saffy12

Thank you for the zero proof info.  So basically,  I have to accept that's what I'll pay, or not get the package and pay as I go - good to know!  

My trip isn't one of those getting this sale, but can you clarify if the zero proof is included as well?  What is the daily price for the non alcohol package?

I keep hoping to find an offer for it below the $26.99 I have available now...

34 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

2014?

Well We sailed on X in 2014 and I don’t recall there being a Pandemic which caused cruising to stop while the cruise line continued to have debts to pay.

I guess that just might have something to do with the menus not being the same. This situation is only temporary. IMO.

Yes, but as has been said,  the 2014 examples used remained the norm through 2022, which means that celebrity maintained their standard after the pandemic before they started the recent drop in quality.   Don't let them continue ot use the pandemic as an excuse for lesser quality for more money!

The way I interpret that is that the upcharge of $20 per day includes the gratuities on the beverages, but not on the plan price.     It's confusing because they charge gratuities on a plan, and they also charge them on a product (the drinks themselves), so it's hard to know for sure what they mean, but since they consistently charge grats on the plans, I would be willing to bet that Celebrity didn't mean to change that now, and instead mean that the $20/day charge includes the gratuities on the covered products.   

3 hours ago, foodsvcmgr said:

Sad that there are no more actual rotating appetizers, only soups and salads plus the daily shrimp cocktail and escargot.

Even the entrees seem very repetitive.  When you used to have this many options, PLUS the daily baked chicken, salmon, and steak, now those 3 always included options are part of the regular selection.   I feel like they used to have a shellfish option every night, in addition to pork and another fish choice.  Now the options other than chicken and pork seem limited.  

I remember being disappointed on my last cruise (2017) that I never tried the daily steak, but there were too many other interesting options every day.  Looking at these menus, though, I'm leaning towards steak being the only choice I'd be interested in on about half those menus!   Granted, I don't like turkey, and chicken needs to be special for me to order it.  I try not to fill up on pasta - too many carbs!    I recognize those are my own limitations, but I still used to have plenty of options, and now they are very limited. 

1 hour ago, tigervixxxen said:

We made it to Honolulu! Up early today, haven’t gotten used to the time change from the US yet but that’s ok,

It probably won't be an issue, but just a heads up that people in Hawaii can get a bit offended by this wording.  You're still in the US, so that hasn't changed.  Just not on the "mainland" any longer - that's the better phrasing.  

I used to travel to Hawaii for work 1 week every year and learned this one the hard way!

I'm looking forward to hearing how the rest of your trip goes!   Like others have said, this is an itinerary I would have already done if not for the flights involved!

Oh I didn't even think about being sick and stuck in a cabin with such limited tv options!  Yikes!    Glad you were still able to make the best of it.

I also enjoyed the Corning glass show on the Equinox back in 2012, and have been a bit disappointed to hear that I now have to pay for the experience myself, as I have no need for one of the items for sale.   Do they allow people to watch the classes, if not making something?   Do they still do any shows for people who want to view and not participate?

1 hour ago, luv2cruzuk said:

 

I've literally JUST returned from a ten-night sailing on Celebrity Beyond, and I'd love to share my perspective on the matter. While I respect and understand the experiences shared here, my recent journey paints a slightly different picture. I found the food to be of excellent quality throughout my trip. It's true that the menu options might seem more limited compared to previous sailings, but the buffet still offered a plethora of delightful choices that catered to various tastes.
 

 

It's worth noting that you were AQ, so all of your reviews were from Blu or Room Service.   From what I've seen, it's the regular MDR that has gotten the most complaints, so not sure how much this addresses those concerns.

Your video was enjoyable to watch, though!   So sorry you were quarantined.   Off topic, but  how did that feel in an IV room?   I'd think I'd go a bit stir crazy and want to actually be outside in fresh air,  not just open a window, for that long!

Edited to add - lots of comments pointing this out already!  Sorry, I was watching your whole video first!

$90 per person seems very expensive solely for transportation!  

