NewWestwardbound

That's interesting ! Do you mind sharing how much and how and when you booked ??

 

Just off to work so excuse the brief reply - I can amplify this evening if that helps.

 

I paid £1099 per person cruise price plus £102.81 per person prepaid tips = £1201.81 per person = £85.84 per person per night.

 

Booked 15 May for an 11 July departure; booked with a UK based travel agent.

 

On your comparison, my only quibble would be the use of the cost of drinks packages rather than their value to you (but that is a whole other level of complexity).

 

And to amuse anyone who thinks I sound smug, the cruise price dropped a further £50 per person the week after I booked .........

I try to target £100 pp per night including tips for a Balcony cabin for any peak period cruise out of Southampton. I struck lucky on timing and paid quite a bit less than this for a July Eclipse Baltic sailing this year. But no drinks package, OBC or parking included.

When you go to mdr do you go into kitchen to look at food?

No, but I'm willing to wager that he/she looks at the menu........

Thanks for the update.

Would you happen to have any details of entertainers on board?

For the 11 July Eclipse sailing, entertainers were:

Solitaire - the house band

Danny Rodriguez - Solo Guitarist and vocalist

String Harmony duo (two female cellists I think)

Blue Velvet - jazz band

Bella River Duo - female vocalist, male accompanying

If its N535 you mean It was even cheaper last month. I really can't see that dropping any furter to be honest.

No, unfortunately not having looked at the prices. It's N537.

Many thanks for the replies. I think I shall go ahead and book this week.

Any advice on cabins; I was thinking C Deck, near midships, perhaps C530 and C534; I am looking for decent balcony, with little movement in rough seas. Any views? And do the pullman beds when not deployed eat into cabin space, or will we be unaware of them?

I have a Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) that expires early August. I like the idea of taking the family away for Christmas so am looking at the cruises across the holiday period, particularly Aurora to the Baltic and - especially - Ventura to the Canaries. On the latter there are currently Select fares available, with significant OBC as well as the usual Select benefits, which appear to make them better value than an Early Saver.

I am in the perennial dilemma of whether to book now, wait until the last minute (for me, first week in August so I don't lose the FCD total £200), or even forfeit the FCD (and £50 additional OBC) and wait to see if prices drop. I know this is a very difficult question to answer(!), but are there any informed views, perhaps based on previous experience of pricing of Christmas cruises (I have only cruised in the summer before) on whether prices are likely to drop either before the first week in August or later?

Thanks in advance.

Sue Denning was back as CD on the Eclipse 11 - 25 July. She was an absolute livewire; we lost count of the times we saw her on the ship, on the harbourside and in port. She even stood at the gangway when we disembarked, thanked us for holidiayng with Celebrity and hoped she would see us again. In dark glasses mind ("We're going to rock it 'till we dock it!"). Fantastic!

If I may, can I ask how much the Chefs table costs?

And how you book it (please)?

We can't decide whether to take a drinks package for our 14 day cruise in November. We're not huge drinkers, but depending on how much individual drinks cost we are thinking that it may be worthwhile. Does anyone have any idea how much drinks cost to purchase individually - say cocktails and beers? I can't see any prices on the celebrity webpage other than for the packages. Thank you

 

 

I'm in a very similar space, so will be interested to read the replies. I can't see me drinking more than $700 worth of coffee, soft drinks and beer/wine on a 2 week cruise, but I could well be wrong. Very keen to hear real world experiences.

As a (reasonably) dispassionate observer having yet to sail with Cunard (I hope to shortly) I do like the sound of PunkiC's Meet & Greets. I sometimes wonder if we are all a little too quick to criticise if something doesn't seem to fit precisely our ideal. Perhaps we should just be grateful that someone is passionate enough to organise an event that we can choose to attend or otherwise. After all, we are all on holiday.

Still mulling this over the return crossing plus 5 days in NY. Price has moved up slightly, and eldest daughter has now said she would like to holiday with the 3 of us, meaning two cabins, blowing the budget.

Sure - it's the Holiday Inn Midtown 57th Street. Hope this helps.

Many thanks, really helpful.

We just managed to book the 20 day you mention. 8 nights out, 5 nights in New York, 7 nights back including transfers in NYC - £2197.99 total for two people in an inside. Didn't think it was worth the extra £450 each for the balcony on a transatlantic. First time with Cunard - never been tempted before, but this one was too good to miss :)

 

Sold out except for balconies now, unsurprisingly

 

It's certainly a strange one. By opting out of the 5 days up to Boston & Halifax and staying in New York instead the price difference was almost £4000 for the two of us. It wasn't even a 'saver' fare as we were able to book specific cabins and dining times which is usually not possible with saver fares

Any details on which hotel in New York (Manhattan) comes as part of the deal?

Wouldn't be trying to replicate last Friday night would we?!

Sorry, the three women in my life tried some of the cocktails and mocktails, but not that one.

This is not medical advice, and I am not sure if it will be helpful because I agree with others that motion sickness and it's causes and effects are very individual, however:

We cruised to the fjords last week from Southampton. I was very prone to travel sickness as a child, but have not been as an adult. Nevertheless, I was worried that it might recur, so I took advice from my local pharmacist in the UK and bought Stugeron 15 tablets for us all (but particularly me). They are available over the counter without prescription, and were suitable for me, my wife (who takes other medication) and our children. I took them according to the instructions, though reduced the dosage slightly after the first day as I felt fine. My wife and children took them when they felt a bit odd or queasy.

The sea state was generally flat, though we had a couple of evenings when the ship did feel like it was moving from side to side in the water, probably because it was windy, and one night our stuff on the bedside table was rolling around slightly.

None of us was sick, and any slight feeling of "oddness" disappeared very quickly. None of us suffered side effects.

I can't say whether the tablets had any effect or not (either medicinal or as a placebo) but I will take them on my next cruise.

Forgot to say that I think they had Gordons, Bombay Sapphire and Tanqueray.

I don't have a list, but from memory the Gins on Azura last week ranged from £18 to £26 per litre bottle. We didn't buy any - we don't drink much, and I wasn't convinced the prices were much better than supermarket prices. And they had sold out when I changed my mind!

We were on Azura last week and went on the (free) guided tour of the ship. We visited Oasis and were assured by the Manageress(?) that access to the (adult only) Oasis 'pool was free for all (ie. you did not have to pay the fee for access to the Spa to use the 'pool).

It is in the Spa, door on the left hand side. We were told it is a resistance pool, so you can swim distances.

Just back from fjords on Azura. The FCD can be used against Select and Early Saver fares.