Bringing bicycles on board Celebrity ship

[Mercury]

We have friends who love long distance cycling and would like to do an Adriatic itinerary on X.

 

The idea is to bring the bicycles on board (book a cabin on the lower level deck 3 so that they can just take the bicycles on and off the ship by using the stairs) and spend the days in port cycling.

 

Does anyone know if X allows this?

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Where would they keep the bikes? Something tells me the answer is no. You have metal detectors to get back on the ship not sure this is allowable or feasible. First of all you don't always disembark on the same deck and some ports are tender ports.

[lucinjo]

I don't know if this is allowed are not. This would be something you would want to check with Celebrity's main office about well before your cruise. You would hate to show up with the bikes and then not have them allowed on board. Even if they were allowed on board, you might not be able to take them on the tenders, so you would need to know which ports were docked and which tendered. It might be easier to just arrange bike rentals in various ports.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I tried to find the answer on the cruise line website but couldn't. I think you would have to call the cruise line. I saw on one of the threads that Celebrity does allow bikes but they have to be kept in the stateroom.

[Algebralovr]

I have heard of a couple of people doing something like this in the past, but I'm not sure what line(s). As for the idea to rent - if they are real biking people, a rental bike just won't do. Most of the time, rentals are not that high of quality. People who bike a lot spend a lot of $$ on getting good bikes. I recommend calling Celebrity and speaking to customer service. They will need to get with a real supervisor, and we all know how many different answers they'll get from talking to different people.

[Member123]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1519414

 

Here's an interesting thread with a CC member who planned to take an amazing cyclist vacation. You might get some very factual information by seeing whether this CC member is on an active Roll Call so you could request an email exchange. Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to PM a CC member, which is too bad when you run across interesting posts like this one.

 

In looking at the posts from LML101, I would say that you might have a possibility of being able to do this. However, this CC member did have some issues with the bike being damaged on the flight due to TSA opening up the box and then not taping it back together very well. So there might be more issues with the bike than you have imagined, at first.

[Phxazzcruisers]

I have seen people do this on past cruises. I would definately call Celebrity and ask. I believe the answer may still be yes

[Jborosara]

my bike is carbon fiber - my guess is that anyone who would want to lug a bike on a cruise would also have a carbon fiber bike.... some metal parts (derailleur, etc) but mostly not... having said that, as someone pointed out above, i would NOT take my bike on an airplane then on a boat for fear of it being damaged....

[Mercury]

Thanks so much for all your input.

 

Yes, indeed they are very particular about their bikes and regular rentals won't work for them.

 

They would indeed keep the bikes in their cabin and won't have a problem carrying them up and down a few flights of stairs if the disembarkation deck was not on deck 3.

 

Good point about the tenders.

 

They have flown with their bikes for bike races, but I tend to agree that it is taking a big chance with airlines/baggage handlers.

 

And thank-you Member123 for that useful link and suggestion. Much appreciated!

[biker1972]

The thought of taking my bike on a cruise at first was appealing; however have rethought the idea after several cruises.

1: little or no room to store 2 bikes in the cabin

2: getting out of the dock area in many cases a logistial problem

3: returning to the ship before sailaway (problems on the road can cause delays)

4: Some ports are a hard ride from anything worth seeing

I personally would rather book a bike tour with sag support and do a 100% bike vacation.

[Fixit2010]

Umm not sure if anyone told you but bikes don't float, so you can't race against the ship :D

[stereo]

Yes you can--I called C and they said yes--must store in cabin--we went on our first cruise on the connie--took our bike fridays and rode thru scandinavia-met another couple with bike fridays and toured with them

[carlyshenk]

On our transatlantic last November, there was a couple at our dinner table who took a transatlantic over to Europe on RCCL, brought their bikes with them. They biked around Europe for 7 months and then was on our transatlantic back to the US. They were a young couple and they had some great stories to tell. We really enjoyed getting to know them.

 

They were in an inside cabin and kept their bikes in the cabin with them. They were very expensive bikes and they said they wouldn't have stored them anywhere else even if they could have.

