helen haywood

Great! Since we won't be sailing until September...you can tell me all about it!

It is not true that there will be no activities on board on port days! Trust me, there will be activities scheduled! But I agree that it is WONDERFUL to have the ship less crowded and get in a hot tub or whatever you want. And the port day specials at the spa are great!

How about noise?

I'm trying to convince myself to sail on a ship so much larger than I ever thought I would.... I'm thinking about cabin 11728. Does anyone have any pictures of this cabin or any information about it?

Help!

Call Celebrity back. Speak to someone else. Keep calling until you get someone who tells you what other posters have said...you CAN use your certificate as $100 towards the cruise you want...understanding you will lose the OBC associated with it.

Keep in mind that the people you are speaking to often don't understand the rules as well as the cruisers do.

First, its important to those unfamiliar with the terms to determine if you are talking about the Open Passages certificate....which I agree is not a great idea/value....or the Future Cruise Certificate where you picked a ship and so forth. The later is always a good idea IMHO to buy because although it often cannot be combined with other offers X may roll out later....at the very least you can still take advantage of the only $100 per person to reserve the cruise you have or may transfer it to. For example, I had a FCC on a cruise on Eclipse in February of 2014. I just transferred it to a cruise on Equinox in January of 2014 under the 123go promo. I did lose the OBC the FCC would have given me...but I gained the complimentary beverage backages and still have a cruise booked with only $200 instead of $900 deposit.

And there is always the possibility that there may one day be a cruise that does not have a special promo linked to it!

Reduced deposit....no matter the length of the cruise you are booking...it will only cost (US citizens) $100 per person. OBC based on the length of the cruise. Yes, the category upgrade.

And the FCC can be transferred to any other cruise you want if you decide you don't want to take the one you booked. Just transfer that booking reservation number (via your travel agent or Celebrity) to whatever new cruise you want. You will lose the category upgrade but will still have the reduced deposit and OBC.

And the deposit is refundable. If you purchase an Open Passage certificate onboard that is NOT refundable.

I spoke with Celebrity yesterday and they will change an existing booking. you will lose any previous perks/obc and will have to pay any increase in fare. However they will change the promotion on an existing booking.

I understand if it was just an existing reservation with a deposit only you would need to pay the current rate. Are you saying that if you have paid the cruise in full at a lower rate then you would need to pay more at this time to take advantage of this offer?

If I am reading this thread correctly, it seems some people who have cruises past final payment, ie already paid in full, have been able to have the promo applied to their cruise? So it is not for new bookings only? However, some other posters are saying they tried to get the promo and were told the opposite. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

I guess it is all in the math for your cruise. For example, the TA I have booked on Silhouette for December....the current price is $800 more now for my cabin. Granted the drink package price is more than that. However, I would be giving up $650 in OBC. And the last TA I had I did not manage (although I tried!) to drink up all my OBC...LOL...I had to buy some duty free booze to use it all up. So for me the package is not a deal. Wonder if the cruise prices will go back down when this promo expires.

Am I the only only one who cannot take advantage of this special deal? I've looked at the current pricing for every cruise I have a deposit on....and the price I have is much better than the current pricing....even adding in the beverage package or other offer. What cruises are great deals?

I was on the Equinox TA and Bridge (not duplicate) was mentioned in the Dailies and the large meeting room across from the Sky Lounge was reserved for it. The room was always full. On other Celebrity sailings there has been a sign up sheet in the Card Room and we never had any trouble finding a game. We bring our own cards but you can get decks from Guest Relations. One does not need a score sheet for party bridge; any piece of paper will work.

And, lets see if I can make this make sense....in my opinion it is a good idea to book a couple of bookings on board. If you use them great; if you don't then the booking confirmation number is transferable to something else. And in this case the deposit is always refundable.

I may have the names incorrect. What I'm calling a Future Cruise Certificate is what you purchase on board when you are booking an actual cruise and leave with the cabin assignment et al. Doing this entitles you to the category upgrade and the OBC and the reduced deposit.

What you call a Passages certificate (or whatever its called) is when you buy a piece of paper that simply gives you a confirmation number for a cruise you have yet to decide upon.

Both options can be booked with only the $100 deposit. The difference is the monies you put down for the cruise you booked and chose a cabin onboard for IS refundable; the Passages Certificate is NOT refundable. It stays good forever so if you are sure you will cruise X at some point I suppose it makes sense to take advantage of the OBC and reduced deposit. But note that with the Passages booking you will forfeit the 3 category cabin upgrade. That is only done with the FCC when you are actually chosing your cabin.

Clear as mud?

And the deposit is reduced. It is only $100 per person. And you can pay only $100 and have the other person in the cabin listed as To Be Decided. That way you can have a hold on a 14 night or longer cruise for a lot less than if you booked off ship. And the booking number can even be transfered to another cruise if you change your mind. Great idea!! I like it better than the future cruise certificate as that one is non-refundable.

Loving this review! Just made final payment for a Celebrity Med cruise today!

One question for all the seasoned flyers....was the medication the OP took the Ativan someone else mentioned? I am interested in taking something that will take my anxiety away. (It doesn't help when your husband is a retired pilot and says things like....long time ago in Hong Kong..."You know, this is the most challenging landing there is because the water is there and you must descend rapidly over the mountains..." or in China "Interesting!! This is an old Russian military plane.")

Well, I enjoyed reading what you did post. I really enjoyed reading your account of your family's Hawaii cruise and I had hoped to enjoy this one as well. Take care!

Please come back and tell us more about your cruise!

Please come back! I want to hear more!

What sort of things were offered at the "Tastings?"

Please come back and finish your review! I've so enjoyed your writing style. I am thinking about trying a suite on Dawn next year and am particularly interested in what you have to say. Please?

You definitely don't want to bring a pair of shoes for every outfit....but I was surprised once when I cruised and had only one pair of day/beach sandals that I'd worn almost daily back home with no problem....they rubbed a blister on me!! I couldn't believe it; they were not new shoes! I think your feet sometimes swell and shoes that fit at home suddenly don't. So pack a second pair and be safe.

And tell your husband I said so.

The City of Miami should PAY you for those spectacular shots of Miami in the sunrise as you were coming back!!

Just keep in mind that the cabins won't be ready till after 1:30 so if you board early you will be schlepping around with your bags.

Carol, I just read your great review of your mother/daughter cruise (Happy Mother's Day!) and I just wanted to say that re the refund Carnival gave you in the form of OBC, I had that happen once and didn't think I could spend all the OBC and went down to Guest Services and they gave me cash instead, no problem. Another option to keep in mind.