love2driveinct

Water bottle I go buy one, Be the best option indeed. Water is filtered no matter how you look at it, it is not tap water it is filtered water through the ships system. Better water than City Water if asked.

 

Bring a bottle, get a bottle if you forget to do that buy a bottle of water and you can always fill fill fill.

Thank you, just what I was hoping to hear! With three kids in sports and my being adamant about consuming the least amount of purchased bottled water possible, we have many refillable water bottles in our house. We will bring one for each of us! :)

Not sure where you'd be flying in from, but one thing I found was that airfare from here to Seattle or to Vancouver did not really differ, so that did not become a factor in my choice. You might want to price out some sample flights to help you compare. Ultimately we decided that Vancouver was the city we wanted to see more and then the other step was deciding that we wanted a one-way itinerary because we wanted to go further north to see more of Alaska itself. Again, pricing out flights to go to and from different airports did not turn out to be a deal-breaker in any way. If you have a good travel agent, it's probably worth asking them to run a few different scenarios to see how things look.

Oh, and on that note, my one regret is that I didn't book with a TA. Although I've found my cruise line's vacation planner extremely helpful and love that I can call him up any time with any question or request, I realized afterward that I missed out on earning any OBC by booking direct. With a family of five, kids that love smoothies, coffee, etc, and plans for excursions in every port, that OBC surely would have come in handy!

Good luck with whatever you decide. My first Alaska cruise was round-trip Vancouver (flew into Seattle and RC provided a bus transfer to Vancouver), and this upcoming one is Vancouver Northbound. My final choice was based on itinerary, port of embarkation, and value (best cabins for the money at the time of booking).

I'm a crepe lover and a sushi lover, so I have mixed feelings... There are plenty of places here where I live that sell good sushi, but crepe restaurants are few and far between. I'm new to Celebrity and would have liked to tried Bistro on 5 before it changed over, but I guess I'm out of luck. That being said, my oldest daughter, whose graduation we are celebrating with our upcoming cruise, loves sushi more than anything, so she will be very pleased!

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Quick question -- sorry to hijack your thread mom02, but I hate to start a new one -- if you don't have a beverage package, which is easier, bringing a case of water or bringing a refillable water bottle for each person & using the free tap water? I've read that the water is pretty decent across the cruiseline so I'm thinking of saving myself the hassle of purchasing a case & bringing it onboard. FWIW, I'm primarily concerned with having water to bring off board for our days in port. We are the kind of family that doesn't go anywhere without water.

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We just bought the new Go Pro Hero Session for less than $200. You might want to check it out.

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Not sure if you technically mean upon boarding or if you are also talking about check-in, but we were able to upgrade at check-in right before boarding. This was not a Celebrity cruise, but I thought it was commonplace across the cruise lines. I guess maybe I was wrong about that...

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From what I've read, it seems the repair to the pier will take some time to complete. So I would definitely assume that the docking schedules will be affected. We will be there on June 26th with three other ships, so I am waiting to see what that means for us.

Honestly this was my thought as well. I have to wonder if they don't feel so much pressure to make the ports to avoid complaints by guests that they are willing to take more risks than they normally would. Look how many complaints we see on here if a port is cancelled.

 

Even currents can make things tricky. My last Disney Fantasy cruise was while the US was in the throes of the polar vortex, and things were pretty windy and currenty even in the Eastern Caribbean. At least one of the Disney ships had been unable to make Castaway Cay earlier in the week - they were able to construct a very narrow channel in order to build that dock, and the ships have to hit it just right. We had Commodore Tom as our captain on the Fantasy - DCL's original and most experienced - and I honestly thought we were not making it. I stood on the top deck aft (they back in to avoid getting stuck because of winds/currents as it is far easier for them to go against those forwards) and watched us literally look like we were not moving as he carefully worked against the wind and current to get her into the channel. Only once we were at least 2/3 in did he speed up slightly. My sister, who works for DCL (but was not on board when I was - she was on her vacation - and I did not get any discount as I HAVE to book in advance because of school vacations), said that if we had had any of the other captains, it would have turned into a sea day - and that likely he was thisclose to turning ours into another sea day.

 

I'm not doubting that the captain and his team did everything they could once they were in that position. I just question the wisdom in attempting what has been said to be a very tight parking space in less than stellar conditions - and how much of the reasoning behind trying is pressure to avoid customer complaints about missed ports.

Interesting story... my memory fails me now, but I'm guessing that the Magic was not backed into port when we were on her in Feb 2010 and subsequently got stuck at Castaway Cay an extra 24 hours due to rough currents.

Stuck at Castaway Cay:

I am hopeful they will post the modified port schedule pretty soon... I'm sure they have a lot to figure out. We are supposed to be there on a four-ship day in late June and I think they have only four berths? I don't know if they have tender capability or if they will adjust the schedules. We have excursions booked through X so I am going to call my vacation planner tomorrow and ask him to keep an eye on it for me.

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

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How old are your children? If they are adults then I can see Celebrity saying no, despite the fact that you paid for their cruise. If they are young children then they should be able to join you for the embarkation lunch. If they are young I suggest you go to the MDR with your children in tow, show your sea pass card and see what happens.

The OP said that they are older teenagers.

I know that Celebrity respond to threads on this forum. It would be helpful to all if they could provide the definitive answer to the questions on this thread.

I agree. This thread and the one about Celebrity going downmarket are both very interesting, with a lot of ideas, opinions, thoughts, etc. It would be good for the company to see what we are thinking and saying. I don't think you will find a more comprehensive discussion of these topics anywhere else on the internet.

