ScubesDad

Thanks very much for your advice. I have emailed the Chinese Embassy in London but they have only directed me to sections on their website (which I have already read) rather than a personal reply. A visa here, if applied for via an agency, would cost around $500 per person, so if I can avoid that I'd be very happy!

I did a bit more research into this - our son and D-I-L live in China and we have visited several times and always see some commotion at immigration where the travellers interpretation of the rules is different than the "official" Chinese interpretation - and it appears that all TWVO are eligible for transit to cruise ships.

The only restriction appears your travel cannot be inbound from country "A", and then your first cruise port after leaving Shanghai is back in country "A" again. Are you flying direct from London? What is your first cruise port after Shanghai? Hong Kong is considered a different region and is fine. As long as the before and after country aren't the same it appears all is good.

This is interesting for me as we are ending a cruise in Hong Kong in Feb '19 and will stop in to visit with son and D-I-L, before returning to Canada; however, we will probably stay for about 10 days, and as you say the Visa fee gets a bit expensive.

A couple for links with additional information.

http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40

http://www.sh-immigration.gov.cn/listPageEn.aspx?lx=40

The attached link will take you to the China Travel Guide which details all of the different transit without visa options.

I don't believe the 72 hour option is applicable, as the description seems to imply it is only available for an aircraft to aircraft transit.

There is a 24 hour direct transit option which specifically mentions cruise ship departures, which can be linked off the 72 hour page.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/visa/free-72hour/

I would recommend you familiarize yourself with the different options and contact the Chinese Embassy in London for clarification

The extra cost of suites has risen dramatically since the introduction of Luminae. I presume that you spent approx 2X for the Sky Suite compared to Aqua class. Before the introduction of Luminae the price difference was much smaller. If one only cruises once per year the extra cost might be justified, but if one can sail twice as many days per year in AQ I personally would do that !!!

So very true. I went back and checked the cost of our S2 in 2014 (before perks) and it was about half of what our cost was this past September (with all 4 perks) its a good thing the perks are "free":rolleyes:. Also, our C1 this past Feb (Mardi Gras) was less than half of the S2 and there was a "premium" built into the C1 as it was the Mardi Gras cruise.

At the present time we travel 3 timers per year for approx. 4 weeks at a time. Our children live outside the country so we visit them each once per year and they visit us once per year. We incorporate a cruise into one of those trips; and we also do the tourist thing and travel and sightsee; however, we find we can travel at a cost per day no greater than the cost of an aqua or concierage room, and in some places significantly lower per day without compromising.

We realize at some point in time the kids will return to Canada and then we will probably revert to concierage or aqua to do as you say - travel for twice as many days at the same cost.

It is a blessing to be able to have the flexibility.

The decision to transition to the suite life is a very subjective one and is based on the perceived value of the services being offered.

First sailing on -X- was in 2001 and we have see significant changes since then, resulting in a different cruising experience - I am not judging if it is better or worse, just different. We have sailed in concierage class, aqua class, and suites. The experience in each has been different and sometimes not consistent. Over the past several years we felt some of the changes made have impacted negatively on our enjoyment, and caused us to re-evaluate what we enjoyed and what was irritating. We chose to return to suites, specifically sky suites, to see if that mitigated some of the irritants. It did. So much so that we have 3 more cruises booked.

What someone takes away from the experience determines the value received. I for one missed Michaels Club; I spent many evenings in MC prior to it being turned into the private venue, and enjoyed the peace and solitude as the space was significantly under utilized, and I was able to access top shelf spirits (this was before the proliferation of the packages) quite easily. I was able to sit and read and enjoy a nice drink. Now, it is nice to walk in for a before dinner cocktail and after several visits have the drink delivered to you without being asked. As opposed to the scrum which occurs at some other venues.

As to the value of the butler; we are not ones to monopolize the butlers time. Yes we have been "scolded" in the past for not using "him" to his potential - they really want to do things for you. Our last cruise was very port intensive and we had breakfast in our room almost every morning - being delivered at 6 am. Every thing was laid out on the table ready to go rather than the tray just being plopped on the table and left to be sorted by us.

Returning from shore I would stop in MC's and pick up a beer or two to enjoy on the balcony; after the second day a little note was left that the fridge was now stocked with my "beer" no need to pick it up - a wonderful gesture.

For us, at the present time, the additional cost of a sky suite is well worth it; being in a suite has enhanced our enjoyment, bringing it back to what its was in previous years.

Thank you for posting. It is nice to see what the terms actually are. The $100 change fee may be an issue for many.

