harz99

Unfortunately that link doesn't help as for some reason it doesn't take me to anything except a home page, and searching hasn't given any information.

Notwithstanding that, my understanding is that the cruise lines are beginning to update their guidance on what is needed for the particular itinerary so as always be guided by your cruise line and it's latest advise.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

The only "change" as you put it is in fact two highly significant changes, the second of which has solved the very problem which has been causing the cruise lines, and crucially their passengers, serious delays in clearance at first port of entry, hence the insistence on full tourist visa. You did read Doc Mom's report of how long it took to clear just 200 passengers?

In fact any blame lies with the Indian Immigration authorities for not recognising the problem and the potential effect on their tourism industry far sooner.

Whether you search for information "out there" is immaterial, as I've said before we have to comply with the cruise lines wishes, to suggest or imply otherwise is foolish.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Thanks for the update JBare.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Well, coming from the horse's mouth that's got to be acceptable as any problems will now be firmly in Celebrity's court.

Just a shame it's taken so long to sort out.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Doc Mom, thanks very much for the update, particularly the part regarding numbers of pax with evisa and the potential up to 3 hours wait to clear immigration with ONLY 10% of the ships passenger capacity needing special clearance.

If every pax turns up with evisa, as it stands some would not be processed before the ship sailed.

That is why cruise lines with multiple port calls may still insist pax have full tourist visas.

As ever we are bound by the conditions we sign up to when booking, to fail to comply leaves you open to being refused embarkation at the start of your cruise.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Wow - thanks for that.

We have the classic package on our upcoming cruise in March / April

I'm happy they have Jim Beam, Corona and Heineken :D

 

I assume the classic package it the same on all celebrity ships? (we're on Solstice)

You can expect the package to be the same everywhere, however don't expect every bar to have every product, nor expect certain products especially beers to be available at all. Good luck.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Scubesdad, like you my wife and I are Elite Plus members.

I agree with all you say, personally I no longer do reviews because I would always write what I found warts and all, and that wouldn't go down well with some on these boards.

Thanks for your input.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

After 25+ cruises with RCI I'm getting ready to cruise on X on Eclipse. I usually stay in a JS because of the tub/shower combo. I'm a bit surprised that the comparable on X would be a sky suite...much more expensive than my usual JS...now I've found out that the shower head in the veranda cabins doesn't even slide up and down...as you can tell I'm a bath person and trying to manage a nonmovable shower head is giving me lot's of concerns :eek:

 

Sorry if this concern seems silly to you.

You may be better of with an aqua class cabin then, as they have a good multi head/jet shower, but unfortunately no tub (and yes I know the thread is old but Ashland's comment isn't).

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

S class ships have a better selection than M class.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

We are flying to India early to do a two week tour of the country. A lot of other pax are doing the Taj tour beforehand. We are flying into Delhi. I was planning on obtaining an e-Visa online for entry, which is perfectly acceptable. HOWEVER, my TA informed me today that, per Oceania's visa department, we must obtain a "full" Indian visa in order to be able to board the ship in Mumbai (Nautica - April 29). I do not see the reason or purpose of obtaining a full visa if you have no intention of returning in the next ten years, which applies to us, and you are leaving, not entering, India. An e-visa is fine according to what I have read.

 

http://indianexpress.com/article/cit...ships-4774814/

 

I am wondering what others plan to do. I don't want to be denied boarding in Mumbai. If anyone has any different information, please share on this board. Obtaining a full visa takes several weeks while an e-Visa is pretty straight forward.

 

Let us, that is everyone, know if you have other information.

 

Thanks, Bill

You could try calling Oceania as a prospective customer, ask whether evisa is now acceptable in light of recent changes. However as I said in an earlier post, it doesn't matter what you, I, or for that matter others on these boards think, we all have to comply with the respective cruise lines requirements or risk being denied boarding.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

Hi

Music around the pool area is very subjective. My wife and I love the music,and to us, it makes the day very enjoyable and keeps us young at heart.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It wasn't so much the pool area as the lounges and other venues inside the ship which affected us.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Interesting review, Phil.

We liked the M class, but these changes don’t seem to add much value for us. The loud music has driven us away! We haven’t been on X since 2015. We were thinking of a possible return because Azamara is getting so expensive......guess Modern Luxury isn’t for us, either.

 

And Constellation was one of our favorites!

 

Have they refurbished the cabins?

