tabby50894

On 6/15/2023 at 3:10 PM, hidden_relic said:

Been finding a lot of different information on this, most of it is YEARS old.

Short details:
US citizen
closed loop from Ft Lauderdale

 

I misplaced my passport, and I need to see if it's worth the cost/hassle of getting an expedited emergency passport.

 

Other ports of call I'm ok with proof of citizenship/photo ID to enter
St Thomas (US virgin Islands)
Princess Cays (Bahamas)

Am I going to be stuck on the ship in St Maartin while the hubby goes onshore to do things? Or will I be able to get off?

(i know... life will be hell if we end up missing the ship without a passport, it's a risk)

Can you update what happened?

On 1/25/2023 at 1:43 AM, Glitterati said:

I have a question.

I’ve recently read that you can now only upgrade to Premium from Classic if both passengers upgrade. Is this correct? I literally just upgraded myself for the first week of my B2B before Christmas. Unsure if I’ll be able to do the second week now!

In the past, I was able to upgrade just myself because my husband doesn't drink, but was unable to do so in November. However, if we downgraded his package to the non-alcoholic package, I was able to upgrade mine. Naturally there was no refund associated with his package 😉, but I was able to take advantage of a sale, $6.99 a day for the upgrade. So all good.

1 hour ago, EatonDoolittle said:

If you want to be out on the water, suggest a glass bottom boat / Nylon Pool excursion.  On my last trip to Tobago, I went independently to Pigeon Point beach, and I do remember that it was small, and quite rustic. 

However, while there, we joined a small glass bottom boat trip out to the Nylon Pool leaving from the PP beach, and it was great. 

We stopped out in the sandbar for a swim, and saw plenty of fish and coral reef from the boat.

 

My beach sitting / sun worshipping days are behind me, so next trip, I have booked a ship excursion that does the boat and pool, as far as I know, provides no beach sitting time. This is on Holland America, but I would bet all the lines have something similar. Its a bit of a drive to the beach, so you will see a some of the island on the way there and back. 

Thanks, I’ll check it out.

30 minutes ago, hasentreelake said:

I would discourage you from going to Pigeon Point - particurlary if your cruise ship has an excursion going there.  It is simply not big enough to handle the crowd a cruise ship will bring to it.  

Ok, thanks for that. I hope someone has a suggestion of something to do in Tobago. This is our first time there, so I'd hate to stay on the ship, but perhaps that's the right answer.

2 hours ago, hasentreelake said:

I'm not sure where you got the idea of taking a celebrity excursion would be less crowded.... If I led you to that conclusion, please forgive me - it's exactly the opposite.  

PS - our ships excursion to Pigeon Point Beach was Very Crowded.
Turns out there were so many complaints about this excursion that our money has been refunded.
Haven't actually seen the refund yet, but a note on the door with the advice that we should expect a refund.  

Reasons for the refund (although not stated) were obvious...
Beach was oversold.  Very crowded.  It is a public beach and although there were some locals, it was 98% Celebrity Guests. 
Umbrellas were gone by the time we got there and we were in the meeting line at our appointed tim
The line to get a $5 chair was another long wait.
The surf was very rough and although the red flags were out , the local lifeguards were mostly just socializing with one another.  Many people were roughed up by the sea.
 

Thanks for the clarification. Celebrity excursion is out.😉 Now I have to decide whether Pigeon Point is worth going to at all.

