Atwell

On our last couple of Disney cruises, I've created magnets for our door and participated in the gift exchange know as "fish extenders." I was wondering if anyone decorates their doors on Celebrity?

 

 

 

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Although not wide spread, some decorate their doors especially around holidays like Valentine's Day, Christmas, New Year's, etc. Others do so, just to easily identify their room, especially if they are traveling with kids or part of a group.

I'd appreciate some help on this... This comming winter wife and I are booked on the Summit for a B2B out of San Juan.

 

For those experienced San Juan Cruisers, what time do they start to let passengers on board the ship? it's scheduled to leave at 8 pm..

 

Also, when we get back to SJ, on that middle week, what time can we expect to leave the ship? Trying to figure a plan for an excursion on the middle week.. Actually wanting to go fishing and want to tell the guide what time to pick us up.

 

Thanks in advance for any help..

Based on our many sailings from San Juan, I agree with those who say you can board around noon (or even a little earlier). The muster drill is before the first dinner seating as I recall, so 5pm sounds about right.

As to the process for the B2B on the return, all those passengers who are staying on the ship meet in one of the lounges around 10:00-10:30 am and they walk you off into the terminal and then back on after your passport is re-checked and you are confirmed to be on the list of passengers staying on the ship. You turn in your old sea pass and get a new one as part of the process.

I believe that whole process took around 30-45 minutes. You are, therefore, back on the ship before they start embarking new passengers. They leave information in your room the night before, telling you exactly what you need to know.

If you want to leave the ship for an excursion and not go through the group process, I believe you can do it, you just go through the regular boarding process like all the newly arriving passengers. Passengers begin to disembark around 8:00-8:30 am as I recall. If you let them know you have an excursion planned, they should let you off in one of the first groups. Perhaps someone else can confirm this.

Let me add to the post by rwr235 which explained that Select Dining is in one section of the Cosmopolitan Restaurant and that you can make a reservation for your party of 3 to dine by yourselves.

The Select Dining section is on the upper level of the Cosmopolitan Restaurant with the entrance on Deck 5, starboard side. There is a podium at this entrance where you "sign in" and wait to be guided to your table.

Most evenings, there is only about a 1-10 minute wait without a reservation. You can make a reservation but I believe only 1 day ahead of time (cannot make a standing reservation for the entire cruise) and no reservations are accepted for certain hours which are popular dining times and are, therefore, first come-first serve (7:00-7:45 pm as I recall).

We like to dine around 7:00 pm or a little later so we chose to just "show up" and never had a long wait. We have always found them very helpful and accommodating at Select Dining. However, if many passengers happen to show up at the same time or if you request to only be seated at a window or overlooking the dining room, you could have a longer wait.

However, is it possible to be placed with others instead of a table for 2? I'm concerned I'll be missing out on getting to know my fellow passengers if we eat alone every night. Will the Matre' D ask us if we want to sit with others? TIA

 

Debbie

Yes, you can ask to be seated at a table with others in Select Dining. Sometimes they ask you and sometimes they just assume you want a table for two - so if not asked, just tell the hostess that is what you want. You won't be sitting with the same people each night unless you all agree in advance to sit together and either make a reservation for a specific time (which you can do one day ahead as i recall) or just meet at the entrance to Select Dining and tell the hostess you want to be seated together as a group. I understand there are some differences from ship to ship in how they handle Select Dining but this is generally how it works.

The turnaround on the Summit last winter was at San Juan and they had us meet on the ship as a group. Then they walked us off the ship together briefly to show our passports to the immigration people.

We were given our new seapass cards and allowed right back on the ship, or were free to go off on our own for the day, as we wished.

 

We were not required to go with the group. That was just provided as a convenience for the B2B passengers to get us through immigration quickly.

If you wished, you could get off with the passengers who were departing and wait in the regular immigration line with them.

If you did that, then you received your new seapass card when you returned to the ship later in the day.

 

Either way, it was easy and not a problem.

 

As mentioned, they are treated as two different cruises for accounting purposes, each with its own reservation number, regardless of whether or not you are changing cabins.

You should receive an account statement at the end of the first cruise showing your final account balance for that cruise. If it looks correct, you don't need to do anything if you are using a credit card account as the balance or credit will automatically go to your credit card.

But if using a cash account, then you would need to go to Guest Relations to settle your account.

