beej210

Hi all,

Have a large group traveling on a new years cruise on Harmony.  There's 10 of us.  All of us have unlimited specialty dining.  How do we go about getting dining reservations for all of us that aren't at 4pm or 10pm! 🙂 

I know we have to wait to book until we get on board the ship, but any tips on getting us all together at a normal dinner time?  

Also - how do we go about getting something booked for the 1st night?

Thanks!

Hi all!

Will be visiting Costa Maya January 3rd.  Want to do a beach day, but have as much of a luxury experience as possible.  Never been a fan of all-inclusive resorts - never feel like the food is fantastic, and drinks usually aren't great either - but that's just my experience around Cancun area.  

So do we do a beach club?  Or is there a way to ala carte it and get better food/drinks/loungers?

I'd rather 2-3 amazing drinks with real top shelf, than bottomless margaritas.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Been on celebrity many times but never on edge class and haven’t been since before covid so my info is probably out of date.  We are sailing on apex and have late 8:30pm dining time assigned.  Couple of questions:

1. I’ve seen several different MDRs on Apex.  Do we go to the same one each night?

2. Are the menus the same in each?

3. I thought I read that there is no early/late on edge class and it’s all “just show up whenever”.  Is this correct?

4.  How’s the food quality in the MDR?  Previously we’ve done unlimited speciality dining.  I’m not picky on what I eat as long as it’s cooked well and tasty.  
 

thanks in advance for the help!

Can someone who has been on Apex in 2023 comment on food quality in the MDRs?  Reading about all these changes is making me think I need to book a 7 night speciality dining package but then I worry about not getting good reservations for the speciality restaurants because having to wait to book those onboard.  What to do?

We are going on Windstar and they offer the tour for $129p/p.  I'm not generally a fan of doing tours through the ship, but I haven't seen any recommendations for different companies here with the exception of Embera Village Tours with Anne.  Problem is she wants $275p/p.  

So is Anne that much different than the rest?  Is there a difference on which company we should choose?  If there's no difference, I guess I'll go with the ship's tour because of the price/convenience.  

Thanks!

We're going on Jan 4th.  Here's where I'm at in the planning:

Panama City/Colon:  No ideas.  We arrive at 2pm the day before and sail the following day at 5pm.  Any ideas on what to do in Panama City?  Is there a guide or tour that can pick us up and show us stuff along the way to Colon?  Or do we just explore Panama City and take a taxi to Colon?

Balboa/Fuerte Amador: No ideas yet.  Looks like most of the cruises' excursions are related to foodie stuff.... could be cool, any private tours here worth noting?  We're in port for a day and a half

Isla Parida: This is the beach BBQ day.  Having never done this before, should we book something else or is there enough stuff to do with the BBQ?  Or is it just lunch on the beach and we need to plan something?

Puerto Jimenez (Golfo Dulce): From what I read Corcovado Park is supposed to be amazing for wildlife.  I've reached out to Jaguar Tours http://www.jaguarcorcovadotourscr.com/ to see if there's anything we can do as a day trip.  I also read about Dolphin Devine and Changing Tide Tours which could be cool.  Any input here would be great.

Quepos: I think we are going with Iguana Tours and doing Manuel Antonio, horseback riding to the waterfall, and maybe the mangroves if there's enough time.

Puerto Caldera: We would like to see the coffee plantation on the way back to the airport.  They suggest your flight leave no earlier than 3pm.... ours it at 2:35pm.  They recommend 3 hours at the airport..... anyone know if this is necessary?

So we fly into Panama City at 2pm on Friday and our cruise doesn't leave out of Colon till 5pm Saturday.  Any suggestions on what to do that night in Panama City?  And the following day, is there a guide that could take us somewhere on the way to Colon?  Or are we better off wandering around the city and just taking a taxi to Colon?  Thanks!!

Hi all!

We're going to be in Ketchikan on August 5th.  Island Wings will only go to Traitor's Cove and says it's superior at that time to Anan Creek.  Carlin Air will only go to Anan Creek and says it's superior.  The difference in cost is about $500 for the 3 of us, so if all is equal we'll do Traitor's Cove, but obviously want the best experience.  

Anyone know what's best in the beginning of August?

I filled out their reservation form on Sunday and haven't heard back.  I emailed them again on Monday.  And now I'm calling with no answer.  Does anyone know if they've closed shop?

Any other recommendations for mayan ruins tours?

Thanks!

We will be in Cozumel in March.... we have a 21 year old and 5 year old daughters with us.  Going snorkeling in Grand Cayman, and seeing the ruins in Costa Maya.  Was thinking about doing the dolphin thing but that only lasts 40 min and Chankanaab park seems like it would be crowded with 6 ships in port.  What else do you love doing in Cozumel?  Doesn't have to be another tour.

Thanks!

I'm sorry if this doesn't directly answer your question, but I'll chime in with my thoughts. We are taking our first Celebrity cruise with our 10-year old son in December. He is also a "mini-adult" and is more than content playing chess, swimming in a pool, playing basketball (we will be on the Summit with a basketball court - he's THRILLED!), exploring the ship, etc. He also considers himself quite the gourmand! However, when he was 5, I don't think Celebrity would have offered enough programming for him aside from the kids club and he didn't want to be in a kids club for hours on end either. We have looked at RCCL a few times and the size of the ships is really unappealing to us. I think it would be sensory overload for our entire family. What did work well for us when our son was younger were the smaller Disney ships - the Magic and Wonder. The kids clubs are far less chaotic than on the bigger ships and there is family programming all day long so there is always something you can all do together if your daughter doesn't want to be in the kids club. I know a lot of people don't want to be surrounded by Disney all day long and I get it, but they do have family cruise programming down to a science and we all had a great time together.

