celebrity

Thanks John Bull and Globaliser. Feeling a bit overwhelmed as I've never sailed from Southampton.

I'll be flying to London from NY next October for a cruise from Southampton and have heard so many

negative things about Heathrow. Will stay in London a few days pre-cruise.

Would I be better off flying into and out of Gatwick? TIA

I am hoping it is on our April Liberty sailing, I have it next week on my Brilliance 12 day cruise, it is not listed yet

Hey! We're sailing with you. I purchased it for my husband. Sea ya Onboard!!

How large are the tenders?

That's why I like the drink cards. They can be shared and still allow you to get the drinks at a discount. I just wish they offered them for the entire trip. We don't really drink enough to warrant a drink package but the cards are handy.

 

 

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Have never had it offered on any of my cruises. I hope it's available on Brilliance.

Lol. The CC police would be out in full force!

Bet they are also chair hogs who smoke on their balcony! :eek:

Not sure why you didn't ask on the huge Rome in Limo thread...

 

When we used a guide, the fee went to Rome in Limo, and we tipped separately. I imagine the relationship between Rome in Limo and the guide is private.

I see it got moved. Funny thing is that I used them 3 years ago and I don't recall if I paid the driver or the tour guide.

Was reading a tipping thread on another board and it just dawned on me that although I pre paid for my tours, I am supposed to pay the private guide RIL reserved for me in cash.

Does anyone know if that entire amount goes to the guide?

GIOVANNI'S was fabulous. I am so disappointed that it has been replaced by JAIMIE'S on other ships. Food is very subjective, but Jaimie's Italian doesn't come close to Giovanni's in my opinion. We first tried Giovanni's for lunch and then went back for dinner, and it was even better. Went we went to Jaimie's for lunch, we were all disappointed with our meal, and never returned. Enjoy your meal there.

I read the menu at Jaimie's and took a pass on Quantum so really looking forward Giovanni's.

We have found them to be very accommodating. If what you would like us on the menu but accompanies another dish there should be no problems.

 

I have had them make the scallop appetizer into an entre for me

Thanks so much! Looking forward to it!

We are reserved for our upcoming cruise and I'm wondering if I can substitute items on the menu?

Ex: If I would prefer a baked potato rather than roasted, can that be done?

Because having a sink there would be messy; because they assume people have washed their hands after going to the bathroom; because it is better than nothing; and because sanitizer does kill other bugs.

Quantum and Anthem do have hand washing stations and everyone I saw used them. Wish they were on all ships.

I can't fathom not tipping a private guide who has spent an entire day with me.

Am I wrong to assume they are not expecting a tip?

Astonishing! I cannot understand how anyone in a service position could take it upon himself to act this way! :eek: Since we are in a "tell-all" environment on these boards, please, tell us, what ship were you on?!

 

And I am wondering this: why do you cruise in suites if you have no use for the butler? (who in this case, to his shame, clearly has no use for you!! :mad:) Is it to luxuriate in the size of your cabin and enjoy the suite lounge, etc? I've often wondered whether paying for a suite, if I could afford to one day, be worth it to me, since I, like you, don't think I would be able to put the butler to good use...

 

 

Wow, the level of "badness" of service you experienced is outside the limits of what I had imagined was possible on a cruise! :eek:

 

Kudos to you both for turning lemons into very refreshing-sounding lemonade!

Thanks. In the scheme of things, it really is small stuff. We are blessed to travel and appreciate

all that we have,

Happy Sails!

Now, I really hope this post doesn't offend anyone as it involved the dreaded tipping, but most years that we cruise, we get a suite that has a butler. I am extremely lucky that I'm able to cruise this way and appreciate and savour every single moment of our lovely cruises! Oh and for the record, we don't really utilise the butler, we are very easy going and just like to be left to our own devices, enjoy the room, the ship, the ports, we are no trouble! Anyway, last year our butler was just downright mean, particularly to me, I guess I look a bit younger than my age and he took it upon himself to lecture me at every opportunity on food, what I was wearing, on the tan lines I had and how that was unacceptable etc etc. Well, we turned this into a positive, it became a bit of a standing joke between myself and my partner, wondering what he was going to lecture me on that day! It actually made the cruise more fun and it gave us a bit of sport! Down to the tipping.....yes, he got his prepaid gratuity, but no, the extra money we set aside for him was spent in Barbados airport on booze, which made the flight home very nice for me as a nervous flyer, we even raised a glass to him! Nothing upsets us on our cruise, we love every moment and turn the negatives into positives! :)

I serious love you!

