msmusic

Thank you very much for the info on this excursion.  I will be doing it next week and the pictures look great. 
 

Chemmo - the excursion is listed at $253 per person in my cruise planner. I was able to book it for $139 during a 45% off flash sale. 
 

I would say that the onboard meal doesn’t appear to be particularly “Spanish” but I am looking forward to it. 
 

Thanks again for posting about this cruise. 

19 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I'm just curious, how were you notified of the half-off offer?  Did they email you or did it just appear in the cruise planner?

It just appeared in my cruise planner today (check-in started yesterday). From what I understand from reading the Move Up sticky, most people find out by email but I am not signed up for marketing emails, so that may be why I didn’t get it. I’ll post again if anyone replies in the roll call about it, but it’s not very active. 
 

I’ve tried to figure this out in a variety of ways. I do realize that the offer is based in some way on my current booking, which is a prime inside. 
 

Here’s why I’m curious about others’ experiences:  when you look at the maximum bid for the veranda - it’s shows $1200, so if one says that is the bid price per person, for two people, that would be $2400, which would be in addition to what you already paid AND is more than the current selling price for a veranda. 
 

So either this is another way that a solo cruiser is really penalized or I am misunderstanding the offer - maybe both 😂

I did call Celebrity to try to ask the question but communication about Move Up offers can only be done by email. 
 

I’ve also posted on my Roll Call to see if anyone else is getting offers. 

Thank you for the reply.  While I understand doubling the price for a single, the prices don’t make sense even for a double occupancy cabin, compared to current sailing prices and reviewing other Move Up bids in the sticky. 
 

Also, I read the below in the Move Up sticky which made me ask the question:

   On 8/11/2023 at 3:45 PM,  edepa said: 

How does that 50% offer actually work. I bid $1400 for upgrade to sky suite and it shows I’d owe $2800. It says I have the 50% bid promotion. So, does it cost twice my bid, for two people, but count as if I’d bid double my bid for them to decide on an upgrade or not?

Answer:

We were charged what we bid, so instead of paying $437 each, we just paid $437 ($415 bid plus tax). My theory is that the minimum bid was actually $200 but with the 50%, it acted like we bid twice that. Either that or when we won the bid, we got 50% off the final price. Either way, a very cheap way to go up two full categories. 

Of course, I realize that many reasonable options are not available to solo cruisers. 

I didn’t see other reports in the Move Up sticky regarding the 50% off so if others could offer their experience, I would appreciate it. 
 

Thanks. 

I haven’t traveled on Celebrity for several years so I am not familiar with the Move Up bid process and I am traveling solo for the first time so that adds an additional complication to my understanding of the process. 

I completed my check-in yesterday and saw the Move Up offer on my reservation today (no email, I am not signed up for marketing emails). 

As a solo traveler, I realize I will be paying double the offer, however, with the 50% off sale, I’m not exactly sure what that is 😂

Below are pictures of bids and check out page. For those of you with this experience, could you please give me some guidance?  What will I actually be bidding as a solo traveler with the 50% off sale. 
 

Thanks so much for any assistance.

I’m not sure if this review which was originally posted on May 13th could help you. She posts a copy of the notice from Celebrity about the port shuttle, and a few others posted about the drop off location. I’m not sure if there is a way to find out more updated information. Maybe post in a roll call as the Infinity will be sailing there a lot this fall. 
 

Past review

Thank you for the responses. 
 

4 hours ago, chemmo said:

Please do a review after you return. I am dithering with booking this tour if available next year. A bit put off by several of the reviews. I will also be doing it solo if I do it so interested in that aspect too.

I will do a review when I get back.  

This will be quite different trip for me, going solo and trying to have an interesting experience while being very aware of the costs. My husband has several trips planned for the fall for football and golf. Since I don’t do those things, I decided to plan a solo trip with the unofficial challenge of spending about what he spends 🙂.

Like so many tours, a lot depends on the guide. If the experience is very disappointing (not just for me), I will talk to someone and recommend the others on the tour do the same. However, I’m pretty easy to please. 

Within the details portion of the excursion shown below, it is mentioned that the meal is “inspired” by the area, I certainly understand the possible restrictions of fresh food purchases. 
 

• Per United States Public Health (USPH) and Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regulations, the Celebrity Cruises chef may not purchase and bring on board any ingredients from markets in the destination. 
• The private dinner is prepared with local products purchased by approved vendors, reminiscent of the region's cuisine and inspired by the fresh market ingredients from the day.

Thank you for the responses - quite varied experiences.

For Cadiz, I think we will be walking to the market, as the ship docks near the town so hopefully, that will eliminate frustrating travel. They also mention a specific restaurant we will go to, and it has great reviews so I think I will do it.  I will still have time to wander the town on my own afterwards.  I wouldn’t have considered it at full price but with Flash Sale pricing, it’s more reasonable. 
 

