skoeper

Just a quick question. What is a CART typist? Is it someone who types the subtitles on a show so that hearing impaired people can enjoy the show?

 

DON

Yes, that's exactly what it is :) It stands for "Computer Assisted Real Time" typing. She will type what she hears verbatim and it appears on a separate screen off the stage. Those of us who can't hear will have to sit in that section to see the words. But wow, it's an incredible experience! So much nicer than just watching a show and no clue what is being said.

We love Celebrity because they will provide that service if requested.

you can make reservations for select dining. If your TA has linked all the reservations then you should be able to make reservations for the group of 8.

 

The shows are scheduled to accommodate traditional dining times. So if your preference in the MDR would have been early seating followed by the show then book your reservations in Select for the same time as early seating in the MDR.

We have eight for July and have reservations around 7:00 for all nine dinners.

 

 

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Oh! That makes me feel better, thank you! How do you go about making reservations for Select Dining? Do we wait until we get onboard or can we do that now?

We are a group of 8 people who have requested early dining for our November cruise. Celebrity says that both early and late dining in MDR are full so we have put in Select dining. The TA has us on a wait list for the MDR.

My question is: how hard will it be to get a table for 8 every night in Select? Will we have a long wait for a table?

We have done the Select Dining once and didn't care for it. We had a different waiter every night and all the waiters seemed rushed and not as happy as the MDR waiters. The tables were so close together there, we almost felt like we needed to talk to the next table they were so close. We were so disappointed about this, we've even talked about changing the ship or time to be able to eat early in the MDR.

Another factor is the shows. Will we be able to finish our dinners and get to the shows in time? We will have a CART typist on our sailing that may be eating with us and she will need to have enough time to set up her equipment in the theater before the show starts.

Do any of the hotels recommended on this thread offer an airport shuttle? What we're looking for is: 1). free breakfast. 2). Shuttle service from airport and to pier. Is there such a thing in san Juan?

Did you happen to notice if the balcony dividers were removable?

We've pretty much got the emergency situation covered, between having a couple hearing people along with us and then the crew being able to get in to alert us. We like the partition removed so we can go back and forth, since some won't hear knocking on the doors (the flashing door light is on the door and not visible around the corner if sitting on the bed or bright daylight, or if in the bathroom). No one can use the cabin phones, so this is just such a great problem solver for us.

I'm not technical at all, but I think there are some ways of projecting (or something) that the captions can't be shown. Or maybe it's just an excuse, lol. I'm sure there would be SOME passenger complaining about the words on the screen (a hearing one, of course).

I asked Celebrity if they have open captions for their outdoor movie and was told no. ☹️

 

 

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I imagine that would have been hard to do. The only way I can think of that it would work is if they had hired a CART typist to sit out there with you and type and you view it on her laptop. Lots of looking up and down, and probably kind of hard to follow along with.

Since we worked directly with the typist, we told her which shows we wanted her services. She was at the Muster drill, the shows every evening, the Newlywed game, and I think that was it. But if we wanted her for anything else, we just needed to tell her.

We have a group of 8-10 cruisers who are hearing impaired. This will be our third cruise together. One of the cruises had a removable partition between our cabins and it was great, since we can't use our cabin phones to communicate. The other did not and we did not learn this until we were onboard. That cruise was very challenging and rather dangerous if there was a fire or something and we couldn't get the attention of the other cruisers. We did get emergency keys to each cabin, but nobody wants to be walked in on if it's not an emergency, lol.

So.....does anyone if they have (and allow) the partitions to be removed on this ship? It could make or break if we go on this ship.

Thanks!

I am searching for a Southern Caribbean cruise for 8 - 10 people that offers the free drink package. We love Celebrity, but I don't see that offered anymore. Are there any that still offer this as a perk?

We would love to tour Vietnam and Thailand but wonder if the excursions would be too hard for someone in their 60's. The wooden boats/canoes excursions look a little iffy! Is this really geared for younger folks?

They are now 5:45 and 8:15. I believe it used to be 6:00 and 8:30 as of our most recent previous sailing which was last December.

I didn't know this. We embark on Saturday and have the early eating. When we purchased the cruise, it was 6:00, but that was back in January.

