VioletView

On 10/28/2023 at 5:12 AM, cinnamon said:

Eek!

Thanks for the heads up. I guess we’ll try to work on our fitness for the next 11 months. 😉

I went to Japan this past spring (was supposed to be on this cruise but had to switch it up)  and we used Go With Guide for local guides.  We basically booked the time period we wanted and then customized the tour with the guide in advance - we just let them know what our priorities were and that we didn't want to feel rushed and that sometimes I had knee issues that limited my walking  - and they planned around those parameters.  So I think if you manage your expectations and theirs (like, a four hour tour with you and your group might see 3 sites, even if they can do a four hour tour with other people and see 5 sites) it will work out great.  

For various reasons, we have a Celebrity credit to use and I was looking at a 8-night cruise out of Southampton, stopping in Nordfjordeid, Flam, Geiranger, Alesund, and Kristiansand.  On this type of itinerary, is it more likely that we'll have to do excursions via Celebrity or will it be "easy" to tour on our own and/or with a smaller tour group?  

On 8/13/2022 at 10:59 PM, VioletView said:

• Ship:  Summit
• Length of Cruise:  10 days
• Cruise Sail Date:  September 11, 2022
• Date email offer received:  July 30, 2022
• Captain’s Club Tier:  Classic
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  TA
• Current Cabin:  Veranda GTY
• Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:  Aqua Class
• Bid Offer:  $350per person (min bid was $100)
• Notification Date:  Rejected
• Accepted / Rejected:  Rejected
•  

 

• Cabin Category:  Sky Suite Class
• Bid Offer:  $750 per person (min bid was $700)
• Notification Date:  Rejected
• Accepted / Rejected:  Rejected

 

 Offers weren't accepted. I think the ship is really full and suites are booked and it seemed like only one AQ available as of Thursday (3 days before sailing).

• Ship:  Summit
• Length of Cruise:  10 days
• Cruise Sail Date:  September 11, 2022
• Date email offer received:  July 30, 2022
• Captain’s Club Tier:  Classic
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  TA
• Current Cabin:  Veranda GTY
• Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category:  Aqua Class
• Bid Offer:  $260 per person (min bid was $100)
• Notification Date:  Pending
• Accepted / Rejected:  Pending
•  

• Cabin Category:  Sky Suite Class
• Bid Offer:  $715 per person (min bid was $700)
• Notification Date:  Pending
• Accepted / Rejected:  Pending

On 11/11/2021 at 3:47 PM, NouCruzer said:

On the topic of snorkeling, can you describe a "deep water" snorkel excursion?  Is this open water snorkeling?  Are currents a concern?  We're scheduled on Flora for May 29, so just starting to compile information.  Thanks for your help.

 

I was on the Flora in October and the water of the "deep water" excursion wasn't really any deeper than the water if you went off the beach and swam out a little bit.  the key was being comfortable getting on and off the tender boat.  In addition to going along the shoreline, the tender boat stays with you (and a naturalist) so there is help nearby if needed.  They provided ScubaPro brand gear and the mask was one of the best fitting ones I have ever used.

8 hours ago, DrKoob said:

Why yes I can verify that. All staterooms on the ship have bathrobes hanging in the closet. Hope this helps.

Thank you! It helps a lot... I love a robe! 

DrKoob - I think I'm booked in the same room type that you had -can you confirm if the rooms had bathrobes?  Online it's unclear if all room classes provide bathrobes or only the extra fancy room types.  thank you!

I am going in October and planning to bring a one or two casual maxi dresses for evening. I also like casual dresses for hanging out so I figured why not.  I think my bf might bring a pair of long pants but also have shorts and casual button down shirts for evenings (vs. sport shorts for daytime hikes and such).  

2 hours ago, sippican said:

Regarding water, we purchased small hydration back packs (Camel and Osprey make them). We never had to fiddle with taking a water bottle in and out, and there was plenty of room for incidentals. 

That's exactly what I have (Gregory brand).  I'll have to test it to make sure I can fill up the water bladder and still have room for my camera stuff.  I actually don't want to bring that much camera stuff - Jim's photos are amazing but I just don't want to lug stuff. We'll see...

One other question - I'm planning to bring water shoe/sandals (merrells and my bf has Keen) and hiking boots.  I saw that one some of the hikes (especially over the lava rocks), the boots were really key.  Was there ever a case where you did a wet landing and needed a water shoe but needed to transition to a proper hiking boot for the terrain?

Hi Jim - thanks for all the info.  We are heading out on the Flora in Mid-October and I really hope we get to have the extra days at the JW in Quito.  So far, you answered nearly all of my questions but I had one more.   We plan to bring camera equipment and are all set with dry bags and appropriate backpacks.  How much space did you need to reserve in your backpack (or that little turtle bag!) for drinking water?  I really don't want to lug a huge backpack, but I don't know how much water we need/should bring for the long/short hikes.  

I have booked a March 2023 cruise on the Solstice but I'm concerned about the lack of refurbishment.  I'm following this thread to hopefully stay on top of any announcements.  I really love the route we booked but I'm worried about the ship because I saw some reviews from 2019 and even back then they were saying the ship was pretty worn.

Thank you for this information! I'm sailing on Celebrity Millennium AQ in April and have pretty severe gluten, shellfish, and peanut/legume allergies. (as well as intolerances to red meat, raw tomatoes, and apples).  It's helpful to know I can request the menu the day prior (my only other cruise on Oceania did this as well).  Any other pointers would be greatly appreciated!

I am glad I found a post for tea people! I must say, I last cruised with Oceania and I was SO disappointed with their tea in the MDR and breakfast buffet. And it's not like they weren't aware of what good tea is because they had in the asian cuisine speciality restaurant. I learned that in the future, I should bring my own tea. We'll see how things go with Celebrity when I cruise next. I'll still bring my own but hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Bumping this back up - does anyone have a link to the WiFi package options?

When purchasing the package there is no requirement that others in the cabin must also purchase the package.

This is excellent news! Me and the person I'll be sharing a cabin with have very different drink styles/preferences!

Deleted, found answer elsewhere