begood2me

On 10/2/2021 at 1:31 PM, Jim_Iain said:

I have decided to fire up this thread a week early this time as I am actively planning since we booked on such short notice.  Something we have never done before.

After returning from our last cruise I still had the itch to get back to cruising.   When I saw the Pacific Coastal cruises I suggested to Iain that we take one and he responded only if we can do a B2B.  Minutes later I was contacting a new agent and getting some quotes.   

 

We had a problem with an agent we used for the past 4-5 years and decided to use an agency we booked 4 cruises with that were cancelled.    The problem was that neither Agent OBC credits ever showed up and I eventually had to contact Lisa's office to help out.   Near the end of our cruise with time running out they gave me a "Good Will" non-refundable credit and applied to a couple cruises in March 2022.  Not ideal but was a good solutions to a problem that had gone on for 2 weeks.

 

Enough of that and on to brighter subject.

 

The two Millennium cruises are identical.     Embarkation and Disembarkation are in San Diego with an overnight in San Francisco then stops on Catalina Island and Ensenada.   We live about 35 miles south of San Francisco. 

 

 

 

 

It seems crazy to visit a port so close to home but we always have a great time and sometimes you have an opportunity to do things only tourists do in you own backyard.

 

 

 

I can always help if you need it.  Let me know.

We too have been away.  I'm not sure we're going to cruise anytime soon.  Too many unknowns at this point and it's not clear that it would be an enjoyable trip.  We do miss it and hope to get back to cruising sooner rather than later. 

I have done both direction on a Transatlantic several times.  What I do not like about the east bound crossing is the lost hour each day of the crossing.  It's a real bummer.  I much prefer the west bound for this reason.  

The noise issue can be real concern for people that are late sleepers and even though wanted some quiet time in the late afternoon.  Quite frankly, the noise is not so much from other passengers as it is from crew that tend to drag the chairs across the floor when they are rearranging furniture.  When we had one of these cabins, I actually had to go down to speak with the hotel manager to explain that if the crew simply picked up the chairs and put them in the required location versus dragging them across the floor, then most of the noise issues would be resolved.  The very next day, there was significant improvement.  Unfortunately, we were on a back to back sailing, and then it started again on the second leg.  Again, I went and had a conversation and again the noise stopped. Other than the noise issue, these are great cabins as they have lots of room and great views.  

On 9/5/2020 at 3:47 PM, chemmo said:

Yet to do a TA but a couple of years ago we flew from the U.K. to Hawaii for just over a week before the TP cruise to Sydney.

 

It was the diversity of the experience we loved...Fantastic pre and post cruise hotel and sightseeing, then on the ship an amazing balance of sea days and once in a lifetime stops at Bora Bora, Tahiti, Bay of Islands....You were on the ship long enough to develop real relationships with fellow passengers and crew but never without enough stops for boredom to set in....

 

We are world wide cruisers, this remains our favourite itinerary....

It's a great itinerary and the fact that you have great ports in the middle make it extra special.  There are also a load of Australians and Kiwi's on the ship so it's lively!

On 8/30/2020 at 6:13 PM, Tookie said:

We are considering back to back cruises to New Zealand then Australia. If anyone has done this, would you recommend it?

We did it last year and would definitely recommend the trip.  We did the back to back that went from Aukland to Perth and then Perth back to Aukland.  They only do that run once a year.  

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

My TA said they could only enter one but Called CC and they said they could do an exception and do it for me.

 

Excellent.  Glad that got resolved.  

3 hours ago, pumpkin 11 said:

It's not loaning money. You are getting a product from them... a cruise isn't an investment! LOL

You are not getting a cruise.  You are getting a Future Cruise Credit which you have no idea the cost.  You could in fact be losing money in the bargain.  We'll use round numbers, if you give them $1000 and they give you $1250 of credit, you are not necessarily getting the same value for the $1000.  You might actually not be able to buy the same item for $1250.  It might now cost you $1500 to purchase the cruise. There is risk to your investment.  You aren't guaranteed anything other than a Future Cruise Credit which may or may not have value.  You are also risking the Cruise Line declaring bankruptcy and your FCC is worth nothing.  That may or may not happen.  

1 minute ago, C-Dragons said:

Actually they’ve already been made for many of them. 😉

No travesty. We'll just move the FCC to our next booked cruise.

