Islander500

I was quite surprised to see the location of the cabanas on Edge. They must have been an afterthought. They were mostly empty and with lots of people walking right in front of them. I thought to myself, I would not want to sit there even if it was free.

Published in Cruisehive, whatever this means exactly… “While the prices for pre-purchased beverage packages have been raised on December 19, onboard the Celebrity Cruises ships, the old pricing will remain at the old prices until after the holiday cruises. Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Solstice, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Constellation, and Celebrity Infinity will implement the new pricing on January 2, 2023. On January 3, Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Silhouette, and Celebrity Millenium will start using the latest pricing. Then on January 4, Celebrity Summit; on January 7, Celebrity Apex; and on January 8, Celebrity Reflection.”

Hi @njsweetieCan you tell us approximately how many people were on this excursion? Also, if you have any pics of/on the boat, would love to see them. I contacted the company and they said they do charters between 85 and 165 passengers so wanted to get some idea. That sounds like a lot of people!

Wow! If that is correct, I sure hope they plan to open 2 more Al Bacio's somewhere on the ship. The lines will be impossibly long there, otherwise.

Ha! Thats the other thing I didn’t mention in my original post because it would have made it too complicated. During my extended phone conversation, I was told that the discounts currently advertised are not combinable with the captains club status discount of 15%. So the discount I got was the difference between them. In effect, the 15% off they promised for loyalty is from the regular price, not the sale price. Loyalty is overrated!

Posted on Celebrity website as follows: Classic Package Enjoy the drink you want, when you want it, morning, noon, and night, with a fantastic array of liquors, wines for any palate, beers from light and crisp to dark and robust, plus drinks up to $10. Wines by the bottle are discounted by 15%. $89 per person per day* Premium Package This versatile drinks package lets you start your morning with fresh squeezed orange juice and a premium coffee, enjoy a frozen cocktail by the pool, and then a glass of wine with dinner. Enjoy all the spirits listed in our Classic Package, plus drinks up to $17. Wines by the bottle are discounted by 20%. $109 per person per day* * Plus 20% service charge/gratuity There is "9% off sale" from those new prices right now on my cruise. But when you call to book with a Celebrity Captain's Club Status discount, they are still quoting and charging the price from last week.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist but I'm convinced that it's deliberate. Think of how many folks forget to ask (multiple times) or just give up. That saves Celebrity lots of money in the aggregate. When you book amenities or extras on-line within your account, the Celebrity system knows your Captain's Club Level, so connecting that status to the pricing of items booked on-line cannot be that complex. I'm guessing (and I admit not based on any data, only experience) that more than 50% of people entitled to status discounts don't get them. Anyone think it's higher? 😉

Yep! Apparently, Celebrity does not have the updated pricing in their system yet as you will all be SHOCKED to learn. Call now! 🙄

Thanks Jim. This is the first time I've seen this specified as you have and it's great to know. (I used to love going to OV bar to get the fresh OJ while watching the machines squeezing the oranges. No more.) Now, remind me if you know, is the "fresh squeezed" (as now served in OV) included in the Classic Alcohol Package? Thanx for sharing your knowledge!

Shouldn't be unless the travel agent isn't up-to-date on new pricing. But poster said it was directly with Celebrity rep so good for them. I spent a lot of time on phone this weekend and never got through.

Would love to see your menu!

Was that through your travel agent or directly with Celebrity rep?

I suggest you call Captain's Club and request an OBC to your on-board account equal to your 20% discount. That's how they are "granting" the Elite Plus specialty restaurant discounts which aren't available to be booked on-line.

That’s good to know. Maybe that’s the specific ask (an OBC for 15%) when you call to reserve in advance or have booked online. That’s how it was eventually “fixed” for me, too. Coincidentally, I just got an email from Celebrity inviting us to book specialty restaurants & advising, “They’re extremely popular so book today”. You really have to laugh!

Last spring, we sailed on Edge. We had prepaid for dinner on Eden because we wanted to get in on first evening (there was mo discount). Since we are entitled to a 15% Elite Plus discount, we went early to see if the Maitre’ D could help us. She said no; go to Customer Relations. We said OK and proceeded to enjoy our dinner (which was fantastic, btw). Next day, we stop at customer relations. The young lady had no idea what to do. She called the restaurant while we waited to no avail. Not them. She walks in the back. Eventually, asks us to stop by the next day & she’ll sort it out. The next day, she said she was working on it and would call us. Around the 5th day, we see a credit posted to our account. It was for the exact amount we were expecting but was entitled, Port Taxes Credit. And, no, we didn’t miss any ports or have an itinerary change. Okay, whatever. Our next cruise is in January. I called captains club to make a specialty dining reservation with our 15% discount to avoid that same situation. I was told that it had to be done on-board. There are only a few time slots left open so I even spoke to the Supervisor who explained they have no way to book it with the discount on the phone (nor can it be done online.) So we booked it without the discount and she told me to speak to the Maitre’d or Customer Relations once on-board. The next day she sent me an email and said she’d posted an OBC for the 15% to my account. I looked back at my phone and realized I’d been talking to the initial Captains Club rep, and then the supervisor, or on multiple holds for 1 hour and 26 minutes. Anyone have a similar experience? What is the accepted way to book with the Elite Plus discount?

