allyfree

Is it just me? ... although they have the same structure, I find the Celebrity app a lot less user friendly in terms of clarity for advance cruise info? Lack of food & drink menus, upgrades & purchases not showing, opening times, etc.

Take ziplock freezer bags and get them filled by bar staff or at juice machines as you need them .... i;ve been doing this for years !

On 2/13/2024 at 5:46 PM, cruisestitch said:

Despite the way that the Celebrity website and app look, on Apex, there is not early and late dining. There is only open seating. So the reservations that you think you have really don’t exist and you can go to any of the four dining rooms at any time. 
 

Don’t ask me why Celebrity can’t seem to fix this because it is a source of endless confusion

It's a ridiculous system ... I'd understand if you were limited to the individual MDR menus for all 4 but when you can order anything from anywhere, it seems bonkers to me to have to wait in line rather than just give everyone a dedicated table with a flexible time slot. The  MDRs get less and less busy every year so doubt it would be too hard to manage

Why is the weather important ? Scandinavia has spectacular scenery and the best way to see it is from the fjords before the ships get banned in 2026. If you want the sun, go to the Caribbean ! Have been often and the waterfalls are usually spectacular in May once the thaw takes hold ....

On 10/30/2023 at 10:24 PM, WoodstockGirl said:

Showing my ignorance here, I'm sure.... but does it really make any difference if within a family that has two rooms and 8 beds paid for, if one member of the family sleeps in one room or the other? Who even keeps track of that? 

I guess it'd get complicated if you're charging a drink (or something) to "your" room, but now you're in a different room. Other than that, I don't see how it matters.

Don't get mad at me... I just need it to be gently explained....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it definitely matters to the penny-pinchers at RCI - they wanted $35 per cabin for a simple swap of already-booked passengers. We simply got extra cabin key cards and swapped ourselves around

17 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

No the Solarium on RC is not exclusive adults only.  They have family hours - that's where all this is coming from.  As someone mentioned earlier, another move to have the Celebrity Experience like Royal Caribbean.  

 

I am not in favor of opening the solarium to children under the age of 21 for any period of time. 

 

Just off Symphony last week and solarium is 18+ only at all times

On 10/31/2023 at 1:53 PM, WatchHill said:

Finding a quiet area to relax on ships that overwhelm passengers with glitz and constant thumping music in excess of 100 dbls is an increasing challenge. Ships libraries have disappeared and replaced with high energy, revenue generating venues. We love the solitude of the Solarium and keeping it as an adult venue. 
 

Darcy 

couldn't agree more - lack of quiet space - and comfortable chairs - is becoming the norm, unfortunately

1 hour ago, Boston lab girl said:

I am Diamond plus on Royal and my next cruise gets me to elite plus on celebrity. 
really wish  they would combine the programs. I like the Royal ships because of the activities. Bumper cars on anthem , mini golf on all the ships. The ice shows and aqua shows. My last cruise on Royal was September 22 and the food was good. I love pizza and the buffet. No complaints in main dining room. The shows were good. Celebrity is quieter. It’s the little things like cold towels when returning to the ship. Having the towels placed on the chairs. As for points we booked jr suites for double points. And concierge on celebrity and sometimes a suite. I really try to stick with these two because of the status. We also have the credit card that we use for on board credit and have stock which also gives us $100 per cruise of onboard credit. The only thing we usually use is the laundry( we take long cruises) and the drinks. ( we are not big drinkers so two drinks a day) we don’t need the drink package. We also like the evening socials ( glad celebrity is bringing them back.) Diamond lounges on Royal are great spaces. 

Agree with all of this .... we too are D+ with RCI and love the ice shows, aqua theatre, etc. but prefer Celebrity for good adult spaces and better food

On 9/18/2023 at 7:24 PM, Badatz2 said:

You might try the Quantum class ships.  They have plenty of youth activities including bumper cars.  Some like the Anthem have an indoor family pool which is much quieter than the outdoor one and is adjacent to the solarium.

We hate Quantum class with a passion ... as the OP is UK-based, he'll understand why when I say my hubby calls it Butlins Afloat ! We've been on it several times in the last few years as the only RCI option out of Southampton but, as others have said, we mostly stick to the solarium and Vintages - they don't even have a decent library !!!

7 hours ago, toxicfairy said:

Sadly a LOT of people go on vacation with the "I'm on vacation someone else can handle my kids" mentality.  We've seen it more than we care to. We've actually heard people say " I don't care, I'm on vacation " when someone said something about the misbehaving child. 

Also that " I paid for it" , Yes well so has everyone else on the ship and they aren't your babysitters.

And yes that thought that they need to get their monies worth from the drink package.

Nothing will change until rules are enforced .

I love royal caribbean but I hate how they've become so " family oriented " that it's just a giant day care , for both children and drunks.

this ... this ... and this again !

