kelib

I have both my first Princess cruise in November and good chance my last cruise with Celebrity over NYE. So far everything on Princess is a lot less. Their Princess plus, specialty dining and excursions are substantially less than Celebrity. We shall see how they stack up on my forthcoming cruise.

I use this site and have found some good deals, sometimes you can find last minute deals that even at the 100% supplement is good. This is not a booking site/agency….just gives you a good place where to look and take information to your favorite TA or cruise line. Only thing showing fir Celebrity if any value are short trips on the Silhouette.

I am staying those same dates at the Riverside on Los Olas Blvd. Other than seeing the ships, has a lot you can do. Pick of restaurants on premises and on the same block. On the New River so you watch the local boats go by while enjoying your drink of the day. Water taxi has a stop right there. Has a small pool with food service. One of the original independent hotels in FLL, about 20 minutes from airport.

My opinion…based on having your kids and beach days I would lean towards the Jade. I am on the Ruby Princess in November and so far the amount of excursions for Guadeloupe and Martinique are very limited.

5 of us still went to Costa Rica, hired a guide and drove around Costa Rica for 10 days. Passed her anchored off the coast. Was supposed to go back to Costa Rica on the Bliss this past winter but NCL changed our itinerary 10 days after final payment and took away CR, Nicaragua( as expected) and our 2 days in Panama City. Still a bit bitter about it.

15 weeks on WJ. Was scheduled on the Legacy in Costa Rica and they shut down 3 days before the cruise.

I don’t drink coffee but the solo lounge is noted for the best coffee on the ship outside of the suites. Have seen family members get invited in by family for that morning cup of coffee.

I was on the Bliss last February and did the Antigua in the clouds tour. Most tours stop at the Jade Museum and shop, then in the town square. Our tour also had a Zacapa rum tasting that was very interesting.

Love Riverside…love eating at their Boathouse Restaurant right on the New River. Booked there again for my cruise in November. Great place if you are tired of cookie cutter chain hotels.

A great resource is checking out Cruiseplum.com. There you can see list of cruises that have decent fares for solos and other fares that are being promoted. This is not a booking / travel agent site, so you would have to book with the cruise line or your favorite TA. At least you have a direction and an idea on what is out there.

There are also short "press" cruises where members of the media and travel industry are invited to tour the ship. There is usually openings available for passengers

I was told Dimitris will be Captain on NYE cruise (source was answered question from Tasos on IG)

This totally made my day. I am on the Ascent for NYE and because of a 2 week cruise in November had to forgo the AI package. Been looking at hotels based on being in walking distance of a place to buy 2 bottles of wine. No longer an issue, and I can easily spend $50 a day on beverages, not $90+. Keep telling my friends to check out CC for information they keep on bugging me for. They can’t seem to get off the social media groups to come here also. Thanks again ❤️

I love Boathouse….go every time I stay at Riverside. Breakfast at the other restaurant was also good.

Thanks I was hoping that was the case.

If you are taking a round trip cruise in/out of Ft. Lauderdale, do they do facial recognition at customs instead of the person to person customs?

I have always had luck the week after Thanksgiving. Too soon after Turkey day and too soon for Christmas (I would usually see them decorating the ship as we were departing) The only issue is flights and hotels, but shocking as it is have had good luck flying on Black Friday, avoid Sunday like the plague. Mind you these were all pre- pandemic but I did it on ships and other Caribbean vacations.

I went to Captain Taso’s talk on “ How to Build a Ship” while I was on the Edge. He was the buildout Captain for the Edge and he discussed that the design of the ship above and below made a huge impact on fuel consumption. I can’t remember the exact savings but it was noticeable. I had zero issues with the IV cabins. In fact I have one booked for Ascent. I had a balcony once and found I did not use it as much as I thought I would, having the full window and being able to open the window and hear the ocean was a plus for me.

When I went there a few years ago there were taxis/buses going to the boatyard outside the port. Are they still there?

Yes, and I even mentioned that would be a benefit if so desired to move up. I was just giving my personal opinion on what I felt was a Concierge experience.

I have been on Concierge rooms twice as a solo. (Early on restarts where the Con rooms were less than IV room) I placed value for the Con room as no more than $100. Points to consider: The Concierge rooms are on decks 10-12. If you are on deck 12 you will be right under public spaces like OV Cafe, pool, Solarium. Not sure about overhead noise but unless someone in the know tells you it is not an issue I would not chance it. You get to go to a lunch on Embarkation that ends at 1:30..it was nothing special. You get a bottle of sparkling wine (which I traded out to Chardonnay) You get these small snacks mid afternoon. Some were fine, some I did not even touch so they were a waste for me. I never used Concierge my first trip, and only once the second to help me clear up an account issue.If you need to get off ship early for a tender port or debarkation then it helps. If you have the drink package, then nothing is different. Other than getting a full size IV room, not sure I personally get the value other than having a gold colored card. Again, just my personal opinion. I have a single veranda cruise on the Ascent and will probably not change, As an additional comment, because I was on the Edge while Covid was still highly part of our lives, they did not have a special embarkation area set up, not sure if that changed.

If they really like the history then the extra time in Rome and Athens would be worth it.

I believe they are all on deck 6 which has an obstructed view of the life boats. You can look straight out but not down. Not sure if there is any other type of obstruction on any of the rooms. I am on the Ascent in one of these rooms and I went the Celebrity page under accommodations for the rooms and the picture will show the top of the lifeboat

Not sure about all ships but on the Bliss last month we could text for free between iPhones. I see that this was mentioned in a previous post so we didn’t have to purchase. We had a few instances when the messages were delayed getting through but for the most part it worked fine.

Was on the Bliss early February and even though I did not go I know people who did and were very disappointed.