Stupot74

Thankyou all, I just called Celebrity and the agent confirmed that the children get the Zero Proof Drink Package as part of the all-included fare.

We have booked all-included, and adults have upgraded to the Premium Drink Package.

Do the children get the Zero Proof Drink Package automatically,  or does this package have to be purchased?

If the package isn't automatic or purchased, does every kid's drink get charged to the account?

So  I received a reply from Celebrity to my enquiry:

We hope this email finds you well!

Since one adult is on each reservation, kindly note that we will require the information below for the reservation in which the Non-Legal Guardian will travel with the minor. However, if one parent or legal guardian is next to the cabin they are staying there will be no need for the information below.

Passport or the child's birth certificate (original, a notarised copy or a certified copy).
Visa for child if applicable.
Original notarised Letter of Permission signed by at least one of the child's parents/legal guardians to be kept with the child.
Copy of signed & notarised Letter of Permission to be handed in when boarding.
Notarised copy of Proof of legal guardianship or parents (consists of official, court-issued legal documents that show the minor's name and identify that the adult signing the Letter of Permission is their legal guardian. E.g. child's birth certificate.

So I guess, I won't need the Letter of Permission, because my partner who is the parent, will be staying in an adjoining cabin.

I've had so much contradictory advice (both here and on another forum) that I'm just going to get the formed signed by both the travelling parent and the non-traveling parent.

I have had no advice from Celebrity directly.

I have made up kind of a cover story so hopefully it will all stay as a surprise until embarkation.

If all this paperwork is required, I do wonder what happens when the non-traveling parent is dead - does one have to bring a death certificate as well to prove that they can't sign the form?

37 minutes ago, prmssk said:

I understood that one custodial parent is going on the cruise (just officially booked in a different but adjoining cabin).  But I agree there is some confusion on that.

This is correct.

In one stateroom is booked a custodial parent and one child, and in an adjoining stateroom is booked a non-custodial adult (me) and the other child.

We plan for one adult and one child to actually swap once we are on board, so that the adults and children will sleep in separate staterooms. I'm not so worried about the permissibility of that.

My main concern is about getting on the ship in the first place. In the Celebrity booking system we have two separate bookings. An agent at the embarkation port may look at the booking for my stateroom, see that the child and I have different surnames, and ask for a 'Letter of Permission'.

3 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

If you have connecting cabins, and a parent of both children  is sailing, there’s no reason you could not have booked the adults in one cabin and the two children in the other. This would also make it simpler to deal with alcohol beverage packages.

 

in any case, if it’s possible, the parent sailing should get documentation of the non-sailing parent’s permission for the children to go.

The Celebrity website does not allow me to book a stateroom with no adults in it, whether or not the staterooms are connected.

11 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

While I generally agree the notary letter is a good idea I do believe the who is sleeping in which cabin is a non issue here.   Celebrity would all the 2 adults to be booked in 1 cabin with the 2 minors in the other since they are connecting.   The issue about parental permission should be mute since the parent is boarding with the minors.

 

Let's remember here 1 of the adults is the parent of the minor.

This is from Celebrity's Terms & Conditions.....

Guests who do not meet the age requirement will not be assigned to a stateroom unless accompanied in the same stateroom by an adult meeting the age requirement. This age limit will be waived for children sailing with their parents or guardians in connecting staterooms. A guest’s age is established as their age upon the first day of sailing.

Connecting staterooms are counted as different staterooms for this policy, except for minors sailing with their parents or legal guardians in adjacent staterooms. Adjacent staterooms are staterooms that are physically directly next door or directly across the hall – the doors to the staterooms have to be in the same hallway as one another.

......

Adults who are not the parent or legal guardian of any minor aged 17 or under travelling with them are required to present the minor’s valid passport and applicable visa (or for domestic Australian sailings a certified copy of minor’s birth certificate) and 1 original legally affirmed or notarised letter signed by at least one of the minor’s parents/legal guardians along with 1 copy of the legally affirmed or notarised letter. The letter must authorise the travelling adult to take the minor on the specified cruise and must authorise the travelling adult to supervise the minor, sign applicable sports waivers and permit any medical treatment that must be administered to the minor which in the opinion of the treating doctor needs to be carried out without delay.

My question is: Am I still required to carry a permission letter as specified by the third paragraph, despite the provisions of the first two paragraphs?

3 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Unless there is a reason getting a letter would be difficult, I would just get the notarized letter just in case.  I would not feel comfortable with an answer from a customer service rep or from a social media sight. 

Ok story time.......

We had originally booked just a single stateroom.

However I was never comfy with the 4 of us sharing a room, so I upgraded us to 2 interconnecting rooms. The girls know, but if possible I want this to remain a surprise for my partner when we get on the ship.

My problem is that my partner is the legal parent and I am not, and I would need her to sign the paperwork. And that will cause inevitable questions and probably give the game away.

Perhaps I should frame it as "Please sign this form......this will just give me permission to do things with the girls on the ship without you having to be there......."

51 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

That shouldn’t be a problem. As long as there is a legal adult booked in A room with a minor, their requirement has been met. In my daughter’s case she was booked into a room with her stepsister’s stepdad. Her stepsister was booked into a room with her mother. Once on board, mom and stepdad took one room stepsister and my daughter took the adjoining room. Adult relationship to the minors were never asked for/about. 