Thanks again for sharing your experiences. 

Thank you both for telling me about your experiences. I will be traveling solo so the group is a bit of a concern but I will be in that situation the whole trip. I’m sure the host chef makes a big difference.  Whatnot, thank you for the details and pictures. I was hoping the dinner would be like a specialty restaurant - maybe it’s easier to do with Spanish cuisine.

Since I purchased the excursion during a flash sale, I can justify the expense a lot more. I think I will keep it for now, I still have time to change my mind. 

I hope to hear more experiences. Thanks again. 

I’m considering one of these excursions in Cadiz, Spain. According to the description, it seems like you visit a market and learn a bit about the food, go to a local restaurant for some samples and then in the evening, have a special dinner on board. 
 

If you have done one of these excursions with Celebrity, could you please provide more details, especially about the dinner on board. Did you like the excursion?  It’s expensive, did you think it was a good value?

Any experiences would be appreciated. 
 

Thank you. 

Thanks for the replies. Based on these comments, I changed my dining to Select which is my general preference any way. My Kindle can be my companion 🙂

I’m not shy so I don’t have any problem striking up a conversation with someone at a bar or on an excursion.  For this trip I’ve tentatively planned a couple of ship excursions, a few that I’m booking on my own, and a few self-guided walking tours. I don’t love eating by myself at restaurants - mostly because my husband and I usually order different things so I get to sample more. I like local bakeries anyway and they are usually easy to eat at alone. 
 

That’s a good idea about taking a hat or something to the buffet. I tend to get small amounts of things to try so I’m always getting up for other things. 
 

I’m not getting a drink package. I will probably purchase a bottle of wine in Barcelona to take on and I’ll get a cocktail or two during the Elite happy hours and that will be plenty. I don’t need the internet for anything, I can use my Elite minutes to check-in for my flight home. I’ll get an eSim for Spain and check in with family through WhatsApp and iMessage. 
 

Thanks for mentioning the solo cruiser meet ups. I might check one out. 
 

Thanks again for your replies. I’m excited about this solo adventure. 

While I have sailed many times on Celebrity, I’ve never sailed solo. In November, I’ll be sailing solo on the Infinity on the 10 day Best of Spain and Portugal cruise. 
 

Do any of you solo cruisers have suggestions for me or things that I should know?  I’ve joined our Roll Call which is not very active yet. 
 

Thanks!

If you have rented cars and toured on your own in either or both of the above ports, could you please share your experiences?  While we sometimes take small group tours, I understand that the roads are good in Iceland and they drive on the right side of the road so I think we would feel comfortable driving. I know that guides can offer very interesting information but I often find that I don’t retain it or listen closely. 
 

Also, having grown up in Wyoming and visiting Yellowstone (and other geo-thermal/volcanic sights around the world) we would probably want to take less time at these sights than most tours. 
 

We do have overnights in both ports which adds to our comfort level as we would do longer distance touring the first day and closer in sights on the second. 
 

Thanks for any information or recommendations. 

4 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

Your bus departure was at 9:45.

What time was your plane scheduled to arrive? 

 

Our flight into Terminal 3 was scheduled to arrive at 7:05am. We arrived a bit earlier but with the long lines at immigration, collecting luggage, and walking, we didn’t arrive at the Central bus station until about 8:15-8:30. On that day, we definitely could not have made the 8:00am bus.   As John Bull mentioned, if you arrive at a different terminal, the walk and bus schedule will be different. 

Just to add add to John Bull’s additional information - there weren’t any taxis at the Southampton station when we arrived (we were basically first off the bus and then waited quite a while for our luggage). Perhaps this was because the bus was an hour late and taxis were probably busy with all the ships in port. I wanted to mention it so other travelers would know of that possibility and have a backup plan. 

I thought a short review of our experience on the National Express Bus from Heathrow to Southampton might be useful for some other travelers.

We booked our tickets online approximately two weeks before our trip.  One option was to select seats, which cost 2 GBP per person.  Since I wanted to make sure that my husband and I could sit together, I added that option to our ticket.  I'm not sure it is commonly purchased, but I am glad that I did it.

We arrived at Terminal 3 after an overnight flight from the US.  There was quite a long walk to the immigration area and there were very long lines to go through immigration but the actual process was automated and very quick.  It did not take long to get our bags and proceed through a short hall which was customs and then into the terminal  There were signs to the Central Bus Station which was again, quite a long walk, this time with our luggage.  It was completely doable but those with mobility challenges should keep that in mind. 

