LizO830

I received the Blue Chip offer via email. The Christmas sailing on the Reflection that we were considering for a family vacation was available, but by the time I quoted the additional cabins, beverage package, internet, & gratuities, it was out of our budget (we need 3 cabins for 4 adults, 1 senior, & 2 teens plus beverage packages & internet for everyone). If the family still wants to do a cruise for Christmas, we'll have to do the HAL Nieuw Amsterdam. If they are willing to skip the family trip this year, we are considering the 4-night cruise on the Summit departing on 12/27. 

We've never done a short cruise. Four nights seems really short, and not worth the 12 hour drive to Miami. Has anyone done a 4 night cruise on the Summit? Is there any catch to the Blue Chip deal? The price I was quoted was just taxes & port fees. We're used to doing the all-included with premium upgrades, so we'd still probably spend close to $1500 for the cruise if we add on the premium beverage package/premium internet/gratuities/specialty dining/etc.

On 1/31/2022 at 8:32 PM, zitsky said:

Does anyone know if the Veuve Clicquot dinner is offered on the Reflection?  I’m considering a cruise in September.

This was offered on the 12/26/21 sailing on the Reflection. I believe it was $160pp. We seriously considered it, but we ended up doing regular specialty dining every night instead of doing this or the chef's table. It was not available to book in advance online or via phone. It was only offered onboard. I recommend booking it on embarkation day right after boarding. There was a desk to the left of guest relations for dining reservations.

We disembarked today (12/26 sailing). We did not go to any shows, but that’s normal for us. There was the usual amount of music around the ship. Unfortunately the lead singers sounded overworked towards the end of the week.
We had a great time onboard. There were 1700 passengers & it was a very fun crowd for NYE. Definitely our best cruise yet!

We disembarked through terminal 29 today (1/2/22) & there was no global entry. Only 2 customs agents for 1700 passengers. Took approximately 1 hour from our cabin to the mid port parking garage using self-assist/walk-off.

We docked at Puerto Plata yesterday (12/31/21 - Celebrity Reflection). The port is absolutely beautiful! We walked all the way to the end to the taxi area inside the port. We paid $40 roundtrip for 4 people to go to Playa Dorado. Beautiful beach, nice safe area, free beach chairs, beach waiter service, good restaurant & bar. Bathrooms were very clean. This isn’t a calm water area, but the waves were fun. The taxi drivers stay at the beach the whole time you’re there. The ride to the beach took about 15 minutes, but the return drive was about 30 minutes. We wore masks in the port, taxi, & restaurant.

• Ship:  Reflection 
• Length of Cruise: 7 nights
• Cruise Sail Date: 12/26/21
• Date email offer received: 12/8/21
• Captain’s Club Tier: Classic
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: 3rd party booking website
• Current Cabin: Concierge 1058
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category: Aqua 
• Bid Offer: $145 ($290 total)
• Notification Date: 12/20/21
• Accepted / Rejected: Accepted

My cruise planner is offering me an upgrade from the premium beverage package to the "Drinks & More" package. Unfortunately, its not actually available. I called customer service yesterday to upgrade, and they said it's been discontinued. I complained about it being offered and requested they bring it back. The agent I spoke with said they've gotten a lot of calls requesting it be brought back, and they're submitting tickets to bring it back. So, if $50 of casino credit, 2 bottles of wine, a wine tasting event, and free mini bar sounds like something you'd purchase, call and request it. Maybe if enough people ask for it, they'll bring it back.

We have a morning/early afternoon port stop in San Juan in about 2 weeks. Since we've been to Old San Juan several times before for evening port stops, we want to spend our day at a beach instead of in old town. Our cruise line is only offering one shore excursion, Vivo Beach Break, and it seems quite overpriced. I'd prefer to just get a cab or Uber. Which beach would you recommend? Are there public access areas, beach chairs to rent, or beach bars you'd recommend? Are any hotels on the beach offering day passes?

