jeremybe

F1 Vegas is ridiculously overpriced - I've been to F1 Miami and to Montreal MANY times - I was able to get tix to the Vegas race when they went on presale - $2000 per person for basic Grandstand Seats and it goes WAY up from there - So for 3 people, basic seats and a hotel I was looking at close to 10K - I walked away and think they are out of their minds!

Instead, I'll be flying business class to visit the Pyramids in Egypt, then spend a few days in Israel - And I'll be spending significantly less than just the race tickets- I'm sure it will be a spectacle but its absurd.

Next year I may go to the Monaco Grand Prix and stay on an A\tlas Ocean ship in the Monaco Marina - Such a better and more cost-effective solution

5 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

The upgrade is now 20 per day plus 20% grats so 24 total per day.  Yes the prices did go up sometime in Fall 22 I believe.  

Thank you - Huge increase - And to the original question - Yes, I was able to use my onboard credit for it - I think this will be the last time I upgrade to premium, from now on I'll just pay the per drink upgrade cost... more economical

Can I ask what price you are getting for the upgrade? I was just told its $20 a day after discount to upgrade from Classic to Premium - Thats almost double what it used to be. - Is that right??

3 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

The April 9 cruise has ALWAYS been the most "sold-out" of the lot.  Originally, that was the cruise prior to the Tranpacific scheduled for all of those prior (canceled) years.  Many of us had planned to do the B2B combining it with the Transpacific so as to end up in Vancouver rather than flying home from Tokyo.  Plus, it's more of an "around Japan" itinerary than the one prior--the March 28--which goes far south down to Okinawa...and those two cruises make up the heart of Cherry Blossom time. April 9 was the first date to be sold out...for every year including 2024.

 

Therefore, extremely likely that the "oversell" on this cruise is greater than the March cruises...So, it may be possible that the March cruises, from time to time, cross over into a gray zone, the April 9 cruise is likely to stay in the area where Celebrity won't even take on additional guarantee bookings...hence it is completely off-the-board.  NOT CANCELED, just not available for booking...or even consideration of booking.

 

I am booked on BOTH the March 28 and April 9 sailings...and I am fairly certain that if either were in jeopardy, I would have heard.

 

Most likely, the onboard future cruises agent is fairly clueless.  It has always amazed me what those agents DON'T know.  Same with most of the telephone reps.

Totally agree with this - When I was on the Apex a few weeks ago and inquired about the March sailings, he said that they (the onboard sales crew) had noticed them being locked in the system but had no idea why - They HAD NOT received any communications about them

On 1/13/2023 at 3:44 PM, cruisestitch said:

My April 9 cruise is now showing as “red” to the booking agents I just spoke to today on Equinox.  They said that means “charter”.  Did all of the March cruises and the cruise are now chartered.   I would feel a lot better if one of our knowledgeable Cruise Critic travel agents could do a little research into this please.

 

 

I'm a travel agent.... When I spoke with Celebrity last week they told me these sailings were "RED" as well, but stated that it meant the cruise was oversold - I do not think they know any more than we do

I started this thread and it has been interesting to watch its evolution - I too hope our sailings go off as planned - I am booked on the March 16th sailing myself after having been booked on the very first Celebrity cruise booked that was cancelled due to covid (leaving from Hong Kong).

I thought I would share what is on the Travel Agent booking site for Celebrity - If you look at their calendar, the Millenium is showing ZERO sailings in Feb - There is a Jan 28 sailing from Bali to Singapore that has rooms available - Then you have a month where the Millenium just disappears.... A dry dock?!?! Who knows?

Also, I had received 2 mysterious emails "welcoming me aboard my Milllenium Asia 2024 sailing" - Did anyone else get these? I have other Celebrity sailings booked so it was very odd...

I was on the Apex last week and asked the future cruise folks - They stated that they noticed the cruises on Millenium had been locked in the system/weren't allowing new bookings - They have not been notified of any changes and were just as perplexed as we are

I'm seeing excursions available for my March 2024 Japan Cruise that is currently "Locked" so I don't think excursions are any indication of what's going on.. 

