DaisyFire

Wow. It's not the food that adds the pounds.

Yep! Sometimes I count my after dinner drink as dessert - just to offset the calories a bit. (But only when I'm feeling disciplined... but day 2 that feeling tends to go away :D )

I fell in love with a Mexican Coffee on our last cruise. The waiter brought one for my sister-in-law to try when she asked for Turkish coffee (I know they are nothing like each other - he just didn't have what she wanted and thought to offer something else.) After that, we all had to order one every night after dinner... as noted above, some nights I actually did pass on dessert and just have the Mexican Coffee. Delicious!

I recall several months ago someone was moved when they didn't want to be, it was a big hullabaloo for them (might have even been 2 different parties)...I would definitely call to make sure.

I read that post as well - and as a result sent a note to my TA asking her to mark my reservation to not upgrade without asking. She said that she has never done this and that they would not upgrade anyone without notifying them. Since it is not likely that the OP for that thread made up their story - it seems that it can happen - but it is just not very likely? Of course, it could just not be likely because non-requested upgrades (for those not booking a GTY cabin) are not likely...

Oh thats terrible for you.

 

You paid $ and received $$$ and you feel stiffed on the points that you didn't pay for. Hmmm

Wow. Did you read the rest of the thread before jumping to conclusions on Gonzo's reply?

There has been quite a lengthy conversation on whether or not the Captains Club points received on an upgraded cabin correspond to the booked/paid for cabin category or the actual/upgraded one. He was just providing an answer to those who asked for verification.

Looking for an argument? Hmmm

Thanks for all the advice. While I'd love the angled balcony, I prefer not to tie up $900 for 2 entire years if I don't have to. Plus getting the extra OBC is always a plus. At this point I think I'm going to take my chances and wait for April. If my TA can offer me a better deal, I'll transfer the booking to them in the 60 day window.

I've got my eye on a 2019 cruise and was hoping to get a good deal during WAVE season - but I'm not seeing anything spectacular. (Was hoping for at least a reduced deposit). The cabin I want (angled balcony on S-class) is available now - but might be gone if I wait.

Is it worth it to wait until my April cruise to book on board? What are the current offerings for on board booking? I know in the past it's been reduced deposit plus some extra OBC.

Thanks!

That's odd... ChucktownSteve is doing a review of his current trip on the Equinox and he posted a pic of all the goodies at Cafe al Bacio.

See post #85 of the following thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2430527&highlight=bacio&page=4

Sorry for the delay.. Been away for the weekemd

 

Anyway on with Bermuda...

 

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Not sure what happened on CC - but it seems that whatever you intended to post did not work. However, I read the review from the link in your signature line. So glad to hear/see you made it to Bermuda! Thoroughly enjoying your review. Looking forward to the next installment :)

Are you able to see the new schedules on line? I can not find them on the Celebrity website. I know you have to call to book, but I do not see the new ones.

Thanks

I can see the 2018 Alaska and a couple of TA itineraries (two April and one Oct, and one Nov - though I expected more) and I was able to hold a cabin on Nov 2018 Silhouette TA.

Just booked an Alaskan cruise and the $25 deposit is gone and they didn't have the 50% deposit they have had other times for Captain Club members who book during the pre-sale.

 

 

I was able to book the Mardi Gras cruise with the $25 deposit a few days ago (Feb, 2018).

Using the Black Friday 'All Destinations" link - the new 2018/2019 itineraries are not listed - so my assumption is that they are excluded from the sale - which I kind of expected. :(

Go into your "My Celebrity" and see what offers are available. It was $129 and change for my April TA, and $156 and change for my October TA. Those prices were Elite + offers of 35% off, with Elite getting 30% off. Paying $300 or more is a rip off in my opinion.

I did. And that's where I got the $309 price. With the anticipated 10% Captains Club discount - that gets me to about $270 - almost $20 per day since this is a 14 day cruise. Definitely a bit higher than I'd like - but don't think my husband can be disconnected from work for 14 days so we may not have much choice. I think I'm going to take my chance and wait to book on board so I can use our OBC.

Thanks everyone for your input!

For our upcoming 14 night cruise, the cost to purchase unlimited internet in advance of the cruise is showing $309. Planning to wait until onboard to use or OBC -but wondering if the cost will go up significantly? I believe we get 10% discount for Captain's club. Does that apply if purchasing in advance - or only if purchasing on board?

