hubofhockey

Celebrity constantly refreshes its ships. Princess doesn’t. We cruised Princess and went on the Royal Princess when it was Princess newest ship. Princess cut corners, with small balconies and the elimination of the second club. It also seems a bit less casual than Celebrity. Maybe it’s my tastes changing, but I believe that Celebrity does everything just a bit better (except for self serve laundry).

Interesting, while the limo/bus quotes 90 minutes from Narita to the Okura, the hotel's website says 120 minutes. That is probably the worst option after a 13-hour flight out of Boston. The advice on Narita Express to Tokyo Station makes sense. The hotel says 60 minutes to Tokyo Station and then an 8 minute taxi ride ($14 to $18). My flight gets in at 4:15 pm. I suppose I would get cash at Seven ATM and SIM card before or after customs and luggage. Should I figure no earlier than a 6:30 or 7:00 pm train?

Well, Bruce, the advice I got from a local on TripAdvisor agrees with you that the Narita Express, even if slower than the Sklyliner, is a better option, with a taxi from Tokyo Station to the hotel.

I have not seen on any website that Keisei exaggerates about the 41 minutes. The TripAdvisor forums and reviews are pretty consistent on the 40-minute ride (36 to Nippori Station). The only reason I would take the bus is door to door service and only 1/2 hour more in total. If it's 41 minutes to Ueno and a 7 minute taxi, that's really close to an hour, considering getting my bags off the train and then getting out of the station into a taxi. I figured for 1/2 more, it might be worth it just to get on the bus. I suppose the most annoying thing for me would be all of the stops before the Okura. I would hope the bus would only stop at hotels where there is a drop off, but don't know. We have 10 months to figure it out.

Sorry, it’s the Skyliner, which travels at 160 mph, but might not be called a “bullet” train. I know it takes 41 to 44 minutes. https://www.keisei.co.jp/keisei/tetudou/skyliner/us/skyliner/index.php If they go 160 mph, then they are 26 mph slower than bullet trains, but 41 minutes to central Tokyo is still pretty good.

Oops on above. I see you don't want to take the bus. We considered the bullet train and then a cab from the station in Tokyo, but sounds like you might need two cabs from there.

We are flying into Narita next May and I researched this (to Okura Hotel). The choices were a bullet train and the a taxi or the Airport Limousine Bus, which stops at all hotels and takes about an hour and half. We decided on the Airport Limousine Bus. I just don't want the hassle of changing trains or even taking a taxi from the train station with all of the luggage. Click on the link and you will see it stops at the Hilton and these run every hour. Depending on our wait, we'll either get cash and a SIM card at the airport or once we get to the hotel. Edit - This is $23 per person (3200 yen)

I am on 5/15/24 and I know there are open cabins (not regular verandah, but others). You are pretty patient waiting for a cruise that 2.5 years out. So much can change between now and then. I don't get those defending actions which are indefensible. I suppose what bothers me most here is the low margin bookings SEEM to be the ones being canceled, so it just appears to be a little corporate greed here, almost to the point where the cruise line is making the most of its mistakes. I love the actual Celebrity product, specifically the M class ships, which Celebrity constantly updates and upgrades. After my Japan cruise next May, I will probably not book Celebrity anymore because of their new policy on grabbing 100% of deposits on nonrefundable deposits. Maybe I would consider booking a cruise, but only a nonrefundable very close to final payment on a good deal. The refundable prices get to a range where more premium lines cost about the same. I'll look for Azamara and Oceania or even other options.

Well, then maybe they shouldn’t just come out and say 2025. Say, “we will work with you to find any Japan itinerary with open cabins”? Also, they only gave them until TODAY to act on this, otherwise they’re just refunding and you’re SOL. At that point, the great deal some may had just gets blown up. Many of these people were there for Celebrity when Celebrity needed them to book. If they book new cruises, they’ll be subject to Celebrity’s new penalty rates with non refundable deposits. I’ll tell you somehthing. I won’t be booking anything with Celebrity after my next cruise that makes me subject to losing 100% of my deposit.

Just like people are free to defend the cruise lines here, I suppose I am free to criticize those people as wrong and insensitive. The way I feel when I see the people wronged by Celebrity here is that it’s not their fault and it could happen to me. That’s the only fair to look at it before hitting the submit reply button. Be grateful you are not walking in their shoes. I have seen many petty complaints against cruise lines in the several years I have been on Cruise Critic and can promise you these are not that.

