flparalegal

Let me tell everyone my tale of whoa.  We have a caribbean cruise planned for 11/27/22 - 12/4/22.  A few weeks ago, I took out our passports in order to Check-In.  Guess what - our passports expired.  So I called our travel agent who said we could use our birth certificates.  In the meantime, I completed the Passport Renewal Form.  However, according to Passport instructions you cannot send Renewal via Fed Ex etc.  It should be sent via US Postal Service.  So I sent our Passport Renewal via Priority Mail so I could track the delivery.  Guess what, it was sent 10/17 and should have arrived on 10/25.  I checked on USPS online and it arrived in Philadelphia on 10/20.  The last update was it is "in Transit" as of 10/24.  I have been to the post office 2 times, but they cannot assist me.  So Monday it will be 3 weeks that the package has been "in Transit" and nothing I can do about it.  

My question has anything like this happened to anyone out there?  How long should I wait to assume our Passports are lost?

First time my husband will be using a scooter and I have questions:

Where do you park it in the Dining Room at dinner time. Also when you eat breakfast at Oceanview Cafe?

Thanks for your replies.  Your answers were very helpful.

After we drop our luggage with Porters at Terminal 25, where would we get a Wheel Chair for my husband?  Terminal 25 is just too big for him to walk on the ship.  Thanks.

For appetizer, I like the Beef Carpaccio and for diner, the Braised Beef Short Ribs. Yum!

I just called my travel agent to upgrade from Ocean View to a Balcony on Deck 6 (Continental) in Class 2C.  I saw that Cabin 6246 was available and requested that cabin.  Let me add at this point that I prefer that the bed is near the closet.  My TA called Celebrity and was told that Cabin 6246 was considered a "Triple" and was not available to me. I could have Cabin 6248 but the bed is near the balcony.  Or I was given the option of Cabin 6290 which has the bed near the closet but is at the back of the ship (too long of a walk for husband). TA said on deck plans all cabins that have a triangle or rectangle are considered "Triples".  For the last few year when I cruise those triangles and rectangles are how I have chosen my cabin and was never told previously that those cabins are "Triples.

Has anyone heard of "Triples" and do you have any suggestions how I can get the cabin I prefer (with bed near closet).  

We were on Reflection over Thanksgiving, and green relish packets were available. 

We were just on the Reflection 11/16 - 11/26 and my husband drinks Makers Mark and Woodford Reserve.  We had the Classic package.  He was able to get Makers Mark and paid an additional $1.18 for a drink. For Woodford Reserve he paid an additional $2.36 for the drink.  Much cheaper than upgrading to the Premium package.

It is a very nice setup at Port Everglades.  There are 2 "islands" next to each other.  One is taxi pickup and the other is family/friends/Uber pickup.  Both islands are supervised by the Broward County Sheriff's office so it is very well organized and not far from the terminal.

Initially, I was using Internet Explorer when I got the picture request to check-in. I switched to Chrome, and there was not picture request. So I am officially checked-in. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

It will not let me Continue to the next page. I get the following message: "Complete all information for every guest in order to continue to the next section." Any suggestions?

Hoping someone can help me. I was on the Celebrity website to check-in for cruise. As part of the check-in procedure, I must now attach a photo of my husband, individually, and myself, individually. It also says the background must be white. I am not very tech savvy. How would I go about doing this?

FYI, my husband drinks Markers Mark Bourbon which also used to be on the Classic package but this past February was on the Premium package. He paid $1.18 a drink to upgrade to Makers Mark.

FloaterForLife, my husband felt the same about the Bourbon choices on our cruise this past February. He order a Manhattan with Makers Mark (premium choice) and was only charged $1.18. Much cheaper than upgrading to the Premium package for the week.

GastroGnome, you said it was "USA Buffet" theme. Where do you look to see what the theme of the day is? Looking forward to your food review....

We were on a cruise in February with the Classic Package and it only cost my husband a $1.18 a drink to upgrade to Crown Royal or Makers Mark. I know they also had Woodford Reserve but don't know the cost of that upgrade. Wait until you board and check out the price of a drink.

I live in the Fort Lauderdale area, about 12 miles from Port Everglades. I used UberXL to get to the Port in February and it cost me $48. I tried to use Uber when we returned from the Cruise, however, "surge pricing" was in effect since 8 ships were in port. The surge pricing was $106! I declined it and took a taxi home costing me $44.

How can you check if the price dropped with the perks being included in the price now? Can someone explain how to check for price drops. Thanks.

We used Uber XL to Port Everglades on 2/18/18 approx. 20 miles and it cost $48. Upon return of cruise on 2/25, was going to Uber, but when put in info, it told me Surge Pricing was 2.2 times higher and that it would cost $109. We did not Uber, we stood in line for a taxi which cost $44.

We will request an Uber when departing Silhouette at Terminal 26 in Port Everglades. Where do we stand to wait for Uber to pick us up? Only used Uber a few times and not in such a crowded situation.

My last cruise, I forgot to bring my hair spray. I went to the ship store and they did not have hair spray. So I waited until our first stop in Puerto Rico (before hurricane Irma hit) and got off and went to both CVS and Walgreens and the only type of hair spray they sell is aerosol - no pump bottles. I bought the smallest one I could find. When I sprayed my hair, my husband would comment how smelly the spray was.

ChezMaryLou, will Reflection be at Terminal 18 if the Independence of the Seas is in Port on the same day?

Syracruising, question regarding the Classic drink package. My husband drinks Manhattans but doesn't like Jim Beam bourbon. I understand you can upgrade the bourbon and pay only the difference of the actual cost of the drink. In other words, Classic has a $9 limit but a Makers Mark Manhattan would cost $12 to buy - so we would only have to pay the $3 difference. Do you know if this is true?

Thanks for the information. Will try to find a post from another 10 day sailing.

I know there are 2 chic nights. Can some tell me which nights are the chic nights for a 10 day cruise. Thanks.