misha1

Have you considered renting a van for your group and driving yourself? That would give you maximum flexibility. I am sure Bernard or some other tour organizer could accomodate you if you are reluctant to drive yourselves, but you would find that getting around the island on your own is not that challenging.

That would be the ultimate in flexibility but I would not be able to imbibe and that does not sound like much fun to me...Thanks for the suggestion though. I did a search and found a company I think will accommodate our needs and time frames. Julie

Hello and Happy Holidays...DH and I, as well as 4-5 family members are going to be visiting St Maarten on the Reflection in 2017....I know it is a long time from now, but since i am the family organizer, I start the party early. What we are looking for is transport that will take us to the places we want to go to, wait for us ( maybe an hour or two at any given site) and return us to either the ship or the downtown area. As mentioned there will be several of us so we will need van accomodations. DH and I have only used buses in St Maarten previously. Anyone have a reliable transport suggestion? Thanks in advance....Julie

I want to provide a suggestion as to what we do to get our veggie intake due to Luminae being quite limited in this area.

Like Michael, we have to go to Oceanview Cafe and create a large salad. The selection is very nice. I am not a fan of buffets due to the possible exposure of germs from everyone touching the same utensils. I picked up a hint from another poster on a luxury line who uses a napkin when handling the serving utensils. This is now what I do to avoid the germs. We typically cruise on Oceania and they serve you from their buffet and nobody touches anything. I prefer this hygienic approach to others and have no issues eating there. Also, after watching a young woman walk out of the restroom without washing her hands, and the woman walking up the staircase while flossing her teeth, the napkin is important. :(

 

Now, another spot I have found to be very nice for our breakfast is the Aqua Spa cafe. Every morning I get the V-12 juice (the very green one) and the preparer makes it with care and adds a bit of extra ginger for me. DH has his granola and fruit and this is what we prefer to start our day with a healthy meal. I forgot to mention we always have a cappuccino at Bacio first. We are definitely creatures of habit and have found our comfort zone on the ship.

 

We have enjoyed Celebrity and would definitely cruise with them again given the right itinerary and timing. Also, the Tasman Sea can be a bit rough at times and we felt little compared to being on the small ships.

Interesting concept...the napkin usage at the buffet...do you use a new one with each utensil? Do you discard the napkin after use but before you eat?

I kinda like the throbbing music in the Martini Bar...does it lend to conversation? No, but that's ok in my book...I have plenty of other places I can talk. When OP said they needed a break from Celebrity...I thought about our recent experience on RCCL and how we found so many areas that Celebrity does a better job...now I am not bashing RCCL, I really like their product too but it does not feel as elegant to me. We are looking forward to our 2nd Solstice cruise to Alaska and we will for sure make our way to the Toonie bar every night. PS...the Solarium is wonderful for peace and quiet...until the room is packed with inclement weather folks...then it is just a pool.

All checked in and passes printed...used the already booked link, worked like a charm.

I don't disagree that Celebrity really needs to get their website issues fixed, but you don't have to print the express pass or luggage tags in advance of the cruise. You can do everything you need to do once you arrive at the port. People sometimes get too stressed out over what is really a non-issue (frustrating for sure, but you'll still get on the boat without that stuff).

Totally not stressed...I have gotten my tags at the port numerous times...I think it is ceremony to apply the tags in the morning of the cruise. I did think that checking in on line saved some time at the desk though, so I like to do that. My 1st half of my B2B has never shown up on the reservation page until I add it and it will disappear before I am even done with my session...I certainly have been charged for both cruises, have reservation numbers for both cruises...will just have to hope for the best (not too worried).

Called tonight and they said I needed to be "unlocked"...so after I was "unlocked" I went in and still had the issues...sigh

I am having the same issues...my 1/14/16 cruise never shows unless I add it and I cannot do any reservation management or on line check in...for months now. When I have time, I will call to try to complete the process, but I agree that this is just not an ok situation for this day and age of technology.

Ditto on all accounts...first time I have had issues with the website,,,first world problem I guess

Definitely more sailings for Pacific Coastal.

 

Ours was cancelled for Sept 2016. A charter replaced it. Still really angry about that. Hoping it will appear again in 2017 and this time be a go.

We were supposed to be on Infinity right now on a 14 nighter....until Celebrity sold out to a convention...and then our B2B Alaska and West coast for 2016...same...redeployed. We won't look for another West Coast cruise with Celebrity. Still upset about both of those "dream cruises" being altered and eventually cancelled. But...I have to put it into perspective, at least we have lots of options, including the option to vacation.

Solstice also has the amazing naturalist, Brent Nixon. According to his website he'll be onboard in 2016.

Another vote for the catamaran trip at Tracy Arm and float plane trip with Island Wings. I haven't sailed with Princess but I understand they do Alaka very well.

I agree with the Brent Nixon comment...I was amazed at his stories and photos. Cannot wait to see his show again in September of 2016. Did you book the catamaran thru celebrity? Did you miss the time on the ship?

