fozzybear1980

Hi Everyone,

We just made the final payment for this cruise.  Any other FOD joining us?  It's a great cruise - we did this one 2 years ago and loved it so much (even after being on Celebrity for years).  We're excited to do this again.  Would love to find more people to join us!

Hi Guys...

I'm on this cruise yet again with my bf and 2 other couples. This will be our sixth time on this ship/itinerary. I had to cancel last-minute last year, but can't wait to do it this year. Unfortunately this is the last year Celebrity is offering this itinerary. There won't be anymore 2-week cruises in the Caribbean. I hope other guys are willing to join us. We always have a blast. Taking a look at the current pricing, it's not much more than what we booked it at over two yeas ago. Hopefully we'll be able to connect with people in advance - there's usually a good FoD turnout.

Happy cruisin'!

Hi There,

We're long time Celebrity cruisers... in fact, we had only ever sailed Celebrity up until this past year. I was scheduled to do a 2-week cruise on the Eclipse in February, but unfortunately, my dad passed away the week before the cruise, so we had to cancel last minute. After everything was settled with my dad's affairs, we decided to book another cruise, however, this time on HAL's Koningsdam. We had no idea what to expect, but we just needed a getaway. I've always heard stories how HAL skews towards an older crowd (this made us a bit nervous because I'm 36) but I figured why not give it a chance.

Anyway, it was, I think the best cruise we've ever done. HAL is a fabulous product. Even though we had no status with them, the cruise was unbelievable. The food was the best on any ship - the buffet was miles better than Celebrity. It's not to say Celebrity isn't good (it always seemed good to me) but after going on the Koningsdam, I was shocked. The ship layout and decor reminded me very much of the Solstice-class ships on Celebrity, but it was even better. Perhaps it was because the ship was brand new? The service on HAL was top-notch, and the crowd on the ship I actually found to be more youthful than what I have seen with Celebrity.

I have another cruise booked this coming February on the Eclipse because it was booked years ago, and Celebrity was kind enough to move the money from last year's cancelled cruise to this year's in 2018. Despite that, I'm a bit tired of Celebrity, and I think I'm going to go back to HAL for my next booking. I'm pleasantly surprised with HAL, and I would never hesitate to book them again. I've had a great run with Celebrity, and would consider them in the future, but I don't think it will be for a while. They really have to stop the nickle-and-diming. I never felt like that with HAL.

Thanks for sharing your experience on board! We'll be on the Eclipse on the cruise after. If you wouldn't mind, could you post some pictures of the shops on board (specifically the one that sells cosmetics and such)? I'm looking to use my on board credit for some Clinique products, and I'd love to see the selection in advance of what they have on board! Thanks again! I love this thread. Enjoy your cruise!

What a great thread!

My favourite part of a cruise starts even before the cruise!

I get very excited at two specific moments...

The first is when I open up my closet that contains all of my summer clothes that I haven't seen for months and I start laying things out on the bed to pack.

The second is when I've checked my bags at the airport and wait at the gate that either says "Fort Lauderdale," "Miami," or "West Palm Beach." It's that feeling that once I know I'm going away to someplace warm I get super excited - there's no going back at that point! :)

Just ask your stateroom attendant for the Bvlgari branded toiletries. They have no problem brining them if you ask nicely even if they're only supposed to be for suite guests. I always get them and love them so much I even take the unused ones home with me.

Anyone else joining us? Less than 40 days to go!

If the Eclipse is as good as 2015 we'll probably book for 2018. We might book the same as you. Only issues we found last year is that it was considerably hotter as you got into Feb.

This is not necessarily a bad thing when you're coming from Canada in the Winter! :)

Hey, Fozzy! How's it going? Due to a scheduling screw up we ended doing a 14 day B2B on Princess Regal last Feb.7. LGBTQ meetings were very well attended. This year, we'll be on the Eclipse on the cruise just prior to yours. Have a blast!

Sounds like fun!

