blueslily

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Is Blue Lagoon offered fas an exceursion for you to book? That is where you will get your answer.

Hi Charles, no, it is not. We sail soon on Feb 4. I called Celebrity and the rep was not able to provide any information. At least Royal had provided an estimated time frame for more investigation. So, that's why I posted here just to see if anyone had received any additional updates.  I understand that Celebrity will make their own decision. I'm just curious about any updates at all. Thanks Charles! 

Anyone have a recent update about Blue Lagon bookings? I also called Blue Lagoon directly today to ask about cruise ship passengers, they said we need to book through the cruise line when/if it becomes available. I will actually be sailing on Celebrity. I know this is a Riyal forum, but wondering about Royal's decision as that may impact Celebrity as well. Called Celebrity. Not helpful yet. 

Anyone have an update on Blue Lagoon excursions on Royal and Celebrity? It's still not showing up for my Celebrity cruise on Feb 4. I called Blue Lagoon directly and they recommended that all cruisers book through cruise line versus them. The last I read Royal had extended their hiatus until mid- January. We are at Jan 15. Thanks 

On 1/12/2024 at 10:11 AM, jelayne said:

Other than suites, cabin category doesn’t matter for check-in.  IME the terminal  doors  are not open until  11.  

Yes, I understand about the cabins not matering, other than suites. I wanted to share information about my reservation so folks would not have to come back and ask about my type of cabin, in case it indeed was a suite or something else that might matter. So, i was just providing info. Thanks 

What time does checking in start for Ascent in Fort Lauderdale? Staying in a SV. Thx. 

19 hours ago, ggo85 said:

Fort Lauderdale is the port. Departure is early - 3:30. 

I will be cruising for the first time with Celebrity in early February on the Ascent. I was a few hours late for checking in and our earliest option was 12pm. That sounds so late to me. I'm used to getting 10:30 check in time on other lines, but thats because i usually check in when its forst available. We will be sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale and the ship departs at 3:30. This is my only let found so far. But, it's my fault for not checking in earlier that day. Bummer, but we will survive. 

What are the options if you are past final payment and there is a price drop?

On 12/31/2023 at 8:09 AM, KeyLimeKayak said:

@blueslily happy to help! We would be interested in what he says, too. Quite honestly, we felt it was more of a weather/route issue than construction flaw. 

Hello, He responded saying that he did not hear any noises in his cabin and asked others and they reported the same. I'm very excited. Thanks 😊 

13 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Those exist from TA's   I have gotten them in the past, Nov cruise 4000, 10 day, all included for Concierge wiht 1000 OB.  But with this, Celebrity will not deal with you directly since you booked thru the TA.  They should have all the information for your booking., history etc.  This is there problem to deal with at this point.  

Man, that's awesome. I know you can't say the full name of your TA, but I would love some clues so I could try to figure it out, hahhaha 

Blue Lagoon has reopened. I'm looking forward to booking for my February cruise on the Ascent. I will most likely book privately since I'm not sure when the cruise lines will start offering the excursions again. I'm OK with going. I've enjoyed my day there when I've gone in the past. 

12 hours ago, Steeler Nation At Sea said:

48 responses so far

 

11 with unique pricing, a handful explaining group pricing or where to purchase and the usual CC Bickertons rounding out the total in the majority. Typical.    

 

Well, it would've been a nice idea to have a concise deals thread.  Too bad the admins can't keep this one on track like they do on the solo deals thread.

I would love tonread that solo deals thread. I looked around but could not find it. Do you mind sending the link to where it is located. Thanks so much!  Happy cruising  🛳 ☺️ 

2 hours ago, KeyLimeKayak said:

9329, which we chose because it looked like it had a buffer of structural/ventilation space between us and 9327. That's where the noise came from, ironically! But only on the first day during high seas/storm, and when traveling 18+ knots through the Atlantic route on our return. It was completely quiet in Caribbean waters between the islands.

Thank you. We will be in the neighboring cabin 9326. A content creator on YouTube just stayed in that cabin and has a video posted. He did not report any noise in his video. I messaged him last night after I saw your post to ask because I know there are only a few SVs in that location and your post had me worried. I will see what he says in his reply.

Thanks so much for replying with helpful information about the specific cabin and when you heard the noise. I'm glad that it was not all the time. But, we will take earplugs just in case. Honestly I have never slept with earplugs so I'm not sure how I will feel doing that. Maybe I will try it out a couple times before then. Again, thanks for posting more details. Your post is very helpful. 

On 12/26/2023 at 1:42 PM, KeyLimeKayak said:

We just completed a Dec. 17-24 sailing with mostly fair weather, and YES we had significant creaking and popping in our room - Deck 9, aft Sunset Veranda. Our family on deck 11 (aft) experienced the same, they said it seemed like the ship was coming apart it was so loud at night. There was also extreme swaying motion in all parts of the ship and we overheard many guests complaining that the ship seemed poorly constructed and unstable. 

