DC0743
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Posts posted by DC0743
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The Grand Puget Sound Cruise on American Cruise line was our 40th cruise on a variety of cruise lines with ship ranging in sizes from 120 passenger to 5,000+ passengers. We chose the cruise because we wanted to try one in the northwest. The web-site and brochure depicts "Simple Sophistication" and a "culinary experience". Unfortunately it was not our experience. From the minute we arrived to the time we left it was a series of miss-steps, poor food and service.
Embarkation: We were met on the dock when we arrived by car. The staff took our luggage and said it would be placed in our room. We checked in at the gangway and were told someone would escort us to the lounge to await our room to be opened (check-in from 10:am on but rooms to be available at 11:30). We walked on the ship and there was no staff within view. We waited 10 minutes before we started wandering the ship. We found the lounge on our own and got something to drink. We were told we would be advised when our room was available (it was 11:10). We were never advised and at 12:00 we decided to check on our room ourselves. It appeared to be ready so we moved in.
Cabin: 403: The room was a nice size with limited closet space but plenty of drawers. There is no door on the closet. The room was relatively clean but we noticed some large cookie crumbs by the sliding glass door. The curtains were not hanging properly as they were not attached in two locations. The bed looked like a sway back with about a 2" dip in the middle of each bed. The first night we discovered they were probably the worst beds we have encountered on a cruise ship. We could feel the springs jabbing us in the lower back. When I complained to guest services, she said the bed was replaced at the beginning of the season. If that is actually the case they need to purchase better beds. We did convince them to provide a 2" foam topper and that upgraded the bed to "poor". There is no refrigerator in the room so wine we had purchased could not be chilled. Staff said they would keep it in the refrigerator on ship. They did but they "lost" one of the bottles. The room was very noisy. We could hear the conversations in the next room and hallway. The AC worked well.
Bathroom: The bathroom is a typical cruise ship mini bathroom. Despite the brochure saying it is a "full size" bath and showing a tub, it only has a shower. The shower is fairly small but slightly larger than some ships. The glaring deficiency is the lack of a hand held shower head. Due to the size of the shower and the height of the shower head you have to be a contortionist to wash the lower half of your body. The only good thing I can say is that the hot water arrives quickly and the towels were usually soft.
Public Areas: The ship has two lounges and one dining room. The lounges were generally comfortable and had trays of chips and sodas available 24hrs a day. Cookies were also made available twice a day. Unfortunately the early bird breakfast in each lounge were not replenished properly. If you did not get a rolls or juice in the first 15 minutes, you didn't get any. I only observed the juice to be replenished once and that was only after I ran down a crew member and asked for it. (he only brought up OJ but left the other juices empty) There are a couple small sitting rooms, one that serves as the library. The dining room only has tables for 8 and gets very crowded. The tables should only be set for six as it was very difficult to get the large heavy chairs close to the table. There is a very small laundry room with two small washers and dryers. This is completely inadequate for a ship with 175 passengers and does not offer a laundry service. Average wait time for a washer was over two hours. The workout room had 3 bikes and some type of rowing machine, no treadmill.
Service: The service level was all over the board. I liken it to a high school play -a few knew the script, but most were faking it. Nothing clicked. There was no anticipation of your needs and little notice of items that needed attention. If you didn't complain or ask for something, it wasn't done (and sometimes not even then) Sometimes it was easier to do it yourself than to find someone. The office was often empty. It was impossible to reach any staff by the phones on the boat. I tried on 5 separate occasions to reach housekeeping, room service and guest relations only to have the message say they were on the phone and to leave a message, but then when you try to leave a message it would say that no more messages could be left. I mentioned this at our dining table and the other guest tried it with the same results.
The initial Captain was a ghost. We never saw or heard him. The second Captain (Captain Brown) was only there the last 3 days and he was involved in everything and was very personable and approachable. The Cruise Director (Aundrinea) tried very hard and overall did a good job but there were some items that were not well planned. It appeared she had too many responsibilities and some details were just overlooked.
Room attendants: Throughout the cruise all I heard were complaints from other passengers regarding room attendants and that matched our experience. Dirty glasses not being replaced, paper goods (TP & tissues) not being replaced (I had to hunt both down myself) missing towels or bathmats, room or bathroom not being cleaned. (The cookie crumbs in our room were not vacuumed up for 10 days.) I noticed two blood spots our bedspread the first night that should have been obvious to the room attendant but it was never cleaned. Sheets were not changed very often.
