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Is there a cruise line you'd prefer over another for Japan? Lookin at possibly May or June 2024.  

Thank you for all the replies! I am even more excited about our trip!!

I have cruised a few times before on different ships but have never been on the lowest stateroom level (we've always had a balcony on 7 and above). This time, however, my husband and I will be cruising with our young children and needed connecting rooms. The only ones available were the ocean view rooms on the Riviera level. I am very afraid that I'll feel "too close" to the water, if that makes any sense at all. For my ease of mind, I would like to know: for those of you whom have sailed on that floor, while you're in the room, will it seem like you're on ocean level? Will I be hearing/feeling waves splash on the window? Do you feel the movement of the ship less/more than higher levels? Thank you so much in advance!

Thanks for sharing, ladies!

I've followed all three parts of this thread and loved it! It's always great to see what others are wearing. My next cruise is on the Celebrity Silhouette, departing in 2 days! So excited. And I, for one, love dressing up so I have dresses for every night of the 7-day cruise. Will update with pictures once I return.

Thank you so much for all the replies. We've booked on the Silhouette instead, but we'll definitely give the M-class ships a try on our next cruise.

We've only been on the S-class ships and absolutely love our experiences there. I'm looking at a cruise on the Summit for 2015 (AQ) and am wondering if it's a bit of a "downgrade" sort to speak.

No offense intended. I'm a cruising novice and would appreciate any and all comments. Thank you in advance.

Thank you for your review. :)

We were on the same cruise with you, and we wholeheartedly enjoyed ourselves. I completely agree with you that we had a great crew on this sailing. I remember telling my husband that everybody just seemed to love their job; if they didn't, they surely didn't show it. :)

We will be on our first cruise ever on the Reflection in 9 days! I have been very excited about the cruise to begin with, but I am even much more so after reading your review. Thank you!

I would switch to 1547 in a micro-second. It has huge balcony with bed by the bath. Of all the ones you listed, that would be the one I would pick. 1554 would be my second choice.

 

Good luck, and happy cruising.

I just did! Thank you!

I currently have 1573 booked, but these angled cabins recently became available and I'm wondering if I should switch. :confused:

Would you rather have 1573, 1547, 1549, or 1554 on the Reflection? I've read thru the S-Class Cabin Selection spreadsheet, but still not sure. 1573 is midship and the rest are the cabins at an angle (1547 is first cabin at angle, while other two are the second cabins). Thanks in advance!

Thank you so much to all those who've emailed me. I can't thank you enough!

 

On a personal note as far as local travel agencies, I have not had much success. Try to get someone to contact you in the quickest amount of time when you see a price drop on your cabin. They are not as anxious to return your calls whereas the cruise line agent is right there to assist.

Even with my limited experience, I found this to be true as well. Took three of the four local TAs over a week to come back with a quote for me. I gave them the exact cruise I wanted, all I asked was a price, and it still took them that long.

My 2 cents

We usually use an online TA to book our cruises. We also usually book way ahead of the sailing (8-12 months). I monitor the prices for our cabin online on a daily basis. As soon as better prices appear or perks show up, I am on the phone with the online TA requesting the perk or better price. On our most recent Silhouette cruise from Rome to Venice, I originally booked the cheapest balcony cabin for $ 1699 per person incl taxes, port fees and gratuities (online TA offered the latter as a perk). I guess the cruise did not sell out and after calling several times and upgrading we ended up with an Aqua class cabin (1644), $375 OBC and the beverage package. Granted, I had to do a little work twice a day by checking websites for specials. Obviously not every sailing is not going to sell out. Pick a price you are comfy with and hope for extra perks. You will have a great time.

Don't spoil your vacation by thinking about what deal you may have missed out on.

 

Petra

Thank you, Petra! I will most definitely keep this in mind for future bookings. As for my current cruise, it's our first so I'm just happy we're even doing it. No regrets. I'm just anxious to be enjoying it already. :)

Yes, they all quote exactly what was on Celebrity's website, but in addition, a good TA will give you additional OBC at least in the amount to pay for your gratuities.

I supposed we just didn't find a good TA, then. If you know any you'd recommend please email me so I can look into it for future cruises? Thank you!

When on your cruise book your next cruise on board and then you can tranfer it to a TA to get their extra perks. You will also get some perks by booking on board, but if you want the 123 promo you will have to book before the promo is over. Sometimes they extend it but you never know.

 

Since you plan to travel with your children on the next cruise AQ may not be possible unless you book two cabins as only 2 are allowed AQ. Don't know about the AQ suites on the reflection.

 

Then if you book 2 AQ cabins the drink package will not be possible because both in the cabin have to have it.

 

It gets complicated.

 

 

Thank you for the tips. We will most definitely look into booking our next cruise while on board.

We won't be traveling with our kids, sorry about the confusion. I just meant that with 4 young kids, money's extremely tight and so any tip at all will help and appreciated. :)

At the minimum with what you paid, a good travel agent would be able to pay for your gratuities + more.

We got quoted by 4 local TA and 3 online TA. All came back with exactly what was on Celebrity's website. Since they were all the same, we sort of just picked one and booked with them. :confused:

I'm from the US, but mine showed up almost immediately under 'Manage Reservation' and the subcategory 'My Reservation'.

Hi welcome. This time last year I was facing the same dilemma. I needed a travel agent but didn't have one really available. after searching and searching I thought I found a good agent but ultimately it turned out to be a bad decision. Guess my point here is don't be afraid to do it yourself if need be. I ultimately did a do yourself cruise booking and I feel I was able to get a great deal after two price drops and taking advantage of the 123 go I think I have been able to book a pretty solid deal for my 2014 Med cruise. True I'm still in the market for a good TA for future cruises but now I won't be afraid to do a DIY.

Hello there! Thanks for the welcome.

If I don't find any perks with booking through a TA, I think DIY might be the way to go next time. I've had to make a small change with my reservation and though it was simple, it took a while because it required a chain of phone calls (Me to TA, TA to Celebrity, TA back to Me, and repeat).

Hi,:) the messaging function is not available on here so nope,

recommending TA's is not possible.

I would suggest finding someone in your local area...an agency that

specializes in cruises and see if they can help you.

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even realized that messaging is not possible. Thank you for pointing that out for me!

Anybody with tips they're willing to share, please email me? cthor03@hotmail.com <--- I hope that's allowed?

Hello All,

First off, I just wanted to thank everybody on cruisecritic.com for the wealth of information I've read here since my discovery of this site last month. My husband and I are new to cruising and have learned quite a bit from reading the threads on this forum. Thank you.

I was wondering if any of you frequent cruisers here can give me some tips on where and how to book future cruises. My husband and I recently booked our very first cruise with Celebrity and will be sailing at the end of March on a 7 day cruise to the Caribbeans on the Reflection. We booked an Aqua Class A1 stateroom for about $1300 p.p. with the 123GO promo and no OBC from an online TA. Many of you mentioned large OBC from your TA, but during my search, I found none of that. I looked online as well as local TAs and basically was quoted exactly what was on Celebrity's website, nothing extra. Are you getting these OBC because you're frequent cruisers? Or am I just finding the wrong TA?

I know you cannot post TA websites on here, but can any of you message me with those TAs you've gone through? Or even just offer general tips I can use for my next cruise? We have 4 kids under the age of 10 so any money saved is greatly appreciated (and hard to come by). Thank you so much in advance.