Hgwells01

Got my preferred aft balcony cabin 7121for 10mar24 Syd to Tahiti for 21 nights, was lucky when Dawson from Oceania looked again every one was gone, there are only six on the Regatta and two are under the cafe so we avoided them.  First time cruising with Oceania so I hope we love them, now the long countdown 😊

Today I spent a frustrating three hours booking firstly a new short Tangalooma trip on Adventure which was easy and secondly trying to sort out my offer for a cancelled cruise 1oct22 to the Loyalty islands in a penthouse suite.  After repeatedly being cut off when told wait times were long and to push 1 for a call back to only be disconnected, after hours I did finally get the offer for a call back and it happened within 20 mins, I asked if I accepted the swap to the 30sep23 booking with same price applied and obc of 600.00 would I get the same cabin or be offered ‘a suite’ of their choosing and was told I would only find out after the five weeks waiting for them to organise it, not really the answer I wanted but ok.  Then I asked if she could check current bookings and see if 10749 was still available or one of the other two PH suites on Adventure and she replied all four are available, I replied four? There are only three on the deck plans for Pacific Adventure and she said oh you are on Explorer!!! No mention is made of a swap of ship in the paperwork and I’ve double checked the website and it says the ship is Adventure but she confirmed they are swapping to Explorer which is not refurbished and does not have the Byron Beach Club either, so imho a lesser grade ship for the same price!  I said If this was the case then they were being dishonest in not advertising the swap to a different ship and I was really disappointed.  I rang back only to find the cruise specialists I had to speak to had finished so I’ll have to call back next week but beware, if accepting the swap they tell you to do nothing and they will just transfer you to the new offer but you may not be on the same ship and there is a big difference between the Adventure and Explorer.

No Agent, directly with Celebrity, I’ve got 125% cruise credit for this March cancelled cruise already, had paid 100% on it and took 125% cruise credit, was happy to put it toward Mar 21 cruise, now it’s cancelled too, if I’d known we wouldn’t be cruising until 2022 I’d have asked for a refund!

I had a cruise booked for March 21, I’ve heard nothing until today about it being cancelled until I got an email about refunds for pre cruise purchases, came here to find the story!  I’ve got more moneys tied up with them now, this March’s cruise was fully paid for and the mar 21 one only a deposit, I’ll have to find our where the emails were sent to advise me of the second cancellation because I received none.

Not a survey but I got a phone call out of the blue two weeks ago from them asking if they could be of assistance in booking a cruise with them, I’ve never cruised with them, celebrity is my usual line but I have registered with them for sales etc, they have never ever rung me before.

Not a survey but I got a phone call out of the blue two weeks ago from them asking if they could be of assistance in booking a cruise with them, I’ve never cruised with them, celebrity is my usual line but I have registered with them for sales etc, they have never ever rung me before.

Just heard, excellent, at least the PM was smart enough to stop it, now I can cancel it all, sigh.  Booked this years ago, got the aft sky suite I love, five weeks leave around the cruise, oh well, hopefully next time we can all sail in fairer skies.

So we are due to sail,1 April out of Auckland on Solstice and have had out itinerary changed due to port closures but they have not cancelled our cruise, our travel insurance will not refund unless it is cancelled all the other bookings associated with it for flights etc, why when most of the other lines are ceasing to cruise are they only partially stopping cruises.  I really don’t want to be on a ship at the moment but my only option is to cancel and loose 10k plus.

And celebrity has advised us of new ports for our auckland south oacific cruise 1apr and not cancelled, wish they would 

And we had notice yesterday our 1apr Solstice Cruise was on, minus Samoa but with Tonga and a overnight in Lautoka, not sure if it is a joke yet.

We have a 1 April cruise from Auckland that includes these ports, ABC online has reported they too have decided to deny access, do you think Celebrity will contact us about port changes?  If I spend two weeks sailing around going nowhere I’ll be happy still, hubby might so nuts so I’ll have to remind myself, in sickness and in health....... and through cabin fever 😜

And I was on Solstice for that perfect day in Picton and we had the best weather for the Sounds, only day it rained was last sea day, another perfect trip on Solstice 😜😎

Merry Christmas all, just off Solstice on 23rd and we are having a quiet one at home with the 🐱 🐱, just seafood and salads, we ate so much on the cruise I’ve hidden the scales, I’ll look again at them next year, maybe in March 😜

Phew thanks 😃

Just back from a fantastic NZ cruise on Solstice and I booked another one with the onboard future cruise people, I have the receipt, it shows up in my account, it’s a Pacific Islands cruise leaving 16 Mar 21, when I look at the Celebrity website it’s not on there, the one before and after show, but not it, anyone have any idea why it’s not there? Have they accidentally let me book something I’m not allowed on?