As long as they let me know before flights go on sale I'm happy - I've now rescheduled multiple times and been hit with way too much $$ in airline change and cancellation fees - Cathay Pacific was horrible with their change fees...

Have noticed that all Millenium sailings in Asia past Jan 28 in 2024 have now been removed for sale by Celebrity - That includes all 4 sailings in Feb, March and April that were going to be visiting Japan - Previously these sailings were booked at close to 95% capacity - Wondering if we're are looking at either a ship replacement/redeployment or just a cancellation of all Japan for 2024 - Interesting other Asia sailings visiting Hong Kong are still on the schedule. With the new schedules coming out in the next few weeks, hopefully something will be made of this...

Scan your email confirmations carefully, I received the $100 OBC but my Invoice now shows a Change Fee for $100 X 3 people - So somehow they charged me $300 for my $100 OBC... ONLY Celebrity could mess up like this - Glad I have my original invoice  to prove it but not looking forward to calling in

Just spoke with Celebrity - Was booked on the Feb 20 Hong Kong to Tokyo cruise - This was the 3rd rebooking - The only sailings I was offered were Nov 17 or March 4, 2023 - Makes no sense - Not even a similar itinerary- Goes from Singapore to Thailand, Vietnam etc  - I wanted to be booked on the March 16 Japan/Tokyo cruise and they will not allow it - I am now escalating within Celebrity as this is ridiculous - I want basically the same cruise, older, lesser class of ship and they won't do it. 

I'm just curious what options other people have been offered for their lift and shifts?

Our Feb Hong Kong to Japan cruise is listing shore excursions for Japan - They are not showing any excursions in Hong Kong - Hoping they change the itinerary and this becomes a Japan only cruise - Really just hoping this happens at all - We've made return flight reservations from Tokyo - But I've also booked plan B which is a trip to Machu Pichu just in case..

I would recommend contacting  celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com - I had a similar situation (Actually the exact situation  Feb 2020 cruise from Hong Kong to SIngapore) and needed to have my FCC's extended multiple times with multiple sailings/multiple cancellations - Only through the above email was it able to be sorted out.

We also happen to be on the Hong Kong to Japan cruise in Feb. - As an FYI I am assuming this itinerary will change  - I doubt Hong Kong will be open - If I had to guess the Cruise before ours will leave from Singapore to Japan and ours will become round trip from Tokyo - That just a guess, absolutely no basis

I am holding off on buying airline tickets for the Hong Kong portion at this point

59 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Couple of answers / observations to the questions above.  

In regards to vibration, we did experience it in the la bistro and Cagney's at the rear of the ship.  Wasnt horrible, but definitely felt it, especially leaving miami for some reason.  Luckily our cabin was in the very front of the ship so no issues in our cabin.

No ports were missed.

In regards to the comments about the testing situation when getting on the ship, i will agree they packed us in there too tightly waiting on our results.  Pretty much shoulder to shoulder when waiting for the results.  

Also, We are part of a facebook group for this cruise and it looks like over 20 people have tested positive so for for covid after leaving the ship.  The group is made up of about 120 people.   Granted, they could have gotten it from the plane, hotel, etc, but that seems like a pretty high percentage.

Considering nobody wore masks and nobody spaced at all on the ship I am not surprised at all - The main deck was always busy with no social distancing at all ...

6 minutes ago, duckey.l said:

I love aft balconies and have one booked for our Feb cruise. Not sure what I can do about it now since I have already paid in full.

I would call NCL and try to change cabins - YOU WILL NOT ENJOY this AFT cabin - We typically book Aft cabins as well and this is the only time we have ever had an issue

21 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Wow.   To me, unacceptable after spending so much money.   Thank you for writing about it as I was thinking of trying to bid for an aft cabin.   I will definitely now stay in the Haven Penthouse Suite ( or whatever it is called) which we currently have booked .