I just read your other post and with respect to the small difference ($100) in the price between refundable and non-refundable the entire process does not make a lot of sense. Personally, in order to accept the NR option I would need a significantly larger incentive to accept that option.

We experienced a similar issue this past spring with our Reflection Aug 20/18 cruise. On the -X- website the cruise kept disappearing from inventory. After the third time I called in July and inquired about the possibility of the ship being chartered. I was assured that was not the case. last week I received an email from my TA advising that -X- notified them the ship had been chartered and our reservation was cancelled. Fortunately we were on board Reflection and we were able to make changes immediately.

Just sharing our experience, from now on I will trust my instinct and not rely on any information provided by -X-.

Thanks everyone , we are checked in & it's about 58 days till sailing, when I sign in it says luggage tags not available yet, I guess I will keep checking.

 

 

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We were able to order them for our Feb cruise..however, if I remember correctly they didn't become available until somewhere around 45 days...

Have a drink for me at the Sunset Bar, and stay away from the Slot machines. Cheers Claude

Does anyone please have a copy pf the menu to share. Or anything that might be helpful in planning embacation lunch there?

Mike and Carol Preisman have a fantastic travel blog; the following link will take you to one of their cruises. Select the Menu tab and there is a listing for Gastropub.

http://www.thepreismans.com/equinox_ta_1.htm

We were on the Equinox in February and enjoyed lunch one afternoon at Gastropub, it was fantastic. The menu listed in the Preisman's blog was the menu being used.

The food is an elevated pub grub in the true sense of a gastropub. I had the Steak and Guinness Pie and DW had the Truffled Grilled Cheese. Both were excellent. A very generous portion, really too much for lunch. Not traditional pub offerings.

I dropped in several times over the cruise late afternoon for a beer, and their selection is quite varied. Always had what I requested. Also, had 4 beer taps, I received the impression they change what is on tap. Only one I tried was the Newcastle Brown.

It is an extra charge restaurant; however, based on our experience we both decided we would go back again without hesitation.

not sure what voucher you are talking about, but on our December cruise I upgraded at a bar on-board from the included classic package to the premium drink package and was charged $11.80 less a 10% discount...apparently because I am elite plus. I didn't ask for the discount, it just appeared on my on-board account as $10.62 a day. Not sure if this is how it's supposed to be done or just an, as should be expected, celebrity inconsistency.

All CC benefits are now on the seapass card, no more coupons to keep track of. on our Feb cruise the discount was applied automatically...ie the upgrade was $10.62 per day. in the past I usually had a hassle getting the paper coupon applied to the upgrade.

Hi all--any cruisers out there who have flown Premium Economy on Air Canada from Montreal or Toronto to Rome? it's about $600-700 more per person round trip. I'll be connecting through YUL or YYZ from Atlantic Canada. Think it's worth it? can't make up my mind! Business class would be awesome but just too expensive.

IMHO Yes! Yes! Yes!. our children live on two different continents, one in the UK and the other in Asia. On any flight over 4 hours we will fly PE, however, like you feel business class doesn't make sense cost wise. In fact just booked our summer trip to UK followed up by cruise to Greek islands out of Rome and did it PE. Have found Cathay Pacific and British Airways deliver a better product but Air Canada is well worth the price for the extra room, smaller quieter cabin space, and if needed the extra luggage allowance.

My wife and I have this cruise booked for September this year. In my research i found the following:

Weather: the spring and fall are preferable to the summer months - the weather in May, June, Sept, Oct is more enjoyable as the temperatures are more manageable/moderate, whereas in July and August the temperatures tend to be scorching hot with the temperature often exceeding 100 degrees (38 degrees C ).

Crowds: It often seems that half of Europe is vacationing in Greece during the mid summer months, very busy during July and August and there is a major festival celebration mid August which attracts significant visitors.

While we are going more for the history and culture; the weather is more manageable in the fall, although the weather in the mid 70's - 80's should be suitable for the beaches, and the crowds will be substantially less as children will be returning to school.

Having said all that we have booked the western med cruise which is the opposite schedule to the Italy/Greece sailing on the Reflection for Aug 20/2018 taking a chance that some of the tourists will be on their way back home...........

Now if I can only convince my DH that a Canadian tuxedo has no place on a cruise ship.

Personally with the introduction of elegant chic, I now feel overdressed in a Canadian Tuxedo and I now bring my Sudbury Dinner Jacket....

Hi all,

Sailing on the Summit for the second time this August and am interested in the Premium Package considering that it will be two weeks after I get married.

