june15th cruise

[jomama42]

will be cruising on june 15th. thanks to all the non negative reviews feel much better. will anyone else be cruising that day?

[mattt6511]

Good for you im sure you will have a awsome time, either way it sounds like this ship is getting better reviews then the older regal empress though i miss her dearly the celebration is more of what todays cruise wants.. Im going on her in september!!!!! Have a good trip on the 15th take lots of pics for us!

[starbai]

how was the a/c in your room?

Im' just curious because I've read now two reviews that say that the AC sucked the first two nights and then the 3rd night it wasn't working at all (3 reviews if you add mine)

I'm starting to wonder if this is some kinda cost cutting measure they pull.

[cable]

The a/c in our cabin was indeed poor. In fact, it was kinda warm throughout the entire ship. I don't think it has so much to do with cost cutting as the fact that this ship previously operated in cooler climates which did not necesitate a powerful a/c system.

[jomama42]

i was on the june 15th cruise. they just had replaced the air condition unit. before we boarded they told us the ship would take time to cool down. it was very warm til late evening,but they gave everyone on this cruise a free trip to return up to 12 months. all we have to pay is port charges.

[Dan Askin]

Hey Cable and jomama42,

Were you required to pay the fuel supplement on your June 15 cruise? If so, did y'all know that you'd be required to pay before you boarded the ship?

No AC in the Bahamas equals misery/more pool time?

[vpcats]

how was the a/c in your room?

Im' just curious because I've read now two reviews that say that the AC sucked the first two nights and then the 3rd night it wasn't working at all (3 reviews if you add mine)

I'm starting to wonder if this is some kinda cost cutting measure they pull.

I was on the June 12th -15th cruise. Friday was warm, Saturday was not TOO bad because I was already exhausted from lack of sleep Friday. Sunday. SUNDAY the A/C shut down. I was on Deck 7 and many on my side had their doors open as it was the only way to get a drop of air in the room. It was a sauna. I was up and out of the room before 6 AM. I heard most people went to sleep on Deck 9 on the lounge chairs or wherever. This was the worst of the trip.

The ship is old, OLD. I heard the new AC system has been purchased and should be installed by September. They are shutting down parts of the ship apparently as they prepare.

The POOL is just a big lucite bathtub, actually not that big. You just stand there in murky looking water like sardines.

Recreational area is T I N Y. Poolside buffet is good but very tight quarters. Water (the worst tasting water ever) and ice tea from machines but usually no ice available except at the bars. Or you can go to the Italian restaurant (pretty good) and get bottled water and a cup of ice.

It takes getting used to but all in all.........TOTALLY not worth it.

I got no discounts, no credits, no free future anything, not even an apology. I could deal with most things but not with the lack of AC.

Kids pool and slider???? closed on Friday. Closed at 7pm on Saturday. Hello....you don't get back to the ship until 6:30 if you went on the island. Sunday it was open. Thank goodness for miracles!

Kids camp? The two counselors were VERY nice but there really aren't too many activities going on.

OH.... Sunday.........the ship just sat there in the middle of the ocean. HUH?????

The best part of the cruise was the food but I cannot see how they will accommodate everyone if they should be at full capacity. There's a max of 1500 passengers and this cruise had 700. They cannot handle 1500. There is just not enough space.

The staff was super nice. Given the conditions they have to deal with, they deserve much better tips!

My overall opinion???? If you are booked on this ship, CANCEL!!!! Pay a few extra dollars and go on another cruise line.

[vpcats]

Hey Cable and jomama42,

Were you required to pay the fuel supplement on your June 15 cruise? If so, did y'all know that you'd be required to pay before you boarded the ship?

No AC in the Bahamas equals misery/more pool time?

Mind if I answer?

No, I did not pay the fuel supplement, however, I had called in advance and I was told that because of the "promotion" I had booked under, it was already included in the price.

