the penguins

10 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Thank you for  your comments. Curious who does the conversion if not the credit card issuer?

The store/ stores processor. Each purchase shows in the currency of the country you are in and the store will ask if you would like them to change it to your currency - sounds helpful but it just costs you extra. The answer is always "no thank you". The same applies to us on the ship as X will generously offer to convert our account from $ to £. Just make sure you use a card that does not charge a currency transaction/ conversion fee - there are lots to choose from.

2 hours ago, travelbuds said:

We usually bring a couple extra watches while traveling just in case. Thanks.

you will be on local time at every port.

Private excursion companies and private guides will all operate to match the time the ship is in port. No need to stress - relax and enjoy.

As you haven't been to Europe before the following may help: Credit cards are widely accepted (make sure you have one that doesn't charge you a fee) and don't let the Credit card company/shop do the conversion i.e. leave everything in the local currency. You will need a little local currency (Nor). If you have any small bills left don't change them back just use them for any extra tipping on the ship -  

7 hours ago, itsanita said:

We have always used anytime dinning, but for our next cruise it was full and we are assigned the early dinning at 6pm. 

 

That is the time we are leaving most ports.  Must you be in the dinning room by 6pm?   Will they lock you out if you arrive late?   

 

And I read above that you can just go to 'anytime dining' even if you are assigned the early dining?  Is that always true?

ask as soon as you board if you can swop to Anytime - there may well be passengers who are trying to swop to Fixed

On 5/10/2024 at 4:20 PM, Ergates The Ant said:

I’ve never been able to drink enough to justify any of the packages, however much they discount them. And especially when I remember that we both have to purchase the package! I’ve always found the free decaf coffee on Celebrity  perfectly acceptable, and although I treat myself to one cup of ‘proper’ coffee a day, I often save that experience to enjoy ashore for half the price. I’ve hung onto my teeth and their enamel for this long, so I won’t be messing them up now with more than one glass of fruit juice a day and one can of ( diet) fizz, and I’m very fussy about tea. I’ll take my favourite brand of teabags, and avoid paying through the nose for the privilege of being given a posh tea bag and a cup of tepid water to dunk it in. A glass of wine with dinner, and maybe a Bailey’s afterwards isn’t going to break the bank, and I’d have to splash out on the premium package to cover the Baileys. So it’s a no brainer for us to pay as we go. 
I wonder how many people actually save by buying a package? Obviously it doesn’t hurt Celebrity or any of the cruise companies if passengers don’t drink up to the limit. And given the inflated on board prices, it probably doesn’t matter if everyone drank themselves silly, as presumably most of the alcohol is duty free, so an even bigger mark-up.

How many people save? Not the majority otherwise X wouldn't be offering the packages. 

53 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I will likely book Princess also.  Don’t want to wait and find out it is on an E class ship.

Princess are using Sky 14 days from Southampton - we will book if and if with a refundable deposit will hope to switch to X but only if its S class.

On 10/5/2023 at 1:03 AM, Jetswdo said:

ok, at the risk of sounding totally stupid,  does the video on the app have to be watched on the ship upon embarkation? It is on the app now already.  Is it very crowded to go in the am upon boarding to Murano?  Just wondering.  Anita

Not stupid. We we watch it before boarding. Go straight to the cabin pick up key, drop bags, go to muster station (usually the MDR on Deck 4 for the cabin we like) then to Al Bacio for our first lattes - job done. 

On 5/11/2024 at 4:21 PM, Mark_K said:

Yes, I’m waiting, no I don’t have an idea.
 

Particularly waiting for August, 2026, cruises around Iceland, northwestern Spain, or the western Med, at the time of the solar eclipse.

 

Cunard and Princess have already announced theirs.

We have already "pre booked" with our TA for Princes' Solar Eclipse cruise which goes on sale 23 May - X is way behind with this.

3 hours ago, BeasleysMom66 said:

 

Whether is is enforced isn't the issue.  Your claiming that Celebrity isn't telling passengers to have their entire party together for check in/boarding IS.  Enforcement I am certain is entirely port dependent but I am sure that if denied boarding due to the entire group not being present but intending to sail telling the port agent that @crazyank said it isn't enforced is sufficient for them.

perfect explanation. For sure if it goes wrong at check in crazyank won't be there to take the flack. As an aside Southampton for one is a port that checks (or at least it did last time we cruised from  there) that the whole party is there before even allowing you access to the terminal building.

On 5/3/2024 at 9:04 PM, NMTraveller said:

OK.  Has anyone done a Princess Norwegian Fjords cruise?  It is looking like HAL vs Princess right now.

If you really want Fjords fly direct to Bergen and take the 12 night Classic Round-trip on Hurtigruten - 22 ports, right up to the North Cape - no need to take the more expensive Exoedition Cruise. You visit Fjords that lines like X, HAL, Princess etc can only dream of. Great local food served on the ship. Excellent viewing areas. Wide range of tours - don't miss the exclusive night concert in the Arctic Cathedral. Not your classic cruise but a true adventure. All the ports you stop at in the day going North you stop at in the night coming back and v.v. 

