crusinthrough

Drinks - Disappointing that a one night drink package, wasn't offered. The average cost for a cocktail is $13. Internet – Wasn’t worth the money for less than 24 hours. Surf: $29 a day or Premium: $34.99 a day. I suffered through no cell phone coverage for the few hours I was on onboard.. lol. It was hard. I had social media withdrawals. I know I did not miss anything. 🙂 Photos - Photographers taking photos inside the terminal and around the ship. Most were candid shots and not the standard cruise pictures and stale poses cruise photographers love. Only one size photos (5x7) for sale at $19.99 each. The only digital option is a five picture package with digital prints for $99. It's 2023 digital should be the main option. I shouldn't have to search for pictures on a wall anymore. Despite this inconvenience, I found my pictures and yes, I purchased some. I know, I could have saved my money but purchasing pictures feels like a tradition on a cruise ship.

Stateroom - Oceanview (6004). Room keys are left outside of stateroom. The room was spacious. I was pleasantly surprised there was a bathtub in the bathroom. There were two bathrobes in the closet nicely folded in a bag. I'm accustomed to bathrobes only being in suites or for passengers with high tier loyalty. Definitely a plus for the room. I thought I did but I did not take any pictures of the bathroom. The room is always forward. It's the last room in the hallway. The area outside of the window is only for crew. A con was the long walk to the room and aft of the ship.

You walk on the gangway turn left and then you are on the ship.

Port of Seattle - Smith Cover Pier 91. I was told this wasn't a picture taking moment,. Good grief. I like the date in my pictures. My memory isn't what it use to be. lol

Recently back from my first HA cruise. A one night cruise on the Eurodam. It cost about $275 for an oceanview guarantee as a single. In retrospect the price was a bit much for one night on an older and small ship. The itinerary was Seattle to Vancouver. Unfortunately, the ship never sailed into international water and the casino did not open. This was a bummer for many. A quite casino is never fun to see. There isn't much you can experience in one night but here are my thoughts and a few pictures. Overall, the ship feels a bit dated especially the stateroom but it’s in good shape. I'm not sure I would try a longer HA cruise. There wasn't enough of a wow factor for me. Perhaps I need to try a new ship. Passengers were of all ages with few, if any kids. For those of us on the one night, it was considered a party cruise. The one night itinerary was a part of multiple other sailings through the month of October departing from either Seattle, Vancouver or San Diego. Pre check in was easy from my computer. I did not try using the app. Check in at the pier was simple if you had a passport. Those without a passport had to go to a different line and talk with someone at the counter. You did not have to walk up a winding gangway to get on the ship. My check in time was 12:30 pm. I arrived around noon. There was no line. I was on the ship and eating lunch by 1:00 pm. Rooms were ready when boarding. I dropped my bag off in the room and headed to lunch. App - I had no problems with the app. I wish there was a countdown clock like Princess and Carnival. Only mentioning these two lines because it's the same parent company. I could not figure out how to add my boarding pass to my Apple wallet. I think this is always a convenient option and I like saving my expired passes in my wallet as a memory. Kudos to the app feature of saving entertainment events pre cruise. This has not been an option on Celebrity or Royal Caribbean, Crew Appreciation - $16 a day. I never saw my stateroom attendant. I'm sure on a regular cruise this is not the case. Muster - You have to watch the safety briefing on your stateroom tv. Should be an option to view on your cell phone. Having to walk back to my room to watch the video wasted time.

Nice addition if seating around the bar is also added. This is one of the things that makes Michael's Club better, imo. I also don't get why Celebrity opted to change the martini bar on the Edge class ships. Why not having the ice coverage surface? It's a nice signature feature to make you feel at "home" when trying a new class of ships.

Aloha.. I rather Celebrity work on enforcing their policies. Lately, there are enough up charges. There has to be other ways to balance their books.

The Brilliance is an older ship. I would not chose it over the Solstice, which I know hasn't be revolutionized. RC add ons are getting ridiculously high.

Chair hogging belongings should be removed by the crew. I don't see the value in charging passengers to ensure the crew enforces the policy by removing items from unattended chairs and doing their job. There is already a charge for the enclave, although they are positioned away from the pool on most ships.

She has been gone for awhile now. Interesting to see a cruise ship just sitting there. Mother Nature has not been kind these past few days.

She is literally sitting in the direct path of the Bainbridge ferry route.

This has no bearing on how things work. Calling in sick is different from being told not to come in to work. Truthfully, on any given day several hundred employees can call in sick and may actually do so. However, it’s only newsworthy during a shutdown.

I had it on Edge for sure and maybe the Beyond. It was the Daily Carved sandwich.

This is not how things work. In the case of a shutdown essential personnel report to work as usual. Essential workers include but not limited to, TSA, CBP, law enforcement and air traffic controllers. There will be no reduction in TSA or CBP Officers in terminals. Air traffic controllers will still show up on Sunday unless they resign. Let’s not cause concern where there should not be.

This lobster roll looks really good. The problem is Celebrity’s version even at half the price will never loos as good or taste as good as what is sold in Maine.

The prime rib sandwich was complimentary at Eden Cafe. If there is now an up charge, this is another example of cost cutting hoping the consumer wouldn’t notice.

I was going to jump on this before pricing went up for a 2025 Utopia cruise but it's not offered. 😢

For months I have had this issue on a non cancelled sailing in Nov. I called VV and was told it's fine on their end. I should be able to see my booking. Honestly, I gave up and use the app for the sailing. The only inconvenience was having to call to make final payment. Hopefully, this isn't the same problem for you. I don't understand posts about not being able to find an available room in the same category. New sailings will not be released until Monday. You are looking at current inventory. Since sailings will be wide open, there is a RS available on a comparable cruise or greater length in 2024 and 2025. You may not need to adjust your dates. I suppose you can decline the OBC if you don't want it. Personally, I would use it as free money in the casino.

I already booked two XL cabins at a great price with the no single supplement. Waiting for the next promotion.

How are the cabins taken? Per the email, sailings will be available on 9/11. Did you look at the potential itinerary options online in the PDF? https://www.virginvoyages.com/travel-advisories/stories/august-2023-itinerary-updates Sailor Itinerary Options Updated.pdf

Thank you, makes sense now. I look at Sea Terrace cabins.

VV has solo cabins? How do you book these?

I never thought Celebrity photographers were in your face. Some other cruise lines maybe. Yes, people still purchased them. With smart phones you can get quality pictures as well so not needed for everyone. However, when traveling solo it's constantly asking someone to take a picture for you. Selfies are not quite the same. Personally, I only liked the embarkation picture and port picture. It was worth $50 to me.

Celebrity prices have increased significantly especially on suites and now they gave less amenities. It's not one particular cutback but the combined cutbacks has decreased the value and experience for me. I agree you will find complaints on every cruise line. I still have a few Celebrity cruises booked through early 2025 at good pricing, which I'll probably keep because I"ll never get the same price again. I also have Princess, VV, and RC. I am a big cruiser but unfortunately the constant cutbacks won't make it my first choice when choosing a vacation after these current reservations.