General housekeeping: The common areas of the ship were kept pretty clean, however there were spots on some of the furniture that should have been addressed.
Maintenance: I reported our safe not working the first afternoon and then 3 times after that. (Once directly to the maintenance person) It was never fixed. Several other cruisers complained about lights not working and those were never addressed.
Dining Room: Service varied from atrocious to very good depending on the server . It took us several tries before we found Tamara and we sat at her table from then on. Unfortunately even she was at the mercy of the kitchen staff and they were terrible. (The chef and a waiter were replaced during the cruise).
Room Service: The young lady that delivered the breakfast was very nice but almost always forgot something. Despite having a large do not disturb sign on our door we hear someone pounding on our door. I am in the shower and my wife is in her nightgown. When she opens the door a girl (not the same one that delivered our food) pushes past her saying "I need to get your dishes" .The girl grabbed my wife's half full coffee off the dresser, put it on the tray (we had already stacked the rest of the dishes) and left without saying another word. My wife was so dumbstruck she didn't say anything.
Food: Food was definitely not up to the quality I would expect from a cruise costing this much. Lunch the first day all at our table ordered the BLT. Some received a BL (no T) and some received a BT (no L). This was a forewarning of things to come.
The fish the first night was the driest I have ever experienced. I was going to send it back but every person that had the fish was complaining about the same thing. Breakfast the next day took 45 minutes after ordering and potatoes were cold. Several at our table got up and left because they never received their food. The selection of entrées was limited to 3 items and there were nights there was nothing we cared for. Luckily we soon learned we could order a hamburger or steak as a substitute. The hamburgers were dry as a bone. The steaks were excellent. Other meals were adequate but not reflective of a high end cruise but more like cafeteria food. If the food had been served in a restaurant, the steak would have been the only thing I would have ever ordered again. The soups were usually very good. Our table had a game guessing what chef cooked our food. We nicknamed the cooks Overcook and Undercook as the food usually fell into one of those categories. Rice was always undercooked (until the last night) and meat was usually undercooked. Six of us at our table ate lunch or dinner in town 6 times. The fact we would spend $45-$50 a meal per couple to avoid ship food tells a lot. The pastry chef usually did a good job. The deserts were good and the scones excellent.
Breakfast Room Service: Limited selection. Food was average quality except something would always be cold or missing all together. The day before debarkation they missed our entire breakfast causing us to wait an extra 40 minutes and miss the tender into town. It became a game to guess what would be missing or cold in our breakfast order.
Lounge Evening cocktail hour: There was a good selection of hard liquor but the wine selection was limited. The hors d'oeuvres were plentiful but what should be served hot were always cold or lukewarm. We would always try them but rarely finished them due to the temperature issue. The only ones we could eat are the ones that were supposed to be served cold. The "late Bar" included root beer floats and popcorn. Both were very good.
Itinerary: Puget sound is beautiful and the cruise stopped in some great towns. Unfortunately the sailing schedule did not allow sufficient time in two of the towns. In Poulsbo we had less than two hours in town when you subtracted the tender time. (We only had one hour since we missed the earlier tender waiting for breakfast) The sailing times were a mystery as they did not provide for the best experience in the towns.
Excursions: The choice of excursions was somewhat limited and few were without issues. On the beer tasting excursions we were promised four breweries but only reached three. The last brewery we were allowed a whopping 10 minutes to order and drink our beer. Some participants never even had a chance to order.
The itinerary in the brochure would make you believe that the ship stops in Victoria. It Doesn't. You must take a 1.5 hr ferry to get to Victoria BC and a 30 min bus ride to Butchart Gardens. This did not leave enough time in town and since the ship purchased a group ferry ticket we had to leave on a 3:00PM ferry or pay again for a ticket on a later ferry.
Debarkation: While it started out smoothly it soon went downhill. There was 4 busses but no organization as to who got on what bus. The smart way would have been to load by airline(s) but there was no organization. At the airport only 2 busses could unload at each terminal. This resulted in our bus unloading at the international terminal when almost everyone was flying Alaska airline (a 1/4 mile away). Speaking of our bus, items were stacked in front of the exit door, blocking them in case of emergency. An emergency was likely as the driver spent the whole time talking on the phone and continually wandering into the lane to our left.