The Central Bus Station was quite busy with many local and regional buses arriving and departing but there was a board which clearly showed the times for departure and bay numbers for the buses.  Southampton was not the final destination of our bus so it's important to know the departure time so that you can see which stops for which bus.  Within the station, there was a small convenience store with drinks, snacks and pre-made sandwiches and there was an Italian coffee shop with pastries and meals.  There was a very clean restroom by the station.  We had to wait almost two hours for our bus, scheduled to depart at 9:45am.  The board said to wait in the bus station, then the comment changed to the bay number at about 9:40.  When we went out to the bay, there was a very long line of travelers to get on the bus, so obviously, all do not wait inside the station.

Since we had pre-booked seats, I was not nervous about getting a seat, but I believe the bus was almost full.  I was a bit concerned about the mountains of luggage getting stored beneath the bus by only the bus driver.  We departed about 15-20 minutes late due to the stowing of so much luggage.  I booked the seats 2A and 2B which were behind the first seats, which I believe are for disabled passengers.  We had a lot of extra leg room and comfortable seats.  The bus also offered Wi-fi. 

There was a lot of traffic on the road and the driver explained that there were four cruise ships in the port that day.  Since we were sailing the next day, we were not concerned about delays but there were other cruisers on the bus who got nervous as due to the traffic, we arrived in Southampton an hour late.  The bus ride is not particularly scenic so it's a good time to take a nap until Winchester which was a charming town and I might chose to stay there if I ever sail from Southampton again.

The Southampton bus station is very small and there were no taxis there when the bus arrived and it was a bit of a scrum to get your luggage through all of the people.  I think many of the other travelers used Uber to get transportation but I'm not sure as we walked with our luggage to the Premier Inn.

I would definitely do this again as an economical transfer as it cost about $50 for the two of us.  We did arrange for a private transfer after the cruise as we were flying out the same day.

Since Island Star reported that the water taxi dock at Grand Anse beach was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria, I was wondering if anyone knows if the water taxi is now operating. It was certainly an easy and inexpensive way to get there when I went several years ago. Thanks.

Thanks for all of the replies. I guess like most things, there is no hard and fast rule. As I mentioned, this is a substitute port and I am using a small tour operator (with very good reviews) so I’ve asked the tour operator to reconfirm with the port authority since the port website does not have an updated schedule.

Thanks again for the replies.

If I remember correctly, Celebrity follows local port times in the Caribbean (and elsewhere) but I thought I would check with the experts here since our Summit cruise occurs when daylight savings time ends.

I am making arrangements with local tour operators in some substitute ports so these are unusual visits perhaps at different times than normal so want to make sure I have the correct times.

Thank you.

I hope this will be in effect on my upcoming cruise on the Silhouette sailing May 7. It won't affect me much as I have been satisfied with the Classic package but would enjoy a few speciality drinks, just paying the difference. My husband would be very happy with the beer changes. He might still upgrade during the cruise for wine.

I did notice that it looks like several liqueurs changed from Classic to Premium so not all changes will be positive for everyone.

The changes mostly make sense to me, just in a rough comparison of retail prices for different items, unlike past lists.

The classic and premium beverage packages are discounted for my May 7th Silhouette cruise. I called the Captains Club to ask if I could upgrade my Classic package (included as a perk) to Premium at a discount and was told this is specifically excluded :(

Please post if your results differ.

Our stay was in 2010, so cannot speak to current conditions of the hotel, it worked very well for the six of us. We stayed at the Landis Hotel and Suites (reviews still seem good). They have an Executive Suite with two separate bedrooms and a sofa bed AND they offer a shuttle to the cruise port. The hotel is very reasonably priced for downtown Vancouver.

http://www.landissuitesvancouver.com/

I will try to remember to do so. My e-docs were just issued and they do not show Muuga on the itinerary, just Tallinn, so I'm going to put this worry aside and concentrate on others - like - will it rain, how cold will it be, can I sleep when the sun rises at 4:30 in the morning...

We are on a Celebrity Baltic cruise this May and I had the same concern as you. I have been reassured by these posts on the Celebrity Boards:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2406884&highlight=Tallinn

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2370221&highlight=Tallinn

and the Port of Tallinn website does not refer to any passengers arriving in Muuga. The cruise schedule shows all the ships on the same schedule and seems to reference the port near Old Town Tallinn.

http://www.portoftallinn.com/

In any case, on past cruises with Celebrity, when we were docked a significant distance to the town to be visited, shuttles were provided (at an additional charge) so I've decided if we end up in Muuga, we would use a shuttle to get to Old Town Tallinn to begin our visit.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the information!

We will be arriving in Amsterdam on Liberation Day and I was wondering if the public transportation will be running on a reduced schedule?

Also, are there interesting festivities we might enjoy or particularly crowded areas to avoid?

Thanks!