I suppose it's a personal choice to loan money to a business for the defined return you're receiving.  

Final payments are being made on some of those cruises as we speak.  A great travesty.

On 7/30/2020 at 4:20 AM, chemmo said:

We love cruising and our favourite cruise ever was the longest (TP) but I can’t see us wanting to be on a ship much longer than 20 days without a break...Much prefer to choose a cruise with different start and finish port and enjoy a stay in those with a cruise of 12/14 nights in the middle. 

 

I can’t remember the name of the poster now but a few years ago someone had a land stay in Hawaii, did the TP on Solstice, got off in Australia for a two week land tour, got back on Solstice for the New Zealand cruise and then finished with a New Zealand land tour. Always thought if you fancied a really long holiday doing a HOHO on a cruise ship would be perfect!!!

 

It would be nice if Celebrity added some new ports of call, however...

In 2015 we did 2 weeks in eastern europe, flew down to Italy and then did 2 weeks on Med cruise to Israel then back to Italy for 2 weeks in Italy and then did the transatlantic.  That was 2 months, half on the ship and 1/2 on land.  That was ideal. 

49 minutes ago, Smithster said:

We have usually sailed in Aqua Class on Solstice ships  in Accessible but accessible is not offered on the Connie in Aqua.  Therefor we will be sailing in a Sky Suite Accessible.  My question is about the Retreat.  We have never been in the Retreat class.  Of course the price is very high, but my husband really requires a accessible so we are going for it as it is an 11 day cruise.   I would like to hear from those that have been in Retreat, preferable on the Connie but not limited to.  Please tell me what you loved, hated if anything.  I understand it is open 24hrs, does that include food and cocktails.  Did you find you spent most of your time on board there to warrant the extra expense. We have always loved the Martini Bar on the Solstice.  Let me hear your thoughts

Connie was not upgrade so you would not have a retreat. You'll still have Michael's Club and of course Luminae.

On 7/28/2020 at 11:48 AM, Jim_Iain said:

Lift and Shift has been a failure for me.   I had a B2B2B2B booked starting Nov 10 and 2 of the 4 segments aren't eligible as there are no alternatives.  The cruise was on Eclipse out of Singapore -  They do not have any cruises from Singapore to Australia in 2021.

 

I'm just about to start the cancellation process for all the cruises as I don't want to pay $30,000 plus only to deal with the hassel of trying to get FCC's.    As it is I have more FCC's than I think I will be able to use in a year unless you can apply more than one per person to a cruise.

At times, Celebrity will combine multiple FCC's for you into one bigger FCC.  Your travel agent should be able to help you with that process.  Let me know if you need help.  All that said, we are in the same boat.  We're going to need to cancel tomorrow for an upcoming TransAtl that's not going to to happen but is not yet canceled by Celebrity. 

On 7/25/2020 at 6:43 AM, Bo1953 said:

Thank you for the musings.

 

This would mean a 'skills' upgrade for sick bay staff on all ships....

 

The financial impact, along with enlarging the sick bay would be expensive.

 

I, personally, would prefer an active pre-boarding screening and re-screening to prevent one of us 'sick' ones from slipping through even to the point of a possible denial of boarding because of potential infection.

 

Yes, we will need to be ready for any false positive and false negatives and upset passengers... including ourselves.

 

Better to give a FCC and weather the ire of a passenger, than possibly infect a whole ship. IMO

 

In health and bon voyage

Unfortunately, this approach ignores the fact that people can be infected while on the ship at any port of call.  

19 hours ago, Dwight1 said:

This is just the start. I’m beginning to believe Summer of 2021 maybe the realistic start. It could even go to 1/1/2022. The expected drop in the virus this summer is not materializing.


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The virus is opportunistic.  If we give it opportunity, it will thrive.  We are feeding our enemy.

On 5/31/2020 at 1:53 PM, bigbenboys said:

I enjoyed Aqua and Blu when it started. I liked the nicer towels, that shower and unlimited bottled water. What I liked about Blu was there was no set time for dinner. That was the main reason for us to book Aqua. The Blu menu is ok. I enjoyed having prime rib the 1st night. Rarely happens in Blu. To much game birds for my liking. I dont want to eat pigeon, quail are so cute. Same with lamb and veal. Dont get me wrong. If I was invited to a dinner and the choices were lamb or veal I would eat it. Luminae menu is much more to my liking. I can also order off the MDR menu if I need too, except the Edge Class. I personally only dine in Blu when booked in Aqua. Blu and Luminae needs to be open for lunch all days. 

