cyntil8ing

http://www.meretmarine.com/fr/content/le-century-rejoindra-bien-croisieres-de-france-en-2015

 

This article is dated today. In Europe, the month/day convention is reversed to day/month, so for a French web site posting 5/12, Americans would read as 12/5.

 

Anyway, bah! I love the Century!

If it rains, we just pull out our plastic ponchos and continue on.

 

The only exception was this summer in Bermuda. There was a terrible thunderstorm that lasted a few hours one morning. I was not about to leave the ship while there was lightning! We found things to do until the storm ended in early afternoon. and were still able to do most of the things we had planned for the day.

Just wanted to note to others that only CCL ships, or ships making port day stops rather than turnaround stops, use the OSJ piers.

 

RCCL brands use the Pan Am pier, which is NOT within walking distance. In fact, if you look very closely at the top photo, you can see a ship docked on the other side and very far down.

 

Here's a map:

 

Both of my kids (7 and 10 now, 4 and 7 on their first X cruise) are go-with-the-flow quieter, calmer-type kids and have a great time on Celebrity. My daughter is social and always makes fast friends at the kid's club. She usually spends two or three hours there on sea days. My son, on the other hand, prefers just to hang out with me and his dad, whatever we may be doing. They both enjoy the live music, the production shows and having dinner in the dining room. They also love the few family activities such as scavenger hunts.

 

Both of my kids are happy Celebrity cruisers, for now. They were thrilled last week when I told them we had booked Bermuda again next summer.

Wouldn't you think that those that cruise in suites and above and take the longer cruises spending more $'s with Celebrity, should be rewarded for it? Do you think that someone in an inside cabin for 4 days, should get the same as someone in a suite for 14 days? I think Celebrity got their new program right.

 

But they got rewarded before too. Using your example, under the old program, the insider would have gotten one credit and the suite three. It's likely the price paid by the suite cruiser would be three times as much.

 

Now, the inside will earn 8 and the suite 112 (assuming "the cheap suites"). That is a *huge* difference where the total price paid by the suite cruiser will most likely nowhere near 14 times as much.

 

Personally, I have no issue either way. After completing next week's cruise, I would have had 10 credits. Instead, I'll have 300 points.

The San Juan departure cruises are so port intensive, personally, I'd choose based on itinerary and price rather than ship. But then, that's always the way I decide.

 

Having more activities during the day doesn't mean much when you're off the ship. Having more activities at night doesn't mean much when you're exhausted from your day and getting ready to do it all over again the next day. The demographics don't matter as much when there's only one sea day.

Yes, there are rental lockers on HMC. They are located at the watersports rental building.

 

They are in the back of this building, facing away from the beach.

 

 

Just found another. This photo is not mine.

 

Thank you for posting. We will be on the Summit next week on the other itinerary.

 

I too love San Juan and want to spend more time there. Unfortunately, we're flying in the day before and leaving the day we disembark. But someday, it will be our destination rather than just where we get on the ship.

Heh, obviously you've not been reading the Celebrity forum. The announcement was announced, then unannounced, then announced again. People found details through Google searches and there was all sorts of rampant speculation going on. When the press release finally came, the new Captain's Club web site didn't work for many users.

 

And of course, as soon as the press release came, there are lots of people complaining about losing status in the conversion. Personally, I'll be ok, but only because I received 25 "bonus" points.

 

I had 8 credits and under the old plan, would earn 2 more on my cruise next week, giving me Elite status. Under the new plan, with the conversion of 30 points per credit, I now have 240 points and will earn 35 on my next cruise. This would have left me 25 points short of Elite status without the bonus points.

 

A 7-day cruise in an regular cabin (inside, outside, veranda) earns between 14 and 21 points, so it would have taken me two more cruises after that to earn Elite status.

 

People are upset that cruises they have booked will earn fewer points than cruises they have taken. I can understand this argument for people that have paid in full. A cruise they completed last week was worth 30 points in the conversion, but one they take next week will earn only 14. If I weren't booked in a higher cabin category, I would be one of those complaining.

 

So no, the grass is not greener. Though I do have to say, though I have one more cruise on Carnival, I have higher status on Celebrity and the perks are better. But, unlike Carnival, I won't receive the higher status onboard until after the cruise where I earn it.

THIS is the type of behavior that destroys bar ambiance and it's why many of us believe it's NOT okay for children to sit at the Martini bar. They CAN do it, but should they? NO!

 

It would be so pleasant if everyone in the world behaved the way we thought they should.

 

Enjoy this defacement I found once when I arrived (sans children) at the Martini Bar. It made me smile.

 

Well, I guess I'm going to horrify some with my story. So sorry. :rolleyes:

 

Last summer, my dh, kids (7 and 10) and I stopped at the Martini Bar after dinner so I could get a drink "to go". BTW, they serve all drinks there, not just martinis. The menu may not include Shirley Temples, but they are available.

 

Anyway, while we were waiting, my dh and dd built a snowman from the ice bar. This led to a bartender giving them toothpicks and other small assorted items to "dress" up their creation. This, of course, led to lots of laughter all around the end of the bar and a small army of snowmen being built. We ended up staying there for 20 minutes or so. If we ruined anyone's ambiance, they didn't let us know.

 

We've taken our children on two Celebrity cruises now, both during the summer to Bermuda, and we're considering it again for next year. I do appreciate that the child-unfriendly avoid summer cruises, because we've certainly never run into any.

We've taken our kids on the Summit to Bermuda twice, when they were 5 and 7 and again at 7 and 10. They enjoyed both cruises, but if given the choice, they'd likely pick Carnival over Celebrity. We haven't yet done RCCL as a family.

