mickeysgal

Bravo!!  Thank you for this

Try googling for stateroom videos - NCL Haven penthouse one bedroom suites.  I believe this type has a real door

On 7/20/2023 at 6:10 PM, Islander500 said:

Yes, I see that one; it's perpendicular to the connecting wall between the staterooms. I'm sorry I didn't describe it well. I'm referring to the hard thick black parallel line all along the entire wall dividing the 2 staterooms. 

Its a firewall

On 5/27/2024 at 8:40 AM, OceanCruise said:

Just off Beyond in a Magic Carpet suite. Some thoughts on our suite amenities:

-No photographer present at the Senior Officer's party in Retreat lounge (so no complimentary photo as previously)

-There was a real chocolate souffle served in Luminae one night which was so delicious! We were told this is usually only served once on a longer than 8-night cruise

-The lobster in Luminae (served only at one dinner and one lunch) was extremely tiny (basically only 2-3 bites)

-Filet mignon in Luminae (served only on last night) was outstanding

-The free slippers provided in room are much cheaper and not plush terry as previously

-No invitation to sail-aways, no bridge tours, etc. The only other Retreat activity was a silent disco in the Retreat lounge which we did not attend. 

-No extra free gifts or surprise appetizers/fruit in room other than 1 canvas tote bag on embarkation day and a bud vase with 2 flowers. We did get daily pillow chocolates.

-Butler was somewhat visible and he generally responded promptly to our minor requests--yay!

-We had to ask for loungers for the balcony. After 2-3 requests to different people they were provided on second day.

-Plenty of free bottled water provided in room daily without us having to ask.

-All Retreat lounge staff were always very proactive in asking if we needed drinks or assistance with anything

-Most nights in the theater they had areas roped off for the Premium Access guests but not Retreat guests. The only reserved seats for Retreat guests were for the 2 production shows. It wasn't a problem but I found it interesting that suite guests paying a lot more had less priority.

Who did you have to ask to get those loungers? Did you get one or two? 

51 minutes ago, George C said:

89 would be considered cool in Dallas we been at a hundred give or take a degree . Caribbean is pretty warm year round, wouldn’t stop me from cruising. I rather do Caribbean than Europe in summer.

We were in Rome last year in late August and I swore never, ever again in the summer. It was brutal. Heart pounding, need Gatorade brutal.  That’s another reason I’m asking this question. I don’t want a repeat of that. 

20 minutes ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

October in Atlanta should be one of the best times to be in Georgia.  Maybe you need to consider travel from there in July & August.  😄

 

Hawaii is ALWAYS nice!

Way ahead of you there. We are headed to Norway shortly in July! 
 

Although October is nice here in Georgia…a vacation that time fits my husbands work schedule. So October it is! 

Just now, PTC DAWG said:

October sounds great.

 

I see you live in ATL, it will feel cooler there than it does here now.

Honestly that's what driving this question.  Just taking a dog for a walk in this heat and humidity is causing my heart rate to go up.  It's just unbearable.  So if thats what Oct will be like, I don't want to pay for that that! misery! I'd rather go somewhere else to be honest.  Our alternate is Hawaii.

Its been years since we went on a Caribbean cruise.  I know the temp will be hot but was it so hot that you said never again? We are debating cancelling a booked cruise...I just don't want it unbearable such that we don't enjoy anything.  We are booked for an October southern Caribbean.  Avg temp 89.  Is it heart pounding heat and sun such that you can't/didn't truly enjoy it?

32 minutes ago, LexK said:

This site states "please book your tours directly with your cruise line.  Dive Dominica is not able to offer you reservations directly".

 

I'll be on Celebrity Summit 10/26 leaving San Juan Puerto Rico

I looked on the website, but couldn't find a way. Do I just call the 800 number?

 

Thoughts appreciated.

I don’t know why you’d contact the cruise director. 
 

Log into celebrity , then find the shore excursions and book. It won’t tell you the third party that is handling the shore excursion but you should be able to figure it out based on the description of the tour. 

On 6/22/2024 at 8:17 PM, oldfashioncruiser said:

I am making my final payment next week.  Thanks for the heads up.,  

 

 Does anyone know if the offer is on Delta’s platinum Amex card?

It has shown up on our AmEx Plat. 

What kind of cabin did you have?  We are heavily looking at this cruise and from what I'm reading there may be no need to spend extra for a balcony as you're in port each and every day.  I'm torn on what to do.  If you had a balcony, would you book it again?  If you didn't have one, did you regret not having one?  

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 

They are wonderful balconies AND suites. We have 2 trips booked on this class in the next year.  Price is much more reasonable than comparable on X.  We rate the suite somewhere between a CS and RS on X.  No, there is no butler, which we don't care about, the room attendant has always done a great job for us.  No, there is no Retreat lounge with free drinks all day, but there IS a concierge lounge with free cocktails for a couple hours each night.  No, there is no Luminae, but there IS the Reserve dining room for suites and some mini suites, which is very nice with great service.  

 

And THAT balcony is just so wonderful it compensates for pretty much anything that is otherwise lacking compared to X. 

Wow thank you for this. Definitely this is on our radar now. Going to look deeper into this today. We have an October cruise on Beyond in a magic carpet suite - booked with the intention of lots of balcony time since there are 4 sea days on a 9 day cruise. It’s just so much money and to have it degraded like this…just can’t bring myself to make that huge final payment . It feels wrong and stupid to do so. 

On 6/20/2024 at 4:20 PM, Gracie115 said:

Princess aft suite balcony furniture on Regal...and all Royal class ships..... wonderful

 

 

That’s beautiful! And a real

table and chairs to actually have enough space on it to enjoy a meal . 

On 6/19/2024 at 7:09 PM, 2NHcruisers said:

that was made clear to us.. POGA (piss off go away)... Havent been back...

