canadianbear

Are you allowed to eat in Blu if not in aqua class but in a suite? If so, we didn’t know bud like you, Luminae was so good we didn’t ask.

Yes, that’s it-she always raves about Blu! She didn’t make it sound appetizing to us but maybe we will try that one day. We are up to trying!

My friend raves about aqua class on Celebrity I guess because it’s cheaper than even the entry level suites-she seems to like their food offering in aqua class. I must admit we never tried the dining room, always ate at Luminae and felt very spoiled. Absolutely excellent service.

I didn’t know, thanks for the info. Just thought it was in that restaurant. On HAL it was only one night of the whole cruise on their special night so we were very happy on Celebrity!

@WriterOnDeck Fantastic photos-what a great day you & your sisters had. Great timing on your balcony even in pj’s, lol! Been following your blog. Thanks for doing that plus posting here every once in awhile too.

So glad I found this and will be following along here and on the Celebrity board. We have mostly sailed in Neptune suites and have only tried one Celebrity cruise. We were SO impressed on Celebrity (I think we were in a Sky suite) and how many better perks included compared to Neptune suite. We enjoyed Michael’s Club visiting others and the liquor was included. We were escorted onto the ship too. Can’t say enough about the suite private dining room Luminai (sp?) where we could have escargot every night, yum! Another perk we really liked was the reserved area for the suite guest evening shows (which were fantastic)-meant we didn’t have to get there 40 minutes early to get seats. My husband did tell our butler we didn’t need him (lol) so he kept a low profile. But…we had a celebrity excursion one day and were a bit late getting back. Our butler had place a cheese plate/crackers etc in our room saying welcome back. That was appreciated. Have a wonderful time!

Will also be following along on your cruise on here as we haven’t cruised since December 2019! We are regular HAL cruises and have done one Celebrity cruise in a Sky Suite (I think that’s what it was called). The Celebrity suite perks put the HAL Neptune suites to shame. I loved Michael’s Club and the private dining for suite guests. Also having reserved seating for suite guests at their shows was a great perk. Have a great time and enjoy your birthday on board. Thanks for taking us along!

I reported it asking for moderator to join the 2 threads.

Make sure you get a price from HAL and if it includes transportation. Then check with the hotel directly to compare the price. Taxis are readily available at the airport. Just compare before you book anything. The taxi fare would be approximately $50 with tip.

Great detailed review. Appreciate the time you took to do that. We are 4* but have not sailed since the pandemic. I’ve read a lot of reviews and just not ready to spend the money to get a mediocre cruise. HAL has been great in the past but not up to the old standards from other threads I’ve read and not sure when/if it ever will be.

You can check under “see posts about”..and pick the ship. I’ll try to attach photos of how to do it…that might help.

@NiceAunt I hope your husband got to see a dentist in PV and all went well.

It’s good to hear your opinion. We haven’t cruised since our 2 weeks on the Oosterdam in December 2019 in a Neptune suite. I’ve been reading so many threads that we aren’t quite sure if we will cruise anytime soon. We are booked (refundable) for a long cruise in 2024 but don’t have to decide for quite awhile. I have missed cruising but hubby doesn’t care-he can take it or leave it. He has his boat to keep him happy especially when the salmon are biting, lol. I love the Dutch Cafe and hubby did too. I especially got hooked on their lattes. Their food is delicious too. It’s a shame about rude passengers but it’s everywhere it seems. What we don’t tolerate is if they are rude to staff though-I especially will say something. I understand about saving thousands too. We have usually been in Neptune suites but now have decided not to any longer unless it’s a good upsell.

Yes, it was years ago so I don’t remember who I saw. But my insurance company was excellent to deal with and also in providing a translator. The X-ray they used was very “old school” but they were very nice to deal with. Luckily I was at an all inclusive resort and was scheduled to fly home in 2 days. I was allowed to fly (the dental fellow said just to contact my dentist and advise them the tooth would have to be pulled). I hope your husband has a good experience. Mine was cracked so not sure if your husband will have same outcome. Wishing him well.

Looking forward to reading more & photos!

Pacific Blue Cross is but Blue Cross I believe is Canada wide. We have PBC as retired employees.

It is Pacific Blue Cross. We haven’t made a claim in many years but made two in the past. One in Puerto Vallarta when my tooth cracked and I had to see a dentist there. They arranged an interpreter and paid the expenses quickly. The other was when our daughter was little in Hawaii and ended up in ER. Again, no issue & claim paid quickly. Our daughter, now an adult, also used PBC and ended up having to go to the ER while on a trip in Thailand, again no issues. Just so you know, all 3 of these claims were well under $10,000 though.

Quote from OP: We asked them to provide us with the "Have it All" package as a solution to our predicament and they said, "no." That’s how they could have made it right.

By not giving away pre-paid, pre-reserved cabanas.

But they DID pay for it before they even sailed. It was reserved for them. Then it was taken away for someone-like who? A rich family, the president of HAL, who knows but it still was not right. What would make it right is when you pay in advance & reserve something it should not be taken away & given to someone else.

Totally agree. I feel sorry for their family by HAL cancelling their cabana-it’s just not right. You reserve & pay in advance for a reason. I’d be totally ticked off if we booked a family cabana with our grandkids to have it suddenly cancelled by HAL. And, HAL could have easily tried to make it right but they didn’t-a Pinnacle dinner? Give me a break.

Thank you for coming back and letting us know what the outcome was. I’m disappointed that you were not offered anything except a Pinnacle dinner. We’ve never stayed in a cabana but it was a shame they couldn’t give you two side by side or something but busy cruise I suppose 2 weren’t available. I would be very upset to have a cabana I booked for my family being taken away for “someone more important”-shame on HAL. I’d also be tempted to email the President of HAL about it so he’s aware of what happened. Sorry to hear you were involved in the mess with the airlines. Certainly not a relaxing family holiday it sounds like you needed.

Totally agree.

You go to the front of the line & show your “reservation time”.

We have flown (not international) using YVR several times this year to YUL. Never an issue but perhaps we’ve been lucky.