byronetta

1 minute ago, nasus2 said:

I have been on various celebrity ships and I have never even been aware of areas which are specifically for suite cruisers. I have found that many many frequent cruisers stay in an inside then they can cruise several times a year. Ignore commmets and enjoy what will be a marvellous cruise. 

That is my dad's approach--he always stays in the cheapest cabin he can find because he is outgoing and will never be in it except to sleep.  I'm the opposite.   Gotta have some space (small room with balcony works for me).  I am introverted, get worn out by crowds, and as a result spend a lot of time in my cabin.  Great that cruises have all sorts of options, and you can choose to pay for what you want.

Where are you not allowed to go because of having an inside cabin?  I would think the locations for an inside cabin would be the same for all cabins up through and including concierge balconies.  Aqua class has its own restaurant (and free access to the thermal spa--but you could pay for that if you wanted), suites have their own restaurant as well, their own bar, and an area called "the retreat" for suites only.  Very similar to other mass market cruise lines.  NCL has suite only areas, Cunard has tiered dining rooms, etc.

Edited to add --I think RCCL has it's own suite areas and restaurant as well.  So I think Celebrity is very similar to NCL and RCCL in this.

8 minutes ago, korryp said:

I think the amount depends on the cruise. I've  seen it much higher. Right now for one of our cruises the pre person difference is $700. Certainly makes it easier to save the money and eat in specialty restaurants quite a bit more often and splurge on all other things cruising related. 

Yeah, if it were much more, I'd get a dining package.  We did that last year (our first Celebrity cruise).  The main dining room looked so intimidating to me that I didn't want to eat in it.  We got a 5 dinner package and ate at the buffet 2 nights.  Our next cruise is in 2020, and I booked an AQ aft room specifically because it was only a little more than a sunset veranda.  I'm a little intimidated by Blu because it looks so very packed in, but I'll manage as long as they can seat me on the edge somewhere.

On 2/6/2019 at 11:46 AM, korryp said:

So to be clear you paid an additional $50 a day to eat in BLU. Interesting. Done  Aqua a few times and to me the added cost is not worth it. The Spa did nothing for us and it was quite busy on sea days. I’d use the $600 to eat in speciality restaurants but that us just us and how we travel. 

I think it was $300 per couple, so basically $12.50 per day per person to eat in Blu.  Much cheaper than a specialty restaurant.

Not so fast!

 

Very often it's the "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" type of goody-goody who decides, after a lifetime of playing by the rules, to cut loose after seeing what a great time all the rascals and hooligans seem to have.

 

I think you need watching.

Yup. In my family, my mild mannered grandma became a silverware and salt shaker thief in her final years. Many a trip back to her favorite restaurant to return her spoils so she could steal them again. I think in her head, she was getting her money's worth. ;)

one of the things I liked about the dining on celebrity was trying different things

I tried duck terrine, crispy frog leg, seared branzino (fish), almond crusted hake (fish) - all things I've never eaten before

What restaurant had the branzino? My husband and I used to live in Manhattan and ate it all the time there. We love it, but it's not on restaurant menus where we live now, and when I make seared fish at home, I have to substitute trout. Would love to find it on our cruise. :-)

I have a cruise that I booked myself and transferred to a travel agent. Just by transferring, I got $400 OBC and will get $400 back at the end of the cruise. I don't think you need a travel agent, but with one you will get a better deal than you could on your own. Assuming you find an agent who passes on perks to his or her clients.

The Reserve absolutely covers medical evacuation, up to $100,000. You don't need any higher of a limit.

 

The pre-existing condition thing will greatly vary across the board. If you have a serious one, serious research will need to be done. Most will not cover it. Some will charge extra.

That's good to know. I don't think the Sapphire Preferred offers any, which is what we have now. I've been trying to explain to my husband why the Reserve might be worth the extra fee (really not that much extra with the $300 annual travel credit). Could be worth doing before we pay off next years cruise to get 3x points for it.

My preexisting condition is mildly high blood pressure, which is managed with medicine.

Get a good Travel credit card that already includes the coverage, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

We buy insurance anyway. The Chase Sapphire cards don't cover medical evacuation or preexisting conditions. They basically cover the kinds of things we could self insure, but not the big expenses that would affect our retirement future.

Try Celebrity or Crystal, they both are awesome.

I am so glad to hear it! We are going on a Celebrity cruise next month, and a Crystal cruise next December. Never been on either. :-)

I sailed HAL with my son when he was 15 or so. There wasn't a whole lot for him to do--he did find a group of friends and played video games in some sort of teen lounge. At one time I saw him with a platter full of cheeseburgers piled high headed there. It looked pretty comical since he had a hollow leg at the time, but he swears they weren't all for him. But mostly, he felt like Royal Caribbean would have been more fun (just more young activities, like the rock wall). We have not actually ever been on Royal Caribbean, but just from what I know of them, they seem more kid friendly.

I have sailed to Alaska on the Alaskan Marine Hwy, and sailed back a couple years later on a HAL. Both times, I had an inside cabin, and I felt a balcony would have been a luxury. It was shocking to me how little people were on deck (esp on the HAL cruise--I had the aft of the ship past the Lido buffet all to myself for DAYS. People came out, shivered, and left. I was called a "sturdy sort," by some kiwis who couldn't believe I had been out there all day, lol. :) Keep in mind that a window or balcony means your room may be pretty light late into the evening.

That said, we booked an aft balcony on our trip in May. Previous trips were budget, and for actual moves to and from Alaska (we lived there 2 years). We'll use our balcony, but I'm sure even without one, we could find great places for viewing the ocean, inside passage, and wildlife on the public decks.

Well, we got the premium beverage package, but I still want to bring a couple cases of water and a couple bottles of wine. I would like to be able to drink in my room without having to make a run for drinks. Wish we could bring more of our own booze, but I can live with a couple bottles. I suppose if they stopped us from bringing water, we'd just grab water all the time onboard, as it's included in the package, and stock up.