GottaKnowWhen

Just over 75 years ago, April 1948, I took my first ocean voyage. My Dad had moved to Greece for his job earlier that year, my older brother, Mother and I followed. We were aboard the MV Vulcania - Italian Line. I'll confess I don't remember much of the trip from NYC to Athens.The attached Daily Program is one item Mom sent home to her parents. My Dad kept many items from his trip over on a sister ship (like listings of passengers and which ports they embarking from and disembarking to). Those items are in a box somewhere in the house...

Stan

Vulcania-1948.pdf

23 hours ago, kellig said:

We will be embarking on the same terminal on June 17th. What I am struggling to figure out is how to get to the port. We are staying at Hotel Dona Palace in Venice. I read that the Alilaguna Blue line would go to Marittima from San Marco somewhere, but their website shows that the schedule goes to a stop a whole other pier away called Tronchetto https://www.alilaguna.it/linee/linea-blu

Anyone used this transport already this season? Do they stop at Marittima Cruise port terminal even though it's not on their schedule?

 Ask at your hotel. Note that a few of the stops will not be in use around Tronchetto and that region due to some bridge repair work, this most likely won’t affect you, but ask at your hotel for up to date local info.

I’ve been wondering about this - nothing shows in the app for my Infinity sailing next Saturday. I will go armed with these updated FAQs, for what it is worth.

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

$25.00. 

Unless you have a drink package and then it is free.

22 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Ok.  So we have a report from 1 / 2600 passengers.  When can we expect the rest to comment?

Sorry, I missed out on Solstice in April. But we were on Solstice last December. All venues too loud. I mentioned this to the Cruise Director as we stood in a very noisy Grand Foyer, he kind of shrugged and said “yeah, others have said that too.” Which is one way to deal with a guest’s observation - just blow it off.

I really don’t understand the compulsion to pipe (loud) music into every venue. The Main Street in our small town closes off a few blocks in the summer. Scattered picnic tables, outside seating at the cafes and restaurants, guests free to carry opened alcoholic drinks from place to place within the District. It could all be very pleasant except for the canned music loudly emanating from speakers high atop the light poles. 
Stan

On 5/21/2023 at 6:03 PM, med2cruise said:

Can you take a corkscrew on board with you in your carry on luggage?  Or do you need to put it in your checked in luggage?

 

No need. Ask your room steward.

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

Took a photo of my cut and pasted brokerage statement indicating my RCL shares, attached it to the electronic form and received this reply that benefit was denied because Unable to open/read Stock Statement, please resubmit. 

Try saving your "photo" as a file that can be read by normal office-type software. E.g., save as a pdf...

On 5/21/2023 at 2:35 PM, Octavias said:

I’m a first time cruiser, so I have 0 points and no status.  I sure hope I don’t accidentally try to go to a restricted event. Lol, that would be embarrassing!  So there is a breakfast event, what else should I be on the look out for?  
 

 

Don’t worry. The events restricted to cruisers with more Club points will have a poster board/easel setup by the entrance. Something like Captain’s Welcome for Elite and Higher guests…

I’ve been reading current and near-future Roll Calls. Nobody knows nothing yet, or at least they aren’t sharing what they know.

15 hours ago, hawk6815 said:

We’re doing the same as you, just a day later. Arrive to Ravenna on the 9th and cruising on the 11th. I may reach out to the hotel next week to see how it’s looking.

That may be a good source of information!

I am scheduled out of Ravenna on 10 June. 3 weeks from now! 8-9 June we are to spend in Ravenna, visiting friends. A recent update from friend Dario speaks of evacuations, rivers/canals breaching their banks, etc. We’ll see how things develop…

Stan

12 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Celebrity doesn’t have any itineraries that disembark in Canada, so no.  

Unless you think of Vancouver B.C. as part of Canada. Yes I know, they are way off out there on the western edge, but still, many Canadians I am sure still think Vancouver is in Canada.

1 hour ago, zdcatc12 said:

I have used them for numerous tours through the years and for car hires. I have never had an issue with someone not showing up or a bad tour.