And now, it is my turn to say...your photo review is superb! Exactly what I look for when reading reviews. I am a visual person and your pictures truly speak a thousand words...Oh, and did I mention, I am a foodie?...so your food porn was simply salivating Dahlink! I do have a question regarding your choice of cabins...our DF are joining us on Solstice for this same cruise (sadly, not until Sept of '16) and they have chosen a deck 6 hump cabin. Did the presence of the Tenders bother you at all? Did they impede your enjoyment of the balcony and your overall view of the scenery? Your photos inspire me to do a better job of documenting the interior of the ship...seems I stop at the Sunset bar or martini bar and all plans of photo shoots go out the window. Such is the cruising life...Happy Sails and Cheers! Julie

Wow! What's not to love...my fears from recent Blue reviews are set aside...looking forward to our first experience in January

Who's got a recipe they want to share?

I wouldn't mind weighing in here...DH and I have experienced NCL Free Style Dining, RCL My Time Dining, and Celebrity Select Dining...as well as traditional dining on Celebrity and RCL. We have been cruising for 15 years now and our patterns and likes have switched quite a bit. We used to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of dressing and dining, and maybe we have relaxed a little in our style (that is what I am calling it), we are not as rigid anymore, with attire or dining. We would be mortified to miss a dinner in the MDR in the past, even if we were not hungry. We rather enjoy the choices provided and love specialty dining. We even discovered.... the buffet for dinner Da Da Da Da (ominous sounds)...it was delicious. Another interesting note on this subject which causes me to agree that there is a change a-comin'...we booked a cruise in Sept of 2016 and we have early dining. We booked this cruise 6 months ago. Our friends who jumped on board (no pun intended) are Select...and they could not even get wait-listed (according to Celebrity) for the early dining. I have been trying to get Select but my TA is dragging her feet. Hmmmmmm...summpin's up!

Oh...Hi TEXED! Julie

Well...now I am bummed. We are AQ for the first time this January and I decided to book it because of the raves of BLU by CC folks. Does Blu have the same menu every breakfast and every dinner? Maybe we will be dining in the other restaurants more if BLU does not deliver.

DH and I started our cruising career in the year 2000. I think there was a lot more emphasis on dining attire then as we would be "mortified" if we did not blend in. We certainly have come along way baby...I still enjoy dressing for dinner, and I love the looks of a nice suit or tux on my man, but unless it is 60 degrees or less outside, I am a "hot" mama...and not in a good way, so, bring on the business casual. Our next cruise is Caribbean...in Aqua, and we are not bringing formal wear. I do not even take a second glance at folks not "minding" the dress code for the evening. The cruise line has their money, so they can do as they please (within the reasonablity of social etiquette...aka...not naked!.)

We have eaten at Bravo...very good, but those garlic rolls will stick with you until then next morning, if you know what I mean!

Since we used miles to pay for the flight, the 3pm time was all that was available. Thanks for the tips on tipping the sky cap. That may be the ticket. We almost always use curbside check in. We will be spending a few days in advance of the cruise in FLL and will be taking the water taxi about then...which I am looking forward to. I will have to check out the link for the airline check ins...thanks. Julie

Hello and Happy Friday...I read on some thread that due to the large number of disembarking cruise ship passengers, one cannot check into the airport and go thru security earlier than 2 hours before their flight. We have a 3pm flight which will have us sitting in the lobby of the airport for several hours before we can check in if this is the case. We are not really interested in doing a tour or excursion on our disembarkation day but left with the choice of sitting in the airport vs doing something of entertaining value...well, you know. Are there some suggestions from those in the know? I suppose we could send our luggage to the airport with the cruise ship program that does that and maybe go to a shopping mall. We have never been refused check in and security passage at any other airport. We wanted to check in and go to the sky club and await our flight. Since we are flying FC, will they let us check in early?

Thanks in advance...Julie

I am re-living my Southern Caribbean cruise thru your review. Summit is my fave ship. We have sailed her the most and I feel like we are "home" when I cross her threshold. I have always thought about writing a review and my good intentions go away by about the 2nd day of the vacation because it seems to tiring to keep a journal, but if you don't you can hardly remember the details. Well, I have 2 B2Bs coming up and maybe I can try again...that is, if you can keep me away from the martini bar. One does not keep good notes after a Toony or two

This looks suspicially like SalesForce.com might be doing a charter again to use the ship as a floating hotel for their DreamForce conference in San Francisco. Even though the charter would only be for 5 days, it would impact a number of sailings afterwards. I would be nervous if I was booked on any of the sailings showing as sold out.

Exactly what happened to our Golden Gate cruise this coming September. So we booked a B2B in Sept 2016...Sept 4th 7 night Alaska, and Sept 11th West coast...Out of the 2 cruises, I hope to keep the Alaska portion but I was really looking forward to 2 weeks in an aft facing concierge. I do not think I will try to book another West coast if this keeps happening to us.

Last time this happened to us, the shp was chartered...for this year in September. We rebooked 9/4 and 9/11/16... so help me, if they are chartered again, I will cry...no, I will throw a tantrum, then cry. Such are first world problems.

I did book an ocean front at Bahia Mar. Looks perfect for us and I got is for less money than Embassy, which is always a plus. Thanks for the suggestion!

DH and I are interested in the water taxi bar run and we thought of staying at the Hilton...is there another hotel that is convenient to the stops made by the taxi? We have used Embassy and Renaissance before and both are nice hotels...I think the best deal we got was 45 dollar rooms at Embassy on Priceline...back in 2004. Probably have gone up a little.