Karynanne

This thread has been an interesting read. And it's all about "Class" and what it is perceived to be.

We have booked Suites for the past several years. But it is for the additional space. I confess...I'm an over-packer. An affliction that I doubt will ever be brought under control. I like the addtional closet space, the bathroom space, and the drawer space.

So in our case...size matters. Not the traditional "class" distinction...just size. We usually travel with friends, that book in all different cabin categories, so the "suite perks" aren't applicable in our situation.

This website looks like it might be helpful:

 

http://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/foreign-entry-requirement.html

 

Look up the countries you are visiting to see what they require.

 

I'm sorry my information may have been incorrect. I did not anticipate other countries denying you entry.

This is the site that I viewed, and found that the countries we are visiting (Italy, Greece and Turkey) do not require the six month (beyond passport expiration date) date.

And we'll be returning to the U.S. via a Transatlantic, via the Caribbean, to Miami.

I think I'm good to go with this information.

You've got around 4 months to spare, more than enough cushion for your trip. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Renewing after your cruise should be just fine.

Actually it'll be 3 months at disembarkation. We're doing a B2B that ends 11/1.

Thank you for your input.

I'm usually right on top of everything, but this was one thing that totally slipped my mind!

No need to waste your money on an expedited passport. You'll be fine.

Should I not apply for the renewal now? Wait until after my cruise?

After reading Celebrity's site information (FAQ's), it states, that it is recommended, not required that a passport be further than 6 months of the sailing date.

I am sailing in 3 weeks, and just realized that my passport does expire in Feb. 2015. I'll apply for an expedited delivery of a renewal...just to be safe.

I know this may be a bit OT...but send a Celebrity to the West Coast!

There is no way of really knowing if vouchers will be utilized or not. But if your Roll Call is large (usually a Transatlantic), then there may be a good chance of the useage of vouchers.

Personally, I like vouchers. It allows you to visit any of the bar venues onboard, and not just the designated, assigned bar.

After seeing the replies I recognized that mentioning the travel agent name was a possible reason for removing the post. However, since the mention by name did not criticize nor compliment the travel agent that did not appear to be an issue worth pulling the thread for. I apologize for suggesting otherwise.

 

It looks like I also misread the posting sequence on the Rollcall thread. I guess I'm a bit of a newbie afterall!

 

The bottom line still stands. Celebrity has gone back on their word. As pointed out by several replies to original thread, there was a letter from Celebrity that my travel agent agent received at 10:56AM on 9/3/15 stating that "Guests that booked air transportation through Celebrity will receive a full refund".

 

My travel agent continued to follow up on this issue and called me just not to say that my claim for full refund has again been rejected by Choice Air. The thread from Host Andy dated 7/22/11 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1449882) answers the question of who owns ChoiceAir.

Just curious...was your original Choice Air reservation a "refundable" reservation, or "non-refundable"? This may possibly be the issue.

If "non-refundable", I would contact the original chosen airline and inquire what their specific cancellation policies are. Maybe the funds can be transferred or held for a future flight.

Great video. Thank you for sharing it. We'll be on Reflection in a few weeks, and are looking forward to the wonderful ports.

Karyn

Wonderful thread Arno!

I remember the "live" music in the MDR on Formal Evenings. What a lovely touch.

Karyn

If I understand it correctly, in many or most cases, the ads that appear on web pages that we visit are targeted based on our browsing history, the so-called tracking that google and others engage in. Nearly any ad can appear on nearly any web page; it depends on where you have been browsing previously. The web page owners get a little something out of the deal from the advertisers, typically based on the number of clicks they get from that webpage. That's how they make money for going to the trouble to create the web page that we all use "for free." Like "free" TV.

Exactly. My "banner" ranges from my selected airline to sites that I frequently use for shopping.

The shareholder benefits were seriously devalued when Celebrity stopped combining them with other "specials". It used to be that you could claim both the shareholder benefits and the onboard future cruise booking benefits. But somewhere along the line X decided they didn't want this extra incentive to stay with the brand. :(

We just incurred this issue. We booked a Transatlantic onboard, last year, and was told that we would be able to combine the onboard booking benefit, along with the shareholder benefit.

We were recently informed that this can't be done. I responded with the name of the "onboard booking agent...date...and information", but there so far hasn't been a response.

We've owned RCL stock for many years, and have utilized the shareholder benefit many times over. All in all, it has been an excellent investment. But I highly doubt if I would purchase the stock at todays price.

I would love to see Celebrity return to a Long Beach-Hawaii (R/T) itinerary once again. We've cruised that quite a few times, and loved it.

Actually anything that originates in California would be perfect. We always have to fly either cross-country or to Europe to our embarkations. It would be great to travel closer to home once in awhile.

I would like to see a level between Elite plus and Zenith. I think 1500 would be a good half way mark.

We're at 1600 points now. We possibly could see Zenith, but we may change our travel plans in the future. We'd like to do some River Cruises in Europe and see regions that large ships can't navigate.

That was a gamble. Could they have upgraded someone in a S2 to RS and given you the S2 ?