Few cruises are without some issue(s) but usually the good far outweighs the bad and the cost. This was not the case for this cruise. Based on all our other cruises and the high cost of this cruise, we had high expectations. Unfortunately they did not delivery. There was nothing to justify the cost. We can get better food and service on cruises for a third the cost.
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The little details can add up by loosing some discounts and lowering other. The total cost between the 2018 and 2019 cruise for same date, same ship, same cabin was $2,435.
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I have always paid full in advance and Uniworld used to give 10% off for that but has stopped that policy. (that's is no small detail: $1,250) Instead Viking basically includes the discount in their price and also gives a 3% discount if you don't use a credit card. Viking recently offered me the $200 and it has been over a year since my last cruise. What is disappointing is that Uniworld is apparently turning their back on loyal customers by lowering their past passenger discount from 5% (average savings $600 plus) to $100.
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On 12/21/2018 at 8:12 AM, philw1776 said:
The problem is that increased demand for the product results in many cruise lines dropping previous incentives that are no longer needed to fill ships. Just when I finally qualify as a previous Uniworld customer. Bummer.
Uniworld seems to be the only line that is ignoring their past passengers. Viking increased their past passenger benefit and AMA is actively upgrading their past passengers (and not at the last minute, but at time of booking). Reducing the past passenger credit to $100 is an insult to their loyal passengers.
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12 minutes ago, bubbulz said:
Sorry to hear that. Our experience was definitely different and we found them extremely accommodating.
Thanks, So am I - as I believe in loyalty
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3 hours ago, bubbulz said:
We just got back last week from our third Uniworld cruise and I have to say I have noticed no decrease in customer service whatsoever. Everything about our cruise was outstanding, and despite the low water issues preventing the Maria Theresa from sailing beyond Vienna, everyone we spoke to seemed to be happy with Uniworld's response. In our case, we chose not to spend an extra day in Budapest (it would have been our 5th day there) and Uniworld guest relations arranged for a driver to take us directly to the ship in Vienna.
Did you try going further up the management chain or using social media to request they simply move your booking to next year rather than giving you the credit? If not, that's what I'd be doing.
They had immediately sent my money back (the same day they cancelled the cruise) and never gave me a chance to move the booking. Yes I did make a post on social media with no response from Uniworld. I had contacted two different representatives at Uniworld regarding the new booking and both had the same numbers. One had previously obtained an additional $500 discount due to my many bookings but this time I was told other than the cancellation credit there was nothing more their manager would do. The fact that they have lowered the Heritage Club discount from 5% to $100 shows that they are not interested in loyal cruisers.
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31 minutes ago, bubbulz said:
Again, as I said in my response to you on another post, have you requested that they change your trip to one for next year at the same price? I've found that management is very able and willing to work with clients - particularly repeat customers - but you have to make the effort to connect with the right people.
We felt that Uniworld guest relations went above and beyond in accommodating us on our recent Danube cruise, even to the point of arranging for a private driver for us.
Guest Relations have been very good in the past, but that was not my experience this time. They gave me the cancellation credit which reduced it to being $735 more than the cancelled cruise and then said "that's all we can do for you". I worked with the same person I booked the 2018 cruise with.
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41 minutes ago, need2travel1 said:
Ouch, that's a big increase for the same trip! It's too bad our River Heritage discounts aren't as good as they used to be. My husband & I are about 99% sure we'll be doing a land tour with Tauck for summer 2019 (more in our price range) instead of a river cruise. Of course there is always 2020 to plan for.
Tauck puts out a nice product. Their 2019 Christmas cruise was about $2,600 less than Uniworld for the same class cabin. It was all inclusive and the only difference was no Butler in suites but I can live without that.
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On 11/18/2018 at 1:36 PM, bubbulz said:
Glad to hear it! Our cruise is just under 2 weeks away and I have to say I've been amazed by how promptly my phone calls and questions have been addressed by Uniworld. I have contacted them both by phone and via FB messages and although I was always assured that the river levels might be fine by the time we sail, they also explained the types of deviations we might experience based on what they've been doing on prior cruises.
The credit looks great until you try to re-book. Our Christmas Market Cruise was cancelled and we were offered the same $1,000 PP. When we went to re-book, we were quoted $2,735 more for the same cruise, same ship, same suite in 2019. With the "discount" we were still $735 short. They should have just offered to move our booking to the next year with no increase.
