lhsail

2 minutes ago, Julma said:

Is it true you only get the 15% if you do it prior to boarding the ship?

Yes, and you have to call to get it done. 

3 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

Not sure if this recent email blast is overwhelming them but I'm trying for two days to get a hold of BCC to modify something on an upcoming booking and can't get a hold of anyone. Regular reservations say they can't touch my booking. What a disaster, maybe they should first staff their call center properly before sending out thousands of free cruise offers to people.

Well, every cruise line call center is under staffed. When the call is first answered you should get two options, 1 for new bookings and 2 for existing reservations. After selecting option 2, I was on hold for about 30 minutes to make my cabin upgrade. The rep was very helpful. 

18 minutes ago, 39august said:

There were free drinks for players in the casino on Equinox last cruise in July and first cruise in August. I noticed servers coming around rather often. Don't know about going to the casino bar.

Interesting. We were on the Equinox earlier in July, but had the drink package so DH wouldn’t have known if they were giving free drinks just for gambling. 

57 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Ignore the stock photo that accompanies the stateroom description.  They are often incorrect.  If you have 7288, then your cabin has a balcony and a nice one at that!

 

For example, here is the incorrect stock photo that Celebrity uses for the reservation I have for a balcony cabin on Constellation:

 

 

 

and here is the actual balcony of the same cabin (Infinity):

 

You got one of the sweet ones. We had the same type on the Summit for four cruises last summer and fall. We’ve been spoiled!

We are sailing on the Solstice in October on a casino deal so no drink package. I have two questions. Is the Captain’s Cocktail hour available in all bars?  Can you upgrade to premium drinks during the cocktail hour?  Appreciate it. 

13 minutes ago, sdnich said:

After 2 phone calls because I got disconnected while he was checking on the upgrade to concierge.The total time on hold 2 1/2 hrs .But worth it I was able to upgrade to 1120 large balcony concierge for the $10  pp day.The extra points will make us elite plus after cruise so super happy about that .I am very happy about the room location and the few extra perks that we will receive

.And the total was $418 paid in full 

Glad you got things squared away. I feel extremely grateful for this trip. 

Agree with others if it’s $141 for the cruise go for it. You also get a bottle of sparkling wine and hot breakfast menu. Plus the Concierge cabins on the Equinox have been redecorated. Much brighter decor. 

12 minutes ago, sdnich said:

What is your favorite concierge room?? Also our total for the room in the veranda was $ 278 but they want a $500 deposit. I’m assuming they’ll just give you onboard credit but I was thinking about calling to take care of it over the phone and curious about the other options were to upgrade the room?

Not sure I want to share. 😁. In general, we like the mid-ship angled balconies on Deck 10. This time we got 1231, but they all offer oversized balconies, excellent overhang for weather protection, convenient to the pool and Oceanview Cafe. Also, next to some suites, so we’ve had some excellent cabin stewards. 
 

I have not heard of anyone else being asked for a $500 deposit. We initially paid $284, then the upgrade cost today. Sounds like you need to ask some more questions. 

Called this morning and upgraded to Concierge for $10pp/day. Was able to select our favorite cabin. On hold for about 30 minutes, which I considered pretty good. 

On 8/6/2022 at 7:42 AM, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I wish X had a $5 craps table like Princess.  They should know that no one plays just $5 and the trick is to get people in the game and then they will start throwing $$$ on the table.  The craps tables on Princess usually had a good crowd which makes it more fun than one or two people on the rail.  That said Celebrity will always be my favorite, I really LOVE the non-smoking casino.

Late last year and earlier this year they had $5 tables in the day on sea days. That seemed to stop in April. 

17 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

Totally real, the DW and I just booked back to backs since we both had an offer. All we paid was taxes and port fees.

17 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

Nice. 

Appreciate all the information. Found well priced flights in and out of SNA. Leaving Austin at 8:00 am the day before the cruise on SW for just under $100. On AA at 2:45 pm disembarkation day for $80. Think we’ll stay at the Crowne Plaza by the harbor for the night. Have a free night available. 😁 

22 minutes ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

Well friends, I had to bite.  I did not get the e mail offer but it seemed others also did not so I waited on hold about one hour this morning.  Talked to Miguel.  He took my captains club number (Elite and Oynx) and said that I did not qualify for a free cabin.  He offered a balcony? with all perks for $2365 and the same without perks for $1559.  Right now on X site you can book a Guarantee balcony for $1484 no perks and maybe some OBC.  The BCC offer did not seem great to me.  This was for Solstice on Dec. 3, 2022.  We have Solstice on Dec. 11 in Aqua already booked from some time ago and thought we might go B2B.