I suppose my question boils down to: Does the other legal adult (ie person over 18 / 21 but not a parent or guardian) booked in the room with the other minor, require the 'Letter of Permission' form.

Sorry if I'm labouring this point....

I have emailed Celebrity with this question - no reply as yet.

4 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

When we sent our child on a cruise with a step sister and family, we sent along a letter of consent to travel along with an authorization letter for treatment in the event of a medical emergency. Both docs were signed and notarized. There were no issues. This was on an RCl cruise. 

Thankyou.

My situation is slightly different, in that a legal parent will be present in our group - however just not booked in the same stateroom as one of the children.

We are a group of four (2 Adults & 2 Children 13yo & 10 yo) sailing in May 2024.

We are booked in 2 interconnecting staterooms, hence have 2 linked bookings. One adult and child is booked in one stateroom, and the other adult and child are booked in the other stateroom.

We intend for the adults to actually sleep in one stateroom and the children in the other.

One adult is neither related to, or a legal guardian of, either child.

Will this adult (me) need a signed and notarised Royal Caribbean Group 'Letter of Permission' to be able to board the ship with the child nominated in the booking?

Thankyou!

Edit: Will Celebrity consider the child booked with me in my stateroom as travelling separately from their parent, considering that the staterooms are adjoining and connected?

7 hours ago, RichYak said:

If your premise is that the problem is the message board and not the product,

I don't have a premise and I don't think there's a problem.

It's just 2 observations: (1) that, going by reviews alone, people on this board enjoy Celebrity Cruises less than many people elsewhere on the internet, and (2) people on this board seem to be more polarised in their opinion of Celebrity Cruises than many people elsewhere on the internet.

8 minutes ago, Janedoe2012 said:

Looking forward to hearing your review of your FIRST Celebrity Cruise in May 2024.

 

 

Yes, I'll definitely do that!

Edit: Hopefully I can make it a bit more circumspect than what I'm often reading here.

Food is talked about often, but 'food in particular' is less frequent.

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

When the next anti-food thread is created, will you post your opinion on it?

Probably not. This is the first time I've posted my opinion about a thread. It will likely be the last.

Edit: Sorry, I thought you were replying to me!

Sure, that's focusing on the negatives.....but he's one of those 'influencers' trying to drive traffic to the channel. Nothing gets views like outrage.

I'm just talking about regular trip reports from regular people. The ones I'm reading are, in general, very positive about Celebrity. Not 100% positive - but overall many people seem very happy with their Celebrity cruises.

Here's the Celebrity sub-reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/celebritycruises/

Not the difference in tone between there and here.

The thing about this forum in particular, is that there seems to be very little middle ground. People seem to either love things or hate things, and naturally people are more vocal about the things they hate.

And not only that, but anything that rates below 8/10 is unacceptable. Surely things greater than 5/10 are acceptable, and things less than 6/10 are unacceptable?

it seems everything here gets rated less than 3 or greater than 7!

Just now, jmfdr said:

Where are those glowing reports?

Reddit, Youtube etc etc

What I think is amusing, is that it seems to be only this particular forum that's so critical of Celebrity.

Just about everywhere else, the reports are glowing.

Cruise Critic indeed!

14 hours ago, Beachlover1989 said:

We were on her in Antarctica in February and I don’t think she gets the attention she deserves.

Do you mean attention from Celebrity Cruises, or attention from Cruise Critic? (Or both?)

1 hour ago, Lemonlee said:

Where did you hear about the January 2024 dry docking?  We booked later in 2024, but I thought there wasn't enough time in January where sailings weren't scheduled for X to do much of anything on Infinity.

https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/articles.cfm?ID=521#celebrityhasmultiplerefurbishmentsplannedforolderships

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=1327085&key=b319a0bd3b1d6d80ea8809e72a51a8f8

Infinity has only one 7 day cruise starting on the 2nd January, then does not cruise until 2nd February. The 2nd Jan sailing is in Spain, and the drydocking is supposed to be in Cadiz, Spain so it makes sense seeing as the ship is in the right area.

I'm sailing on Infinity in May 2024 - hopefully any gross defects will be rectified in the January 2024 drydocking.

21 hours ago, cl.klink said:

I think they felt that the main advantage of IV is less wind drag and so less energy needed to drive the ship, translating into cheaper cost.

The real advantage is less, and easier, maintenance. Fewer nooks and crannies for salt to accumulate in. Less stuff to paint. Easier to wash down.

Ships don't travel fast enough for streamlining to have much effect and the ships still have a lot of other draggy stuff on them......although I guess even a quarter of a percent of fuel efficiency is something.

Ah right you are, I must have missed that cruise.

That leaves two weeks in the second half of January, which is surely not long enough for a revolutionising.

Infinity has no sailings from 1st Jan 2024 to 2nd Feb 2024. Presumably this is when the ship will be renovated. This tallies with the info in that fleet guide

I'm not sure if that one month is enough time for a full 'revolution' which is a lot of work, or just a renovation which is more maintenance of the exiting fitout.