Go-Bucks!

Was on the Reflection in March. The small patches of lawn on either side of the Sunset bar had many brown patches and not fun to walk on. The part in the middle with the cabanas was always closed off to the "public" with only those playing the organized bocci ball games allowed on it. The lawn isn't a big deal.

The Aqua category often costs about $400pp more than a 1A for 7 days. Persian Gardens cost $125 per week on our last cruise and the MDR had really good food. Plus, we got the triple larger balcony on the middle hump and it seemed like all the Aqua cabins had the small balconies and were up front where the motion is felt more. So . . . . for $275 less we can still get the Gardens, good food, and a huge balcony in a nice mid ship location. Aqua isn't a good value for us.

I don't suppose you booked select dining? If you did, gratuities must be paid with final payment.

Since I'm pretty new to Celebrity, I've been wondering why gratuities need to be paid upfront for Select Dining. Most of my experience has been on Princess and they don't require tips to be paid ahead if you have Anytime Dining. Why does Celebrity do this?? :confused:

I have all information for an eventual call to celebrity (when I feel as though I have time to wait on hold for 1+ hour and talk to someone for who knows how long)

Before just not paying the incorrect amount, I would have called Celebrity to discuss it and tried to get it worked out. I think you did it backwards and may find it more difficult now to get it rectified. No matter how long you stay on hold, it should be done asap. Wish you the best! :)

As an American, I'm going to be very happy to visit Australia and New Zealand this year and not have to tip!! We'll be staying in Sydney for 5 days, then in Auckland for 2 days. Yippee - saving alot of money! When in England last year I also didn't tip because it's not their custom either.

In the single-sex sauna, you can wear nothing.

I was just on the Reflection last month and there was a sign in the women's changing room sauna that said that "appropriate attire is required." I think that means that some form of clothing is necessary. ;)

I called Celebrity last week to book an Australia/New Zealand cruise package deal for November, 2014, but was told that it was completely booked. The CSR even contacted his superiors and they said that, yes, it was all full. Although several online travel agencies showed many cabins available, the CSR stuck to his story.

I then called a travel agency and they booked us on this cruise! We got one of the last 1A cabins, but there are still many other categories available. Not sure what is going on at Celebrity, but they were totally wrong. So, maybe your situation is similar. Check with some of the online travel agencies to see what they say.

Whether I'm taking a land vacation in Europe or going on a cruise excursion, I wear a money belt under my clothing. It will contain any larger amounts of money, credit cards, passport, and any other important documents. No need to worry about getting them stolen or lost, but easy to get to if needed. I think it's the simple answer to this discussion. :)

If you depend on others to bring you happiness, you'd better hope you're never alone.

 

I think you missed reading one of my previous posts; I've lived alone for 8 years, eat out at restaurants alone several times/week, and work from home so I'm alone all day M-F! I've never depended on others to "bring me happiness" - the original post was describing how I ACCIDENTALLY became a solo cruiser and didn't enjoy it. I never said I needed someone to make me happy. I just realized that I enjoy sharing my vacations with someone else; definitely not an unusual feeling. ;)

 

I don't ever feel fear in the Caribbean, but perhaps that's cuz I'm a NYer. Good luck!

To each his own. I'm not going to apologize for being cautious in a foreign land.

Not to get in the middle of this, but you are being rude! The traveller stated that she and her friend had planned things but involved taking a taxi. She also stated that she was not comfortable taking a taxi alone. Before you jump down someone's throat take a moment to read an entire post.

Thank you - you were able to read my post correctly. Maybe the other poster only read part of it or read too quickly before coming to her own conclusion.

Are you finding there are less (non-selling) activities on board than in November? I found this earlier this month.

Just got off the Reflection a couple weeks ago. I definitely noticed fewer activities than I'm used to on Princess. Since this was my first cruise on Celebrity, I wasn't sure if this was the norm. Guess it wasn't.

What cruiseline were you on? If not NCL, were you signed up for first sitting, second sitting, or AnyTime?

 

 

I was on Celebrity. Had Anytime dining, which is what I prefer.

 

 

I've never been on a ship that didn't have many activities on sea days. My problem was that there was never enough time to do everything I wanted to do!