 

We also were on a B2B on the Summit in Feb 2014 and the turnaround in San Juan was handled just as fleckle explained. It was painless for us (but we were in the same cabin on both legs). It took about 30 minutes. I believe we met as a group in one of the lounges for the walk-off and walk-on around 10:00 a.m. as I recall.

I know she was refurbished a couple of years ago. I understand she is old and showing her age a bit but as long as she is clean and the staff is helpful and friendly, I'm OK

 

Can anyone who has recently sailed on her give me some info?

 

Thanks!

We were on Summit for a B2B in Jan/Feb 2014. The ship was in very good condition and the staff was great! You have nothing to worry about.

We have only cruised four times, once with Celebrity, twice with Oceania, and once with Crystal. We have two future cruises, Celebrity April 28 from Honolulu to Vancouver, and one with Seabourn June 1 in northern Europe.

 

We like trying all the lines and so far all have enjoyed them all. We will continue with Celebrity, possibly Oceania & never again with Crystal.

 

We really like the Solstice vessels and anticipate cruising Celebrity again. Celebrity prices were so attractive on our Eclipse trans Atlantic in the spring of last year we were able to afford a Sky Suite. This time in June we are taking a regular

balcony cabin, and spending additional monies on a premium drink package and eating in the specialty restaurants. We enjoy eating outside so seldom use the MDR, mostly the buffet, with a couple of specialty restaurants.

 

Of the four of course Celebrity is the least expensive and the best bang-for-the-buck cruise we have been on.

 

Regards,

 

Malcolm

I'm curious as to what you didn't like about Crystal?

Does anyone know the name of the port that Summit sails from? It is my understanding that there is more than one port there.

The Pan American Pier is across the harbor from Old San Juan. All Celebrity ships embark from here.

You can see the Pan Am Pier location in relation to Old San Juan on the map at this link.

http://www.langland.org/cruises/sanjuan.asp

Just a bit about transfer to TA. You have 30 days after booking to transfer to a TA. Shop TA's, tell them what you have and ask if they any added incentive and when you decide you have them transfer the booking. They will provide you with a form for Celebrity which allows them to secure the booking as their own. TAs work on commission....the amount that they are going to make on your booking determines what additional perks they will offer.

When you do your on-board booking, the Celebrity booking agent will ask if you want the booking to stay with Celebrity or be transferred to a TA. (You can also switch it later as mentioned by another poster). However, if you have already talked with your usual TA (or shopped around) and know you want the additional perks the TA will provide, you can tell Celebrity to go ahead and transfer to the TA you have selected when you make your booking. Then you don't have to worry about it again and you will know exactly what you are going to get.

If you want to do this, they will already have the info for the TA you last used in the Celebrity system and they can just transfer with a click of the mouse. If a different TA, then the transfer can be done later by the new TA if you don't have all the new TA's info with you.

We have used Select Dining for our last 4 Celebrity cruises and we like it very much for the flexibility. It always seemed that the traditional dining early seating was too early and late seating was too late for us.

On Summit, we were told that reservations are accepted in Select Dining but only taken one day ahead, not allowed to be booked for the entire cruise. Also, they do not accept reservations for seating between 7-7:30 pm as that is the most popular time. We only made reservations for one night and the other nights only waited 5-15 minutes. I can't remember if the Select Dining procedures were exactly the same on the other ships.

We usually ask to be seated with other people and we have met some very nice folks this way. We highly recommend Select Dining.

I believe the Select Dining section opens at the same time as Traditional Dining. On our last cruise this was 6:00 pm. I don't know how late they allow diners to arrive and be seated in Select Dining but my guess would be around 9:30 pm. Maybe someone else on this thread will know.

Curious minds want to know. Of the cruise itineraries and/or parts of the world you have cruised, what has been your favorite and why?

1. Mediterranean - especially Istanbul, Ephesus, the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Venice, Florence, Barcelona.

2. Baltics - especially St. Petersburg

3. Asia - especially Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore

All of them have historical importance, or beautiful scenery, or a fascinating culture and/or interesting and beautiful architecture.

Who is the current captain, CC hostess, and CD onboard?

As of early February:

Master (Captain) - Leonardos Palaiokrassas

CC Hostess - Ashley Whitaker

CD - Kyle Dodson

We have sailed with Celebrity several times but have never tried the Oceanview Café for dinner. I’m curious what they have as far as selections the dinner. We have had lunch and breakfast there occasionally so is it more of the same as lunch? How was a different if at all from the rest of the day? Any information greatly appreciated. Thanks

On the Summit recently, in the evening the differences in the Oceanview Cafe are:

- They grill steaks, pork chops, hamburgers, etc. to order at the back of the Cafe.

