Grandmaanne7

On 1/14/2023 at 6:58 PM, mahdnc said:

@Grandmaanne7,

 

Hi, I am sorry that I didn't see your post until now (embarkation day for you!).  Anyway I will just say that we went diving with sea lions during our stop (Infinity) at Puerto Madryn in Jan 2017 with a private outfitter.  The water was pretty cold and we ended up wearing drysuits that the outfitter provided.  The air temperature was not too bad during the boat ride out there. The young sea pups are very curious and they enjoyed playing.  Anyway, I hope you have fun time on your cruise.

Our son and daughter frolicking with the sea lions at Puerto Madryn (Jan 2017)

 

 

Thanks David!  I remember seeing these pictures years ago, perhaps before our cruise together. 

1 hour ago, Buckeye94 said:

There were two main options seafood platter or surf and turf. All of the listed sides were on the platter. I didn't see anyone ordering the turf. You also got lobster bisque. While it was very tasty, it was not the Murano version with pieces of lobster which I kind of expected for a specialty lunch. Dessert was your choice, or both, of a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce or mango tiramisu.

 

Here's a pic of the menu. It appeared in the app a couple days before sailing.

I had to go back and look at your photo because of the lobster tail on the menu.  When I had originally viewed the photo, I mistook it for a shrimp.  It looks rather small.  Was it tasty at least?  Would you recommend the Seafood lunch?

I am really enjoying your review and thank you very much for taking us along.

I think that I will reserve voicing my opinion on this subject until I return next month from my first post covid cruise on Celebrity. I will be able to compare it with my other post covid cruises on Regent and Carnival so it should be somewhere in the middle even though it is far more expensive than either due to the itinerary (Antarctica). I am not liking that Celebrity introduces a new reduction in product almost weekly but I will reserve judgment until the experience is complete. I am hoping that all the negativity hasn't jaded me already and that I can sail with an open mind. 

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

As I understand it from the UK gov website you don’t need a negative test if you are fully vaccinated

Thanks.  I also just received confirmation from our airline that testing is not required.

I am aware that, currently, a negative covid test is required to enter Brazil.  However, I am having difficulty finding out if one is required simply to change planes in Sao Paolo.  Has anyone done it recently?  Is anyone familiar with current regulations?  Even my TA is having difficulty getting the information.

12 hours ago, ticktock01 said:

Can anyone tell me which cruise terminal Celebrity uses in Puerto Madryn?
It looks like there are two terminals:
Muelle Luis Piedra Buena, Puerto Madryn

Muelle Almirante Storni, Puerto Madryn
I've booked a private tour there and I need to tell the tour company where to pick me up.
Thank you

 

8 hours ago, kathynorth said:

Neither of these. The cruise port for large cruise ships is at Terminal de Cruceros Benito Quinquela Martn. This is an industrial area so the tour guide will need to pick you up near the front gate of the port area. If you are arriving to BA via cruise ship then you need to ride a shuttle bus from the ship to the terminal. 

I believe that the question was in regards to Puerto Madryn not Buenos Aires. 

Hi Julie, 

Thanks for doing this live review. We will be getting on as you disembark. It will be our first M class ship and first cruise in this part of the world so really excited. Enjoy your cruise and post when convenient for you. We'll appreciate all your efforts. 

I'm currently reading "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing.  It's a great read!

We did a Northern European cruise this summer (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium and Amsterdam).  While we loved it, be aware that many European ports are very far from cities and require a lot of time and effort to actually see the cities you are supposed to see.  Paris, for example, is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride each way which really doesn't leave you much time to enjoy the city sights.  Amsterdam is also a 2 bus and a train ride each way.  While you do get to see the countryside on the journey, if your intent is to savour the city, keep this in mind.

Really enjoyed your review and your photos!  Thank you for posting.

11 hours ago, pavementends said:

So I was trying to book a hotel on the way to an Antarctic trip. On Expedia, one I was interested had a notation

 

"This property can only accept bookings for essential travel or stays. You may be asked to provide evidence of this on arrival. For more information, check local advisories before you book."

 

I mean, what's up with that? What local advisories?? What evidence???

 

So I gave this one a pass, because I don't want to show up at the hotel and be told I don't have a good enough reason to stay there. I went elsewhere where...the only question is whether my money is good.

 

Any ideas what is going on here?  (Wyndham Dazzler Recoleta)

We are staying at this hotel pre cruise. It was booked by our travel agent and is included in our package so I am confident that all will be well. 

9 hours ago, circee said:

The Celebrity Eclipse will make this stop on our cruise in March 2024. Would you please post an update after your trip to let us know how this excursion went? 

Will do. 

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

The few slot pulls that I have participated in have been set up with the Casino Host after we all got on board the ship.  I don't think the person on our roll call who organized the slot pull did any emailing with Celebrity or BCC beforehand.

 

So you can pick out a date/time that you want to have the slot pull with your roll call before the cruise starts and then talk to the Casino Host after you get on board to finalize the time.  If the date/time is different than what you originally planned, you will have to communicate this either thru the roll call or some other means.

 

@Grandmaanne7

That is correct.  For our 14 day cruise, I approached the Casino Hostess on Day 2 and made arrangements with her for the slot pull to take place near the end of the cruise. 

Give it a day. Our check in opened 24 hours later than expected and everything worked fine. 

