Algebralovr

We’ve been on 5 cruises since the restart. In November 2020, lots of servers on Reflection, the staff outnumbered the guests. Never any issue getting a drink. We heard from a number of the crew that the USCIS was not approving visas very quickly, and crew were struggling to get to ships. Summit over Christmas. Fewer than 600 guests onboard, never any issue getting a drink. Reflection over NYE, 1750 guests, about 1200 +/- crew. Most of the time, no issue getting a drink, but often it was faster to walk to the bar at the pool because of the time of day. In the Oceanview, at lunch, we typically were able to flag down a bar server for a drink but often had to ask an asst waiter who was walking by to send us one. Silhouette in Feb 2022: no issues, but we spent most of our time on the retreat deck or the cafe. Again, we heard from crew friends that visas were a serious issue. One senior food service staff member we had met numerous times had been extended over and over, and was now 9 months into what was supposed to be a 4 month contract. Scheduling kept asking him to extend due to visa issues with his peers. May 2022 on Millennium we noticed the lack of staff. By this time, Solstice, Eclipse, Beyond, and Infinity were all being staffed up or sailing. We definitely saw a crack in the facade, but made the most of it. The staff we met were glad to be there, glad to be working, and they were hopping. In the Oceanview, a mini bar area was set up on each side, where normally food would be, with a waiter to hand out bottled/canned drinks and pour glasses of wine. We did not see many bar servers because Celebrity was struggling to get them to ships. We also saw significant issues with supply chains. The F&B manager discussed the supply chains during the announcements and info part of the galley tour that was offered to all. We saw that Celebrity was recruiting staff heavily along the Adriatic during the summer. I do not know how successful they were. All the cruse lines are short handed. We even saw one of the lines (don’t recall which one) recruiting in KCMO and STL. That is a totally new development. If I have to get up and go to a bar, I’ll do it.

If visiting Bermuda is that important, they should fly directly to Bermuda, or take one of the summer Summit cruises directly to Bermuda that stays there for a couple of days. Even without the testing requirement, Bermuda is not a certainty. The crossing will be during hurricane season, which means flexibility is needed.

We are trying out the exact same thing in a month. We don’t drink enough alcohol to matter, drink mostly tea from the Cafe’, and drink a lot of water. I do prefer the bottled water, since sometimes the ships water can have a funky taste. We only do one or two sodas a week, if that. I’ll pick up a couple of them during happy hour at some point. So, I booked a cruise only room (for an amazing price), which came with $250 OBC. Sent in for my shareholder OBC. Now I have $350 OBC. Since we drink so much water, and I like the San Pellegrino some, we booked a premium water package. That was $12.99/person/day. Turns out the discount doesn’t apply to the water package, but it was on sale ahead of time. It was fully covered by our OBC. I went ahead and prepaid for gratuities, so they were done. $217 for both of us. I’ll use the rest of the OBC to buy a 4 device internet Stream package, since we both need it for work while on board. Darn two-factor…. It is definitely coming out less than doing AI option, then paying for the individual upgrades for the beverage package (since the classic doesn’t include the San Pel) and the individual upgrade for internet. We occasionally splurge for a sky suite, but for the last minute budge cruises? This seems to work. Looks like I’m going to end up spending less than I did in 2012 for a balcony room for a week on Solstice.