We had a Viatour tour in Easter Island, 2016, Christmas time. We flew in, were picked up as scheduled and taken to our hotel. The next morning at 0800 we waited for the tour bus to pick us up for our day around the island. At 0830 I called the local office, left a message. At 0900 I called again. About 0920 a van showed up, took us quickly down the road, past two sites we didn’t get to visit, caught up with our tour and turned us over to the guide who hadn’t bothered to stop by our hotel.

Not good service.

Note, my exact times may be off, it was 5+ years ago, but our wait was a long one.

11 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

Scroll all the way over on the top of the dining page on the app. It’s under “loyalty”

No, that is where I have seen it in that past, that is where I looked for it for my 10 June cruise. It is not there, which could well be an app issue but it could have been a change in policy. From the replies so far, I'll assume it is just an app issue.

A friend in Ravenna will be taking us to the ship. If there is a comfortable sit-down lunch, we will probably go ahead and board and settle in. If there is no Concierge lunch, then we will more likely take Dario out to lunch someplace and then go to the port. But my general preference is always to be early when that is feasible, and I can easily see a lunch with Dario going on for several hours and then we are in a hurry-up mode to board... 

Addendum: my June 10 is the first of a 7+7 b2b on Infinity. I just rechecked the Restaurants area of the app. Nothing. However, for my August sailings on the Millennium, the Loyalty lunch does show up. We'll see...

Stan

16 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Yes it is still offered.

the app is incomplete

Thanks!

22 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Sounds easy-peasy. But had you kept those bookings, your fare would have been significantly more money, right?  That’s the difference, I guess. I’d rather risk losing $900 for a NRD on a cruise I will most likely take than pay significantly more for a cruise that I will most likely take…even though I can cancel pretty easily. Not knocking your strategy at all. I’m glad there are options that fit all of us. 

I think the final cost is about the same, the refundable just requires more upfront. But I haven’t done the numbers in detail. For me, these were “risky” bookings from the start just because of expected high airfares, and other issues. I was optimistic but not committed enough to go with a NRD.

Is this still a thing? I used to be able to see this as an option (and see the menu) when looking at Restaurants on the app. Don’t see anything for an upcoming June sail on the Infinity.

Last Thursday or Friday (4 days ago, with an intervening weekend period) I went online to my Celebrity account and reluctantly pushed the Cancel button on the website page for each of two cruises I had booked for early 2024. Both were booked as Refundable fares. Both had a $900 deposit ($450/pp). I had used two different credit cards.

Today I received a notice from each credit card company that I had a $900 credit pending from Celebrity Cruises.

No hassle, no fuss, no long phone conversations! Thanks Celebrity!

Stan

On 4/10/2023 at 6:11 PM, CnV said:

Does anyone know if B2B cruises allow you to carry on wine at the start of the first cruise and then again on the second leg?

 

We're doing B2B Australia/NZ cruises in December.  Our particular cruise is booked as one event but both legs are also available as separate cruises.  Since we hope to pick up some of the local wines it would be wonderful if we could 'restock' mid-way.

On the Star Pride from San Juan this January, no problem buying some wine in San Juan on our middle day in a 7+7 b2b. As we left the ship that morning the captain was on his way out to spend the day with his family. As we talked , I mentioned we were on our way to walk around in Old San Juan and to buy a few wines. He didn’t bat an eye! 

1 hour ago, waterbug123 said:

this is a topic on which there will never be full agreement by pax….

Neither group has ever succeeded in convincing the other group to change their minds

But that won’t stop us from trying! 🍺

3 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

Yes as you cannot travel, should you miss your ship, on a photo copy.

As already pointed out earlier, if you miss the ship, the ship’s personnel will make every effort to retrieve your passports from your safe and transfer them to the port agent before departing. It would be useful to have a photocopy and probably an image of the passports on your phone; if you in fact are left without your passport, the photocopy will help you work with your country’s consulate or embassy to get help traveling home.