[DocF]

First of all, to carry a bike on a plane, one must have a bike bag. They are not cheap, they are cumbersome, and they require disassembling the bike to fit it inside. The charges for these nowadays on a plane are hideous.

 

I can only speak for Carnival, but I know for a fact that they prohibit bringing a bicycle aboard. If this is not the case on a different cruise line, one still has the space issue to deal with.

 

I would suggest contacting bicycle shops in each port and arranging for a rental bike. It can be done and could be more economical and less of a hassle.

 

I have visions of us showing up at an airport with our tandem and trying to check it. This creates a serious mental meltdown for me.

[MonocacyCruiser]

I saw a guy do is about five years ago on the Summit. I saw him in the cafeteria wearing bike shorts and jersey, I asked him about this. He had a folding bike, I rented a bike at a bike shop at one of the ports.

 

He did not take the bike to his cabin, the staff took it from him when he boarded the ship and turned it over to him at each port.

 

But, check with Celebrity and get their OK before they show up with the bikes.

 

Good luck!

[Rosieo]

We were on the Equinox last spring and there were people with bikes and they did not have to keep them in their cabin. I think it wold be a great idea to bike around many of the places a cruise ship stops.

[texkan]

Have seen European cruise lines in Caribbean where passengers have bikes to ride in different ports. Last year in Aruba saw many riding bikes to beach.

Their ship was docked by Celebrity.

 

What a great way to tour an island.

[cirpi]

The thought of taking my bike on a cruise at first was appealing; however have rethought the idea after several cruises.

1: little or no room to store 2 bikes in the cabin

2: getting out of the dock area in many cases a logistial problem

3: returning to the ship before sailaway (problems on the road can cause delays)

4: Some ports are a hard ride from anything worth seeing

I personally would rather book a bike tour with sag support and do a 100% bike vacation.

 

I agree with biker. The cobbled streets in most European ports are hell on the wheels of road bikes. A broken chain or a trashed wheel rim 10 miles from port and 30 minutes before sailaway could translate into a very expensive flight to the next port or back home. I store a road bike with friends in Padua and have ridden many hundreds of miles in Northern Italy, but never as part of a cruise. And as much as I love cruising and cycling I never mix the two.

[Algebralovr]

What about a folding bike? There are some really good ones these days, actually meant for training while the preferred bike is not available. Many of them come with a bike bag, or one is available. Some of them actually fit inside an old hardside suitcase for safety purposes.

[Denny01]

I agree with biker. The cobbled streets in most European ports are hell on the wheels of road bikes. A broken chain or a trashed wheel rim 10 miles from port and 30 minutes before sailaway could translate into a very expensive flight to the next port or back home. I store a road bike with friends in Padua and have ridden many hundreds of miles in Northern Italy, but never as part of a cruise. And as much as I love cruising and cycling I never mix the two.

If you were 10miles from the ship 30min before departure, you were in trouble with or without a brakdown! You might make it if all went perfectly.

 

Den

[4774Papa]

We have friends who love long distance cycling and would like to do an Adriatic itinerary on X.

 

The idea is to bring the bicycles on board (book a cabin on the lower level deck 3 so that they can just take the bicycles on and off the ship by using the stairs) and spend the days in port cycling.

 

Does anyone know if X allows this?

We are active cyclists. I have done a 500 mile ride in one week.

Frankly, I don't know where you would keep the bikes in a regular cabin. There is no room. Also, transporting your bikes would be another problem.

 

One note, if you decide to take any cycling tours offered by the cruise line, the bikes are generally mountain bikes of poor quality.

[kitty9]

Three years ago, they charged my friend $350 to bring his bike on a plane to Europe. I would bet the charge is substantially higher now.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Supposedly it is $200 one way for a Transatlantic Flight.

[Snorkel Dawg]

Taking your bicycle would be too cool! I think it would be worth paying a lil extra to have it stored somewhere on ship.

[cirpi]

Three years ago, they charged my friend $350 to bring his bike on a plane to Europe. I would bet the charge is substantially higher now.

 

Ouch! I flew bikes from Italy to the U.S. in 1978, 1982 and 1985 for free and it was $50 from Munich to Seattle in 1997. Indeed, times have changed