Leesie6351

Hi-- I was thinking of either the Hampton Inn or Hilton Garden Inn. To me they are motels and not hotels although perhaps they are actually hotels.

thanks for your concern.

Hi- yes a motel with a shuttle to the port would work as long as I could take a taxi directly from my terminal to the motel. I can't take the airtrain to motel shuttles.

thanks

Hello- I need a motel in the Port Liberty NJ area that has a full service restaurant for dinner or with a restaurant not more than a block away for a cruise leaving on 10/7/2018. I am disabled and can't walk too far.

thanks so much:)

I will be arriving October 6 2018 at EWR for an Oct 7th cruise out of Port liberty. If I take a private transfer to my motel somewhere in NJ, can I be picked up right outside the arriving terminal or do I still need to take the airtrain to P4.

Thanks so much.:)

How can you tell about OBC, if it's refundable or not? We have the better package with $300. plus $150 from our cruise company. Do we only get to spend our credits on board the ship or can we use it in the casino or for addtional tips. I would assume that Celebrity does not want to give us cash and they only want it used on the ship for purchases. Kinda confusing

Any Help,

J.

OBC given to you by Celebrity is non-refundable and is used first when you make any purchases on your seapass card.

OBC given to you by your TA is refundable and will be credited back to your credit card if unused.

You can't use your OBC in the casino or for tips. But in the casino, you can get cash for a 5% fee although according to some posters on these boards, that is about to go away.

Hope t his helps.

Can anyone tell me if OBC given to you by a travel agent is refundable if it is not used? Will it be refunded to the credit card on file.?

Hi- we took this cruisetour last May. We tipped the tour guides $5 per day. There is a different tour guide in each city.

As far as VIA rail, the cabins are tiny. There are no shelves or drawers or closet to hang anything only a few pegs. There is a tiny bathroom with a toilet. the sink is in the cabin itself and is covered with a wooden shelf which you have to remove everytime to use the sink. The beds are bunkbeds made up from folding captain's chairs. there is a ladder to climb up to the top berth. Once you are in them, the beds are actually very comfortable. Showers are in the corridor and are public.

We spent most of our time in the lounge cars.

By the way, some of the best meals we have ever had anywhere were on VIA.

enjoy the cruisetour.

Yes-- the previous poster gave the best advice. Call your credit card company immediately and file a dispute. They will immediately credit your account for the charge and contact the company. This will make the company either admit there is no disk and refund your money or re-send it fedex next day service.

Hopefully you will receive your photos which mean more to you than the money but at the least, you will not be out any money.

Good luck!!!

Hi,

 

Just a bump that I did post information and recent pictures of Constellation with wheelchair users in mind.

 

Includes aft balcony CC cabin 9164 photos if anyone is searching for those, or considering booking that cabin;-) Also, plictures of lift for hot tub, some thresholds and public bathroom facilities for handicapped passengers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=22543446

 

Hope this is helpful,

 

Johncn

John-- I have some mobility issues and issues with not being able to climb over tubs or sit on low toilets but I'm not in a wheelchair. Can you tell me if there are railings in the bathroom by the toilet and in the tub area? Is the toilet higher?

Thanks-- I've tried to not use an accessible cabin but I've dislocated my newly replaced hip 2X because of low toilets.

I was unable to open your photos

just returned from the 5/24 Millenium Alaska cruise and had a letter in my stateroom authorizing free transfers of OBC to cash during the cruise. Not sure why?? Perhaps it was a gesture because of issues we had on a pre-tour. Anyway, took the letter to the casino where a rude staff person in the cage refused to take it saying she had never seen this before. She implied we had created it ourselves!!! We demanded to speak to the Manager who took about an hour to appear and then looked at the letter, took it, left to make a phone call, and returned with a smile and apology and told the staff person in the cage to give us as much as we wanted.

Again, I have no idea why but it did come in handy.