Do you mind sharing your cabin number. I will be in a SV on Deck 9 in 5 weeks. Now I'm concerned. Thanks

I thought someone had posted that Royal had sent an update about cancelations until a date in January. I think it was around mid-January. I'm sailing with Celebrity in early February and plan to direct book if Celebrity doesn't restart offering the excursion. I look forward to going. 

I guess it depends on the degree of obstruction, but I would definitely accept an obstructed balcony over an ocean view cabin. Looking at the deck plan and any videos out there, can you see what the obstruction is or how much of an obstruction there is? I love having access to fresh air and sitting outside on my balcony on a sea day. 

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13 hours ago, firefly333 said:

  Costs as much as a 7 day cruise. It might not attract the party crowd as much as you predict. Some are just curious to do a new ship, not party folks necessarily. 

Yes, those short Utopia cruises are definitely looking like 7 day sailing prices to me as well. I understand why it's priced high. But, just saying, "man Royal, thats a lot for just 4 days", lol. 

Does anyone know why they tell people to exit it before it moves up and down? Is it because of the open space and concern about safety? Or, some other reasons? 

On 11/30/2023 at 1:43 PM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

to make a fair comparison, we sailed on RCI's Allure in June and on Oasis during Spring Break (Easter week), and it was not as disorganized and crowded as our Thanksgiving cruise on Seascape. Also sailed on a full Enchanted Princess and Regal Princess during Thanksgiving, and it was not chaotic and disorganized.

 

that's the thing.... No matter how little or how much we spend on RCI or Princess cruises, we always get top notch service. Even though we are always in the steerage class. This MSC cruise wasn't all that much cheaper than our previous or future cruises with Princess, Carnival and Celebrity, but we felt that the $400 difference in price just isn't worth the aggravation with the stupid elevator system on Seascape, with standing in line for an hour to get back on the ship in a port of call only for the buffet to be closed already, or dealing with the manual searches of ALL the beach bags of all the passengers in Jamaica.

 

On our cruise someone passed out while waiting in line to get back on the ship in Jamaica. It was extremely hot inside the ship where we had to wait to be searched. The crew didn't even care. We've been cruising for years, but we've never experienced anything like that before.

Hi there, we are just back from the Seascape. I had been so worried based on your reports of your experiences, but maybe just luckily, but we did not have most of these issues. Our itinerary was different, no Jamaica. Luckilt, at ports, we were able to get on and off the ship at ports without any long lines or waits. I was so relieved.

For us, elevator waits and congestion was really on Day 1 when people were just learning the ship. After that, we could get elevators without much wait. Oh, there was one time we did wait. I'm not sure why we didn't just go around to a different Elevator bank that time. Other times we just went to another set if we saw people waiting or we were just able to get on. I rode alone on elevators sometimes as well, including dinner time or at night during entertainment times.

I was just happy we had a good time and not many of the issues people talk about on here. 

Now that my Seascape cruise has passed, I may step away from this board. I want to hold onto our positive memories. Sometimes there can be a lot of negativity about MSC and I dont want that to dampen my positive memories of a good cruise experience. If anyone has specific questions as you plan for a future cruise, I can respond based on our cruise experience. 

Happy holidays everyone, and happy cruising! I'm off to prepare for my cruise on Celebrity Ascent. Thanks everyone that helped me prepare for my Seascape cruise 🛳 😎 😀 😊 

On 12/20/2023 at 12:34 AM, jmsnyc said:

My cruise is sold out.   The buffet is crowded all times so there is no timing it.   The conveyor belt didn't look so good and the sushi sits on those plates quite a long time

 

I just think tacos should not be surcharged.  It may not be the same now but I remember Johnny Rockets on Royal included

Hello, we were on the Seascape last week as well and they said the ship was sold out. I only had one experience in the buffet at a lunch time and once at a breakfast time that there was madness in the buffet area. That was mainly because of timing when I chose to walk through there. The breakfast time was once later during breakfast which was on that unplanned Sea Day Friday that we missed Ocean Cay due to the rough weather when lots of other ships could not dock in some ports also. The other time was during a later lunch time. Other than that, I was able to get in and out, not wait in massive lines for food stations, and enjoy sitting in the back area or outside in the back to enjoy the wake view while we ate. We saw lots of people not going to other areas for seating or not getting food in sections that were not as busy.

 Everyone has their own experiences though. I can only comment on our experience and what we did to not experience crowds that some people complain about. I guess it was just about what we chose to do, where we chose to do it, and when we chose to do things. We had a good cruise. 

Happy cruising everyone. 

