suekel

2 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

Oh no way, how did you find that out?  I'm going to be upset if that is the case because I had canceled my plans and we were spending the day at the beach right there.

 

Princess Chat is telling me there is no change!  So happy to see they all know what is going on.  

 

As we have a member here on board, they went to guest services and were told there is a change.  

I went in and looked at my travel summary.  At the very very bottom, it showed the changes.  

I read this and went and looked at our Sky cruise over Christmas.  Yep, all of ours have been changed too.  The most disappointing is that we're docking at Coxen Hole instead of Mahogany Bay.  

2 minutes ago, DHP1 said:

Even February dining reservations may not be open for November cruise. 

I just know when I was on the Discovery for it's 2nd cruise, I couldn't book until right before.  

2 hours ago, Wonder18 said:

Having trouble booking dining on the sun princess for November, my cruise is paid in full. The app says can’t find your reservation try later. looking for help.

You can't make any reservations until the ship hits the water.  So February.

We have a group of 20. We did 3 separate reservations at the same time,  tables of 6,6,8. We can't all sit together as there are no tables big enough.  We're just going to see if we can get 3 tables next to each other and rotate between them.  Crossing my fingers. 

RCS texting works over wifi just fine,  just enable before the cruise.  Easy to do. 

I booked a free casino cruise, guarantee balcony.  Upgraded to a aft premium deluxe balcony about 3 months out which was a nice surprise.  

On 11/18/2023 at 2:00 PM, PapaGoose said:

We are booked on a South America itinerary, on the Sapphire, coming up in February. We have an aft facing balcony and there is an opportunity to put a bid in for an upgrade. Our thoughts are to bid on either a regular mini-suite for the extra space or an aft facing Vista suite. The Vista suite bid would obviously be much more than a mini-suite bid but the suite would offer a lot more space as well as the perks you get with a suite. We have sailed in aft facing balconies and side facing mini-suites before but we have never sailed in an actual suite before. 
 

We are looking for feedback from anyone who has stayed in an aft facing Vista suite on the Sapphire. The mini-suite bid would be considerably more economical but we would lose that aft facing view that we really like. My DW needs some serious convincing that an upgrade would be worth it and if that fails we will likely end up staying in the aft facing balcony and use that money to spoil ourselves in other ways…. First world problems I guess!

I spent 18 days in a Vista Suite on the Sapphire last spring.  It was the best.  The service, the balcony...If you can afford it, do it.  

Sabatini's-Osso Buco

Crown Grill-Filet

I just got off my first Celebrity cruise yesterday.  We chose it for the ports which were wonderful.  TA from Barcelona.  I am elite on Princess so it goes without saying that I missed the perks that this entails. 

I found the friendliness of the crews to be equal.  

Celebrity-The food and the cabin bathroom won hands down. We had a concierge level infinite veranda.  Didn't offer much.  Canapes (mostly inedible) every day.  Free entry into a slot tournament.  Galley tour.  Bottle of bubbly. I definitely would NOT get an infinite veranda on warm weather cruises.  The air shuts off automatically if you open the window, and it really is just a window, not a balcony.  I loved having the window open when we were crossing but in Bermuda and the Bahamas, it was too warm.  

Other than that, I'm sticking with Princess.  I missed the medallion and the ease of ordering what I want, when I wanted it. I always get a package.

Paying 11.64 per room service order, yeah no.

Paying $100 to send laundry out twice and that is buying precruise and getting a discount.  Celebrity does not have machines for passengers to use.  

The Apex was beautiful but so much space was taken up by specialty dining restaurants and showing off their art.  Last Sunday morning it rained.  There were literally 2 bars open on the ship, the restaurants except the buffet were closed.  We tried to go to the one bar that was showing football, place only holds about 40 people.  

On Celebrity I found at least 80% of the events during the day to be centered around the shops, the spa and the fitness center.  

There was only 1 outdoor pool.  I love going to the pool.  Both lines have issues with chair hogs.  

If I find another must do itinerary, I might look at Celebrity again but it would depend on the ship, definitely not an edge class.  

On 10/29/2023 at 6:58 PM, jwattle said:

G'day mates and welcome to the adventures of jwattle and c-boy aka Jo and Tom (aka...well, IYKYK).

We will be hitting the road for an undisclosed location in Santa Rosa, California on Wednesday, 3 days hence, for one night prior to our "official" holiday beginning, but I thought this would be a good time to start the trip report. (Plus, I couldn't wait anymore, getting a bit over-excited!).