When was the last cabin refurbishment?

The Concierge class cabin we had bore signs of ongoing maintenance but not of refurbishment, same bed, same tired fittings, same bathroom etc.

Can't think of any major refurb to cabins on Connie since built, only new cabins squeezed into various public spaces such as the deck 3 midships Oceanviews formed from meeting rooms, the Aqua class balcony cabins aft on deck 11 placed where the upper promenade walk used to be, and most recently the new Oceanviews on deck 3 midships formed from the Oceanliners restaurant foyer and part of the room itself.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

You may well have a point about the delays as they both impact the cruise line's bottom line and generate complaints and bad pr. However the main problem has always been the Port of Mumbai, which pretty much all cruises visiting India call at, and was never one of the designated seaports for evisa entry.

It really doesn't matter what you or I believe though, we have to comply with the various cruise lines policies which we agree to do when wr agree to the cruise contract for that voyage. Of course for those of us that do as instructed, it is really frustrating to then see the cruise line backtrack on their insistence and allow pax with evisas to board, as Celebrity did with their recent Constellation sailings of 7th and 19th December!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Just received official word from Princess on my cruise personalizer for my cruise with an Indian port that an e-visa is now ok since biometrics will not be needed.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Looks like acceptance has started, which port is that please?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

That is a new one to me....never seen this on any ship of any line. And yes, it is dangerous!

I'm thinking you, too, have just gotten off the Constellation. Can you tell us who the CD is and comment on the entertainment?

Thanks to you , Phil, and everyone for the info on the Constellation.

CD, Ian Cresswell, competent with bad jokes. Entertainment wise, usual classical in Cafe al Bacio no opinions, production shows are all the 3 old style ones (and all the better for that) plus an adults only late evening one new to us, all enjoyed despite seeing most of them multiple times in the last few years. Guest artistes variable according to taste.

Two bands, the one with two females seemed easier on the ear, certainly lower volume, unfortunately both were too loud for the Rendezvous show lounge, in fact apart from the classical act all the music was too loud for me, must be getting old. Lol.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Phil you were lucky to have the use of Michaels club, those of us using the bars around the ship ended up having to fetch and carry our drinks from the bar far to many times due to lack of servers and lack of supervision. This was the first Celebrity ship I've ever experienced no drinks service in the theatre and a temporary bar set up in the foyer area so you could get your own. People carrying two or more glasses to seats, negotiating steps, slopes and passing other seated pax - what could possibly go wrong. A comment to the HD brought one night of improvement, and then back to status quo.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Can you please explain what select dining in the MDR is?

 

What percentage of passengers are still wearing black tie and evening dresses? Friends who have flown to Hong Kong today prior to a cruise say they still'dress up' even though the dress code has changed. We don't know whether we should take formal evening clothes on our upcoming cruise.

 

Any advice about what we should wear in the evenings would be helpful as everything I have read so far is confusing.

 

Many thanks

 

Jo

Select is similar to Mytime, Anytime or any of the other lines dine when you want offerings. You can prebook online from a selection of times after your edocs become available, turn up at the appropriate MDR entrance when you want to dine, or book daily onboard if you wish. Bear in mind the busy times are 7-8pm, during which you may be given a pager and have a wait before your table is ready.

Evening chic is a rubbish marketing phrase, some will do Tuxedo/Gown still, others suits, others slacks etc. A lot depends on where the cruise is and where the participants hail from. I used to wear a dark suit/shirt/tie and wife a dark pant suit/dressy blouse for formal nights, nowadays we wear similar styles without the jackets and coloured shirts/blouses instead of plain white or similar.

HTH.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Your direct link goes to an error message, still looking for an official statement rather than a news item.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Thanks for the news story links, anything in writing from an official Indian Government source yet though?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Some very good news, and a bit more confusion to the e-visa saga, here is the latest information from India Government:

 

Jan 2nd 2018 : Cruise tourists with e-visas exempted from biometric enrolment

 

"Most of the current cruise passengers are expected to arrive on e-visa, and biometric enrolment of all these passengers would slow down immigration clearance, the statement said.

 

The simplified immigration clearance procedure is part of a series of steps to attract and enhance cruise passenger experience at the major ports. "

 

Your link is incomplete, doesn't work.

And irrespective of your information, until the cruise lines get it and advise accordingly, whatever they (the cruise lines) require, is what we have to comply with...

