Can'tstopcruising

You were both treated accordingly.

Once we were at the Puerto Rico Marriott for a week. We called about minor complaints a couple of times. I can't even remember what they were. We were so surprised that they kept sending us wine and fruit. They were beyond nice!

We remember the times we are well treated and we remember the times we are mistreated.

OMG! Luckily, it wasn't leaking onto the bed.

 

We were treated the same way on another cruise. The worst experience was the creaking n the walls...it was SO LOUD!!!! We really couldn't sleep due to the noise...and I can sleep through just about anything. They came back day after day to blow air between the walls...of course they could only make it to the room when the ship was in port and not moving. We called so often they finally admited everyone on the ship was well aware of the problem in our cabin. A 12 day cruise NIGHTMARE! We didn't get changed to another room until day 10. grrrrrrr!!!

It WAS leaking onto the bed!

The old Galaxy creaked a lot!

Everyone here is always complaining about cruisers being rude to staff, but there is lots of the opposite going on as well. Rude is rude. It doesn't matter where it originates.

We had a ceiling leak on one Celebrity cruise which the repaired within an hour or two...found champagne waiting for us on our return...nice touch.

 

This cruise, although most of the staff was very, very good our cabin steward wasn't the best. We had to ask for robes, slippers, chocolates (a weird explantion on taking a survey for the HD on who complained about no chocolates on their pillows) and our Elite 2 pages of coupons. We didn't complain...but surprized at how many items we did have to mention to Esther that these items were missing from our room. Also, nail file, q-tips, and plastic hair net were never replaced even though all three were used the first morning of the cruise. My thought, all of it was due to the new cut backs. If this is not the case...what a shame to have 2 guests leaving the ship thinking is is the shape of things to come.

You reminded me of our experience with a leak. Probably our worst Celebrity experience. (no,our worst was the cancelled Century in Oct/10).

We were awakened early in the morning by a leak from the ceiling onto the foot of the bed. OMG! We were in bed and the repairmen came! It wasn't repaired so quickly as I recall. The worst part is that the woman we dealt with (I forget her job title) was awful. She acted as though we were stupid complainers. I don't know if she is still with Celebrity because that was long ago. I don't recall her name, so who knows if I would even recognize her. But I should have written someone.

First of all I don't think a hot tub is a good idea for a baby or toddler. I don't even like it for myself!

Pampers has swimming diapers which are specifically made for pools and beaches. I don't know what kind of diapers these pax used, but I wouldn't worry about the Swim Pampers. They are virtually leak-free.

I am sure some of you have little ones (or grand little ones) who take swimming lessons in pools. If they were contaminating the pools, do you think these lessons would take place?

It sounds like the Spanish-speaking pax you encountered come from a culture which is rich or poor and the rich are spoiled and used to having their own way. The crew are not from their class and they are teated accordingly. That is probably why the crew can't speak up to them.

Over the years I have heard complaints from pax and crew members expecially on holiday cruises (I was on the following cruise and got an earful!) Not necessarily about diapers, but other kid-related issues.

That very much depends where you are and the time of year, of course. Do you know of any charts giving suitable guidelines?

No, but when in doubt, less sun is better!

I was thinking of the beach. Sightseeing, wear a hat and sunscreen and walk on the shady side of the street!

It's all basic supply and demand. Just checked out the prices for the upcoming Silhouette cruises for the remainder of the Caribbean season and the Eastern Caribbean version has a differential from 150-350, averaging 210, while the Western goes from 150-400, averaging 255. Of the 14 cruises, the difference is 200 or less on 8 of them. At this late date, if you're flexible with your dates, then you can still get a great rate on an OV cabin and take advantage of the 1-2-3 Promotion. If you're not so flexible with your dates, you have nobody to blame than yourself for dragging your feet and waiting to book.

Perhaps that's the case for your cruises, but on our next one the difference is Inside $1589 vs Outside $2769 pp. before taxes.

On our summer cruise, it is Inside $2859 vs Outside $3459, also before taxes. On our past October cruise the difference was similar.

Has anyone noticed the big discrepancy between the Inside and Outside prices nowadays? It used to be a difference on $100 or $200 pp. Now the difference is HUGE! I guess that pays for the perks!

My dermatologist recommends Ombrelle Extreme.

And of course you know you should not be in the sun between 11 am and at least 3pm. I also am prone to rashes and I am very careful. Small doses of sunshine.

How are the Canyon Ranch prices in comparison to Steiner? Do they also offer "specials"? Thanks

I hope you were joking here.

