Tipsy252

Cancelation and refunds received within 2 weeks. That is great service.

On 1/27/2021 at 9:52 PM, Fouremco said:

I still miss Bistro on Five as our embarkation lunch spot. 

Me too, was a great start to the cruise and so quiet as very few people seemed to know about it. The menu in MDR on embarkation day maybe limited, but is a great alternative to the buffet - provided your boarding time allows for attendance! We missed it once as our boarding was not until 13:30 and service closed at 13:00!

On 1/28/2021 at 4:48 PM, Saturngrl said:

I love Concierge!  Benefits for me: 

1.  Dedicated check in line, pre-embarkation lounge and earlier embarkation based upon status/class

2.  Embarkation lunch in the MDR.  Granted the menu is limited, but it's so nice to set your carry-on bag down in a safe area to be waited upon without the buffet crowds.

3.  Welcome bottle of wine/bubbly and green apples in your stateroom.

4.  Desirable cabin locations on quieter decks.

5.  The Concierge is very helpful when needed. 

6.  Sometimes the ship will host a Concierge-only event.   We were welcomed to sailaway with free sparkling wine on the helipad when we sailed out of Bermuda on one of our cruises. 

7.  Extra Captain's Club points.

8. The pre-disembarkation lounge with coffee/tea and pastries.   It's a nice place to wait to disembark, again away from the crowds. 

 

Hope this helps! 

These are the Concierge benefits that are worth the most to us:

1.  Dedicated check in line, pre-embarkation lounge and earlier embarkation based upon status/class

2.  Embarkation lunch in the MDR.  Granted the menu is limited, but it's so nice to set your carry-on bag down in a safe area to be waited upon without the buffet crowds.

4.  Desirable cabin locations on quieter decks - sometimes a larger cabin or balcony.

6.  Sometimes the ship will host a Concierge-only event - We were invited to a sailaway on the helipad sailing out of Flam in the Norwegian Fjords and a special event with hot chocolate when cruising the Hubbard Glacier in Alaska.

8. The pre-disembarkation lounge with coffee/tea and pastries.   It's a nice place to wait to disembark, again away from the crowds.

Enjoy the experience.

On 1/21/2021 at 12:48 PM, york survey said:

At the moment this is only Saga who have a minimum age of 50. They have also adjusted their planned restart to May. So for the UK everyone will, hopefully, have had the opportunity to get vaccinated.

 

Time will tell how the other cruise lines react

But by May, the over 50's are likely to have only had 1 shot of the vaccine. Is this protection enough for cruising? I don't think Saga would allow you to cruise if you just had 1 shot, they stated "Fully Vaccinated" in the press.

Davie this is brilliant, 1 year ago we were on the Millennium from Singapore to Philippines, Hong Kong and Vietnam. You brought back wonderful memories of that trip. Thank you. 

Had the long expected cancelation email this afternoon! Had a good deal on 3 cabins for this cruise when initially booked Dec 2019. Will be looking for a full refund of monies paid and wait for the cruises to restart. Ho hum!

Happy New Year to all! Hoping 2021 is the year of the vaccine and we are able to sail again soon.

Has anyone received a cancellation of a cruise in March 2021? We are booked on Explorer Colourful Coasts, 02 Mar 2021 and just wondering when we will hear if this is cancelled? Due to the current circumstances with COVID I am fully prepared for a cancellation, but just would like to know one way or another. Need to prepare to break this to the family! 😥

I always have had travel insurance, never go anywhere without. Really surprises me that so many people do not take out this insurance. I have had to use this a few times for serious incidents and was so grateful that we had it when my husband collapsed on a plane and had to spend a week in hospital and be repatriated home. The insurance covered the hotel for my son and myself, our meals and emergency clothing, as we left the plane in the clothes we wore. The insurance covered all medical costs including MRI, CT and numerous blood tests. It also covered repatriation to UK, private ambulances between the airport and hospitals. The cost would have run into many £100,000s.

Have a cruise booked on Explorer out of Tenerife on 02Mar2021, really hoping that that will still sail. This was booked before all this craziness started as a birthday celebration for DH, with sons and daughter travelling with us as a surprise. 

For those of us  from the UK, some information I just found regarding passports and travel to Europe from the Gov.UK website:

Travel to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein will change from 1 January 2021.

Things you may need to do before you go include:

• check your passport
• get travel insurance that covers your healthcare
• check you have the right driving documents

Passports: check if you need to renew

You may need to renew your British passport earlier if you’re travelling from 1 January 2021.

On the day you travel, you’ll need your passport to both:

• have at least 6 months left
• be less than 10 years old (even if it has 6 months or more left)

If you do not renew your passport, you may not be able to travel to most EU countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

You can check on Gov.UK whether your passport is valid for the country you’re visiting.

I just found out that my passport is no longer valid for travel to EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland after 01 Jan 2021. Would hate for anyone to get to the airport or port and be stopped as their passport was not valid!

14 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

Excuse me if this has been discussed before. We haven’t sailed with Celebrity for many years and have never booked flights through their website. Next September we are planning to cruise from Amsterdam to Rome. Our plans are to spend a few days in London prior to the cruise. We have done this type of thing with Princess and there is an option when booking the flight to add a layover. I can’t find that option on the Celebrity site. Am I just missing something or does this option not exist? Thanks. 