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On 10/23/2018 at 9:53 AM, acwmom said:
Why not post something on their FB page, or Twitter, or Instagram feed?
Their CEO is Ellen Bettridge, perhaps someone has a direct contact for her. (She has her own twitter and IG feeds as well)
Robin
I have 8 cruises with Uniworld and ever since she took over, customer service has dropped significantly. They are now focused on one time cruisers and have no loyalty to past passengers. Example they lowered their River Heritage (past passengers) promotion from 5% to a whopping $100.
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It is not your imagination. The problem is their new pricing and incentives. When I booked my 2018 Christmas market cruise I received 10% off for paying in advance, 5% for being a past cruiser and another $500 off due to the number of cruises I have taken with them (8). Unfortunately the cruise was cancelled at the last minute due to the low water levels. Uniworld refunded our money but when we tried to book for 2019 we were advised the same cruise, same ship, same room would cost $2,735 MORE. They eliminated all booking incentives except a whopping $100 for being a past passenger. Viking and Tauck offered me more incentives and actually acted like they want repeat customers.
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A month ago I would have suggested Uniworld hands down but now it would really depend on price. For reference I have 8 Uniworld Cruises and one Viking. My biggest complaint with Uniworld is they have NO loyalty to past cruisers and they have reduced or eliminated all their booking incentives. When I booked my 2018 Christmas market cruise I received 10% off for paying in advance, 5% for being a past cruiser and another $500 off due to the number of cruises I have taken with them. Unfortunately the cruise was cancelled at the last minute due to the low water levels. Uniworld refunded our money but when we tried to book for 2019 we were advised the same cruise, same ship, same room would cost $2,735 MORE. They eliminated all booking incentives except a whopping $100 for being a past passenger. They should have at least matched the price I had paid for the cruise THEY cancelled. Viking and Tauck offered me more incentives and actually acted like they want repeat customers. I do love the Uniworld SS ships and the food has been excellent. I just wish their service in the front office (and management) would match that on the ship.
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Hi. We are boarding a Viking cruise in Basel. Does anyone know if there is a store within walking distance of the terminal to pop back out to purchase beer and wine to bring to our cabin? The beverage package upgrade seems VERY expensive if you just want a couple of drinks at night in addition to dinner drinks provided.
Thanks!
There is a grocery store and a wine store. Both are 2-6 blocks away depending on what dock you are assigned to.
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Just a note for those that are still considering Christmas Market cruises. According to Google, Advent is late in both 2018 and 2019; in 2018 it begins on Dec 2 and ends on Dec 24 and in 2019 it begins on Dec 1 and ends on Dec 24. That means that late November cruises will likely miss markets, at least in the smaller towns.
This site is the best reference for Xmas Markets. It has never let us down. http://www.brunnvalla.ch/christmasmarkets/
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I am looking at two different Christmas Market cruises with two different companies. One is with Crystal traveling from Budapest to Vienna. The other is on Scenic traveling from Basel to Amsterdam. Which would you recommend and why? This would be my first river cruise and would welcome any recommendations.
We have taken 7 Christmas Market Cruises. For your first Christmas Market cruise I would recommend Vienna to Nuremberg (or Nuremberg to Vienna). If you are stuck on one of the above two, go with the Basil - Amsterdam! It stops in some wonderful towns. (We are doing Cologne to Basil this year for a second time).
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My wife and I are spending our last night in Switzerland after completing the Uniworld SS Antoinette's Castles on the Rhine July 13-20. JP did such a wonderful job in his thread with pictures and commentary that I will not go over the day to day as he has done. Instead I would like to discuss our trip from a perspective that may help some. When researching my trip I was looking for a luxury experience with as big a room as I could find and a ship that had amenities that were first class. I understand that most are not looking for this so I ask for your patience as I describe my experience from this perspective for those who may be looking for the same.
