Redtravel

Key West closed to all large ships. Likely that you won’t go there on any Celebrity ship.

Nobody offered substitutions. Instead, they said not available or worse gave you a mystery drink. Asked for Aperol and was served Compari. Did the server hear incorrectly? Did the bartender not know what it was? Did they think that I wouldn’t recognize the difference? Aperol is orange. Compari is red. One day at the pool bar, I asked for a margarita. Got a drink that didn’t look anything like it. Asked bartender if it was a margarita. Shrugged his shoulders and just smiled. Left it on the bar counter. Got a can of coke. At least, you know what’s in the can. cruise lines know what food and drink is needed for a cruise. Now and then, even with the best model, they can run out. However, when they keep saying no to many requested things, it makes you wonder what’s happening.

We are elite plus. On Summit last week. On past cruises, we loved the Captains club reception each evening before dinner. Liked the drinks. We did get water or soda to pit in our cabin. We really liked the time in the lounge to relax and be with other loyal Celebrity cruisers. Chatting with people has always been fun on cruises. Last week, we took our first pandemic cruise. The Captains club reception is no more. Instead you can just go to any bar and get drinks from 5-7pm. Sounds the same, it it isn’t. The bars were crowded. If we could find seats in the Rendezvous Vous, we would stop and get a drink. Music was good, but loud. Liked Ocean Beat. The chairs are spaced out. Great for pandemic safety. They were out of many things. Shortages or didn’t restock? No apple martini? After being told no to requests several times, we stopped going there. We found that going to other bars more relaxing. Our favorite was the Sunset. If we went early the guitar player was there. Nice. The drinks at Sunset were better than at Rendezvous vous. Sunset bartenders were good at mixing drinks.

Yes

Update…..went on Bermuda cruise. After we got home, we tested. Spouse was positive. No symptoms? Did a second test with a positive result. Symptoms started that night. While it was nice to get away on a cruise, contacting Covid is not. Had to rearrange lots of plans.

If Oceania doesn’t test, I will not sail. just back from a cruise, not O. We brought home an undesired memory. Spouse has Covid.

Love St. Malo. It’s charming. Mont St. Michele is interesting, but crowded and very touristy. Tough climbing up to the cathedral. Given a choice, enjoy St. Malo.

Bigger ships, concierge get one reservation in each of 4 restaurants. On smaller R ships, get 2 reservations in each of 2 restaurants. Either way, you get 4 reservations per cruise. the regular standard verandas, Oceanview, etc. only get one reservation per restaurant on any size ship. Concierge also can reserve 60 days before sailing. Often on longer cruises, we can get additional reservations. Regardless the food everywhere is excellent.

Drove to port. Haven’t flown in 2+ years. Wore masks. Did PCR and antigen tests before boarding. Both negative. On ship wore masks. Tried to distance. Impossible at times because of the crowds. Got Covid 2 days after disembarkation. It’s a risk leaving your house.

Opens 8 to 10. Entry to Tuscan grill is off the aft elevators.

Had it on Summit. It was excellent. The open time was extended to accommodate people checking in with later arrival appointment times. We had noon appt. Checkin was quick if you had quick access to your documents. I printed out boarding pass, test results, Bermuda travel form. Also, need original vax records and passports. You get your sea pass at your cabin. When you board, drop your bags at your cabin, and then find food. It’s quick and easy.

With people testing positive before the cruise, there must be vacancies. Ask if you can be placed on a wait list.

Just another example of loyalty not counting.

Last week, on Summit, CD quoted 1840 passengers at start of cruise. Toward the end, I asked guest services. Told 2300 out of max capacity 2500. That’s a huge difference. I looked it up. The max capacity of 2500 includes every berth filled….includes all upper berths and sofa beds. Reality is the numbers being quoted may not be accurate. There were crowds.

I know how you feel. Just off Summit and spouse is positive and really miserable. Did you contact Celebrity?

They don’t answer. They don’t care. I gave up yesterday.

The frustrating part is when one person of a couple gets approval and the other is still waiting. That happened to us. You would think that if you uploaded both at the same time, the approvals would happen together. Add to that the craziness of getting the Bermuda travel authorization and doing the testing made the precruise experience stressful.

We made dinner reservations in March after we booked. Unlike past cruises when dinner reservations were honored, this cruise was crazy. The hoards of people trying to enter the MDR for dinner was insane.

We tested on Sunday also. Both negative. When we tested yesterday, I was negative. My spouse was positive. Thinking that it might be a false positive, tested again with a different brand of test. Again, positive. Coughing has increased. No doubt that I have been exposed and may become sick. With all the crowding on the Summit, I cannot say that I am surprised. I am disappointed at the lack of safety protocols on the ship. This was our first post pandemic cruise. It may be our last cruise.

We were upset by the crowding on Summit last week. We wore masks and tried to distance. It was impossible in some places. Got off 2 days ago. My spouse tested positive for Covid today. There will not be a next cruise with Celebrity for us.

Off Summit 2 days ago. Not surprisingly, my spouse tested positive today for Covid. We both wore masks and tried to distance. However, with the packed crowds on Summit last week, it was likely to happen.

When booking my last cruise, Always All In was it. Since I am elite plus and not much of a drinker, I asked if I could get a cruise only price. The price difference between All In and cruise only wasn’t much. When you figured that you pay tips either way, the difference was about $80 per couple to go All In. We figured it would be worth it for unlimited internet and drinks whenever we wanted it. In theory, it was worth it. In reality, it wasn’t. The All In internet hardly worked. We used our elite plus minutes most of the time. Drinks were inconsistent. Some drinks not available. We probably got our value in soda and bottled water. We expected more. If it had been a cruise that my TA included tips, cruise only would be best for us.

I had real confidence in Viking. Daily testing was a great safety measure.it gave you reassurance that you had little chance of interacting with infected people. Taking away all testing increases the risks of spreading Covid. Going from all testing to no testing is a bold move. Will wait and see how things play out. Either Viking is very smart or really stupid. Time will tell. For now, I will not book Viking. I will reassess options when I feel comfortable that things have improved.

Nonsense? Covid is real. I know many people who have had it. Some with vaccinations and boosters. Some have long timers. Some died. It’s not nonsense. It’s real and can be deadly. I respect efforts to keep people safe. On my cruise last week, the hoops that I had to do before getting on the ship were time consuming and a bit tricky getting everything accomplished in a timely manner. It was worth it. l would love it if Covid were gone and not a threat. I would like to resume carefree travel like I did before the pandemic. Eliminating testing by a directive of a cruise line is dangerous.

Just off Summit. No daily Captains club cocktail event. You could get drinks from 5-7 in any bar. It wasn’t the same. We really missed the event. Also, even though over 70 people registered for meet and greet, the meet and greet for our roll call wasn’t allowed to happen. Some of the group did meet. It wasn’t the same. We didn’t get any Captains club info until day 4 when we asked about the breakfast. Then we got a printed list of Captains club events. We missed a reception on day 2. Oh well. Breakfast was in Tuscan Grill. We went a few times. It was empty. It was the only time that we interacted with the Captains club host who checked our sea pass each time. I don’t remember her name. Obviously she doesn’t remember mine. Loyalty is not much these days. The only time that I was recognized was at Cafe Al Bacio. We were on classic drink pkg. I asked for an Affogato. It is no longer on menu. Server said that it wasn’t on my drink package. When I questioned it and said that on previous cruises I got it as Elite plus, she asked to see my sea pass. Then she said, “ oh, as elite plus, you can get it.” Sadly, cutbacks are happening.