thepoint

Check the ship class, that probably has a lot to do with it. You can always call customer service.

Unless they moved it, It is on deck 10 and even there it is not that much of an issue. We will take deck 10 if it is the only one corner left. But, prefer 8 or 9.

We are thinking about taking a Celebrity cruise out of Port Canaveral. Since we are about an hour driving distance to the port, we would like to give it a try. The cruise terminal in Fort Lauderdale is so easy to navigate. Can someone tell me about your experience with Port Canaveral. Is it easy to get to, is there plenty of parking and transportation? Thank you for your help.

I remembered from years ago there was a website that listed some of the ships that were booked for large groups. Took me awhile, but I found one. There are only a few charters listed for Celebrity ships. I think there is another website I will keep looking. See this website https://www.cruisetimetables.com/full-cruise-ship-charters.html

VMax1700 Would you please tell me where I can get the information for Charters? Thank you

High On The Seas How do you research whether there is a large group on your sailing? Thank you.

Could you please post the email address for Laura, or tell me where I can find it. Thank you

hardbal92 Were you able to get your go green points. I am still working on it.

Absolutely having a problem, not just with the go green, but also with getting points for the past web-bar (December activity) and recent questionnaire. Have been working on this for a long time. It is important to me because it will put us into the Elite Plus Category. I have faith in the representative I spoke with today. Here is hoping it gets resolved soon. Just an FYI, I was asked if I took a screenshot of my completed email signing up for going green to prove I actually did! Next time I definitely will.

Thank you. Buying the water is fine, I just don’t like the cans. We will be on a southern Caribbean cruise next week.

Does Celebrity still provide a bottle of water (plastic) when you are leaving on a shore excursion? Have they switched to cans? thank you.

Just wondering, if items are not on the menu - do they give you a paper menu in the restaurant, or does the waiter tell you additional items without your asking? Thank you.

Thank you both. I am going to make a reservation now for September. So glad, I asked about this early. Two weeks ago we flew out of Jacksonville and luckily we did a dry run to the airport a few days before our flight and all the parking areas were full. Having to make a parking reservation in advance is new to us. Luckily we were able to do a park and fly at the Doubletree and it was very reasonable.

Looking for advice on where to park and leave car for 14 days. Thank you

bdd123 I did bring a heating pad and put it on the very top of my clothes in the suitcase. It went through security with no problem. I did use it and left it out (unplugged of course 😁) where the room attendant would see it. There were no issues with my having a heating pad in the room. We were on the ship for 3 weeks, so there was plenty of time for the room attendant to confiscate it, if it were an issue. I have a travel size pad. It is about 12” by 12” I bought on Amazon. The iron is definitely not allowed. I don’t use a curling iron, but I believe they are allowed. Happy cruising.

Yes, it is less expensive for business class, but I did hear a lot of negative comments but nothing from anyone first hand. Wondering if it is worth flying to another major city, (Atlanta, DC, or JFK) to get a more direct flight with a more well known carrier.

Looking at flights by Celebrity from Miami, Orlando or Palm Beach to Barcelona and returning from Venice. FBC offer TAP (Portugal) and Air Europa. Does anyone have experience with either of these airlines? What airlines have you used from Florida to Barcelona that have reasonable layover times? We are not comfortable with only one hour layover to change planes but, would like something less than five or more hours. (We have been doing a lot of research on various airlines and leaving from various cities but, it is getting complicated.). Thank you for your help.

We were on HAL in April for a transatlantic. HAL has a coffee maker in the Neptune suites. We were in a Sky Suite in January and there was no coffee maker. If you do find a coffee maker in your suite, I suggest you ask for a cup of vinegar and run that through the coffee machine with a cup of water prior to using it. Then do it again with plain water. I did that on HAL and the concierge was amazed and said she will do that before she uses a hotel, etc coffee maker from now on. After doing that I used it only once. The coffee is just not hot enough for us.

mahdnc Would you mind sharing what private companies you are using in Italy, France and Spain. Thank you.