Otherwise this really illustrates a very narrow minded view. Basing cruising expertise purely on loyalty status is ridiculous.

I would favor the expertise of a person with some broader travel experience that 1 cruise line any day.

Dutch Explorer, can't you tell we are just teasing you?!?

After reading through all the threads about the changes in the loyalty program I noticed that in my opinion Celebrity missed a great opportunity to make a change that would not cost anything in benefits but could solve a lot of discussions on feeling superior compared to other passengers.

 

How? Get rid of the name Elite!

 

The definition according to the Oxford Dictionary of the word Elite is:

 

- a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society:

- a group or class of people seen as having the most power and influence in a society, especially on account of their wealth or privilege

 

Why? Because this name can give people an unwanted sense of entitlement that can have a negative influence on other people.

The reason I bring this up is that I never saw so many people mentioning "I am Elite" if you compare it to other cruise line loyalty programs.

Also somebody stating I am 4 star on HAL or I am Gold status on Oceania does not sound as "superior" as I am Elite.

 

To be clear, I have nothing against loyalty programs and if you reached a certain level you earned the benefits associated with it BUT it does not entitle people to feel and even worse act superior and the word Elite is causing just that.

 

For me this is a missed opportunity for Celebrity in the recent changes of the loyalty program.

 

I would like to hear how other people think about this.

I think you (and others who are offended by the word "Elite") should lighten up. It's only a name of a category, for goodness' sake!

The only entitlement is to the offered perks.

Now I am Elite Plus! How does that sound? It really makes me smile. Where else in my life could I profess to being Elite Plus!!!!

Have fun with it!

That would have to be Valley Church beach, for us! Enjoy! :D

Thanks. For future reference, is there any shade? Facilities? Thanks

Whatever Celebrity's pamphlets say, the norm is becoming less and less formal. This does not necessarily mean sloppy or beach casual. A strong contributor is the introduction of luggage restrictions. Also to many people the cruise is only a section of the entire trip and there also, lighter luggage is more desirable.

On our last cruise, my husband, for the first time, wore a sport jacket and tie (and shirt and pants,of course!) on formal night. It was fine. We haven't discussed it yet, but I am willing to bet that he does the same again. Of all of our friends who cruise, I think he held out the longest in wearing a tux.

Isn't it so much easier for us, ladies? Anything that resembles "dressing up" will suffice. We can pack a wrinkle-resistant little something and still look great.

Times are changing and this is the reality. If anyone wants to keep to the old traditions, there is no reason why they can't.

It really is a moot point, that the brochures mention "dinner jackets". If someone wants to wear one, fine. If not, a sport jacket is also fine. (in reality, if not in print!)

Most important.....wear a genuine smile!!

When we DID only one cruise a year, it was always to the Southern Caribbean, most often leaving from San Juan. After several years of Southern Caribbean, it never became boring. Once we could cruise more often, we'll add something different for the second cruise, i.e. Med or Coastal California/Mexico. We are NOT tourists, but are simply travelers. Neither of us enjoys touring much. Again, if we could only do once a year, it's still Caribbean, especially Southern. Antigua is our favorite beach island.

Which beach do you love in Antigua? We were there only once and the cab drivers' prices were so outragious that we ended up remaining on the ship!

Sorry to hijack!

In answer to your question, I think a lot depends on where the poster lives. If it is in a cold place, probably a warm weather cruise in winter would be the #1 choice.

My favourite cruise, ever, was the one to the fjords. Gorgeous! Perfect destination for a ship!

Don't throw the vouchers out! Even if you don't want to use them, give them to a staff member. They get something for each voucher they receive.

That's interesting. I once gave 3 vouchers for 1 drink and said Hope you get something. He just shrugged as if to say no.

For me, the best news is about the Evian water for a voucher! Most of our vouchers ended up in the wastebasket, but if we could get a big bottle of Evian, that would be lovely.

I haven't read every post, but I don't think it is fair to jump on the OP for his opinions.

Just for the record, we were on the Oct. 8th cruise. In our experience, the staff, in general, were not a happy lot. We had a few incidents of rudeness, which I don't need on a vacation. This surprised us because on stage the captain had a great sense of humour and we expected a gracious staff.

The food was mercurial! They seemed to offer all the best choices on the same night! The last night, I couldn't find a good choice and ended up with onion soup and a salad. (For me, this was great!) They were both delicious and I wouldn't have ordered onion soup if I had had a meal.

This was a very port-intensive cruise and the focus was definitely on the ports, so whatever happened on the ship (or didn't happen!) was minimized.

