TFLG

We never bother with that, we just tell the taxi or uber driver what ship we are going to.  It' You can see em from miles away.

You should be able to see the pass and print it.  If you can't see it I would check to see that you filled everything in properly. It''s easy to miss stuff.

I just hit 30 days to our sail date and the beverage package showed up today.

They do have stuff like that.  If you have the app on your phone it's often listed on there.  It might not show up months in advance but closer to your sail date that type of stuff should show up on the app.

38 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

What is their smoking policy?  I find Celebrity's very limited smoking areas are good for me - a non-smoker.

 

I like RC but the smoking in the Casino was very bothersome for me as you have to pass through on the ship I was on and wafted to nearby areas.

 

The Bliss also has an eclosed Casino for the smokers.  Unfortunately it does a rather poor job of keeping the smell in.  The first time I went on the Bliss (Oct 2018) you couldn't really smell smoke outside the enclosed Casino area, but last October it smelled as bad outside as I imagine it did inside.  I don't know why, maye they were leaving the doors open.  Other than in the casino I didn't really notice smoke

We sailed in late June and it wasn't bad. The only place they were a little bit of a pain was the hot tubs and pool. Other than that we hardly ever saw the kids.  There were far fewer kids on the Equinox in June that we had on our NCL Mexico cruise in October.

You should have no issues with chocolate.  I took loads of it onto the ship when we were on our NZ cruise.

Day 3 and Day 6 makes the most sense.  but it was day 2 when we did it a couple of years ago.  Glad to see (hopefully) that is now a sea day.  I just checked the daily planner, on the app and there is an Evening Chic officers soiree listed at 8pm on day 3.  So it looks like it is day 3 (at least on the feb 22 sailing anyway).

We are also on the 2/22 sailing.  Last time we did this cruise it was day 2 and day 6.

We tried NCL again about a year and a half ago, after a long break from them after a horrendous cruise on the Star. We sailed on the Bliss and loved it. We found pretty much the same thing as the OP.  The Bliss being newer had the tap cards on the doors and I didn't notice the balconys being smaller on our cabin. And the decor of that ship is much classier than the old NCL barges. The observation lounge up front is beautiful. Totally agree about the food, the MDR food is pretty weak and much of the Buffet food was not great either.  We did like the Indian/Asia food on the buffet.  We also loved the Local for lunch, late night snacks.  The burgers there were great much better than the mast grill and most of the other stuff we tried was very good too. I think my wife had wings there every night before we headed to bed. Breakfast in the MDR was also decent (although the coffee was not very good). We did get a meal package which covered 5 nights in specialty dining and those meals were good with 2 of them being fantastic. Specialty dining is the way to go!  We didn't like the beverage package as much as Celebrity though. No water included, and it's $7 a bottle (really NCL??), no speciatly coffees, etc. And the drink prices are higher on NCL so while it covered up to $15 the drinks were basically the same as the classic drink on Celebrity. They also charge $20 a day gratuity on the "free" drink package. But, we liked it so much we sailed it again in October and have a Panama Canal booked for Nov this year.  We are not upset or done with Celebrity, but NCL seems to have upped it's game a bit so Celebrity will certainly see less of out vacation $$ for the time being.

34 minutes ago, mom says said:

Join the masses in the Ocean View, Mast Grill or Aqua Spa Cafe. I can't remember if Sushi on Five (Specialty dining) will be open.

Sushi on 5 is usually open for a couple of hours embarkation day. If you can get on the ship fairly early the Buffet isn't usually too bad.  

27 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Please remember that the beverages and snacks in the fridge in your cabin is included in the D&M Package.

 

Albeit limited selection of alcohol, yet included and restocked daily...

 

bon voyage

 because when I stumble back to my room at 2am I really need a few more from the mini bar to end the evening lol

29 minutes ago, zdad59 said:

Does anyone know what the bourbon selection is for someone with the deluxe drink package?     Me loves a good, high quality, bourbon.

Unfortunately no "deluxe" bourbons, here's what the website lists under whiskeys.  You won't find them all at every bar.  The better ones will probably be hiding in the Ensemble Lounge or whatever the fancy lounge/bar is on your ship.

WHISKEY (BOURBON, CANADIAN, IRISH, AND SCOTCH)

• Aberfeldy 12
• Bulleit Rye
• Chivas Regal 12
• Crown Royal
• Dewar’s 12
• Gentleman Jack
• Glen Scotia Single Malt
• Glenfiddich Reserva Cask
• Glenfiddich Select
• The Glenlivet
• Haig Scotch
• Highland Park Scotches
• Highland Park Elnar
• Jack Daniel's Black
• Jack Daniel's Honey
• Jack Daniel's Rye
• Jack Daniel's Single Barrel
• Johnnie Walker Black
• The Macallan
• The Macallan Lumina
• The Macallan Quest
• Maker’s Mark
• Rittenhouse Rye
• Wild Turkey
• Woodford Double Oaked
• Woodford Reserve
• Woodford Rye

14 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

The better tote bag and fancier bath products are history.

Damn it, the one thing I liked...

I like the appetizers in Tuscan and every time I've gotten the fillet it's been good.  But anytime I've ordered anything else it's not been very good.  They destroyed my dry-aged porterhouse one time and the Ribeye it was the worst ribeye I've ever seen, both sent back. So now I only get the Fillet. I'm hoping that's still good as we have a reservation in Tuscan next month.

