travelbuds

On 1/13/2024 at 8:49 AM, Jim_Iain said:

 At Al Bacio they also have free pastries in the morning and cakes and sweets in the afternoon evening.

Are these sweets complimentary without a drink purchase? We are not "elite +". Thanks.

16 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Since you've never been to Europe, I'd suggest you check out the British Isles/Western Europe Board.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/

 

There's also a board for Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/116-northern-europe-baltic-sea/

 

Some of your questions and some of our replies aren't Celebrity specific, and you'll find a wealth of information on those two boards.

Thank you for your time making comments and posting those links.

13 hours ago, the penguins said:

The store/ stores processor. Each purchase shows in the currency of the country you are in and the store will ask if you would like them to change it to your currency - sounds helpful but it just costs you extra. The answer is always "no thank you". The same applies to us on the ship as X will generously offer to convert our account from $ to £. Just make sure you use a card that does not charge a currency transaction/ conversion fee - there are lots to choose from.

Have credit card with chip but never needed to use a PIN with it. Have purchased items from Canada with credit card in past; kept it in Canadian currency. Shows up on credit card statment in USD. No transaction fee.

5 minutes ago, the penguins said:

 

As you haven't been to Europe before the following may help: Credit cards are widely accepted (make sure you have one that doesn't charge you a fee) and don't let the Credit card company/shop do the conversion i.e. leave everything in the local currency. You will need a little local currency (Nor). If you have any small bills left don't change them back just use them for any extra tipping on the ship -  

Thank you for  your comments. Curious who does the conversion if not the credit card issuer?

7 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Celebrity "Generally" stays on the same time as the port.    There are a number of ports around the world that the ship says on ship time.   They will be communicated in advance for planning purposes.

 

One that comes to mind is Newfoundland which has a 1/2 hour time zone.  It was a little confusing with most partners having one watch set to Ship Time and the other to Land Time.

We usually bring a couple extra watches while traveling just in case. Thanks.

Just now, markeb said:

You’ll be on British Summer Time in Southampton and probably change to Central European Time (summer time as well) before your first stop on the Continent. Belgium and Norway are CET, so no additional changes until you start the return to Southampton. 

Thank you for your quick replies! Never been to Europe before.

6 minutes ago, markeb said:

Where are you sailing from? Norway is all on Central European Time. The only time change would be if you're sailing from the UK.

Sailing from Southampton UK, with stops in Belgium and Norway. Planning to do some independent excursions in Bruges and in 4 Norwegian ports. Want to make sure the independent excurions don't start before ship gets into port.

Wondering if the ship time will be the same as local port time on Norwegian cruises. Planning to do some independent excursions and don't want to miss an excursion (or the ship) because of possible time difference. Does Celebrity change time zones to match local time on their creuises? Thanks.

2 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

I always print out the express pass as a backup just in case the app has connectivity issues.

I have the Xpress Pass on my phone, but I'm still looking for the Xpress Pass to print out from my account on the Celebrity website. Curious where you found the site to print. Hope my phone is working on boarding day! Thanks.

37 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Yeah, it doesn't look the same as the app. Nor the same as the old Xpress Format when you'd print it. But that's it. Right under the screen that screams "download the app!". They are proud of their app...

 

Edited to add: It's kind of ironic that with all the "use the app" messages on the web page they'd send out an email telling you to print it. And that when you go to the place to print it, they again tell you to use the app...

I'm printing the email to take with me and, at boarding, ask why? Princess app much easier for me to use.

On 5/9/2024 at 10:43 AM, markeb said:

 

Are you trying to print it from the app? On a web browser, .......... The link you're looking for is at the top of the block with your reservation. It's not in your documents.

Not from app. Had seen the link you mentioned. It was not the Xpress Pass format like on the app, but it did have names, reservation number and sailinfg date to use at port. The only reason I wanted a printed copy was because I got an email from Celebrity telling me to print it out.

Thanks.

On 5/9/2024 at 10:18 AM, jennmaybe said:

Are you not able to print an email?

Am able to print email, but not the full attachment (Xpress Pass). I sent Xpress Pass as attachment from my phone to my email.

Am able to print luggage tags and documents directly from my Celebrity website, but not seeing the Xpress Pass tab or link. 

On 8/12/2023 at 4:09 PM, jelayne said:

I take a screen shot of the Xpress page.  But I also print a copy.  I just find it easier to stick  the printed pass in my passport which frees my other hand for handling carry ons.  
....

Curious how you printed the Xpress Pass. I was able to take the screen shot and email it as attachment to my email account, but not able to print it from laptop. Was able to print luggage tags and documents from my Celebrity account, but found no mention of Xpress Pass. Had received an email from Celebrity telling me to print it. Thanks.

5 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

You can probably get a USB battery charger for the Sony batteries if you want to. I have an a6500 and the batteries are notorious for running down, so I travel with several batteries. But if you don't have that issue, you'll just have to rotate plugs. And carry two adapters if you need to charge everything at the same time.

