lorimay

We were on Infinity right before the pandemic shut down in 2020. It's an older ship and it shows. Very clean, but it's tired. It was not "revolutionized" like the Summit at that time and I don't believe it has been since. We had gone on Summit just a few months prior to our Infinity cruise. After seeing the difference, I would not book a cruise on Infinity again. I know it's a matter of personal taste, but with so many newer, more modern ships out there I don't want to pay that much money for an older ship with "classic" decor.

Or you could use the eMed proctored self-test kits. You can use your phone or a laptop. Very easy to do and we did them in November from hotels in both Rome and Venice. The results are accepted by the cruiselines and the airlines. There is peace of mind knowing that you don't have to go out looking for a test. But we had traveling companions that had no trouble finding an antigen test at a pharmacy in Rome. They were testing everywhere. Results back in less than 30 minutes and they did not make an appointment in advance.

We did a cruise this fall that had a similar itinerary to the 8-night but ours started in Rome and ended in Venice. Dubrovnik was incredible and very easy to do a self-tour in the old town (and walk the old town walls). Really magical. Missed Kotor because it was closed due to covid restrictions. Had a private tour in Corfu and was really, really underwhelmed. Off-season there (I don't know if May is consider in season or not) mostly everything is closed. Some nice views, that's about it. Corfu Town is another old city with nice restaurants though. From Naples it's very easy to get to Pompeii - and it's definitely worth the trip. So much bigger than you can imagine.

I know your trip is a year away, but beware that in Rome at the Vatican many of the areas are closed due to covid. So none of the shortcut passages from Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel) to St. Peters are open. But you can still do tours that get you to the front of the line. However, everything else was open and so much to do. We decided to do two separate cruises - Rome to Venice last year, Barcelona to Rome this year so we could take it all in. 

We are pretty active people, but it was exhausting with a "can't miss" port of call every day of the cruise. Something to think about.

8 hours ago, JaneStarr said:

Just to clarify, were you able to move value of canceled cruise fare to a new cruise w/o waiting for the FCC or how did that work?

Thanks

I’d like to know that too. We are supposed to go on Equinox on January 21. I’d like to move it to the March 4 sailing - same ship, same itinerary. Willing to pay any difference in price. Called the TA Today and he said no way to apply FCC to the new cruise because FCC would take too long to come in. Then called Celebrity and they verified what TA said. So how do you do it?

Does anyone ever leave cash on the table (or hand cash as a tip) in one of the dining rooms? We were on a non-Celebrity cruise recently. A group of four women sitting at a table nearby all got out their purses and each left cash at the table as they got up to leave. Gratuities were not included on this cruise line, but were taken out automatically like Celebrity. I had never seen that before. Just wondering if this is common practice and I've just never noticed.

We did our first Oceania cruise in November after mostly sailing Celebrity in recent years. In some ways it was an upgrade but it definitely was not all i expected it to be. The crowd was much older than I expected- more in line with Holland America. The food was very good in the specialty restaurants but we found the grand dining room food and service not of the same quality. The terrace buffet had some excellent items but limited choices. For example, the salad bar consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, chopped cucumbers and shredded carrots every day. Smaller ship, less choice. The service was generally fantastic everywhere but we had a really disappointing experience with our butler and for us never again a penthouse suite.  Since the service is great everywhere and everyone is treated the same and we didn’t find any benefit from the executive lounge, we didn’t see much reason to upgrade. On Celebrity higher class cabins/suites get privileges. On Oceania you only get earlier/more specialty restaurant reservations.
 

But we really missed the activities and entertainment that you get on Celebrity. Daily trivia once a day in late afternoon so if you were on an excursion you missed it. Port enrichment talk once a day, good lecturer, but 30 to 45 minutes and always in a hurry. Other than ping pong and  putting tournaments that was about it during the day. You just didn’t see many people out and about at night. We don’t drink and aren’t big partiers but were a little bored. 
 

