ItzRav

OP here.  Thanks for everyones responses and the explanations.  At least, since it is a watch after all, it still tells the time!  (Well, once I manually set the time zone, anyway!)

5 hours ago, miched said:

Go to the ILounge and ask there.   They will be able to answer your question. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Thanks.  I’ll check with them, but don’t have high hopes since I can’t get the watch to the login portal.

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Why not set up your iPhone as a WiFi hotspot ("tethering") and connect your watch through that?

Tried that, wouldn’t work (with my wife’s iPhone).  At any rate, I don’t have my own iPhone — my Apple Watch is set up under Family Setup.  Thanks anyway for the suggestion.

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

It doesn't work. You can Google captive portal with WatchOS or something along those lines. 

 

You would need to text yourself this URL <http://captive.apple.com/hotspot-detect.html>, disable Bluetooth on the watch, click the WiFi network twice to get into the setting and disable auto login. Back out to settings and reconnect to the WiFi network. Then go to iMessages on your watch, click the URL you sent yourself and see if it takes you to the login portal. 

 

It rarely works, so I wouldn't spend much time trying. 

Thanks very much for all that detailed info.  I tried it but couldn’t get it to work (as you thought).  Once in a while I did actually get an error message “Could not connect to WiFi-Guest-Constellation.”  It seems like a chicken and the egg thing, though, since, in order to receive the text I sent, WiFi would have to be working, but since it isn’t I can’t receive the text in order to click on it, etc.  Anyway, thanks again for your help.

On board Constellation right now.  We have have successfully connected both an iPhone and an iPad to the on-board WiFi.  Once the WiFi accounts have been created (which we have done), it’s simply a matter of entering the password to connect.  On my Apple Watch, under WiFi settings, it does list WiFi-Guest-Constellation as an available network.  When I click on that, it displays “Unsecured Network” and the little spinner spins for a few seconds, then it stops spinning.  It never prompts for the password and there’s no error message.  But WiFi doesn’t work, even though the watch indicates it’s on.  Has anyone here successfully connected an Apple Watch while on board, at least an M-class ship?  Thanks.

My wife and I will be embarking on our first ever trans-Atlantic cruise at the end of October (from Rome to Tampa), and we would welcome feedback from folks who have done this previously.  Feel free to comment on any or all of the items below:

• We are arriving one day early in Rome (at 8:00 am) and will be staying at the Hotel Cicerone.  Not sure when we will be able to actually check in to our hotel and plan to explore early check-in, but that may not be an option.  Are there any suggestions for “must see” attractions—possibly within walking distance? We are not particularly adventurous and don’t expect to have much energy after a trans-Atlantic flight, plus my wife has some mobility issues.  Unfortunately, Celebrity does not seem to offer any official excursions.

• Along this line, are there any nearby restaurants that folks recommend for dinner?  We assume the hotel food would not be the best.

• What kind of weather are we likely to encounter while at sea?  All of our previous cruises have been to the Caribbean, so we don’t know what to expect out on the Atlantic.  Would a light jacket with layers underneath do the trick?

• How rough are we likely to find the sea?  Generally things have been calm in the Caribbean, but we suspect that will not be the case crossing the Atlantic.

• At the moment, it does not appear that there are any Covid restrictions for entering Italy.  We are both vaccinated and boosted and understand Celebrity requires a negative Covid test two days (not three as for some other cruises currently) prior to boarding the ship. We are planning to take a proctored Covid test on Thursday morning, our flight is that afternoon around 5:30, and boarding will be Saturday afternoon, which is a pretty tight timeline.  Has anyone encountered issues with the testing procedures?

• Any general suggestions/warnings/recommendations from more experienced travelers would be much appreciated.  Thanks in advance for your input!

4 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

So I wonder how they got infected if they're truly vaccinated....