We went over Christmas and New Year. Also been on X and Royal both good in their way but no comparison with the Hurtigruten experience ( we have also been to the Antarctic with H hence our CC name).

4 minutes ago, crazyank said:

Not true.  there is no such requiremnt

Please see Post  27 above for the proof that there is.

42 minutes ago, pilot said:

Passengers are not required to check in together. Not sure why you think this?

Thanks to BeasleysMom66 - for the written proof.

21 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

yes, we are splurging on this cruise since we're on for so long! 1st leg in a Celebrity suite, 2nd leg in a Sunset Sky Suite!

have a great cruise.

Love your CC name - it's the boss's (Anita's) initials and maiden name. Our grandson lives in Dallas and we will be staying with him in November sadly flying both ways whereas normally we do one way as a Transatlantic cruise.

6 hours ago, pilot said:

I would go on the cruise and not mention your spouse passing. They won’t ask. Couples have been known to check in at different times. 
 

On return I would make the insurance claim. Celebrity has your money and has nothing to do with insurance. You are not trying to make a false claim. AON should just process your claim. 

All passengers on a booking are required to check in together so yes they will ask.

If you are in the UK you have to tell your insurance company of any likely claim "as soon as possible" and therefore waiting until your return would not be an option. 

17 minutes ago, Ergates The Ant said:

Thanks for that information, Arizona Wildcat. Sad that so few states treat service workers with the same privileges that others enjoy. It’s the shame that all the cruise lines operating out of the UK don’t employ the same gratuities included policy that they do out of Australia.
I just find it bizarre that I am quoted an often very high price for a cruise, and then discover that I’m supposed to pay extra for elements that I would have reasonably expected to have been included! Just seems ridiculous to me, but I’ve learnt to just roll my eyes and go with the flow!

Can’t understand why some of those who get so agitated by anyone who dares to consider withdrawing the ‘optional’ gratuities, don’t do the decent thing and lobby to get the service charges included in the fare. Like nearly every other industry, and most of the world.
 

Decent thing?

1) Your suggestion would make no difference to the total price. 

2) you know the current way the tips are presented as "optional" are really only done that way because it's normal in the US and 80% of the cruise lines passengers are from the US/Canada.

3) having tips separately has I believe tax advantages to both the cruise line and the crew. 

4) you have the option to book with cruise lines that include tips (P and O, Virgin etc).

5) you also know that removing the tips means some crew work for less or have you found a way of tipping for example the laundry staff?

We would like to see taxes, port charges and tips all included in the basic price but until they are we will not penalise the crew.

By all means lobby the cruise line but in the meantime please don't penalise the crew.

1 hour ago, ScottC4746 said:

While I was in chat about some other issues, I asked about the allotted arrival time.  My previous Seattle cruise in Sept 2022 we showed up about 2 hours earlier and had no problem.  Coming out of Covid I think they just wanted us to move on and not hang around.  We were still having to mask up in the terminal building.

The chat agent told me, correct that was the case back then but now they are trying to get passengers to stick to the allotted time.  She did say I could show up early and ask and they can see if they can accommodate, but to be prepared to go into holding until our time.

X asks you to stick to the times.

Some ports enforce the times some don't - remember port staff are not X's employees.

If you decide to turn up early just accept that you might be asked to wait - it's your choice.

15 hours ago, ajtaylor29 said:

Hubby and i love cruising, have enjoyed every cruise and cruiseline (some more than others, of course!) and in recent years we've been pretty loyal to Royal. We started on Carnival years ago, then shifted to Royal, with 1 on HAL and 1 on Crystal sprinkled in. However, I've been wanting to branch out and try some new lines, particularly Celebrity (i know, sister co. to Royal) and eventually NCL, maybe Virgin, maybe MSC, etc. Hopefully we'll get to spend our golden years cruising all over the world! (we're 60-something now).

So, we started looking at cruises for next year in Northern Europe, and came across a B2B opportunity on the Eclipse: Best of Scandanavia (13 nights), then Iceland, Ireland and Scotland (13 nights). They both sounded so amazing that we couldn't pick so we decided to do both!  It's may/June 2025. We've never booked that far out either so the waiting will be something new for us.

I'm a little nervous as we've never sailed this long, and it's a new ship/new cruiseline for us so i hope we like it!!!

I know it's an older ship, and we're fine with that. But, for those who have sailed on Eclipse recently please let me know your thoughts! I believe i read that Eclipse will be in dry-dock next March, so when we board in May we'll hopefully have some new carpet!

Great choice. Eclipse is one if our favorite ships and the one we chose to celebrate our Golden Wedding on. We love all the S class ships. You haven’t mentioned your cabin but for us deck 7 or 8, rear facing balcony on the hump and with the bed next to the balcony is just perfect. My wife has mobility issues and having the couch nearest to the door gives us much more space. The forward facing Sky Lounge has great views and a variety of seats. As we don't drink alcohol our "go to place" is the Cafe Al Bacio. Shows in the main theatre will be 7 and 9pm - the latter the most popular. We have Anytime Dining precbooked for 6.30 always at a sharing table  (we eat as a couple every day at home) which works great with the theatre time.