There was a time I might have thought all this was sacrilegious, especially the red wine/white wine thing. But then I realized, my favorite microbrewery taproom makes mixed-beer drinks and some are pretty fantastic. Chocolate stout + raspberry wheat beer = dessert, WOW! Not to mention that many wines are blended already, much like whisky/bourbon if it isn't single barrel.

I know, right??? And then there's the Corona Margarita! I mean....beer mixed with a margarita (it was pretty good, BTW)? I think we can do anything we want :)

Seen the blending on Reflection wine tasting: pooring reds into whites, because the guy like to have rosé :)

We need to try this if they offer it. I'm always mixing what's left in my glass with a different wine. DH thinks that's sacrilegious but seems that I'm cool before it was even cool! Now I just have to prove it by taking him to a blending, lol.

I see my photos have disappeared...for anyone who doesn't mind posting your e-mail address, I'll be glad to send you my document. It was created in PowerPoint.

 

I print tehmon a light weight card stock.

Well, now why would your pictures disappear???? Hmmmm. I'd love it if you sent me the doc by email :) My email address is: skoeper@bellsouth.net.

Thank you!

Sorry about the hijacking, here ya go:

 

Outside:

 

Inside:

 

I make one for each person, i.e., cabin steward, waiter, assistant waiter, and favorite bartender. Office Depot has envelopes to fit. I created them in PowerPoint and then cut them down to fit the envelope.

 

Be my guest at copying the idea. Everyone we give one to loves them.

Thank you so much for sharing the photos! I love your cards! I might just try to make some, but I doubt they will look as great as yours!

 

I like to make thank you cards for the cabin stewards and any assistants, as well as the waiters, to put their extra tip in. It has Thank You in many different languages.

 

What a neat idea! I'd love to see a photo of your card!

We had a great lunch at a food truck at the Everglades. Wonderful grilled fish sandwich, still wish I'd gotten two! DH had fish n chips & wouldn't share! Was t pricey either, just good food. Everyone that works there eats at these trucks. Sat outside on picnic tables (next to our bus driver). There's also a little snack bar inside

 

 

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Oh, that's great news! Thank you!

Unfortunately it looks like Celebrity has discontinued the Luggage Valet program [emoji30]. We've taken an excursion when we've had a late flight. The Everglades tour was fun & the bus dropped us & our luggage (that went with us under the bus) at FLL after the tour

 

 

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That was what we were talking about doing, but now we are thinking we still won't have lunch. That's not part of the excursion, right? Since we can't check in until about 5:30 or so, that's a long day without food :( What did you do?

We disembark in Miami and fly out of FLL. Does anyone know if Celebrity and Southwest work together for a cruise out of Miami for the valet luggage service? We have a 7:20 pm flight and really don't want to lug our suitcases with us, nor sit and wait until we can check in at the airport. Besides, there are no restaurants before security! That's alllll day without food.

Just wanted to let you know, in case you or someone in your party has a hearing loss, that X has told us that CART (captioning) is available on this sailing. A writer will be typing LIVE during the shows we request and I've also requested that the muster drill have CART.

Let me know if you would like to use this service as well, and I will try to keep you posted on where we will be sitting to be able to see the words.

Just another reason I love Celebrity!!

Hello

 

I live in Ft. Lauderdale and this is what I would do. Get an Uber or a cab and have them take you to Las Olas Blvd. It a street with a ton of great restaurants and little boutique shops. You could walk down one side of the street and back up the other side and then pick one of the restaurants to have lunch. You will love this day. Check out Las Olas Blvd on the web sites

 

Whatever you do have fun

 

Kathy

Thanks, Kathy. If we can figure out where to store our luggage, this might interest the group :)

http://www.broward.org/Airport/Services/Pages/Default.aspx

 

The airport web site has the info you need. ;)

Thank you!!!

You can pay to store your bags at FLL - then head to the beach or someplace fun for a long, boozy lunch before returning to the airport for your flight.

 

Search the FLA departure board for more ideas: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=495

Can you tell me where to find more info on FLL luggage storage? That might work for us.

First off -check with the FLL airport on security policy. It gets very crowded on cruise changeover days (Sat-Sun). On two occasions we were not allowed through security for any reason more than two hours before our flight. They will not let you sit in the Gate areas too early. We found it much cheaper (and easy) to rent a car once off the ship in Miami, use it to self-tour during the day, and then return it to the FLL airport before our flight.

Are there car rental agencies there at the port???