Redtravel

crew is trying their best . They are very nice. However they are shorthanded. Bar service is slow and often don't have what you want. WiFi is slow or non-existent. Not enough crew to accommodate a full ship.

On Summit. I am shocked at the crowds. Reduced capacity? No way! Even though there are signs for distancing and capacity, people jam together. Pool sign capacity 10…counted 25. Often fully elevators as people push into them. Reminds me of filling a phone booth as a college prank. Table for 2? Almost impossible. Unrelated guests sharing. When I booked I believed the info about safety and Covid protocols. The only place you must wear a mask is in the show lounge or casino. All In isn’t. WiFi basic often doesn’t connect. Using my elite plus minutes to connect. Drinks? Lots of water. Liquor choices….ran out of many.

testing is the norm now. If you want to cruise, accept testing. The hassles of fulfilling the requirements of each port can be tough. Even though I knew what was expected, actually fulfilling them in a timely manner can be a real hassle. Will not plan anymore foreign travel or cruises. Staying in USA.

bermuda changed their requirements last week. While you will still need testing, you no longer have to send it to Bermuda to get the travel approval document. Makes the process easier. Apply for the Bermuda travel authorization online 2 weeks before your cruise. Fill in form, attach vaccination records, and pay $40pp. A few days before sailing, you will get email with the Travel Approval form. We got ours a week before. You still need testing. However, you no longer need to send it to Bermuda before sailing. Bring your travel approval, test results, vax records, boarding pass, and passport to the embarkation. Your credential will be checked at the dock. Testing for Bermuda can be a supervised PCR up to 4 days before cruise or a supervised antigen test 2 days before cruise. Celebrity requires test 2 days before cruise. You can use the antigen test for both Bermuda and Celebrity. Plan ahead and schedule your testing. I did rapid antigen test at CVS. Had results quickly. Have screenshot and also printed hard copy. Good luck getting the before cruise stuff done.

Sell cruises with All in and then not deliver. Shame on Celebrity and their suppliers. There’s lots of good wine available. Wine was one of the few things that I never found in short supply. What’s next? Check in and don’t sail. Gas supply low? If you sell drinks included, have the drinks available.

That space is good for wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters. Old people take cruises.

picking cabins that suits you can be a challenge. My choices may be different than yours. Location is important for me. I prefer cabins midship on decks that are sandwiched between 2 decks of cabins. I try to avoid cabins way forward or aft. Too much vibration. Never pick a cabin under the pool deck, close to the show lounge, above a cocktail lounge or close to the casino. I’ve booked those cabins and went crazy from the noise. Also, avoid being in hallways that get lots of foot traffic. I like a veranda cabin. Open the door and let fresh air in. It also allows you to sit on deck without sitting close to other people. Especially good sailing during pandemic. Size does matter. Check cabin dimensions and layout. I prefer bed near bathroom and sofa near window. Nice to sit and look out at the sea. Bed near bathroom is safer at night when the ship moves faster. On M ships, I pick concierge because cabins are larger than regular verandas. On S and E no size difference. Tried aqua class once. It wasn’t for me. Prefer food in MDR. I avoid sky suites because they have a shower/tub combo. Also, cost is too high. I have booked suites on other cruise lines when I needed space or that’s the only type of cabin available. if you don’t care about the things that I listed, save money and book a guarantee cabin. just being on the ship is good,. Enjoy the ride.

Then maybe there are too many people on the ship. Avoiding testing makes cruising dangerous for everyone. Viking has the highest number of registered Covid cases. They test everyone daily. Does Celebrity test anyone on the ship? Probably only people who exhibit symptoms. No testing allows Celebrity to report low number of positive cases. Sadly, it allows the virus to spread. This is probably to ensure a more “relaxing vacation.” That was what was given as the reason for rearranging ports or skipping ports on the present Bermuda cruise. Skip Newport allows guests to enjoy a relaxing day at sea? What are they thinking?

Before pandemic, getting ready for a cruise was easy. On previous cruises, there was always timely info that was clear and easy to understand. Call Celebrity. You got connected quickly and agents answered questions and were usually helpful. For my upcoming cruise, the lack of timely info, instructions that are poorly written, missing info, undesirable itinerary changes, etc. have been frustrating. Sadly, the Celebrity that I remember seems to be a vanishing memory.