This year, we decided to book the week later... also the same for 2018.

Hoping others will join us!

Will anyone be joining me and my partner on this cruise? This is our 7th year in a row on this itinerary, and just love it. Met some great guys last year and hope to do the same in advance this year.

I've been to one and your experience and offer is about the same as the one I attended except for the flights being included for the price of not having the flights. Was this actually the offer? If so, then it would make non-North American cruises more attractive.

We were told the flights were included! It was the "O Life" offer for the price of the cruise-only fare.

Good day everyone,

This is my first posting in the Oceania forum. I've forever been a Celebrity cruiser, but will be taking my first Oceania cruise in 2018. I wanted to share with you some brief info that came my way last night.

I live in Canada, and my travel agent that I always book cruises with invited us to a presentation about Oceania cruises. We've always wanted to try Oceania, but just never got around to it. Not sure if anyone else has been to this sort of thing, but the event was held at a very swanky country club. They offered unlimited food, drinks and desserts during the presentation. They had a rep there from Oceania talking about the Oceania experience and then came the sell...

First, if we booked a cruise at the event, we would get 15% off the fare. They would also include a $250USD on-board credit, free internet and the flights included for the price of not having the flights. We figured this was a great opportunity to try out the cruise line, so we booked for a 14-night Caribbean cruise in January 2018.

One of the other things I learned is that beginning in the Spring 2017 cruising season, Oceania will start offering their pricing in Canadian dollars, where it was previously only available in USD. They've also locked in their exchange rate at 1.25 (which is a really good deal considering it should be more like 1.35). We figured we couldn't pass up the deals, and so we're very much looking forward to trying out something new.

At the end of the evening, the Oceania rep did a raffle draw for on-board credit of $100, $250 and $500. Unfortunately we didn't win, but it's all good. We also were given a copy of Jaques' cookbook for booking on the spot. In all, it was a fun night and a great session to learn about Oceania.

I was just curious if anyone had ever been to anything like this before?

Happy cruising!

You know what, the cruise lines are all full of crap - only interested in making a buck from unsuspecting guests. I can't stand the Diamonds International selling. I think people must be really stupid. They say how they're all duty-free with both watches and diamonds, exclusive only in the Caribbean. As a Canadian, I can't believe how dumb people are - all Swiss watches and Diamonds are always duty free in Canada. So big deal - you pay the local HST tax, but everyone knows the best diamonds in the world are from Canada, so why on Earth would you buy from the Caribbean? Save your money for another vacation!

I'd be very wary of buying anything of value from a cruise ship. Remember, google is your friend.

 

On a recent trip to the Baltics I went to a talk about Carl Faberge as we were heading to St Petersburg and we wanted to visit the Faberge museum.

 

Predictably and disappointingly the talk soon moved from Carl and his amazing works of art to an apparent distant illegitimate relative who changed his name to Faberge and started making amongst other things 'Faberge eggs'. And guess what, you could buy the things exclusively onboard...

 

I mentioned this to our tour guide who found the whole story and sales banter somewhat hilarious, before trying to ensure that we didn't buy any as we'd be being well and truly fleeced. Not that we would.

 

Then you have the cushy relationship between cruise lines and Diamonds International. It makes me smile when they try and claim that they're the cheapest place in the world. We called into a shop just to browse, before the manager grabbed us and started the hard sell. When I mentioned that I only buy serious diamond jewellery for the wife from Blue Nile he backed right off and openly admitted that their prices were nowhere near as competitive for quality GIA rated stones.

 

We also visited tanzanite international where a manager tried to get me to buy a single stone. Just for a laugh I negotiated a price, it took me around one minute to get him down 45% on the asking price on a poor quality looking stone allegedly with a AA rating though the colour wasn't dark enough for that IMHO.

 

Cruise ships and considered purchases eh? Buyer beware!!!