Tymike, thank you for my morning chuckle. I read this sitting on the deck enjoying my coffee and almost choked on it...the dog thought I was crazy. You are a wise man, discovering what many of us took years to learn.....just kidding. Wishing you a wonderful wedding, a fantastic cruise, and a lifetime of happiness together.

Yes, if the price goes lower you should be able to cancel and re-book at the lower rate. Have notice this too for a upcoming Alaska cruise and have had the same benefits

No this is not the correct answer. If you book today and the rate moves to a more favourable rate three months from now, you will not be able to get the "lower" rate because the rate really is not lower, it is just a foreign exchange move.

"X" conducts all their transactions in US$, however, the different country websites will present the costs in local currency, so in the case of Canadians we can see the price in CDN$ and pay appropriately. So assume a shore excursion is US$100. They expect to be paid US$100, so they adjust by the exchange rate and post that value on the website for Canada. They generally only adjust their exchange rates periodically, something like once every quarter or so.

At today's closing rate of approx .79 that would be about CDN$126.50. So if you purchase today that would be the price you pay. Three months from now the CDN$ has continued to strengthen against the US$ and the exchange rate moves to .85 that same $100 excursion becomes CDN$117.65, or $8.85 cheaper in Canadian $, but it is still US$100. If you called and asked for a refund of the excursion they would refund US$100 at the current rate for that day, which would be $117.65; resulting in you receiving less than you paid as a refund.

This is a very simplified example, as in fact the buying and selling rates are always a few points either side of the spot rate so that the traders/banks/credit cards can make a profit on the spread between buying and selling. Trying to guess where the rate will be sometime in the future is quite risky.

The current exchange rate reflected on "X"'s Canadian website is .75 or about 1.33 depending which way you want to look at it. What I can't tell you is when that rate was set. It is about 4% different than current exchange rates or $4 on every $100.....

So I guess the above was a long answer to a short question; once you decide to purchase the shore excursion you have locked in the price.

When traveling we generally carry USD regardless of where we are going, and generally use USD for any additional gratuities. However, we have used euro's and GBP without any reservations. Currency can be converted by employees on board the ship without issue. Also, some may prefer local currency to use if they have the opportunity to get some time off the ship.

I read this thread with interest as we also had an outbreak on the Silhouette Aug 8 sailing. We awoke on day 3 to a deep cleaning underway...and it peaked at about 40 people being affected and lasted until about day 11 before they started to relax the restrictions.

One observation I made was how you just can't fix "stupid". We decided to grab a continental breakfast at the Captain's Club Coffee Break as it was very quick even with the restrictions in place ( a staff member served you as you walked around the buffet table and poured the juice)...much quicker than anywhere else. One morning in the midst of the outbreak, a couple approached a table by the window which had not been cleared due to the extra work being placed on the staff....after looking around for a minute or so and "huffing" a few times, they picked up the dirty napkins and plates and moved them to another table, grabbed fresh silverware and then sat down at the table.....and we wonder why the virus keeps spreading

We are taking the train from Anchorage to Seward the morning we depart on our cruise. The train arrives in Seward at about 11:15 AM, and apparently we cannot board the ship until 2:30 PM at the earliest. How close is the train station to the ship? I understand some cruise lines allow you to check luggage on the train and it will automatically transfer to that particular ship. Is this true for Celebrity?

We did this trip four years ago. We travelled independently prior to the cruise and took the train to Seward two days before our sailing date to explore the area. We checked our luggage on the train and they delivered it to our hotel for us. When we checked in it was waiting for us in the ”luggage” room at the hotel. I believe they will deliver the luggage to any location within Seward upon arrival...call ARR and ask them if they deliver to the ship.

I have insurance through my RBC Avion card, but the trip cancellation payout is far below the cost of our cruise.

It is possible to purchase additional coverage to increase the payout under the trip cancellation component. Just call them and they will explain all your options

While not technically a bartender, Boris, the sommelier at Cellar Masters, was outstanding. Great conversationalist. In addition, he also has the stock of craft beers, previously held at Michaels Club.

The breakdown of the Automatic Daily Gratuity is as follows:

• Waiter - $3.65 pp/per day
  
• Ass't. Waiter - $2.10 pp/per day
  
• DR Mgm't. - $1.00 pp/per day
  
• Stateroom Service - Amount varies based on cabin category occupied:
  
  • Suite Butler $3.50 pp/per day (cabin steward ALSO gets $3.50)
    
  • Aqua Cabin Steward - $4.00 pp/per day
    
  • Concierge Class Cabin Steward - $4.00 pp/per day
    
  • Regular Stateroom Cabin Steward - $3.50 pp/per day.
    