It's not missing. Go to the website and it is listed as "coffeehouse style breakfast".

 

Den

I wonder why they call it that? I have yet to see lox and fruit and cheeses in a coffeehouse.

I recieved the letter from Celebrity, and it seems that the priority disembarkation at a tender port as well as the Elite Breakfast is missing from the list. I do however notice Coffee Break.. wonder if it's the same. Ideas?

 

The extra bag of free landry and extra minutes is nice.

We really enjoy the Elite breakfast. I didn't realize it was missing.

If anyone from Celebrity reads this, please clarify and please don't take it away from us. It's our favourite perk.

Check post # 831. It has the earnings chart. An inside cabin gets 2 points/night so your two cruises will earn a total of 56 points.

 

 

Your were, unfortunately on the edge. The 25 bonus points only almost kept you at the same point. You'll be at 291 points after the 13 night cruise. Your best hope is to watch for price drops so you can move up to a balcony at a price you are OK with.

I guess I really am dense. I thought it was 2 points per cruise, not night. Oh well, 56 points. I need only 2200 more!

Sorry to be so dense. Let me see if I understand.

 

You did a 10-day and got one point

Then you did a back to back in an ocean view. One of the cruises was 12 days so the two cruises should have gotten a total of 3 points. But it almost sounds like it might have been a 5-day and 7-day for a total of 12 days. If that is the case, then whoever said you would get a bonus point was wrong.

 

So you would have 3 points if your back to back cruises totaled 12 days or 4 if one of them was 12 days.

 

You say you have 3 booked but only list a 15-night Panama cruise. Since that has not sailed, it will earn points under the new program or 15 times whatever category you are booked in (I think you are saying OV so that would be a total of 30 points in the new program.

 

Does this make any sense to you? I'm not sure how clear I am being.

I think I am dense, too!

We have two 14 day cruises booked in inside cabins. How many points will we get for each cruise? Not that is matters. We are elite plus and will never get to zenith!

Here's a response I wrote for a previous post:

 

In Russia we used Anastasia tours' date=' and used Rubles for snacks and our awesome Red Line subway ride, and as a tip.

 

For other tours, or self tours we did:

 

Bruges: the Bruges on your own tour through Celebrity, which is really just a coach into Bruges, then you're on your own until you meet the group to take the coach back. No tour needed for Bruges; a map and a good pair of walking shoes was all we needed.

 

Warnemunde: we walked the beautiful little town in the morning (literally all of it!), had lunch back on the blissfully empty ship, then took the train to Rostock for the afternoon, which was also lovely.

 

Helsinki: we took the Celebrity shuttle into the downtown and did a self guided walking tour. Beautiful city and an easy walk.

 

St. Petersburg: tour with Anastasia as noted. We originally booked their basic group tour, but we're the only people on our ship that did, so we ended up with a private tour for the same price, just us, a guide, and a driver in a sedan. It was awesome!

 

Tallinn: there are shuttles available into town, but we did the 15 minute walk to the old city water gate instead, and did a self walking tour that we found on the Internet. We did the tour in the reverse of how it was printed, and missed all the crowds.

 

Stockholm: we got in the first HOHO bus on the pier, and got to the Vasa Museum just as they opened. We toured it and we're leaving just as the first tour group arrived, then got back on the HOHO into the downtown and took advantage of the many convenient stops.

 

Copenhagen: we did a self guided walking tour, which started at the Little Mermaid statue a 10 minute walk outside the gates from the pier. Walked around the city back to the ship for a late lunch and then took the Celebrity shuttle and Tivoli ticket combo out to Tivoli Gardens for the evening and dinner.

 

Enjoy your trip! If your interested in any of the walking tours we did send a private message to me through Cruise Critic and we'll be happy to share.[/quote']

 

Thank you for all the wonderful information. We are just beginning to think about our July Baltic cruise. Is Anastasia the same as White Tours? (Or

White something!)

The 50 points is to ensure NO one will loss from their current tier or perhaps move up to higher level if they are just short of 1 cruise to the next level.

Is this speculation or fact?

This morning, when I checked the Celebrity website, I couldn't find anything new. Now I cannot even access the website!

A couple of questions:

Is the 30 x existing points formula a fact?

And where does the +50 come into play?

Are they eliminating the Elite breakfasts? If not, what's the deal with Elite Plus Caps and Lattes?

The only thing I can see extra for Elite Plus would be the extra Computer time.

As someone else said, specialty restaurant discounts are very common.

Has anyone stayed at this hotel recently? Any feedback? Thanks