Itinerary: Leave home on November 1 for our undisclosed location in Santa Rosa for an overnight. We'll take the amazing Groome's Transportation (Airport Express) from the Sonoma Airport to San Francisco airport where we will fly via Air New Zealand Premium Economy, with a bid for Business Premier. (***To any who do this: if you are flying to Australia with ANY stop in New Zealand, you will need an ETA or Electronic Travel Authorization for New Zealand as well as Australia even if you just sit on the plane). We'll arrive in Sydney on November 4 for a three-night stay at the Radisson Blu Plaza in a Business Class room which has free breakfast (brekkie) and access to the business class lounge with noshes and drinks. We board the beautiful Majestic Princess on the 7th with a suite for a back to back Fiji and South Pacific / Tasmania with the Premier Package (no, let's not turn the thread into a debate about the merits and downfalls of the packages please). We return to Sydney for an overnight on the 27th, and on the 28th fly to New Caledonia (Noumea) where we will spend four nights in an overwater bungalow that we picked up for a song somehow. 

I just checked and the weather for our arrival down under is low 70's and rain. It's a bit warmer than here, but other than that, I think they're trying to make us feel at home with the rain.

For those who don't "know" us, we are mid-50's / early-60's, have a fairly extensive background in cruising, definite happy when cruising types...

Thank you to any who follow along, and let's enjoy the ride!

Greetings from the middle of the Atlantic.  Have a great time!

On 10/24/2023 at 12:25 PM, c-boy said:

What !  since there's a delay and your stuck there, I want you to do some more investigating.  "random selection" what the he11 does that mean?   " not all suite guests are extended invitations"  I'm guessing mini suites are out.  Picture of the lounge ? 

Yes, a mini suite is not a suite.  It is badly named and leads to confusion.  

Premium Desserts-you have a choice of 2.  There is cake at the International Cafe or Ice Cream up on the Lido deck.  

Casual Meals depends on the ship. Alfredo's, Gigi's, Salty Dog Gastro Pub, Vines (really more like appetizers) or a bunch more on the new ships like the Sun.  

I love those cabins.  

I did not see it available last week on the Majestic 

There are items that you can order from the specialty restaurants but it's not the full menu and it's pricey. 

40 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

Not cruising until next year, but I wanted to lock in a Nicaragua excursion in case the price went up. Been looking at it for well over a month, knowing the political situation and all. Booked it today and lo and behold, it’s just become a Sea Day. 🙄🙄

Maybe on the same cruise.  Thanks for the heads up.  Disappointing. 

I too am doing my first Celebrity in November.  I have no expectations except the ports that we'll visit.  I'm elite on Princess so I will miss the perks that come with that.  I'm glad we booked while all included still meant all included.  I had enough OBC to upgrade to the premium drink package so I know I'll have good wine.  I looked at the prices for specialty dining while they were onsale this weekend and decided to pass.  I was astounded that they charge a gratuity on top of the already high prices.  I'm expecting to be nickel and dimed but I know that going in. I'm sure we'll have a great time  

39 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Apologies, it was removed from Majestic and replaced with Catch

And I'm so excited to try it in 2 weeks!

1 hour ago, PapaGoose said:

While  the cost is exorbitant, my DW is a huge Caymus fan! With the USD exchange to Canadian dollars we would be paying about $380 for two for this experience. We are sailing on the Sapphire in February 2024 on a South America cruise. Does anyone know if they offer this experience on the Sapphire?

 

I could earn serious bonus points with my beautiful better half on this…

They did not have the Winemakers Dinner on the Sapphire this past spring, just the Chef's Table.  

As Steelers36 says, just take an uber.  Cancel the princess shuttle, it'll be faster and cheaper.  And getting there at 11 is smack dab in the middle of the crowd.  Either get there by 10:30 at the latest or go after noon  

Yes, because with the medallion, they'll know that it is 2 of you.  

If you don't find a work around,  you can always take them to guest services and have them add to your account and then buy on the ship. 

Just now, IndyKid said:

We're the plumbing and A/C issues in your room or in the common areas of the ship? Did the engine problem affect your itinerary?

AC issues in my cabin and others who I ate dinner with.  One woman at the same table had a pipe break above the closet. We were 2 1/2 hours late getting into Roatan due to propulsion problems. We lost power on the ship leaving Cozumel causing us to drift until it was repaired.  They were unable to cook in the Crown Grill for 30 minutes but they made up for it with drinks,  salad and bread to tide us over. 

I've been on the CB 7 times.  I used to say she was my favorite ship.  I sailed on her in June and will not go back to her until she's gone to dry dock. Serious AC issues, plumbing issues and engine issues.