POGA…brilliant! I’m using that going forward, lol. 

32 minutes ago, hallasm said:

Depends on your interests - here are some examples: Cable Car (Fjellheisen), The Arctic Cathedral, Northern Norway Art Museum, The Arctic University Museum of Norway, Troll Museum 

Are there local tour companies at the port or do you suggest just getting a taxi? 

18 hours ago, hallasm said:

 

By the way - a exfremely nice itinerary with three Iconic deep fjords to Geiranger. Flåm and Olden

Bergen, Ålesund and Tromsø are three nice coastal cities.

Honningsvåg is North Cape - not to be missed - also midnight sun i July.

 

In some ports it's possible to book at the day  - in other ports not possible or sold out at the day. If you book in advance many local providers will let you cancel up to the day before.

Gerainger - a HoHo bus is available to the view points - can be booked at the day

Molde - not likely

Honningsvåg - not likely, excursions might be sold out (North Cape).

Tromsø - possible at the day

Ålesund- possible at the day / some might be sold out

Flåm - main attraction is the train - might be sold out - book at Norways Best - can be cancelled

Olden - Loen Skylift possible at the day

Bergen - good DIY city with many options.

 

What on the spot tours might one find in Tromso? We too will be there in July, and I’ve not booked anything. Thought we might just find a taxi and go it alone. Not opposed to a tour though! 

22 hours ago, craftymarie said:

Hi All, we are doing the Arctic circle cruise on Jewel of the seas 5-18 july. Our ports are Gerainger.Molde. Honningsvag, Tromso Alesund, Flam, Olden,& Bergen. my question is can we get tours in the port areas? ie not pre booked tours, but on the spot tours. we deliberately did not pre book due to health reasons as we may not be able to do tours. We would be content just to wander around, but it would be nice to have options.
thanks in advance for advice
Marie

Wow- I just looked at Jewel’s itinerary. We are on an Arctic circle cruise similar with Celebrity but we don’t stop at Gerainger- which has been on my bucket list. We do have Olden and Flam though on our itinerary. I’m so envious- I should have booked the one you’re on! Enjoy! 

20 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Agreed.

Those who say they will request a lounger for an IV stateroom, IMO are not familiar with this type of room and the fact that the “veranda” is actually inside the cabin.

The window overlooking the water can be lowered to “create” a verandah, but a lounger would take up a lot of space.

And maybe this is why they’re saying no to loungers and it being a safety issue. Maybe others are asking for loungers for their IV trying to make it into a true veranda. Shoving a lounger into any IV - it would be too crowded and a tripping hazard for guests and room stewards.

10 hours ago, tbop said:

It’s a better time for us too and festivals are that month.

What festivals? 

1 hour ago, tbop said:

We are thinking about the August 18,2025 cruise but reading too many negative reviews about the heat. Looks like the itinerary may be in some cooler spots except Kyoto and Tokyo. We live in California and the temps hit 100 but humidity is about 50%. So I'm not sure if the complaints are from heat intolerant people or both. Otherwise the price and ports look amazing. 

Great - that’s the one we booked. It was the only one that worked with our work schedules. Ugh. 

7 minutes ago, AC Stew said:

 

Thank-you; any thoughtful input is always welcome to the conversation. However, in this case, the staterooms that we're talking about here, all have incredibly large balconies. An SV balcony (Millenium Class) is darned near as big as the cabin itself! Walkable space is not the issue.

This is exactly what I have booked next year and I talked friends of mine into the same cabin next to ours.  Because of the size, because of the loungers.  They don't even know about this change yet.  They won't be happy either.  

35 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

I asked that same question about five pages back. Are we not just going in circles now 😁?  The only way to move the issue forward is for more people to complain directly to Celebrity rather than on CC.

Sorry 480 comments- I can’t remember them all. But yes, it’s a call to Celebrity that is needed and will be done. 

On 6/11/2024 at 4:25 PM, AC Stew said:

Tiny update, direct from Executive Office customer service individual: 

 

I was just informed that the decision was made at the highest level, the new CEO and her inner circle. Comments made to the phone number below are being passed onto that upper level  management team.

 

I also pressed for a firm answer as to what furniture would be placed on the balcony. Answer? The Kelly Hoppen miserably uncomfortable little half back chairs. I reiterated that there's a couple of months before final payment, and I would not accept those chairs under any circumstances. The fellow I spoke to (Mantana?) stated that all emails and phone conversations are being compiled and then passed on to upper management.

 

So, I'm not quite ready to stop beating that poor horse. It's not dead (YET)! There are 7 folks answering the phones at the number below. They are well aware of this issue, and the fact that we're not buying an unexplained "safety" excuse. Call them! 

 

Executive Office: (305) 614-1343

 

PS> I also added that if passenger misbehavior or lounger misuse is responsible for this matter, let them look at their deck cameras and punish the abusers. Ship Security would know who they were!

 

 

And this CEO and her inner circle …when they go on that Presidents cruise, will they be just laying out towels on the floor of their balcony to lay on or will she magically have furniture appropriate for her suite balcony space? Maybe they need to pay without their company discount for this cruise and then get benefit upon benefit reduced. Make her pay for cookies, let her sit on one of those uncomfortable balcony chairs in the smoking section, and live a day in the life of her recent silly changes they’ve been trying to implement.  

2 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Exactly.  If there were so many of these supposed incidents the Cruise Critic boards would be blowing up. And let's say it's true. 50 incidents out of hundreds of thousands of passengers?! Come on. Why should we all have to suffer. 

Same loungers are on the pool

deck. Are those being removed as well? 
 

This was our balcony on our recent Ncl Encore in their suite only Haven . (And it was a wonderful Haven experience). Padded loungers and chairs. Apparently not a safety issue there .