- A selection of Indian food (not always served at lunch).

- Sushi

- Mexican or other ethnic food (in addition to Indian)

There is the normal selection of salads, traditional entrees similar to lunch, the pasta bar, pizza station, and desserts.

After a long shore day or if you just don't feel like getting dressed for dinner, the Oceanview Cafe is a nice choice and it is so much quieter than the dining room. You can get soft drinks, beer, bottled water, etc.

My complaint is with the volume of the music not what is played.

On our recent B2B on Summit the only place we noticed excessively loud music was at the Martini Bar. However, "loud" is subjective.

Maybe it would be good to get some objective data on the decibel level so we are somewhat calibrated. You can find many references that say normal conversation (at 3 ft) can be accomplished in an environment of 65 dB background noise. Hearing loss can occur at sustained exposure at 90-95 dB. A snowmobile or motorcycle is 100 dB and a loud rock concert is 115 dB. OSHA sets a maximum of 8 hours per day at 90 dB, 2 hours at 100 dB, and 1 hour at 105 dB. Each increase of 10 dB is actually twice the volume, so 100 dB is 4 times the volume of 80 dB.

There are iPhone apps that measure dB level. One that rates well is dB Meter Pro at $.99 to download. Perhaps some of our cruisers can measure and report back what they discover and that will provide objective as well as subjective information.

It would be interesting to know what the actual instructions by Celebrity management to staff are on where/how to set the volume of recorded (or live) music and whether it has recently changed.

We did notice that there was a crowd at the Martini Bar, although the music was way too loud for us. I wish I had thought to measure the decibel level. And no, I am not advocating "volume police". If you don't like the volume level at one location, go elsewhere. And if you think Celebrity has let things get out of hand with their music volume then vote with your feet and pocketbook.

I have an old Open Passage issued in 2011, I believe. While on a recent cruise the on-board Celebrity Booking Agent said "hold on to that one - it will earn the higher OBC for a longer 14-day cruise (like a TransAtlantic)". I assumed from her comment that the terms in place at the time the Open Passages was purchased would apply.

Let us know how this turns out as I am holding on to my old Open Passages, hoping to use it to best advantage.

Hi guys!

 

I really need your help. I have this wonderful problem of planning next winter cruise. A bit background information about us: Scandinavian couple, in our early and late thirties, enjoy food and wine and travelling. We have done three cruises on Celebrity, two of them in Aqua class. One of the cruises in normal balcony stateroom out of San Juan. We enjoy cruising and loved our Caribbean cruise this winter. We want to do one more Caribbean cruise in January 2015 and have started discussing which ship to book.

 

Our alternatives are 14 nights exotic Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. Very nice ports but we have started to get bored of Celebrity entertainment (same shows) and even the food gets a bit repetitive after couple of long cruises. We are discussing Oceania Riviera/Regatta mainly because of the food offerings.

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

I cannot comment on Oceania as we have never cruised this line. However, you do have another Celebrity alternative you can consider. That is to do a B2B on Celebrity Summit from San Juan for a total of 14 days. The itinerary alternates each week and the only common stop is St. Thomas. The ship is smaller than Eclipse (but not as small as Oceania). We did this last month and enjoyed it so much that we will do the same in 2015. The 123Go promotion has attracted a younger crowd and you might enjoy that. The sommeliers might be busier than usual with so many guests buying drink packages. However, there is a very nice wine bar that is never extremely busy and the speciality restaurants also will be able to spend more time on wine selections. I could be wrong but I think if you purchase a bottle of wine at one venue, you can make it available in the dining room at your request.

Due to the popularity of our 123Go sales promotion, we have been experiencing unprecedented phone call volume. We are in the process of hiring, training and deploying additional staff - and expect to reduce our wait times soon. We regret the inconvenience to our guests, appreciate their patience and look forward to helping them plan their Celebrity cruise vacation.

I feel sorry for our TA. She had to call Celebrity today about our 2015 booking. She says now she expects to wait on hold for about an hour every time she has to call Celebrity. I assume she is able to do other work while she is waiting but what a nuisance. I don't know if she has another phone line she can use while she is on hold - I hope so.

We are travelling on Celebrity Eclipse in July and have booked a two day St. Petersburg excursion with Celebrity. Does anyone know if we require visas?

