lardan

Original Medicare does NOT pay for acupuncture treatments. While the prices they are quoting are way more than you would pay on land in the US, I know for a fact that Original Medicare does not pay for acupuncture. With that being said, some Medicare Advantage plans may cover acupuncture as a value added service.

We have taken many cruises on different lines and around ten on Celebrity ships. On our last cruise, a transatlantic with seven days at sea, there were many informational seminars scheduled: skin care, pain management, healthy eating, foot care, taking care of your back and spine, etc. I attended some of these, and each one did some heavy selling of products or scheduling spa time. The prices were ridiculous! I admit I spent $500 for two acupuncture sessions to help my aching shoulder and they pushed me to sign up for five treatments for over $1,000, which I did not do. The acupuncturist assured me that Medicare would pay for acupuncture treatments which turned out not to be true. Some people signed up for thousands of dollars of health foods, to be delivered to their homes over a period of months. They have a captive audience on a ship and those sales pitches are very convincing. So just be aware.

Thanks, this is exactly what we plan to do. And it doesn't hurt if you collect credit card points. With no 5% fee because of Gold Mlife, this is a win-win (at least before we gamble the money away)

We got cash at the casino cage during our Reflection cruise April 2018 (2 months ago).

 

We were playing both tables and slots and it was not an issue to get cash.

 

I don’t like to carry that much cash with me so getting it against your account works well for us.

 

We did this several times throughout the trip

 

 

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Yep, correct. Called this afternoon and hooked up the Mlife account. Phone rep confirmed the $125 OBC and waiving the 5% fee.

For 2018 Mlife Gold(unless you were "matched" into mlife thru CC elite status) will get you $125 OBC AND the 5% fee is waived. (BUT you've got to call the number listed in an earlier post at least 10 days in advance of travel.)

 

Also, I was told by the host on Reflection last month that Suites guests are not charged the 5% fee.

Good luck!

OK, thanks. I thought you were talking about Celebrity FAQ on these boards. Sorry

Check all the way to the bottom of their home page for CUSTOMER SUPPORT and within that see HELP AND FAQ.

 

There may be another way to get to it from the menu too.

Sorry, can't find the Celebrity FAQ. I have looked. Where is it? Thanks

Check the Celebrity FAQ for info about MLife.

 

As I understand it you need to have used up all your OBC and then can take cash out from your credit card for 5% fee. But I may have that wrong so I hope others will chime in.

Tried searching but didn't find what I was looking for. Couple questions:

1) I would rather not bring a large amount of cash to gamble with in the casino. I know on past cruises I was able to go to the cage and charge withdrawals to my room, which would go to my credit card and charged at the end of the cruise. Does anyone know what the fee for this is?

2) We will be on the Constellation in June. We have some status with Total Rewards and M-Life. Are there any perks we can get on the ship for either of these programs?

Thanks in advance.

Seems like a dumb question, but I booked my constellation cruise this summer about 9 months ago, and signed up for the GO BEST plan, all 4 of the perks.

I see that now if I were to sign up for the cruise, that includes the premium package, but I don't know if at the time I booked it that was the case.

I haven't been able to find which package I have anywhere, online or on my documentation.

Any idea?

Am I missing something? At the end of the day, it's the same money, as long as the total spending, including the gratuities, is $300. Why not take the uncertainty out of leaving OBC on the table and prepay the gratuities with it? That way, you know it's taken care of, and you know how much you have left to spend of the OBC.

Thanks for the replies. Happy to hear it looks like I can get the Diet Tonic.

I will be on a Meditteranean cruise in July on Constellation. If I recall correctly, I was on this ship a few years ago and they offered diet tonic as a mixer.

Has anyone tried to get this recently on Constellation, or any Celebrity ship for that matter? I love tonic, but can't tolerate the sugar and calories in it.

Same issue here. Thought it might have been me, used a different browser, still having the "OOPS"

Thanks for all the advice. We need up booking the Equinox because of the perks and since we booked Aqua class, we are looking forward to eating in Blu.

As one poster mentioned, we plan on being off the ship all day long in our cities.

I am anxious to hear what you thought about the stop in Salerno. There have been some negative comments about this port. I am going on the same ship but not for another year.

Please comment about Salerno when you can.

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Not weighing in on whether smuggling booze is ok or not. In the words of Bagger Vance, that may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard ... ever.

Thanks for the kind words. Enjoy your weekend.