13 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

There are no changes to the North American booking policy where there is no cost for name changes, in fact I just did one a couple days ago.

Glad you were successful ... I called the UK contact line but as it tells you it has a random global response, I have no idea where the call was actually answered ... sounds like yet another instance of them making it up as they go along

Thank you all for your helpful comments ... the idea of a second card sounds like the ideal solution

8 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Either there's a miscommunication with the person you called, or there's more to this than just a name swap.

No... just a simple request to swap 2 guests - A&B in one cabin, C&D in the other but we agreed that A&C, B&D would work better in terms of the different excursion times we are all doing ... they wanted £35 per cabin!

2 minutes ago, ParisHilton said:

How would they know?  I guess the face doesn't match the card that opens the door?

exactly ... it was for ease of cabin access if we've been on different trips but we'll just have to congregate in a bar until everyone is back on board 🤩

10 hours ago, emeraldcity said:

My experience has been that when you approach the desk where they are handing out stickers for the various coaches, they ask how many are in your party and then they make sure that your party all gets the same sticker.

Thank you - I did wonder because they seem to check you off on a list when you get the sticker but hopefully the names are enough !

Lots of things they charge for irk me - especially given the general pricing of their cruises - but I persevere for the hard-won perks, such as they are.

The latest nonsense is charging to simply swap around 2 already-booked passengers from one room to the other for a cruise that doesn't depart for weeks yet ... the list is becoming endless ! Needless to say, we'll be staying with our original set-up ...

8 minutes ago, BND said:

They don't assign seats ahead of time (or at all).  Get in line together at the meeting point and board the transportation together.

I agree they don't assign seats but they do assign groups ... in May we were on a trip that had 3 different coached for the same destination - all had different numbers assigned for their coaches ???

We're cruising with friends soon and had agreed to book our excursions independently as we have very different interests - normally! Turns out, we have chosen a few that are the same - does anyone know how people are allocated to coaches if there is more than 1 tour group for the same excursion? Don't really want to have to queue at Shore Excursions to sort it all once on board ... TIA

On 8/22/2023 at 6:20 AM, Saab4444 said:

You replied to a question about Olden! Most upcomming Fjord cruises of Anthem do not even stop in Geiranger, only one in May 24..

No ... the question was about which ship side is best for the fjords on Anthem - I've just done Norway on Anthem including Olden AND Geiranger ... port side .... and have done so several times before ... sheesh, read the posts properly before commenting!

14 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

Well, most ships dock starboard side in Olden and the 360 turn is in Geirangerfjord but not Nordfjord...

Did I say which fjord??? I was advising the poster that it happened so they would see the waterfall - their ask was about which side was best 

14 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

Oh, no! We will be going to Olden, but we are in a starboard cabin. Is it enough of a difference that I should call to see if I can change it?  

In Olden, the town comes out to wave farewell, the local pub plays music, the cars all toot their horns, port staff line up and fly massive flags ... it's really lovely to see but you can just watch it on deck .... these were from our port-side cabin on deck 9 .... you'll have an amazing time none-the-less ! The ship does a 360 turn in the fjord as it passes the 7 Sisters waterfall so you won't miss out on that

22 hours ago, Joanne G. said:

On any one-way itinerary in a balcony cabin, I think about whether I want morning or afternoon sun on my balcony.   On a round trip itinerary, it doesn't matter.  I'll get the sun both morning and afternoon over the course of the cruise.  There is no way to know or predict how a ship will dock in any given port, so I don't pick a cabin based wanting a certain view while docked. 

 

Edited to add:  I stand corrected per RoperDK above.  I have been on 20+ cruises, but mostly other lines and not enough on Royal to state there isn't any way to know how a particular ship will dock.  (Going on the Anthem next year to Norway, so I have started to read this board. 😀)

Just been to Fjords on Anthem ... if you're doing Olden, choose Port side - no question. Been several times and it is sensational !

10 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Umm... so you think that after you CHOOSE to book a cruise for a specific price, pay the money, take the cabin out of inventory, etc. and they lower the price but STILL allow you to cancel and rebook at the lower rate that taking some time to refund your original booking in full is "extortions?"  Clearly you don't understand the definition of "extortion." 😏

Try that next time you buy a car and a week later the car dealer offers a discount.  See how much they refund you. 

Not even close to the point I'm making 🙄 ... if the money can leave my account in 30 seconds FOR A DRINKS PACKAGE, then how can they justify 30 days to return the full amount instead of merely refunding the difference

RCI pricing drives me insane! I get that there can be alterations to things like cabins and excursions based on demand and availability but the drinks package is my nemesis. The fact that they can't just deduct the difference and you need to immediately pay the new price whilst having to wait around a month to have the first lot refunded is nothing more than extortion 🤬

You may need to update your app .... we're on Symphony out of Barcelona on 15th October and they've been up for a while