sippican

Close to the actual travel date,  there would be no cabins being held by a travel agency. The cruise line has a recall date for unsold cabins.

Someone in an FV may make a successful bid for a higher category, which would create an opening. I just upgraded to a higher category because the sale price was good, which will leave a highly sought after aft C1 available (which have been sold out for awhile). Now X may decide not to return our cabin to general inventory and just assign it to someone with a move-up bid.

You never know how inventory may change from day to day, or even hour to hour! It doesn't hurt to try.

We have booked flights by Celebrity a number of times, feeling we'd have peace of mind if there should be a travel glitch.

How wrong we were!

During our November trip to the Galapagos, I received notification on my phone that there had been changes to our return flight.  The Guest Relations Desk onboard checked with Celebrity Air and informed us we were all set - no changes. The next day (disembarkation day), I received another such notification. The Celebrity representative/guide said he spoke with Celebrity Air and not to worry, our flight was as originally scheduled. At the airport lounge in Baltra - the airlines website listed our flight from Quito to Boston as cancelled! There was no X staff to help us, and you cannot dial a US 800 number from an international location.

The short ending to hours of pure panic was that my daughter based in the US booked us a new flight on a different airline, then went to bat for us with X to pay for that flight. They wanted to put us on a flight three days later! They did end up paying but their solution would have been to leave us in Ecuador for three days.

So much for guaranteed travel assistance!

This TA has not received any notification whatsoever regarding cancelled Onward cruise for clients (nor have they). I found out by checking the booking portal and seeing those dates replaced with Caribbean sailings.

They'll need to virtually give them away to compete with other lines during those months! 

On 2/25/2022 at 3:16 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

Just curious as we travel in AQ or above and usually only have 2-3 categories available to bid.  On a bid I did yesterday from a CS they had a SunsetView, RS and PH open for bid, which was the first time I've seen the SunsetView.

 As opposed to sunset veranda cabins, I believe the sunset view cabins are the two suites in the bow.

7 hours ago, zitsky said:

Ban on large ships?  When did that start?  I’m glad I visited on NCL in 2018.

https://polarjournal.ch/en/2021/06/08/no-large-cruise-ships-for-the-falkland-islands/

On 1/12/2022 at 8:13 AM, foodsvcmgr said:

We are booked for Antarctica next January at an extremely reasonable fare.

I hope Celebrity changes ships if Infinity is sold off rather than canceling entirely.

Hopefully they would do so as they are selling these cruises for ‘24 on Eclipse so these are not just one off itineraries for them.

The entire "Antarctica" question has been up in the air for some time. Due to the Polar Code and the ban on large ships in The Falklands, it is a mystery as to how those itineraries will even be possible. 

On 2/12/2022 at 2:51 PM, Arizona Wildcat said:

 

The new builds by RCCL meet the standards for polar service.  Do not know about the older smaller ships.

That's surprising news!

I wonder if they will be equipped for the Polar Code - survival suits for all, only enclosed lifeboats ... ?

Call. You'll have no problem whatsoever.

Not every available cabin is showing on the booking site on most Celebrity ships.

FWIW, the itineraries are up for speculation. At this time, no one knows what impact the Polar Code will have on future sailings, and if the Falklands will lift the ban on large cruise ships.

35 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

Always bring plenty of books 😊.

 

We;ve done one TA, westbound. Weather was quite frustrating, mostly beautiful and sunny, but so windy that the decks were closed for most of the crossing. Ship wasn't built to have all the passengers inside all the time - you also had no furniture on the balcony, and frankly the first day or tow the balcony wasn't safe.

It is highly unlikely that you will have anything like that in April, which is the upside of the spring TAs.

 

Join your role call! You will get in touch with people looking for card partners, orgainizing slot pulls, other activities. Hopefully by April, these will actually take place.

I was so surprised to read this. We did a November westbound TA and had nothing but calm seas, barely any wind and sun almost every single day.  We were on our balcony every single day. 

Sorry you had such cruddy conditions.

I'd certainly have a back-up plan. 

Is your CVS guaranteeing the results will be back prior to your boarding?  Our CVS is saying 2-3 days.

We've booked with Blackberry.

I've also seen recommendations for 12 Transfers and International Friends.

You may be able to find the prices, but good luck purchasing them before you board. We are doing the Silhouette TA in April. The passes are listed but you cannot load them into your cart.

I spent hours on the phone and was finally transferred to the tech department because they said it was a glitch on the website (their favorite excuse for everything). I was assured it would be fixed within 24 hours.

That was a month ago.

Anyone have luck pre-purchasing?

There's a nice little beach you can walk to, right over the bridge. 

Honestly, I'd stay onboard and enjoy a nice quiet time by the pool or in the spa.

On 1/5/2022 at 4:54 PM, foodsvcmgr said:

 

I’m keeping my booking for now on Celebrity Infinity for January ‘23 and hoping favorable conditions allow us access.

At $3,000 pp for a 14 day cruise veranda cabin that MAY include the tip of Antarctica I can’t really complain as it’s less than my 14 day cruise BA- Santiago in ‘20 and way less than these drive bys were marketed for previously.