No real need to print tags. Just write your cabin # on a piece of paper. Put it in a luggage tag holder. Or just stick it onto your luggage with clear tape. You can also wait and get tags at the dock. Always, place contact info on your bag. I usually stick it inside an outside pocket. Luggage tags can get lost. Happened to me. After all bags had been delivered, mine was missing. Called guest services and was directed to misdirected bags. You would be amazed at all the bags. Got my bag.

You can also request items on kids menu. Filet is very good.

Vacations get canceled. Charters happen. It’s annoying especially on short notice when you have made other plans connected to the cruise. It’s happened to me. However, your cruise was over a year away. Make other plans.

You may notice that inside and Oceanview cabins are not selling well. Even at low prices, people are choosing to have a veranda. Many people have rethought what is an acceptable cabin.

This thread shows the stress that is now a new part of cruising. I miss the days of packing and show up with cruise boarding pass, credit card, passport, and smile.

Did you pay with credit card? Many cards include cancellation insurance for medical issues. If not, cancel with confidence. Fcc is better than nothing. We did it in January. A week before our cruise, omicron was spreading. We decided it was too risky.

. I like M ships. Summit is my favorite Celebrity ship. Infinity is my least favorite. Same design and size. There’s more to consider than size and design. Some ships work and some don’t. Infinity …not my choice.

It’s almost impossible to really know where you picked up Covid. Of course, avoiding people and getting vaccinated is likely your best defense. However, staying home and avoiding people has dangers too. There is a huge increase in depression. After time, not interacting with other people can hurt you. Time to regain living. Be cautious. Don’t do anything ridiculous. Get out and live again. Each person makes their own decisions how to live in this Covid world. Nobody wants to get sick. However, If along the way, we get infected, deal with it and move on. For now, I will still wear mask, wash hands, keep distance when possible, and smile. Cruising in June. If I test negative, I am sailing.

Why not make advance reservations? As soon as Zi book, I make dining reservations for the MDR or specialty venues. It’s easy to do online.

When 7 for 7 started, there were often good deals. Saved money. I get the weekly email. Today I looked at the offerings. Prices are way up in some cruises. These are not deals.

Viking has last minute deals. Prices are deeply discounted.

That’s crazy. Just don’t book sky suites. We thought about upgrading to suite. After looking at these photos, chose to stay in concierge. The killer for us was the bathroom. Hate tub shower combos. It’s one of the most dangerous places in any bathroom. On a moving ship with no grab bars? What were they thinking?

Prefer cruises that test at the dock on embarkation day. There are so many cases now. Unless you stay home completely, you may come into contact with Covid. People who are fully vaxed and bolstered, wear masks, wash hands, sanitize, etc. are still getting Covid. Celebrity should cut capacity. I am sailing next week. The cruise lines that test frequently onboard have high number of cases. Viking has high number of cases. They test everyone daily. Those that don’t have lower number of cases. Celebrity seems to avoid testing. That is irresponsible to guests who are expecting safety on the ship. It also is the reason why our Bermuda cruise had its itinerary changed to avoid testing 2 days before getting to Bermuda. Instead, everything has been turned upside down. We will be tendering 2 of the days. If tenders are packed as you state, we will probably be exposed. May just stay on the ship. This cruise could be a huge mistake. I am nervous after reading your comments. This is not the vacation that I imagined.

Too many emails pushing stuff for upcoming cruise. Everyday I get multiple emails trying to get me to bid on upgrades, upgrade drink packages, buy excursions, book a spa treatment, etc. I also get tons of emails, texts, and real mail selling future cruises. A few now and then is ok. However, the amount of emails is very annoying. I responded stop to texts. Is there a way to stop the emails selling stuff for a booked cruise? I am elite plus. I cannot recall having this happen before other cruises.

Depends which ship. On S and E ships, no size difference. On M ships, concierge cabins are larger than regular verandas. They are also in good locations. Another nice feature is embarkation lunch in the MDR. Nice to avoid buffet. Celebrity ships have few if any obstructioned views. None are really bad. You might see the top of a lifeboat if you look down. If you are near a bump out or angled veranda, they are considered obstructed. Not really. If you look straight out, you don’t see obstruction. Look to the sides, you might see a bit of the bump out. I wouldn’t worry about it on Celebrity ships. Avoid cabins over or under lounges, casino, or the pool. They get noise.

Today, my spouse got an email with a link to an approved Travel Authorization. Printed it. Email said that we don’t need to send test results to Bermuda. Change went into effect a few days ago. Bring test results to embarkation where they will be checked. Also bring vax card and passport. still waiting for my email. Strange since we submitted our applications a few minutes apart. Hope to see my email soon.