Is Celebrity pulling out of San Juan again?

[cw2go]

19 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

That is great news.  I really love the Summit.  Only ship I've ever done on Celebrity.  We board the Equinox in February and the Beyond next December both in AquaClass.  Maybe I'll see if a repo pops up to go to San Juan on the Summit in 2024 and do a b2b 😁

Another thing that concerns me, even though I love Celebrity is that they chartered these sailings out of San Juan a lot. I'd hate to get bumped again... yes it's happened to me twice. 

 

This Feb I am on Beyond because I was afraid of losing my sailing on the Millie when I was making my decision for our 2023 Winter Escape. I wish I had gone Southern Caribbean but at the time I just didn't feel confident. 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by cw2go

[NutsAboutGolf]

8 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Another thing that concerns me, even though I love Celebrity is that they chartered these sailings out of San Juan a lot. I'd hate to get bumped again... yes it's happened to me twice. 

 

This Feb I am on Beyond because I was afraid of losing my sailing on the Millie when I was making my decision for our 2023 Winter Escape. I wish I had gone Southern Caribbean but at the time I just didn't feel confident. 

 

 

 

It's one of the cheapest itineraries to book so I'd imagine it would also be one of the cheapest itineraries to charter

[jean87510]

9 minutes ago, cw2go said:

Another thing that concerns me, even though I love Celebrity is that they chartered these sailings out of San Juan a lot. I'd hate to get bumped again... yes it's happened to me twice. 

 

This Feb I am on Beyond because I was afraid of losing my sailing on the Millie when I was making my decision for our 2023 Winter Escape. I wish I had gone Southern Caribbean but at the time I just didn't feel confident. 

 

 

It is true.  We had it happen to us but we just had it moved a week prior and changed our flights.  Got lucky!!  It was actually a better itinerary.

[Guest TopoChico]

49 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Be sure give the food quality an 1 on the survey.  Was on the Solstice earlier this month, the Millie last month and the Equinox the month before.  It's all the same complimentary food.  I've had rants before about the complimentary food being in decline and that I'd prefer food from a chain restaurants.  I live in the L.A. area where if your restaurant doesn't produce good food you go out of business, unfortunately that isn't the case here.  I'd LOVE for the chef that partnered with X, Daniel Boulud, to dress in disguise and dine in the MDR and buffet.....

Well put.  Except the complimentary food isn’t that much worse than the specialty food they charge more for. Tuscan Grille was sub par and overpriced, too. 
Cruising has really changed. 

[davekathy]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

Are you still on the same sailing with me in March?

No we cancelled both cruises.  

[Mike981]

8 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Not sure if anyone has insider info, it does still have port of calls in 2024.  I was on the Millie's Panama canal repositioning sailing from San Diego to PR and spoke to many passengers.  Nearly everyone including myself, hates flying to/from PR.  It also seems unless you flying to very limited direct airports, you'll have out of the way flights which increase the overall travel time.  For myself on my return flight to LAX, Houston was an option but the layover was 7 hours.  My alternative was to fly from PR to Newark, have a super short 47min layover then fly to LAX.  Was 12+ hours overall travel time, 10+ hours sitting on a plane.  Flight time from LAX to FLL or MIA is around 5 hours.

 

 

 

It has been several years since we embarked in PR, but I won't fly to PR if I don't have at least one day before and a day after. I have disembarked on the weekend, it was madness and very little help at the airport. The agricultural check was a joke. Maybe it is better now?

You are reminding me of flying to St. Lucia from Minneapolis for a land vacation. Dead tired when we got there and dreading the return flight the whole time on the island. I don't remember how long it was overall, but it was very taxing.

