Oakton Girl

Are you docking in Le Havre? If you are, then definitely go to Normandy vs. Paris. Not enough time to do Paris justice. But if you just want to say I visited Paris, then that is another story. Check out your roll call for private tours. Have fun!

Considering you were upgraded to a suite, maybe the 5 bottle wine pkg. was a small price to pay. Cruise lines make their money on drinks and extras. If you check out the recent Go pkg. the cruise prices are considerably higher. It is frustrating to pay their beverage prices, but apparently people continue to cruise and pay. I don't think Celebrity would ever offer a wine pkg. for $20/4 glasses per day. Their prIces seem to be increasing, not decreasing. One can keep hoping.........

I agree that Fireball is popular among the younger crowd. Our sons always enjoy a shot with their beer. My husband enjoys it also. Celebrity would be smart to include this on their liquor tally.

There is no way Celebrity can keep track of who booked when and what services were offered at the time a person booked once persons get on board a ship. They can't keep track of a few simple things, so they definitely can't keep track of anything so layered. I agree it is not fair to the persons who booked with the perks. Celebrity is eliminating so many things in such a short period of time. We, who have been Cekebrity loyals for a long time, have a problem with the rapid decline of benefits the new CEO is implementing. At the same time they are increasing prices and camouflaging price increases with the 1,2,3 program. Yes, this is a business, but we will just have to wait and see how this affects the total clientele. Change brings good and bad, but one begins to question if too much too fast may not be the best road to implementing "Modern Luxury".- just my humble opinion

I am asking this question here because it concerns Celebrity's transportation not just Edinburgh.

 

We will be on silhouette 2016 cruise which overnights in Edinburgh during the Military Tattoo, does anyone know if Celebrity provides a shuttle between port and town and if so how late they might run. I know there would be a fee.

 

There tours for this event are currently sold out and just need to know if they provide just the transportation.

We were in Edinburgh for a few days this summer sailing on Azamara. We found taxis to be reasonably priced and excellent transportation. You don't have to wait for a Celebrity bus to fill up. You can go where you want and on your own terms.

Just went to Celebrity website. Stated that there is a $3.95 charge for room service between 11 pm and 6 am. Room service seems to be free for all cat. for other times. How much revenue can this generate? Not a huge charge -just the idea of an extra charge added on. Celebrity, are you sure you want to do this? It's a real turnoff. What's next????

We always tip a small amount for room service and never remove tips, if anything add extra for excellent service. Have not noticed an extra fee, but we don't usually order late at night. Room service is advertised as a perk and should not have any extra charge regardless of the time it is utilized. Charging for any room service is tacky, but is this really a policy? Celebrity, are you at the top of the heap or moving towards the bottom with more extra charges? We don't want to be nickeled and dimed to death.

We are considering Machu Picchu (4 persons). To do it with Celebrity adds over ten thousand dollars per person for five nights. I got pricing staying at some of the best hotels in Cusco and Machu Picchu (5 nights) including air from Quito to Cusco, and Cusco back to Lima, the Machu Picchu Train and private transfers and guides, for less than one third of Celebrity's price.

We did Macchu Picchu and Lake Tittiaca on our own last October before our Galapagos cruise. I booked airlines, trains, hotels, private drivers and it was a fraction of the cost Celebrity was charging. We even took the all day train from Cusco to Puno, great experience. We had over a week to take our time, acclimate to the altitude and tour. You can easily make the arrangements via the Internet.

Just did Galapagos with Celebrity last October.-fantastic! I planned air and travel to Macchu Picchu and Lake Tittiaca on our own - all with private transportation. Even took the all day train from Cusco to Puno. It was much cheaper than what Celebrity offered and we spent over a week touring the area. I booked everything online and all went smoothly. You can have a more thorough experience if you book it yourself.

Thanks for posting about the Quest sailing from Scotland. We are on the next Quest sailing and we're happy to hear any feedback. Our roll call has been a little quiet, so any communication is appreciated. Sounds like a great send-off.

Always be sure to check your onboard invoices also. Last cruise we were charged with someone else's wine. Went down to Guest Services, stood in line, and they did take it off the bill. Next day it happened again. Called GR, as I didn't want to spend my vacation sorting their errors. Said they would investigate and let us know if they would remove charges- not an answer I wanted to hear. Really, no apology?? In dining room I asked to see beverage manager. He couldn't have been nicer and more apologetic. Said this has happened before and he would make sure it would be taken care of properly. And it was. Errors happen, sure, but after the 2nd time, C needed to apologize and then say it would be sorted properly.

We had a wonderful private guide this May in Sicily. He is young, has a great van and can drive directly into Taormina because he is a resident. If you post your email address, I will forward his info.