Thank you!

Does anyone have any additional updates on if the Global Entry line has been available recently in Port Everglades? Thanks!

We’re considering booking the Celebrity Reflection for the NYE sailing (12/26/21). We sailed on the same ship for Christmas in 2018 & 2019, and they did not offer specialty dining packages and the specialty dining prices were increased (normal menus, increased cost). Can someone booked on a NYE sailing check their cruise planner to see if the dining packages are available?

Thank you so much!

N Statendam - 26-Dec-21 - 7 day Western Caribbean

My husband & I are booked on the Nieuw Statendam for NYE. My parents are joining us, and we've invited my husband's family as well. Cruises are the best type of vacation with extended families. It's not our first HAL cruise, but it will be for our families. My parents have sailed on Carnival, Norwegian, & Viking. I think they'll really enjoy Holland.

19 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I believe that HAL has eliminated the Piano Bar from a majority of their ships.   

 

Hank

They just renamed it. It's now the Billboard Onboard venue. The dueling pianos is quite entertaining.

Based on what you like, I would recommend Celebrity over Holland. However, Holland is a great option over holiday or other busy weeks. The holiday cruises on HAL tend to have multi-generational groups, and the additional younger people onboard make for a fun cruise. I think the nightlife does still close down fairly early, but we find it works for us. We're in our 30's but we don't need to stay up super late every night. We enjoy meeting other guests at the bars and listening to the live music. Plus Holland has really good food and service.

Does anyone know if both passengers in the cabin are required to upgrade? I'm more of a wine drinker than my husband, and I would enjoy having the upgrade to the Elite beverage package. We currently have the signature package with the Have It All promotion.

As of this morning, reports state that the roads are clear and the locals are cleaning up the streets. Hopefully it stays calm. Definitely check local news before heading over to the French side if you visit in the next several weeks. I'm keeping my hopes up that we'll get to visit our favorite places on the French side next week (although I have a few spots on the Dutch side picked out as a back-up plan).

I've seen people snorkeling at Happy Bay and at Orient Bay by the old Club Orient resort. To access Happy Bay, you'll park at Friar's Bay (two restaurants with chairs to rent), then hike about 10 minutes. There are no facilities on Happy Bay. On Orient Bay beach, you'll find many restaurants and bars. By the old Club Orient resort, there's a bar/grill, Perch Lite, and plenty of chairs to rent. Both of these beach areas will have nude sunbathers FYI, but the main portion of Orient is not nude.

The protests are on the French side of the island. As of this morning, most of the roads had re-opened. The protesters had built barricades blocking the main road in several areas, but the police were able to clear most of the roads last night. This is a very fluid situation and changes by the day (or hour). Typically these type of protests in France last for a few days, then the police steps up their presence and the government works to a resolution. I would not worry about your port stop unless it's in the next week. We'll be there on 12/24 on the Celebrity Reflection. Since we vacation to St. Martin regularly, we have rented a car and planned to spend our day on the French side. Right now, I am paying close attention to the news on the island. If the roads aren't clear by 12/24, we'll stay on the Dutch side of the island, which does not have any protesters. Luckily, for those who would like to avoid the French side of the island, Philipsburg has a great beach and lots of shopping very close to the cruise port. The airport beach, Maho, is also on the Dutch side. There are also two zip-lines and many boating excursions right by the cruise port.

We will be in St. Thomas on 12/23/19, and there will be 3 ships at Havensight, 2 at Crown Bay, and 1 at Cruz Bay (13,000+ passengers). We've only been to St. Thomas twice before, once for our wedding (so we didn't see any other part of the island) and last December. On our last visit we took the open air bus/taxi to Magens Bay, and we did not enjoy it at all. The beach was insanely crowded, like towel to towel with other people, even at the far end. We like beaches that aren't super crowded, but still have a bar, restaurant, or snack cart & restroom facilities. We're a couple in our 30's (no kids, no mobility issues). We're docking at Crown Bay. Which beach would you recommend in St. Thomas? Or should we go to St. John via taxi/ferry/taxi or book an excursion (not into snorkeling or driving tours)? We were originally thinking we'd do St. John, but the cruise ship "St. John on Your Own" excursion only has 2 hours actually in St. John. This is the only port stop of our cruise where I have no clue what to do. 