As others have said, though, any leftover refundable OBC will be refunded to your credit card--- we got $500 back on our AMEX within 2 days of the end of the cruise

There have been lots of talk that celebrity Reflection is boring, I am now worried I pick the wrong cruise.

lots of reviews that they have the same shows repeated in a week.. The comedy show is the same one all week long. why would that be? even Carnival as 4 different shows on a 7 day cruise.

I was also told there is no night life at all after 11.. I think people of all ages like to have something to do at night. does celebrity have a suggest box or a person to email and ask what on earth is going on...

Let me know what you think.. Anyone that knows how to get in touch with celebrity about this let me know I think it time to ask them to step up there game.

Thanks for your time

I hope this is a prank posting??? Joy, if you are serious, you obviously are not familiar with celebrity and this may not be the best cruiseline choice for you. Celebrity is known to be a more sedate, quiet experience that admittedly does not have the same night life as a Carnival, NCL or Royal Caribbean. It is true that most things really quiet down after midnight. There is a lounge with a bar and music that goes until 2 AM or so, but truthfully, not much attendance. This is true of all of Celebrity not just Reflection.

As far as the shows, no shows are repeated on any cruise. You may experience the same entertainer more than once but the show is different each time. On some of the ships, the first night's entertainment is sometimes a mixed show with all the entertainers for that cruise performing a short piece from their act to give you a taste of it; the Celebrity Troupe does do several shows--they are a musical/dance troupe but again each show is completely different.

In all honesty though, you sound like a person who likes action and late night activities which is great but honestly you probably would not be happy on any Celebrity ship.

I'm just being truthful. Try Royal Caribbean or Carnival. They cater to a more active crowd.

Good luck

your review has been excellent although as I previously posted, my experiences on the ship were not as good. I agree totally about disembarkation being unusually easy-- we walked right off the ship in a very organized fashion at our designated time after enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the oceanView Café.

For some reason, I found the ship to be very quiet the entire cruise. Never any crowds, no problems finding tables in the OceanView Café or around the pool etc. To me, the atmosphere was odd-- very laid back, almost ghostlike. As I said previously, never saw the Captain or Ship's Officers or Cruise Director.

I will post more specifics especially about the pre-tour to the Canadian Rockies and Post-tour to Fairbanks and Denali because Georgia Peach has done a super fantastic job of reviewing the cruise so I have little to add.

Hi-- I'm going to be posting a longer review but had to comment on Georgia Peach's review. Ironically, I believe I live near to Georgia Peach. We first took a pre-tour, arranged through X, then the Millenium Cruise, then a post-tour to Denali, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Alyeska and Seward. I will write a complete review but just wanted to comment that all 3 legs of our experience of 18 days were fraught with complications, glitches and near catastrophies mainly resulting from the tour company X chose to coordinate the pre 5 day/6 day post tours. The pre-tour was so bad, Celebrity actually had a letter of apology waiting in our stateroom upon embarkation with $100 OBC. The post tour which was at least "escorted" was equally disorganized and we unfortunately had a novice Tour Director that had never guided a tour before-- we were his first tour!!!!!

As far as the cruise itself on the Millie, our waiter, assistant waiter and room attendant were great however, the rest of the experience left much to be desired. Food was way below normal quality and standards- actually had to request replacements twice-- first time ever!!!!; entertainment was spotty; cruise director, captain and officers were rarely seen or heard. Guest Relations was completely clueless about our post tour-- kept sending us to the shore excursion desk thinking we meant an excursion; no one in guest relations ever tried to resolve problems-- on last night, finally got to "vent" to the Assistant Manager who did make a call to headquarters for us trying to get information about our post tour (we had been given none!!!)