We are the same. Need to check my cruise count but almost 3O sailed and have had a fab time

on all.

We sailed Quantum in April 2015 and had the cabin steward from hell!

When cabins opened, we headed down to discover our room wasn't even touched.

No problem..go up to the pool deck for an hour and chill.

Go back and discover stil not ready. No biggie..we are on a cruise.

Back to the cabin an hour later and the steward apologizes for the delay.

I give him my formal dress to be steamed for the following night and it doesn't reappear until 4 days later when I asked for it.

No biggie..we are on a cruise.

Forgets to leave us soap, towels, forgets to clean the room one day, no biggie..we are on a cruise.

It was a running joke with my sail mates on what he would do next.

He was never rude, just inept.

I never complained to the Hotel Director, kept my auto grats in place but when we rec'd the "envelope" for add'l grats, we laughed our heads off.

I feel your pain. Everyone raves about Princess and I have no doubt that it's great.

Having sailed with Royal and Celebrity for the majority of my cruises, it's tough to give up the perks I've earned over the years.

Only sailed Princess once, on the Crown to the Carib and it was just ok.

However, Alaska is all about the scenery so it's a real tough decision.

When my time comes to sail, I will carefully weigh all my options.

After reading the last few posts I decided to try and read my original post as if I was an outsider and I'm not convinced I would have said anything any different

 

He honestly cannot be bothered to do any research and as I said, once we have made the JOINT decision of where and when we are going he will leave the footwork to me. The upcoming cruise we have booked was actually one of three that I had found; one (which I actually favoured more) was discarded because of price and no New York other than as a port stop and the second one (which I again favoured more) was discarded because...actually I'm not sure why...probably because once again New York was only offered as a port stop.

 

Klfrodo, yes I know he loves me as I love him :o I certainly wasn't trying to emasculate him in any way and I would hate anyone to think I was.

I understood exactly where you were from because that's me!

Married 37 years and I do all the booking, planning, research, packing, etc.

We both love travel but it's all on my shoulders. It can be exhausting and overwhelming.

My DH just thanked me last nite for all my efforts over the years and admitted if it was up to him, we would never have had all these wonderful memories.

Just once, I would like him to take the lead but it will never happen.

OTOH, I love the fact that he just goes with the flow.

It works for us.

YAYAYAYAYA!

 

They found my lost Fedex! The staffer at my US Reps office pulled her sh*t together and reached out to their sources and after finding tracking numbers, names, etc, was able to find my actual Fedex with my request for my copy of FS 240 (Consular Report of Birth Abroad).

 

I am told it is now 100% in the right hands and I should have something to me in the next week :)

 

Fingers crossed all!

What a saga! I am so sorry for you! Please update us.

Sending positive vibes.

Oh no! I have cabin 8588 on Brilliance.

There are many other cruise lines to choose from, and some of them are actually very nice!:):):)

 

I am Loyal to my Wallet. :D

 

BILL

I'm with you on this, Bill!

Priced out a 5 day to Bermuda on Anthem for

next June in a standard balcony cabin.

The "Bogo Sale" would cost me almost $3k with taxes, port charges and

insurance. No Diamond balcony discount permitted.

$600 a day for 2 people is insane. 😡

Why would you register with the State Department? The cruise line knows who you are and your passport. Same for the airline.

We will be flying in and staying after so I thought it would we wise in today's world.

Planning on doing so on my upcoming Med cruise.

Is it too early for a trip next month?

Thoughts?

Favorite cruise line is Celebrity.

Favorite ports: Barcelona, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Santorini, Ephesus,

Athens, Valetta.

Looking forward to Venice, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Florence so my list

may change.

I was thinking the same thing. They probably have some great stories to tell! That's one of the fun things of going to the DL/CL, hearing some of the fun stories of people's past cruises, and getting some ideas of what you might want to do in the future.

I'll never be Pinnacle but have taken some memorable cruises thanks to the tips from my well

traveled friends. 😎

I think it would be great! I love conversing with

others about their past cruises. They could give me some ideas for

future trips, recommend excursions and I'm sure they have some great

stories to tell! 😄