So for us the food was much better than Celebrity, service was great in most areas (but we’ve never had bad service on Celebrity) and the activities were definitely lacking. I would say it’s an upgrade but I would not really categorize our experience as being on a luxury cruise line. 

If you are stuck in Groundhog day, so am I. I've already checked in for my January cruise, but I received 3 sets of 2 emails (one for me, one for my husband) before check in and then received another set this week after chek in. I have provided photos of both of our vax cards at check in and filled out the form twice - but stopped once I realized the form had already saved my info. A little annoying.

We got one for our November 2 cruise on Marina. Upgrade from veranda to PH suite.

Social distancing? On our recent Marina cruise there was lot of social distancing in the elevators and in the empty Grand Dining Room, but the specialty restaurants were completely full and basically no social distancing. I don't think there were any shared tables (tables put together with random diners) but there were many larger groups and of course lots of couples. I find social distancing is a nice marketing term but is applied however it is convenient for the business.

4 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

So, if you need a covid test to return within 48 hours to return to the US, why wasn’t the ship test okay?  Why do you have to immediately return to the US? The cruiselines rule for a free test?

How did you do the BinaxNow ag card proctored from your hotel in Europe?  
Just used wifi at the hotel and you can get an English speaking proctor?

 

This is very helpful for our trip coming up, but I think it will be drastically different in a month with Omicron and new rules, restrictions and quarantines.

ughhhh…

 

Our flight from Venice was over 48 hours from the time we took the test on the ship. So that's why we needed an additional test. The airline and US government require a test within 48 hours of departure.

Yes, we used a laptop with hotel wifi to connect to emed.com. Proctors (all English speaking but in Philippines or India) were available 24 hours a day. You could also use your phone just as easily to complete the test.

Other than closing down all together, I don't know how the rules and restrictions could change much in Italy. Masks were required everywhere indoors and also outdoors at museums and cultural sites. So masks at the Colloseum and Pompeii. And all excursions from the ship had to be ship's excursions in Italy. Montenegro was closed all together to ships. Croatia and Greece were "on your own" ports. Masks were required indoors everywhere on the ship except in your stateroom.

On our recent cruise on Marina (first time on Oceania) my husband brought a sports jacket but ended up wearing it only one night. There were some people that dressed up a little, especially in Polo and in Jacques, but for the most part I saw a lot of women in black pants and nice tops. Very few skirts or dresses. Men were mostly in chinos or slightly dressier pants and polos or dress shirts with no jackets.But you wouldn't have felt out of place with a jacket on. There was no special dress code at Terrace Grill - during the day we saw many people in shorts (the weather was very nice most of the time), jeans, and sweats. There was no one checking dress code at the door of Terrace any time, day or night. 

I will say that the man standing at Guest Relations in his bathrobe and slippers the day we embarked looked like a fool.

1 hour ago, Snit13 said:

Do any of you have recent experience with foreign travel and testing?  I know it is rather early in the game but we are scheduled on a Viking River Cruise in August 2022.  We are scheduled to fly from Tampa to Budapest, Hungary and join a Viking cruise 2 days later.  We sail to Amsterdam and are scheduled to be there for 5 nights before joining Celebrity Apex for another cruise.  At the end of the Celebrity cruise we fly back to Tampa the following day.

 

How, when, where do we comply with testing requirements if we get to cruise and testing 

requriements are still in place?

 

There was a time when you could call Captain's Club and get a correct answer, but in recent years since Celebrity has placed call centers off shore.

I can tell you what we did a couple of weeks ago for our non-Celebrity Mediterranean/Adriatic cruise.

We used the BinaxNOW monitored test to test before we flew to Rome. Accepted by American Airlines (they even sell on their website). Had the negative results on phone and printed out. American and some other airlines recommend the Verifly app so it saves their agents time. You upload all the docs ahead of time. I was able to use the Verifly app to upload my vax card and negative test so I was all good (just had to show the app) but my husband's covid test would not upload. So at the counter at MIA he had show his vax card and agent said it was "one or the other" so he didn't have to show his negative test. We did not have to show it for the JFK to Rome link. However, we talked to other people who had to show proof of vax and negative tests several times and we believe the counter agent should have asked for both.

