense that Celebrity allows these to be booked or given to people who don't need them so far out and doesn't allow them to be booked. I really don't want an accessible cabin so i'm hoping to watch the cabin around final payment time to see if something else opens up, but it makes me feel ick knowing someone else could want this cabin and not be able to get it because they already assigned it. 

If you happen to move up to a higher category level, you'll get extra OBC based on what the offer was when you booked on the ship which is something to keep in mind when thinking about possibly upgrading.

Great to hear! I actually need to call and do the exact opposite of you as i booked double using TBD as person 2. As soon as I started putting the plans together, I decided I'm looking forward to sailing solo so I'm hoping to get the extra person taxes and fees removed for an upcoming trip. I'm hoping the OBC all gets combined and put under my name so this is making me feel like it shouldn't be a big deal. Fingers crossed!

That's an interesting thought process. I couldn't imagine doing that. I do like the idea of not leaving a drink unattended and think that makes sense but I couldn't imagine bring extra mens clothes. Heck, I'm already nervous about my luggage being overweight and not having someone else's bag to shove heavy shoes in. I guess if it makes her more comfortable then good for her. I have wondered if cruising alone (doing my first solo in June) will have an impact on how attentive the room steward/bartenders are, I've never really had issues in the past but it will be interesting to see.

I sailed in September and put a deposit on a future cruise. I wasn't sure when or where I wanted to go so they just put in a date a couple of years out. A few days ago I found a cruise I wanted so I called and they were able to easily switch it. When doing this, be careful as the perks will change to whatever the promotion is at the tie you switch your booking. In my case it worked out, and I ended up with more value for what the trip. Because the room was a higher category than what I initially booked I will get more OBC as well. I think because of this, I'll get a future cruise credit every time I sail just to have available, the deposit was refundable so if anything would have happened and I couldn't find something else (I don't even know if there is a time limit) I would just cancel before final payment and be whole. Worked out well for me.

@QMG I signed up for the roll call, but haven't done any looking into the meet and greet, I have cruised many times and I don't think I've ever actually been to the cruise critic meet and greets for some reason. I'm definitely hoping to get a good balance between relaxing and not having any plans and trying to hit the highlights for each of the places I'm going! I want to be careful to not feel like I need a vacation from my vacation once I get home. 

I always thought the idea of doing a solo cruise was intriguing, and I just gave into it and am so excited! I've already started reading everything I can on this board as well as other websites and can't wait!  I'll be going from Rome to Venice in June and decided to stay in hotels for a few days both before and after my cruise. I've never been to Europe so I'm a bit nervous about that, but I figure as long as I get informed ahead of time it shouldn't be a big deal. I've traveled quite a bit for work and have extended some of those trips to play tourist so this shouldn't be that much different. I figure if I was content in New York City going to dinners, shows and exploring on my own, Italy can't be that much different... or so I hope. Happy to be joining you all 🙂