I see one of the problems is staffing. One evening in Luminae I asked the maitre d where is Margaret. He said he did not know. I said I know, she is up in the entrance of the Oceanveiw cafe with the squirt bottle. It did not take long before I saw Margaret at my table.

I agree with you that Luminae should be open for lunch every day.  We generally are not on the ship during lunch time on port days; so, it has not been a concern.  If we were sailing in the Caribbean, it would definitely be a problem.  🙂

On 5/31/2020 at 10:36 AM, marieps said:

I've never tried Luminae, but get to do so (hopefully) on Connie in February.  I know the Blu menu by heart.  Will welcome a change and a comparison.

There are pluses and minuses to each menu.  

On 5/30/2020 at 10:10 PM, Beeline Cruiser said:

 

I don't like it! We should get to eat in Luminae when they do this, right?!?

That's not how any premium service works.  You pay more, you get more. Just like those in categories below aqua do not get into Blu but Aqua can go to the MDR.  

5 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

There is of course, a big difference between the cruise loyalty and the airline I’ll see. With the cruise loyalty “once an elite, always an elite.” The airlines require you to re-qualify every year. So there is an ever increasing number of cruising elites, diamonds, etc. 

Unless you reach lifetime status for total miles.  The hotels also offer a lifetime status.  Much appreciated for those of us that traveled for a living and now only travel for pleasure. 

5 minutes ago, MickeyG said:

Greetings!

 

Next summer will be our first time staying in a suite on the Celebrity Eclipse. 

 

We understand that dining will take place in the Luminae dining room. Are we required to eat all meals in the Luminae or do we also have the option of having breakfast and lunch in the main dining room? We always enjoyed the main dining room on our past cruises, so this will be something different for us. Any thoughts on the Luminae are greatly appreciated. 

 

Also, are all bars/lounges open to suite guests. Or do suite guests have their own private lounges?

 

Many thanks....Mick

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can eat in the main dining room if you'd like.  You will have to go in area that is non assigned seating; however, Luminae is far superior to the main dining room in my opinion.  The food is better and the service is a notch above.  If you want a meal from the main dining room, they can arrange that without a problem.  All bars and lounges are open to suite guest but you also have access to Michael's the retreat, depending on the ship and if it's be updated at the time of sailing.  We use all the different bars as the entertainment for the suite lounge is limited.  

With airline loyalty programs, you get a separate number to call for a specific all center related to your status level. I can tell you without shame, when I call United I rarely if ever get put on hold and they answer by using my name.  That's great customer service in an industry that is not exactly known for great customer service.  I do not think it's unreasonable for Celebrity to do something similar; however, their loyalty program is not based on recent loyalty but more geared to long term loyalty and therefore a high percentage of their customers are in the higher status categories making it harder to institute a similar program.  

The noise above can be a problem as it comes from them dragging chairs around.  Surprisingly, it's not at the times you would expect.  The most noise comes when the crew has to move the tables and chairs and take the approach of just dragging them around without concern for the noise.  One thing you can do is speak with the food and beverage manager or the housekeeping manager to see if they can help.  We did that on a cruise and it did make a difference. 

after eight mint chocolate chip ice cream used to be outstanding but it's lost something the last few years.  That was always a must get and something to hope for the next day in oceanview.  

8 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Reminds me of a time I was seated next to an Indian couple who ordered Indian no meat as they were vegan and the man shared his meal with me which included spicy papadums and biryani rice. The entire meal was so delicious I had to get it on another cruise.  Some of those Indian chefs are fabulous cooks.

Absolutely! Someday we will get back to cruising so we can all enjoy the pampering at sea and getting our favorite meals.  There is something for everyone.  

2 hours ago, barko4441 said:

 

It's served in Luminae. It's a good desert but not as decadent as I had expected or hoped for.  I used to love the vianese cake on the main dining room menu.  It was fantastic. 

I do love good chocolate 🙂