We'll be on an Alaska cruise this summer with our 18 month old. It is ridiculous enough to me that we are paying full adult fare for him while bringing almost all of his food and person hygiene products with us, so we don't intend to pay gratuities for him at the regular rate. If we are provided any above beyond services for the baby's need, we may chose to tip an appropriate amount.

 

Anyway, how would I go about making sure we aren't automatically charged the $12 gratuity for him?

You had to know this thread was going to turn into this. I get the most enjoyment out of reading the tipping/dress code threads than anything else.

I have no experience but it is an interesting concept. I guess my question to you is "why" try? Certainly if you can vacation a few bottles of alcohol aren't going to break the bank and do you want to have to see the employees around the ship that know you tried to cheat? We've ordered the in room bar set up before and have never regretted the decision despite the charge. I wouldn't embarrass myself for the price of two bottles by smuggling :cool: but to each their own.

My answer is "why not try?" It's not a question of being able to afford a few bottles. It's the possibility of saving a few shekels vs. knowing if you get caught, they will take it away. So be it, it wouldn't ruin my cruise if they took it away. I seriously doubt that the employees around the ship, with thousands of people on it, are whispering "See those people over there; they tried to sneak booze onto the ship".

Yes, it's against the rules. So are plenty of things that people do. I'm sure everyone speaking out against doing this have never broken a rule before. No savings chairs at the pool. No longer than 30 minutes gone from the pool area before your chair is up for grabs (don't know if this is a rule on Celebrity). No savings seats in the theater. Everyone breaks rules to some extent. It's a matter of opinion which rules being broken are "wrong" And those who say they don't, well they're either a Saint or liars; I'll go with the latter.

Pattycat1:

I just went through making the same decision as you. We are going next summer on Mediterranean cruise. However, the difference in cost between the Aqua Class and Sky Suite was $2,800. Definitely not worth it in my opinion.

If it was only $600, I would definitely consider it, but not for $2,800. Depends on your pocketbook and how you value the extras.

Bombay Sapphire is part of the premium package.

See attached list

Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

Thanks for the insight Chemmo. Since it will be just the two of us, and while I love kids, I would prefer a quieter ship with fewer kids and nicer meals, ambience. I am really leaning toward Equinox. I have researched the cabin situation as well. We will choose Aqua Class because of a few of the perks. In my opinion, the lowest suites on both ships are definitely not worth the jump in price.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the great reply Robkat. We actually have been on the Oasis, and for both of us, that was our favorite ship. When I first looked at the Harmony, I thought it was Quantum class, and was excited about it. A little more research I found out it was Oasis, so that made me consider Celebrity more. Happy Anniversary to you as well. Enjoy your cruise.!

Haven't been here in a couple years, but I'd love to ask for some advice. My wife and I are planning a 30 year anniversary trip June 2016. We will be starting in Barcelona for a couple days, then taking a Mediterranean cruise.

We are trying to decide between the new Harmony of the Seas (will be the 2nd voyage) and Celebrity Equinox. The class of cabin that we want are within a couple hundred dollars, so that's not a factor. The itineraries are similar as well, with Harmony ending back at Barcelona and Celebrity ending in Athens.

However, the Equinox is offering free gratuities, drink package, and $300 total onboard credit. That's a pretty attractive offer.

Has anyone sailed on an Oasis ship and the Equinox who can give me their opinion?

Thanks in advance

Haven't been here in a couple years, but I'd love to ask for some advice. My wife and I are planning a 30 year anniversary trip June 2016. We will be starting in Barcelona for a couple days, then taking a Mediterranean cruise.

We are trying to decide between the new Harmony of the Seas (will be the 2nd voyage) and Celebrity Equinox. The class of cabin that we want are within a couple hundred dollars, so that's not a factor. The itineraries are similar as well, with Harmony ending back at Barcelona and Celebrity ending in Athens.

However, the Equinox is offering free gratuities, drink package, and $300 total onboard credit. That's a pretty attractive offer.

Has anyone sailed on an Oasis ship and the Equinox who can give me their opinion?

Thanks in advance

I am going on Celebrity Relfection this coming Saturday. I had gastric bypass in April 2012. I have been 15 pounds below my goal weight since March. I am anticipating no problems with the upcoming cruise. It's all a choice. I can choose to eat the pie, or choose not to. There will be plenty of protein to eat. All should be fine. Only thing that concerns me is that I can't control what they put in the soups and other food. Going to have to ask about sugar in just about everything.

These are some exceptional pictures. I was on the ship the first part of April, and while I didn't find it over-crowded, I was rarely able to get pictures of the ship without others in it. How you did that amazes me.

I look forward to seeing the rest of your pictures