Flowery, We didn’t dine in Tamarind, but we did dine in Pinnacle Grille twice and in Canaletto once. Our dinners in Pinnacle were good, however on the first night we were rushed through our dinner - in and out within 40 minutes. You hardly finished your salad and your entree arrived then just as quickly came dessert. There was no crowd in the restaurant and no line waiting for tables. Everyone was served and out within 30 to 40 minutes. The next time we went, we told the waiter we wanted to take our time and order a drink and appetizer before we ordered dinner. He actually got mad at us and said something about the tables. There were even fewer people in the restaurant then the first time, probably less then 20% full. I think we got an extra 10 minutes! My husband mentioned the rushed service to the maitre d’ upon leaving. But, the food was good. We enjoyed Canaletto much more than the Pinnacle Grille. The food was excellent and the servers were wonderful. It was a dining experience not a hurry up and get out situation. We did not do any HAL shore excursions. It was mandatory that people wear a mask on HAL transportation, whether they did or not I don’t know. We didn’t want to take excursions because they were in large capacity buses and they did not limit the size of the group. As far as the testing goes, HAL did test some friends after the transatlantic who were getting off HAL and onto a river boat. To my knowledge the people in our group on May 8th were to fly back to the US. I don’t know if there were other groups being tested. It is possible, best to call customer service for a correct answer. If you take HAL transportation to the airport make sure you get on a bus that gives you plenty of time for your flight. They booked us on a bus that gave us a tight timeframe and wouldn’t let me switch to an earlier time. Stressful ending to our cruise. When and where are you cruising?

Flowery, We sailed about 7 cruises on HAL, always in a Neptune suite. We stopped using HAL in January 2014. We started with Celebrity after being introduced to them by a travel agent/friend. She managed on our first Celebrity sailing to have Celebrity treat us as if we were Elite, so we would get a taste of the benefits . That first sailing was not in a suite. We were very impressed with Celebrity and switched to them immediately. We have been sailing with them in Sky Suites or Celebrity Suites ever since. We decided because of the itinerary to try HAL again, so we did the 21 day transatlantic plus Normandy and Norse Legends cruise. I will say, our room attendants, the wait staff in Orange, and the bartender at the Half Moon Bar were marvelous. As far as staffing goes in this area each line has employees that work long hard hours and do a wonderful job. It is my feeling that we get a lot more for our money with Celebrity versus HAL. You cannot even begin to compare Orange dining to Lumina. Lumina has a completely different menu from the main dining room which in quality and selection is a step above the main dining room. But, in case you don’t like what is offered in Lumina you can always order off the main dining menu. Or for example, turn an appetizer into a meal. Here’s an example of quality customer service - in January on Celebrity I told our waiter that I would like the steak, but please just find a small one for me because I cannot eat a large steak. When my meal came, he brought me a petite filet mignon from Tuscan Grille. I wouldn’t expect that every time, but our waiter was wonderful. In Orange the menu is the same as the main dining room with one offering that is not included on the main dining room menu. I don’t feel like that the quality is consistent. Also, altering what is offered proved to be a little difficult. However, again I will say the staff is wonderful. I can’t tell you about the main dining room on either line. We did find the Lido on HAL to be very good. In fact, we ate dinner there several times as we thought it was better than Orange. The Neptune Lounge does not compare with Michael’s Club, now called the Retreat. In the Neptune Lounge the concierge keeps track of every drink, even water. I found that amusing, your in a suite and they keep track of how many bottles of water your drinking. In Michael’s Club, there is a large refrigerator and you just take what you like if the bartender is not there. Whether it is water, beer, or soda. Also, the Celebrity drink package includes a higher level of spirits. The highest drink package is included with a suite. We were in a Neptune Suite and had a standard drink package. We were limited to 15 drinks a day, which is more than enough. I am not complaint about the quantity, however at one point I was told I could only have two bottles of water. I just ignored that and went to a bar and got more. (We each drink about 6 bottles of water a day). Entertainment on HAL is limited to music venues. This is wonderful if you are a music fan. Personally, I would like some variety versus concerts every night. On Celebrity we were asked prior to sailing, if we wanted champagne, red or white wine in our room on embarkation day. On HAL, after entering our room I asked if I could trade the bottle of champagne for a bottle of red wine -answer no. On Celebrity I was asked what I wanted in mini bar. I said mostly Perrier water, two cans of Diet Coke, and two bottles of Corona Light Beer. This was replenished as needed every day. On HAL, I asked to have the mini bar emptied and replaced with the above mentioned items and I was told I could do that, but be sure to put the items back or I would be charged. I gathered my water and soda myself for the mini bar every day. Not a problem for me to do, but just and example of customer service. It was said by several people years ago when we traveled on HAL the only benefit to being in a suite on HAL is that you get a bigger room, plus laundry as much as often as you want, which makes packing for a 20 day cruise easier. On Celebrity we would have had 4 bags of laundry, which would have been more than enough for us. (I do think HAL does a better job with the laundry). In response to your question would we travel HAL again - the answer is no. I am not trying to bash HAL, I am just stating our feeling in comparing the two lines. Everyone is different and it is just a matter of personal choice - for me I just feel we get more for our money on Celebrity. The suite amenities on Celebrity are above those offered by HAL. For, me it is a matter of value for your money.