 

There are no kid-specific activities on Celebrity other than the Fun Factory. There are some family-friendly activities including scavenger hunts and dance classes. They also liked the production shows. The pool has a wading area, but not enough room for running around.

 

 

 

 

My son and daughter love the MDR and loved getting dressed up for formal nights.

 

In May, since school is still in session, there will not be a lot of kids in the older groups. I have no idea about the pre-schoolers. I don't expect it would be many.

So, I too have been having issues forever with shore excursions. I tried again last night and had no luck in multiple browsers. I decided to try one last time today.

Still no luck with Chrome, but Firefox finally worked. And best of all, there was a hidden discount! The excursion price was $35, but when I added it to my reservation, there was a 10% discount so I was charged $31.50. I have no idea why, but I'll take it!

Maybe it's an apology for all the time I've wasted over the past few days.

There's no way to tell which side of the ship will face the port. It depends on the captain's request (for crew lifeboat drills, maintenance, etc) as well as any requirements of the dockmaster. So, don't get a port cabin expecting to face the dock. You just don't know.

 

Also, there is no "bad side". The port view is lovely, especially with a nice sunset.

 

 

The opposite view is nice too.

 

Before I give my reasons, I've never had an aft cabin. However, I have been on the Summit to Bermuda three times.

 

If I were to decide to try an aft cabin, it would not be on a trip to Bermuda, where one is docked for days. While the way the ship docks each sailing is different, it's likely that the Summit will be "butt-to-butt" with another ship. I would not pay extra just have a view of someone else's balcony.

 

Firstly, there's no way to tell which side will face the port. It depends on the captain's request (for crew lifeboat drills, maintenance, etc) as well as any requirements of the dockmaster. So, don't get a port cabin expecting to face the dock. You just don't know.

 

Secondly, there is no "bad side". The port view is lovely, especially with a nice sunset.

 

 

The opposite view is nice too.

 

Last cruise, in the MDR, I had to turn my own plate so that the X was at the top!

My local YMCA is participating the The Great Expresso FUN-raiser and earn $.10 for each mile ridden on the Expresso stationary bikes. In the last week, I've ridden 72 miles and have developed a slight obsession with checking the rankings online.

 

While the fundraiser completes on Wednesday, I think I may be able to hit 208 miles (the distance from my house to Cape Liberty) by the 28th.

Great photos. We were onboard with you, just down the hall in 6097. We have well over 1,000 photos to go through before picking a reasonable number to share.

 

It was a wonderful week, apart from the fire alarm and missing Grand Turk, the only port we had planned an excursion. Bah! But the weather in Half Moon Cay made up for it!

We've booked a snorkel only tour with Blue Water Divers in Grand Turk next week - http://grandturkscuba.com/. Tripadvisor ratings are excellent.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147397-d150113-Reviews-Blue_Water_Divers-Cockburn_Town_Grand_Turk_Turks_and_Caicos.html

This is the jet ski operator:

 

 

We were on Valley Church beach too. I haven't finished going through my photos yet, but when I post them, I bet you'll find some of your group in them. We were in the water next to the jet ski guy.

 

When he wasn't busy, he was sitting in the sand, smoking some um, custom rolled, um, cigarettes. Yeah, that's what they were! ;)

I think you came upstairs on the deck one day for a scavenger hunt item?

 

Yep, that was us. It was a Camp Carnival photo scavenger hunt. Were you the group we got the tattoo photo from? We ended up finding everything except a pair of twins.

We were on this cruise too. We spent the following week in Ft. Myers so I haven't been able to go through our photos yet to start my photo review. I'll get it started in the next few days. Better late than never!

 

We saw your group t-shirts all around the ship on day 1. I also saw your morning workout group on the running track. At first, I thought it was a ship-run fitness class because there were so many people, but then I realized it was a private group.

 

Here's our family photo. DH became a mini-celebrity around the ship because of his funnel hat and his entry in the Master Mixologist contest. Unfortunately, he didn't win. We were also recognized as Cruise Critic people by someone who read my Bermuda review from last year. That was very cool!

 

We were so pleased with the children's menu last summer. There was a different one each night. There were the usual offerings, chicken nuggets, pizza, burgers, etc., but it also offered appetizers, a pasta dish, entrees and desserts that weren't the usual kid fare. Those items were presented much like the adult menu.

 

My eight year old enjoyed trying some new things. She also ate from the adult menu. My five year old stuck with his usual pasta, chicken and burgers.

 

But there was effort put into the kids menu, which I thought was great.

I too have moved indoors for the winter. I don't have access to an indoor track, so it's the treadmill for me. I hate it. I've switched to doing 30 minutes on the treadmill and 30 minutes on the Expresso bike, and I'm really enjoying the competitiveness of it.

 

On foot since Apr 11: 404.1m

On Expresso bike since Nov 11: 124m

For those of you who have done couch to 5k, or were basically out of shape before starting a walking/jogging/running regimen.. did you lose weight successfully alongside it? I think I'm going to try to walk/jog/run to the ship!

 

I started Weight Watchers last September. I lost about 35 pounds before starting C25K in March. Once I started regular exercise, my weight pretty much stayed the same for the first six to eight weeks, though I dropped another pants size. It was rather discouraging to have the scale not move for so long while I was working so hard, but it did start moving again. I've lost another 25 since then. I now run 3 or 4 days per week averaging 4.5 miles each run.

 

Mileage since Apr 11: 239.3

Miles to next departure port: 1,100