Many cruisers have found that the private tours are less expensive and you see much more in St. Petersburg than on a ship's tour. It makes sense - a smaller group doesn't waste as much time and the smaller vehicle can maneuver much closer to the venues. We used SPb Tours but there are other good ones such as Red October and Denrus which are lightly recommended. The private tours have to be registered with the government and also take care of your visa same as if on a ship's tour. Some prefer using the ship's tour so they don't have to worry about getting back to the ship on time, etc. However, the private tours stake their reputation on doing a good job (as it is a referral business) and getting you back on time so I would not worry about that. Whatever you do, St. Petersburg is fabulous. There is more there than you could ever possibly see in 2 days.

We went early and we didn't see any shrimp either. However, I thought it was very organized. We were seated at a very nice table and it was easy to find .... I always forget where I am in a buffet.:p We enjoyed it and thought it was nicer and more organized than the last one we went to which was on Millennium (but that was a 5 dayer).

Maybe a decision made on ship by ship basis to serve shrimp ceviche. We were on the Summit for a B2B several weeks ago and had shrimp galore on both brunches as usual.

The internet coupon is there - right in the middle.

90 minutes...

One comment about the 90 minute internet coupon. DW and myself were able to purchase the $99.95 package (208 minutes) and then apply both coupons for no net cost - the first week. Then the second week we were told in the iLounge that they were not allowed to do it any more. I happened to ask at Customer Services and I was told a new "Accounting Manager" (might have been a different title) had boarded for this cruise and his policy was not to allow the coupons to be used this way. Therefore, I had to get a 90 minute package ($49.95) and apply my coupon and DW had to get her own 90 minute package ($49.95) and apply her coupon with her own username and password. How silly! I guess they realized we were getting (208-180=) 28 extra minutes.

I will also mention if you are on-line and run over your minutes you will be charged unless you increase your package. I had thought that if you got off-line within a couple of minutes after running over they would let it go - wrong!

For those interested, this is the sheet of Elite coupons from weeks of Jan 25-Feb 1 and Feb 1-8 on the Summit. I assume they are the same on all ships and for any length of cruise but not sure about that. We each received the same coupon sheet on both legs of our B2B (2 sheets x 2 weeks).

What is the port called?

Is there an ATM close by?

Somewhere we can purchase toiletries?

 

*really missing the search function

 

 

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The Pan American Pier. The taxi driver will know this is where the Celebrity cruise ships embark. It is across the harbor from Old San Juan.

I cannot answer your other questions.

Royal Caribbean has a private breakfast in a separate dining room for Diamond and above. Does Celebrity have a similar breakfast for Elite and above? Specifically, I'm asking about the Summit.

Rich

On the Summit, the Elite and above breakfast is served in the Normandie speciality restaurant. As noted in earlier messages, it does not include hot items. It is a continental breakfast.

Crew and staff great...officers very visible.....Capt is really nice and

eye candy too:D:p:);)

I assume your Captain is George Iatrou. He was our Captain on the 15-day Century Hawaii cruise from San Diego in Feb 2013. He is very personable and made a point to be visible and accessible to passengers throughout the cruise. When we asked about his family he proudly said he had two sons. The next evening he brought photos of them to the Elite event to show us.

We had originally asked for the early sitting of the traditional dining. This is what we had previously and it worked well. We have been placed on a wait list for that and given select at present.

What are the pros and cons of remaining select dining. Is there often a long wait for a table? ( would want a 4 person table) Is it a problem having a different waiter each night? Is the service worse?

 

Any advice would be great.

We recently were on the Summit for a 2 week B2B. Never had to wait more than 15 minutes for Select Dining, mostly around 5 minutes. We usually were seated sometime between 7:00-7:30 pm which they said was typically their busiest time.

You can make reservations but they will only allow reservations to be made one day ahead. We quit making reservations after a couple of days because there was rarely much of a line waiting to be seated. It might depend on the ship but I understand they limit Select Dining to a certain number of passengers so they will not be overwhelmed. The Select Dining area, though, always seemed to be pretty full.

You might be seated more quickly if you are willing to sit with other passengers. If you want to be seated only with your group of 4 you might have to wait longer unless you go to the bother of making reservations every evening for the next night. Also, if you only want to be seated in a particular location or have other restrictions that could increase your wait.

We like the flexibility of Select Dining. Sometimes we attend the show and sometimes not and that affects our dining time.

We never really noticed much of a difference in the wait staff. Of course, they will not know your preferences as if you were always at the same table in traditional dining. Some want that kind of special service and you will not get that in Select Dining.