farmermd

1 hour ago, varoo said:

 

We prefer this kind -- comfortable, cheap, lightweight, flexible - only $3 each.

They pack flat in suitcase, and are easy to pick up and use inside the cabin as well for reading or watching TV.

 

  Intex Jumbo Inflatable Big Panel Colorful Giant Beach Balls (Set of 8): $23.99

 

 

Thx!

Has anyone purchased a portable footstool to take on cruises with them? Been looking at some blowup stools. Thoughts and comments?

As far as booking a cruise on the Celebrity site - IT SUCKS!

Last week I booked a cruise for September through the Celebrity site with the resident rate savings and no perks. I was not offered travel insurance while booking and I was not required to add my wife’s name to the booking even though it was clearly a booking for two people. Got to the payment option and paid in full the agreed upon amount since the cruise is less than 2 months away. No need to put down the deposit and log back in in 24 hours to pay the balance. 

So all seemed ok until 2 minutes later when I received the confirmation via email. It shows a balance due!  *****!  In the next 10 minutes I receive two more confirmations all showing the same thing. I log on to my account and see a balance due as well. Confirmations show that I chose two perks - beverage package and OBC. I did not.  The payment I made was correct but because Celebrity added the perks then it showed the balance due. 

Ok I know it sometimes takes overnight for reservations to straighten themselves out so I decide to wait till Saturday afternoon to verify. So I log in Saturday afternoon to verify all is good but it is not - still shows a balance due. So a phone call to the 800# to straighten it out. Wasn’t necessarily the outcome I wanted when I called them but I will accept what I finally ended up with - hey it’s still a cruise!

But I do wonder what would have happened if I had not closely looked at my confirmation within the 24 hour period. Would my cruise have been cancelled because I did not pay the balance and would Celebrity have kept my money that I had already paid?  This is where a travel agent is worth it!

So to answer the OP - NO THE CELEBRITY WEBSITE IS NOT IMPROVING IMO. 

All lives matter - time to ban all cruise ships! 

What I find amazing is that a site like CC who is supposed to be all things cruising does NOT have this story under its “NEWS” section.  This used to be the site I first came to for reliable cruise news but I have found in the last year or two I can not rely on CC for reporting all news cruise related. 

I’m disappointed- no one mentioned their preference for pre/post stays being included...

Muranos for lunch - oh yeah! 😋

The Auckland port is a cluster-duck! I suggest you walk out of the port and across the street to a hotel and grab a taxi. It will save you a lot of time and headache. 

13 hours ago, MomC said:

Could you elaborate on what you visited in each port in 

Cuba?  How about the nightclub you visited?  We are sailing there in November and are not sure what to see. It looked like you were on private excursions.

 

Thanks!

Mom C

Yes we did private excursions in each port.  In Havana we had Lauren with Blexie tours show us around.  This was very enjoyable.  

In Cienfuegos we did 2 tours.  I do NOT recommend Caribbean Pearl tours.  We got shafted with them.  This tour took us to Trinidad.  It takes more than an hour each way to drive there and we felt it was not worth it.  Could have been the guide we had as well but we do not recommend going to Trinidad - wasn't our thing.

The second day in Cienfuegos we used Viajes Vintage Tours.  Our guide wasn't the best but we did enjoy the tour to Nicho Waterfalls.  Lunch was a bust - we were not brave enough to eat at a local's house where the fresh meat was not refrigerated and the dogs & chickens were roaming around the dining area.  

Our tour in Santiago de Cuba was the best!  It was also the most expensive upfront but everything was included - entrance fees, food, water.  We used Out of the Box Tours.  Our guide was excellent, though I can't remember his name.  We did the Natural Wonders tour, visiting a botanical garden, the Gran Piedra, and an old coffee plantation.  We think this may have been the best tour as well because we were in a modern car with great shocks!  IMO a 60 minute ride in an old car in Cuba is all that is really needed to get the experience.  Any more than an hour and you are putting your body through unnecessary roughness on the field that will just get you a 5 year penalty at the end of life.

I wanted to go into Santiago the evening we arrived to go to a nightclub but my wife and daughter were not interested so no wild partying for us sadly.

Hope that helps - enjoy your cruise to Cuba!

My wife, teenage daughter and I took our first Azamara cruise in January on the Journey to Cuba.  The best way we can describe it is that it reminded us of what cruising was like when we took our first cruise in 1989 - the service, the food, the crew, the size of the ship.  

