Jump to content

kkid

Members
  • Posts

    160
  • Joined

Posts posted by kkid

  1. Celebrity provided a $200 credit (payment) to my Visa card a day or so ago, but I don't know why.  Anyone else received such a credit.  I can check with TA, but I don't want to complain about receiving money.   I have two X cruises booked for next year in August and October. 

  2. I have two X cruises booked in 2021.  If I have to get Covid tested prior to boarding, I will cancel.  If I have to wear a mask anywhere on the ship, I will cancel my cruises.  If I have to look at crew wearing masks, I will cancel.  I'm not especially concerned about getting Covid.  I am concerned the cruising with Covid restrictions and policies will not be an enjoyable experience.

    • Like 2
  3. Had two cabins booked on HAL Rotterdam for April 6, 2020, which were obviously canceled.  I got a refund of the final payments for both bookings, but have yet to receive refunds for the deposits (2 x $600).  Anyone else experiencing a similar situation?  Doesn't seem possible to actually communicate with HAL.  My TA hasn't been much help.  I think she tries, but just ends up on hold.  I'm ready to cruise now, but I will certainly not book another HAL cruise until I get a full refund for my April 2020 bookings.

  4. I had two cabins booked on Rotterdam's April 6 transatlantic sailing, which was cancelled.  On July 3, 2020 I got partial refunds to my Visa card with amounts corresponding to the final payments that were charged to my card in January.  I'm still waiting for $1200 in deposits that were charged in Sept 2019.

  5. Sorry to start another thread on refunds, but I'm looking for information.

     

    My TA made full full payment for an X cruise before the final payment date.  Something came up and I decided cancelling was the best option for me.  Celebrity has refunded about 90% of my full payment, but still owes me almost $600.  It has been about 4 weeks since the partial refund was credited to my Visa card.  My TA has been bugging Celebrity to some degree, but I'm still waiting for the remaining refund.  Or course Celebrity won't discuss anything directly with me.

     

    What is your experience getting your full refund from Celebrity.

     

     

  6. I have used Choice Air twice for international flights. My experience has been Choice Air has provided very good fairs for international, but is not so good for pure domestic flights...eg Miami to DC. A year ago on Millennium enroute between Hawaii and Vancouver, I had concerns about my Choice Air arranged flights from Vancouver to Washington DC. The Guest Relations folks on Mille called Choice Air via satellite and let me talk to Choice Air. I was probably on the phone for 35-40 minutes, but there was no charge to me. I was pleased.:D

  7. If you want to look into the more distant future, the future cruise reps on the ship have a good ability to do so. On our last X cruise they offered OBCs that could used for the future cruise or the current cruise. In March 2016 we booked 2018 cruises almost 2 year out. So far the price we got booking on board has been lower than what I've seen on the X website, but that could change. It is actually difficult to compare prices when perks and OBCs are factored, because the perks or OBCs may not convey if you chase a lower price. Need TA to determine if a lower advertised prices is actually beneficial.

  8. In a few weeks we will be boarding Millennium in Singapore and cruising to Sydney via Bali Indonesia plus Darwin, Cairns, and Brisbane Australia. I have a few questions.

    Will we use tenders at Darwin, Cairns, or Brisbane?

    If Millennium ties up at Darwin, Cairns, or Brisbane, will she be close enough to walk into the town? Two miles isn't to far for us to walk, providing it is safe to do so.

    In Sydney we will stay on Millennium and continue to Hawaii and Vancouver. The ship doesn't overnight in Sydney and currently isn't offering excursions for B2B cruiser. So I'm looking for recommendations for tours in Sydney. Also does the HOP-on-HOP-off bus in Sydney come near the cruise ship terminal in Sydney?

     

    Thanks for your help.

  9. We did a transatlantic on the Cunard QV last April. Didn't notice any stuffiness. Being in steerage we ate in main dining room and buffet area, both were fine. Did get tired of requirement to wear a coat during evenings. On formal nights nearly all were properly attired. Enjoyed our trip on the QV, but like X more. Though Cunard has some great itineraries especially for B2B cruises.

  10. I sailed on Reflection out of Venice in Nov 2012. We arrive two nights before our boarding day. I highly recommend doing this. Venice is a fun place to visit and wander around. You need some time. In our case Reflection overnighted in Venice, which provided an extra day. If your ship is not overnighting, I'd recommend arrive three nights in Venice before your boarding day. We spent 4 weeks on Reflection and the days in Venice at the beginning were most memorable.

  11. We will be sailing on QV in April from NY to South Hampton. This will be our first Cunard cruise. Are there some evenings when the evening show for late-seating diners is before dinner? If so, for an 8-night cruise, how many early shows might occur. My reason for asking is we will have two grand kids (8 and 10) with us. We prefer late seating, which is okay for the kids when show is prior to dinner. Less desirable if show is late.

  12. Sailed on Disney Magic Dec 14-21. We arrived about 1215. Parking at ship was very easy. We dropped our bags off and parked in the regular lot for $120. The Premium lot ($140) is only a little closer and is not a covered garage. The regular parking lot/garage is just across the street and we parked out of the sun.

