the penguins

On 4/15/2024 at 3:54 AM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

The problem on many cruises is limited or virtually no participation on roll calls.

 

I don't believe that's the reason.

The parties were always subject to a minimum number.  Parties were simply not restarted on any ship after Covid regardless of the size of the Roll Call. I believe they were restarted on Royal so presumably X decided the cost/effort wasn't worth it. Very disappointing.

On 4/27/2024 at 9:58 PM, jelayne said:

There is no early boarding for Concierge class.  When you do on-line check in (opens 45 days pre sailing) you select an arrival time from the slots available.  
 On E class ships only Suites and Sunset veranda cabin have an actual balcony.  
 

The floor to ceiling window has a tinted glass.  The top portion can be lowered but only pat way down.  If you stood at the lowered window and were facing the sun you would get some sun on your face and arms, but these cabins are not conducive to sunbathing.  

The chairs aren't "conductive to sunbathing" either. OK for a few minutes but with the low backs, no recline and no footstools relaxing on them would, in my opinion, be impossible. 

5 hours ago, workinmom3 said:

I was pretty much decided on an 8 night cruise on Reflection with ports of Grand Cayman, Aruba, & Curacao. Then I saw we could do an oceanview cabin on the Beyond for the same price & essentially the same itinerary. This will be our first Celebrity cruise. We have always cruised with RCCL and I’m a little hesitant to do an oceanview since we love our balcony cabins but the Beyond looks beautiful. Any advice on which to choose?

For us the balcony but we use it a lot - several hours a day on every sea day.

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We will be doing the same on our own in November 2025.   Little too early to start planning bu may ping you when I get closer for details.

 

 

Hi Jim and Iain - glad you are enjoying your Transpacific -  a route we did on Solstice's maiden crossing to celebrate our retirement. I have used the e mail link on your original post to send you some notes I did in response to an earlier enquiry. Please don't hesitate to email if you have any queries. Geoff

1 hour ago, cruisegirlppp said:

Really appreciate the very valuable information in these posts. We missed a trip to the Falls when we were in BA for a prior cruise and now want to return and include the Falls but the planning seemed a bit overwhelming. Thanks to the these posts I feel like and now I have some ideas that would make it a feasible for people who's age begins with a 7!

see Post 3 - last pic - this was one day before the Boss's 71st Birthday and 2 days before our Golden Wedding Anniversary.

1 hour ago, cruisegirlppp said:

Really appreciate the very valuable information in these posts. We missed a trip to the Falls when we were in BA for a prior cruise and now want to return and include the Falls but the planning seemed a bit overwhelming. Thanks to the these posts I feel like and now I have some ideas that would make it a feasible for people who's age begins with a 7!

14 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

We also did this tour using Tours by Locals guide and making our own flight arrangements.  Our guide was Francis Almeida Barros.   I highly recommend staying in the park at the Gran Meliá Iguazú.  Of course you have to visit the Brazil side as well as I think those are the better overall views.

same guide - highly recommended

7 hours ago, Arubamoose said:

At pandemic lows we bought 100 shares of RCCL, CCL and NCL.

Since then the RCCL stock price has gone through the roof.  We have also had a nice "dividend" of at least $1000 of OBC.  

We haven't cruised the CCL or the NCL ships but will be in the future.

 

 

Would you spend close to $14000 now to get the same OBC?

2 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Thanks for the info on the falls and the excursion.  We are considering a land/cruise option that includes a trip to the falls. This was very helpful.  Thank you 😁.

we did the Falls as a private tour pre cruise sharing with one other couple who we met on the CC Roll Call. We had a private guide for 2 days as it's imperative that you see the Falls from both sides - Brazil for the Panoramic Views and Argentine for the close ups standing right above the Falls. Our Guide enabled us to bi pass all the lines at the Border Crossing even getting one Official to come out to our vehicle to save us from getting soaked - the bus group ahead of us were all made to alight to have their documents checked. Ideally you want a huge rainstorm the night before your visit as this can increase the volume of water by several hundred percent.

the pics will give you some idea of the views - look closely at the first pic and near the top you can just make out where the people on the Argentine side are standing above the Falls.

21 hours ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

...that I stumbled upon this year is the "Shareholder Benefit" program through Royal Caribbean.

 

At the start of the COVID pandemic, stock in cruise lines plummeted, and I saw an opportunity to invest a small amount in something I knew would recover. In any case, if you own 100 shares of RCL, anytime you sail on their ships, you get additional onboard credits.  For me, that's 2 x $100 for the sailings I take this year. Sadly, I was unaware of the credit LAST year and didn't get it for the two sailings we did in 2023.

 

 

1. Who is eligible for this benefit?

·      This exclusive benefit offer is reserved solely for shareholders owning a minimum of 100 shares of Royal Caribbean Group (NYSE: RCL) at time of sailing.

 

2. What is the benefit?

·      $1,000 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on a World Cruise

·      $250 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 14 or more nights.

·      $100 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 6-13 nights.

·      $50 Onboard Credit per Stateroom on Sailings of 5 nights or less.

·      Applicable on any eligible Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises or Silversea Cruises sailing.

·      Excludes any charter or Galapagos sailings.

A great perk when shares were $20 each and dividend was 4 times a year.

Now with shares close to $140 each and no dividend it's a very expensive way to get a few extra $ of OBC.

9 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

We haven't been as lucky.  Mistakes happen, no biggie, but in both cases, we were told they'd be crediting it (we never even signed either receipt) and in both cases, they never issued one.  They might as well tell you "Our bad, to receive a credit go to guest services"

Once the error has been made its always simpler just to pop down to GR to get the credit/refund applied. Do it early in the morning or late in the evening when there are no lines- just takes a couple of minutes.

