kirtihk

On 6/1/2024 at 8:52 AM, chamima said:

If we have no status on RCCI or Celebrity we get a referral offer for our first Silversea cruise but if we DO have status we lose that offer? (And what exactly is a "Referral Offer?)

 

The "Referral Offer Benefit" in the below statement is in regard of a person who wants to refer, not a person wo will be referred.  So, it means that you must have at least 1 cruise with SS in order to refer someone regardless whether you got any SS Venetian Society status due ONLY to matching RCCL or/and Celebrity status.

i. Sail with Us Referral Offer. A Member must earn at least 1 VS Day to be eligible for the Sail with Us Referral Offer Benefit.

36 minutes ago, purpleally said:

I’ve received I for that changes coming in 2025. Hopefully not before your 2024. Cruise

The problem for me (and would think for many others, too) in general, I don't want to remember, monitor, and wait for 7-18 months to catch the exact timing on announcement of this change.  Referral should be simple process to begin with - click a couple of boxes for a referee and yourself and get an OBC for each, and if a person ended up cancelling their cruise, your OBC would be gone (like Viking, for example does).  Why to have multiple forms on both sides?

37 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

 Correct, but unfortunately you´ll meet this kind of behavior by guest on board Celebrity ships - like anywhere else 😉 

My point was it's about an individual behavior of a guest that makes a wrong (and damaging) impression of a company (a cruise line in this case) serving such a guest.

On 5/30/2024 at 9:48 AM, Miaminice said:

People without the slightest trace of common sense or respect but with a giant feeling of entitlement - that’s what’s happening to Celebrity 🤷🏻

Is that what’s happening to Celebrity?  That’s what’s happening.  To the WORLD.  Celebrity or any other cruise line have nothing to do with it.

On 6/3/2024 at 6:56 AM, purpleally said:

Happy to help.

please email me at purple19gray@aol.com

Yesterday I received an email from Seabourn:

Seabourn is currently updating the referral program to make it more convenient for our guests to refer their friends/family. This change will be coming in the upcoming year. Currently we are not able to add referrals to bookings.  Please watch for the announcement on the website when this program has been updated.

We sincerely appreciate your loyalty and willingness to share your love for Seabourn with your friends and look forward to continue rewarding our guests with the referral onboard credit.

18 hours ago, memoak said:

Is it just me or does anyone else think this thread has gone off the rails

If the cruise price was the 1-number (1 line-item on the invoice) price which is the cruise total price (with real all inclusive), the rails wouldn't be needed whatsoever at first place (no thread of such a topic would be generated).  From the other hand, there would be tons of other threads for that matter with variations of "Why don't I have a choice of selecting what I really need (maybe I don't want Wi-Fi, or multiple restaurants, or I'm not a drinker, I don't need a butler service or shore excursions, ...)?"

6 hours ago, barneyboy said:

I don’t think they can please everyone. We’re late diners and never use the cocktail hour as it’s far too early for us. We’re usually having our pre dinner drinks around 7.30pm. 5-9 would certainly be better for us. Someone suggested making it 4-7 but surely not many are having pre dinner drinks at 4pm.

What???  I have pre dinner drinks at 7 am every morning starting with Champagne!

7 hours ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

We're on a Princess cruise at the moment.  There is a separate 'gratuities' line entry on every food / beverage / service bill (typically 18 per cent, but adjustable).  That is the equivalent of what you are referring to in terms of land-based restaurants, not the crew appreciation / service charge that this thread was about originally.

That means (good to know) that instead of 1 "extra charge" item (that used to be a part of cruising expenses and on the cruise invoice with a choice of pre-paid gratuities) besides 3 regular items (cruise fair, port charges, and taxes), now there are 2 of them (gratuities AND crew appreciation / service charge).

If you’re new to Seabourn and don't have a referral set up yet and booked a cruise sailing prior to or on December 14, 2025, I can set up a referral for you that gives us both $250 OBC (per cabin).