 

 

I usually sail on Princess and they have tons of activities that I enjoy participating in, but this ship did not. And that's the key - activities that I enjoy. Didn't find them on this cruise.

 

Why didn't you take the ship's excursions to the other two ports? Even if you couldn't do exactly what you had planned to do with your friend, you could have found something appealing.

Not that it's your business, but it was a financial issue. Wasn't in my budget to add more excursions. My pockets must not be as deep as yours. :rolleyes:

if a lawn is what people want...at least make it useable. I guess my biggest issue is that 90% of it was roped off the entire cruise. Except for the one concert night.

That was the exact experience on my recent Reflection cruise. Only one small grassy area in the aft section was allowed to be used. I like the concept, but what's the purpose of having it if it's always roped off??

BTW, the Alcoves were all full on my cruise.

Hope you are able to find someone to cruise with and will have a better experience next time.

My same friend and I have 3 more cruises currently booked. :D

It seems to me it's more likely to work for people who live alone and/or have often traveled alone on business.

 

Before taking a solo cruise, I would recommend dining alone at a couple of "sit down" dinner restaurants (not fast food or Denny's). If you don't enjoy the experience, then solo cruising might not be for you.

This post gave me a good chuckle! I've lived alone for the past 8 years and eat at nice sit-down restaurants alone several times/week!! I also work from home, so I'm alone at home M-F. It's not a matter of not being used to being alone, but that I enjoy the companionship and pleasure of having someone to enjoy my vacations with. I'm alone so much of the time that it's really fun to be with a friend or family member on my trips. At least I found out how much I disliked solo cruising before I actually booked one on purpose.

Glad most of you enjoy solo cruising, but as someone said, it's not necessarily meant for everyone. I think it's good to let newbies know that cruising solo isn't always a good fit. ;)

Thanks for posting your experience. Sorry for your friend, but at least X went above and beyond to help alleviate the situation. I hope she has travel insurance next time!

She learned a BIG lesson about travel insurance! She'll never travel without it again. I always get it and thought she did too.

Even if you're very healthy and have never had a travel issue, you never know if you're plane will be delayed, your luggage could end up in the North Pole, or you might get sick or injured unexpectedly. It's a small price to pay up front compared to a huge expense later on. ;)

As my friend and I were boarding the ship for our first Celebrity cruise, she began to get very sick. It came on so quickly that by the time we got to our cabin, she was in extreme pain. The steward helped me take her down to the Medical Center where a fantastic doctor diagnosed her with pancreatitis! He called the emergency squad and they took her to a local hospital, where she stayed for nearly a week (while I went on the cruise alone - that's another story that's over on the Solo board).

Unfortunately, my friend did not have travel insurance so her bill for the Medical Center is nearly $1,000. But since she didn't get to take the cruise, she also lost that money.

While she was in the hospital, a representative from Celebrity called her a couple times to make sure she was doing OK and said that she would try to get my friend a partial cruise fee refund. Well, because it was a medical emergency, Celebrity ended up giving her a cruise credit for the ENTIRE amount she'd paid for the cruise to be used on another cruise within a year!! We're so happy and now planning another Celebrity cruise. So . . . .

A BIG THANK YOU TO CELEBRITY CRUISE LINE!!!! :D

First, I have a disclaimer: this post is just my own personal opinion and experience. I realize that many of the posters/viewers here love to travel solo and that's great; but I have a different feeling after having a very unexpected solo cruise.

It all started when my friend and I were taking a shuttle bus to the ship. She started to feel nauseous and thought she was car sick. As we were standing in the line to check in, she got very bad abdominal pains and needed a wheelchair! We were quickly taken to our cabin where she laid down, but the pain continued to increase. I called the ship's doctor and our cabin steward helped me take her down to the medical center.

The doctor was fantastic and did xrays, blood work, an IV, and pain meds. They diagnosed her with pancreatitis and called the local emergency squad! They transferred her to a local hospital where she ended up spending nearly a week. (BTW, she's better now).

So . . . . I ended up going on the cruise alone. I was in shock for a day as I've never traveled solo, but then realized that I just needed to make the best of it.