Celebrity does not offer dining packages or discounts on certain holiday cruises.

We sailed on the Reflection last year for Christmas and are booked on it again for this Christmas. If you see the dining trio option, buy it! It's occasionally offered during a sale. It's definitely the best deal you'll get on specialty dining on these cruises.  I'm happy to see that they at least are offering special menus to somewhat justify the crazy price increases. Last year the menus were normal but the prices were increased. It was weird, especially since we did cruises on both Thanksgiving and Christmas, so we had a recent comparison.

On a normal/non-holiday cruise, we typically do specialty dining every night that we aren't in port, so we always buy the packages. For this Christmas cruise, we have the trio package and a reservation at Le Petit Chef, so that will cover 3 nights (we plan to use the package on Lawn Club Grill and Tuscan Grille). We'll do the 5-course menu with wine pairings at Murano if it's available and we're in port late in San Juan, so we'll only have 2 nights in the MDR or pay full price for the Porch and Sushi on Five.

We were on the Reflection for Christmas in 2018. I used battery-powered LED string lights and magnetic hooks to decorate inside our cabin.

We got married in July 2017, so I’m not sure exactly how much I’ll remember about the planning, but I’ll try!

We set up a group booking directly through NCL for our guests to reserve their cabins, and the cruise line was aware it was for our wedding. They arranged a private escort off of the ship when we arrived in St.Thomas through the crew area, so I could make my early hair & makeup appointment in port. Everything else I planned through the local wedding planner. I liked that this gave me more options for type of ceremony, location, decor, etc.

Who did you go through for your wedding in st Thomas? Any advice please?! I already paid ROE the non refundable deposit to schedule my wedding and now I’m nervous!! Getting married in st Thomas in January 2020

I used Island Bliss Weddings & Mermaid Rebecca Ruth photography. It was a great experience!

We recently booked a Christmas cruise on the Koningsdam. Our travel agent gave us a 2nd dinner at the Pinnacle Grill and a dinner at Canaletto. On our past HAL cruises, we were disappointed in Canaletto and underwhelmed by the Pinnacle Grill. One of the reasons we booked the Koningsdam was for the additional specialty dining options. We have tried Tamarind & Sel de Mer (pop-up in the steakhouse) on previous sailings, and they were wonderful. Do you know if HAL allows you to transfer your free dinner credits to the other restaurants? We would love to dine at the Culinary Arts Center, Tamarind, and Sel de Mer on our upcoming holiday cruise.

For those who have already stopped in Cap Cana / Punta Cana, would you recommend a cruise line shore excursion or just taking the shuttle bus to the beach?

We're scheduled to stop here on our next Celebrity cruise, and their shore excursions seem a bit pricey. We have a bit of extra on board credit to use, so I'd like to book a shore excursion in either Punta Cana or Nassau. Since we've been to Nassau many times before and know we won't get off of the ship without a shore excursion, I'm leaning towards a shore excursion in Nassau and just doing the shuttle bus to the beach in Punta Cana.

Thoughts? Thanks!

Wow! This all makes me very glad that I chose to book my wedding with a local coordinator in St. Thomas. (Wedding date is July 18, 2017, sailing on NCL Escape.) So far, the planning process has gone pretty well, and I think I'll end up saving quite a bit of money.

I've not had a great experience with NCL group booking process. Does anyone have experience booking a rehearsal dinner on board in the private room at Taste (MDR) or coordinating group shore excursions? Were you able to distribute welcome bags in the guests cabins on embarkation day?

Thanks!