Uniworld Pre Cruise to Amsterdam:
Being my wife and I's first European experience I chose to utilize Uniworld's pre cruise stay in Amsterdam. It is true that it can be booked cheaper on your own. However, we found it to be a wonderful experience for several reasons. First we were met as soon as we came through customs by our driver who collected all of our luggage and got us to the car in less the 5 minutes. Took us directly to our Motel in City Center. We were immediately introduced to a local guide who would be our host for the 3 days. She gave us her cell phone and a quick orientation as to what to expect. She told us of the included city tour the next day and an orientation meeting we could attend that evening with the other Uniworld guests who had booked the precruise. This turned out to be worth the precruise. There were about 10 couples at this original meeting. By the time we reached the ship on Sunday we had already become friends with at least half those couples and added to the cruise experience with people to eat with and share excursions with. It made for a wonderful experience. The local guide also offered two optional excursion. We took both of them and they were wonderful
The Suite: The antoinette has I believe 7 or 8 suites that are approx. 300 sq ft which is about 100 sq ft larger then the next level and nearly double the size of the basic room. It has a french window infront of the bed and a true balcony with 2 chairs a table and a television with a window that goes down with a touch of a button give you an open air balcony. I used this area extensively early morning and as my wife got ready for dinner. We were only blocked by another ship in one port for a few hours. The bathroom has double sinks. As others have said on CC you are out of your room a lot and if the extra space doesn't matter to you then you can save money. We were able to look at our new friends cabins below the suite and they are very nice but we personally enjoyed the extra room. Finally the suite comes with Butler Service that I will explain below.
Butler Service: We are not butler type people and I would never choose to pay for butler service. However it is included with the suite and it really was wonderful. There are two butlers assigned to the 8 suites. Some of the features they provide are daily fruit trays with 5 or more pieces of fruit provided each day. Cookies are placed in your room at least once each day. Different snacks from popcorn to nuts to banana trips are provided daily. A fully stocked mini bar with beer, wine, soft drinks, etc... is refreshed at least daily. Uniworld provided washers and dryers free of charge with laundry detergent for all guests. We found the need to do two loads of wash after about 5 days. Our butler saw us coming out of the room with our laundry bags and he grabbed them out of our hands and said that he would take care of it. After insisting for over 5 minutes that he didn't need to do that we finally gave up and the next day it came back washed, folded, and pressed as needed. They also provide breakfast in your room. It isn't a set menu but you can ask for what ever you want and they will have it there at the time desired. We only did this once but it was great since we had an early excursion. In short they were always there to greet us with a smile and always asking what they could do to make our trip more enjoyable. The last night of our cruise they brought us a bottle of wine to take home with us.
The ship:
The ship was just beautiful. I understand that some have found it over the top compared to the scandinavian look of many of their competitors. But we found it beautifully decorated with art, tile mosaics and other small touches. It also includes a pool that has jets that allows you to swim against the current for exercise. It also has a small gym with treadmill, eliptical, bike, weights, etc.. We found this helpful in working off some of the wonderful food. They also have bikes available at all ports.
All inclusive: Uniworld truly is all inclusive with the exception of three optional exursions. Alcohol, softdrinks, coffee, water, etc.. is available all day and not just at meal times. All tips for crew, guides, drivers, transfers, etc.. are included.
Excursions: The excursion were wonderful except for one where the local guide was a little slow and difficult to understand for our taste so we just let him know we were breaking away and went out on our own for the rest of the time. The three optional exursions ranged from 39 Euros to 69 Euros. We took 2 of the three and were pleased we did althought the included ones at the same time were difficult to turn down.
Food: The food was outstanding. There were plenty of choices at each meal and they always served Salmon, Steak, or Chicken if you didn't like any of the featured dishes. In the whole week we only chose the standard alternatives once. We also found that any request was granted in regards to food. Adding or subtracting something from the featured dishes was never a problem.
Service: Every staff member we encountered seemed to truly enjoy their work and were alway accomodating and welcoming.
In closing, this was our first river cruise and definitely won't be our last. Uniworld promises a first class experience and they delivered on that promise. If you are looking for a luxury experience on a river cruise then I would highly recommend Uniworlds SS Antoinette and the Castles on the Rhine cruise. I'm sure we will be booking one of their two newer ships Catherine and Teresa in the near future.
I hope some find this helpful
Thanks for the info. This is very encouraging as we had terrible butler service on the River Beatrice. We will be on the SS Antoinette in two weeks and feel more comfortable with our suite selection.
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In reference to DC0743 comments you may find this attachment from Celebrity which came out in February outlines the 3 levels of suite amenity.
Thanks, That lays it out very clearly.
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Last week, I stopped in to see my travel agent to book a cruise and he told me the Celebrity sales representative had just left. He had given the TA an announcement that the new suite perks would be "effective for sailings beginning April 2015" and that there would be "three tiers of new amenities based upon the suite category booked". The announcement listed; free Internet, Beverage Package, Specialty Dining, Exclusive suite lounge & suite restaurant. It did not specify what perks went with what category suite.