 

1 hour ago, TopoChico said:

I’m on Millennium right now. We are soooo highly disappointed with the food. Lunch buffet is particularly bad.  Beef stew, leftover chicken in mushroom sauce, over cooked roasted potatoes. Steamed vegetables…..not lunch foods - and the same Indian food  entrees every single day and night.  
They have huge blocks of sweaty unrefrigerated cheeses and mortadella…but they  don’t have a knife there to slice yourself some.  So you have to hunt down someone to cut off some cheese.  There’s a pasta bar that has the same three sauces and the same uninspired weird add-ons every. Single. Day. day. night. They heat the watery pasta in pan with sauce and I’ve had WAY better at food at Applebee’s. The pizza is mediocre but always there because it’s cheap to make, and some little sandwiches with literally no lunchmeat and a slice of tomato with cheese. Weird.
The salad bar that doesn’t have any lettuce 😂 has no proteins to add like chicken or shrimp.  Today the girl put a cup of caesar dressing on 1/4 cup of romaine. When I said that’s a bit much, she added two more leaves of lettuce. When I asked if there was anywhere to get chicken, after 10 minutes, they said nope.  So I left it. 
 

Dinner tonight is exactly the same thing as lunch was today and yesterday….but they have a fatty beef they’re carving and some tiny old waxy baked potatoes.  They should really be ashamed of what they’re serving. 
The dining room food has been uninspired small portions of banquet quality foods that I would expect in a cheap hotel.
 

They’re cutting corners and saving money and it shows. Would not book this ship again, which is sad because we love San Juan departures.  This is the first cruise I’ll be losing weight. 
 

 

What you are describing is one of the many reasons we won't be cruising or doing any vacation for a while. With the prices where they are, I guess I just don't love cruising/traveling enough to put up with what it currently is. Once again (3rd time) we will be doing a staycation and trust me, that is not what we want. I'm afraid it is going to take awhile before we travel again.

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, cw2go said:

Another thing that concerns me, even though I love Celebrity is that they chartered these sailings out of San Juan a lot. I'd hate to get bumped again... yes it's happened to me twice. 

 

This Feb I am on Beyond because I was afraid of losing my sailing on the Millie when I was making my decision for our 2023 Winter Escape. I wish I had gone Southern Caribbean but at the time I just didn't feel confident. 

 

 

If they release a full slate of SJU departures for 24/25, there’s a high likelihood some get canceled for charters. Millie and Summit are very popular charter ships because of the size and comparative cost. With Millennium in Asia that puts Summit in the crosshairs. With Ascent in the mix by that point some of the charter business will be forced to S class for a cheaper option.  

[Guest TopoChico]

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

 

It has been several years since we embarked in PR, but I won't fly to PR if I don't have at least one day before and a day after. I have disembarked on the weekend, it was madness and very little help at the airport. The agricultural check was a joke. Maybe it is better now?

You are reminding me of flying to St. Lucia from Minneapolis for a land vacation. Dead tired when we got there and dreading the return flight the whole time on the island. I don't remember how long it was overall, but it was very taxing.

 

 

What you are describing is one of the many reasons we won't be cruising or doing any vacation for a while. With the prices where they are, I guess I just don't love cruising/traveling enough to put up with what it currently is. Once again (3rd time) we will be doing a staycation and trust me, that is not what we want. I'm afraid it is going to take awhile before we travel again.

I remember when great sushi was served on the buffet line. Now it’s overpriced in “Sushi on 5”. We literally just left the restaurant. Our  bill was $280 for four people with one bottle of $48 saké at a 20% discount.  We’re all still hungry.  Sushi was Wegmans quality, no better.  A total ripoff. 
This is definitely my last cruise for years. The food on here and on Royal Caribbean in April were a disgrace. 
Land vacations to the islands from now on. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by TopoChico

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, TopoChico said:

They’re cutting corners and saving money and it shows. Would not book this ship again, which is sad because we love San Juan departures.  This is the first cruise I’ll be losing weight. 

Sorry to hear this report. I think we all knew this was coming…hoped it wouldn’t, but here it is. 