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, breakthrough cases are expected in a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated. As of April 30, the agency said, 10,262 breakthrough cases were reported at a time when about 101 million people in the United States had been fully vaccinated.”  
 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/06/10/cruise-covid-celebrity-vaccine/

1 hour ago, Momma Rene said:

We booked a sky suite on the Millennium, however, I am concerned because the suite lounge (formally Michael's Club) and the suite deck area are receiving a lot of bad reviews in terms of uncomfortable furniture and the deck being in the full sun.  Anyone have experience with either?  The fare is approximately twice the regular fare and I would like to use both amenities.

We’re in a suite on Millennium now.  While we haven’t actually sat down in the interior retreat lounge, we have gotten drinks to go from that lounges bar.  A very nice way to get a drink since so few people are there, plus both times we’ve asked for doubles we’ve gotten doubles, with the bartender saying “this is YOUR bar.”  Re the outdoors retreat sun deck, we did walk around it but didn’t stay because of the high heat and humidity.  However, a few people were there (some couples) relaxing in the sun.  Some of the “chairs” were some sort of large round-ish lounger with a cloth cover you could pull up and partially over you to help shield you from the sun.

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

@Seany527 Thank you again for the update!  What I'm curious about is whether you passengers have received a date and/or time for your pre-disembarkation test.  I would imagine that it would have to be very organized since so many people need to be tested in a short amount of time.

We did not get any questionnaire about post cruise info, but we did get a request to scan a QR code which took us to a web site where we could pick our own time to get the pre-disembarkation test — either Thursday (today) or tomorrow.  We chose today in order that we’d have enough time to upload the results to our airline so we can check in prior to arrival at the airport.

We're working with someone at Celebrity on getting a missing portion of our refund (airfare, which we booked through Celebrity Choice Air) returned to us.  After we hung up with them they sent an email which identified the part of the Celebrity organization they work for:

Celebrity Pre-Resolutions
Trade Support and Service - ICT Campus
CelebrityRRS@celebrity.com

Does anyone know what "Pre-Resolutions" means, and what RRS stands for (it's not the persons initials)?  Thanks.

Assuming our Alaska cruise (departing from Vancouver in May) is ultimately cancelled and we are offered a choice between a refund or FCC, we will definitely take the refund.  The reason?  While we were told by three different Celebrity reps that we CAN apply the FCC to our existing bookings in 2021, they said that if we do that, and then for whatever reason we have to cancel THOSE cruises (including if Coronavirus is still an issue then), that the FCC we applied to those bookings would NOT be able to be applied again to another future cruise.  It would be considered to already have been "redeemed" and would be lost.  Again, we specifically asked, if we apply the FCC to a future cruise, and then THAT cruise has to be cancelled, can the FCC from the first cruise be applied again a second time?  The answer again was no, it can only be used once so it will be lost if we have to cancel the cruise we use the FCC on.  Could Celebrity relax this policy by the time this might become an issue?  Perhaps, but we're not willing to take that chance.

3 minutes ago, Lazz said:

The Cruise industry could ask for a temporary suspension of the PVSA.  The Ships could then dock in Seattle.

Personally I think that's doubtful.  First, the state department advises U.S. citizens, particularly those with underlying health conditions, not to travel by cruise ship.  It would seem odd for for a waiver to be granted given what's going on.  But perhaps more importantly, the PVSA (as of the September 2019 revision) states:

"The navigation laws, including the PVSA, can only be waived by the Secretary of Homeland Security if certain requirements are met:  1) The transportation requested must be “necessary in the interest of national defense,” and 2) If the waiver is requested under Section 501(b), the Maritime Administration at the Department of Transportation has confirmed that there are no coastwise-qualified vessels available to conduct the transportation."

I doubt this would qualify as being in the interest of national defense.  I'm not saying there's no way it can happen, just that I'm doubtful.

And April and May.  Our sailing is scheduled in May and was to depart from Vancouver.  We are waiting to see what Celebrity says.