8 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Odd…on our booking confirmation for upcoming Aurea Balcony (not suites) it states:

• 24-hour room service (free delivery)
• Breakfast in cabin (free delivery)
 Do you recall what the delivery fee was?

 

 

It was listed as $7.95 in the menu. I asked Guest Services because I thought it was an error. They said that it is not free for Aurea so it was not an error. I thought for sure that was wrong. But, I wasn't having a cow about it. We got a bit of bang for our buck overall during our cruise with how we booked. Good luck to you. 

Value of Aurea - For OUR Experience 

So, during the booking process, we opted to pay the extra fee to have the Aurea Experience. We had a balcony cabin on Deck 14, right near the elevator.

Important note, in Cabin 14095, the bed is by the balcony. I am a person that prefers that bed location and am always trying to figure out bed location when selecting cabins, so I want to return the favor here by sharing that info.

Back to Aurea

Was it worth it, the cost, for us? Hmmm, yes in a moderate way.

1. MDR Dinner at any time. Really appreciated this. Everyday was different for us, so it was nice not to have to report at any specific time. We did NOT make reservations. We just showed up and were seated. Had the same wait team regardless of time we arrived. Main waiter was EXCELLENT! 

2. Thermal Suite. Used it three days. To book it separate for the week, online in advance, would cost $130. On ship was much higher. So, to have this included in Aurea was a good benefit that we used.

3. Top 19 Solarium. Used it twice during the week. On our second Sea Day, we camped out there ALL day. We enjoyed this option for sure. 

4. Priority check in line at Embarkation. Appreciated the shorter line and fast walk onto the ship. 

5. Misc. There was a section in the MDR for breakfast on Debarkation day. We saw it after we were already set. There were a couple other moments when we were recognized as Aurea and having some priority. We got a couple small welcome gifts in the room due to Aurea status. 

I could not figure out what, if any, benefit there was when it came to room service. I think I had read it wrong that if I ordered Room Service, as Aurea, I would not have to pay anything, meaning no delivery fee either. But, I was told that no, room service is not free for Aurea guests. We did not pay for the actual food. We did pay for the delivery fee. It was one morning breakfast. 

What other "benefits" am I missing?

Overall, yes, it was worth the extra money. Made it nice to just have these things ahead on my card. 

Disembarkation - A+

Ok, I can't find one negative thing to say about how we got off the ship. We were docked back I'm Miami early. (4:30am was the first time I peeped out the balcony.) We were in Group 10 for Aurea guests. My group planned to exit our cabins at 7:15 which is thr time that was listed in the documents that they wanted everyone out the rooms. There were a couple big bags in our group and folks did not want to do self assist.

So, at 7:15, we went to the Green Wave MDR for a sit down breakfast. I only ordered a food plate because honestly, by that point. I had eaten enough in thr first 5 days of my cruise to last me a month, lol. When people say there isn't enough food options on this ship, I'm just not sure where those folks are looking. But, I will say that I do eat less than some folks. I am not a person that needs multiple entrees or multiple appetizers. One serving of a three course meal is beyond enough for me. My health thanks me. 

Back to disembarkation...so, we ate breakfast and our group was called right after we had finished and were just sitting at the table to relax. We got into the disembarkation line on Deck 6 and never stopped walking. No joke. No horror stories to share about long lines or waits to get off. Once inside the terminal, our luggage was where it was supposed to be. I hailed a porter immediately because I love the ease they bring for zooming out the terminal. Yes, we tipped them. Our choice. It's the holiday season. We had a good cruise. Oh well, now they made even more money. Pay it forward, lol. 

The porter wized us through lines as staff just waved him through. Facial recognition - again no line. No passport needed. Then he zoomed past all the folks outside that were all over the place waiting for this or that. He pushed our luggage on the dolly straight to Garage C, up the elevator, to the car. Easy peasy. 

Let me see, what criticism can I offer? Sorry. I got nothing! 🤗 

After a good cruise, this is the ending experience you want. Plus, I was not in YC. It was not horrible to NOT have a butler. I got off the ship easy peasy on my own, with a porter in terminal, without paying the YC expense. I'm not knocking the YC at all. Just sharing because some folks want to hear from non-YC cruisers. Here I am. No YC and a good cruise for sure. 😊

Hello All, Sorry for falling off thr planet during my cruise. I was indeed having a good cruise. Hahahaha. Sadly. We did come back with a cold so that was my focus yesterday and today. I will offer a few more sections with my insights. Although they might be brief given I'm a bit under the weather. But, I don't blame this in MSC or the Seascape or anything like that. I tend to get a cold near the end of cruises, lol. Socks, but it happens. So, I go prepared with my arsenal of over thr counter medications, lol. 

Just off Seascape yesterday. Was in Aurea Balcony. Wash cloths were provided daily.