whitbob

Thank you for sharing the pictures and your comments.  We sail in Cabin 6126 on Millie next week, so very helpful.  I have a few questions if you don’t mind answering them:

 

The strange tub was our only concern in booking a SkySuite.  Is it wide enough or flat to be able to turn around while showering.  I have been in a few hotels where the tub is narrow and hard to maneuver in.
 

Does the hairdryer have the European or North American plug?  I am trying to figure out where one might dry their hair.

 

Enjoy your cruise.  With so few passengers, it must be like a private yacht.

 

 

2 hours ago, TFree said:

On another thread, 3 different people reported no problem using the combo of fully vaccinated + PCR positive (within the relevant time period) + Certificate of Recovery.  See posts 31, 36, 40 and 45 of this thread.  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2836943-certificate-of-recovery-what-is-this/

 

 

TFree,

Thank you for sharing the other thread.  Good to see others have been successful with the Cert of Recovery.  Smooth sailing for your upcoming cruise.

Thanks to OP for posting, and information others have shared.  Has anyone boarded a Celebrity Ship using a Certification of Recovery in lieu of a negative Covid test?  If so, which ship, and how was the Cert of Recovery handled during embarkation?

 

We are scheduled to leave in May for an Alaskan Cruisetour on Millennium, and tested positive (both DH and myself) for COVID 2 weeks ago.  We did verify with PCR tests, and were confirmed by lab through email and communications with GA Dept of Health.   After finding the information about the using a Certificate of Recovery in the FAQ on the Celebrity Healthy at Sea site, we have also obtained the letter from our physician to provide at embarkation with our PCR test results.

 

The X App and precruise emails are both SILENT on the Recovery Cert and only state that a negative Antigen test is required to board, but as noted by others above the FAQ does confirm the use of a Cert of Recovery to board.  To confirm this both our TA and DH spoke directly with Celebrity, and after some back and forth, both were told that the Certificate of Recovery and Vaccination records would suffice for documentation at embarkation.   

 

I would appreciate any feedback from those who have successfully boarded using only the Certificate in lieu of a negative covid test.  Thank you.  

On 2/18/2022 at 9:49 AM, Mary229 said:

A few more questions,  how do I prepay my gratuities and how much is the AMA transfer from AMS .    We are arriving late and don’t want to train and want to compare rates.  The AMAwaterways website won’t allow me to see anything even though I am paid in full.  We leave early for various pre-cruise travels. Is it normal to have to wait to see shore excursions and other arrangements?

The river cruise lines used to mail out your tickets/paperwork shortly before your cruise with luggage tags, etc.  Ama included a brochure which described the available daily excursions.  Now they (AMA) uses an app.  You can upload your booking number and name, and that will give you much of your cruise excursion details.  Unfortunately the app will not let you add a cruise until 21 days before embarkation.  

We were on Solstice spring 2017 and again at the end of Feb 2020.  Just before shut down the ship had not been revolutionized.  White hull and pre-Hoppen decor.  We did think the interior had been nicely maintained between those 3 years.  There was some tattered carpet and upholstery in 2017 both in our cabin and common areas of the ship that we did not find in 2020.  Even without dry dock, upgrades had been made to keep her in great shape.  

Once one provides the saliva in the morning tube, are we free to move on and start the day?  Do we have to wait for a negative result to head out of the room?  Do we get a confirmation of the result each day?

On 10/20/2021 at 10:33 AM, brownc424 said:

Hotel De L'Europe. One of two hotels (as of my last trip) that has balconies overlooking the canal. Great service, fantastic rooms and one of the largest breakfast spreads I've ever seen. 

I would second De L’Europe.  We stayed there before our first Celebrity Cruise (2015).  We booked the cruise and paid for airfare without securing a hotel.  There was a convention that weekend and there were no hotel rooms in Amsterdam near the canals.  We were only finding rooms in private homes or over priced rooms out by the airport.  De L’Europe still had a few suites available, so we booked one.  As brownc424 states it is spectacular.  The location is perfection, right on the Amstel River.  Service is excellent.  We laughed because the bill for 3 nights at the hotel was about what we paid for 1 of us to cruise the Baltic in Aquaclass.   We have been back twice since then.  

7 hours ago, MSEm said:

Covid testing in Atlanta area

We got our Covid test at Piedmont Urgent Care Clinic.  Had to wait about 1 hour, but we left with hard copy of test results signed and dated by the doctor.  Also Zero cost with our Medicare  and Tri-care for Life cards.

Had to show Vaccination card at all restaurants even in the hotels.

