Ilya

Flight schedule change explanation makes sense. That was my guess too.

We are sailing right before you and I see the same on our itinerary: looks like we are sailing next morning at 5 AM. Not sure why.

Well, since Moorea is so close, I am guessing it's either staying docked at port or staying anchored overnight just a few miles away. So for some reason they opted to stay in port, and sale at sunrise.

On 9/21/2022 at 1:51 PM, 1bravesfan said:

What’s the advantages/Perks of a Junior Suite vs a Balcony Cabin?

Since there is no Coastal Kitchen on Enchantment of the Seas, there were not too many benefits of the JS, other than the expedited boarding, slightly bigger cabin, the tub, the premium bedding and the espresso machine. But it didn’t cost much more than a balcony either.
 

The biggest JS advantage for us was the double points! And since we booked during a double-point promotion, we got quadruple points: 24 points for a 6-night cruise, which allowed us to jump from Emerald straight to Diamond with just one short cruise! 😄

On 9/13/2022 at 10:24 AM, Ilya said:

 

Our current plan is to arrive by 10 or perhaps just a little earlier, but certainly not an hour earlier! I'll share our experience later this week! Thanks!

I promised to report back, but unfortunately our ship arrived late and the boarding was delayed, didn’t start until around 12 noon, causing a  total mess with the traffic near the port. We arrived around 11, spent almost an hour in traffic and waiting for parking, but then we basically walked right to the ship almost without any wait at the port, thanks to our JS status.

3 hours ago, slyster said:

 

So I had a 10-10:30 arrival time at Baltimore a month ago.  We arrived at 10:15 and check in was well underway.  By the time we got to the security check point (10:15), they held us back as it was full and they were preparing to let the suite and key guests in.  We waited about 5 min…went to our check in line.  We were boarding by 10:30ish and the suites and key folks were ahead of us.  No lines except for security when they held everyone but we were like 5th in security line.  Oh and they did hold us at the doors to head up to the ship and gangway for just a few minutes because they wanted the first group all the way through.  Truly on board by 10:40ish though.

 

Hope that helps.  I think if we arrived at 10, we would have boarded with the first group and been on board by 10:30. 

Thank you so much for sharing your recent experience! That’s very helpful!

37 minutes ago, rudeney said:

The "arrive an hour early" for suite guests is for those who selected a later boarding time.  

Yeah, that's what I was thinking! Our current plan is to arrive by 10 or perhaps just a little earlier, but certainly not an hour earlier! I'll share our experience later this week! Thanks!

We are sailing this week on Enchantment of the Seas from Baltimore. We are in a JS and also have Key, and would like to board as early as possible, but on the other hand, we don’t like the idea of waiting an extra hour at the port. Our scheduled check-in window is 10-10:30 AM. As Suite guests, as I understand, we are allowed to arrive and check in up to an hour earlier. But what I would like to know is whether it makes any sense to arrive earlier than 10 AM. What are the chances that they will actually start boarding before the earliest scheduled time?

Does anyone have a firsthand experience with that? Have you ever been able to get onboard before the earliest scheduled time? Just curious. Thanks!

On 4/27/2022 at 11:30 AM, biguntx said:

We disembarked from Apex on 4.23….started feeling bad with difficulty breathing back in Austin on 4.24…believed it to be oak pollen…got worse and last night tested positive for COVID-19….see Doc this afternoon hope to be back at full speed soon 

Similar story. Returned from last week’s cruise on Apex. Both COVID positive this week. My wife developed first symptoms on Sunday, so likely we caught it on the cruise, not on the plane. Slowly recovering. Will be ok.

And how did you like Solarium Bistro? Would you recommend skipping the Main Dining once to try it out?

Thanks so much for covering the cruise! We can’t wait to sail a week from now!

3 hours ago, Radio said:

Passing under the Verrazano Bridge

At what time did you pass under the bridge? What’s the timestamp on that photo?

I was watching the webcam this morning, but must have missed the arrival moment.

Sorry if this was already asked. Around what time were the cabins ready on the embarkation day? All at once or section by section? Thanks!

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

how do you reconcile 645 MTD with 8pm aqua show? will dinner be that fast?

I believe the second aqua show is at 10:15 or 10:30.

Could someone please confirm the My Time dining hours? What time does that section (the lowest level of the MDR) open for dinner? I am getting contradicting information: some say 5 or 6. The on-line planner shows 7:45 as the earliest time. Is it possible to book earlier times on board? And if we don’t book any specific time, what’s the earliest time we can show up at? Is there a long wait for those without reservations? Any updates on that would be greatly appreciated!

With most shows starting at 8 - 8:30, we were hoping to dine around 6. But if My Time Dining doesn’t start until 7:30, we may have to switch to traditional dining, I guess. Thanks!

On 9/17/2021 at 3:14 AM, amberjohn said:

We are planning on traveling to NJ on Saturday 10/17/21 the day before our cruise.  We usually

do a package that includes 1 night at the hotel, parking for the length of the cruise and, a shuttle

to the port and back and breakfast.  Since cruises are just starting up we are having trouble 

finding hotels that offer this package.  Can anyone points us in the right direction?

 

Thanks...

We are with you on the same cruise!

Many hotels in the area do offer Cruise Packages. They are not advertised on their websites, you just need to call the hotel and ask for it explicitly. And make sure to ask  about what’s included in the package. Some just offer extended parking for the duration of the cruise, some also provide shuttle to the port and additional perks, like the late check-out.

We like many things about Celebrity Cruises, but if we are to name just ONE thing, it would be itineraries! Unusual ports of call, overnight stays, special event sailings. When we look for itineraries that we like often enough Celebrity comes at the top of our list!

I talked to Narciso Garcia at VIV Tours a few days ago. He said their server had problems, that's why the website was down and the email didn't work either. The site is up now, and the best email to use is narciso@vivtours.com

We are going with VIV Tours in March too. Can't wait!

That's good to know that they have upgraded Mariner! I wish we had Wi-Fi in our cabin last year!

Is the signal strong across the whole boat? Speed stable and consistent?

I can't say for the entire ship, but wherever I tried it, the signal was strong. And when actively using the Internet from my cabin I din't have any noticable slow-downs or connection interruptions. The speed flactuated to some extent, but overall, the connection has been surpizingly stable.

Still hoping to find out if this is limited to the Allure. Any recent Mariner cruisers out there with info?

Unlimited Internet wouldn't be of much use on Mariner. Mariner, unlike Allure, doesn't have Wi-Fi in all cabins: only in several hot-spots. At least this is how it was when we sailed on it last year. If your cabin happens to be next to one of the hot-spots, then you might be able to access it from the cabin. Otherwise, you have to go to one of the bars, the Windjammer, the library or the computer center.

By the way, if you are going to use your laptop throughout the ship on Mariner and you want to be able to charge it when outside your cabin, make sure to bring a European power adapter: I have found more European-style (220 Volt) outlets in public places, than the US-style outlets. Most chargers can handle that, but you need an adapter.

Just returned from the Allure of the Seas Cruise and I can confirm the Unlimited Internet deal! Since I had to do some work on board, this was a very welcome addition! We were in a regular ocean-view cabin, not a suite - I think this offer is available to everyone. And if you are a Gold-level member or above, you can get an additional discount through the coupon book in your cabin! In spite of the unlimited deal, the Internet connection was reasonably fast throughout the ship.