TMLAalum

I thought this was the PUP thread! Going to "first unread post" since yesterday, it appears this thread is now Princess vs. Celebrity!🙃

I recall that tour you and the Boss found in Nassau! It was a lovely way to spend time away from the madding crowd! Not a TBL tour, but your research led to it- I think through the Heritage Society? Our next booking with ToursByLocals is in Lucerne!

At least with ToursByLocals you can choose your guide and be in direct contact with her. But I didn't realize there's an upcharge for booking with them. I am aware that Viator is a middleman so have never booked through them. It takes research to find private tour guides - often several pages into Google. Aside from the Ports forums, I have been stalking the roll calls for this year's Celebrity Iceland/Greenland cruises and last year's as well to find the private tour guides those cruisers have booked! Thanks to them, I have 8 good leads bookmarked for 2024!

@Sox Fan Cruiser To keep yourself occupied, go to the roll call for similar sailings to yours to see what those folk are all doing. Then explore the tour websites they're touting and bookmark until you decide which might work best for you and your friends! Around our August Avalon river cruise, I am taking 9 cats from Paris to Amsterdam to board our boat and after the cruise, herding everyone from Basel-Lucerne-Wengen-Zurich with adventures in between!

I have bought/sold when OBC became moot when perks were included. The OBC from that purchase was a +10% gain over several cruises. Bought again/sold again and bought and own as of now. Had I hung onto the stock a little longer the first time around would have tripled my initial investment. Oh well, can’t complain since am in the black overall.

@ChrisB123 You might have to take 2 river cruises- the Rhine and the Danube. We've only cruised the Danube on Avalon which gave us many German "ports"- started in Nuermberg, then to Regensberg and Passau. We overnighted in Vienna Austria before ending our cruise in Budapest. Our Rhine cruise on Avalon is in 7 months and friends who'd done this route previously liked it so much they wanted to do it again and convinced us and another 6 couples to sail along. It starts in Amsterdam and ends in Basel with mostly German city stops. We'd previously done a DIY land tour to Germany and we spent time along the scenic castle section of the Rhine. Based on our experience there AND the fact that our friends who'd cruised the Rhine on their own and then the Danube with us, wanted to do the Rhine again, that would be my suggestion for your 1st river cruise!

If there is a tour to Queenstown from Dunedin, I recommend that! Pricey, but worth it! We did not take any ship tours on our 14 day cruise from Auckland to Sydney except for the above. In Wellington we booked a private walking tour. I loved our glow worm experiences that happened on our pre-cruise North Island visit! Our B&B, Te Tiro, had its own private glow worm cave and we also took a cave tour in Waitomo through Spellbound.

You can order coffee for morning delivery the night before. From what I have gleaned on this forum there is no room service charge for this. Or do you want the coffee delivered the night before? Would be kinda cold.....

Re: that German website You can also subscribe to price alerts for the cruise and category(s) you are monitoring!

Maybe you should change your CC name to Buzz Lightyear. To Infinity and Beyond!🚀

I wish the mods could change this thread title. It conjures up horrible images! The threads re: dining cutbacks are off-putting enough, but who'd want to cruise on the Apex with its "sanitation issues"?

We are booked those again! We were close to midship rather than forward as some suggest and was not affected by noise, shaking, etc. In fact, it was just a few steps to the espresso machine for early morning coffee. That Danube cruise was in November so enjoying the outdoor spaces was not an option, but nevertheless we were able to spend time in the lounge when not docked. Our next cruise will be in August on the Rhine and we hope to spend our cruising time on deck!

@cruisemom42Now that was a funny Freudian slip!

Just wondering if some type of "head count" or "heads up" that could be taken by the Food/Beverage management staff for a nightly estimate of OV dinner guests would allow for better selections. With the implementation of the Celebrity app, it would be easy for cruisers to indicate where they were planning to have dinner that night: MDR, Specialty, OV, or Room Service. For lengthy port days, such as the one we have in San Juan that sails away at 7pm the OV should be prepared for more diners regardless.

Bless your heart!

Here is a suggestion: No more Blue Chip offers! From various posts it seems even non-gamblers are receiving emails about free cruises on Celebrity. I never opened the one I had in my inbox last year, thinking it was a likely scam and there've been no others since. Recent posts indicate Celebrity is still comping cruises while their food options are declining.

Emailed shareholder claim a week ago and nada! What # to call? In addition to your extensive list of requests requiring a call to Celebrity, the one category Captain's Club cabin upgrade should be available within the online booking process!

Thanks for this great report! We went on the Eclipse from Buenos Aires around the Horn and up the Pacific coast of South America to San Diego in 2019. This is one cruise itinerary I would love to repeat especially after seeing your photos!

I don't understand the rationale behind the cutbacks in meal offerings in all venues on Celebrity. With what sounds like a significant decline in both quality and quantity, who would want to book another Celebrity cruise? It will be "one and done" for newbies and "no, nay, never, no nay never no more" for those of us who've loved the brand! Therefore, bookings will decline and revenue as well!

The times we've had dinner in the OV were pre-covid after a busy port day of touring. Even then it was barely occupied. When few guests dine there, it makes financial and environmental sense to have limited offerings.

Love this thread "detour". Pre-covid my girlfriends and I took an annual trip to the Shaw Festival and a winery tour in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area. We prefer the lesser-known wineries, especially those in The Bench. Cab Franc is a must taste for me. On many Celebrity cruises, Peller Estates Ice Wine is available!

745 Please, please another 50 aka 5 PUP activity NOW!

I seem to recall that the "drink of the day" advertised in the Daily is also included in the Elite HH.

There was an article in our paper about the lack of snow in the Alpine regions of Europe this winter, which implies low water levels for summer. Not looking forward to a 3k pp bus trip.

Seriously, if tap or ship water is a problem, as others have posted buy a 12 or 24 pack of your preferred brand, tag it and have it delivered to your cabin with the rest of your luggage. At least Celebrity doesn't charge for distilled water! HAL did at the cost of $5! Probably best if the OP does cancel since he's upset about much more than not being able to have water as he prefers.