28 minutes ago, Born2go said:

Yes, we should meet up and travel to the office together!  (We are in 3100) i think we will need to take a taxi. I will wear a bathing suit under my clothes and wear jeans and a fleece with up underclothes in my bag. Presumably there will be SOMEWHERE to change after? We haven’t snorkeled in any cold water places before but we did jump into the Baltic Sea in Helsinki after heating up in a Finnish Spa. I know, not quite the same😁, but I have the same concerns. 

Perfect!  We're in cabin 7084.  Looking forward to meeting you onboard!  I've made a note to give you a call in case we don't meet up ahead of time.

37 minutes ago, Born2go said:

Hi Anne…we booked through Viator. Didn’t think about booking direct😕. Looking forward to this, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Debbie

ps we are a tiny bit concerned we will be cold even with wetsuits but not concerned enough to not go!

Hi Debbie, 

We ended up booking through GetYourGuide. We should try to meet up and travel to the office together. BTW, I have snorkeled in Alaska and was not overly cold. My concern is what change of clothes to take? What will the temperature be when we get out of the water? Still need to do some research but so very excited to be doing this!!

On 10/28/2022 at 2:41 PM, Born2go said:

I believe we are on the same sailing (Infinity, January 14). I booked the snorkeling with the sea lions so I haven’t gone yet but this is the response I got from them:

 

Hello Debra, my name is Mauro from MadrynBuceo. We have just booked you for 25Th January! For those who come in Cruiseship, we ask them that once they get off the ship they have to come to our divecentre as soon as possible. Once you arrive, we will get you on the next excursion trip. This is our location: https://g.page/Nadarconlobos?share
And this our Whatsapp number (we prefer to talk through said medium): +5492804564422
If your cruiseship is unable to dock or the weather conditions do not allows to do excursions, we will refund you!
If you have any more doubts, please contact us again! 

Reply

We love snorkeling too! Hope it’s not cold:) 

Hi Debra,

So glad to see this.  I had almost given up hope when nobody responded to my post on the roll call.  We were given the option to pay cash in person rather than pre pay a higher amount.  This is what we will do.  Glad we will be able to share this amazing adventure with others on our cruise.

Anne

I would love to do this with Celebrity! Loved it once on Princess. I'm sure we would love it more with Celebrity. 

We are looking at snorkeling with sea lions with Madryn Buceo.  Has anyone done this?  Do you recommend it?  I loved snorkeling in Alaska and with stingrays in Grand Cayman.  I feel that this would be a similarly exciting adventure.  Madryn Buceo says their office is located about 1500 metres from the cruise port.  This is certainly walkable.  I'd love some information from anyone who has done it.  Thanks in advance.

19 minutes ago, CNSfromHI said:

I apologize if I wasn't clear. Our basic internet was included as part of the all-included stuff, and as Casualcruisers notes, each passenger can use one device at a time to access the internet.

 

cjr

Thanks for the clarification 

Just now, Casualcruisers said:

Each person gets 1 device.

Me and my wife both had basic included in the all included package and could each use 1 device.

Thank you for the clarification. 

24 minutes ago, CNSfromHI said:

The Celebrity app proved to be fairly handy for finding your way around the ship via deck maps, checking on open/close times for bars and restaurants, discovering stuff to do each day, etc. The "My Calendar" function is unfortunately limited; users will find only their Celebrity-arranged excursions show up there, as well as reservations made for specialty restaurants, but there's no way to add personal things, such as "meet so-and-so on deck 14 at X time."

 

I imagine that if you're traveling with your family or a group, then the in-app text/chat thing might prove very useful if you're trying to find them, make plans, meet somewhere, etc. With just my wife, who was always with me, this feature was a novelty and we just sent a few goofy messages with silly emoticons to each other 😆

 

I can only speak about the basic internet package since that's what we used. First, while my bride and I could each log into the ship's WiFi individually, you can only use one device at a time per passenger. This means disconnecting from device 01 in order to log in on device 02. It's not as onerous as it might sound, but just know you can't log in each device once when you board and then seamlessly access WiFi on multiple devices, as you would on your home network.

 

Also, I found the internet responsiveness fluctuated greatly. I wish I could say it was better on non-sea days, when more people were off the ship, or early/late in the day, but there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I'll probably pop for the premium package next time to see if there's an improvement.

 

Hope this helps!

 

cjr

Was the basic wifi referenced here purchased with the all included package? Seems to me that if each passenger pays for it, each passenger should be able to use it. I did not realize that it was shared between devices. Am I reading this incorrectly?

12 hours ago, Steve H said:

Called today to upgrade my drink package and got through in about 5 minutes also. I also got a nice deal on my upgrade $197 cdn. . for a 14 night cruise!

Was that for 1 person or 2? Trying to decide for our January cruise. 

I'm having the same reaction of unbelief.  We just did a Carnival cruise with the kids and grandkids and was thoroughly impressed with the Carnival app before and during the cruise.  I guess that I shouldn't be surprised that Celebrity's app is this way but I am disappointed after using such an intuitive and helpful app.  I was really hoping for more.

We just returned from a cruise out of Dover.  There was a train strike on the day of our arrival so had to do a last minute pivot from train to car service.  We used 247 Airport Transfer.  They were a little late picking us up both ways but the service and price were very good.