On 11/25/2023 at 3:30 PM, hasentreelake said:

We proceeded to Pigeon Point Beach in several buses this morning at 10:30a.
By the time we got to the beach, all umbrellas were gone and choice locations for chairs were less than ideal.  That said, our location turned out just fine.   The very northern point of Pigeon Point is where the Atlantic and Caribbean meet on this island so the currents are fairly strong. 
When you get to the beach head south toward the small pier - it is the best place to put your chair if you want full sun and loud music (and the best section of beach).  The northern side is a little steeper and less level area.  Tip - don't place your chair on any hilly sandy area.  You will surely get wiped out from the lapping waves.  Place your chair on a level area.  
This beach was packed with Cruise Ship passengers.  A few local families, but mainly what seemed to be a thousand ships passengers.  It was busy but not to point of unacceptable.  
Today the surf was strong and the red flags were out.  It didn't keep people out of the water, but several people took hard spills, twisting ankles and scraping legs.  It was the strong waves and I witnessed at least a dozen (probably closer to 2 dozen) spills including one for myself althought no worse for the wear.    We shared a $20 shrimp, 2 sides, + salad meal and it was plenty for 2.  I think we each drank 3 Carib beers @ $3 each.  Chairs $5 ea. Same with umbrella, but we didn't need one as the north side has plenty of trees for shade.  

In terms of security , I'd say I didn't feel unsafe at any time.  
There was much more a police presence at Fort Lauderdale Cruise port compared to a very quiet port here.   If you are a bit more adventourus, you might consider going to this beach on your own using public transportation.    There were no incidents of any kind that I'm aware of.

 

If I had to do it again I would choose the more expensive Celebrity beach excursion option even though it was shorter time as it likely would not be as crowded. 😀

This is a very nice English speaking island and I wouldn't hesitate to return, but wouldn't choose it as a destination over the many other options.  

 

Interested in your take that it is preferable to take Celebrity’s excursion because it would be less crowded. I’m thinking getting there earlier would be better. Or are you thinking there’s safety in numbers?

We found the various MDR's to be a good alternative to Luminae's limited menu on the Apex. Check the menu ahead of time and pick your restaurant. We had outstanding service in the Cosmopolitan, but this was a year ago when the ship was not at capacity.

We sailed on the Millie to Alaska last August and would hesitate to recommend it because of the food service. Breakfast and lunch food choices in the OVC were very limited. MDR in the evening was always a wait, 45 minutes was the norm regardless of when we got there. Buzzers like from Applebees we’re handed out, and typically malfunctioned.

We were unable to make reservations a day or two  in advance as we had in the past. 
The ship itself is lovely. We had a wonderful time with all of the stops. But it definitely was not up to Celebrity standards.

On 1/18/2023 at 11:42 AM, Flymia said:

Depends on what you want and price range. 

 

Some of the spots in Brickell I enjoy most: 

River Oyster Bar

Edge Steak and Bar 

Crazy About You 

B Bistro + Bakery (for breakfast) 

 

In Downtown(you can walk or take Metromover) 

CVI.CHE 105 

niu kitchen

 

If you want off the boat seafood (uber) 

Garcias 

 

There are also some typical places that offer good meals like Capital Grille, Trulucks etc.. I am not a big fan of the what I call "Instagram" places like Sexy Fish or Komodo though they are popular. 

 

 

Thank you for the tips!

We will be staying at the Element in Brickell in February. Any recommendations for restaurants nearby?

A little late for me to be asking this question, but what’s the difference between Glacier Bay and Hubbard Bay? We cruised to Alaska in August and Hubbard Bay was fantastic.

We have never had a problem with Select Dining until our 8/19 Millennium cruise. No reservations were allowed onboard, and the lines were horrendous. Long waits every night, and pretty much whatever time we went from 5:30 to 7:30. First a line for a beeper, and a 45 minute wait for a table. The last Chic night, lined up at 6, over a 1 1/2 hour wait, couldn’t make the 9 pm show. One can only hope that staffing issues get straightened out. I don’t know if this is unique to the Millennium, but I am rethinking set dining times because Select isn’t working.

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

Reserve tables before sailing.  On Summit in June.  We reserved a table for 2 when we booked.  Glad that I did.  The lines at dinner to get a table were huge. There are 2 lines, reserved and not reserved.   On the first night we were escorted to a table and asked if we liked it.  The wait staff were excellent.  After eating, we requested that table for the entire cruise. Request was noted.  After the first night, we never waited in a line again. We just walked up and went to our table.  We reserved in the select dining area every night 6:30.   Many people don’t realize that you can reserve in Select Dining. They line up every night and wait with buzzers. It’s a mess.  Pick a time and reserve before you embark.  On Summit, they wouldn’t let Select reserve on the ship.  