 

One tip in the UK: The outlets are switched. At the outlet. There will be a little switch on the outlet and you have to flip that switch to get power. It "may" be on when you first plug  in, but that's not the desired position.

 

We're doing 3 days in Denali and two days in Seward pre-cruise to take the train. Spending our debarkation day in Vancouver. 

I have an older Sony a77II and start off with 3 fully charged batteries. Did Denali 2 years ago--3 nights with Princess. Clear sky with no clouds for entire time. Great! We have done Kenai Fjords boat tours a couple of times in Seward. Enjoyed the train ride from Denali. Have fun! And thanks again.

16 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

May 31st. Early season so hoping for the best on weather.

 

What kind of tablets, phones, and cameras?

You will be getting off the day we board, June 7th. Going in early for 3 days in Vancouver. Past 2 trips--no rain. We bring layers and top it off with rain jacket. Samsung tablets and phones charge with USB, Sony camera chargers plug directly into wall and travel toothbrushes use regular alkaline batteries. Looks like we just need a plug adapter.

Hope you have a good cruise!

13 minutes ago, markeb said:

I've never used a surge protector in 30 years of travel to Europe, including the UK. 

 

What kind of electronics?

 

If your devices will charge by USB, then take a USB charging hub and some cables.

Thank you.

Just taking iPods, tablets, phones, and cameras. When is your southbound Summit? We are on a northbound in June. Have only done southbounds in past so thought we'd try something different. First time on Celebrity.

My wife and I plan to spend a few days in London (first time there) after our cruise and wondering if we need a surge protecter power converter and adapter to charge our electronics. Will the cruise lines confiscate it at boarding? We have a non-surge power strip for use on the ship. Thank you.

On 4/17/2024 at 7:07 PM, no1racefan1 said:

it's almost certain to sell out early, based on what others have said. I'm sailing next month and that excursion, as well as many others, have been sold out for months. I just looked at excursions today just to see, and there's only a handful with openings.

We have done this excursion 3 times-all booked directly with Taku Lodge. May want to call them @ 907-586-6275.

1 hour ago, DianeCcruiser said:

We’ll be on HAL Zuiderdam in May. We booked a different tour when we booked last September. I don’t think this tour was available when we booked. We booked Bruges on your own February 10th 2024. 
Thank you. We'll just wait it out to see if Celebrity will eventually post this excursion.
 

4 hours ago, DianeCcruiser said:

Do they have taxis available at the shuttle bus parking to take you to the town center of Bruges and back?

If no taxis does the 15- 20 minute walk have benches to rest on. 
We’re looking at the “ Bruges on your own”

Thank you

 

My wife and I won't be doing this until next spring, but curious how far in advance was the "Brugges on your own" posted for your itinerary. At this point, there are only 8 excursions listed for Bruges-nothing for "Bruges on your own". Otherwise, we probably will go with cruise-express.

5 hours ago, BaumD said:

Probably difficult for American to come up with a final excursion list until 60 days before the cruise. ........ Prices can also change. Imagine you see a price for an excursion six month before your cruise and when the 60 day list comes out, the price of the excursion has gone up by $15.

With the cruises we have been on, we've been able to make excursion reservations and pay for them many months in advance, locking in the reservation and price. I guess going with a smaller company doesn't afford that luxury.

7 hours ago, adstz said:

This is a problem to me. I would like to be able to see the excursions and prices so I can make an informed decision at 60 days........... But not knowing what is available or what the price is until the day you need to book it is not a great idea.....

Looks like a problem we'll just have to deal with for now. Maybe post-cruise surveys will help out for future trips. Maybe try trip advisor and Facebook to see if  past cruisers can help out for upcoming trip. May give ACL a call.

6 hours ago, DaveinCharlotte said:

ACL does provide these details, but only after you've booked, and even then not until 60 days before the cruise starts.

Seems strange, but we have only been on ocean cruises before. No river cruises.

11 minutes ago, ericosmith said:

Go Green!  ....... I doubt that you will find any independent excursions other than at the ends of the trip.  ........

Go White!  After a little time on TripAdvisor, it doesn't look like independent excursions will be in the cards. Bought a couple Lewis and Clark expedition books, so I'll have something to do during slow or down times.

3 hours ago, BaumD said:

if you go on the ACL website, find the Columbia River Cruise, click on ITINERARY, then click on DAY BY DAY ITINERARY.  Under each port they is a list of excursions. Click on each one for details. 

Thank you. It would have been nice if ACL had included more details for the excursions such as times and prices for the non-complimentary tours. We like to squeeze in as many activities as we can at each port. We usually do independent excursions. Will also check out trip advisor for things to do. Looking forward to this cruise. Have bought a couple Lewis and Clark expedition books. First time with ACL.