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RCL Explorer of the Seas - 10 Night Canada/New England
Celebrity Infinity - 11 Night British Isles Cruise
Oceania Marina - 10 Night Roman Legends
Celebrity Infinity - 15 Night Panama Canal
Uniworld River Beatrice - Danube Xmas Markets
RCL Allure of the Seas - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean
RCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Night Mexican Riviera
Uniworld River Duchess - Rhine Xmas Markets
RCL Mariner Of The Seas - 7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise
RCL Radiance of the Seas - 11 Day Mexican Riviera
Uniworld River Countess - European Xmas Markets
RCL Radiance of the Seas - 14 Night Ultimate Alaska
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Mediterranean
Uniworld River Countess - Classic Xmas Markets
RCL Vision Of The Seas - 5 Night Los Angeles To Vancouver
RCL Radiance Of The Seas - 7 Night Western Caribbean
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Mediterranean
Uniworld River Duchess - European Xmas Markets
RCL Jewel Of The Seas - 7 Night Canada/New England
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Scandinavia & Russia
RCL Monarch Of The Seas - 7 Night Southern Caribbean
RCL Rhapsody Of The Seas - 7 Night Alaska
RCL Majesty Of The Seas - 7 Nights Southern Caribbean
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#1 - ITINERARY
#2 - Comfortable, Quiet Cabin
#3 - Friendly Attentive Staff
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RCL Explorer of the Seas - 10 Night Canada/New England
Celebrity Infinity - 11 Night British Isles Cruise
Oceania Marina - 10 Night Roman Legends
Celebrity Infinity - 15 Night Panama Canal
Uniworld River Beatrice - Danube Xmas Markets
RCL Allure of the Seas - 7 Night Eastern Caribbean
RCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Night Mexican Riviera
Uniworld River Duchess - Rhine Xmas Markets
RCL Mariner Of The Seas - 7 Night Mexican Riviera Cruise
RCL Radiance of the Seas - 11 Day Mexican Riviera
Uniworld River Countess - European Xmas Markets
RCL Radiance of the Seas - 14 Night Ultimate Alaska
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Mediterranean
Uniworld River Countess - Classic Xmas Markets
RCL Vision Of The Seas - 5 Night Los Angeles To Vancouver
RCL Radiance Of The Seas - 7 Night Western Caribbean
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Mediterranean
Uniworld River Duchess - European Xmas Markets
RCL Jewel Of The Seas - 7 Night Canada/New England
RCL Brilliance Of The Seas - 12 Night Scandinavia & Russia
RCL Monarch Of The Seas 7 - Night Southern Caribbean
RCL Rhapsody Of The Seas - 7 Night Alaska
RCL Majesty Of The Seas - 7 Nights Southern Caribbean
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They cannot do enough to make me ever cruise on this ship again, In 28 cruises, my cruise on the Vision was by far the worst experience. It was the worst managed ship with the rudest staff ever encountered. I hope RCL puts as much effort into improving the staff as they do on the ship itself.
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I had heard that getting a Taxi from Cape Liberty Cruise ship Terminal to Manhattan can be a trying experience so I elected to arrange transportation. I contacted Cape Liberty who quoted me $60 for a shuttle or $99 including tip and tolls for a private vehicle for my wife and I. They gave me a number to text with my debarkation info and a telephone number to call when I collected my luggage. They appeared very professional, with confirmation emails. I texted my debarkation info to them two days before the pick-up and then called them at 09:15 when I had collected my luggage and was waiting for pick-up. I went to the pick-up area and found myself with a growing group of unhappy Cape Liberty Shuttle customers. Two groups had been waiting for over an hour for their shuttles to the airport. After waiting for 45 minutes, I called for the status of our vehicle and was told my car would be their in 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, the shuttle bus did finally show up for one of the airport groups. I asked that driver to check on the status of my vehicle and when he tried to call the dispatcher, there was no answer. He tried to call the company owner and again no answer. 20 minutes later I called again and was told the car would be right there. It wasn’t. While waiting we talked to two women from Canada who had purchased the Shuttle transportation to Manhattan from Cape Liberty Shuttle and had been waiting as long as we had. Finally at 11:00 our car arrived. We asked the driver to check on the status on the Manhattan Shuttle, but he said he could not get a phone signal. When we arrived at the hotel, the driver requested the payment, and so I paid him the full amount. My fault as I got this transport confused with another one we had book and had not pre-paid. When I got home, I realized that I had pre-paid Cape Liberty. When I requested reimbursement, Cape Liberty’s response was “too bad”.