We had several days pre-cruise in Rome. It would have been easy to get an antigen test near the hotel (most large pharmacies offer them) but we had a six-pack of Binax tests. We took another test the day before the cruise in our hotel room. Very easy and we did not print it out that time - had it on the Navica app and a screenshot of the certificate.

Our cruiseline required their rapid antigen test at the port (free of charge) so that was taken care of. We took the one in the hotel because if we got to the ship and were positive, if we didn't have proof we were negative within 48 hours before they would not have given a refund or paid for quarantine.

The ship scheduled rapid antigen tests on the last day so that if we would have left immediately after the cruise we would have had a valid test. It is required by the US that you have a negative test within 48 hours before flying.

We stayed in Venice a couple of days so took our final test from the hotel. Online results (screenshot) was accepted by Iberia Airlines for the return trip.

We had to show our vax card many, many times during our trip, but other than airlines and cruise ships no one required a negative test if you had your vax card.

I know it sounds very complicated. But bottom line - do-it-yourself tests are easy and worked wherever we were. Never had to worry about finding a testing place. The airlines and the cruiselines will provide you with all the requirements for whatever testing you need and will most likely give you test you can use to fly home if there isn't a delay.

The paperwork was difficult. Passenger locator forms for Italy, Greece and Spain (we changed planes in Madrid), all of which were never even looked at. The US attestation form required for re-entry to the US was also never looked at. Lots of bureaucracy for nothing.

I recently overheard a conversation between two fellow passengers on my non-Celebrity cruise. One woman said she had been a ship's doctor on Carnival for many years. She commented that it was a tough job, but that situations were either really easy or really terrible. She said that cruises in the Caribbean were easy - anything serious happens and you offload the patient at the nearest island or by helicopter. But she said trans-Pacific cruises were the worst because you were responsible for the patient when the nearest hospital was three days or more away. I had never thought about that risk before.

11 hours ago, mimbecky said:

How difficult is this from somewhere like Rome?  We will be there before our May cruise and I will have my ipad.  I imagine time zone issues?  Or internet issues?  I wish Celebrity would just do it as you board.

I just did the emed binaxNow tests from both Rome and Venice before and after my cruise a week ago. The proctors are in India or Philippines and are available 24 hours. No issues at all doing tests from another country. Really a simple process and results were accepted everywhere. 

If you are in a hotel room taking the test we found it works great if you put the laptop on the bed and use the bed as the flat surface like a desk with you sitting in the desk chair facing the bed. It gave plenty of room for the test card and was easy to tilt the camera down to show the kit and swab. 

4 hours ago, turquoisewater said:

Does anybody know if a person can pack the test kits in their carryon luggage or does it have to be in checked luggage?

There is no problem packing them in your carryon. I just got back from Europe and we carried them on airlines and on the cruise ship. In fact, somewhere it says that you should carry them in your carry on bags (maybe an airplane baggage hold is too cold).

We were on a Mediterranean cruise Nov 2 - 9 and used the eMed tests before flying, before getting on the ship, and before returning. The process is really easy but I agree looking at the video before you start really helps. We downloaded the Navica app on our phones and registered separately, but actually did the tests from the laptop by logging in on the eMed website. You will know the results at the end of the 15 minute waiting period after taking the test, but the results officially show up by email and on the Navica app (and they were reported to our state automatically). 

We were also tested twice by the cruise line (not Celebrity) so we had 5 tests in less than two weeks. I can tell you I REALLY don't have covid.

We just got off our cruise this week. We used the laundry service once and thought maybe because the ship was only half full it would be quicker turn around. But no - 3 full days, so not very useful on a 7 day cruise since you can't use it at the end of the cruise. However,  we did laundry twice in the laundry room. Such a great feature and really easy. However, my husband went to pick up the stuff in the dryer and got accosted by other people asking him if it was really his stuff. They weren't kidding. When he sarcastically answered "no, I just like to take other people's laundry" they got defensive and said they have seen it happen. 