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, TopoChico said:

I’m on Millennium right now. We are soooo highly disappointed with the food. Lunch buffet is particularly bad.  Beef stew, leftover chicken in mushroom sauce, over cooked roasted potatoes. Steamed vegetables…..not lunch foods - and the same Indian food  entrees every single day and night.  
They have huge blocks of sweaty unrefrigerated cheeses and mortadella…but they  don’t have a knife there to slice yourself some.  So you have to hunt down someone to cut off some cheese.  There’s a pasta bar that has the same three sauces and the same uninspired weird add-ons every. Single. Day. day. night. They heat the watery pasta in pan with sauce and I’ve had WAY better at food at Applebee’s. The pizza is mediocre but always there because it’s cheap to make, and some little sandwiches with literally no lunchmeat and a slice of tomato with cheese. Weird.
The salad bar that doesn’t have any lettuce 😂 has no proteins to add like chicken or shrimp.  Today the girl put a cup of caesar dressing on 1/4 cup of romaine. When I said that’s a bit much, she added two more leaves of lettuce. When I asked if there was anywhere to get chicken, after 10 minutes, they said nope.  So I left it. 
 

Dinner tonight is exactly the same thing as lunch was today and yesterday….but they have a fatty beef they’re carving and some tiny old waxy baked potatoes.  They should really be ashamed of what they’re serving. 
The dining room food has been uninspired small portions of banquet quality foods that I would expect in a cheap hotel.
 

They’re cutting corners and saving money and it shows. Would not book this ship again, which is sad because we love San Juan departures.  This is the first cruise I’ll be losing weight. 

I'm sorry you're not enjoying the food on the Millie. As I mentioned upthread, I was on the same cruise three weeks ago. I liked the food just fine, though I did find the buffet a little repetitive.

 

I will note that I'm not a foodie, didn't ever eat at the buffet for lunch, don't mind eating the same thing multiple days in a row, and also lost weight (due to the appalling amount of snacking I do at home - not Celebrity's fault).

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

No we cancelled both cruises.  

Ah bummer. I think we would have got along well. Next time…

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, Mike981 said:

it was madness and very little help at the airport. The agricultural check was a joke. Maybe it is better now?

I’ve had the opposite experience. Walk into the airport and make eye contact with a porter. Follow them around for the next 15 minutes while they expedite our luggage through agricultural and check in. Then hand him some cash. Couldn’t be easier. 

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I’ve had the opposite experience. Walk into the airport and make eye contact with a porter. Follow them around for the next 15 minutes while they expedite our luggage through agricultural and check in. Then hand him some cash. Couldn’t be easier. 

Agree. And getting a taxi at the airport going to a pre cruise hotel or to the Pan AM pier is very well organized. 

[RichYak]

5 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Agree. And getting a taxi at the airport going to a pre cruise hotel or to the Pan AM pier is very well organized. 

Super easy. Also plenty of Uber/Lyft drivers. 

[fedexretiree]

7 hours ago, jean87510 said:

That was a great trip.  It was memorable as the earthquake happened in Puerto Rico while we were in Culebra pre cruise then we started hearing about this weird virus in China.  Who knew in 2 months....?!  The ports were just great.

Yes..ports on that 1 were great...just the beginning of covid..yikes who would think..

My Millennium trip in April will be the next cruise since 2020...can hardly wait...

[fedexretiree]

11 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

I believe they are scheduled to be released December 12.  Would be great to have the Summit sailing out of San Juan again--love sailing on her.

Thanks for the info...I loved the Summit crew.

They were all amazing..great service ..great food..back in the day when Capt. Kate was running her it was the best trips ever

[cw2go]

11 hours ago, TopoChico said:

I remember when great sushi was served on the buffet line. Now it’s overpriced in “Sushi on 5”. We literally just left the restaurant. Our  bill was $280 for four people with one bottle of $48 saké at a 20% discount.  We’re all still hungry.  Sushi was Wegmans quality, no better.  A total ripoff. 
This is definitely my last cruise for years. The food on here and on Royal Caribbean in April were a disgrace. 
Land vacations to the islands from now on. 

