Denny01

OK, I cant control myself, I have to share an experience in Rome prior to going to Civitavecchia. We were crusing with 2 other couples. They toured Italy prior and we were meeting for the cruise. I signed us up for Rome Cabs. When Cabs sent me their offer, it was Much higher than what they listed on their website and I responded why. I had made mistake and typed in 60 pieces of luggage instead of 6! And Rome Cabs had set us for a full bus. Fixed it. Our friends stayed near the train station where there’s a lot of nice tourist hotels. I decided to go crazy and used my Hilton points and booked the Hilton Cavalieri, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel up near the Vatican. Used All My Points!! What a place. It was a tourist site in itself. We dined in the Hilton Club area for free because the restaurant was 150 Euros….each! Well, sitting in the lobby waiting for our shuttle when a Full bus shows up. I get Very Nervous because this isnt a hotel where bus loads stay. Driver stepped in and called out my name. Joined him and started explaining we were expecting a shuttle for 6. He got on the phone as he drove to our friends hotel downtown and got it all straight that we were charged for just a 6-person shuttle!!! Got to the Terminal. And as the Full Bus pulls up, out come about a dozen+ porters to take all the bus-loads’ luggage….I see my chance of completely embarrassing my wife, so I put my sport coat over my shoulders, my sunglasses on and I step off the bus, saying “Please, Please! Just treat me as one of the ‘Little People’!! Please do not make a scene! No autographs….Please!!!’. When the poor porters see our 6 pieces of luggage and 6 of us…..they didn’t seem to enjoy me as much as I did!! oh well. Den I made a mistake when I put down how many pieces of luggage. Instead of 6

We used Rome Cabs a number of years ago and they took us up to the Celebrity terminal. Recently, we stayed in a hotel in Cvitavecchia for 2 nights (Loved the town! Lots to see and do and great dining) and the hotel shuttle tool us up to the ship. And the Terminal area isnt huge and you will See your Celebrity ship and it wont be an issue even if for whatever reason you have to use the port shuttle. our ship docked right near the entry. For retreat guests, there is a special check-in area right at the entry. They have a little bar and if you want snacks, that too. All Very handy and extremely quick. For standard checkin, it all appeared very straightforward and quick. I didnt see any lines at all. A great port to depart from…and worth a stay there if you want to just relax and not do heavy touring in Rome….which is fantastic too! den

And yes, cruise lines (Normally) do not get involved with visas and entry requirements because each country you may enter and your nationality set differing requirements……and you need to have one completed Prior to arrival for Vietnam….and your passport needs to be good for 6mo further on. Den

And I LOVE your Tag!! Watched H-5-0 throughout the 70’s. I doooo wish id been much more thinking when I picked my Tag…which is really Dumb! Great Tag!!! It’s so perfect for cruising!!! Den

- And the Sky Suite wasn’t a ‘suite’, just a bit larger SR much like a standard SR. - And the Aqua SR wasnt underwater or wasnt ‘aqua-toned’ or even have an aquarium, or….. - And the OceanView SRs didnt have ‘Ocean Views’ when cruising the Gulf Of Mexico (a Gulf not an ocean!!); or the Caribbean Sea, Mediterranean Sea And the Baltic Sea (all ‘Seas’ not oceans!!!); or cruising the…..oh forget it! Den

Interesting that you didnt copy my first sentence in my post that stated clearly‘….for us’. I guess it’s expected I use that phrase in Every sentence. And interesting the post stating the IV SRs become suffocating with the window down wasnt quoted, and it Also didnt have anything about ‘…for us’ My 5 Edge-Class cruses where I didnt feel the SR become ‘suffocating’ were: - 2 B2B’s Caribbean in late March - 1 Caribbean in November - 1 TransAtlantic in October - 1 Iceland/Ireland in July And no, I didn’t leave the window down for 12+hrs and so on. Den

We love the IV. Makes the SR much larger and more useful…..for us. I dont sunbathe on outside balconies (and nowhere else really!) so find the design just fine. And no, it doesnt become suffocating with the window down. Been on 5 Edge-Class cruises and booked 3 more. Each Class has its positives….and negatives. Den

We got slamming doors with balcony, concierge and Aqua SRs. All depends on your neighbors. most are very considerate….some aren’t. den

