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Reserving Alcoves: How far in advance?

travelingirl70

By travelingirl70,
in Celebrity Cruises

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waterbug123

waterbug123

Posted
Posted
If they faced the water we would book one. 😎

 

That's a common complaint. The flip side though, is that if they faced the water, they'd still be on the inside of the walking track, so everyone walking around the deck would pass right in front of you, so you'd constantly have people walking in front of your view.... and possibly stopping at the rail and REALLY blocking your view. They'd also have a true bird's eye view into your alcove so you'd have zero privacy. Don't get me wrong, people on the inside of the lawn have a full view into your alcove, so they aren't really private anyway, but you don't generally have a constant stream of people walking right in front of you and looking right down on you from 3 feet away. That's what you'd get if the alcoves were turned around and faced the water.

 

Alcove issue? I have a question.. we are in Aft cabins and have been told the balcony is quite nice.. the alcoves are lovely but if you book more than a single day, wouldn't it make more sense to just upgrade to a room with a bigger balcony? I must be missing something...:confused:

 

We always have a balcony but still enjoy the alcoves because:

 

  • The bar is easily accessible from the alcoves, not so for our balcony.
  • The pool or hot tub is easily accessible from the alcoves, not as easily from our balcony.
  • Our friends can join us in the alcove, not so on our balcony which only has 2 chairs
  • If the weather permits us the choice of raising or lowering the alcove canopy, we can choose sun or shade in the alcove. Not so on our balcony, which will be one or the other depending on the direction of the sun.
  • We can recline on the daybed/sofa in the alcove; regular balconies have only upright chairs.
  • Occasionally there are events on the lawn that we enjoy watching from the alcove.
  • We also enjoy people watching more so than we enjoy staring at the ocean.

To each his own. :)

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted

 

[*]We also enjoy people watching more so than we enjoy staring at the ocean.

To each his own. :)

 

Indeed....we enjoy staring at the ocean more than people watching....and I guess that's why they have balconies AND alcoves! It's a good thing. :D

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted
Alcove issue? I have a question.. we are in Aft cabins and have been told the balcony is quite nice.. the alcoves are lovely but if you book more than a single day, wouldn't it make more sense to just upgrade to a room with a bigger balcony? I must be missing something...:confused:

 

I never asked you what ship you were on when I posted about removing a portion of the partition between aft balconies. This may not be available on all ships....we were on the Eclipse...but even without that...you're going to love the aft cabins.

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waterbug123

waterbug123

Posted
Posted
Indeed....we enjoy staring at the ocean more than people watching....and I guess that's why they have balconies AND alcoves! It's a good thing. :D

 

Very true. Someone said they didn't understand why anyone would want an alcove, so hopefully they at least understand now why some people enjoy them. :)

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Christine Frances

Christine Frances

Posted
Posted

Love, love the Alcoves. You have an outdoor place away from the bedlam at the pool and do not have to be out at the crack of dawn to reserve 2 loungers. You can have the option of shade (in the alcove) or sun (on the lawn_. The bartender comes by regularly and the buffet and Porch are handy for food. We travel as a group and we share the Alcove cost so all 6-8 of us have a place to go and hang out. The beauty of the Alcoves is that it is sitting there witing for you lol You can go to lectures, the casino etc and it waits for you:) And since you have it from 9 to 0 it is a great place to listen to the jazz events on the lawn.

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Jeremiah1212

Jeremiah1212

Posted
Posted

We are on Reflection in February and there are Alcoves still available every day on the Cruise Planner. I reserved one for a port day that we will not be getting off the ship. I assume we can still cancel on board if we decide against it for some reason. We may not use it all day long but for $99 it will be a fun option to have for the day.

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Mango Mike

Mango Mike

Posted
Posted

2 questions:

1) Can a person book an alcove in advance (online) and then decide to cancel once they are on board?

2) I know I cannot request a specific alcove, but can I request a specific side? (Respiratory issues and would like to be on the starboard side away from the smoking side if at all possible).

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djtj

djtj

Posted
Posted
2 questions:

1) Can a person book an alcove in advance (online) and then decide to cancel once they are on board?

2) I know I cannot request a specific alcove, but can I request a specific side? (Respiratory issues and would like to be on the starboard side away from the smoking side if at all possible).

 

 

I'd like to know the answer to number 1 as well. I want to book one for a couple at sea days, but afraid either i won't like it, or if it rains etc...

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Jeremiah1212

Jeremiah1212

Posted
Posted
I'd like to know the answer to number 1 as well. I want to book one for a couple at sea days, but afraid either i won't like it, or if it rains etc...

 

 

Interested as well. I know I have read reference to a waiting list for an alcove so I assume they occasionally become available on board due to people canceling.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Sonoma fans

Sonoma fans

Posted
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You are able to cancel on board for a full refund just as you can cancel speciality dining. As mentioned previously, we book for the week and really enjoy. Have never not been able to put up shade cabana on 4 Caribbean cruises so far, and have sat in there through some liquid sunshine showers.

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OandGlo

OandGlo

Posted
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We are going on the Reflection in January. Yesterday I called Celebrity and reserved alcoves for both sea days. My wife and I probably won't use them very much, but we will have a place to go when we want it. They're worth it on crowded sea days.

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sandc4e

sandc4e

Posted
Posted

YAY! Just booked the Alcove for our first Sea Day, all port days were already SOLD OUT for our April 2017 cruise. The last Sea Day is still available, should we book that too? We have an AFT balcony for the week, but debating another day in the Alcove. What are your thoughts on multiple Alcove days?

 

Thanks,

 

Sheila

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xmarksx

xmarksx

Posted
Posted
LOL, I'm such a Celebrity newbie. The port days were reservable in another area. Anywho, we did book that second sea day in the Alcoves. Gonna be a great trip!

 

Sandc4e, I have never been sorry that I booked one on a sea day. I have been sorry that I waited to book and then missed out because they were later sold out.

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jryan110

jryan110

Posted
Posted
I have a question regarding reserving an alcove: do the reservations need to be prepaid before sailing? I'd like to use some of our onboard credit to pay for the alcove, but I don't want to wait until we're on board to try and reserve one. Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Hey Pat,

 

I posed the same question, but didn't receive a response. Though I did call afterward and was informed that Alcoves must be pre-paid with a credit card. The OBC is not available until you are on the ship. So it seems you're in the same boat is me; pay up front and use the OBC toward something else during the cruise, or hold off, roll the dice and hope something is available when you board the ship.

 

Cheers!

 

 

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