It does answer the question. We would absolutely do a Disney cruise, but I think they are on crack charging $2800/per person for a balcony room. If I was gonna pay that price, I could buy a Micky outfit and still have enough left over to book us on Oceania.... I also think Celebrity Epic is ridiculous asking $3000/per person that week. Right now Oasis is $950 and Equinox is $1200. Both per person for a balcony....

Fishlover - Not at all suggesting I would let my kid run around all day on her own. I'm certainly not like some parents on cruises..... But I also am not going to throw her into babysitting all day and not see her. So my question still stands..... for those people who have kids who say they love Celebrity, what do they love? What are they doing all day that they enjoy (I guess to clarify.... with their parents....)

We are taking our 5 year old on her first cruise over spring break in the Caribbean (Mar 2019). Celebrity is our (me and wife's) favorite cruise line out of the mainstream lines. We feel that the food and service is the best compared to Carnival, Princess, and RCCL coming in 2nd.

We would ideally like to go on Equinox (best itinerary and price). We originally thought about a RC oasis class ship because of all the things to do...... but my 5 year old is a mini-adult.... she would be scared of the water slides, florider, rock climbing wall, etc. Additionally, we are concerned about the crowds on a mega ship, which in fairness we've never been on an oasis class ship.

So I guess 3 questions:

1. For those of you who say your kids love Celebrity, what do they love doing? How do they spend their day?

2. Are my fears about crowds correct on the oasis class ships?

3. Equinox is going to dry dock April 2019, so a month after we would sail.... any update on the condition of the ship?

Melissd24: Thanks for that post. I called RCCL back and they said they have no idea, and that we would need to contact OFAC. I guess I'm wondering who's policing this? Like is there someone recording the time we get off the ship and back on and then filling in whether we were on an official tour for that entire time? Or could we take an official tour and then walk around on our own and go to the Tropicana on our own?

So I just called Royal Caribbean, and according to them, unless you booked your reservation before June 15, 2017, you will not be allowed off the boat in Cuba unless you are on a Royal Caribbean tour. Unfortunately, it appears as though Royal Caribbean tours are significantly overpriced - $275 p/p for a 3 hour classic car tour, $175 p/p for tickets to the Tropicana.

Anyone else have any information on this? We're sailing on 12/4 this year and I'd really prefer to do some of this stuff either on our own or through another tour provider.

I'm a fairly seasoned cruiser and am planning a trip for myself and the girlfriend (both mid 30s). Normally with the mass market lines, I like Celebrity the best. I'm able to do a balcony room, add the unlimited speciality dining and the beverage package and I feel as though I have the best of both worlds.... great food plus lots to do on board. The smallest ship I was on was Windstar and I loved that too but mainly because the personalized attention was just so amazing.

So Alaska is bit of a different beast because the excursions are so pricey compared to other regions.

The 3 options I've looked at are:

- Regent with their included excursions

- Celebrity with my own excursions

- Silver Sea with my own excursions

The cost difference between the 3 is pretty minimal and I'm thinking this might be a great opportunity to try Silversea or Regent, but lately I've read some pretty bad reviews of the Silver Shadow and Seven Seas Mariner.

Can anyone weigh in on what they would do?

We'll be traveling on the reflection on the Caribbean route in November. My question is around the unlimited specialty dining. Our flight doesn't land in Miami until 11am, so we probably won't get to the pier until 12 or 1pm.

Do we still have a chance at getting the unlimited dining package at that point or could it be sold out by then?

Also, I understand that a "work-around" to making sure I get the right restaurants at the right time is to book them individually ahead of time and that the difference between the UDP package and what I've booked would go back as shipboard credit. Question here is we already have a lot of shipboard credit and the drink package, so is this put back as refundable OBC or non-refundable OBC?

Coming in for the day on ship, so we'll be there 8-5. Heard there was no sand at Maho, and that Orient was shut down and having seaweed problems. So we were gonna go to Marigot in the morning to shop and grab a pastry, then off to Grand Case to have lunch and sit on the beach for a bit.

3 questions:

-Are my assumptions correct and would this be the best thing to do considering what's going on there now (sand, seaweed, construction, etc)

-Should we rent a car or take taxis?

-Looking for a giant plate of seafood (lobster, crab, shrimp, etc) - anyone know of a lunch place preferably on the beach that serves this?

Has anyone ever gone sailing in St. Maarten? I'm looking for a boat we can rent.... I've sailed before and am actually looking to skipper my own boat for the day.

The only place I can find is https://www.stmaartencruiseexcursions.com/Stmaartensailing.htm and I have no idea who they are or if their boats are any good.

Any ideas?

We are booked on Reflection on Nov 14th doing eastern carib with that sailing being one of the top chef sailings. Haven't been on X in a long time, but are very much a foodie.

Here are my questions:

1. Is Blu worth a $400 cabin upgrade over MDR? Already booked in concierge class

2. Which nights are the best in the MDR? Does anyone have recent menus? The most recent I could find are from March 2013

3. Is the unlimited speciality dining at $29/day worth it?