  [*]Other service personnel: $1.25 pp/per day

 

 

Cabin steward gets $3.50 per person per day from the allocated tips.

 

One post says they clean 24 cabins in a day.

 

24 x $3.50 x 7 day cruise x 2 people in cabin = $1176 per week in gratuities, annualizes to $61,152 should they employee choose to work a full year and renew contracts with no breaks.

Cle-guy, the one omission in your calculation is that there are two cabin attendants sharing the $3.50 per day.... Assuming a 12 hour work day every day, that is $7.00 per hour they each earn......

Use the onboard telephone system. You can leave messages. I don't know, but there may be a way to recover messages from any house phone.

If the Celebrity Official who is on Cruise Critic see this - could you please send me your contact info. I'd like your help getting this straightened around.

 

I did call the Captains Club number and was told that you are NOT allowed to upgrade from a C2 to a C1 - that C1's are exempt from this. How then is it allowed to upgrade from an A2 to a A1 - it doesn't make sense at all. I thought you just couldn't upgrade outside of your category meaning no upgrade from an C1 to and S3.

 

I am not about keeping something that I shouldn't have gotten but it is NOT FUN to think I'm giving back something they gave me (without me even asking I might add - the upgrade was offered by the X agent) when this is the 2nd 14 day cruise in a row that we have booked and missed out on 1,2,3. :mad: We love Celebrity, have never anything except a wonderful cruise but this is maddening.

Jane 2357, Xport has given you the correct information. This past April we were on the Equinox and booked additional cruises while on board and had the upgrade policy clarified. The reason FV, SV and C1 are excluded from being upgraded into, is the limited number of available cabins and that they are considered "prime real estate" as noted by Xport: Celebrity is not going to discount any cabin which sells out virtually immediately.

In the past my experience with "X" has been good, in that they will stand by any employee error which is obvious. In this case there is no way you could have manipulated this upgrade through the system, therefore one of their representatives had to make it happen in their system. However, as Xport stated, "X" has been known to make "changes" without notifing the client.

You seem to be on the right track in proactively attempting to clarify this with "X". Good Luck

I seem to remember that they did offer a higher limit package at one point....but it seems to have disappeared. Does anyone else recall that or is this an aging mind moment?

Your memory is correct. About 2 or 3 years ago there was a third package.

My comments are from a different perspective. We were on the Equinox Apr 4 sailing, and many of the premium and top shelf liquors which were available 12 - 18 months ago were no longer available anywhere on the ship. In addition, when I did find something at one bar it wasn't available anywhere else. When I asked why it wasn't available I was told there wasn't the demand. Granted I prefer Irish Whiskey, which is not a high demand product. On the April 4 cruise I was able to get either Jameson 18 yr or Jameson Gold; however, there was no truly "premium" option above this. Previously I was able to get Midleton Very Rare by paying the difference.

Paraphrasing an earlier comment, if I can't have one or two of my preferred drinks, why would I want three or four of an inferior product.

Our next sailing is in a few weeks, maybe I will test the waters on their premium scotch and see how I make out:p

It does look like they are squeezing from both ends and it does look like a profit squeeze as you can make a wider margin on a lower end product than you can on a higher end product particularly if you can find a way to increase the margin on the low end, move it from the classic to the premium level, and totally drop the lower margin lower production options. (classic (no pun intended :o) cost accounting strategy)

If you really want to make the point, do all your drinking in port, and boycott alcohol when on the ship. That will show the bean counters........

And if you never get them, the porters will have them when you get out of the cab at the pier.

 

ps: you do not really want to attach them till after you get your bags from the airport anyway. IMHO, the baggage handlers have an on going contest to see how many they can tear off each day!:D

I disagree with this suggestion. We always attach the tags before the airport as on two separate occasions our luggage was delayed and was delivered by the airline to the cruise line rep at the airport who was looking for it anyway, who then delivered it to the ship. They give you 8 tags, surely you do not use all 8, and if damaged or missing you can replace them once you pick up your, luggage at the airport.

Really? How are you going to get your bottle of sparkling wine down to the dining room to exchange for a bottle of white/red if you don't carry it past lots of people? :confused:

 

Lots of people bring their own glass of wine into dinner, especially if they have the Elite coupons for happy hour. It's normal on the big boats. :D

We have always asked our stateroom attendant to arrange to have the bottle delivered for us. As previously mentioned this allows for the wine to be decanted or chilled as appropriate. As well, you don't have to carry it around or run back to your cabin to pick it up.