LAFFNVEGAS, Our testing experience: On May 1, when we stopped in Amsterdam, we had to get off the ship and go through immigrations, but we were not tested. After immigrations we were allowed right back on the ship with no testing. They were however, testing the new passengers getting on in Amsterdam. That was in the cruise terminal. I do know that the day before Amsterdam, they tested some friends who were getting off in Amsterdam and onto a river cruise. That was very helpful for them. On May 8th, when we were getting off the ship in Amsterdam, to my knowledge the only people tested on May 7th, were the individuals like us, who were flying back to the states on HAL sponsored flights. HAL did the testing on the ship. I don’t believe those staying on the ship for the continuation to the Baltic were tested. We knew several people continuing on to the Baltic and they never mentioned the need to be tested. However, I don’t know about new passengers boarding in Amsterdam for the Baltic cruise. My guess is those passengers probably were tested in the terminal.

Flowery, We were on the Rotterdam from April 17 to May8, disembarked in Amsterdam. The first part of the trip began in Fort Lauderdale. There were approximately 1600 to 1700 passengers. There were very few people wearing masks as it was recommended not mandatory, except for elevators, theatre, and other areas where it was not possible to distance. However, the majority of people did not adhere to this and it was not enforced by the crew. The only area we saw enforcement was on the gangway embarking and disembarking the ship. I can’t say whether people adhered to wearing a mask on transportation during tours because we did not take any. On May 1, we stopped in Amsterdam more people got on then off and the approximate number of passengers went up to 2200. Very few passengers were wearing masks during this leg of the trip. On May 7, those passengers flying back to the US were given a COVID test. If you passed you received a certificate which had to be handed in to the airline. We passed and were able to fly home. We were two of the very few people who wore our masks continuously during our trip. We met a woman on Sunday who was traveling home alone as her husband and two traveling companions did not pass the COVID test and had to remain in Amsterdam curtesy of HAL. While we were aware there were COVID cases on board, we were never informed as to how many. However, I have to believe the majority of people stayed very healthy and enjoyed their vacation. Every morning during the captain’s announcement he would thank everyone for adherence to the mask policy. We considered that the joke of the day. Despite the continual mask wearing, moving quickly away from the few people who coughed or sneezed, we did enjoy our trip. We never felt out of place wearing our mask and no one ever made a comment about it. We met some wonderful people onboard. We were happy with our decision not to cancel. You can only make your decision on your own comfort level. If you go, I hope you enjoy your trip.