HELIPAD INVITES FOR SAIL AWAYS STILL??

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, CruisinCons said:

 

Celebrity sails out of Bayonne, NJ not Manhattan.  How did you go past the Statue of Liberty?  It is north of the port and you can see it in the distance.  Bayonne (Cape Liberty) is directly across the harbor from Brooklyn, Manhattan is north of it. 

 

Manhattan was a port call on the Silhouette’s westbound TA this past fall (Southampton to Port Everglades). This was a sail-in.  I was on the same cruise as Jim.

 

 

(photo by turtles06)

Edited February 28, 2019 by Turtles06

[Ladyinflight]

1 hour ago, CruisinCons said:

 

Celebrity sails out of Bayonne, NJ not Manhattan.  How did you go past the Statue of Liberty?  It is north of the port and you can see it in the distance.  Bayonne (Cape Liberty) is directly across the harbor from Brooklyn, Manhattan is north of it. 

We were on an Eclipse transatlantic that sailed into Manhattan in October of 2017. We docked in Manhattan and my partner and I were invited to the helipad for sail in.  It was our first Celebrity cruise so, don't know how we got the invite.  As I was originally from NYC, it was a beautiful sight to see Lady Liberty again.  We were there for a day and a half.  What fun it was running around in those Manhattan stores again.

[CLT_Deac]

We were invited to a sail away on our cruise on the Summit last April.  We were in a suite and it was our first Celebrity cruise.  Our butler implied that he had secured the invitation for us.  We did meet another couple who were also in a suite and who had not received an invitation. 

 

I recall being a little rushed as we had a late excursion on the day of the sail away.  However,  we enjoyed a couple glasses of champagne and had the opportunity to chat with several Celebrity officers.  It was a nice event, but I don't think I'd be terribly disappointed if we weren't invited on our next cruise.  

[Pennstatedj]

Commenting on seeing the Statue of Liberty. The last two sail aways we were invited to the captain sailed to the SOL and then did a 360 turn for us all to see it up close and take pictures. We have been on many cruises and usually get an invite to the sailaways once per cruise. It seems like all suite guests, Zeniths, concierge, special groups on a cruise, plus CC hosts invitees, or other officer invitees can each be invited once per cruise to these sail away experiences. Each one is special. Best ever was Leaving Santorini at sunset. 

 

[drakes2]

11 hours ago, SeahawkSiren said:

OK, now I am getting excited and hopeful I will get an invite!  Will be on my first Celebrity cruise and sailing in Concierge Class in April 2021 on the Solstice, 20 day transpacific.  So excited!

 

I would love to be on the helipad with a glass of wine as we sail out of Sydney on what is a bucket list cruise for me (Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii).  🍷

 

If you don't get invited ask your concierge or cabin steward how much you would love to see it and that you've been anticipating this cruise. Also join your roll call and attend the connections party. I know of three couples including myself at the CC party who received the invitation.

[jkgourmet]

Last year on a Norwegian Fjords cruise, we were invited to the Helipad as we went by the Seven Sisters waterfalls.  The captain even did a 360 degree turn of the ship.  It was probably the most spectacular sites we've ever seen from a cruise ship.

 

I've no idea how or why we received that invite.  Although we've sailed 4 times with X for a total of 40+ days, we are not even Elite.  We sail in the cheapest cabin is to get the perks - almost always an OV.  All we get is a free gelato. 

 

While we were On the helipad, we expressed our surprise to one of the officers.  He told us that it was a way to express thanks to those who sail in the "luxury cabins.". He was seriously shocked when we told him we were in an OV guarantee.

[mafig]

13 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

 

Celebrity sails out of Bayonne, NJ not Manhattan.  How did you go past the Statue of Liberty?  It is north of the port and you can see it in the distance.  Bayonne (Cape Liberty) is directly across the harbor from Brooklyn, Manhattan is north of it. 

 

I haven't sailed out of Manhattan (or Bayonne), but last year I was researching cruises and wanted to sail past Lady Liberty.  I was told that that Captain usually makes it a point to sail past her, even though it's a little out of the way.

[cangelmd]

I’m not sure what the rhyme or reason to the sail-in/away is.. we got invited on our first Aqua Class cruise, which was also our first Celeb cruise in many years. We did not get invited to the New York sail-in that Jim and Turtles are talking about, although we were on the same cruise - I’m sure it was spectacular.