I would try another browser and see if that helps.

If not, I'd call either my TA or my X Vacation Planner and have them sort it out.

Good luck.

My check-in went smoothly other than the fact that I have an 18-year-old in a different cabin. She's considered an adult so her check-in is separate, but because she's under 21 she has to be in a cabin next to me. The system can't recognize that and it got all wonky. A fairly quick phone call and we got it fixed.

Would she enjoy the gift of a spa treatment?

Yes, I think she would. I'll definitely think about that one. Thank you for the idea!

It looks like Seward Bus Line has a 2pm departure time which would work perfectly, but their website doesn't say anything about storing luggage. Is there anywhere in Seward that will store luggage?

I just went through this a few weeks ago and researched online, made phone calls, etc but the answer seems to be that only specific day tour operators and the train depot will hold your luggage.

In other words, if you are going on a Seward-based tour that day, some of them will hold your luggage for you. (The one we are using doesn't, unfortunately.) If you are taking the train, you can bring your bags there in the morning and check them. You will not have access to them again until you get to Anchorage, but you won't have to worry about them all day.

The bus lines that I called said that they could not hold luggage for us. Not sure if I called Seward Bus Lines, though, so it's probably worth it for you to call and double-check since their schedule works so perfectly for you.

If your tour operator cannot hold your luggage and prefers that you don't bring it with you, then you are pretty much stuck taking the train from what I can see. If there is another way, then I must've missed it in my research. I didn't want to wait any longer to make plans so we are booked on the train.

Per the previous poster the train is another good option. It leaves at 6:00 and arrives at 10:15, so it's not in the afternoon, either, but will give you a nice full day in the Seward area.

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/schedules

I have spoken to them via phone and they DO allow you to check your bags there in the morning (as early as 10am I think). It is a convenience that we will be taking advantage of ourselves.

I don't think the buses have anywhere they can keep your luggage, though, so if your local tour operator cannot accommodate them, you might want to think about using the train.

Alaska Coach operates an Express Bus that leaves at 6:30pm. Not exactly afternoon, but it's an option.

http://www.alaskacoach.com/schedule/

Following to see what others contribute... our cruise doesn't visit Homer, just Ketchikan, ISP, Juneau, & Skagway. We have booked the Knudson Cove Salmon Fishing excursion through our cruiseline.

You can actually make reservations online through your cruise planner.

Great review, thank you.

Did you save any of your Celebrity Todays or menus?

When in September? The weather changes a lot from the beginning of the month to the end.

People with young families have priorities that don't include a lot of extended cruising. They have a lot of expenses and limited time until the kids are on their own and even that doesn't seem to be happening as early as it used to.

 

If Celebrity and other cruise lines forget about their older cruisers they will be in a world of hurt. It's a delicate balance and I believe they are seeing that they may have compromised a lot of what makes a cruise vacation special by trying to be all things to all people.

I do agree with what you are saying about older cruisers, etc -- it seems like each line should continue to focus on what they do best. Maybe Celebrity has never really clearly defined itself like some of the others (Disney, HAL, Carnival come to mind) have.

As far as families traveling, I do think that is changing. More families are cruising than before. Families in general are doing more than they did before. Years ago you wouldn't hear of family events at a casino, but I live near two of them and there are all kinds of things targeted at families because they know that's where the money's at (or some of it at least). Sports events like NFL games that used to be primarily attended by adults now see plenty of kids. Concerts, too. The list goes on. It hasn't happened overnight, but it has definitely changed the travel industry.

We started cruising Celebrity 14 years ago. It was very formal, they only had traditional dining and only 1 specialty restaurant. It was also the days of the Grand Midnight Buffet. At the time I was in my early 40s and loved, loved, loved it.

 

I am not sure why the industry has to change so much to attract new cruisers. They hooked us when we were younger. Why not others?

 

We thought we'd spend our retirement years, which we have not quite reached yet, sailing on Celebrity or comparable cruise lines, but if they continue to change too much we will probably look elsewhere.

Yeah, maybe you're right... who knows. I guess it's a lot more complicated than I would pretend to understand.

My first cruise ('93) had a midnight buffet and I think only one dining room. I'm sure the ship would pale in comparison to what we sail on now, but it was by far the most elegant cruise I've been on. Things have definitely changed since then.

I probably shouldn't read threads like this as a first-time Celebrity cruiser :p, but I do find the discussions interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to how the experience compares with our cruises on RCCI and Disney.

We have never ordered a drink package on any cruise and do not plan to on our upcoming one. Personally, I think I would consume far too many liquid calories if I felt like I had to get my money's worth out of the package. I like having to think twice before I spend the money on a drink to decide whether it's really worth it to me in terms of the cost -- both monetarily, and on my body.

That being said, if our resident discount hadn't far outweighed the Go!big/better/best deals, then maybe we would have ended up with one if that made sense. But I know at this point we wouldn't go out of our way to purchase one.

I do agree with those who have mentioned X possibly looking to the future by starting to target a slightly younger demographic, and I believe they are referring to folks about my age (mid-40's). While my baby boomer parent continues to take cruises all over the world, I know there will come a time when that won't be feasible. The time to get us Gen X'ers hooked is now. :D

Murano has caviar on the menu but it is an additional charge.

We're sailing on the Millennium so I guess we're out of luck. Oh well. I'll just have to have it at home then. :)