I was on Solstice in May 2018, and will be on her again in about a month. A lot of the things mentioned are things that are swapped out all the time. Menus, for example, should never have food stains. If I receive a menu that has food stains, I hand it back to the waiter and ask for a fresh one, that this one has seen better days. If food stains, the look of horror on the waiter's face is enough. It will be taken, the printed menu removed, the folder cleaned, and a new printed menu will be inserted. There is actually someone who is on the ship to do furniture repairs, including upolstery. It is a matter of the staff knowing the repair needs to be done. If it is a cushion, and they don't have fabric on hand, they have to order it. If you notice something torn, a comment to a "stripe" is usually sufficient for a work order to go on. Last November, we were on Reflection. As it was early for the RF Restart, they had extra staff on board, including two Hotel Directors, Clint and Vedran. F&B was Orlando, and one of the Assist Bar managers was Tugberk. We saw all of them doing constant inspections of everything. One morning, we were in the Cafe Al Bacio and saw Orlando notice something off regarding the table leg. He looked over it carefully, then used his deck phone. A few minutes later, a crew member in a white coverall appeared and the offending table was removed. The next day, it was back, repaired. We saw all sorts of things that trip.... including a piece of rubber at a window that was loose.... a comment to Vedran and it was attended to rapidly. We were on Summit over Christmas, and noticed a small split in a bench seat in the Cafe. Commented about it to someone with 3-stripes. A few minutes later, another couple of people were there to look at it. Apparently it was repaired overnight as the next day, the same location didn't have a split in the seat. They replace furniture all the time. Literally, constantly. If there is worn furniture, my assumption is they are waiting on replacement furniture, or at least parts, and the supply chains are the issue. I know I've certainly had supply chain issues! Similarly, they replace carpet frequently. If the carpet is frayed, I'm going to assume they are trying to get the carpet staged into the right place to be brought on board and installed. I've seen them lay new carpet in an area in the couple of hours from when they are making the "all guests must depart" and them admitting new guests on board. Do they do it frequently? No, but they can certainly do it.

Greetings all! I realized it was over a month since someone posted here so I wanted to see how everyone is doing. Scooter is doing well. He has his days when he doesn’t want to work, and other days when he is glued to my hip and incredibly helpful. He does struggle a bit with the fact that far too many days I just don’t do anything but lay on the sofa. He is still young enough (nearly 7) that he wants more activity than I often have the energy for. Between the RA and the NETs, they suck out my energy. He at least makes me get up and move every couple of hours to take him out in the daytime. Good for both of us. I picked up a discount cruise on Celebrity Solstice for October. Scooter will stay home. While he travels fine by car, the planes are an issue, and the lawn on the Celebrity ships is totally forbidden, with good reason. We managed to get an points booking on a non-stop flight in Southwest from STL to LAX to get to the cruise. Hopefully I can walk when we get off the flight…. Since it will be a long one. I’ll think of Roz when we go to the Port of San Pedro, I recall that was her favorite embarkation port, and an easy drive for her to get to.

On one of our upcoming cruises, we booked the cruise only price. We bought the premium water package for both of us for $12.99/person per day. The $250 in OBC we had from our booking covered the cost fully. We can stop at any bar any time and get both sparkling or still water.

Nearly all of the rooms have a dual-twin bed than can be set up as either two separate beds or one queen bed. If you do not wish to share a bed with your friend, you simply request the “beds apart” when making your reservation. If you board and find the room made up with one bed, simply tell your stateroom attendant and they will swap the set up during dinner the first evening. Some rooms accept 3 people. Many of those use a topper on the sofa in the stateroom for the 3rd person. A few rooms accept a 4th person and have a bed that descends from the ceiling. My experience is that the ceiling bed is the last to be utilized. Food is subjective. I’m quite happy with the food on Celebrity ships.

We did this in December. We used SAS, the shuttle service. They are picking up at Port of Miami anyway and will drop people off at the airport then drop you off at Port Everglades.

I would take both, and I'd use the manual one as a luggage cart for your carry on bags. I've used mine at the airport to get from curb to desk to check in. At that point, I'm winded. We check the bags and I switch to sitting in the chair.

My TA mentioned to me today that she recommends making flight arrangements directly rather than through the cruise line. Previously, there were a number of times she advocated to book through the cruise line. I have a cruise through Princess through the canal booked in December. My flights on AA have been booked for months, and have changed a number of times…. And I’ve not been getting updates to those changes. Today, I finally cancelled the flights through Princess (final payment is due in 3 weeks, so I hadn’t paid for them yet) as I booked directly through Southwest (on points, so free). I had been carry dual reservations for the last couple of months, to make sure all looked OK, figuring I’d decide at final payment. Considering how much hassle I had booking flights through Celebrity for my Alaska cruise a few months back, I’m in no hurry to repeat it. Better to handle the reservation directly at this point.

Murkowski Did introduce a bill. It went nowhere.

I’ve seen a point and shoot a couple of times. We actually bought one, as our waterproof camera decided to stop working, and the ship had a newer model of the same one. Price was slightly higher than off Amazon, but not by much.