I thought they were really expensive and noted the lack of drinks packages.  Mainly all going to NZ, couple to Great Barrier Reef, one to pac islands and one Hobart and Adelaide, prices for the suites have gone up massively and I didn’t see anything that really tempted me.  Sad, we have two Solstice cruises coming up and I was hoping to book something but haven’t.  And yes I’d be doing Breckie  in Luminae too Mic 😜

I agree with Sinbad’s post completely.  I’d fly in, find an apt to stay in for a few nights at least in each location and explore.  We did this in Europe, stayed min 3 nights or more in each location but we drove as it’s all so close. We had Canadian friends visit, we did a week in Newcastle and Syd, flew to Alice Springs for 4 nights and then to Cairns for a week to show them how different it is and also how large.  On a cruise I did have a funny conversation with an American lady, she was flying in to Syd, then wanted to see Perth, Darwin and Cairns and assured me it was all within 2 inches on her map so was possible to do it in a week.  I couldn’t convince her she would spend the whole time flying almost just to get to those places was a days flight each leaving her a whole day in each place to “see the sights”.  I told her to just pick one and fly in and spend the week.  I finally told her that we have a cattle station in Western Australia that is the size of the State of Texas and she was gobsmacked. 😜

Well there is one in there to Tassie and Solstice hasn’t been there, prob is I’m on their 2020 Tonga cruise 1 Apr which is a new destination for 2019 for Celebrity so they do have a couple of non NZ and usual PAC islands cruises plus, it’s a really beautiful ship so I’d be looking closely at prices to compare.  I do wish all the lines would get a bit more creative, everyone goes to NZ or the islands with a few unique destinations occasionally.  Would love to see more PNG and maybe a trip out to Tahiti and back from Auckland.

Oooh she’s here 😎 I’m onboard 13 Dec, yay.

looking at accommodation for our Dec 13 Solstice cruise back to Oz, not sure where the terminal is in relation to good hotels, any recommendations? We will be taking the train from Wellington and have 2 nights before the cruise to explore.

On an Pacific islands cruise with mostly Aussies, 5 of us in an elevator, two husband and wife couples and myself, doors open a couple of floors down to find two lovely young ladies very worse for wear who had obviously bought an all you can drink drinks package dressed up for gala night in short mini dresses and high heels, one had fallen over and landed on her knees with her bottom high up in the air and elbows on the floor but managed to not spill her cocktail, her drunken friend was laughing at her and screaming to get up and go get some more but the view towards us was of her skirt hiked up and her bare bottom in the air, both men looked and then suddenly found the elevator numbers fascinating, as the lift doors closed one lady quietly said, I think she forgot to put something on when getting dressed, the other lady said I think she has a thong on, to which one man replied I thought she had high heels on not thongs but she forgot her knickers and he promptly got an elbow in the ribs, for non Aussies flip flops are called thongs down here and we wear em on our feet

We were lucky enough to be in a Suite, we only dined in Luminae, lunch one sea day before heading out at the sandwich bar or room service. I did see the staff spraying from ceiling down and cleaning walls and handrails regularly, everyone was asked to wash their hands all the time so I believe the staff were doing all they could, I did see one man use his hands to take something off a food area at that lunch and the staff member serving promptly removed the whole bowl and asked please could he serve him, some people just think they are above the rules for everyone at times sadly. We boarded about 1200 and our cabins were ready about 1400, we had lunch in Luminae and a coffee in Michaels, they were still cleaning walls when we walked down the hallway, lots of people were onboard sitting around waiting for cabins to be ready enjoying the atmosphere so I believe they were letting everyone on just your cabin may not have been ready. So no we didn't get sick at all and I think they were working hard to try to get it under control, I always carry my own hand sanitizer as well and use it too regularly. I'd get back on her in a heartbeat :hearteyes:

I've been back for over a week now and I'm still dreaming of my 8 night South Pacific cruise in a sky suite on Solstice. I've been to more exotic ports maybe, sailed in suites and balconys on HAL, RCI and Celebrity and this was THE BEST. Was happy with room in aft, 2148, knew it might have noise from above Outside seating occasionally, wasn't a problem. Service was outstanding and Luminae just amazing food every time. Arif, Angela, Dragan and Sanjay in Luminae made it just so wonderful, we felt bad when we went to Murano's for dinner and it was lovely but I think the food in Luminae was just as good. Shawn our cabin attendant kept the place immaculate and Bravesh our Butler really lovely and happy to help with anything we needed. Sheila in Michaels Club always smiling and lovely to talk to. Perfect mix of relaxation, snorkeling and finding turtles in Lifou and Isle of Pines a huge bonus, got another one booked in same suite for NZ next year plus a future cruise credit. Couldn't fault anything, every staff member happy, smiling and a great credit to Solstice, sigh, 200 emails at work and meetings all week, but every now and again I'd drift off and smile and remember, perfection.:D

Was on HAL cruise in Dubrovnik and saw what I thought was a local dressed in a kilt with a huge dead artic fox head instead of a sporran, long socks and a sweater in 30c temp, thought it was rather weird, imagine my surprise when we saw him on the ship in the same outfit, and dressed in it every day, did a tour in Greece, yup he was on it dressed in his kilt and accessories. I was surprised to find he was American and not Scottish! One I can't unsee, a lady with see through white leggings, no panties and a black lace bra on Solstice at lunchtime, my poor hubby didn't know where to look when he turned around as she asked if she could share our table as we had a spare seat. Ive never seen him eat so fast lol.

A day for me to remember our true hero's, those who sacrificed all and those that continue to serve. Lest We Forget.