29 minutes ago, joseph123 said:

Just wondering if there are any options for cashing in unused OBC on Celebrity. If I am not interested in the spa services, tours, shop purchases and the other obvious choices, I have read that some have been able to somehow get a credit and then cash out at the casino. Any thoughts on if that is a possibility? Hate to sound like a cheapskate, but I would hate to walk away from a several hundred dollar OBC. Any advice would be appreciated.

My wife never has a problem spending it   If she doesnt find anything for herself she will ususally buy birthday/christmas gifts for our daughters (purses, jewlery etc).

17 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Here’s a new topic

 

Ok.  In my humble opinion, the concierge cabins really don’t offer much for the additional cost vs a veranda.  What additional perks should Celebrity offer to create so more value?

 

 

Pretty sure a lot of us feel this way.  I only book concierge when the cost is about the same as a regular veranda, (or less in some cases). I mean why not if the cost is about the same, I'll take the points.  Unless you score a hump cabin I don't think the locations are any better, as far as the bigger cabin on the M class, it's not really noticeable, it's about a foot longer.  I much prefer Aqua, but again I don't think it's worth what they typically ask it for and I only book Aqua if I can get a good price on it.  I certaily don't feel any more "pampered" in CC or Aqua class than in a standard Veranda (although I do like the fancy showers in the Aqua cabins).  I don't drink the bad fizzy wine, I don't use the fancier bath product since I bring my own, The canapes are a joke, never needed the binoculors or unbrella.  One thing we do like is the better tote bag. I guess if a person uses all the stuff they may feel they can justify the cost, I can't.

I agree that they should offer something of real value for the additional cost they are getting. There's things they could do that wouldn't even cost them anything. Give CC free movies, some Wifi minutes, laundry etc.

They are not going to give you a voucher because you paid more than someone else.  That's just not how the world works (on cruises, buying cars or anything else).  Most cruise lines operate the same way.  The prices are typically lowest a few months to a few weeks before the sail date because they want to fill up any unsold cabins.  So your best deals will be in this time frame however you might be limited in what cabins are available and it isn't true on all cruises.  Some special itinerarys and dates (new years cruises) that sell out are harder to get last minute deals on.  But if you are flexible and want to sail in places with lots of competition you can score some great deals by waiting.  You can also book in advance and rebook later if you see a deal (depending on your country).

Outside of final payment time you can usually "rebook" to the current rate and perks.  That might end up better, might end up worse.  It depends on the offer they are running at the time.  You might lose perks or gain perks.  I rebooked my upcoming cruise a few months back and ended up with all 4 perks (versus the 3 I had)  and it also saved me a few hundred dollars. 

The Lawn Club and the Sunset Bar are always popular sail away spots.  But any of the upper decks are good to watch from.

The ship tour from the reef at Cairns (Yorkeys knob) goes to the same spot each time. The company that runs the tours has a large pontoon anchored on the reef. Don't know the exact location.  We did the tour 2 years ago.  They picked us up and dropped us back directly to the ship.  It's a BIG group though, the cat holds about 350 people. So it's crowded.  I would not do it again. Too many people in the water and you are stuck in one small area (roped off). They did have a glass bottom boat and semi-sub (really just another glass bottom boat). They were pretty useless and you could not see much.  I would not waste the money if you are not going in the water.

I went back to Cairns last year on a land trip with some friends and booked a tour thru Seastar cruises and that was MUCH better.  I would do that one again in a heartbeat. It's a much smaller cat (holds about 50 I think) and you go to a couple of spots and both were better than the ship excursion.  

Cant comment on Airlie, we missed it due to a Cyclone!

We have had pretty good luck in Blu and the specialties, not so much in the MDR.  Too many people, too few sommeliers in the MDR. As far as thier knowledge, that's been hit and miss. Some are great, most are ok to poor.  But then again they are probably trying to keep within package limits with most people and pick stuff that's readily availible to them so they don't have to spend too much time finding a particular wine.

The thing that keeps me coming back to any crusie line is perceived value.  And I have to admit the perceived value on Celebrity isn't what it was.  I typically have 3 or 4 cruises booked (usually X) but after our Feb B2B on the Equnox we have nothing and even that cruise wasn't something we really wanted to book.  Our friends were going on this cruise and talked us into joining them. Originally we were booked on another cruise line. So will Celebrity get us back? Don't know, Im sure we will book more celebrity cruises but what was once a slam dunk to book Celebrity isnt anymore. If I can find a good deal on a cruise we want to do I'm sure we will book. Of course that depends on how the Feb cruises go. Right now the only thing I really prefer on Celebrity over the other main stream lines is the beverage package.  The service is typically a bit better and I like the S-class ships a bit better than most other ships. The food isn't that much better than on NCL, Carnival or RCCL, yes it's better but not by much but it's also gettting worse as time goes on. So how long will it be better? The entertainment isn't anywhere near as good as those other lines. Cost isn't that much higher on many sailings than the other lines but it's rising faster than the other lines, so the Value of Celebrity is erroding away in my opinion.

People on Spring break don't take 10 day cruises.  I doubt you will see any Spring Break crazyness on anything longer than 7 days. 

1 hour ago, poffles said:

I've asked every time too and never turned down, however one time they simply took it out of the fridge and set it on the counter ...  hmmmm ... thanks I guess??  I didn't bother pursuing and just stuck it somewhere myself.

Usually they just shove it under the bed.