I asked our Travel Agent about that, and she called Celebrity to discuss that issue. She was told that there could be numerous scenarios. In our case, we had paid a very high fare on our original booking. I don't actually know if this was factored into the decision, but it seemed a logical reason to assign us the RS cabin.

I've come to realize that the Celebrity reservation department doesn't have a clear-cut policy, as far as Guarantee cabin assignments...or they haven't or won't let their passengers know what it is.

Karyn

I wouldn't book a "W" Suite Guarantee if there was a possibly of being assigned an S2 below the Oceanview Cafe.

BUT I would...and did book a "W" guarantee last summer, after final payment and knowing that all the S2's were previously booked.

Here was the situation. We had originally booked an S1 (corner) and were happy with that selection. We had paid a very high fare. After final payment, the fare on the S1 dropped over $2,000 per cabin. The remaining S1's were taken very quickly.

Then a week later, we saw that there were still many CS, RS and PH suites still available. So we decided to release our S1 cabin and put our booking into the "W" status. We realized that the worst cabin could possibly be our original booking. Nothing to lose.

After a couple of weeks waiting, we were assigned a Royal Suite. Our gamble (through our Travel Agent) paid off for us.

IMHO, be prepared to be content with the assigned cabin Celebrity has choosen for you. If you aren't...don't book a guarantee.

Karyn

What if you peek around the divider & find them smoking in the nude??:eek::eek:

Quite possibly the "peeker" would want compensaton for "eye pollution".

We had a cigar smoker in the suite next door to us on the Solstice. His comment when asked if he knew about the smoking policy was "it doesn't apply to me, I'm in a suite". DH smiled & took a picture of him with the cigar. We went to Guest Relations that day, the hotel manager went to the suite three days in a row (found out later he'd burned holes in the carpeting with his cigars). The person was disembarked at the next port.

 

I was very impressed with the way Celebrity handled the situation.

 

The day he was disembarked we were asked to stay out of our cabin for several hours while they did a deep clean of our cabin (& the one on the other side of the suite). We didn't expect any compensation, but received a bottle of very nice wine from the hotel director (as did the other cabin).

We have a similiar story. This occured in 1998 on Century. A family was cruising and occupied three cabins. One of the adult sons was a smoker. Apparently he fell asleep while smoking, and his bedding and the parts of the cabin caught fire. The sprinkler systems activated for his cabin, and the two cabins on either side of his, and the cabin on the deck below his. All four cabins were basically destroyed.

The "smoker" was put in the ship's brig, and the Mother had to put up a bond to cover the repair costs of the damage. This situation could have been very worse.

In those days, no one ever mentioned the word "compensation". Passengers were just satisfied to know that no one was injured, and the guilty would be put off the ship at the next port.

Smoking policies are institued for a reason. Not just health issues...but for safety issues as well.

I feel that Celebrity was extremely generous with you. But I would have handled this issue differently. No demands, but kindly asking that they make sure that the people in the next cabin followed the "no smoking policy", and followed-up on that.

Chesterh, you are in my prayers.

Over the years I have enjoyed reading your tales of cruising and your insights on life. Thank you for all your wonderful writings.

Karyn

We order Euros from our bank in the U.S. in advance of our cruise. There is a nominal fee, but it's one less thing to worry about when we arrive in Europe.

Transatlantics are the ultimate way to relax, unwind, experience long lazy days, and socialize with your fellow passengers.

It definitely isn't about the destination...but all about the journey. We enjoy the westbound TA's. Especially traveling the southern route to Miami. We've been fortunate to have experienced relatively smooth seas on our voyages. If there is some "weather", the ship will usually alter it's course, and skirt around those issues.

We are also on a TA in Oct. from Rome to Miami (Reflection). This cruise will follow a very port intensive Med. cruise, so we plan to enjoy the days at sea and just enjoy the ship.

Karyn

In my business we ensure that our customers are very clear about what they are buying for their money. We do not sell them one thing and then substitute another and we always keep them up to date with any product changes at the earliest possible moment and offer alternatives if we cannot fulfil their order to the letter. Strangely this seems to work well with very few unsatisfied customers.

What kind of business are you in?? Or do you work in the cruise industry for whom this honest and open approach would appear to be a surprisingly strange concept!!!

IMHO, you seem to suggest that Celebrity is in the "bait and switch" business. Not so. It is their intention to give their passengers the intended itinerary. BUT, in the travel industry, situations can change, and those that choose to travel should be aware that best made plans can change...very rapidly.

I do not work in the travel industry, but I have always realized that when I book a cruise or plan a land trip, etc. that I need to mentally prepared in case of a itinerary changes.

We've been on cruises that the itinerary had to be altered. It happens, and we just rolled with it. Some were do to weather, some to decisions the Port Authority made in that particular port, etc. Whatever the reasons, we were aware of what could "possibly" occur while cruising.

We were in the Med last Oct. and will be again this coming Oct. The weather was mixed. There were a few days of rain, but nothing that stopped us from touring, and the days weren't consecutive. Springtime can also be the same. The nice thing about Fall weather, is the mild weather days. Nothing extreme.