Our first cruise was on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam in February, 1989.  Cost for two people, porthole cabin with airfare sailing 7 days in the Caribbean was about $2700.  Ten years later in January 1999, our cruise on Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas was about $2650 with airfare for a 7 day caribbean cruise in a balcony cabin.  January 2013, two of us sailed in a balcony cabin on Celebrity Reflection on a 7 day caribbean cruise for about $2200, airfare included.  Five years later in January 2018, two of us did a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Regal Princess for about $2850 in a balcony cabin with airfare included.  There have been many cruises in between these (25 in all) varying in length on a variety of ships and cruise lines going to multiple destinations around the world.  My point is that in 30 years the price of the cruise has stayed relatively the same, but as we all know, numerous changes have been made by the cruise companies to keep these prices artificially low.

Which brings me back to Azamara being the cruise we remember from 30 years ago.  Azamara is not a luxury line in my opinion, unless you think Holland America and Celebrity were luxury lines in the 80s & 90s.  Azamara has maintained the quality of food and service and size of ships from 30 years ago.  But in order to do that, you have to pay more.  If you enjoyed cruising 30 years ago on the mainstream cruise lines more than you do today, then open your wallet and give Azamara a try!  

That being said, the one thing we did not care for on Azamara was the lack of a set dining time for dinner.  We are not fans of open seating.  We need to be told what time to eat dinner!  With open seating, the service and attention is lacking from days of old.  We felt service was slow in the main dining room on Azamara Journey, but the food was excellent.  We found ourselves eating many nights at the patio, where the food was just as good AND the service was great because most nights we had the same waiter and there was hardly anyone there.

We will sail Azamara again, but in our opinion it is not a cruise line you would do your standard 7 day Caribbean cruise on - not that they offer one.  We enjoyed the extended stays in Cuba and are looking at the Africa cruises that Azamara offers.  Hope this helps for those on the fence on whether to give Azamara a try or not.

Here is our video of the Azamara Journey cruise to Cuba if you care to watch - 

And here are our pictures if you care to look - 

My teenage daughter is on this cruise. She just sent a text to me about an hour ago saying she had the noro. She did the Falls in Jamaica but was in a small group - just her and 1 other person. They both caught the bug. Guess there is something in the water....

Thanks! A few questions if you don't mind.

 

Did you use the wifi on board? If so how was it?

 

Did you notice a shortage of waiters at the pool? Many other reviews have mentioned that and I wondered if that issue had been resolved.

Ahhhh maybe that is why it was the best cruise ever - though we get free internet minutes being Captains Club members, my daughter and I did not use any wifi while aboard the ship - first time ever! Maybe a lesson to be learned here - cut off all communication with the outside world in order to have an enjoyable vacation - you know - kinda like it was in the old days of cruising....

Each time I wanted a drink poolside, a bar server was willing to get one for me, so no - I did not notice this shortage you speak of personally.

Thanks for taking the time to post your review! I loved how multi-faceted it was! We will be on the TA for 16 nights in 2 weeks and your review made me more excited than ever. Any tips or advice that wasn't mentioned in your review?

I am jealous of you doing a transatlantic!

I think I mentioned everything in my review. Since you are on for 16 nights, you should see and experience all the bars I didn't .....

Enjoy!

Good review.

 

I think you will find that once you cruise in Europe, Asia, South America, Alaska and Australia that it beats the Caribbean.

Thx!

We've been to Alaska & Europe and have also done a transatlantic. Yes - ports of call are better there than the Caribbean, but as far as the cruise experience and the ship - this cruise was probably the best so far. We've got Australia booked for 2018 on the Solstice so still a chance to have a better cruise experience!

My wife, teenage kid, & I were on the Reflection for a western Caribbean cruise in January. We all agreed it was probably our best cruise ever. It was the 1st time on Reflection for my wife, but 2nd time for my daughter and I.

Here is my published review - http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=529152

Sorry, I was a bit long winded with that review, so for those that can't read, here is the movie version -

And for those that only like to look at pictures -

I vote the Summit in the southern caribbean. We did the other itinerary on the Summit a couple years ago and loved it. Wish we had the time to do the B2B and catch the itinerary you mentioned.

Don't get your hopes up on particular ports that have tenders, because you may not see them. Been trying to get to Coco Cay the last couple of cruises but it has been cancelled each time due to weather. We almost missed Grand Caymen a couple weeks ago as well. After anchoring, captain waited almost an hour for seas to calm before giving the all clear to go ashore, though missing Grand Caymen would not have disappointed us as much as missing Coco Cay.

Been on Reflection twice and loved it each time, but just booked the Regal for next year in the caribbean. Most of our past cruises have been on Celebrity. Did one Princess cruise in Alaska.