You dont need to lie or make things up, you just let Celebrity know prior and again when you board and it can be set up. A number of posters have done this for many reasons, even ‘just want to leave here’. den

And if your ‘source’ of cheaper rates is other passengers ……. beware of the ‘source’. I find many (not all) who are interested in sharing what it costs them, tend to, shall we say, ‘exaggerate’ a bit. And thats why I dont get into discussions certainly on board and not on this forum on what I paid. “Oh, I got a better price”….”Oh, I got a better price, free flights, free Specialty Dining; free tours”….you get the idea. As stated, there are no child rates and your arent charged for drinks in a suite, it part of the ‘deal’ and for any passenger, including your child. I guess your TA could have checked on some ‘deal’ for a child, but they are very much usually charged the same. I Very Much stay away from checking what others pay for their cruse: there is always someone onboard who beat your rate, no matter what they actually paid. And of course, all kinds of deals are available. I usually get better rates using my TA who has group rates on many cruises. Just booked an Aqua SR and it didnt show the 75% for the 2nd person; called my TA. Turns out the rate she found beat the cost of a 100% and 75% rate for the room. Den

It appears Summit does this itinerary every year, so hopefully, 2025 is a continuation. And to those who joined a thread about what itineraries we’d like to see added but post about never cruising X again because of whatever…..isnt there enough threads bemoaning all the negatives and how at least one thread is specifically about not cruising on X again enough? And yes, we can all post what we want, but what’s the point. After negative experiences with Viking Ocean, I wont be cruising that Line again…..but Im Not on multiple Viking threads stating so. Had my say after the experience and left the forum. Den

To be very clear, as stated by other posts, there is no charge for not showing up at the MDR. Obviously you should let them know of any changes but not really an issue. Have done this when stayed ashore longer than planned and have changed our plans and stopped by to let them know very close to our set time. Neither time was an issue. den

There is the Celebrity Summit does the Greenland/Iceland run from then to Boston. Aug ‘24. Den

And we were able to do the same on Apex. Den

Yes, you can bring sodas and water onboard. And a stated, one wine bottle per person. Going All Included is a personal decision usually based on cost and ease of use. We are on the Ascent in Nov for Thanksgiving, a 4N prior to its ‘official’ cruise start. Looking forward to it. Love the Edge Class ships. Den

Not necessarily…more ships and much larger ships. More popular for families in many cases, but its Not more popular for me!! Den

It seems Im playing the game of defending X and making a lot of assumptions. There are 25 10-12N S Caribbean cruises that are still ongoing, and the TP cruises dont seem to have been canceled…at least not yet and so on And I don’t want to play that role since I dont really have any better insight than anyone else. So back to what this thread is about: I agree on a TA both ways! We could take one across and enjoy Europe, or go both ways which gives us lots of options. I would LOVE more West Coast cruises with overnights in SF, a stop in Astoria and Monterey and maybe more US ports calls. And along with that, Id LOVE East Coast Cruises. From NYC (OK, NJ) along the coast stopping in neat ports all the way to Florida. Then back. Did a S Caribbean cruise out of Miami that ended in NJ and spent days in Manhattan seeing plays. Us southerners would love that and our notherner friends would love to end up here and spend a few extra days. So I think more along the US coasts would be fantastic and not just repositionings moving up to Alaska or back out after the Alaska season, or the Summit moving out of the Caribbean and up to NJ for the Bermuda and the Greenland/Iceland itineraries. Heck, I live in a neat area of the Gulf Coast - Destin/Ft Walton Beach/Pensacola and there are great places to see here. Love to take people on a tour of the Naval Aviation Museum….Navy planes are So much more interesting that those AF airplanes!! Enough. But you get the idea that I think some US ports of call would be fun. Den

Not sure what your concern is. Millennium is doing the Best of Japan in 2025 with its schedule showing up to April ‘25 (Booked for March ‘25) with nothing showing afterwards, which I assume means when X opens their 2025 itineraries, we should see the Millennium going across the N Pacific has its done before. I guess it could work South and cross that way back S Pacific. But its made the run to Vancouver a number of times. Den