I nearly always look at the menu the day before to decide where or what I’m eating. If I don’t see what I care to eat on the menu, I ask to make a special request. As long as it is something fairly simple (my go to is the 4 oz children’s filet and veggies), I’ve never been turned down.

We have had good luck requesting a table away from people. They will occasionally even give a couple a 4 top if that is all that is available.

I enjoy the main dining room. If you are in a suite, Luminae is essentially a specialty restaurant every night. I would look at the menus online before making a decision. I would not plan to eat in Tuscan nightly, that would be boring.

I find no predictability. Basically, decide when and where you are interested, and check every day. If you see an acceptable price, jump. For example, I got a balcony, cruise only, for $1049 for two including taxes and $250 OBC the first week of August for a Solstice LA to MX. the $250 OBC covers the bottled water package we want, and our Elite+ covers the coffee shop. I’ll pay the service charges at some point. Still an amazing bargain.

We were told on a previous cruise that since select diners were not allowed to deduct their gratuities, that the waiters (and asst) who agreed to work in Select Dining knew up front that the auto gratuities included their pay. Many people end up with the same team of servers in Select, but not everyone. So, the waiters know if you are a one-time diner, they simply get that share of the auto-grat for your table. What they are paid also is influenced by how many guests they end up serving for dinner. If they have a 2 top and can turn it 3 times, they know they will earn a little more than if they only turn it twice.

We always do the automatic gratuity. When warranted, we do extra cash. Sometimes it is warranted, sometimes it is not. We also make sure to list names on the survey after the cruise. The other thing we do is hand write notes to management about those who went out of their way to make our vacation better. It could be anyone from a snack attendant (the lowest customer facing service job, who usually scoop gelato and squirt sanitizer on hands as you enter the buffet area), to an assistant beverage ops manager who makes sure our favorite beverage is stocked where we want it. The good words can help their careers.

I've got a great CVP named Traci. They have adjusted how they are reached by phone now, though. Mine has a direct number now.

A lot of the baggage handlers and airport staff have iPhones, so, they are likely to register. If the bag gets left at the airport, when you get to your next location, you SHOULD be able to see it was left at the airport. At the pier, you should be able to locate the bags. Beat of all, if you are trying to find your bags at the pier, and can’t, you can trigger the AirTag to sound off. That would have been helpful at a previous cruise when one of the bags never made it to the pick up area.

We used them in May. We flew from STL to YVR with a plane change in DEN. It was great to be able to see when they were close enough again while sitting on the plane.

If I smell smoke, I don’t stop with guest relations. I call security directly, or higher. There is absolutely no reason for ANYONE to smoke on their balcony. If I don’t get results on the ship, an email to the Exec Suite on shore side will do amazing things.

I’m currently recovering from Covid. Didn’t get it on a ship, I went out for lunch for the first time locally, and people were coughing. I took 5 cruises successfully and felt safer on board the ships. I was not a candidate for Paxlovid. My primary, rheumatologist and oncologist discussed it and my primary decided against it. I did end up taking Molnupiravir, which is from Merck and has fewer issues. I still wouldn’t take it “just in case”. I finished it this morning. We will see over the next few days if I get a bounce back case.

I would email the Exec Suite about your bags being given the wrong tag and you not receiving them, and that you request the bags be forwarded to you at Celebrity’s expense. if you have travel insurance, it is reasonably likely that it will cover your bags being shipped home, as well. We had one get misplaced years ago, but it was just my dad’s dirty laundry. Eventually it was found at the pier (in Port Everglades) and they shipped it to him. Their expense.

Linda, I’m so glad you had a good interview with CCI. I’m glad that Halo has a good retirement plan! He will be happy to see you when you visit, but will also be happy with your daughter and his pal. That sounds perfect for all! My hubby and I have been discussion our next steps regarding Scooter. He is currently 6.5, but has developed a couple of medical conditions that will likely shorten his life. They are medically controlled, he is happy, and still wants to work much of the time. We are completely uncertain if we will seek a successor dog or not. I look forward to hearing how things go with your team training and successor dog over the next couple of years.