Just wanted to report that not everyone can get this deal just by asking.  I think maybe they might be targeting people that have not cruised since the shut down to entice them back on board.  We have sailed with X three times since sailing resumed and have three more booked. 

Like most things cruise, who knows what their criteria is. We have taken eight Celebrity and three Royal in the last year. We did not get the email, but called and were qualified?

1 hour ago, 3girlsmom said:

SNA is a wonderful, user-friendly airport, LAX is definitely not! : )  I'm thinking SNA is about 35 miles from the Port of LA and LAX is about 25. If you fly in the day before and aren't in a rush, the drive from SNA up the Pacific Coast Highway is very pleasant. 

I would prefer to arrive two days before, but DH doesn’t want to spend two nights in LA. Need to convince him this wouldn’t be anything like staying in the city. 

5 minutes ago, SFCAcruiser said:

 

 

I was in the same situation as you and Mcazer.   But I grew impatient and called yesterday and was on hold about 90 minutes. But it all worked out for me.   

Suggestion for you and others, when you call -  have the "real-time" deck plan for your desired cruise in front of you. The phone agents seem to select cabins at random and are agreeable to giving you your preferred cabin. 

I agree about having the “real time” deck plan available, but I was shocked when I was offered a Deck 8 cabin on the angle. I was prepared to negotiate. 
 

Has anyone upgraded to Concierge?  If so, may I ask what they charged?

2 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

As mentioned here frequently,  Orange County is smaller, easier to use. But it increases the likelihood of connecting flights...you can fly nonstop to LAX from many more places. 

 

The distance to/from LAX to port is complicated by traffic far more than Orange County. I would definitely favor Orange County the vast majority of options, but I can fly there non-stop.

There are a few options for direct flights out of Austin to SNA. Some on AA and we have miles. 

Sailing out of the port of LA in October. Any reasons for choosing either LAX or Orange County over the other?  Thank you

Thanks to all for the information. Called about 7:30 Central this morning. On hold for about an hour. Asked if there was any chance we were eligible for the promotion based in information I had seen on CC. He came a few minutes later and said we were. Didn’t have to have any email sent us. We are booked for 10/22, assigned a 1A on Deck 8. Kind of wish I had asked about a Concierge upgrade, but we’re on the angle so hard to complain. Now to book flights and hotel. Thanks again!

Ok, have to send hubby on a search of his email. We have been on eight Celebrity cruises since August. Although not big stakes, he has gambled on all of them. We did a Princess cruise of the west coast a few years back on a casino offer. It wasn’t free, but really cheap. 

35 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

It's about my favorite place in the city, and it really is more "old-school seafood spot on the water" than dive.  I suppose we could have a fantastic discussion about the differences (if any) over some pitchers of beer on their deck.

 

Regardless, if Heaven doesn't have a place like Southport Raw Bar, then I'm not sure I want to go.

Sounds like a great conversation. 

Years ago I put ours on before our flight. I was missing my most critical bag when we got to the airport. Spent one night in Fort Lauderdale and still didn’t have it when we boarded the ship. Had to buy an outfit in the hotel gift shop to have something clean to wear to the ship. A few hours after embarkation, my suitcase showed up at our cabin. Someone at the airport saw the cruise tag and pulled it as though we had a cruise line transfer. I got my bag, but had many hours of angst. Always wait until we’re ready to go to the ship now. 

We stayed there in March, April and earlier this month. Never asked for anything like a key at breakfast. FYI, the rooms are showing their age, but we still like the hotel for it’s other amenities and convenience. The side street is Cordova. Across from the hotel on Cordova is Duffy’s. It’s a sports bar and they have some nice outside seating. Always 2-for-1 drinks. On that same side of Cordova, but across 17th Street and down a couple of blocks is Southport Raw Bar. It’s a dive, but walk through the restaurant to the deck out back which sits on the Intracoastal. They almost always have live music. 

Thank you for your post. You have reinforced our decision to cancel our Med/Greece cruise this September. This is exactly the kind of thing we were concerned about. 

We’ve have sailed both lines extensively. Years ago, we leaned towards Princess. Shortly before Covid, we had a couple of fantastic cruises on the Equinox and post-Covid have sailed Celebrity numerous times. Our loyalty has shifted. I’ll just summarize what others have already said: aside from storage, Celebrity cabins are larger and more comfortable with a sofa, etc. and balconies are bigger; better food and beverage selections on Celebrity; Celebrity has really ramped up their entertainment; younger/better mix of demographics; staff very visible around the ship.

We have a lot of Princess FCC to use up from a canceled Australian trip, so we are going on the Ruby Princess in December and the Enchanted in February. It will be interesting to see how we feel about Princess after several wonderful recent Celebrity cruises. 

Two days is not uncommon.