Hi there Poulsbo, is the cruise you are talking of the Reflection AMS to Rome on 4Sep2021? I am on that cruise along with quite a few others. Why don't you join our Roll Call over on the Celebrity Roll Call? Would love to discuss your travel plans and maybe one of our other shipmates may be able to help. 

21 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Done for 10 power up points= 1 Captains Club point.

Asks how appealing to pre order items for the cruise to be delivered to the cabin for arrival. No mention of the cost.

I completed questionnaire, this first email I have received for PUP. 1 point is not much, but every little helps!

10 hours ago, emmas gran said:

Can I ask a question of people please 

 

Why are people wearing mask covering the chin and mouth but not their nose??

 

Droplets come out of the nose and that will spread this damn virus, I want to tell people to wear a mask properly. My DH says at least they are wearing one but I say they can still spread it !!

This really winds me up! Really people, either wear a mask properly or don't bother! Also people who push straight past you as you santise your hands and basket before shopping. 🤬 Grrrr.

@Miaminice Really happy that your cruise is going well and that you feel able to enjoy the cruise and excursions. I hope that the protocols in place are adopted by Marella Cruises (UK arm of TUI) for the cruises they have scheduled.

I loved the reports on your shore excursions and hope that similar excursions are available on the Marella Explorer. Did I read that you were only allowed to book 2 shore excursions on this cruise? Were the bikes carried on the ship as they appeared to carry the Mein Schif logos?

Thanks MV, I am vicariously following your cruise and posts, to stem my cruise fever! 😀 I appreciate your reviews of the onboard protocols, the facilities, food and excursions. Keep it up.

I am booked on the Marella Explorer to Canaries in March 2021. Marella is another cruise line which is owned and operated by TUI, aimed at the UK cruise market. I am hoping for similar onboard procedures and social distancing to be in place, however I am not convinced and consequently very worried, that the UK cruisers will not be as compliant as the Germans appear to be.

Thank you for your review and enjoy the rest of your cruise. I look forward to hearing more.

As mentioned Singapore is easily doable on your own with great MTR links. Do be aware there are 2 cruise ports in Singapore: Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC)at HarbourFront and the Marina Bay Cruise Centre (MBCC). Both are located not too far from the city centre and are well served by public transport: taxis and MRT(subway) for MBCC and including buses for SCC.

Penang port is also near down town and the centre is easily walkable from the cruise ship.

14 hours ago, garardo said:

Should a beer be served warm?  

It should if it is an English beer or ale!

I am booking this for our cruise in Jan 2020. From the Celebrity site, the tour leaves at 08:30 and is for passengers with flights after 17:00 (5 pm). Our flight home is not until 23:00 (11 pm), so we will also look at visiting the Jewel at Changi airport or getting a day room at a hotel near the airport..

18 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

With a Costa ship visiting this weekend - turnaround/overnight - I'm using an incident map from yesterday to illustrate where some of the potential hotspots might be, and where they were taking place 24 hours ago ...  

Dear mking, can you supply a key for your map? Not sure what the doggy faces and dinosaur relate too?

On 10/20/2019 at 6:55 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Just got back from dinner and drinks in the executive lounge. 

 

Sometime you can’t make up things you see.  While sitting sipping wine a portly gentleman came walking by our table carrying a plate of food and a wine.  In order to get between chairs he must have sucked in his gut.   Next thing we saw, his shorts had fallen down and were around his ankles.  Unable to rectify with his hands full he waddled to his table before being able to pull them up.   

Hi Jim_Iain, loving the review as we are thinking of doing Edge or Apex next year. I was actually in FCO Hilton for business on 22 and 23 Oct, so shortly after you. I think the hotel is the key coordinating point as there were a number of other cruises staying there.

1 hour ago, bigbenboys said:

If this test is to check to see if your blood thinner is working, why not changed to a drug that does not need monitoring. I was on blood thinners for 3 years and never had to get tested. I traveled all over the world with work and vacations.

For some a change of medication is just not an option. My DH is on Warfarin and has been for 9 years. He gets tested regularly and was told about the "new" drug Apixaban  or Eliquis, but in order to change he would have to stop his current treatment and that is just too large a health risk.

When we visited Iceland, I used Islenski Hesturinn for the experience of riding Icelandic horses. Learning to Tolt is a fun experience and totally goes against all you are taught when you ride! I agree that the scenery and experience is something else and I am glad for your daughter that she was able to join the small group of experienced riders. Enjoy Iceland and the Silhouette, we will be on her in a few days so look after her.

Hi LuluNOLA, if you want to stay in Kyoto and are looking for a traditional experience have you thought about staying at a Ryokan? We stayed at the Ikomatsu Ryokan (http://www.ikumatsu.com) and had a wonderful experience. You are able to take a traditional japanese dinner on the terrace (yuka) overlooking the Kamagawa river, which is very nice. It is easy and safe to walk around Gion district at night.

Hi John or anyone else looking for tours on this Baltic Cruise. We used Tour in St. Petersburg and took a private tour, just 2 of us. I cannot recommend this highly enough. The price for the 2 day tour was RRub 44500 or around £610 GBP. This included entry to all the museums, cathedrals, places of interest, a tour of the canals and Hydrofoil ride. The only thing we had to pay for was food at restaurants and drinks/snacks. We had our own guide and a driver for 2 full days and saw so much more that the larger tours, as we were able to alter the itinerary to avoid crowds and also tailor to our interests.