2theship

Even when booking with EZAir, you have control over the exact flights you are taking and you have the advantage of being able to make changes without penalty within a certain time frame. Do some research on connecting airports and develop some knowledge of the airlines that serve your city and go from there. After you book, monitor your flights for any changes, don't depend on the cruise line or airline for timely updates.

Thank you for starting the topic because I think it’s something that Cruise Critic needs to consider. For our next cruise, a social media roll call is much more active than CC but I find it harder to access it when I want to read it. I have mentioned CC often on social media but, obviously, not the other way around. Semi-related, a gentleman posted a cruise review on social media today saying that he had submitted it to Cruise Critic two weeks ago and it had yet to be published. I wonder what the problem was there.

We’ll see you onboard - we also took advantage of the great deal that happened many months ago and will be in a Sky Suite on Deck 10. Our only port plan is to go to lunch in Cozumel. See you on Sunday! Pam

There used to be an Elite gathering on most evenings from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in a specific lounge on the ship. There were beverages available from a set menu and servers offered an assortment of snacks. Then, on cruises where there were a lot of Elite passengers, you were given coupons redeemable at many bars for the same set menu of drink choices. In more recent years, they’ve done away with the coupons and, if you were Elite, you could choose order from the menu between 5:00-7:00 p.m. at no charge. Now, Celebrity is saying that on a couple of nights, they will have a lounge similar to what they used to have. We always enjoyed the Elite cocktail event, we got to know a lot of nice people during them.

The OP noted that they were sailing in Blu which is always smart casual, never formal although some people choose to dress up on formal nights. I thought that the specialty restaurants were always smart casual.

We’ve cruised in Aqua Class a number of times and I can remember extended waits twice. Usually it’s been a few minutes at most. If you’re a larger party, they may try to accommodate a planned seating time.

I enjoyed sitting in a deck chair or at a slot machine and just telling the app what I wanted. It always seemed to work in a reasonable amount of time.

I got into trouble on a certain social media platform in September because I complained that none of the servers on the Majestic Princess knew what a Chairman of the Board was, even at the Elite/Platinum happy hour. I was accused of being an elitist snob for expecting special service at the happy hour (it's been a standard drink there for years) or for not just telling the bartender how to make one (we never saw bartenders, all orders were taken by servers who collected them from bars that were sometimes floors away). The darn thing blew up and had hundreds of replies in a couple of hours. Someone a Princess must have been reading it because from that point on, EVERY server knew what a Chairman of the Board was. Still can't order it from the app but, you know, baby steps. Anyway, the Chairman of the Board is my favorite martini.

@martincaththank you very much for the helpful information. We had a great trip from YVR to our downtown hotel in an Uber yesterday and were considering an Uber to the port today. However, I have found that there are some occasions when Uber is not the best choice and suspected that this might be one. Your advice helped me convince DH that we should taxi there (3 people, lots of luggage). It could not have been easier. He knew exactly what to do, which lane to be in, what ship was where. An Uber driver might not have been as knowledgeable. Thanks again.

The simple fact is that no one has a crystal ball. There are a finite number of planes and seats and an infinite number of variables that can make everything go wrong. While cruise line air was not a factor, this example can give you an idea of what can happen. A few years ago we were taking a family cruise from FLL. My daughter and her now-husband were flying from Chicago Midway on Southwest. He had to work the entire day and they could not leave until the last flight of the day before the cruise. I begged them to figure out a way to leave earlier but it could not be done. As it turned out, there was a horrible snowstorm that hit Chicago that day and every earlier flight that day was cancelled and people were being re-booked two and three days later. Their flight was significantly delayed but still flew and they arrived at FLL in the wee hours of the night. If they had listened to me, they would have missed the cruise. Instead, they were just sleepy.

I have been wracking my brain to remember the wonderful car service we used several years ago. I will look it up and come back if I can find it. Considering that you have a party of six, a private service is definitely your best bet for both convenience and price. I strongly suggest that you book it soon. The last time we did the London to Southampton trip, others on our cruise could not find any car service available as we got close to our sailing date.

As with anything, you are your own best advocate. Before you start looking at EZAir, check out the flight options and pricing as if you'd be booking on your own. That way you'll have a point of comparison when you check out EZAir. When flying internationally, we've found some spectacularly good deals on business class but domestic flights are often on par with booking directly with the airline. We've never needed assistance from the cruise line while flying to the port and I sincerely hope it stays this way. One feature I've liked, especially in the current travel/health environment, is that air booked through EZAir is cancellable and changeable up to 45 days before the cruise. We've been able to monitor flight costs and change to a lower price.

Next month we’re taking our first Princess cruise since before Covid. I am soooo looking forward to my first Chairman of the Board!