Please e-mail me at mikhail_khitrik (at) yahoo (dot) (com), and I will set up the referral for you.

On 5/15/2024 at 11:46 AM, SailorJack said:

 

 

Is thirty two days to long to be on a ship? Ordinarily I would say yes, but Jill has signed us up for another 32 trip on Oceania. In any event, we are looking forward to getting home and replacing our bottles of Fiji water. 

We've just came back from a half of your cruise - 16-day Seaborn Pursuit Expedition from Tahiti to Solomon Islands.  We dragged ourselves from the ship at the end of cruise.  We would easily continue for the next 15-day leg to Guam (through Papua New Guinea); however, regretfully, we don't have enough vacation days.

2 hours ago, rmalbers said:

Maybe there was a lawsuit or something, someone might have cut their finger off adjusting the back of the lounger. 

If that's a case, there should not be any items of any kind on the ship (no tables, no chairs, no beds, no silverware, nothing), no pools, no dancing (one might be injured, too), all around the ship walls should be plush, and so on.

On 5/14/2024 at 4:07 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

My income and expenses are totally irrelevant to my choice of cabin.  So yes, I was able to actually answer the OPs question.  That places me clearly in a very small minority.

 

I don't live by the equation: "Income - expenses = money to throw away on things I don't need"

 

That said, it sounds like you and many others might.😎

I easily might go in the inside cabin on Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, and Silversea; the matter is they don't provide it.  So... No choice for me: I'm stuck with and forced enjoying the balcony cabin (and a "darn" butler on Silversea).  On a positive note, I like a lack of choices - less headache! 

3 hours ago, Salf777 said:

We have a few cruises booked on X still when they had the $200 deposit onboard for Retreat. We started looking at other lines as X is getting silly. Coco Cay looks fun but I go on X so I don’t have to go there. They have the staff running around telling everyone it the passenger’s favorite port now! Trying hard to sell it and why not. They bring you to their island where everything costs and it’s all theirs. 
Speaking to others here in the retreat and everyone I have spoken to do not have loungers on their balcony. You have to request it now

so while onboard we booked cruises in other lines and are going to cancel the current X cruises we have booked. Personally we would rather lose $200 deposit and go on a line that gives what you pay for and not have to “request” everything. 
According to the staff on board X will look exactly like Royal soon. Oh and by the way all the other cruises we booked on other lines. Deposit 100% refundable up until final payment. And you don’t pay more for the refundable deposit!

and the price with the refundable deposit option for 14-day cruise is $1,900 more pp (in Aqua)!!!  That's $1,000 more than a deposit!  To pay or not pay? - To over-pay $1,900 extra with the refundable deposit or lose $900 in case of canceling non-refundable?

If you’re new to Seabourn and don't have a referral set up yet and booked a cruise sailing prior to or on December 14, 2025, I can set up a referral for you that gives us both $250 OBC (per cabin).

Please e-mail me at mikhail_khitrik (at) yahoo (dot) (com), and I will set up the referral for you.

On 5/6/2024 at 2:35 AM, Stockjock said:

It's a conspiracy!!!

I've almost never heard of using this word until around 6 years ago.  Thinking (especially, without influencing and out-of-the-box) is a sin these days, I guess.  Society slowly but steadily is moving toward ameba-like existence.

1 minute ago, Kay S said:

Me, too, but some "not-anti-dog people" hereabouts would be terrified of the thing biting, or worse, spraying fleas all over.  😄

Oh, yes!  Who is better than a dog! Not any human being!

On 4/8/2024 at 2:37 PM, pilot said:

Had a first last night in the dining room on Nieuw Statendam. Saw a couple leaving the dining room with a dog in a stroller. Have been on previous cruises and have seen working service dogs, but never have seen one pushed around in stroller through the dining room. 

I would love to hug that dog!