Totally agree with reserving your table before sailing. Count us among the people that didn’t realize you should reserve in Select before boarding. We have never had an issue with reserving on the ship, but we just got off the Millennium Alaska cruise and we weren’t allowed to reserve on the ship. The wait every night was ridiculous. Everyone had to wait in line to get a buzzer, and then the wait time ranged from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. 

We sail in 12 days, and we still don’t have our eDocs or luggage tags. I was told they don’t want to hear from us until 7 days before the cruise since they are prioritizing by date. We’ve checked in and have our express pass so seems like it should be pretty easy for them to give us access to our electronic documents.

What about a lightweight puffy jacket? Will be going to Denali and doing a flightseeing trip with glacier landing. Is a windbreaker and hoodie enough? 

I’m on the Aug. 19 of the Millie, and I can’t print mine either. Our travel companions got theirs and seemingly everyone else on the cruise has too. Glad to hear of someone else. Although I know you can get your bags tagged at the dock, I just like to have that extra reassurance that I’m actually going!

We were in a S3, 7204, on the Apex in February. Highly recommend the suite on the end. Veranda is larger than most. We had 2 loungers, plus 2 arm chairs and a table. No extra noise and the Magic Carpet never moved as far as I know during the whole cruise.

Yes, I believe that’s the rub. Although we paid using the Chase card, it wasn’t directly to the airline, so we’ve lost the benefit. I was hoping for a better answer.😉

Has anyone had any experience with getting the airline’s free first bag luggage benefit with their credit card when booking with Flights by Celebrity? Not a huge deal, but when we used FBC this spring we had to pay the luggage fee at the airport. We have another cruise coming up in August and I’m wondering if there’s a way around this. We were passed around from FBC to airline (United) to the credit card company.

3 hours ago, D C said:

When did you call?
I was told an hour ago (noon Monday the 16th) by a 'supervisor' that "We're under orders that there are no exceptions to the new pricing".

On 5/13/2022 at 9:34 AM, durberville said:

Yes! A 40% increase with no warning sure seems excessive! I realize costs have increased, but I think it should apply to new bookings - or at least give those already booked a heads up to upgrade by a certain date or accept the price increase…I booked last week and was assured several times that I could wait and upgrade on the ship - no rush!  

 

That said, I was ticked off last night when I 
went to my cruise planner and only saw the $16.80 option. Called this morning…had a relatively short hold (wow!) and was given the $12 upgrade price minus my small CC discount - so I’m happy. I’d suggest anyone with the same issue call and speak to a customer rep - squeaky wheel and all that. 😬

I needed to escalate to a supervisor, but got the same deal. I would suggest that as long as the Always Included FAQs on the web site say the price to upgrade is $12, they have to honor it.

On 4/2/2022 at 8:30 PM, lovrccl said:

We are on Apex now, Sky suite 7204, love it. 2 loungers, 2 chairs, one table. 

That was our cabin. Loved it. 

We were in a S-3 sky suite on the Apex in February - the end suite on the Magic Carpet route. It was a large balcony and we had 2 chairs, small table  and 2 loungers.

Just off the Apex and we found the menu at Luminae to be very limited and after the first 2 nights ate in the MDRs. It may be that the service was so good because the passenger capacity was at 50%, but our experience was that the service was great, menu was excellent, wine service exceptional - didn’t miss Luminae. With the Celebrity app, you can check out the menus at each venue and decide where to eat. 

Does anyone know what the current deal is to book a future cruise onboard? We'll be sailing in 3 weeks and would like to book a future cruise for us and another couple who won't be with us on this cruise. Has anyone done this?