Thanks for your input!

It's hard to find a good red covered by the classic package. Since the upgrade is $11.80 per day that's the way to go. We've had some good reds over the premium limit and only paid the difference. You also get a 20% discount if you decide to order a bottle.

I agree that it is hard to find a decent glass of red (or white for that matter) at the classic level - especially if you like to have any sort of variety. On the Constellation last March, I upgraded to premium specifically so that I could enjoy trying different wines with dinner. I loved having the sommelier pair a variety of wines each night - always within package limits. It made for a very special dining experience! I did order one wine above package limits because I wanted to try it... it was nice just having to pay the difference between the package limit and the listed price. :)

Dan - thanks again for your review!

I am now caught up through day 5 - and am thoroughly enjoying the read. Very entertaining and encouraging, as I will be on the Eclipse in just about 135 days!

Cheers!

Marguerite

French Kiss Coffee Mixed Drink Recipe

 

Serving Glass: Coffee

 

3/4 oz Martell Cognac

3/4 oz Grand Marnier

Fill Coffee

Top: Whipped Cream

always great with a chaser of double LaVazza Expresso!!

Sounds good! Was introduced to a Mexican Coffee by our assistant waiter on the Constellation last spring. Loved it so much had one every evening after dinner - sometimes instead of dessert! I looked it up and it appears to be coffee, kahlua, tequila, cream and cinnamon.

And Tuscan has turned into our least favorite (was a favorite) after our last two meals there. :(

 

Id there a time that this package shows up on our reservation? How about excursions to book? Our cruise is not until next May.

Once you have an online account at Celebrity and have registered your cruise, go to Manage Reservations and there will be a link on the top for Excursions, Dining and Beverage packages. Go to the Dining section or Excursions to explore options. My cruise is in April and I have had Dining options available since I booked almost a year ago.

Recently we decided to go on a repositioning cruise in April 2017 on the Celebrity Reflection, from Miami to the Mediterranean. I noticed that almost all of the Concierge rooms were already taken and the early dining option was completely filled. I now have started looking for same cruise in 2018 and again many of the concierge cabins are gone, just how far ahead do you have to book? I'm fearful that we already waited too long, considering my husband's health and age. Also do we have to get the travel insurance a full year and a half early if we book for 2018?

I am confused. I did not think that the 2018 transatlantic itineraries had been released yet. Or are you not limiting yourself to TAs (you said Miami to Med so I assumed you were interested in TAs.)

As for travel insurance - it depends on what you want to cover. As another poster indicated - for pre-existing conditions to be covered you have to purchase at the time you book the cruise. I have opted in the past to wait until final payment - knowing that I can get my deposit back if I cancel. Then I opt for cancel for 'any reason' coverage with 75% of the cost of the cruise covered if I need to cancel. This works best for me because my cancellation is more likely to be due to factors other than my health. (Work schedule, issues with elderly parents, etc.) Insurance policies vary greatly, so you just need to do your research to see what is out there - and definitely read the fine print.

Marguerite my dear always watching out for the fog rolling round in my head! ;)

 

afoodcritic, yes there is seating while you are waiting.

Always happy to help! :D

Of course, it helps that I had just finished calculating the points for my 14 night in April to see if that pushes me over into Select - and so the information was fresh in my mind. (And... Yes! 14 nights in a CC cabin is enough to push me to Select - but 14 nights in a regular veranda would not quite make it!)

thanks so much! not sure IM doing this right- first time using this board! Thanks for all the info! are u on the Nov 20 Carribean cruise?

You may want to check out the roll call for this cruise where you can meet others who are also on this sailing:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2205679

It means it is a higher priced cabin tho exactly the same size and lay out of all the others, but with lunch in the MDR when you board, oh, and an extra Capt Club point per day.

 

Pretty much no one gets to board till 11:00 ish or later, and there is no cabin access till 1:30. No matter what cabin level we book, we try not to arrive till at least 10:30 or later.

