Elusive_Cruiser

Currently on the Reflection, having boarded yesterday.  While loading up on what was to be a great chef salad in the buffet, a lady commented about the romaine - I said "I doubt Celebrity would give you any product that would put you in their infirmary!"

Currently in Fort Lauderdale, pre-cruise, for a couple of days.  Very happy that we scored a good rate on a suite... the most important reason?  When my DH snores, at home, I frequently go to the couch in the living room - so now, I can do that here as well!  What do I do when on the cruise?  Well, of course, just go curl up, with a blankie (that I bring!) on the veranda!  It's actually one of the few reasons that we book Concierge Class... the reclining chair, with footstool and a few cushions, makes a pretty comfy bed, plus I get the benefit of listening to the wonderful ocean sounds as the ship sails through the night!  In the Caribbean, the nighttime temperatures are perfect for a great sleep!

Anyone else? 🙂

We've been to Grand Cayman a number of times and would like to travel on our own this time.  Does anyone have experience with travelling the island with a scooter?  We've done this before in Cozumel, and was able to travel on either the shoulder of the highway, or on the secondary highway.  I don't like to go too fast!!  We're interested in driving up to Rum Point on the east side of the island....is this an easy drive?

While this is not something Celebrity 'normally' does, it can happen.  I did something similar, and transferred a cabin in my name to some friends, AND, at the original booking price.  Just call in - the worse that can happen is they say 'no'.  When they say 'no', try again... and again! (My transfer was done on the 1st call).

23 hours ago, hiccups said:

If the OBC is from your travel agent, it's likely refundable, so no need to spend it.

If it's from Celebrity, extra gratuities would be greatly appreciated.

If you put extra gratuities, can you specify who gets them, or do they go into the 'pool'?

On 5/4/2019 at 10:15 AM, jelayne said:

Not in any order:

 

Beverage packages 

WiFi

Dropping  carry-on bags in cabin on boarding.

Select dining

Unlimited drinks at bars during Elite HH

Blu

Suite Life 

No smoking inside or balconies.

 

Is that something really new?  I've been on 8 Celebrity cruises, mostly booked Concierge, and was not aware of this benefit - but we missed our annual 2019 cruise...

11 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I can't see a 12 day Celebrity Solstice cruise from Sydney to Auckland in Feb 2021.

 

There is a 9 day cruise on the 12th Feb 2021.

Oops!  Yes, it is the 9-day

Thanks for your replies! Cruising is our go-to for vacations - less tiring than land vacations, with only unpacking once and not lugging around luggage.  However, I will look at some land options as well.

We have booked Feb/21, Celebrity, for 12 days, departing Sydney, going across to NZ.  We leave the ship in Auckland, and have friends in NZ that we will spend some land time with before coming back to Canada.  We're trying to figure out the best way to get some time in Australia, preferably by ship.  There does not seem to be a whole lot of options.  I did find a Royal Caribbean 16 night top end Auzzie cruise, but balcony cabins are already sold out.  We prefer to have a balcony, but cannot justify the suite $.  No other main stream cruise lines seem to have any options.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Patricia

I feel blessed to have been a recipient of Host Walt's input over the years. I'm sure that monitoring this board is not an easy task,  and his time and effort have been appreciated.  His work, along with Anne and Andy have been truly valued.

 Blessings to his family and friends.

Patricia

I suspect, oft times, that it may be an issue of time zones - the ship is on one, and port is a different one.  

I am SO thankful we cancelled our Edge booking. We had a IV cabin, as it seemed to be pretty cool. We would not have been happy campers, based on what I'm reading.

Happy to be on the Reflection, prior to its Edgeification. 

6 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

 

I've watched this thread with great interest, I'm so glad to hear that it all worked out for you & that you'll be cruising again soon.  Thanks for updating us & happy sails next year 🙂

Thank you cruise kitty!  Hopefully my experience with this helps others in the same situation. It truly is sad, however, having to cancel a cruise that is only a few months away!  We've booked the identical cruise for Dec/19, so not all is lost!  Will be doing the same excursions we'd planned for this one. 