It's been more than 10 years since I went, but we used a private tour with Sicily by Mario - he was great!  We did a little bit more driving around/touring in the morning and he brought us to a wonderful place for lunch (the restaurant was built into the cliff, overlooking the water), then dropped us in Taormina to walk around on our own before bringing us back to the boat.  We had a shared tour with others on our roll call, so there were like 7 of us total, and I'm sure we didn't spend that much (of course, that was 10 years ago!).  

You might want to check into a private tour guide like that and see what they can do for you.   Just to not be part of the cattle call of the big bus group.  There is a place for a big tour, but at that price, I'd want to get something more.  

Its not the unfresh omlette, i just don't like buffet dining.  Yeah, the omlette is fresh, but all the rest is either sitting on your plate while you wait I'm line for the omlette, or the omlette gets cold while you then gather the fruit and toast and then try to find a table and wait for the rest of your party.  It's just not how I like to eat if I can avoid it

Thanks everyone!  I knew on our last cruise (6 years ago) the MDR was an option,  but that was a port intensive cruise and full room service was included, so it was easier to do that instead and we only made it there once in 10 days.  This trip will have many more sea days, so plan on more relaxing, quality breakfasts.  I have seen so little mention of mdr breakfasts though,  I wasn't sure that was an option ant longer!

Hello, 

On our upcoming Eclipse cruise, we have a regular veranda room - no status or  suite/AQ access to "special" options.  I understand for breakfast we can order from the (very limited) continental breakfast room service menu or go to the Oceanview for full breakfast options.  I need protein in the mornings, so don't think the room service options will work for me, and I'm just not a big fan of buffets.  Is there any sit down service breakfast option in the MDR (or anywhere else) included?   Or will I have to plan on facing the buffet every day (along with everyone else who doesn't have Blu / Luminae access)?

2 minutes ago, Spudd said:

 

It's under the profile, under the name of your next sailing there is "select a different cruise" and then within there at the bottom is "browse our ships". 

Thank you so much!  I can't tell you how much time I spent looking and trying to figure out how people were finding this!   It makes sense now, but not knowing where to look, i couldn't find it!

46 minutes ago, Maya_C said:

 

I have downloaded the app, but I don't see the option to choose any ship. My only options pertain to our upcoming cruise in two weeks on the Infinitiy, and menus are not there, just the option to reserve. How do I get to the menus for ships in the same class? Thanks for your help. 

I have the same issue!  I'm not sure how people are able to see current menus - I don't see any options other than for my upcoming cruise.  I don't see a "browse our ships" option.  I have 3 screens to choose from - 1 is the ship for my upcoming booked cruise, 1 is the itinerary for that cruise, and the 3rd is my profile, but nothing about other Celebrity info.

I have an android, if that makes a difference?

5 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

If the formula works for you, the cheapest can be found at Walmart

 

I actually get mine at Costco, if you have a membership.  A pack of 100 is something like $3.95.   I realize it's not much difference, but every penny counts!

They keep it by the pharmacy, so you have to ask for it, but it does not require a prescription.  

Edit:  I just realized that this is not the meclizine, which is the ingredient in Bonine and was what I was referring to.   That's what I get at Costco and is helpful for me

38 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

Anyone know if you can book the drinks package fit certain days or does it apply to the entire cruise.

If 3 out of 11 days are spent ashore that affects the value of the package 

I believe it is all or none.

The only thing I've heard where you can do less days is if you wait until you board and add the package later in the sailing.  Then, they only charge you for remaining days.   But, it would not apply to the passed days of your trip, either, so you would have to pay for any drinks consumed up to adding the package.

Yeah, mine shows $89 reg price for classic, but has consistently had it at 20% off, which is $70.99 /day.  

I still am not showing the 50% discount,  anf that might be tempting, but really have my eye on a zero proof discount.   Is the $26.99/day the best I'll find it offered for?  If so, I need to just accept that I'll be paying for every drink onboard.

