TGfromTX

I'm assuming the checkout is later with that site - but I didn't confirm. I checked prices in Florida and the site that Captain Kirk promotes was 20% less but checkout is 11am. I have good luck requesting late checkouts but occasionally one will say no.

Can you ask one of the crew if the ship stopped at Grand Cayman last week or if they skipped it due to hurricane damage?

I researched thoughts on drink packages & tracked the costs a couple of times weekly and here are my thoughts & experiences (in USD): Price out the 'all inclusive package' for your cruise. The cheapest price for drink packages on my cruise were when Celebrity ran a 40% off sale. For my cruise, it was about $17 per day cheaper (this varies by cruise) to purchase the all inclusive package (adds basic wifi) than the drink package alone. Changing to this requires any booked packages to be canceled so you'll wait up to a week for refund on whatever you purchased with. They'll charge the other package at time of change - and you can immediately see the purchase reflected in itinerary. Any mixed or frozen drink can be ordered with classic package alcohols. If sticking with classic, many recommend to view your bill before departing ship because upcharges mysteriously appear and are very difficult to resolve once departing ship. The upgrade from classic to premium was cheapest during the 40% off sale - about $9 per day (this varies by cruise) Celebrity moves the price of what they consider the 'regular' price of their alcohol packages -so you need to look at price during sales, not discount. Even though I saw the mark up during many promotions, I did not see this with the 40% off sale which made this the cheapest purchase price. Premium adds premium coffees, fresh juices, additional canned drinks, energy drinks, and additional alcohol (I consider very few of them actually premium). If you order a premium drink after ordering the classic package, you'll pay for the difference over price limit for the package. The bartenders are not obligated to ask, so it's upon us to order correctly - and I feel like I might forget a few times. The value of premium upgrade is different for each person, but review the premium alcohol list on Celebrity site to see if you are content with classic list. Premium coffees and different alcohol brands were worth it for me at the reduced price. I'd be content with regular coffee and classic alcohols but I plan to try my drinks with different brands of alcohol to see if I find a new favorite. If you ever ordered flights (for taste tests), you'll know the price is worth it but be aware they will have to be ordered one at a time.

Almost to single digits! Paid my gratuities a few minutes ago and 6 work days left.

Thanks for the info. I couldn't figure this out. As of July 2024, the entry is under manage reservations (appears as a popup for me after logging in)> add-ons > gratuities. The link would not add gratuities to the right pane for payment due. It was because I had made final payment as you indicated. The TA could not correct it directly - she called Celebrity and in about 3 minutes I had a bill display under manage reservation page.

I thought that was exactly what I needed, but sadly it isn't being updated 😕

I am in the Caribbean in a few weeks and this weekend I realize I don't know an easy way to get information relevant to my cruise. I didn't find the main hurricane site site good for understanding where damage actually occurred in port cities or to the actual ship docks. It was good for seeing where potential storms, active storms, and potential paths exist. But I didn't find it helpful for understanding actual impact as it relates to a cruise. Searches by port destinations wasn't very helpful either. There is just too much bad content on the Internet to weed through. For Cozumel, there are reports of widespread destruction where it took a direct hit & then there are reports that the whole coastline was spared. I didn't find any information posted on this forum too helpful either - although others seem to be trying to figure out the exact same thing. I feel like a dock being destroyed would have appeared on web searches but I don't know for sure. I found it funny that cruise sites don't have links directly to hurricane updates during these months. Mine seems to be just interested in upselling. I did a search for ship trackers & a couple of the main ones show show ships docked in different ports - so I'm assuming if a ship docked there it must not have sustained too much damage. I feel like there is an easier way I don't know about.

Interesting read. The policy seems to differ on each site even a year later. The main point of contention sounds like whether you get refunded if you cancel before final payment. If I every buy any, I might wait to buy until it's near the due date for final payment - just in case. In either case I'd call the 'help number' and reconfirm the policies before I purchased any.

I think the partial answer is in the terms I posted: Once the reservation has been made, Celebrity Cruises normal policies regarding cancellation, changes, and deadlines for the payment of deposits and all other payments, shall apply. I would expect funds to go back to a gift card where policy allows a refund. I'd call the number I posted to get first hand info if important to someone.