That said, I am also blessed that my medical condition was caught so early and is therefore so treatable (breast cancer). Ladies over 40 out there... make sure you get your mammograms every year.  If left undiagnosed for a period of time, this would have had a very different outcome.  I'm looking forward to many more years of cruising!

Patricia

Since we actually have 3 more upcoming cruises booked, I suppose I should've asked to just have my deposit transferred!  I think that may have been simpler.  Oh well.  No harm, no foul.  Thank you for your kind words.  I will be cruising again December, 2019!

ANOTHER UPDATE: 

I did, in fact, need to cancel this cruise.  Nothing life-threatening, but treatments will be on-going during cruise time.  So I called into Celebrity to go ahead and cancel, and got told that they themselves could not cancel, as I would lose my deposit (despite the fact that I did not do the final payment).  They gave me the email address to contact, and said I had to submit a medical certificate.  I should've known I'd need this, but contacted my doctor and got it and sent it in.  I received an email from Celebrity, confirming the refund of my deposit:

Thank you for sending the requested documentation. Your reservation for the RF 02/18/19 has been cancelled.
As a one time goodwill gesture we will issue a full refund. Please allow 7-10 business for the refund to process.
Thank you for choosing Celebrity Cruises and Happy Holidays.

So, everything worked out fine - I just had to jump through a couple of hoops, and not sure why this is a 'one time goodwill gesture'!!  I was going to cancel, and was convinced not to!

UPDATE: 

I've spoken with Celebrity.  The initial answer was 'no', we cannot give an extension.  She then suggested I split the final payment between multiple credit cards!  I told her that it was not for financial reasons, but rather medical, that I was waiting for results from some tests.  She again said that no, they could not give an extension.  I then told her to go ahead, and cancel the cruise.  Lo and behold, she puts me on hold while she checked with her supervisor.  I've got a 4-day extension.  Thank you Celebrity!

23 minutes ago, Iamthesea said:

Yes, we did not too long ago for the same reason. 

 

Though I worked with a TA that required the deposit a few weeks earlier than Celebrity did. We extended the final out 2 weeks.

 

It would be worth a try to call Celebrity.  They don't want to lose your booking. 😉

 

Good luck and all the best for satisfying results from your test.

THANK YOU!!!  My thought (as I tend to overthink these things) is that they would like to release my cabin, on a sold out cruise, as they can make $$ over what we paid, almost 2 years ago.  

I am waiting for the results of a medical procedure, which will come in this Wednesday.  My final payment date for February cruise is on Tuesday.    I really do not want to cancel this cruise, but just need a few days to see where this diagnosis is going.  Has anyone got an extension on their final payment date for medical reasons?

I do intend to call Celebrity tomorrow, but just wondering what my chances may be.  And, yes, I've already considered all the insurance issues, so not looking for advice in that regard. 🙂

Thanks in advance for any and all sage responses!

Patricia

28 minutes ago, marcruiserswe said:

Hi everyone,

 

It’s finally getting closer to our cruise on February 18 with reflection! I just logged on to the website to check out some options and a few questions came up that I hope you experienced cruises will be able to assist us with.

 

It’s a week until final payment, do I have to manually do this or will it be arranged by celebrity automatically? I think they have the CC number since before.

 

I also see that a few new cabins in Aqua has become available, is it generally speaking a good deal to upgrade at this point, near the final payment date? If we change the booking, can we keep our select/anytime dining? (only 6pm available now)

 

We are possibly wanting to get the 3 or 4 night specialty dining package, however Murano was listed as from 30usd. The 3 night package is 129usd, have they changed the pricing for Murano to be cheaper than the rest? It doesn’t add up otherwise 🙂

 

And finally, we are a bit ambivalent to for the visit to Cartagena and what to do. There are celebrity arranged city tours, are they worth the money?  Or will lots of the time be spent in shops, something we are not that into.

 

Thanks a lot in advance everyone, all advice is much appreciated!

 

Best regards,

Martin

 

 

 

 

I'm on the same cruise - come join the roll call: 

  Some from the roll call, including 2 of my travel mates are going on a Cartegena tour with Dora: dora@cartegenatour.com, http://www.cartagenatour.com/_index.php.  She gets very good reviews.