Thank you MSEm for sharing your experience.  We are researching testing options for a December cruise and it looks like Piedmont has a facility with same day results right by our dogs boarding facility.  Two birds, one stone.  Will be calling to confirm we can get appointments closer to leaving.  Thanks again.  

The rosebud sounds like a nice touch. I do not remember it, but now I will be waiting for it to arrive.   We have been on 7 cruises in Aquaclass, and have never met the Spa Concierge.  I don’t think of it to inquire while on the cruise, but always wonder what I missed when see the term here on CC.   🤷🏼‍♀️
Thank you for the explanation.

21 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

I was also Diamond on Royal when I came to cruise on Celebrity.  I enjoy the Elite perks when on X and The D+ when on Royal.  A little different but both good.  I felt like I was getting something for nothing because of the shared loyalty program but now I am on the verge of earning Elite + (with earned points) on Celebrity so it was a good business decision.  It is nice to experience the differences between the two cruise lines.  I like the free photo and hot appetizers during happy hour on Royal and I like the Elite Breakfast and the Rose bud on Celebrity.  You will have a discovery adventure.

Ship traveler:  what is the Rose bud?  We might have missed this.

brushe,

Good Morning.  I think you were asking mc_reeeve for advice, and you already have a great response from Flyer Talker on the behind the scenes of bulk tickets.  I have learned allot from their posts in the last few days of combing the VO boards on CC.  My 2 cents is, your agent sounds like a dudd.  Our TA is ready and willing to help us by booking the cruise/land trip, hotels, shore excursions (outside of what the ship offers), transportation, and of course air fare.  I am however a bit of a serial researcher, so once we settle on a cruise, I will start researching flights though various on-line booking tools.  If the TA books through the cruise line, I will give him the flights and even the seat numbers.  We have used the cruiseline (not Viking) air programs frequently for international flights, but only because they have been able to offer cheaper tickets on premium economy or first class tickets.  I have also been able to upgrade or been upgraded because of status with Delta on Cruiseline air tickets, but I have also used the locator number to call Delta within 24 hours of booking, and checked to see if the class of ticket could be upgraded.  

 

The December cruise is our first Viking Ocean,  because it is close to the holidays and flights will start to book up, we decided we didn't want to WAIT for Viking Air to do their thing.  We have however  booked and paid for Viking Air for our August 2022 trip.  When we booked and paid for the cruise the TA told us that we could get our money back so long as we cancelled Viking Air prior to them booking our tickets for us.  To be clear, we paid for the tickets, I am not sure that included AirPlus fees just yet.  I am hoping a more experienced traveler with Viking can tell you if they have cancelled AirPlus and gotten a refund.  I am also hoping your TA is wrong about the refund.

 

I don't think Viking has an on-line booking tool for air, someone correct me please.  They do have an Air Services site in the Viking Ocean website.  You can find details about the program under the menu and My Trip section.  The reservation department number is 1-800-304-9616.  I would make a call to them and see if they can help you with your airfare booking, and answer questions about the AirPlus refund, if you cannot get the tickets you want.  If you don't get the answer you want, I wouldn't be afraid to call back and speak to someone else, or escalate.  

 

Good luck and smooth sailing once you start your trip.

 

 

We just booked the Dec 4th LA - Hawaii Cruise, and were noodling on flights today, as we want to arrive Dec 3rd, rather than the day of Embarkation.  The Viking Air is going to cost $150 additional per person based upon Azulann's detailed explanation, and by the way, thank you for your quick response to mc_reeve.  Using your calculations, we are also regular Delta flyers, I just booked round trip using points at just under 75k points for both tickets at our preferred times.  With status, the tickets were already upgrade to comfort.  I hated to waste a free ticket through Viking, but flying in on the day of the cruise, and spending the extra to deviate didn't seem like the best idea this time.  We have our second Viking Cruise booked for August 2022, so we will we completing this exercise again very soon, and perhaps the Air Plus will be the way to go then.

 

Thanks again Azulann and Heidi13 for your advice.  Heidi13 we hope to meet you on the ship.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to all for your quick responses.  We did end up booking the cruise, and chose 5088.  Apparently I needed to have a room with a slider, even though before reading this thread, I would not have known the difference.  🙂

Now I will have to read that long thread for 'newbies to Viking' to figure out everything else I don't yet.  Thanks again for sharing your experiences.

 

 

We are considering booking a Penthouse Veranda.  This thread and the sliding door list has been very helpful.  Does anyone have feedback or concerns about noise, obstructed views or excess motion while staying in any of the PVs?  
 

Thank you for your help.

