Christine Frances

Here are Feb/15 reviews and they look pretty good. Sounds like the Charter didn't come through for their clients. http://www.cruisecritic.com/celebrity-millennium-asia-cruises/rs/?page=8

We were on the Millie last Oct for 2 week visiting Japan and China and it was a fabulous cruise with great food.

Bring your baby and have fun. The crew usually makes a big fuss about them as they have babies at home. You are already know how your baby "works" so you will know when it is time to head for the buffet rather than a 2 hre meal in the MDR. Ha ave a great time!!!

Thanks Christine Frances!! I was able to book one thanks to your great advice...

 

 

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You are very welcome:)

I can see Alcoves on our Reflection sailing but when I try to add one to my cart it says not available. Our sailing is in February.....am I too early?

Phone Specialty Dining at 1-800-722-5941 to book

Thanks everyone. :) Maybe we will do a day. I would jump on it if they were facing the water.

You would not enjoy it then. Open to all the people who use the walkway along the rail. You would have no privacy at all and your view would be constantly interrupted by people.

Any stops in Cuba will still have to follow US laws. Meaning they must be educational, religious and humanitarian trips. Traveling to Cuba solely as a tourist remains prohibited. This means like Fathom - O would have to establish these type tours and also on board educational lectures for those not disembarking.

Should read "Any stops in Cuba the US citizens will have to follow US laws". As a Canadian, we could book private tours, taxi to Veradero for a day on the beach etc.

The Marina and Fathom are late to the game.

This company has been cruising to Cuba for a few years now with most of the clients being Canadian or European. Quite a few US citi\ens sailed as well by departing from Canada to join the cruise in Havana. The Cubans, until recently at least did not stamp passports. It used to be a Canadian company until Celestyal bought them. They now have legal options for US citizen in place for their itineraries. http://yourcubacruise.com/us-travelers

This thread was started in May/13 and there are over 3000 posts http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1850565

MSC is home-porting in Havana https://www.msccruises.com/en-gl/Plan-Book/Find-Cruise.aspx?reg=CAR

Viking Oceans http://www.vikingcruisescanada.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/caribbean-americas/central-american-shores-cuba/index.html

and Cruise & Maritime Voyages with an overnight in Havana https://us.cruiseandmaritime.com/cruise/p707/grand-cuba-central-america-caribbean-experience

There are probably more

Thanks to all:) I will do as suggested!

After 8 yrs of fighting wet AMD in my good eye I seem to have lost the battle. I now have no central vision in both eyes. My peripheral is pretty good so far but I am losing that battle fast. At what point should I look at a service dog? Is there a low vision level? I have major problems with depth perception (ie walking on uneven terrain) and am now terrified of walking across multi*laned intersections as I cannot see the walk signal on the other side. So my question is, do you have to be totally blind to qualify for a wonderful guide? I can still manage in my home:)

There were 8 of us at the table in the MDR and we all thought the food was excellent on our recent cruise and two of the party were cooks. We just enjoy the fact that we are lucky enough to be on a cruise with a line that provides excellent service and we have tried other lines who don't come anywhere near the quality of food or service.

 

 

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Totally agree re the food. Our group all agree that the food has much improved over the last 3-4 years. As none of the so called "cut backs" have affected us we can only appreciate the additions. We do not all miss or like the some things but we are very happy with Celebrity.

I wrote to Celebrity regarding this issue and to see if they actually had a different product than what we normally carry in little bottles. I recieved a phone call and a follow up email. X's resonse as follows:

Dear Mrs. XXXXXX,

Thank you for your inquiry regarding our hand sanitizer used aboard our fleet. It was a pleasure speaking with you today.

In answer to your question, the product we offer to our guests onboard is not the same as the regular over the counter gel. We special order our stock, as most cruise lines do, to include the gel with a formula created to target Norovirus.

With this being said, we will do everything we can to avoid the spread of an outbreak on our ships. Please know, the moment the first case is brought to our attention, additional cleaning procedures begin. The level of severity is dependent on guest participation of utilizing the hand sanitizer that we provide, accurate reporting, and adhering to the confinement procedure if determined to be contagious by our Medical Staff.

I hope this information helps you on future sailings! If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to contact us back. We are always happy to help.

Sincerely,

Elisabeth Buchanan

Celebrity Cruises

844-418-6824

From what I've read, it seems the repair to the pier will take some time to complete. So I would definitely assume that the docking schedules will be affected. We will be there on June 26th with three other ships, so I am waiting to see what that means for us.

According to Ketchikan FM radio's website, the "repairs to the dock have been started and should be completed by July 6th if not sooner"

.http://www.krbd.org/ So 3-4 weeks

I think it is just the pool that is off limits to children. Has anyone got a link to where children cannot enter or eat in the Solarium?

