FengShui@Sea

Our drill was on the second day in Honolulu, not embarkation day, at about 4:00. It kind of messed up our plans as we had expected the drill to be on embarkation day.

 

Hope that helps!

Thanks so much for the info. We aren't over-nighting in Honolulu this time so I assume they'll hold it around 4 p.m. on embarkation day. Thanks again! :)

Koolforkatz ~ Thanks so much for the review and great pics - it really gives a sense of what you experienced.

We will be on the same sailing in 2016 and wondered if you could tell us what time the life boat drill was held on embarkation day?

I was trying to find what itinerary the Jade is doing just before our Oct. 29, 2016 Transatlantic (2016 not 2015) with view to booking a B2B. Nothing is coming up on any websites including NCL's. Does anyone know if it is going into dry dock? The only other possiblity that I can think of is that it was chartered. :confused:

It's "damned if they do, damned if they don't". If they change them now, some people will be annoyed that they altered the upcoming itineraries to do overnights. If they waited to change them the following season, then there will be some who will be annoyed that they didn't make the new overnight stops available when they cruised that itinerary the season before. And then there will be a few who will be annoyed, no matter what, because they just like to complain.

 

No matter what the cruise line does - or doesn't do - there will always be some who will not like it. :rolleyes:

The people that booked the current Caribbean cruises did so with full knowledge of the itineraries. Now that Dominica and Bonaire have been dropped from these itineraries they are pissed. There is no 'damned if they don't' as we knew what we were paying for and now it's something different. Anyone who wants the overnights were welcome to book when the new itineraries were published. :rolleyes:

The laws in Hawaii prohibit the free bottles of liquor. Owners suites on the POA only get the option of wine

I'm glad you pointed this out because we were not given the option of liquor, and I was beginning to think maybe we had a bad butler! :p

Does this include the Pride of America ship? I have seen posts that state that you get Champagne only. Any recent category SC, owners suite POA cruisers have any information on this?

We were in suite #8500 on the POA in December 2014 and had sparking water, soft drinks, sparkling wine and three bottles of red or white wine complimentary with our suite. I'm not sure what class of suite it was, but it had a jacuzzi hot tub on the balcony, as well as in the master bathroom, so I'm guessing it was an Owner's suite.

Another wonderful video Bill, and love the addition of 'Mr. Bill'! ((:D))

Henry and I are doing the exact same itinerary on the Silhouette following our transatlantic on her this fall (Nov. 15th). Can't wait!

Does anyone know what time they hold the lifeboat drill on the POA before the 7:00 p.m. departure from Honolulu?

Also, do you know if any wine packages are offered on the 7 day Hawaii sailing of POA?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Mike, as you know Celebrity can always change their policy. This is the statement in the suite FAQ section on the Celebrity website which clearly answers the question.

 

"Will “Suite Class” guests still have the option of dining in Blu on a space-available basis?

Beginning April 2015 all Suite Class guests will have access to a new restaurant - reserved exclusively for Suite Class guests morning, noon and night. Access to Blu will continue to be available on a space available basis to all Suite Class guests."

 

With the new suite dining I cannot believe that this would be much of an issue even on the Reflection. Last November on the Reflection I was in a suite and never had an issue dining in Blu although I had to wait once.

 

Of course since the Maitre'D in Blu on Silhouette is saying the opposite it does make one wonder, but perhaps he is only asking and not really sure.

The operative words are "on a space available basis". On the Reflection TA this past October I can assure you there was "no" space available. We were in Aqua on that cruise and every evening there was at least a 20 minute wait. I would have donated a kidney to be allowed to eat in the MDR. It was quite a different experience from eating in Blu on the Solstice one month earlier - and not for the better. :rolleyes:

SHIP: Reflection

CABIN #: 1546

DECK #: 11

CLASS: Aqua (A2)

AREA: Forward - Starboard

BED NEAR: Bath

QUIET?: Yes

BALCONY VIEW: Good view in all directions

BALCONY SIZE: standard

WIND A PROBLEM?: no

SOOT A PROBLEM?: no

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Loved this cabin! It was right near the forward elevators, which are much less busy than the mid-ship elevators. Very convenient location to the Solarium and Aqua Cafe. Would book again in a heartbeat.