Another point of view from someone who has not been on a revolutionized ship yet due to COVID cancellations.  We were on Solstice in March 2020 and think the ship was in great shape.  Also sailed her in February of 2017 right after some dry dock work, and felt the rooms were in better shape last year.  Some of the fabric items (towels, robes, sheets, curtains, even chairs in a few lounges) were tattered in 2017, and appeared to be newer/refreshed last year, so they must update as needed.  Also the restaurants on the 2020 trip held a few special lunches and dinners, that we didn’t recall from 2017.  The events sort of compensated for the lack of additional dining venues you find on the Edge and bigger Solstice class ships.  We would sail Solstice again tomorrow if we could.

We were also researching the Orion Bermuda cruises for this summer.  You might want to review the thread called Bermuda Escape Cruises - insights, etc….  It is 74 pages, however if you start reading from page 50 you will find feedback from the individuals actually on the ship as the first cruises are happening.  

Do you usually get extras with your TA that the site doesn't give? 

 

Our TA does usually offer additional OBC.  It has been different amounts with each cruise, I suspect depending upon length and price.   My DH will work out the price details when booking.  He also stays on top of the current pricing through CC Roll calls/ email marketing materials from X.  He will email the TA, and sometimes the TA has been able to rebook to the lower rate, upgrade the room and other times (before the current AI pricing) and get additional perks added in. 

 

You make a great point about Italy being closed and the heat. I will have to see when people seem to take their vacations. I believe it's more July, right? 

 

I looked up photos of the Italy/Greece cruise in the cloud, and it was the 3rd week in August, which I do think aligned with a holiday there, or end of summer vacations.   I have no idea if the high children count on that cruise was unique to summer vacation in Europe or the US.  Like you we have traveled and cruised Northern Europe, Iceland, in August, and did not see large numbers of children on Celebrity Ships.  The positives of the vacation were the skies were clear blue and the Ionian and Aegean seas were like glass, so smooth.  The Reflection was in perfect condition, and with Aqua Class, we would tour early to beat the heat get back on the boat by 12 or 1pm and usually have the Solarium and Persian Gardens to ourselves.  The sail aways each evening at the Sunset Bar were stunning.

 

I hope you find our perfect cruise.

Hi Zeppgirl,

 

First, I agree with others, Med Cruises can be very port intensive, leaving you with less time on the ship.  You may not get the same use out of the retreat benefits as a trip with several sea days, etc... In deciding between the classes we have ended up with AQ on 8 Celebrity cruises.  We had never been on a large ship before Celebrity/Silhouette, and after reading about BLU on CC,  we booked and really enjoy the service levels in BLU.   You will see allot of information on the pros and cons of BLU.   Yes many of the tables for 2 are close, but they are/can be close in the MDR.  The Service in BLU has been consistently very good, but the few times we have gone to the MDR, the service can be drawn out, or harder to customize (no sauce/different vegetables), so the length of the meal can be longer than needed.  Our experience has been that in the MDR you are served with the rest of the 4 - 5 tables in your row.  For example, if you skip a course, you may be waiting for the other tables to finish their salads before entrees are served.  

 

As for pricing, as you are seeing it is complicated.  We use a TA, who handles the interactions with Celebrity, but we typically follow the sales and do (numerous) Mock bookings to determine cost of Retreat, AQ, etc... so we usually know what the price to match is, when we call him for the booking.   He is better at OBC, additional benefits or discounts that we have missed.  Also it was priceless to have him dealing with the refunds and rebookings for last year.

 

You mentioned Italy in the summer.  We did the Rome roundtrip to Greece in August on the Reflection.  We also lived in California, and were NOT used to humidity at the time.  It was oppressively HOT.  While touring Rome, some of the local type businesses were closed for the month.  Once we got on the ship we realized that they were all on Cruises.  It was totally full, with 750 children onboard,  and many many large parties traveling together, which is out of the ordinary for Celebrity.  It is the only time we have had to wait to be seated for dinner, and the specialty restaurants were busy, so you ended up eating early or late.   The outside pool was a madhouse, and long waits for drinks at the bars.   Loud large tables of people yelling to talk in the dining rooms.   That said, it was the only Celebrity experience where we felt like the ship was crowded.   If we wanted to repeat Italy/Greece in August, we would probably book a suite or pick a smaller boat. 

 

Good luck with planning and Happy Belated Anniversary.

 

We have cruised on Silhouette three times in AQ.  Agreeing with others that location selection isn’t ideal under the pool, we have not had noise issues on any of the trips.  If you are focused on balconies, keep in mind many of the AQ cabins do have an overhang, blocking the direct sun.  We typically avoid sitting in the sun, and enjoy the protection from rain the overhang provides.