EW - that's 2 extra Captain's Club points per day - 5 vs. 3 :D

Decided to book the 4 night package for our April cruise. You still have to pick either the first or second night and there is no way of selecting which restaurant.I can only assume we will have to change once on board if it's not the one we want. We will be on Equinox and love Murano and Tuscan but won't go to Silk Harvest, we just don't like the style of food. I really hope Celebrity have thought this one through properly as it could result in a lot of unhappy people, especially if they oversell the packages ( a bit like they do with select dining where you make reservations that they can't keep. That would be a disaster in the much smaller speciality restaurants ). I went ahead with the purchase and will be very interested to see reviews over the next few months.

That is my assumption as well. It states on the reservation page:

Book Your Specialty Dining Package Now

Select your dining party and your preferred dining time and a courtesy dinner reservation will be made on your behalf for Day 1 or Day 2. On Day 1, If you would like to amend or to complete your additional dinner reservations, simply visit one of our Specialty Restaurant Reservation Desks. Packages must be booked at least two days prior to boarding. Specialty Dining Packages and restaurant reservations are based on availability and may not be available on every voyage.

I also booked the 4 dinner package - which makes the per-dinner price $31.25. I figured that is pretty good since with a 30% discount on the lowest priced dining venue (I believe $45 for Qsine on the Eclipse) the cost would be about $33.

I am wondering if this new push for specialty dining packages is due to some of the issues with select dining in the MDR that we have seen discussed here on CC. :confused:

cruiserke;51564122']I'm afraid the writing is on the wall that the ultimate dinner package will go away.

 

Norwegian did the same thing' date=' they started out offering an "ultimate dining package" which covered your entire cruise, regardless of how many specialty restaurants you went to (you could do one restaurant at lunch and another at dinner, the same day) but then switched to packages for multiple meals.

 

On the bright side, these packages can be pre-purchased while the unlimited one can only be bought once onboard.[/quote']

 

This seems likely - especially since for my upcoming 14 night cruise, I can actually book a 14 night dining package for $336 - or $24 per dinner.

 

Interesting that it is listed as a 'dinner' package - but the language implies it can be used for lunch as well...

 

Experience as many specialty restaurants as your appetite desires and enjoy up to 45% savings when you purchase our Specialty Dining Packages for your vacation. Take a culinary journey in Qsine, experience impeccable service and world-class cuisine at Murano or savor our classic Italian flavors in Tuscan Grill. Book different restaurants for

lunch

and dinner, or revisit your favorite restaurant over and over again… the choice is yours. Our distinctive specialty restaurants selection varies by ship.

 

Book Your Specialty Dining Package Now

Select your dining party and your preferred dining time and a courtesy dinner reservation will be made on your behalf for Day 1 or Day 2. On Day 1, If you would like to amend or to complete your additional dinner reservations, simply visit one of our Specialty Restaurant Reservation Desks. Packages must be booked at least two days prior to boarding. Specialty Dining Packages and restaurant reservations are based on availability and may not be available on every voyage.

Thank you for posting your review! I am reading along on your Blog (I like the format better) and am thoroughly enjoying it. One thing to note for folks trying to access the http://www.notesfromthebarn.blogspot.co.uk for some reason doesn't link well from within CC (at least for me).

 

I had to copy/past the URL into a new browser window and was able to pull it up just fine.

Interesting to note - the link from within my own post works fine for me... it seems to be just the one in your signature section that takes me to a 404 error. Odd. :confused:

Thank you for posting your review! I am reading along on your Blog (I like the format better) and am thoroughly enjoying it. One thing to note for folks trying to access the http://www.notesfromthebarn.blogspot.co.uk for some reason doesn't link well from within CC (at least for me).

I had to copy/past the URL into a new browser window and was able to pull it up just fine.

Can't keep track, but I read on the X website a short time ago that cruises 10 nights or longer was $299. THEN WE SAW IT REDUCED TO $282. NOW 20% OFF. Our cruise last Feb was 9 nights, and started at $199. Kept coming down. BY the embarkation day we went to the Internet cafe and it was $149. Bought it then with cc discount. It seems to keep being reduced closer to cruise date . We're taking our chances and booking on board since we want to use OBC.

Thanks! I ended up missing the sale end and now being your post am not too concerned. We will just book on board and take our chances.

Thanks!

Anyone know what the Unlimited Internet prices typically is for a 14 night cruise? The site is showing $255 as the rate after 20% discount - but is not showing the original price. By my calculations There is no whole number that you can take 20% off and get $255. $319 at 20% off is $255.20 - so perhaps they rounded down?