Glad to help - We still had a great time but feel ripped off by NCL for the cabin - I will be asking for compensation from NCL - I'll also add, I'm a Travel Agent and plan to let the NCL reps as well as all other agents within my company know about this issue to protect our customers

We were on the same cruise as well - I'll post a formal review later but a few key points:

Covid Testing: We arrived at 10:45 and was in our cabin by 11:45 - Was glad I had my barcode - I didn't feel it was badly organized, but totally agree with the comment above re: Superspreader event

Masks:  It was rare to see someone with a mask - Maybe 10% - When a crew member actually saw you wearing a mask, they thanked you - I heard a number of angry comments from passengers that the reason they booked NCL was because of their mask free policy and that they planned on skipping masks - As stated above, only time masks were required was in main theatre, which honestly made little sense - The Cavern which was much more packed due to a great Beatles cover band did not require masks

The Positives: Phenomenal Crew, some of the best entertainment I have ever seen on a ship - From the music to the shows in the main theatre all were executed extremely well and were thoroughly enjoyable - The food was surprisingly good as well - Not something I would usually say about NCL

THE STRONG NEGATIVE: VIBRATION IN AFT OF SHIP - I had a Haven Aft balcony cabin -  After leaving Miami on the first night we were woken up to the most intense vibration I have ever felt in my life  - The room was unusable - Between the vibration, the noise from everything rattling etc it was the worst cruise experience of my life (I've been on 30 or more cruises) - 3:30 in the morning I was at Guest Services were I was given a second "sleeping room" - On day 2 we complained to the Concierge about the tiny room we were given and we were then moved to a Haven Balcony room to sleep in - SO we had two rooms for the cruise - Unfortunately the 2 bathroom 1 1/2 Bedroom suite we paid for was unusable - Speaking to our Cabin Steward, she told us that most passengers in the aft of the ship had moved out of the aft - She also mentioned that this had been going on with ALL cruises since the Joy entered service. In addition, she said that in all of her years of cruising she has never felt anything like this.

At this point in time, if you are booking a cruise on the JOY - I would avoid at least the last 10 aft cabins on the ship on all decks - Also know that if you plan on going to the specialty restaurants in the aft of the ship it will potentially be uncomfortable due to vibration
 

I plan on contacting NCL on Monday to discuss the issues I had - The cabins on the aft of this ship should not be sold - The JOY has an issue - A Bad propeller, stabilizer - Who knows - But it definitely ruined what would have been a great vacation

On the Joy this Saturday - You just made my day!! Thank you!

So a .33% positivity rate - Thats a hell of alot better than NH where we are currently seeing 13.4% - This basically tells me that cruising is a lot safer than staying here...

21 hours ago, Sthrngary said:

Take the two specialty dining that comes with your suite. It gives you a nice variety during the weekIt gives you a nice variety during the week

Do you receive the two specialty dinings even if you bid for an upgrade? I had paid for a 2 dining package  and my booking came with 1 - wondering if I should cancel the specialty if I get the upgrade
 

This is all great info - Thank you! We have a bid on the Haven for Dec 18 on the Joy - Hope it goes through = One question, If you are in the Haven, do you just skip the specialty restaurants? Or would you still recommend a 2 or 3 night package?

Thanks!

Thanks - Thats what I had thought.. Appreciate it!

HI - Hoping someone knows the answer... I have not sailed on any of the Edge ships - Planning a trip on the Apex this summer - We are looking at 2 cabins (Parents with kids and Grandparents)  - With the Infinite Veranda cabins is there a concept of connecting balconies??? We always loved opening up the balcony and walking between cabins - Otherwise we are thinking a Sunset Veranda cabin and a Infinite Veranda a few doors down...

Thoughts? Thanks for your help!

Just booked the Joy for December - I do not see any Entertainment listed in the cruise planner - Are the shows running? I thought Footloose was on the Joy..

Thanks!

We were booked on the 14 day Hong Kong to Singapore cruise in Feb that was just cancelled - Still using a FCC from the very first cruise that was cancelled back in Jan 2 years ago for the same itinerary - Spent 1 hr on hold and gave up - Hoping to Lift and Shift to a Japan 12 day next year instead - Wonder if they will allow it - Same itinerary or same region for the L&S? Otherwise we basically lose out..