SHIP: Solstice

CABIN #: 1626

DECK #: 11

CLASS: Auqa (A2)

AREA: mid-ship Starboard

BED NEAR: Bath

QUIET?: NO!

BALCONY VIEW: good view in all directions

BALCONY SIZE: standard

WIND A PROBLEM?:no

SOOT A PROBLEM?:no

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Horrible cabin! In 42 cruises this was one of the worst cabin experiences we have had. There were two issues - neither of which Celebrity powers that be would acknowledge as a 'problem'. One was a VERY loud swooshing sound on the balcony. Seriously, it sounded like you were in a wind tunnel. The Officer that came in response to our complaint said it was an air exhaust vent above our balcony. With the door shut all was quiet... with the door open it was terrible.

Also, the floor mid-cabin (next to the bed) had a strong vibration which caused the bed to shake. This only occurred while the ship was in motion - which was EVERY night. Because of the vibrating bed we did not sleep more than a few hours at a time for 11 nights straight. You couldn't pay me to take this cabin again!

Numerous times today I've tried to access a current reservation after logging into Celebrity's website, I get the following response:

 

"The system is currently unable to handle your request for retrieving your reservation."

 

What's up with that?

 

Thank you!

I have also been receiving this message with two of my three reservations, all of which I used to be able to access. What I noticed was after I moved two of the reservations into 'group' bookings with the travel agency I could no longer access them. As soon as I moved the first one I got the above message every time I tried to access it. A week later the same thing happened when the second reservation was moved to a group booking. However, the third reservation (booked though an agent but not a group booking) can still be accessed.

I called Celebrity and was told that the 'My Celebrity' site was designed to only access reservations made directly with Celebrity, and not for bookings made with travel agents. I don't think that is quite accurate. The problem seems to be with group reservations, and if you have booked with any big online travel agencies that give extra perks, you are almost guaranteed to be in a 'group'.

However, you can still access your reservation by clicking on the 'Already Booked?' tab on Celebrity's home page, then select 'Online Check-in' and fill in your reservation number, name, ship and sail date. Also, once you're in you can select "My Reservation" on the upper left of the screen to book shore excursions, make dining reservations, etc. It will ask for your 'My Celebrity' log-in information, but once you enter that you'll be in the reservation you brought up.

Our experience with 'Cruise Now' was on the Century last week, and not part of the new (instant OBC) pilot project. We booked a future cruise while onboard, and I have spent several hours this past week arguing with Celebrity over the terms of this offer.

The front of the flyer implies that you get both an OBC and the 123 go! promo as part of the 'Cruise Now' program. It list the benefits of both in bullet points. The wording would need to be corrected in several places to make it clear that the flyer is advertising two separate offers. The fine print on the front of the flyer states that the 'Cruise Now' program is combinable with one other offer. Those terms and conditions are right below the future cruise OBC and 123 go! benefit bullet points.

When you flip the flyer over to the second side it also leads you to believe that the two promos are all part of the 'Cruise Now' program. It's only when you read the terms and conditions on side two that you find out that you cannot combine it with another offer (for example a Senior, Resident, Military, etc. special rate) and still get the 123 go!

You practically need a degree in contract law to be able to understand the terms and conditions, especially when they are listed on different sides of the flyer. IMHO Celebrity could have done a way better job in wording the flyer to help folks understand that the 123 go! is a separate promotion and cannot be combined with another offer. :rolleyes:

Holly

We had Sue as our CD on a recent cruise and could not have been less impressed. Her ego was massive, and her 'show' was like something you'd see on Saturday Night Live. It's nice that there is something for everyone on Celebrity, and we'll happily leave Sue for others.

http://www.rclinvestor.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=103045&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1848543&highlight=

I'm getting an error message. Could you please re-post?

Thanks!