Two days after we arrived in New York, we ran into the two women from Canada at the Empire State building. They said they waited another half hour after we left for their ride to Manhattan. During their ride in, the driver demanded and additional $40 for making him wait. When they refused, he threatened to drop them off in the middle of Jersey City.
I would NOT recommend this service! I would recommend Martin Antigua Transportation (917-418-2877) or Victor Li (917-885-1808) we used them (they work together) in Manhattan and were very happy with their service. They were prompt, accommodating and more reasonable than Cape Liberty.
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Cape Liberty Shuttle
I had heard that getting a Taxi from Cape Liberty Cruise ship Terminal to Manhattan can be a trying experience so I elected to arrange transportation. I contacted Cape Liberty who quoted me $60 for a shuttle or $99 including tip and tolls for a private vehicle for my wife and I. They gave me a number to text with my debarkation info and a telephone number to call when I collected my luggage. They appeared very professional, with confirmation emails. I texted my debarkation info to them two days before the pick-up and then called them at 09:15 when I had collected my luggage and was waiting for pick-up. I went to the pick-up area and found myself with a growing group of unhappy Cape Liberty Shuttle customers. Two groups had been waiting for over an hour for their shuttles to the airport. After waiting for 45 minutes, I called for the status of our vehicle and was told my car would be their in 10 minutes. 10 minutes later, the shuttle bus did finally show up for one of the airport groups. I asked that driver to check on the status of my vehicle and when he tried to call the dispatcher, there was no answer. He tried to call the company owner and again no answer. 20 minutes later I called again and was told the car would be right there. It wasn’t. While waiting we talked to two women from Canada who had purchased the Shuttle transportation to Manhattan from Cape Liberty Shuttle and had been waiting as long as we had. Finally at 11:00 our car arrived. We asked the driver to check on the status on the Manhattan Shuttle, but he said he could not get a phone signal. When we arrived at the hotel, the driver requested the payment, and so I paid him the full amount. My fault as I got this transport confused with another one we had book and had not pre-paid. When I got home, I realized that I had pre-paid Cape Liberty. When I requested reimbursement, Cape Liberty’s response was “too bad”.
Two days after we arrived in New York, we ran into the two women from Canada at the Empire State building. They said they waited another half hour after we left for their ride to Manhattan. During their ride in, the driver demanded and additional $40 for making him wait. When they refused, he threatened to drop them off in the middle of Jersey City.
I would NOT recommend this service! I would recommend Martin Antigua Transportation (917-418-2877) or Victor Li (917-885-1808) we used them (they work together) in Manhattan and were very happy with their service. They were prompt, accommodating and more reasonable than Cape Liberty.
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Thank you for the info on the dining table and the cabin noise. Since we will not be able to dine on the balcony it is good to know we can have guests in the suite for meals. I am sorry to hear about the noise from below. Many years ago we had 6102 on the Summit and had no problem with noise. Unfortunately the SA cruise we are booked on is sold out for the second leg and it seems we are stuck. I hope it will stay quiet in 6106 but I will keep an eye out for a possible change as final payment date approaches.
I wish you luck on the room. I think enough people have complained that Celebrity is going to try and mitigate the noise issue. I have spoken to several people at Celebrity headquarters that appear to want to fix the issue. It really is an easy fix - move the noisy entertainers to another venue and use Cafe al Bacio the way it was intended.
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DO NOT BOOK 6104 unless you do not want to go to bed prior to midnight. The room is situated above Cafe al Bacio, which used to be a quiet place to get coffe or a late night drink. Celebrity had turned it into a rock music venue and uses a large amplifier/speaker the is directly below the bed in 6104. The noise in 6104 is horrendous. This music would usually run till past midnight and makes sleep (or even watching TV) impossible. I understand they have also received complaints from 6102, 6106, but can only comment on our experience.
PCR vs Rapid antigen to board ship
in Holland America Line
Posted
That is the same answer I received. They count the day of boarding as one of the days. Also flying out Sunday and now have to take the test in Barcelona on Monday or Tuesday. See you onboard.