5 hours ago, SempreMare said:

 

Exactly.  The other big unknowns:  

- Risk of being quarantined

- Risk of receiving adequate medical care on the ship should your condition turn bad quickly.

 

I want to know what are the "underlying conditions" being referred to of people who became very ill or died. 

 

Ex:  Would my need to take Synthroid (replacement thyroid hormone)  be considered an underlying condition? 

 

Ex:  Several friends take blood pressure medicine but they tell me it's well controlled.  Would that be considered an underlying condition? 

Here is what Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, said at a news conference about three days ago:

"For the most part, the people who get in trouble and ultimately, tragically, would die from this are people who are elderly and/or have underlying conditions: heart disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, because of the difficulty in breathing back and forth."

and, answering someones question on preexisting conditions:

"So, the numbers and the statistics you said are correct, but there’s really a difference between an underlying condition and a serious underlying condition that would actually compromise you.  So let me explain. By the numbers that you said, someone who has high blood pressure, is on a blood pressure medication and has got it down pretty well, has an underlying condition. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that might require intermittent oxygen is a serious underlying condition.  There’s a big difference between somebody with controlled hypertension and somebody with congestive heart failure and chronic pulmonary disease."

16 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

No TSA in Canada. Screening will be conducted by CATSA, then on to USCBP.

Thanks for the clarification.

OP here.  Thanks so much for all the good information in these responses.  I didn't realize all the variables that might need to be taken into account, so sorry for not providing more info in the first place.  Given the concerns raised here, we've decided that although we will get home very late, we will take a later flight, at 1:00pm.  To fill in the missing info:  We are US citizens flying back to the Washington, DC area.  We have pre-booked a bus at the terminal back to the airport, so no scrounging for a cab.  We do not have any "status" with the airline.  We do have Global Entry, which means perhaps we'll be a little expedited at customs, as well as hopefully a shorter TSA line at the airport.  The next flights leave about an hour later but have incredibly long layovers (19 and 23 hours), so we would certainly want to avoid those.  Anyway, thanks again for all the input.

We're going on the 7-night Alaska Hubbard Glacier Cruise from May 24-31.  The ship docks at 7:00am on the 31st.  How early do they let you off the ship, and is it feasible to get a 11:30am flight out of Vancouver?  We'll be in a suite so, as I understand it, we can get off any time as soon as they start disembarking.  Thanks.

2 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

 

One way we kept track of the amount of OBC left in the machine was to keep printing winning tickets out every time we won (and I mean every time we won) and not putting them back in! That way it keeps resetting the cashpot available for stakes to only include OBC.  That way you only pay the OBC and not any winnings which is very easy to do and a great way to lose your money quickly.  We were surprised, by keep printing out our wins, how successful we were in laundering our non refundable OBC into winning tickets that can be cashed out. 

Interesting.  So after printing the ticket, as long as you don't actually remove your SeaPass card from the machine it remembers how much machine-loaded OBC you have left?

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

I can confirm that micheleata is correct.  I have done this several times playing video poker.  In your example you just need to make any combination of bets totally $20 and whatever is left on the machine is yours.

Good Luck.

Thank you.

Just now, micheleata said:

Yes,  the OBC free play will always be used first.  So $20 worth of free play will be used,  then it will use any credits that were won.   Personally I only load $5 or $10 of free play into a machine at a time..That way if I want to move machines I can.  Once you load $20 in there you are stuck playing it on that machine.   Best of luck to you.

Thanks again, micheleata.  That argues for keeping track of the number of spins you've made so that you know when the OBC is exhausted, so as not to eat into your actual winnings (unless you just feel like continuing to play anyway).  Good luck to you, too!

1 minute ago, micheleata said:

Load $20 into machine.  Set betting amount to $1 per spin.

Play one spin.  Win nothing.  Machine displays $19, which must be remaining OBC.

Play second spin.  Win $1.