 

 

 

Your bigger issue may be if the Infinity will even return to service. There is much speculation.

As said previously, it's really personal choice. Last time on Silhouette, we preferred Tuscan over Murano. Nothing in particular.we just enjoyed the food choices more. Take a look at the menus to help make your decision.

22 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

I think more people would find it more maddening if they posted times and then were two hours late, as can happen. I suspect it is to avoid dealing with the resultant bad temper and outcry that they are so vague.

That could be true. But I wonder how it is that every other cruise line (including the ones owned by the same company) do post times on their itineraries, and manage to stay very close to projections?  I "suspect" it's an encouragement to book all excursions and flights through Cunard.

I called Cunard with this exact question. (Am I the only one that finds it maddening they refuse to post any itinerary times?)

We are due in port at 5am. The representative told me the flight guidelines are not to book before 11:30 am.

We booked 11 am base on 2 recent experiences. 

Don't forget the covid testing requirement.

It's not uncommon at all.

Imagine if there's an issue with the payment. That can take many forms: the CC not going through, an expired card, website issues, not being able to contact you on the final payment deadline, etc.  Who would you blame - the TA of course. 

Most reminders are auto-generated. It should not be an issue at all if you request to wait.

If it is an actual "demand" as you state, find a new TA for your next trip.

The Galapagos are indeed magical!

We loved Xpedition so much, that we recently sailed on her for the second time.  (You can't beat a ship designed for 100 passengers, with only 48 allowed onboard).

34 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

May 2 - Southampton: Depart 16:30
May 4 - Vigo: Arrive 09:00, Depart 17:00
May 12 - Port Canaveral: Arrive 06:00     
May 13 - Port Canaveral: Depart 17:00
May 14 - Fort Lauderdale: Arrive 06:00

Thank you!

15 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

As you've found, Cunard does not make the specific port timings available on their own websites. But those timings are available on quite a few cruise booking websites, including some of Cunard's partner websites for other countries. I'm not sure I can be more specific than that since we aren't allowed to mention travel agent sites here. There used to be several cruise calendar/timetable sites providing those timings but those sites have mostly suspended operations.

 

If you'd like to post which Cunard cruise you are going to be on, I'll be happy to post the timings I'm seeing.

We are on the 12-Day Queen Elizabeth TA, May 2nd. As a travel agent - I can't even find it, lol! Have been on hold 30+. 

TIA

We've booked a number of times through Celebrity. As mentioned, do your research first so you know your options. 

Our last experience was a complete mess! X left us stranded in Ecuador after a flight cancellation (we knew about the cancellation two days in advance). There was absolutely no support or guidance. So much for their emergency travel support! 

We will not use them again. 

Another newbie question.

I've searched my confirmation as well as "Itinerary Details" on Cunard's website.

I am looking for actual times for sail-away, ports of call, and disembarkation/arrival.

Terms like "morning and afternoon" make it very difficult to plan. I'm trying to make  a return flight booking.

On 1/30/2022 at 11:08 AM, Arizona Wildcat said:

As I have said over and over.  Celebrity Air books flights.  They are not an airline.  They will "assist" you, but airline fares and schedules change.

A really simple guideline is to make sure your fare has NO CHANGE FEES.  Celebrity Air doesn't charge the fees.  The airlines do.  All the complaints here are because you did not understand what you were buying.  There's almost always a reason for the cheaper fare - the restrictive fine print.

Also a heads up that airlines domestically pay mostly zero or $10 commissions.   

They may not "assist" you at all. Our complaint has nothing whatsoever with knowing what we were buying!

They did nothing, absolutely nothing, when we were twice notified of a cancelled flight. No acknowledgement of cancellation, no support in rebooking.

2 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

I suspect part of the confusion about the dress code is that the Cunard website doesn't completely spell out the dress code in words the way that can be found elsewhere. Here is the Cunard dress code as spelled out in the Daily Programmes.

 

Gala Evening.

Dinner jacket, tuxedo, or dark suit with regular tie or bow tie for gentlemen. Evening or cocktail dress, smart trouser suit, or formal separates for ladies.

 

Smart Attire.

Gentlemen, every night we request you wear trousers with a collared shirt; jacket and tie is optional. Ladies, blouses and skirts or stylish trousers and dresses are welcome.

 

 

The only significant change to this wording recently is the part about "jacket ... is optional" for gentlemen on Smart Attire evenings. On most itineraries, the Smart Attire dress code used to read "jacket for gentlemen; tie is optional" prior to the pause in operations in 2020.

 

I hope this helps clarify the Cunard dress code, especially the part about dark suit and tie being acceptable for gentlemen of Gala Evenings.

7 minutes ago, lissie said:

Can confirm from personal experience (well my partner's ) - a dark suit, white shirt and in his case a bow tie is perfectly acceptable on gala nights - take a gold or red bowtie for the red and gold night gala 

Thank you!

That is most helpful and exactly what I was hoping to learn.