The embarkation and disembarkation was another huge negative. I have never been on a cruise that was so archaic in it's use of technology.

You'll get a laugh when you find out how they do the dinner assignments.

Everything is manual on a cardboard chart and you have to decide when and where (2 restaurants, 2 seatings) as you're boarding, with a line of tired people behind you who just want to get on by now.

P.S. I have lots and lots of pictures (about 150) and I will try to post a few later today or this weekend. Some things are just unbelievable. You would have never "thunk"! :)

[cable]

Hey Cable and jomama42,

Were you required to pay the fuel supplement on your June 15 cruise? If so, did y'all know that you'd be required to pay before you boarded the ship?

No AC in the Bahamas equals misery/more pool time?
Yes, we had to pay the fuel supplement and no, we did not know about it before arriving at the terminal.

I'll tell you what is even more appalling... A couple nearby to us as we were checking in actually printed their documents in advance from the Celebration Cruise Line website and filled them out at home to save time at the terminal. Well, the customer service person discarded the form with the couple's credit card information (for the onboard signing account) and made them fill out a new form because the one downloaded from the cruise line website didn't have the fuel surcharge "boilerplate" disclosure. They were pissed.

As far as pool time, you better hope your cruise isn't sailing anywhere even close to capacity, because the outdoor areas of the ship are quite limited. And forget about trying to get a towel. Every bin was consitently empty in spite of passengers using the public phones on deck to call for replenishing.

[jomama42]

yes we had a 5.00 a day fuel charge.

[mattt6511]

I hope the ac problem will be fixed when i leave near the end of september!! Cant wait to see your pics!

[vpcats]

I hope the ac problem will be fixed when i leave near the end of september!! Cant wait to see your pics!

How do you post pics? Can you just post directly to this thread?
I have LOTS of them. Would it be better to just do a new thread with all the pics?

[VABeach]

Good for you im sure you will have a awsome time, either way it sounds like this ship is getting better reviews then the older regal empress though i miss her dearly the celebration is more of what todays cruise wants.. Im going on her in september!!!!! Have a good trip on the 15th take lots of pics for us!

Did this ship used to be Regal Empress? Was it RCCL? Just currious because I know the ship got sold.

There's a funny thing about older ships, people either love them or hate them. I've always been a fan of the older ships myself. :)

[mattt6511]

Hey vpcats honestly i have no idea how to upload pics hopefully someone can tell you because i would love to see your pictures!!! its hard finding pics of this ship!!!!!!

[VABeach]

Hey vpcats honestly i have no idea how to upload pics hopefully someone can tell you because i would love to see your pictures!!! its hard finding pics of this ship!!!!!!

When you POST A REPLY, at the top of the box, there is a button for INCERT IMAGE.

Just click on that at the portion of the reply that you want to incertit at, then just follow the instructions. You have to have them saved somewhere on your computer because it will search your computer files to find them.

Please post, I would love to see!! Thanks! :)

[cable]

Did this ship used to be Regal Empress? Was it RCCL? Just currious because I know the ship got sold.

There's a funny thing about older ships, people either love them or hate them. I've always been a fan of the older ships myself. :)
The "new" ship that everyone is discussing on this board is the Bahamas Celebration, a former car ferry built in the early 1980's. Bahamas Celebration replaced Regal Empress, the 1953 built former liner which was retired in March 2009 and subsequently sold for scrap. Neither has anything to do with RCCL.

[VABeach]

The "new" ship that everyone is discussing on this board is the Bahamas Celebration, a former car ferry built in the early 1980's. Bahamas Celebration replaced Regal Empress, the 1953 built former liner which was retired in March 2009 and subsequently sold for scrap. Neither has anything to do with RCCL.

Thanks so much for the explanation. That clears everything up so much! :)

We don't sail until mid August, so hopefully they will have some of the bugs worked out before we get there.

I'm pretty laid back and easy going so I'm sure I'll be fine. It'll be like camping, in a boat! ;)