peterde

Drink packages are not required. You can pay as you go, and it could be very cost effective. 

We did a New Years cruise with our kids on Royal Caribbean years ago and it was the best cruise we ever took. There were parties all over the ship and everyone had a great time. We are booked again this year for New Years on Celebrity, I hope it lives up to our past experiences. 
If you want to gift the crew, cash is the preferred option by far. Cabin decorations are always fun, but the lights might attract too much attention from mischievous individuals.  

My upgrade price for my December 23 cruise held at 18.99 for the entire year. It finally dropped down to 13.99 today. I call CC to cancel and reorder and asked about the CC 10% discount. He said it wasn’t available. I didn’t think it was a sale as it now said onboard price is 15.00 and 5% off made it 13.99, but he said the CC discount wasn’t available. 15.00 is much more inline with the difference between classic and premium packages anyway. 

Got my 3 points today also. Strange, but I’ll take it. 

The easiest way to handle this is to go into your Apple Watch settings app on your iPhone and go into <General> <Airplane Mode> and make sure that <Mirror IPhone> is checked. This will ensure you watch does what you phone is set to so there is no worries about accidentally connecting to the expensive ship’s cellular. 

I saw that video also and that part made me chuckle. He hated everything about the Margartiaville yet the burger was better than Celebrity, not a glowing recommendation by any stretch of the imagination. 

I will be aboard Reflection in December and will eagerly read your reviews as to her overall condition and menu situation. 

12 hours ago, kwokpot said:

That will NEVER, EVER happen. It's all a inside space. What you proposing is impossible. In order to do what you're asking is to create a standard balcony cabin. An IV cabin is not, was never meant to be, and can never be, a cabin with real outdoor space. 

What I am “proposing” is just being able to keep the A/C on while the window is open. That involves no structural changes at all. Just a few switches and a better partition than currently available. 

I highly doubt that they can economically eliminate the IV’s in favor of more traditional balconies. What I can possibly see Celebrity doing is making that partition more substantial and weather tight so that A/C can stay on when closed and two people can be in different locations in the room without the discomfort of having no A/C inside the room while the window is open. Only time will tell what actually happens. 

I was going to do the drinking game everytime she said “our most loyal customers” but I’m afraid I was going to give myself alcohol poisoning. All kidding aside I think she did fairly well. She’s acknowledging some serious first missteps. I just hope she learns from them and remembers communications is key prior to any changes.

4 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

The vitamin water is only available with the premium drink package.  Since it is non-alcoholic, you pay full price for it versus a difference in price.  This is one of the reason I like the premium drink package as I'll have two or three bottles of vitamin zero a day.  

 

I did not know that about the non-alcoholic drinks in the classic package. I always assumed it was the price difference that we paid. I would assume the same applies to the speciality coffees also. This is good to know and makes my decision to upgrade easier.

I was just looking at PTZTV’s old sailaways and I noticed that the last time there were people on the Equinox’s helipad for sailway out of Port Everglades was on July 8. I couldn’t find anyone there after that. Did they eliminate that perk (for CC and up) or is there another reason why the helipad isn’t being used anymore? 

56 minutes ago, micruiser2002 said:

Look at the current upgrade price.  As I posted above when I add the current upgrade it still adds the 20% tips, so not sure there is actually a price increase.

I didn’t read the gratuity included part, but I just purchased the upgrade anyway with my 10% CC discount. I have been waiting for months for my cruise to offer a sale on the drink upgrade, but the flash sales have never included it, maybe because it’s a holiday cruise. If it happens to ever go on sale I will cancel and repurchase it, but I’m not going to hold my breath. 

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The FAQ was updated in the last few days. Previously it showed the base cost to upgrade from Basic to Premium drinks was $20 which included the gratuity. Now the price is shown at $24 including the gratuity. Small difference but still equates to $56 for two over the course of a seven night cruise. 

 

 

I guess I should order my upgrade before the price hike instead of waiting for it to go on sale. 

I do know that on Apple tablets there is an option to look for phone only apps in the App Store. Maybe there is the same type of option in the android store?

Thanks for the heads up! Yesterday when the sale started I rebooked my shore excursion and speciality dining for the flash sale prices. The Wi-Fi upgrade was at the same price that I paid previously during a sale of 6.99. Today that price was almost 50% lower at 3.99. I saved a total of 120.00 all together. I am still waiting for the premium drink package upgrade to go on sale before I pull the trigger on that one.   

18 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It's already listed on the website as $20 pp/pd but it's currently on sale for 5% off.

I have been looking at the upgrade price and it hasn’t been subject to a sale for months. I wonder if our CC drink package discount works on the upgrade or if it even stacks on the 5%? With the current sale it’s only a $12 a day difference between classic and premium but the upgrade is still $20. We aren’t big drinkers so I would upgrade just for the convenience of not having to figure out what’s included in classic but not at that price. 

There are a few shore excursions and dinner reservations that are cheaper at this sale than the last I booked on. Should I call an agent to reprice them so I don’t lose my dinner times or should I just do it online? They are a mix of OBC and credit card paid if that makes a difference. 

The only thing is that it doesn’t include a wine pairing, I guess I didn’t make that clear. I think as of now the other venues are at regular upcharge. I’m sorry to be so cynical but the 2.00 cookie grab along with other things has left me jaded. 

Post was deleted here and on Facebook. A lot of people dismissed it but it obviously was true. 

I am booked on the Reflection over New Years. I noticed they just added a New Years dinner at Murano’s for 150.00 upcharge per person plus gratuities. With all that has been going on with Celebrity with their “test programs” cuts and surcharges, this is making me highly suspicious. A cold water lobster is nice, but at over 350.00 for a couple I find the cost, (especially if one chooses the halibut instead) is inflated. I have enjoyed many a 5 star meals that cost me far less, including alcohol. If it includes a midnight “party” I might be inclined, but nothing is mentioned, not even a toast. Am I missing something here? 

MURANEWYRS.pdf

21 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

The electronic menu is often wrong, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. I have ordered from what I saw in the app and been told it's not available on multiple occasions.

I like the paper menus. I would be more upset if I missed out on ordering something I would have really liked but didn’t see because it was missing on the digital menu. 

As per Celebrity’s FAQ (below), it’s long pants at night in the dining rooms. I have heard that sometimes it’s not enforced. Depends if you want to take the chance. However you can always dine at the ocean view cafe if it’s imperative that he wear shorts. 

AT NIGHT

SMART CASUAL 

Smart Casual attire is required for entry to main dining, specialty dining, and the Celebrity Theatre. Smart Casual means you look comfortable yet tasteful in a dress, skirt, long pants, or jean, and stylish top or button-down. Shorts and flip flops are not considered Smart Casual. 

Quick question. Does the Captains Club discount stack on a sale, or is it one or the other?

11 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

In addition to the passenger tax, The Bahamas will implement a $5 tourism environmental tax and a $2 tourism enhancement tax for each cruise passenger. 

 

This isn’t paid by Celebrity, this is your port chargers that every passenger pays themselves. Where Celebrity saves money is in their dockage fees. It costs each ship many thousands of dollars in pier rental, stevedore services and piloting to dock at a regular port of call. Since RCG owns the pier at PDCC, use their own employees to tie up the ship and have their own captains docking the ship they stand to save millions of dollars a year.