Hahaha! We do have a sweater or two and a few light jackets. On cruises to Alaska and through Strait of Magellan in South America, I often wished I had one of those puffer coats, though. 😂

Can anyone comment on what to expect in late September weather? We Floridians don't even own a puffer jacket. 🙄

Did you do a tour or just walking around the town? I am planning our trip next fall.

I found the information below on The Points Guy website. The underlined, italicized section is my highlight but I'd not seen that anywhere else, so it is unverified. "The citizens of Bar Harbor, Maine, have had it with cruise ships and cruisers. By a wide margin, they voted on Tuesday to severely restrict the number of cruise passengers that could visit the resort town on any given day, in a move that could have a significant impact on cruises to the region. The voters passed a citizens initiative that would limit the number of cruisers and cruise ship crew who can come ashore in the town to just 1,000 a day, far fewer than currently visit Bar Harbor on some days during the the peak summer tourist season. Some cruise ships that visit Bar Harbor such as Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas can carry nearly 5,000 passengers. The vote, which came in the wake of growing complaints about cruise-ship visitors in the town, could mean many of the vessels that currently stop at Bar Harbor will no longer be able to call there. It amends the town's municipal code. The ballot measure exempts cruise ship visits that already were on the books as of March 17, the date when the measure was first submitted for inclusion on Tuesday's ballot. About 58% of 3,053 residents who voted Tuesday were in favor of the measure, with roughly 42% against it — a 16-point margin. Bar Harbor has a population of around 5,000 people. The vote came just two months after Bar Harbor's town council voted to implement limits on cruise-ship passengers that were strict but not nearly to the degree of what was laid out in the citizens initiative."

Just an update to this thread. Yesterday I booked Delta to Boston for a fall 2023 cruise through Flights through Celebrity. Even though we don't have to pay for the flights until final payment in June (loved that!), immediately after booking I was able to use the confirmation number to select seats on the Delta website.

That’s a very good point. Can anyone share their experience buying a dining package for 3 or more nights and not being able to book specialty restaurants on board? Can you get a refund?

Where is this station? I don’t think I’ve seen it.

Appreciate that, Patty. But not everyone is able to book a year in advance due to other obligations. At least for me, I was inquiring if the demand for specialty dining has increased exponentially since prior to last year (maybe before app), as we were always able to book on-board. If the way the system operates is now different, and/or the demand has increased, and/or the capacity is reduced, and/or all of the above, some of us weren't aware of that. Glad that you have been able to book all the specialty dining you desire because of your pre-planning. Enjoy Beyond!

Hi all, We recently booked a regular verandah stateroom for a January Equinox cruise with the intention of doing specialty dining 3 evenings during the 10 day cruise. So we found on the app that Murano is shows as completely booked all 10 nights. Tuscan Grill has a few openings but not many. We have cruised on Celebrity many, many times (Elite Plus) and have never experienced that. Is that pretty typical these days? Just curious if they hold any openings for people to reserve after boarding? In the past, we’ve always been able to book on-board.

Actually, the problem is that I booked a Cruise Only rate (after final payment). The website asked for the deposit & I figured I could do my research that day to decide if I wanted the AI with the perks and pay later that same day. When I called later to make final payment (because the website wasn’t showing my reservation so I couldn’t pay on-line), the Celebrity Rep really pushed AI and quoted me a rate. I agreed to upgrade & paid in full. Immediately, I received an email with my booking statement showing the cruise was fully paid. Then the next night, I get another email, stating I still owed the gratuities & if I didn’t pay another $360 dollars, they would cancel the cruise. That really pissed me off. So I called them back and told them I wanted to revert to the Cruise Only rate because I’d been told that I was fully paid and now was being told I still owed money. They said no, past final payment. Their explanation was that the Celebrity “system” needed to get itself straightened out and that it will add and subtract charges; that, I should just ignore any other emails threatening to cancel if I didn’t pay more. BTW, I’m still getting them 5 days later. This was supposed to be a last minute stress-relieving getaway. So far, at least, it’s not been that…