I understand your point and I certainly respect that you have to make the best decisions for what's best for you when splurging on travel/vacations. I would like to add from the other direction, I've traveled to Sedona, Cali and Maui this year all land trips and all repeats for us. The dining was very limited, lackluster and super pricey compared to years past. Just saying it's not only the Cruise Lines that will seem like a total rip off. The service for restaurants and accommodations on land had much to be desired, for us it feels like we are in a take it or leave it scenario and we just wanna go go go bad enough to accept this until it gets better rather than wait. 

 

Patty 

[cw2go]

9 hours ago, davekathy said:

Agree. And getting a taxi at the airport going to a pre cruise hotel or to the Pan AM pier is very well organized. 

100% on point!

Also since sail aways are later in the evening, there isn't the same crowding to embark at 11 am like in Florida. 

[Mike981]

13 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’ve had the opposite experience. Walk into the airport and make eye contact with a porter. Follow them around for the next 15 minutes while they expedite our luggage through agricultural and check in. Then hand him some cash. Couldn’t be easier. 

 

As I mentioned it has been several years, it is nice to hear that they have gotten their poop in a group.

[RichYak]

45 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

gotten their poop in a group.

First time I've heard it put quite that way, but I like it!

[Guest TopoChico]

15 hours ago, cw2go said:

I understand your point and I certainly respect that you have to make the best decisions for what's best for you when splurging on travel/vacations. I would like to add from the other direction, I've traveled to Sedona, Cali and Maui this year all land trips and all repeats for us. The dining was very limited, lackluster and super pricey compared to years past. Just saying it's not only the Cruise Lines that will seem like a total rip off. The service for restaurants and accommodations on land had much to be desired, for us it feels like we are in a take it or leave it scenario and we just wanna go go go bad enough to accept this until it gets better rather than wait. 

 

Patty 

I love to cook.  We rent through vrbo and mostly bbq and dine-in on land vacations. I just booked 2 weeks in Antigua in April.
We booked this cruise so I didn’t have to cook and could enjoy dressing for dinners made by someone else…tonight they had “steak and lobster” for Chic night. It was so bad it was laughable.  My steak tasted like it was fried in breakfast sausage grease. Disgusting doesn’t even describe it. They had a thimble of cold mashed potatoes, a cold chewy lobster tail the size of a half dollar and frozen string beans and overcooked mushy cauliflower. 
I am so so so disappointed. Been looking forward to this for a year and I never expected this level of bad food from Celebrity.  They used to be fantastic.
Is it just the Millennium - or are all the ships serving such slop? Do they even keep a chef on board anymore? 
 

Edited December 2, 2022 by TopoChico

[garyl62]

I don't understand how any of these comments regarding food, land trips or if Celebrity is cutting corners has anything to do with the title of the thread and if Celebrity is pulling out of San Juan. 

[cw2go]

19 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

I don't understand how any of these comments regarding food, land trips or if Celebrity is cutting corners has anything to do with the title of the thread and if Celebrity is pulling out of San Juan. 

You're right, I got derailed. 

 

Sorry Patty 

[Guest TopoChico]

52 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

I don't understand how any of these comments regarding food, land trips or if Celebrity is cutting corners has anything to do with the title of the thread and if Celebrity is pulling out of San Juan. 

 I’m on a Celebrity ship out of San Juan right now giving observations about the current experience. I’ve been on Summit 7x out of San Juan. I guess don’t read the comments you don’t want to see.

[Guest TopoChico]

44 minutes ago, cw2go said:

You're right, I got derailed. 

 

Sorry Patty 

Why apologize? “No one knows until it’s official and there are cruises to book” is the answer. The future cruise desk onboard doesn’t know.
 

 Thread didn’t get derailed, it got expanded with more information. . 

Edited December 2, 2022 by TopoChico