Jo Ann

We were on the Infinity in February and made reservations for both specialty restaurants on board. We were told that nights and times later in the 2 week voyage were not available. The 2 nights that we did go to dinner, the majority of tables were empty. I didn't get it. They continually offered special pricing for specialty restaurants throughout our voyage. Both restaurants were fine on the Infinity, but I was not that impressed-especially in Quisine, so no extra booking from us. Ate in Blu most of the time, as we are big fans. Breakfast there was great. Dinner was hit or miss, especially quality of beef or preparation. The times we ate in the MDR, food was well prepared. There are many guests to prepare food for, so we don't ever expect perfection. Overall, we think Celebrity does a good job.

We were on the Millinium last year for about a month of travels to Asian ports. We booked private tours with English speaking guides or drivers for each port. Many of the ports are a far distance from the city or else they are in undeveloped areas that don't have travel options for cruisers. Do your research and get everything booked ahead of time and you will have an incredible journey.

We just got off the Infinity. It is not a new ship, but I did not find it beat up. Celebrity does not sail beat up ships.

Infinity

Sky Suite

8127 Midship/handicapped

Bed facing wall

Smooth ride/very quiet/close to elevators and library/good balcony and view

Even if you go online to price with Celebrity, there may be different pricing depending on the benefits. One has to evaluate each offer and your needs. Talking to a Celebrity agent can sometimes confuse the matter even more. My TA can usually offer a better deal on perks and sometimes group pricing. I just try to look at the whole deal for a desired cruise and see if it is in line with similar itineraries----still mind boggling!!!

You have to remember that if you are from Nth America, you have probably paid substantially less for your cruise, often received more OBC and in many cases, obtained cheaper Air costs to departure destination. The total cruise package may have cost you up to $2000 less than others from a not so mass market and you dont have to pay conversion fees on expenses charged to Credit Cards which typically runs at 3%. So to say that some stiff the staff is a bit rich if that person has already had total costs far in excess of what you paid. It is also stretching things to try and impose 1 countrys tipping traditions onto the rest of the world.

First of all, we all know that tipping has nothing to do with the price one pays for a cruise to begin with. Those of us that travel frequently to other countries have a credit card that services our needs in foreign countries without a 3% conversion fees-nothing to do with tipping. To stiff hard working individuals, when you KNOW this is calculated by the cruise line as part of their pay is poor behavior by any country's standard. If you can afford the price of a cruise, you definitely need to afford the tipping costs involved. Vacation another way. Don't take it out on the crew because you disagree with the policy.

We are flying home to the US from Buenos Aires the same day we disembark the ship. Called Captains Club and they said valet service was available. Just not sure about that answer. Don't always get correct answers from C. Has anyone had experience with this service in BA? Just need to make arrangements at the hotel we stay precruise if not able to send luggage on to airport. Thanks.

And yes, they do check the number of wine bottles. We had 6 bottles together (going through security) on our last cruise and they said we had too many. We then showed them that we had 3 cabins booked. ---- No problem then.

Will be on the Infinity in Feb. to SA and will be happy to report back. Mierriem, post your email in sections and spell out dot and at and I will email you when we return. If you wish?

Hope this helps.

Jo Ann

We did the Galapagos in October 2014 and then 9 days on our own-private drivers, guides, airplane and train tickets. Went to Macchu Picchu and Lake Titiacca. Stayed in super hotels and saw so much. Would be willing to share contacts and info if anyone is interested. Wonderful trip and spent less than half of what the add-on would have been.

Am Elite Plus and in all my years of sailing Celebrity, have never been upgraded, unless there is a price drop and I pursue it. Think that is the norm, but I may be incorrect in this assumption-always a chance..........

Those who enjoy the traditions of dressing up for a couple of formal nights should still enjoy them.

 

Those who don't wish to dress up have their choice of OTHER cruise lines, or of dining in other venues.

 

There is something for everyone.

 

RESPECT is key.

Well said!

RESPECT-now that's a really novel idea in today's world.

A few years ago we booked a cruise on the Millenium to Australia and New Zealand. We booked a certain cruise date because of the iteniary- specifically wanted to visit Tasmania. Not before the cruise, but well into the cruise we were informed that we would be not visit there. Instead we stopped at some small port that had never received a large cruise ship before - not comparable to Tasmania. The local paper had headlines of our arrival. Anyway, we received no explanation and no monetary reimbursement of any kind.

Very disappointing to have ports eliminated from a cruise iteniary, but in this case some compensation was provided -better than nothing-as legally C did not have to provide any extras.

The world these days presents many obstacles when trying to travel and explore. Knowing this is one thing, but accepting it can be challenging and disappointing.