We are in Italy now. Did the Binax NOW tests before leaving on plane to Rome via JFK. I had used the Verifly app that American Airlines recommended and was able to get it to accept my covid test results. You also scan the QR code of the Italy PLF and your vaccine card. My husband could not get Verifly to accept his results. So at the airport, they asked him to show is vaccine card. When I offered the test results, the rep said it's either or - the test or your vaccine card. No one ever asked to see his test results - not at MIA, JFK or when we went through passport control in Italy. So we found the test before flying absolutely unnecessary. 

We did the EMED Binax tests last night using my laptop. My test went fine - very easy and no wait time. Logged out and logged back in for my husband. He took his test and while we were waiting for the timer to countdown my computer decided to reboot itself and update. It took 45 minutes for it to complete the upgrades and come back up. I was so convinced that the test was invalidated that I booked him an appointment at Walgreens. But believe it or not, the chrome window was still active and we were able to get the rep who verifies the test on the screen and he got his valid test. So bottom line - don't worry if you get disconnected during the waiting period - they don't seem to care how long that period is.

38 minutes ago, r2h2 said:

The problem is if you put your Captains Club # in and your state, then you will get the room rate cheaper but with no WiFi, No OBC, No premium drink package, No prepaid Gratuities.  If you do not put your CC# and State, then you will see a higher room rate but all of the above included.  There is a flaw in their website that needs to be fixed. This is causing the phone lines to be swamped! Anyone on IT with Celebrity reading this....

I just figured out this "feature" with the website when I went in to do a dummy booking to look at the pricing on an upcoming cruise. The price on this cruise has been reduced twice already, so I periodically check to see if it's reduced again. I have not paid my final payment yet. So I went in the website and put in my CC # and the price was about $400 lower than the lowest price I paid. It was such a big difference that I looked really hard at it - and realized that the AI perks were not included. Nowhere did it say that - the banner that says AI on top of the picture of the cabin was simply missing. It also didn't say "Simply Sail". Just nothing. If I wasn't comparing previous cruise pricing I would not have known.

Bottom line - I can't price compare to see what the actual price would be with my CC or Florida resident discount. And my TA is worthless - I even had to tell him the deadline for final payment had changed to 60 days before. I won't use him again but right now I'm stuck.

I have to believe this is a glitch in their website and not an intentional feature.

The cruise is the Nov. 2 - 9, Rome to Trieste. I am a little bummed about losing the big balcony, but since this is a very busy cruise with no sea days, I'm not too upset. I'm just hoping we actually make to to the cruise between all the testing and paperwork. It's very stressful.

I was just notified by Oceania that we were upgraded from a B3 verandah cabin on deck 7 to an A4 concierge cabin. I'm not complaining, first time in many cruises  we were ever upgraded! I'm just wondering what they mean in the email:

"Due to the evolving technical needs of our Marine Operations department the cabin you reserved,  B3 Veranda Stateroom 7111  will no longer be available."

Maybe they are refurbishing the veranda?

I know that wi-fi is free for one device at a time for each cabin. Does anyone have any idea how fast the wi-fi is - especially now since sailing has started again? Or if there are upgrade packages we can purchase? My husband and I both will need to check in and get a little work done while on our cruise. I don't need to stream anything - but I do need to be able to send emails reliably. I couldn't find anything about upgraded wi-fi on the Oceania website. Thank you.

I have had my January 2022 cruise repriced twice in the last couple of months because prices dropped. I have not paid final payment. I alert my TA, who contacts Celebrity, and I get a new invoice showing the lower final cost of the cruise.

However, in the past (2020 right before crusing stopped) I had paid my final payment and the price dropped. I was not able to get any OBC but they did give me a cabin class upgrade.