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I find the longer or more exotic the cruise, the fewer the children. 

We don't book holiday or summer cruises. But.....last October we just needed a getaway so we booked a week on the Liberty out of Galveston. I checked Louisiana and Texas school calendars and saw no holidays. The ship was FULL of children. What I didn't know was RCCL had a "Kids Sail Free" promotion for that sailing.  I do have to say that all of the children on the cruise were precious and well behaved. 

I cancelled on March 9 for a May 9 cruise using CWC. Received my 50% to credit card within days, still nothing from Celebrity regarding FCC.

Years ago we were on a cruise with a Norovirus outbreak. They shut down everything. Guests could not even get their own sugar packet. The waiter had to hand it to you in the MDR.  You wouldn't believe the amount of whining that went on. "They're not putting enough food on my plate!"

Personally, I would love to see food servers at the buffet stations. When we're on-land, whether traveling or at home, we do not frequent buffets. 

1 minute ago, Fouremco said:

If you cancelled, you can't exchange your FCC for a refund. That option is only available for those whose cruises were cancelled by Celebrity.

That's what I thought. LOL, but I had to ask. Thanks.

We cancelled our May 9 cruise on March 9 using the CWC policy. We received 50% refund to our credit card on file within days, but still don't have our FCC. 

I sure would like to have the $$$ instead of FCC! Have any of you tried to change from FCC to refund to credit card?

Our TA stated this in the cancellation confirmation:

 **YOU WILL RECEIVE A VOUCHER IN THE AMOUNT OF OUR CANCEL PENALTY TO USE ON A FUTURE CRUISE WITH US**

Since we're getting A FCC, it will all work out. But, I would have preferred if we had not been charged in the first place. 

I agree with all of the above. We do private tours about 95% of the time. I look at my Roll Call and Port of Call here on Cruise Critic and then I go to Trip Advisor and try to book first or second rated tour in my destination. I have always had excellent results and adventures. 

One thing that wasn't mentioned that I always look at.... See how difficult it would be to get to your next port of call.  I'm extra careful in choosing a tour if this is the last port of my cruise and getting back to the US would be a major problem/expense. 

Go for the private tour and have a wonderful time! 

A couple of years ago we stayed at the Embassy Suites on International Blvd. There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. When we checked into the hotel we made reservations for a shuttle the next morning to the port. I think there were 3 options for a pickup time. I thought the cost was reasonable, but not as inexpensive as Uber. I think it was $25/pp.

That evening there was a  free happy hour at the hotel and then we walked across the street for dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. 

The next morning we had a leisurely, very good breakfast then boarded the last shuttle to the ship. It was a very easy experience. So much so, that we are doing the same thing this coming May for our Bermuda cruise. 

I am going to call the hotel before our cruise to make sure they still offer the shuttle to the port. Just in case!!

We did a 46-day B2B2B from Cape Canaveral to Los Angeles around Cape Horn. It was awesome. We embarked and disembarked in  US ports, so there were no long flights. I highly recommend an itinerary like this. Enjoy your planning!

Thanks a bunch to all who responded. I usually don't have this problem, but with all the 'perks' now it's a nice problem to have. This 'old' cruiser just learned something new!

Does the cruiseline automatically use your non-refundable OBC's first? That way, toward the end of the cruise you will know what is left will be returned to your method of payment if unused. 

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes you can use the Celebrity OBC now (pre-cruise).    When you go to cruise planner it will show you how much you have available to use pre-cruise.  The OBC from your agent will not show until about day 2 of the cruise.  Check with your agent about whether your OBC from them is Refundable.   If refundable you can either use it on the ship, cash it out at the front desk or if not used it will be credited to your Credit Card.

 

 

Thanks Jim_lain. X issued OBC is not showing on cruise planner. I just tried to book a couple of excursions, but it went all the way through to asking for my credit card info. My confirmation from TA shows their OBC and a separate OBC from X.  I'll start with my TA, but I guess I'm  probably going to have to call Celebrity. Ugh! 

Thank you jelayne and Cdresser for your responses. 