     

    First step was going through the TSA-like baggage screening. This process took longer than reasonable. The security folks just didn’t seem to work efficiently….maybe it is a part-time job for them. They were pleasant, but slow. We got through the paperwork check-in quickly and then got the wrist band for our grandson, who was traveling with us. Getting the wristband took longer than the security check and paper check-in combined. From there we walked on board the Disney Magic and got some lunch.

     

    Around the scheduled time the staterooms were ready, so we went to check out our room. We have cruised about 15 times, mostly on Celebrity. We were impressed with the storage space of our cabin and liked the split bathroom set up. That would have been even better if they could have included a 2nd toilet. I liked the shampoo and hand lotion products. My only minor complaint was the comforter on the bed was too hot. If my grandson had not been sleeping with just a light blanket on the sofa-bed, I would have lowered room temp to about 60 degrees. Our cabin attendant was excellent.

     

    We found the buffet food to be good, not as good as Celebrity, but on par with RCL. The dining room food was about the same. Dining room service is very friendly, but with all the children present the service not as refined as that on Celebrity. We were surprise to have a waiter from England. He did a great job…and was easy to understand. Our assistant waiter also did a great job. Rotating through the dining rooms was interesting, but not nearly as special as we envisioned. I thought there would be really distinct food differences, but the distinctions were limited. Around night 6 the assistant waiter showed the kids an assortment of plastic souvenir glass with flashing LED lights for about $7. I would guess it was an assigned task. We would have preferred not having the glasses offered in midst of dinner. Two 8 year old girls at our table got flashing cups. We did not buy one for our grandson.

     

    We found the pool for kids to be quite small. It is good they have life guards; I counted over 40 kids in the pool one sea-day afternoon. When busy, it was difficult to find a seat or lounge around the pool from which you could actually watch your kids.

     

    The production shows were the best we have ever seen on a cruise ship…significantly better. They were all Disney themed, but why else would you sail on a Disney ship.

     

    We chose to walk of the Disney Magic with our bags, vice placing bags outside cabin door the evening before. This was painless. We were in our car and on the road by 7:45.

     

    We had never cruised with so many children on board, but we got used to it. Cruise Director said there were over 1000 kids. The average age was much younger than other cruises we have done. The percentage of people who dressed formal nights was way under 50%. A large percentage did not even meet the “casual” dress criteria on formal night or any other night…looking more like they dress for a boardwalk at the beach. Way too many people with excessively unattractive tattoos.

     

    We would sail on Disney again with grandkids; it is a great experience. We would not choose Disney to cruise without kids.

  13. How the Elite happy hour is conducted depends on the number of Elites on board. If non of the lounge space are large enough to handle the Elite crowd they will hand out drink coupons to be used at all but a few bars from 5 to 7 pm. Using coupons eliminates the feeling of being Elite, but it has some advantages, like not needing to dress smart casual around the pool bar at 5 pm.

     

    Sent from my AT100 using Forums mobile app

  14. I have sail X about 14 times and RCL twice. I am 62. I like both but prefer X because it is more subdued and I like the food more than RCL. That said , for a couple in their thirties, I would recommend RCL. But X would not be a mistake . Both offer a good product and service.

     

    Sent from my AT100 using Forums mobile app

  15. I'm considering a CruiseTour for Alaska next year, but I can't find any real detail about the land portion of the CruiseTour on the X website. I would like to know about hotels, tours, trains, meals, and what is not included. I'm hoping someone can give me a web link for this information. Personal experience is also welcome.

  16. The People mover is barely easier than walking from ship to Piaza Roma. I did both and will walk in future. To see Venice you need to be able to walk and go up and down steps. The best part of Venice was wandering around. IMO a shuttle to San Marco is a mistake. Put walking shoes on and enjoy finding your way.

     

    Sent from my AT100 using Forums mobile app

  17. There is a public coach (made for airport transfers) That goes from Marco polo airport to across the street from the people mover. I believe it cost about 6 euros(can't remember) Anyway from where it drops you off you cross the street to the people mover. Pay 1 euro and it takes you to right outside the port. From there it is maybe 500 yards or so to where you drop your luggage off, and check in. Definitely cheaper than the ships transfer and probably faster too, If you don't have any mobility issues and can pull your own luggage than I would use it. I believe you can buy tickets for it at the airport. Maybe at best about a 30-45 minute ride depending on the traffic.

     

    We arrived a few days before Reflection arrived in Venice in Nov 2012, and didn't use a Celebrity transfer. We used an ATVO bus (http://www.atvo.it/?lang=en&area=23&menuid=35) from airport to Piazzale Roma, where the People Mover is located. In my opinion the People Mover is inadequate in that it drops you off in kind a no-mans land 500 to maybe 1000 yards from ship depending on the slip. When we got off the People Mover it was about 10 AM and raining. It was miserable dragging (rolling) our bags to the ship in rain. I heard that later buses were in use to take people from People Mover to the ship, but as I recall there was no where to stay out of the rain.

     

    I would suggest you arrive in Venice and spend 2 or 3 nights there before your ship arrives.

×
×
  • Create New...