Enjoy.

13 hours ago, keesar said:

If I have left over OBC,  I split it among deserving staff who made my trip special.  Go to Guest Relations to get a form and then have those deserving individuals add their names and employee numbers.  I then write in the amounts and return the completed form to Guest Relations.  Very simple.  

The Boss (Anita) makes sure ours is wisely invested in the Casino.

13 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Thank you for your insight on the Ovation rescue. Let's all hope the Edge medical transfer goes similarly. As an aside unbeknownst to me the patient transfer was actually shown on the in room TV cam.

in our experience it's standard practice for the ship to show the event on the cabin tv's as it keeps passengers off the deck. 

2 hours ago, baw53 said:

We are in the UK.I booked the “Cruise Only” fare.Don’t want Wi-Fi and we are both TT , will pay as we go for any coffees or soft drinks other than those available in the buffet.Might/might not  take a few cans of Pepsi and a bottle of squash to dilute with tap water to drink in our cabin  .Have ‘Anytime Dining’  .I had the option to add any  or all of the extras ….Drinks,Wi-Fi and Gratuities separately.  I added ‘ Gratuities .They appeared on my invoice and as it is past ‘ final payment’  I have now  paid them in full .I will take cash (GBP) for any extra extra tipping at the end of the cruise.

Don't know your route but if you have any left over currency for example Euro, use that for tips rather than change it back. The ship will change/handle any currency for the crew at better rates than they give passengers.

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

That drinks dispenser is in the oceanview buffet, not the MDR

true, but we have always been able to order any of drinks served from those machines in the MDR. 

9 hours ago, Ergates The Ant said:

I’ve only ever been required to prepay gratuities on the UK site, when I was booking anytime dining. There was no availability for anytime dining on my recent booking, only fixed ( late) dining, and I didn’t have to prepay.
Usually, I will prepay anyway for convenience, but this time I will have them added daily to my on board account, and pay that with cash, as I have some US dollars left over from a cancelled holiday.

What I meant by saying the service charge is included in the prices in the UK, is that the restaurant is entirely responsible for paying the staff wages (plus all the other overheads of providing the meals) unlike the situation in the US.

That obligation was dropped a long time ago - wrongly in my opinion but that's a different issue.

To my knowledge all restaurants in the US pay their staff a minimum wage but the tips there play a much bigger part than here in the UK.

9 hours ago, lwid77 said:

what is the standard?  Sorry, I am a new cruiser and don't have any idea what that means.

The "auto grats" included in your fare are split as shown below.

The figure shown for the Room Steward is not shared. The behind the scenes people ( laundry, cleaners get their share from the $2 figure.

All drinks bought on the ship have grats added or included automatically.

The Somellier is not included in "auto grats" but a grat is added /included to any bottle you purchase.

No obligation to pay any additional tips.

The current grats and how the ship divides/shares them are. You can get a copy from Guest Relations - just ask.

2 hours ago, wtang said:

What complimentary beverages are available in the MDR?  Is it just water, unsweetened iced tea, and coffee?  I don't drink any alcohol and only occasionally have a Coke.  Just wondering what my MDR beverage options would be if I don't purchase a non-alcoholic drink package.

Lemonade, cranberry basically anything you can get from

the self serve machines in the Buffet.

4 hours ago, cruizingOmi said:

are you talking Gratuities on the Drink pkge, then yes,or the Daily Gratuities then only if you book on the UK website as  per Consumer Law .

I live in Canada and booked a Norway cruise, which leaves out of Southhampton, and had to check the box for Prepay Gratuities

 

UK /European Law does not require the Daily Grats to be included in the basic price as the Grats are technically optional. The only things that must be included are "non optional items" for example port charges and taxes which are charged as extras in the US/Canada.

3 hours ago, Ergates The Ant said:

You won’t make a saving though, as far as I understand. The prices for UK drink packages will be 20% higher, to include the cost of the ‘tips’, ditto the cost of individual drinks on board. A coffee in il Bacio is $5 on our upcoming cruise, whereas I’m sure I’ve seen it previously at $4 plus of course the 20% gratuity. 
Annoyingly, they don’t do the same with the cruise fare in the UK, so that is an extra added on afterwards. It would make things much simpler here if it was included. If it is a compulsary payment, it has to be included in the overall cost, to comply with UK law. Therefore it has to be deemed a discretionary payment, and as all Brits are used to having the service included as part of the costs of meals out, drinks, or even hotel stays, it’s not surprising that it is regarded as an actual ‘tip’ or little extra for over and above, and often removed in favour of rewarding those who go beyond what would be expected.

neither we nor any of our UK friends remove the auto tips. Removing auto tips has only one result - some crew members will be working for less than they would otherwise get. None of the restaurants we go to in the UK include the service charge (unless it's for a group booking). 

When tips are included in the drinks price in say the Al Bacio this inevitably results in the prices being "rounded up",