I'm at the point in life after 20+ cruises, I would like to try something different for a vacation - rent a car in Europe for a week, Bungalow in Fiji, all inclusive in the Caribbean, hike the Grand Canyon, etc. Having said that, I have told the family that any future cruise we take has to include at least one new port, hence the reason for Regal - Grand Turk & Princess Cays. We are easy to please so I'm sure we will have a good time, though we are sure it won't measure up to the Solstice class of ships.

On the reflection 2 weeks ago. Wife and I (mid 40s) and teenage daughter. After 20+ cruises, we all agreed this was the best entertainment of any cruise we had taken. From production shows to guest entertainers to live entertainment to passenger participation shows - all enjoyable IOHO. I am one that usually walks out of production shows - just not my thing - but did watch all 3 on Reflection. The house band, LAX, wasn't that great but we still enjoyed them, considering other cruise lines house bands are minimal or nonexistent. We enjoyed the CDs 'style' as well.

Though the weather did not play nicely for this particular week, we felt this was one of our best cruises overall.

Anyone know where Silhouette will be January 12-18, 2017?

She is sailing a 4-nighter January 8-12, and a 3-nighter January 19-22...then back on "normal" 7-night itineraries...but I can't find anything for 1/12-18 (even Googling for a special interest cruise). Figure some cruise geek out there has some way of finding out where she's going! :)

I am wondering the same thing. Just picked up a "Caribbean Deployment" brochure on the Reflection last week and it listed a Jan. 15, 2017 7nt Eastern Caribbean deployment for Silhouette. I get home to look at pricing for that particular cruise because it fits our needs/wants for next year, but nothing to be found for this sailing...

Millennium with the old color scheme - 2002 - San Juan

I'm anxious to see the new Chops menu on Enchantment tomorrow. IMHO they should not put items on a menu in a single upcharge venue that are not included in the price.

I agree - seems a bit tacky, but it's all about supply & demand AND the shareholders.

One thing I have learned very well over the years is that I don't believe any rumors until they are actually completed and can be confirmed. I really believe that crew start rumors so things like this continually happen. I have seen very few rumors become reality!!!!!!!! IMHO!!!!!!

 

Smitty

I have employees. Those employees love gossip. And from that gossip, they like to start rumors! Employees thrive on rumors. Just sayin...

Just returned from the Grandeur sailing out of Baltimore to Bermuda. Being mostly loyal to Celebrity (13 cruises) and after sailing on sister ship Enchantment 2 years ago out of Baltimore, I did not have high expectations for Grandeur. WOW - wasn't I surprised!

To start, we try to sail during times of limited kid population, so was not looking forward to this cruise with 480+ kids after sailing a Carnival ship last summer with 900+ kids. I must say the kids on Grandeur were much more behaved than the Carnival kids. The pool staff tried very hard to keep the kids out of the adult hot tubs on this cruise, though the kids hot tubs were closed a couple of times due to 'accidents' and the main pool was closed once due to an 'accident'. PARENTS - KEEP YOUR DIAPER CLAD KIDS OUT OF THE PUBLIC WATERWAYS!

The food in the main dining room was very good compared to our Enchantment cruise 2 years ago, almost on par with our Celebrity cruises, though not quite the variety or sauces or presentation. We were also glad to see that there was NO singing and dancing by the wait staff in the main dining room, other than the obligatory b-day wishes.

Overall, the ship, along with our cabin was very nice, with little or no signs of this ship being 18 years old. Though I am not a fan of the balconies on these older ships where the super structure is what forms the balcony.

The only big complaint I have is that there were no drink menus at either bar depicting the special concoctions available. I was told by one bartender that this was because of noro-virus and some price changes. So no blueberry-banana mo-rum cocktail for me - just the plain margaritas and mojitos.

I was also disappointed to see an additional charge in Chops Grill for certain items, such as the porterhouse. If I am paying $24 or $30 to eat in a steakhouse, I don't expect to pay another $19.95 for a steak. That is almost $50 for a steak dinner, on top of my cruise fare for the main dining room! BTW, we were the 1st cruise and one of the 1st diners to try out the new menu for Chops - very good flavors with everything.

Grandeur removed our hesitation to try something other than Celebrity ships. We will still avoid Carnival ships though - just not our style.

The BEST CABIN I EVER STAYED IN ON A CRUISE SHIP WAS CABIN #1048, a sky suite on Celebrity Galaxy,

followed by CABIN #6132, also a sky suite, on Celebrity Millennium,

followed by CABIN #6115, you guessed it - another sky suite, on Holland America Oosterdam.

The sky/mini-suite on Princess Coral not nearly as good as the above mentioned.