As far as I am concerned and what I know the UK has different ideas.A tip is a voluntary expression of thanks for good advice that has been given.If staff get used to having tip regularly in advance they are bound to look towards still receiving extra tips at the end of the cruise,so doing very well for themselves.This is one of the main differences between USA and UK customers.I myself will continue to go to the desk and have tips taken off the bill.I then will tip via envelopes at the end of the cruise ,I have always ended up giving the recommended amount.

Funny how now when we go to pubs and restaurants in the UK they are quite happy to add 10% to the bill without asking!

I have read? heard? somewhere that the assistants are no longer used. Celebrity is going the way of Royal and using only one person per stateroom.

 

And to others...

I too resent anyone tacking on any surcharge or charge not contracted for.

 

All non-American staff have had a 30% plus increase in "wages" over the last two years as the dollar soared against other currencies. For those of us on the other side of that currency, travel costs have increased by a third. Those who don't mind the nickels and dimes, please pay a bit more to cover the extras that annoy some of us.

We had assi't room stewards a week ago!! We had a different (nice) guy who vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom. The room steward had other duties.

I am happy to "pay a bit more" to the hardworking staff. Sorry .55 cents annoys you lol. You seem to know how much the staff make but I am wondering how much you make? You don't actually mean that a 30% raise on a $500 salary means we should all stop tipping? As a Canadian, yes the rates have hit us hard but we don't take out on the crew.

Sorry but how now getting out of hand. Just call it what it is Service charge or better

known at resorts " Resort charge"

 

Now everyone is prepaying tips . On the last night and morning the room attendant and waiters kind of lurk looking for additional tips as if you have left nothing.

 

Go back to the old system of envelops and tip what you really thought the service deserved.

Seriously???? You going to run down and tip the people in the cellar who wash and fold your towels and linens, etc. There are many more people than your room steward or waiter who are working their butts off so you can enjoy your cruise. You may see your room steward but how often do you see his ass't who scrubs your toilet!!! I get envelopes from GR and tip extra to people I thought "deserved" it.

When we were in Juneau last week the only ship that was tendering was a Princess ship.

We were on last weeks sailing and Capt Berdos never came in "hot" to any dock!! In fact, we were remarking how delicately he docked at Ketchikan between a HAL ship and another one. Textbook docking at Juneau as well. The side of a ship is like a giant sail and strong, gusty, winds can overpower thrusters & pods.

1) the capabilities of the US military far exceed that of most other countries. How many countries do you think have mid air refueling to helos?

 

2) that must have been one very sick person . . . altho the military will sometimes take on the missions for the training benefit .... btw, USCG which does most of the helo medivacs you read about does not have inflight refueling capability so this case was handled by the Air Force .... not their normal mission but sometimes done, as I said, as practice for the "PJs"

Google is your friend:) Canada, UK, Israel, Iran, France ......

It's doubtful you would have had much of a "social impact". It's been reported that all Cubans working in the tourist industry are employees of the state, are tasked with telling the official party line, are closely monitored by the Cuban government, and must turn over all revenue to the Cuban government who promptly pays them in worthless pesos. The only "social impact" you would have is increasing the wealth of the Cuban Government.

Not exactly. Cuban's for the last few years have been able to run their own businesses ie opening B&B's , owning restaurants, operating tours. The Cubans are warm and friendly, will talk about anything, and are cautiously optimistic about opening their country to the US. They are very proud and have an incredible culture. They are looking forward to more "material" things that are lacking because of the blockade but are healthy and well educated.

This has already occurred. We went to Cuba last year. My brother went this year and also a few years ago. According to him. Cuba was much better on his first trip than the recent one.

 

What is your problem with the current US restrictions? They did not impact our trip or his trips at all.

 

BTW - the reason that trips to Cuba are expensive is that the Cuban government knows that people want to go and charges the tour companies high prices for the privilege. I guess that that is what you cal capitalism.

 

DON

I actually think that it is Carnival Corp (Fathom) that is capitalizing on this and taking advantage of the opportunity to offer US citizens a way to visit Cuba Canadians and Europeans go to Cuba because it is relatively inexpensive holiday (re hotels, food, tours etc) compared to the rest of the Caribbean islands.

You're absolutely right, this was inevitable, the writing was on the wall, every cliche you want to use. A number of us on this board predicted this long ago, its just about supply and demand.

As the main floor of the MRD is mainly 4,6 & 8 tops they must be doing a lot of re organizing as it seems that most Select Diners want 2 tops. Hopefully they are not all jammed together like Blu. I can just see rows and rows of 2 tops lol

First 7 day Alaska is May 22.

It was awful! You'd think fresh-from-the-oven would be fantastic. So disappointing.

 

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Boy did I every fall for this lol Too funny

When mainstream lines like Celebrity and HAL can refund port charges for missed ports (no matter what reason), cover medical expenses for visits to the Medical Centre (visits and meds during a Noro outbreak), promote stringent hand sanitizer protocals. and in the case of X as I have not sailed HAL refunded a per diem rate for anyone confined to their cabin who comply's with protocols. I can see why people sued.when you are used to better treatment.