I read the posts about so few longer S Caribbean cruises, and was a bit confused. Looked at X website and it shows 25 10, 11, 12 N Caribbean cruises into early March ‘24. And many have the ABC islands. So not sure what the complaints are about. Den

Neat! But I think X is doing this in many regions…the Caribbean is a bit of a challenge, but we had booked the Iceland cruise with Norway as the follow-up. Had to cancel the 2nd leg to join our kids going to London…oh how we suffer! Doing a Sydney around NZ and added the S Australia Wine cruise to Tasmania since it’s such a long flight over. Would love to do the Around Japan followed by the TP back to cut down on the flights, but doing Japan early Spring for the Cherry Blossoms! Enough. Love to do B2Bs to make up our own itineraries. Den

I know its neat to not go back to a port on B2B’s and B2B2B’s, but except for some of the small island ports, there is A Lot to see in port calls and a 1-day stay is surely not nearly enough. But understand wanting a varied experience That brings up what I love to see more - Overnights. Gives us a lot more options on tours and actually experiencing cities at night and so on. X started adding more, and need to do it more. Loved overnight in Dublin and did a Literary Pub Crawl where locals stepped out in the pubs that great Irish writers hung out and played them. Quoted some of their work. It was fantastic. Of course, most Irish fiction is the same as Country Western songs: my girl left me; took my truck and ran over my dog!! Enough. If not overnight in Dublin, book Dublin for a few days prior to a Dublin start/end port. I know many of us do that so they are in port the day prior, but add a few more and really enjoy a new experience…..or try new ones in a port you’ve been to. And maybe try a different area prior to the cruise. We did a week in Cornwall prior to a TA out of Southampton; stayed in Civitavecchia, Rome’s actual port, for 3 days and Loved It! Small but lots to do and see in a smaller Italian town. den

I agree with this post, but highlighted the one Line above that I’ll address: saying like it is…..For You. I find critiques on dining, and how a staff person responded to the poster is all very subjective and I dont track those ‘criticisms’ - they are sharing their very biased opinion. And biased doesn’t mean it’s wrong…..just limited by taste and how someone treated the staff person they are complaining about. And certainly the ‘way too expensive….Im moving over to SilverSeas’ type comment is always interesting….but understand the personal opinion that they will spend more money for what they want and X isnt providing it For Them. I just dont understand why X is raising costs…but maybe it has to do with economies?? When we first started cruising 30yrs ago, I almost went crazy over the WWII/40’s music that was played…..then it got Much Better with My 60’s-70’s music…..but now??? How dare they not focus on us 75+ geezer customers and even Think about Those Youngsters!!! OK, I’ll put away my pompoms. Den

Understand each of us have differing experiences and certainly differing levels of taste, but my experience on Edge-Class (6 prior and 3 coming up) and my view differs a good deal. - Found the MDRs to be quite fine and enough options to make me very satisfied. But dining opinions are Very personal. Enjoyed the smaller MDRs and the special menus each had. And added Eden as our Favorite Specialty DR. - Not sure about the level of music. Dont remember it being an issue. - In All my X experiences, Edge and all others, the CD only spoke once with the Capt. May have been extended by a few, but too long once a day? - unless it ran into the afternoon!! - Agree with a reduction of staff. Took longer to get goodies and coffees at El Bacio. But overall, the staff was fantastic….and once I stepped back into a venue, the seemed to remember me. Enough. We all have our experiences. As Ive posted prior, Celebrity is Currently meeting our cruising desires, but as you can see below, do cruise on other Lines so I Hate to disappoint those that label anyone who makes a mistake disagreeing with criticisms as Cheerleaders……Im only 5’ 5” a bit too round and all that to be jumping up and down with pom-poms. Den

Great Thread…..gets me thinking about what Id love to do. - Like the roundtrip to Hawaii. Did it on Princess and loved it. - Like a more Norway-focused one that goes further north and longer than the existing. - Like a Baltic that stops in different ports…..love Not including St Petersburg. Will keep thinking about this. Ive booked a few smaller cruise ships in order to see ports that these larger ships cant pull into…..but there is always anchoring when the port cant handle the ship!!

All the ‘clubs’ that offered me membership had names ending in terms such as: ‘gang’; ‘outfit’; ‘mob’; ‘syndicate’; ‘ring’…..so it never seemed o work it well. Den