Disembarkation was very well organized and easy BUT contrary to Georgia Peach's experience, our embarkation was a nightmare!!!!! I had dislocated my hip that morning in Victoria on the pre-tour and needed a wheelchair when we arrived. First, we were directed to the Convention Center because apparently there were 3 ships in port and Vancouver personnel could not handle everyone directly so passengers were directed to auditoriums and given numbers to then wait to be called for Passport control and Security. I was told some people on our tour wait 2 1/2 hrs to make it through. (we had arrived at 2:15) When we entered the building, we immediately saw an area cordoned off for both Princess and HAL for wheelchair assistance. No such area for Celebrity. We were told to look for a Celebrity Rep who would then get us a wheelchair. It took my husband over 20 minutes to find a rep, while I leaned against a pole as there were chairs, who said she was helping someone but would request help for me. After no one responded to her call, she grabbed a chair that had been left, got me in it, asked my husband if he could push me, and she had us follow her. The good news was we went to the head of all the lines and took elevators down to the actual check-in area instead of having to walk 3 narrow metal flights of stairs all the other passengers were forced to walk, and got processed and on the ship from that point in 10 minutes.

I'm waiting to write my full review because if I did it now, it would be scathing!!!! Celebrity needs to get out of the tour business (which HAL is after the 2014 season) and re-direct their money and efforts towards re-establishing the excellent cruise experience we expect. X has raised our expectations so high, that perhaps we get overly critical but the fault is theirs not ours.

If anyone is planning to sign-up for a pre-or post tour through celebrity, I strongly suggest you save your money. I'd be happy to give specifics. Feel free to contact me at: der6351@gmail.com

Ship: Reflection

Cabin #: 9268

Deck #: 9

Class: 1A

Area: starboard, mid-ship-just off elevators and game room

Bed near: balcony

Quiet?: yes

Balcony view: side-can see towards front and rear

Balcony size: over-size

Wind a problem?: no

Soot a problem?: no

Problems/comments: excellent quiet location. Great for anyone with mobility issues. Convenient to aft elevators (mid-ship) but not too far to walk to either end of ship. Highly recommend

we left HAL for X after 3 poor cruises. Our first HAL cruise was to Alaska in 1996 on the Ryndam. IMHO, HAL offers the best cruisetours so we decided to take a chance again because last time we never went to Denali etc and we have been wanting to. We booked a cruisetour for 12 days with some trepidation but our time on the ship is actually only 3 days. We board in Vancouver and depart early AM when the ship docks on day 4 in Skagway for the land tour portion. We are on the Zuiderdam and after hearing all these horror stories, we're grateful we're only on for 3 days. We hope HAL can redeem themselves and we have a great cruisetour so we can return.

Thanks for all the information about the Zuiderdam.:confused:

As a first time cruiser, are there any major etiquette breaches that one could unintentially commit? (other than the obvious like being outride rude/obnoxious etc.)

 

Was there ever anything you saw a "cruise newbie" do that was a major faux pas?

on our antartica cruise, the newbies (although same rudeness was also shown by multi-cruisers) tended to hog tables in the buffet area so they could spend hours sitting and watching the beautiful scenery; don't hog lounges by the pool by leaving a towel or personal item on it and then disappearing for hours; don't save seats in the theatre for shows; don't sit at a table for 8 or 10 and never say a word to your tablemates.

LOL-- just follow normal courtesies and you'll be fine. Have a wonderful trip.;)

Carolyn,

 

To see the roll call list, click on "Select a Ship" above the sub-forums and scroll down to Celebrity Galaxy at:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=206

 

Then click: "Enter your cruising info to participate!" on the right hand side above the Galaxy Results if you want to add your name.

 

Bonnie

I went to mine-Constellation 7/9/11 and can't seem to find the above???

thanks:confused:

We totally agree. They need to fill their ships and we don't think they want to alienate anyone from either side of this issue.

I suspect X is reluctant to change to smart casual because unfortunately today too many people don't seem to understand "smart casual" and you will see shorts, t-shirts, knit shirts, jeans, cargo pants etc for men and jeans, tees, halter tops and shorts for women. Unfortunately today for most of us, "give us a finger and will take the arm". Formal wear has evolved as per the discussions on this thread, what do you really think would happen if it was replaced by "smart" or "elegant" casual??

I think a lot of men do not like to wear ties because they don't have shirts that are fitted for their neck size. Its that top button, not the tie, that tends to choke them.