I'm not a big alcohol drinker, so the alcoholic drink packages don't make sense for me to add on at any price.  However, I am debating getting the zero proof package.   I've had my eye on them for the past month since we booked our cruise - the other packages show a 20% discount, but that one is only at 10% ($26.99/day).  Is that likely to be the best price I'll see it for?

I really don't see myself spending that much on drinks - I like iced tea and don't need bottled water (except for convenience) so don't anticipate buying more than maybe 1 coffee drink and 1 bottle of water daily.  If I had a package, I might splurge on some club soda or a smoothie / virgin drink every so often, but don't see it adding up that much.   I can see $20 / day being a good value for me - at that price, I'll likely still not break even, but will be close enough that the convenience of pre-paying will outweigh the extra I spend.  $27 daily, though, seems excessive.

Does anyone know if they've seen the zero proof package for less than that?  If I wait until I board, or even a day or two into the cruise, is it likely they will have them for lower?

1 hour ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

 

I read this two ways. I have the classic package.  If I ask for a glass of wine that is $9, yes, I need to pay a gratuity which is 20% of $9.00 - basically $1.80 because per the FAQ, gratuities are not included in the package cost.  OR is it no - your resulting charge is $0 since the glass of wine is fully covered under my package, and 20% of $0 charge is $0 gratuity ????

Obviously this is my first cruise with Celebrity coming up.  TIA

The way I understand it, if your beverage is included by the package, then gratuities are included and you won't owe anything else.

If the beverage is more than the amount covered (for instance, it is an $11 drink, so only the first $10 is covered) then you would pay the $1 difference, plus gratuities on that, for $1.20 total owed.   

5 hours ago, mkkao924 said:

I wonder how does the system work? Let's say if an excursion is sold out, when someone cancels it, does it go back to inventory that's immediately available for rebook, or it takes some time to reflect the inventory?

I don't know enough to be able to tell you the timing, and am not sure you would want to  take the risk if that was a "must do" excursion for you.  But, I can tell you my friend and I were eyeing the Iguazu Falls excursion for our upcoming Antartica cruise.  We are both traveling together, but as singles in our own cabins, so we needed to book the "single" excursion.  The "single" was  sold out but there were still "double" openings available, so we were trying to work with our TA to get us to be booked as a double (we could share the room for the few nights of the excursion, but wanted our own bathrooms in case of seasickness for the Drake Channel passage).  

While we were trying to get that figured out, the Labor Day sale came so the excursion was half the price!  Even better, there were suddenly 2 single spots open for it, so we snatched them up!   

I have no idea what happened to make them available, but presumably someone canceled.  I also have no idea on the timing between them canceling and the spots opening up to rebook, so again, not sure you would want to rely on that.  But, I can tell you from my experience, a sold out excursion did open up during the sale and they gave us the sale price for it

Isn't part of the reason for a drink package that it limits the cost you spend on drinks?  While $2k is a lot for them to lay out, I would think they would rather pay the flat rate of that, then be on the hook to reimburse you potentially more than that!   If you have 4 drinks a day at $10 each, plus 2 coffees and a smoothie and 3 bottles of water, that can add up to more than they would spend in just giving you the beverage package and being done with it!

Especially since they are not giving you the wifi also, they are already saving money on what was their mistake.  

Thanks!   I ended up responding with our names and told him I wasn't comfortable giving our passport numbers, and they responded back to say it was ok and booked us without them!   

Thanks! I'll respond back and leave that part out - we'll see if they ask for it again.

Super excited that our excursions are coming together!

On 3/31/2023 at 5:15 PM, AryMay said:

 

 

Puerto Madryn

• Penguin tour with El Pedral (Very good!)
• https://mysouvenirmemories.blogspot.com/2019/02/puerto-madryn-argentina.html

 

 

I reached out to El Pedral to try and book them for our upcoming cruise.  They asked for our passport numbers in order to hold the reservation.    That seemed a little risky to me - I can't figure out why they would need that to hold the reservation.  Am I being too paranoid?   Did they require that when you reserved with them?