12 hours ago, gatour said:

Somewhat related question.  I have never taken a Celebrity cruise.  If I book a Celebrity cruise does my RC ststus mstch start on the first cruise or the second cruise.

 

At one time you weren't considered psrt of thrir loyalty program until you took your first cruise.

Your first.

You aren't 'part of their loyalty programme" you are getting a "status match" so you have in effect  already done the cruise.

47 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Fascinating..

and accurate - mind you the Boss (Anita) likes the chocolate and the tea in the triangular packets.

On 4/16/2024 at 1:22 PM, BadgerFBfan said:

Wife has indicated she really would like us to rent a car pre-cruise, so very likely we'll go outside Reykjavik and possibly the Golden Circle. Thanks for the input - appreciate it!

Easy drive and a great day out. At the car rental office the lady put all the major stopping points into the Sat Nav in order followed by the useful advice of " the clue is in the name you will be driving in a circle".

9 hours ago, Newsgal77 said:

I know about dress codes but should I be dressing for spring or much warmer wear? Im starting to think I should be packing my cashmere sweaters and a jacket. Thoughts?

thanks!

East bound or West Bound the answer is the same - layers with the outermost being light water and wind proof.

Enjoy the cruise.

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are Elite+ and my DW will be so excited when she hears hot chocolate is free at Al Bacio, as we will no longer book a cabin with the All Included package and get our bottled water and glasses of wine during Happy Hour!

pleaseed to have helped make your DW happy.

2 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

We are sailing out of Dover next May and need to discover the best way to get there from London.  Will fly into LHR at least a day prior.  

If the rail strikes are over (no sign of it after well over a year) then the train.

Bus/coach from Victoria Coach Station gives you a guaranteed seat and bags at a reasonable cost. Book early for the best prices.

2 hours ago, mfabz said:

Just became Elite Plus Captain's club member.  Please help me understand the -- "Complimentary cappuccino, latte, tea, expresso" -- perk. The person I just spoke with at the Captain's Club could not answer my questions.

 

Does this apply to coffee you may get at Cafe Bacio?  Is there a limit to the number of drinks that you may have in a day? 

 

Any input you may have would be appreciated .

 

Thanks

any coffee, tea and chocolate - hot and iced -  served in Al Bacio. Does not include any version with alcohol. 

Also the same drinks from Al Bacio 2 ( found just inside the buffet on some ships.)

Also lattes etc with dinner (MDR etc).

Also Lattes etc at any bar that has an espresso machine.

No limits on the number of drinks.

Our number one Elite+ perk.

On 4/4/2024 at 10:27 PM, hopelea said:

Aqua sounds like something my husband would love.  We usually book a spa balcony on Carnival.  Not leaving money to grandkids 🙂  Their parents make more than we do.....so we are going to enjoy ours!!!  ❤️

Big draw back for us is that Aqua comes with dining in Blu. Some like it but for us one of the joys in cruising is sharing tables at dinner which means Select Dining sharing tables of 6.

For our retirement we did 5x B2B trans-pacific on Solstice - 60 days on the ship 90 days total - fantastic.

37 minutes ago, bluwes said:

Make sure you do an excursion,  Dover itself is a dump. We sailed out of there a few years ago on the Carnival Legend. Never again

Depends on your interests for any one interested in British history and especially WW11 Dover Castle is a must see. Further afield Canterbury with it's Cathedral is the number 1 attraction while the fishing town of Whitstable ( the Boss and I were born and raised there) makes a great stop for lunch - lots of choices especially fish restaurants near the harbour but our favourite is the Royal Naval Reserve Pub in the High Street - booking recommended.

Fans of the British series "Call the Midwife" can visit the set in Chatham which also has an Historic Navel Dockyard.

6 hours ago, Carol28 said:

We were chatting with a couple from Wales last night on board our Caribbean cruise. We shared that one of our ports on a British Isles cruise in June is Dover. They said we might not be able to get into Dover because of all the immigrants coming into that port. Does anyone have more knowledge about this? What they said is that the captain might choose not to go there. And if that were so, what would be the alternative? We are sailing on the silhouette June 24, I believe is the date from Rotterdam 

total rubbish - illegal crossings have no affect on the port whatsoever.

1 hour ago, squadron said:

On RCI can get card punched at guest Services or casino so I assume it is the same on Celebrity

The electronics in the card makes it very difficult - best solution is a lanyard with a transparent pocket.

5 hours ago, hisfirstm8 said:

This is the first time we will have the beverage package so I'm asking my friends on this board to help me make a list of those drinks that I should not miss.  We usually go for either wine or drinks made with bourdon, but are open to trying different things since we have the drink package.  And we have the premium package.  Thank you so much!!!!

no need for a drink package for us: mixed berry smoothie at the Elite breakfast and a latte in the Al Bacio. We don't drink alcohol. 🤣😇

Enjoy the cruise.

1 hour ago, gvgseg said:

Yes, this is what I normally do. However, I want to make sure that the OBC can actually be applied to gratuities. I ran into a situation on my last cruise (on Norwegian) in which I didn't realize that one type of OBC must be spent onboard and couldn't be applied to gratuities. I didn't realize this until disembarkation day and was then forced into buying a very overpriced picture frame and photo because that was the only thing still open.

X doesn’t work like that. As an example assume your Account is Zero for purchases and has an OBC of $100. Tips go on at $20 the OBC will automatically reduce to $80 using non refundable first. Just make sure your accounts are linked otherwise OBC will only be deducted from one of you. The linking shows on the account.

32 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Royal does on their Silversea ships.

The OP was referring to Celebrity

7 hours ago, gold1953 said:

I did to get the chit to have it done again .. free 

That's what I meant - you gave them several chances to put it right I would only give them one. We have also had 1 item lost and a couple damaged with the value being credited to our account within 24 hours.