Redtravel

Sorry that you are at that pier instead of old San Juan. Pan American pier is out of it. You will need a taxi to get there.

No free lunch. Just get over it. Going on any cruise is your choice. If you don’t like the room service charge, don’t use room service. If all these changes annoy you, stop complaining and don’t book X.

Reflection was so crowded, we always had problems finding seating….buffet, pool, theater,etc. Those 194 passengers probably had extra berths. If you look at the ships capacity , it only indicates 2 people in a cabin. If you add extra berths, the numbers increase. After that cruise in 2019, we swore off the Reflection. Next we went to smaller ships. We love Windstar, Azamara, Viking, and Oceania. In 2022, we sailed on Summit. It had been my favorite Celebrity ship. We were told that the capacity was reduced. At 2500, it was very crowded. That not pleasant.

OBC. From your travel agent can be used for anything or cashed in. However, OBC from Windstar is limited. It is non refundable. You cannot use it to pay for tips. There are regularly guests who are unaware of this policy. It can be used to buy excursions, spa services, beverages, transfers, laundry, wine tasting, and store purchases.

Reflection is more crowded. Compared to other S class ships, there is an extra deck of cabins. There is no extra pubic space. We sailed on Reflection once and done.

Crowded…very crowded. Celebrity has added cabins on most ships. That adds guests and cuts out open space. On M ships, the library became cabins, the acupuncture became cabins, spa space became cabins, deck space became cabins, specialty dining space became cabins, movie theatre became cabins, etc. The Retreat, Michaels club, and Luminae are space restricted for suite guests. Each time I sail on Celebrity there are more people crowded into less public areas. My last Celebrity cruise was so crowded, it was often impossible to avoid getting close to people. For me, it was my first pandemic cruise. I was uncomfortable. Spouse got Covid. It took lots of convincing to get me on another cruise. Opted to sail on other lines that have better space ratio. If you go for smaller ships or more upscale luxury lines, you can avoid crowds. Most recent cruise was on Oceania. It was full, but didn’t feel crowded. There was lots of space.

It happens. Just had it happen on a plane fare. First class was only $20 more than coach. I did a double take and booked it.

Book a Concierge cabins ? It depends on the value of added items. On M class, the bigger cabin is a plus. The embarkation lunch is good. Location can be important. Aside from that, I don’t see any value to me in paying for a concierge cabin. Strangely, on my first cruise on Millenium, there wasn’t concierge class. We booked a cabin midship on deck 8. A standard veranda cabin. Nice location. Next time we booked on a M class ship, that same cabin was concierge C2 and much more expensive. The only thing different was we paid $$$. Got us a bad bottle of wine. Creating concierge class is a great marketing ploy that makes money. Over the years, the changes on Celebrity show creative marketing concepts to separate guests by classing them. It’s nothing like the Celebrity cruise was before Royal bought it. when do I book concierge class? Only when pushed. Last cruise we booked late and there weren’t any regular veranda cabins. We booked midship deck 8. That same cabin was now reclassified as a C1. It’s the same cabin. It didn’t move. The classification changed pushing its price up. Celebrity is a marvel at marketing.

I wouldn't waste my time on the ship to do any survey. Any survey that expires is worthless. Often after most cruises I get a survey that expires in a week. They are also worthless. If you value guest opinions, give them time to think about the cruise experience. If not, it shows that you don't care.

Like R ships. Love the larger O ships, Marina and Riviera. Aside from price, pick the larger O ships.

Had a similar thing happen on another cruise line. We decided to keep the basic beverage package. If we chose a premium drink, we paid the difference plus the tip only on the difference. We actually saved money.

Both cruise lines do a good cruise. In December, we booked 2 cruises…one on Oceania, other on Viking. We compared cruises on both lines. Our choice for Caribbean was Oceania. Don’t want tours. Our choice for a European cruise was Viking. With promo code, price was better on Viking. Another deciding factor is climate. Oceania doesn’t have indoor pool. Viking has indoor pool.

Robes should be worn in your cabin. For spa services, robes will be provided in the spa. Don’t wear them outside the spa.

I got that email 5 days before embarkation. My reaction was… WHAT? Sport jackets, ties, and cocktail dresses? Having previously sailed on O, I ignored it. Met some people that brought sequined dresses. They looked out of place. if it was my first time on Oceania, I might’ve rethought what I packed.

Need more space? If so, book a suite. If the standard cabin fits your needs, book it. Suites on O includes a butler. Other cabins include a cabin attendant. Both provide similar services. On O class ships, I am happy in a veranda cabin. Book a B. If Bs aren’t available, I book an A. On R ships, I book PH suites. The standard cabins are too small.

Refillable water bottles sounded good. However, in reality, they were terrible. They are not insulated. If you put ice in the water, the condensation sweat and dripped. My spouse used it one day and gave up using it. I was so glad that I brought my own insulated containers. Bring your own.

You cannot send it out on the last 3 days of the cruise. I like free laundry. On my recent 14 day cruise, I used the 3 bags. Also, used the free pressing vouchers. I never needed to use the self serve laundry machines. However, previously on a 10 day cruise, was not able to use all 3. Would like to see more free bags for longer cruises.

Thinking about our recent Marina trip. The food was good, but not as good as we remembered from before the pandemic. The specialty restaurants used to be better than the other venues. Sadly, we found specialty dining to be hit or miss. We ate at Jacques twice. First time everything was excellent. Next time, it was not as good. Polo was so bad, we canceled our next reservation. Steak was tough. Service was awful. Red Ginger was excellent. Toscana was good. Service was very slow. Most of the time, we ate well. We enjoyed the cruise.

We were on Dec 4th Marina. Food was not as good as before pandemic. Polo used to be our favorite restaurant. We were looking forward to our 2 reservations at Polo. Our dinner at Polo was terrible. Steak was tough. Waiter saw me trying to saw through it and offered to get me a replacement. It wasn’t much better. Service was crazy. They mixed up orders, lost our wine, and were annoying. We canceled our 2nd reservation. Met other people who had similar experiences. We had a great time on the cruise. Overall, food was decent, but not great.

loyalty programs often make guests feel bad

The beef wellington was amazing.

when we disembarked in Barbados, everyone was off early. We put our bags out at 6am. Ate breakfast early. Many people were off very early. Since our flight was late afternoon, we opted to take WS excursion. It was excellent including the fabulous lunch at an estate. We arrived at the airport about 2pm. A WS rep had our luggage.

Be flexible. Last cruise I forgot to book specialty restaurant until a few days after it opened. When I got online, there was nothing open in any restaurant for the first 4 days. After that, there were lots of open times.

We were on Marina a week ago. At 6:30 there was a long line waiting to get into the GDR. Never saw this on other Oceania cruises. The long line continued for first 3 days. If you came a little later, you had to wait. Then it went away and the GDR was empty. Strange? Where did they all go. Specialty restaurants? some, maybe. One night we went to the Terrace to eat. It was packed. Hard to find a table. After that, we never had a wait in GDR.

Since everyone pays tips, they should include it in the basic fare. Azamara does it.