It was amazing on main deck watching the reactions of the mostly young crew and staff - it seemed every perso who was awake and off duty or could come up with some excuse to be on deck ( I think they dug around in supply cabinets for drink trays so they could look like waiters) They were taking selfies and group pictures in front of the skyline, Freedom Tower and Liberty - it was touching and made you proud to be American just to see their excitement.

 

 I think that if you are on a first Celebrity cruise, especially if in Concierge or above, you have a good chance to be invited. I don’t know how many they do. The one we went to was sailing into San Juan, which was amazing in its own right - I do think Celeb only holds these when there is something special to see in the sail in or out.

[Oceangoer2]

One of our best experiences cruising.......we were invited to a sail away from Venice....as close to shore as allowable...champagne and appetizers...and lovely conversations, which got better with each sip..LOL.  I think cruise ships aren't able to get that close anymore with the wave action potentially damaging the wooden supports?  not sure of my facts re the reason for staying out of the bay.   There was talk of a super structure damming the entry to prevent wave action;  but locals said they had been talking about it for 10 years.

Edited February 28, 2019 by oceangoer2

[dkjretired]

14 hours ago, CruisinCons said:

 

Celebrity sails out of Bayonne, NJ not Manhattan.  How did you go past the Statue of Liberty?  It is north of the port and you can see it in the distance.  Bayonne (Cape Liberty) is directly across the harbor from Brooklyn, Manhattan is north of it. 

 

For about the last five years or so, Celebrity Captains  have been basically making a left turn out of Bayonne and going around the statue and then heading out to the bridge.  There have been numerous threads on this and I'm sure there will be another one this summer when Summit returns to do its Bermuda trips.  

[Turtles06]

48 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

We did not get invited to the New York sail-in that Jim and Turtles are talking about, although we were on the same cruise

 

Just so there's no confusion -- I was not invited to be on the bow for that NY sail-in either; my comment above was merely to reply to the poster who asked how a Celebrity ship came to be sailing past the Statue of Liberty.  (And my photo of the Statue was taken from the topmost deck, where I was camped out along the rail along with many other non-status pax. 😉)

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, mafig said:

 

I haven't sailed out of Manhattan (or Bayonne), but last year I was researching cruises and wanted to sail past Lady Liberty.  I was told that that Captain usually makes it a point to sail past her, even though it's a little out of the way.

 

If you sail out of Manhattan, you will definitely sail past the Statue of Liberty.  If you sail out of Bayonne, the Captain may be able to go out of the way to sail over to the SOL before heading out under the Verrazzano Bridge, but that depends on traffic and other factors, and there's no guarantee this will happen.  (Another option is to take the Staten Island ferry before or after your cruise.  )

[micheleata]

I really wanted an invite.  I thought for sure we would get one in February being in a concierge veranda.  We did not.

In  September we were in a regular veranda cabin and I was signed up for the CC party,  but didn't get one for that either.   I was so looking forward to it.    Maybe this year.....

[CruisinCons]

As many times as we've sailed out of NJ, we've never been fortunate to get the pass by.  My husband asked one of the bridge officers about it on one trip, and they said they have to get special permission and it's all based on traffic at sailaway, that it rarely happens.  Maybe Celebrity has an "in" that RCCL does not.  LOL  Anyway, we're on the Summit sailing in October for her repo.  First time on Celebrity, in Aquaclass, and Elite status.  Hopefully one of the three will get us on the helipad.  LOL 

[SleepingUgly]

9 hours ago, micheleata said:

I really wanted an invite.  I thought for sure we would get one in February being in a concierge veranda.  We did not.

In  September we were in a regular veranda cabin and I was signed up for the CC party,  but didn't get one for that either.   I was so looking forward to it.    Maybe this year.....

 

Wow!  That really sucks!  Now I have no clue why we got invites.  It was not our first cruise (except for our youngest daughter) and we were simple Classic members.  Maybe because we had booked two concierge verandas?  We don't have a close relationship with our TA so I'm sure she didn't make a special request for us, and I didn't sign up for the CC party either.  And I never saw the concierge onboard!  Perhaps it's just luck of the draw.  You should really go speak with the concierge about it on your next sailing, especially if you are in a concierge cabin again.  I hope you get one on your next sailing!

 

[CruisinCons]

I just remembered our repo cruise is only 6 nights, so no CC meet-up.  So that won't get me an invite.