 

Question 1:  I presume that the machine keeps track of how much OBC has NOT yet been played, as well as keeping track of won cash.  In this case, $19 of OBC hasn't yet been played and $1 has actually been won.  Correct?   Actually you have played 2 credits if you played the second spin,  so you now have $18 OBC credits, and $1 win.

 

Question 2: I presume the machine only displays a single number of money remaining, which at this point is $20; it doesn't display the amount remaining as two separate numbers, $19 in OBC and $1 in "won" cash.  Correct?   I can't remember,  but usually this is the case.   You have to keep track of it yourself.   Most casinos if you cash out before you use all of your free play credits will print a ticket for your winnings,  but leave the remaining free play on the machine for you to use...  I am not sure if this is the case on the ship.

 

Question 3: Since I put in $20 of OBC and I'm playing $1 per spin, is the idea that no matter how many spins I win on, or how much I win, that I have to spin exactly 20 times (20 x $1 = $20) in order to "use up" the OBC?  And that whatever is displayed as "remaining" at the end of those 20 spins, if any, is mine to cash out?  Correct.

Thanks very much for that info.  One additional question, then:  Is remaining OBC always used first before using any "won" cash?  So if I still have $18 in OBC credit, and $1 won, will the next spin come from the $18 and not the $1?  Thanks.

I've searched on this forum and searched by Googling, but I can't find a definitive answer to how non-refundable on-board credit works with slot machines onboard Celebrity.  Besides just having fun, it would be nice (!) to actually win some and take the cash.  I understand that you can't just load, say, $20 into the machine and immediately cash it out and expect to get $20 in cash.  So, here's a scenario:

Load $20 into machine.  Set betting amount to $1 per spin.

Play one spin.  Win nothing.  Machine displays $19, which must be remaining OBC.

Play second spin.  Win $1.

Question 1:  I presume that the machine keeps track of how much OBC has NOT yet been played, as well as keeping track of won cash.  In this case, $19 of OBC hasn't yet been played and $1 has actually been won.  Correct?

Question 2: I presume the machine only displays a single number of money remaining, which at this point is $20; it doesn't display the amount remaining as two separate numbers, $19 in OBC and $1 in "won" cash.  Correct?

Question 3: Since I put in $20 of OBC and I'm playing $1 per spin, is the idea that no matter how many spins I win on, or how much I win, that I have to spin exactly 20 times (20 x $1 = $20) in order to "use up" the OBC?  And that whatever is displayed as "remaining" at the end of those 20 spins, if any, is mine to cash out?

Thanks for any replies and any insight.

1 minute ago, EatonDoolittle said:

The fact that it keeps sending you back a page makes me believe some information they want is missing. 

Make sure you check off each passenger in the cabin, even if solo. 

ItzRavs instructions should work for the XPress pass. I printed mine yesterday with no problem

 

Also the full docs (Ticket Booklet) with the luggage tags are not ready yet, if that's what you are looking for. They will start to show up any time now. As I recall, people report getting them over a few days. 

 

Just FYI, we got an email yesterday from Celebrity entitled "Your Guest Vacation Documents are now ready ..." that included the trip documents (including printable luggage tags) as a PDF attachment.

1 hour ago, Lil Pups said:

Hi all.  Just completed my check-in for the above cruise.  All completed and done correctly but nowhere is the option to print the express passes.  Every time I hit continue it brings me back to guests.  Is it too early or am I missing something here?  Thx for your responses

We're on the same cruise but we're able to print the passes.  Here are two ways I am able to do it:

Sign in.

Go to Manage Reservation.

Near the upper right on the page, click button "Print Xpress Pass".

That takes you to a page where you should see "View Xpress Pass" for each guest.

Click those links and it should display the passes and you can print them (one at a time).

Alternatively, after signing in, click "Update check-in/Xpress Pass",
which should take you to the same page as above where you can view (and print) the passes.

This works for me, I hope it does for you too.

On the Celebrity website, at the bottom, is a link to the credit card site. Look for the photo of the credit card.

Thank you!