I found that mealtimes were the most uncomfortable time. Sometimes I would go to the dining room, but about 2/3 of the time I just ate in the buffet where I could read my book. I had nice tablemates when in the dining room, but occasionally I would be seated alone and found it very strange.

The ship didn't have many activities so on the 3 sea days I just stayed on my balcony most of the days either reading or watching TV. Very boring!!

I did go on shore at the 3 ports, but am not comfortable as a woman alone taking a taxi on a Caribbean island. So I did one excursion and just walked around in the 2 other towns. Again, very boring especially compared to what we had planned to do - but they all involved taking taxis.

I am trying to look on the bright side: I was on a cruise in beautiful warm weather where I didn't have to cook, clean or go to work and I certainly had a better time than my poor friend who spent the week in a hospital in pain. But I learned that I won't ever take a solo cruise on purpose because I was very lonely and bored. No one to share good times with. It's just not my cup of tea. Again, this is just my personal opinion and experience. :)

Yikes! Don't like those actors in the roles. Much prefer the "famous" ones. I love watching the show - it's on every Sunday at 2pm. on MeTV.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering why my stock price dropped 4.95% today! :( But I'm "ahead" anyway and love my OBC.

. . . one perk I have little interest in is the free laundry. For me, the idea of sending my clothes to be washed in a big machine with other people's dirty stuff is kind of "ew."

So . . . do you bring your own towels and sheets with you from home?? What's the difference in wiping your body with towels or sleeping on linens that thousands of other people have used and are washed with many others in the laundry? Same sort of "ew"' isn't it! ;)

I love the laundry perk!! :D

Can anyone tell us the best beach, closest to the docks in these locations

I was just in St. Maarten. All the ships dock in the same area. There were 6 ships in port on our day! The beach closest to the dock (right in front of the town of Philipsburg) isn't supposed to be the best beach, but it looked fine.

After you walk off the ship, there is a small shopping area and, to the left, is the water taxi dock. Costs $7 for an all day round trip pass. The water taxi goes across the bay and lets you off in town. The beach is right there too.

If you want to go to other beaches, you'll need to take a taxi.

Where we felt Princess failed badly this cruise was on the entertainment side.

We put very little emphasis on the ship's entertainment, so it seems like a small thing compared to all the other positives. But everyone's different.

 

Hardly ever saw the cruise director

I've never seen the CD on a ship; wouldn't know who they are nor care. What difference will they make to my cruise (none). JMHO.

 

We'd seen all of the Broadway-style shows at least once or twice before

I've seen many of the production shows, but they all seem the same. Don't go anymore. Boring.

 

The only saving grace, entertainment wise was the movie selection and we watched about eight movies over the 10 days.

I prefer watching the movies the most. And Princess has many current ones. Love MUTS at night.

If we moved over to Royal Caribbean, for example, for better entertainment, what would we lose in return? How does the service and food quality compare?

I just went on the Celebrity Reflection for the first time and although it was a great cruise and ship (excellent food and service), the entertainment was worse than Princess and they had very few activities during the day - virtually no trivia. Again, this made no difference to me but you might not enjoy them if the entertainment is the most important part of the cruise for you.

I've sailed 6 times with Princess and my travel friend has sailed 7 times. All were in minisuites or full suites, but neither of us have ever been upgraded or offered an upsell. :(

Not sure how so many of you have gotten upgrades/upsells, but I don't hold out much hope that it'll ever happen to us.

Very good points for each cruise line, glad you were able to take a Celebrity Cruise! I remember a very pleasant afternoon chatting with you on our tour of Barbados several years ago while on an Emerald Cruise. Glad to see you are still experiencing the joys of crushing!

Thanks!

Ken

Hi Ken!

Good to hear from you. That cruise 2 years ago was my favorite Caribbean cruise ever. The one I just got back from a couple days ago wasn't nearly as fun because my friend had to be taken off the ship before we sailed because she got very ill with pancreatitis. I found cruising alone to be very lonely. She's getting better and we're having lunch together tomorrow.

What cruises have you guys been on since we cruised together in 2012? We did a great Baltic cruise last July 2013 on the Crown Princess. Before leaving from Southampton we spent a week in Iceland and London; was really fun.