This is the port side of Solstice however you can see the overhang on the AQ rooms covering many rooms.  Happy future travels on the Silly, it is our favorite Celebrity ship.

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

So you do get a confirmation from US Gov that it is being processed...even if it was sent 1st class?

Yes, as others have mentioned you can look up the status from the US passport website.  I did get an email with a link to the govt website, and it had a locator number but you can also look it up with your name, Birthdate...  It took 6 weeks from the time I mailed everything in to get that email.  The website only told me that they received the application on Oct 26th.  I received another email in January saying the passport was approved, and what day it would arrive.  It was reassuring to get the confirmation notice in advance.

On 1/14/2021 at 7:42 AM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Does anyone have more recent information on length of time to have passport renewed?

Received my renewed passport last week.  Here are the details:  

Chose standard service ($110).  Mailed using certified USPS for tracking on 10/19/20 to Philadelphia from Georgia, cost was $4.95.  It arrived per tracking on 10/26/20.  Received email confirmation from US Govt that they were processing on 12/5/20.  In took almost 3 months including USPS shipping.  
 

Anxiously waiting to be able to use it.  

We arrived for dinner at 8 and I think we had to wait for a table.  The waiter was not sick, he just went off shift "thinking" he was done.  There were several other tables dining when we arrived.  I think they stop taking tables at 9 so we were well within the time open.  Without fail, we always had to wait for a table.  The hostess was very snooty as well.  This was not our first cruise, we have been on several and 3 years ago spent our 2 week honeymoon on Eclipse.  This is by far the worst service we received on the ship.  Main dining room was great!

We were on the Eclipse sailing just before you last year, San Diego to Vancouver and felt things were a bit off. First, the embarkation was delayed because of a big inspection. The staff said it was a result of returning to US waters from South America. We noticed things were missing, like limes and other fairly common fruits or vegetables. The Blu staff said they didn’t get some supplies while in San Diego. I don’t recall service issues like you experienced, but found there were small gaps. We don’t ask for a certain waiter or to be seated in the same location, but typically the hostess will get to know you, and place you with the same wait staff. We were seated all over, and the staff didn’t really ever learn our preferences. I think this was the cruise that the Maitre D was leaving the ship to open or run a restaurant, so it felt like the crew was a bit disjointed.

We have been on 7 Cruises in Aqua, on 4 different ships, and this was the only time that the Blu experience wasn’t superior or memorable in a good way.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

Haven’t thought about it, but it would probably depend on the ship crew size. If they lower the crew by 50% to handle the lower guest capacity, the tips/crew pay should remain the same.


Sent from my iPad using Forums

I didn't want to start another "cancellation thread", but I'm curious about something.
 
For those of you who had cruises in May and June, how did you find out the cruise was cancelled?  By email or were you called?  And how far in advance were you notified?

KTB,

Some of the May and June cruises, were not all ‘cancelled’ at the same time, as Celebrity was attempting to still sail, working around the various country and ports closing. We had our May 28 cruise to Canada amended, and were told on March 24th that the cruise would now be to the Bahamas. It was on April 16th that we received notice that Celebrity cancelled global cruising until June 11th.

We did request a refund on April 17, and are still waiting. The TA followed up with Celebrity yesterday, and said our refund was to be processed today. :)


Sent from my iPad using Forums

Based upon the price and length, I would Go with Oceania.  We have sailed on 7 Celebrity ships in the past 5 years, but all in Aqua, so I can't assess Retreat/Suite benefits and compare.  We sailed Oceania Marina in a Penthouse Suite which was nicely appointed, with a walk in closet and good size bathroom.  There was a lounge, but I think it was limited to snacks, concierge services and non-alcoholic drinks.  The food was overall better, and the (price included) specialty restaurants were all very good.  I can't remember what we did on the drinks package, but recall drinking nice wines.

 

Oceania entertainment is not big Broadway or production shows as Celebrity, but the enrichment activities were superior.  They had guest speakers, food/wine tastings, Cooking Classes (not just a demo), bridge groups, art classes, and a really nice Afternoon Tea service.  The itinerary was very port intensive, but we booked tours independently, so I can't comment on their excursions.

 

We have really enjoyed Celebrity, but we cruise them because of price. It is typically far less for a similar cruise on Celebrity, than Oceania, Silversea, etc...  When it comes to tendering, touring smaller ports, finding a chair at the pool in warmer climates the smaller cruise lines are a luxury experience.  Good luck making your decision, and planning your trip.