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

Hi Phil,

 

Do Celebrity not have a policy regarding this or is it just a free for all?

 

Do you have any of the Dailies from your cruise?

 

Thanks

 

 

Paul

No policy whatsoever, and if they did have one, just like the pool loungers it wouldn't be enforced.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

I don’t share that view, sorry to me 50 is a great number and large furniture is something lacking elsewhere onboard. I find it much much re comfortable than deck chairs or loungers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

As did the people who "towelled" and hogged the seating all day in lieu of poolside loungers on the many sea days of the r/t sailing we were on.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

As of last month Celebrity were still advising that a full tourist visa is required and reinforced this by email to all UK TAs mid December. On the 7th December Constellation sailing approximately 10% of pax arrived at check in with only evisas, they were eventually allowed to board and had to attend separate interviews on board in addition to the face to face meeting all pax did with the Indian Immigration officials who travelled with the ship from Abu Dhabi. Those pax with evisas also had a further immigration process to go through at temporary booths on the dockside at our first port in Goa before they could go on ship or private tours. Some missed private tours, and those with ship tours earlier than 1030 that hadn't rearranged them also missed their's.

People reading the above article should bear in mind it is 6 months old and talks of proposals which may or may not have happened, also the unpredictability of India Immigration Service officials on the day.

In all cases be guided by what your cruise line requires, otherwise you could be refused boarding and have no recourse to refund or claim for your lost holiday

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Forums mobile app

We did the Noordam round trip from Sydney last year and it was superb. She is a lovely-sized vessel at just under 2000 guests, and the service was impeccable. We thoroughly enjoyed spending most evenings in the piano bar, where a fantastic atmosphere was enjoyed singing around the piano and chatting to fellow guests. The port stops were excellent. The beds on HAL are nothing short of fabulous, to the point where, after our first cruise, which was on the Volendam in 2013, we came home and bought a new bed. The afternoon teas are fantastic, and the Pinnacle Restaurant is superb.

 

Next year (wow, in only about 7 weeks) we are doing Auckland to Fremantle on the Solstice, so it will be good to compare the ships as we've been HAL cruisers up until now but wanted to try something different, and the itinerary, ending up in our own backyard, really appealed.

 

We have friends who cruise A LOT and they find very little difference between Celebrity and HAL, so we feel we will love our Solstice cruise. Bear in mind that for cruises around Asia, Australia and New Zealand, there is going to be quite a few Aussies, Kiwis and people from Asia, and they will generally be a younger demographic than folks from the US simply because we get a lot more vacation time here (at least a month, but some trades/industries it's 5 or 6 weeks a year). And Australians have taken to cruising in crazy numbers in the past few years. Taking into account that our population is less than 25 million, when I say that the cruise industry figures show that 1.2 million Aussies cruised in 2016, you can appreciate that you are likely to come across lots of us from Down Under on whichever line you cruise with.

 

Having said that, I think it's fair to say that Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean are probably the most popular lines with Australians. I wouldn't sail with Princess because I'd walk in fear and trembling of bumping into umpteen cousins, and the RCI vessels are just simply too big and too rah-rah for our taste.

 

Whether you opt to go HAL or Celebrity, I'm sure you will have a wonderful time in this part of the world. :)

I'm surprised at your view of RCL, does Radiance no longer sail Aus/NZ itineraries as she is certainly not a big ship being slightly smaller than Celebrity Solstice.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

On Constellation now. 1800 of us bought the multientry visa the rest evisa or no visa.

No one was refused boarding and those with evisas were allowed in every port.

In Goa 5 desks were set up just off the ship for those with evisas.

At no extra cost they had their visas processed.

 

Jen

Also we had no meet and mingle for our roll call on this cruise as they said only 10 signed up

Whilst the above is correct, there is no guarantee that particular operation in Goa will happen every time in the future.

Pax without full visas were advised not to book tours departing until after 1030 at the earliest, some with private tours ended up with much shorter tours than booked (or possibly no tour at all).

If higher numbers turn up without full visas who knows what will happen.

My TA in the UK received an urgent message from Celebrity whilst we were on ship to say that all pax on future sailings (19/12 onwards) require full visas, presumably all UK TAs got the same message, needless to say my TA had no problems as they had highlighted this requirement a long time back in their booking process.

I sincerely hope those without full tourist visas don't have their holiday spoiled at the outset.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app