I don't see it in terms: Term # 8 Multiple certificates may be applied toward the cruise fare of the same reservation if there is a balance on the reservation. Full Certificate balance must be used within any given reservation. Once the reservation has been made, Celebrity Cruises normal policies regarding cancellation, changes, and deadlines for the payment of deposits and all other payments, shall apply. Other terms that I deem most important: This is a Premium item ($500 cert). Premium items have a limit of 25 per month. #1 Certificate may be used only as a form of payment toward a new reservation made directly with Celebrity Cruises. #2 Certificate value may only be applied toward the cruise fare for Celebrity Cruises sailings quoted in USD and cannot be used toward payment of the required initial deposit. The initial deposit must be paid in USD (by cash or credit card) at the time of booking. #6Certificate may not be applied to a reservation within a group, charter, casino program or other promotion. Have questions about your Celebrity gift card? Call Celebrity Customer Support: 888-837-5676

I responded to zitsky of why and when I stopped researching them. I completely understand we all travel in different grades of cabins & different experiences speak to each of us. Can you review my thoughts and let me know if I'm roughly correct in comparison? I liked some of their cruise prices and would like to know if anything stood out. I didn't compare drink packages - but for premium drinks with premium wifi, I paid just over $50 per night including gratuities.

The kids likely didn't bother you because you didn't sail on a mega ship out of Galveston (I'm from TX so that is the nearest port to me). Per recent reviews, there seems to be unusual amount of passengers irritated by kids running amuck the ships - less so of an issue out of Florida based on reviews, but still notable. I didn't find these type of reviews for Celebrity. I think it's important to take my comments as only research - I haven't sailed on Princess (nor Celebrity until the end of this month), but I removed them from my list because I was looking for something I would find elevated to my experiences on NCL (my favorite of what I've cruised on). Princess overall seemed to provide cheaper rates to Celebrity and it seems to be a line with fewer kids onboard. They seem to be focusing quite a bit on views from venues - & solarium type structures added to cover theaters and such. Their dining ratings don't fare well in the 'premium class'. Dining aboard sounds slightly below NCL - partly due to only having main dining, buffet, and pizza/grill as included dining options. All the ads created by Princess focused primarily on the suite amenities and shows onboard. The show descriptions sounded similar to those on Celebrity without all the smaller shows that Celebrity has onboard. Their marketing didn't target the average passenger much at all - so it felt like their service is skewed. Besides larger covered areas, the only think I saw that I wouldn't find on almost any other cruise line is the classic elegant look from what I'd call 'old luxury'. If crystal, grand stair cases, ballrooms, and views from the ship appeal to you, I think it'd be something to consider - because it looks like a cheaper priced cruise on average. I didn't research much past that.

Sorry, I pulled the list from the Celebrity site. Retired ships weren't linked from their ships page.

That's different - one of my employers had escalators in the building. Weekly, I'd be approaching the end with people standing at the landing where they stepped off unaware the people behind them had nowhere to go & couldn't prevent running into them. I haven't seen this happen in malls but I could imagine this happening on embarkation quite a bit.

I posted 2 other polls recently - but they all have had quite a bit of participation so someone else must have found value in them. Cruise Critic doesn't have to 'commission' polls do they? Any member of the forum can raise one. I did search 'polls' first and didn't see any recent ones asking. But maybe that isn't the right way to find them - if I've overlooked a better way, let me know. I created one poll for decision making around my current cruise - but I added options so I could use it for future cruise decisions. If you look at the results, you can clearly see the opinions by the responders. If asked in a thread fashion, the answer is hard to decipher because the bulk of responses are the opinions of the most 'vocal' on the boards.

Ageist yes, frivolous not at all. MSC and Carnival mega ships out of US have lots of youth on them & my NCL cruise into Panama had about 10 people younger than me on the entire ship. The atmosphere onboard is quite a bit different. I'd easily say the 'atmosphere' onboard may be one of the most difficult things to determine when deciding between ships and cruise lines. For me, I think atmosphere has a great deal to do with how much I love a cruise. I personally LOVED every minute of the cruise with all older passengers, but I'm the youngest of all my siblings and cousins so I find it easier to meet older strangers than my own age group. That is not the case with most of my friends. When I was in my 20s I had no interest in drinking around people my parents' age who might give me disapproving looks for my behavior. Now that I'm at the age of a grandparent, I don't want to be on a ship surrounded by drunk 20 year olds. I don't want to be on vacation with hoards of their kids either. A great number of posts under Celebrity is about dislike for changes that are popular for the younger crowd & millennials take a beating in many of the threads. The OP said nothing with the intention of offending. Those posters will not be thrilled with the last Carnival cruise I was on. Seems to be a double standard.

This is what I'm hoping I find to be true on Beyond too. My decision for my next cruise was based on food reputation and fewer kids (wasn't aware this has become an issue post-covid til I read reviews). I have cruised Carnival & NCL in past. I chose between RC & Celebrity due to price point, theater options, and food. Princess ships didn't wow me, and MSC seemed like a step downward.