Please don't flame me-- I'm an oversize cruiser myself--sooooooooo--my question/thought is-- the reason so many men say they are sooooooo uncomfortable in their suits is because they are larger size men and perhaps their suits don't accomodate their girth?? There are many stores that sell larger size clothes including suits that can be bought on sale or even 2 for 1. Also, men--did you know you can rent a tux from the cruiseline and it will be fitted for you onboard the ship. No need to carry the extra clothes. Last time I checked it was $85 for a 7 night cruise.

I honestly think the movement towards casual clothes for both men and women is because our larger bellies and rolls feel more comfortable in less restrictive clothing. :eek:

Hi-- we started using self sealing space bags several years ago and won't travel without them. Here are the main advantages:

1. helps keep clothes from wrinkling

2. when sealed and rolled to get the air out, you can pack more clothes in the same space-you save valuable space in the suitcase (we use the kind you seal like a baggie and roll to get the air out not the kind you need to use a vacuum cleaner hose)

3.keeps clothes from being handled by TSA-if your suitcase is opened for inspection, they pick up the see through bag not your clothes

4. you can pack bags with specific clothing types or for pre-nights or postnights so you don't have to rummage through the suitcase to find the right clothes. Bags come in different sizes and hold several pieces of clothing

5. no danger of clothes getting dirty or having liquids or even rain get them wet and ruined.

I'm a believer. They sell them in Bed, Bath and Beyond

Doing Tuscan two weeks from Tommorrow, looking forward to it. By the way, I like Texas Roadhouse also, good steaks...The ironic thing about the Specialty restaurants is that the food served is the equivalent in terms of quality to what was served in the MDR years ago on Celebrity....

exactly my concern--if everyone starts paying to eat in the specialty restaurants, what incentive does the cruise line have to provide top quality food in the MDR???:confused:

for all the men who are complaining about having to wear a suit for formal nights and who think it's such a burden because they're hot, stiff, uncomfortable etc."try walking a mile in the mocassins of women" bfore you complain. Let's see even in south florida with 90% humidity and 95 degree temps, women have to wear panty hose, bras, tummy tighteners etc. Do you think that's comfortable??? For formal nights, women have to wear the most uncomfortable undergarments (ask your wife or significant other for a look as they dress) and their gowns are also heavy and uncomfortable. See what women have to go through to hold up strapless/backless gowns. Sometimes, you just have to suck it up and do what you have to do. Not meaning to sound harsh but as others in this thread have said, if wearing a suit for 2 nights is such a burden, either eat in the buffet or choose a less formal cruise line. Again men, sorry to disparage you but if men had to bear babies, we all know what the population would be---

we also look forward to "formal nights". DH wears a black suit with a tuxedo shirt and tuxedo tie-- you can't really tell his is not wearing a tux. I used to bring cocktail gowns but due to weight restrictions, I've now changed from cocktail dresses to silky flowing pants with a variety of glitzy tops and wear my "cruise jewelry" to complete the formal look. My cruise jewelry is really nice costume jewlery that if real would cost thousands. I buy it on sale and at least IMHO, DH and I look just swell.

To all those who claim to hate dressing up, if the cost is the reason, if you shop well, you can get your outfits for DW for under a $100 on sale and for DH under $200-250 on sale or rent a tux from the ship. If you just hate to dress up on principle, please understand that in todays casual world, there are so few places left for the aaverage person to dress up, that you should be glad for the opportunity. To agree with other responders, there are many excellent cruise lines that have gone casual---perhaps you'd feel more at ease on one of those. If you still choose to sail Celebrity, then please respect your fellow passengers and yourself by adhering to the dress code.

Thanks;)

Hi-- I don't know if this will help you-- we are going on the Infinity on 2/11 and when the ship docks at the end of the cruise in BA, the ship offers several day tours of varying lengths that will take you and your luggage from the ship to sightseeing destinations to the airport. Our flight does not leave until 9:30 PM so we are taking an all-day 9 hour tour. Yes it's pricey but solves the hassle factor.

Also- check whether your ship and airline offers pre-luggage check in on the ship-- usually costs around $20 pp and they take your luggage directly to the airport from the ship so you don't have to shlep.

Good luck