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I'm not interested in the IV's so we booked a Deluxe Ocean View which is a forward facing stateroom with a faux balcony set up...at least that's what I'm calling it.  The drinks package is the classic and the wifi is the basic.  Grats were not included but we prepaid them.  The deposit of $900 is nonrefundable.  All totaled, with prepaid grats and the aforementioned inclusions for 2 people is $4000.  Oh, and we are getting $350 refundable OBC, which more than covers the gratuities.  I've paid a lot more for higher categories and on E class, I feel like there is so much included in the regular experience that I didn't feel compelled, nor would I pay current prices to book a suite...

 

That’s really good.  It was a typo in my text: parts should be switched in my first question.

We have a very similar situation with booking for 12-day Millennium cruise from Singapore to Tokyo (March 3, 2025).  We paid $5,264 total (cruise fare, port charges, tax, included classic beverage package, wi-fi, included gratuities (we booked this trio combo before Celebrity removed gratuities from it), refundable deposit), the lest expensive Aqua category (free upgrade to the next category) and $200 (book onboard) OBC.  It was a group booking with our cruise agent.  The regular price through Celebrity at that time was $8,600.  A few days ago I looked and saw over $13,000 fir the same category with the same other items!

On 4/1/2024 at 3:57 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

 Not to mention omelets. 

 

Seriously, it is not and was not meant to be a replacement for the Ocean View Cafe breakfast buffet. 

 

And you are not allowed to bring any food from the Ocean View Cafe.  One time was walking with a boiled egg in my hand, and they stopped me from entering (it was so funny!!!).

On 4/1/2024 at 1:45 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

It is a  good place for second breakfast 🤣

And for Champagne (or Bellini) if one doesn’t not have a beverage package.

On 3/29/2024 at 2:21 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

I'm a big fan of focusing on the positive so thank you!  And I think there are still deals to be had...even in this current market.  We just booked a 10 night cruise on Beyond with drinks and wifi for less than 4 grand.   Not in a suite but still an amazing deal, IMO.

So many variables: Per person or for 2? Balcony or other category?  Refundable or not deposit?  With pre-paid gratuities or not?  If answer is the former for all questions (especially for the first and second), then it's great!

10 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

I knew/got what you were saying about the validity being less than 10 years.😉

I've just made another post (# 102) about this matter (in backward direction this time).

10 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

Yes 10 years is arbitrary, the State Department can chose whatever time the want, but your passport is good for 10 years, no if's ands or but's  You do get your moneys worth.  It is other countries that arbitrarily require the 6 month rule.  It is not practical for the State Department to try to satisfy the requirements every other country in the world.  It is up to the traveler to follow the requirements of the country they are traveling to.  As far as the U.S. is concerned, your passport is good for 10 years when in the U.S., and leaving or returning to the U.S.

Yes, correct.  However:

Passport, a mandatory requirement for travelling to the USA for non-US citizens:

Regardless of the purpose of your trip, whether for tourism, study, or work, a passport is a necessary document for travelling to the USA that you must have with you, as your National Identity Card will not be valid there.

Similar to many other countries, your passport should remain valid for at least six months after you enter the USA and should have at least two blank pages for use by American authorities.

_______________________________________________

So, in the end it's all the same.  Therefore, the base of my thinking (as a world traveler so to speak) still has a foundation (excuse my tautology).

9 minutes ago, bassmk said:

Because people will still wait until two weeks before it expires to renew it, no matter how long it is valid. Procrastinators gonna procrastinate!

That's fine as long as a person doesn't travel for next couple (few) months from "two weeks before it expires" time.  That's (potentially) actually, the best situation.

3 minutes ago, OldSalt73 said:

I translated perfectly. The expiration date is 10 years. It is valid for most purposes for that long, including returning to the US.

 

https://hk.usconsulate.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/less-than-six-months-validity-left/
 

The six month requirement is NOT a US DOS limitation, rather it imposed by host countries. Therefore airlines and cruise lines almost universally require the six month from end of voyage. Applying your logic, a four month world cruise would penalize 10 months from the passport. Point being, there will likely always be the six month penalty regardless of statutory validity. Just something to live with.

Yes.  There are too many so to speak something's to live with.