You will either have to pay your final balance online, or by calling Celebrity directly.  They will not automatically charge your credit card.

You can upgrade to Aqua at this point, if it is at a price you are happy with.  You will, however, be dining in Blu, not the main dining room.  Blu is open seating, so runs like Select dining.

I'll let others respond regarding your specialty dining questions.

Patricia

Plain pasta would absolutely not be acceptable on a keto diet. If you don't know what you're talking about, perhaps refrain from joining the conversation. And the eggs cooked to order would be cooked in a fat that's not acceptable on a keto diet.

A keto diet is used to manage several conditions. The OP's question was perfectly legitimate. Sad that people choose to jump all over him, but I guess that's what the world is like these days. This used to be a place for sharing information about cruising. Not so much any more. Sad.

Why be mean? There are nicer ways to correct....

I found out that on one of our cruises, there was going to be a 'biker group' onboard. I was a little concerned about this. Called Celebrity, who, of course, would tell me nothing.

I googled and found out who they were, and emailed them. A very kind fellow responded to me, gave me the size of the group (around 60 members on 40 bikes) and promised me that our cruise would not be affected. Well, it kinda was... we got to watch, from our balcony, the group get off the ship (pre-disembarkation), round up, and very quietly leave the port area. It was very fun to watch! We also saw some members around the pool, and they were a very fun group, who were enjoying themselves, but very respectful of the other cruisers. We spoke with some, who told us about what was all involved for them to be able to bike around the islands. In fact, one of the islands, they were not allowed off the ship with their bikes. Another island, they had to pay for police escort throughout their tour.

I'm glad I found the information about the group prior to the cruise. I tend to worry about that for which I do not have facts. Knowing they were a very small group, I thought nothing more about them until on the ship, and then, it was just fun.

Having said this - a larger group would totally p**s me off if it took over venues, like the dining room, martini bar, pool area, etc. I'm not sure what % would be realistic, but I feel it is fair that Celebrity let us know when larger groups could potentially affect our vacation, so that we could make an informed decision if we want to stay.

P.S. I've heard about the American Dolls - and not anything positive! Seriously... dolls taking up a dining room seat, or a pool lounger? Did the darling dolls pay as a pax? :)

Thanks, here and on my own FB, mostly everyone said ABC because of the hurricane. However, if a hurricane is heading into FL, then I guess we're screwed too because we live in Socal. I also worry about hurricanes before and after the cruise. With all that being said, we do love snorkeling so I'm sold on ABC's.

I concur - ABCs due to time of year!

Be careful what you wish for..... I'm on one Roll Call where there is a group that knows each other and posts frequently about what they are doing on a day to day basis in their current life. A couple of posters have written "What does this have to do with our cruise?" and are told that making friends is part of the Roll Call. Hmm. Yes, but I am not really interested in the current weather/wedding/anniversary/dinner plans of people I have yet to meet. I wish they would take their talk to another forum. I've stopped even reading that thread....

Yup, you know it! When you join a roll call, and the person who starts it continually refers to the "reunion cruise", you kinda feel left out! Then starts the chat about day to day life. I'm with you... that's not the point of the roll call. Let's organize some excursions and perhaps have a couple of meet ups onboard. If you end up meeting people that you click with 'in real life', then you can bond over "current weather/wedding/anniversary/dinner plans" of people that you've now met!!

Yes, we did one a couple of years ago, just to have the experience. It was 'meh', just ok.

We did enjoy the galley tour, which was serving dinner in full swing. I agree with previous poster - the food was good, but not over the top. We did also receive a lovely cookbook, that is very heavy. Fortunately, we had generous luggage allowances, otherwise transporting this home may have been problematic.

For us, this is a one-time experience. For another couple in our group, they attend every time they cruise. Each to their own!

You will need the unlimited internet package, then use WhatsApp on your phone. This is a great way to stay in touch. If there are more than two of you, create a group. Worked like a charm when 4 couples were travelling together last winter.