Came across this while searching for something else and it made me smile for a couple of reasons. The first is that it sounds like the last Carnival I cruise I took about 12 years ago. The second is that some of this stuff is arbitrary and can happen anywhere, especially when large groups book cruises. I think it's another reason we stopped booking all Caribbean cruises and any cruise on a very large ship. In any case, sometimes I think I have gotten older and that I am the one with shifting tastes and that influences the lines we book as well as itineraries. We have Celebrity M class ship for Japan and not expecting any of what is mentioned above, but we are now focused more on Azamara and maybe Oceania, especially in light of X's new policy on nonrefundable deposits. Azamara will return everything (maybe not a processing fee, not sure). OP here has kids so maybe Azamara and Oceania aren't good options, but maybe concentrate on unique itineraries on M class ships and you won't run into that.

Not a fan of defending any cruise line that makes a series of mistakes and compounds the mistakes by offering poor solutions. Nobody should be defending any of this on Cruise Critic. That's just being insensitive to people who have had this happen to them. PLEASE STOP. There are 2024 Japan itineraries that have unbooked cabins, so those should be offered before offering something two years out.

Wonder why they didn’t offer to move you to the 5/15/24 cruise. Last checked, there was availability on it. We just moved to it from the 4/21/24 (we were not canceled, but needed to make the change because our own plans changed). Pushing someone to 2025 seems extreme.

I am pretty sure there is plenty of room on the 5/15/24 Best of Japan itinerary. There are several Aqua Class, Concierge Class, and outside cabins available (verandah and inside are sold out). If people on Cruise Critic tell you 2024 is sold out, there's a good chance they're mistaken.

They put the hammer down on non-alcoholic packages.

Read the whole thread. I may be crazy, but I'm not a masochist.

The overbooking cancellations have seemingly only impacted certain cruises in 2023. Everyone has an opinion on this. My theory is that they purposefully overbooked and I have my reasons for that, which relate to algorithms based on expected cancellations before final payment is due. One policy change recently made gets me there. It used to be that you would book a non-refundable cruises and only risk $100 per passenger because you could take the remainder as a future cruise credit. That encouraged bookings at favorable prices. They got caught with their pants down when so many didn't cancel, that they were forced to boot booked passengers. They just changed that policy so that now, the nonrefundable passengers will lose the entire deposit. The passengers they were never sure about will now be more likely to keep bookings. They already like the refundable passengers because they pay much more their cruises. All of this tightens up their algorithm. I don't think this any real glitch as it also happened on Wonder of the Seas. It happens to airlines. I have a tough time with "glitches" in booking system explanations. Everyone has an opinion and this is mine. Good chance I'm wrong, but a better chance my Japan cruise on the Millennium will be our last on Celebrity because the refundable prices are way too high and nonrefundable prices now come with risks that are much too high. The refundable prices approach, in total, more than Oceania or Azamara. We cruise for itineraries and love the M class ships and the great itineraries they do, but I think is IT for us.

Thank you for answering my question. I had booked 4/21/24 cruise and that is just about sold out. I canceled and moved to 5/15/24, which has much more cabins that aren't booked yet. Just wanted to double check.

You don’t have to answer may question. Maybe someone else can. This discussion seems all over the place. Some say the Millennium is not going to Japan. Others say only some people are getting canceled by Celebrity.

Everything for 2023 and 2024? Just booked 5/15/24.

You can always pay the difference on a per drink basis instead of upgrading. If we make a couple of trips to the martini bar, it's only $4 (approximately) upgrade there.

I think Qzine is long gone for M class ships. I’m a big fan of Chef’s Tables. Have done a couple on Princess, a great one on Azamara, but never Celebrity. We have Aqua on our Japan cruise next May, but I would take a night off if I could find a chef’s table. I would have to be convinced on Le Petit Chef. Reviews are mixed.

How is the Millennium a "problem"? I had 4/21 booked and moved it to 5/15. It's a little late in the game for them to be canceling, knowing people are starting to book flights, etc.

I lucked out, as it turns out. I booked three weeks later and saved $600 more than my original deal, same cabin. So, giving up the $200 made it a net of $400. However, Celebrity is now ending the $200 penalty and will be taking the entire deposit. Have a feeling that my Japan cruise with Celebrity will be my last with them. I’ll continue with Azamara and maybe look at Oceania.

Six months for an open booking, but if you can still book a cruise over a year out with the FCC, then that is the only way I'd book. The prices at this point are close to Azamara and, to me, that's a better product and deposits are refundable.