There may be exceptions, and the cruise line will explicitly warn you that for certain ports and/or sites to be visited that passports are needed. Quite unusual in my experience. If there IS a need for id at a site you are visiting, it may be because you have a special Senior rate or because you shouldn’t qualify for a special rate for local residents…

Having survived two pickpocket attempts, I don’t need the extra concern of something as fundamental as my passport, and it stays on board.

 Stan

18 hours ago, CU64 said:

Try having a medical ER when off the ship, needing police and/or hospital services. Good to have Passsport on you.

I cannot imagine why a hospital or police would need my passport. I would have my driver’s license and health card. Totally sufficient for id purposes just about anyplace. If I am hospitalized and miss the ship, the Ship security personnel will open my safe, extract my passport, and convey it to the port agent to pass on to me.

I do have an additional backup. - my GOES card. But I cannot imagine ever needing 5hat in a foreign port.

Stan

3 hours ago, Longboysfan said:

Question is - Why bring work tools to vacation in the first place.

Unless unlimited WiFi package - your send and receive rates are not good.

They don't recommend you use a big app with streaming content.

Who said anything about work tools? And even if I were working on my computer onboard (been there, done that) who says I would need to be in contact with anybody else via WiFi, Internet, whatever? I take my laptop because it is my one and only computer. At home, it is plugged into an external monitor and bridge with multiple drives, etc. When traveling, with one external SSD drive, I can download, post-process, share and store my photos and when back home, no duplication or steps to fuss with. I also maintain/update my financial files and correspondence on my computer. And my files on lodging/transportation/excursions/cruise/railway information for past, present and future travel. 

In short, computers are useful for and used for other than work.

Stan

1 hour ago, JayBird7 said:

What a tsunami of responses!  Celebrity remains on my cluster**** list, but to allay your concerns and answer your questions: Alaska Millenium cruise and cruisetour in middle May.  Cancellation in April was 204 days since initial deposit; full payment was in February.  Yes, offers of rebooking but none of the dates were acceptable.  Also, Flights by Celebrity airfare for new booking would have increased cost by $500+ with no offer of assistance in payment of higher costs.  Yes, Celebrity did refund all costs except for costs of lost dreams, lost bucket list, lost adventures, and extremely poor PR.  I have taken cruises on other lines but never on Celebrity.  Su at Celebrity claims to be looking into this sometime today.

So, Cruise Tour, not a Cruise.

Stuff happens with shore excursions all the time. If you book a Shore Excursion through the cruise line, they may get cancelled (been there, had that happen) and you'll get a refund. They cannot control natural events and local conditions and local providers. A Cruise Tour is nothing more than a cruise plus additional 3± days of shore excursion. Stuff happens.

On your own or through an agent it is possible (quite easy in fact) to rent a car and drive. It is possible, quite easy, to book a train ticket and travel. It is possible, quite easy to book helicopter flights to see bears or glaciers or whatever. It is possible, very easy, to book hotel rooms. It is possible, quite easy, to book air travel. It is even possible to book a 7-day cruise. It might be easier for you or your agent to go the low-effort way and just buy a package, e.g. through Celebrity, with ship and air and hotel and sightseeing but then you are stuck when stuff happens. 

Now that stuff happened to the Tour portion of your Cruise Tour, I cannot imagine any reason why you couldn't just reassemble a similar package and get on with all of your dream trip.

Stan

7 hours ago, sarleo said:

My husband and I are leaving on a transatlantic on 4/22 and his new iPad just died. This is big deal. There is nothing he can do at this point, but have him use mine, use his phone or bring his MacBook Pro on board. The best idea for the both of us is to bring his laptop, but I am concerned that it doesn’t fit in the safe. Do I remember that right? And if not does anyone bring their laptop anyway?

 

Thanks,  Sarah

It will not fit. It does fit into the top of one of the drawers. When the cabin is being cleaned the door is always blocked, very unlikely anyone could get in, search, find, grab the MBP. I take mine, reasonable precautions ok but no need for excessive worry. BTW, I also take my iPad and often leave it in the cabin and have never locked it in the safe. My only incident was when I left it on the table out by the pool bar. It was over an hour before i could reclaim it in lost and found.

Stan