We have a large amount of OBC for our upcoming cruise to Bermuda. Some from Celebrity and some from our TA. We've selected the drink pkg and pre-paid gratuities as perks so we will use the OBC for excursions.  My question is: Can I book the excursions now using the OBC, or do I have to wait until we're on the ship? I would like to take advantage of the sale that's being offered now. Thanks to anyone who knows how this works. 

On 11/3/2019 at 4:38 AM, sunsetbeachgal said:

We just stayed at Le Priori too and loved it! I could see the ship from our room, photo below, and  close enough to walk if you don’t have too much heavy luggage.  Charming hotel, wonderful staff, modern rooms with  old world touches like exposed stone walls, and fantastic breakfast. 

This photo could have been taken from our room. This is the exact view we had to see Paul McCartney leaving the hotel on the right.(St Antoine maybe??) It was quite a mob scene, but we watched it from the comfort of our room (with cameras zoomed in)

We stayed at the Le Priori and thought it was great. Near all the action in lower town, great price, delicious breakfast and a very nice staff. We could see the Le Priori from our cabin balcony. 

Thank you Turtles06. This is one of the most enjoyable threads I've ever followed on CC. I began following because we are going on the Summit next May, but I really enjoyed your photos of Canada/NE, since we did that itinerary last year.

Thank yo so much for the excellent cabin review. That's just what I was wanting to see. 

22 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

I'm kinda thinking about this 8-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary out of Miami.  It's a pretty good one.  I've never been to Virgin Gorda.  I guess the Empress is the smallest and oldest ship currently in Royal Caribbeans fleet.  What y'all think about it?  Would you do it? Would get a OS.  I guess the aft ones would be the way to go?  I'd appreciate any info you could give me for those that have been on the Empress.

 

Thanks!  

Empress is a great little ship with a big heart. We sailed her twice to Cuba in an oceanview cabin because the JS and OS were priced out of sight for that itinerary. I would absolutely  sail on her again, but only in a JS or OS. If you just like to chill it's perfect. I don't think children , especially teens would like it at all.

Virgin Gorda is awesome. Be sure and go to the Baths. If you decide to go on this cruise you will surely enjoy it. Have Fun!

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

You would get at least a $46 discount fwhen you purchase a package on board.

Thank you for the prompt reply.

I would really like to get surf & stream. I am D+.  Is there any 'deal' ? I realize I would have to pay something, but was wondering if maybe there was a discount. Thanks.

On 9/20/2019 at 2:57 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

Let me add to what I posted above. We are in a corner FV; as I said earlier, there’s no mirror on the wall above the desk/blow dryer outlet.   After I posted, I saw our next door neighbors in a non-corner FV, and asked them about the mirror situation in their cabin. As in ours, there is no mirror on the wall above the desk/outlet. However, they said there IS a mirror on the wall in the second room, so if they stand up when they are using the blow dryer and stretch the cord as far as it will go, they can just barely see around the room divider to that mirror.  Sheesh. 

Thank you Turtles06 for this info. We are cruising in May in a next-to-corner FV. That means I have 7 months to grow my hair to pony-tail length or get a shorter do! What a mess they seem to have made. Regardless, we are so looking forward to this cruise, I know it won't really matter. Can't wait to see your pictures.

I highly recommend the aft cabin. We had a corner aft on the Mariner of the Seas when we went around the Horn. You will be more protected from the cold winds and possible rain. Enjoy your trip!

I agree that you should Rent a car at MCO. When we did it the cost was Very reasonable. The drive to Cape Canaveral was easy. The morning of the cruise we went to the rental office, turned in the car and the car rental company shuttled us to the port.

On our return, they met us at the ship, shuttled us to the office where we picked up a car. We drove back to MCO and dropped off the car. I think the company was Budget, not sure though.

I've always found  insuremytrip dot com  to be a very helpful site when choosing travel insurance policies. You enter your criteria/needs and it pulls up many different options. I think it also has policies that are not trip specific, but based on  yearly travel coverages. Hope this helps!