You know, I'm glad someone brought this up. The shows are absolutely dreadful. It's a case of Celebrity trying to save money, yet again and cheapening their product. They're very good with their P.R. machine, "We're happy to introduce brand new shows that our guests will love." Give me a break. By doing the productions in-house, they're not having to hire union actors (which is extremely expensive) and they don't have to pay rights fees for certain songs. Do you ever notice that each popular song gets less than 1.5 min of actual playtime? This is because if a song is performed for more than 1.5 min, there's a cost that gets paid to the original artist of that song. By cutting the popular songs down, they are saving money, yet again, but in the process, cheaping out their product. It's disgusting. Don't get me wrong, I really like Celebrity, but the cutbacks as of recent have gotten a bit out of hand. They never really had decent production shows - at least nothing like RCCL.

You know, I think for the most part, people have no problem washing their hands. What really bothers me is when people go to the bathroom and don't bother with washing. Perhaps I'm horrible, but I have no problem publically shaming people that don't wash their hands after going to the toilet. It happens every single cruise where someone will leave the bathroom without washing their hands, and I'll publically call them out in the hall so everyone can be in earshot to purposely embarrass that individual. I think it's disgusting and not right. Don't get me wrong - there have been times when I've been told to "f-off" or that it's none of my business. But the fact of the matter remains that it's just gross to not wash your hands after going to the bathroom and it has the potential to make others on the ship sick. I also find it sad that most people that don't wash after the bathroom are seniors. I'm not sure why.

On a side note, before each cruise I buy a container of Lysol wipes and disinfect my entire stateroom. I know that stateroom attendants do a pretty good job, but I don't think they really go as far as cleaning the telephone, light switches, door knobs, drawer handles, TV remote, etc. Getting sick on a cruise is awful, and I try every which way to ensure I don't get sick.

Hi,

 

My husband and I will be on this TA too. Perhaps we can join up once on board. Pre-departure we are spending time in Rome - Tuesday thru Friday Noon - then off to the port. We've done a number of TA's since we started cruising in 2001. We've found the days at sea very relaxing.

 

I'm Rob - my husband is Bill.

Hey guys! Great to meet you. We're also doing a few days in Rome before the cruise. We've never been. We're arriving on Tuesday morning. Where are you staying in Rome? Might even be worth a meet up beforehand! We're being joined by another couple on this cruise from the UK (straight) but they're good fun! Looking forward to seeing you!

I dunno about Med cruises. I must admit, I've never actually done one. I'm doing the Transatlantic from Rome to Miami on the Reflection in October and it visits some amazing ports in Europe (Marseille, Nice, Barcelona, Tenerife, etc). I've done a lot of travelling in my life, and I will say that in Europe in particular, the best places to visit are not on the ocean, and quite a distance away from the port (Rome, London, Paris, Madrid, Milan, Florence, etc). I'd rather just go to those places and tour myself outside of a cruise. Also, Europe is known for their unbelievable food. I'd feel a bit cheated by knowing I've paid for food on a cruise in some places where the food is most certainly better than the offerings onboard. Just something to think about.

Just an interesting fact... I've only ever sailed in an AQ cabin, usually a few doors away from the suites on the ship. I just ask my stateroom attendant if he can provide the Bvlgari products instead of the regular. It's never been a problem! I usually get so much, I have plenty to take home with me at the end of the cruise.

I am very intrigued about this new class of ship but there seems to be a dearth of information about it. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot on the X website that I can see. What do we know, or speculate at this point about The Edge Class? How are they different from the S and M Class? Are there any present concepts that are expanded? And, are the any pictures, concept art or other, of the ship, design, interior, etc? What itineraries will Edge sail? Thanks!

Here's one detail I know of... Edge class ships will attempt to extract as much money from your pockets as possible... and you thought it couldn't be worse than what's already on offer! :)

Hi there

 

I am on the reflection for the previous cruise before the transatlantic. I am hoping to get a good deal to do a back to back. As I'm a solo it's a bit more expensive. I am hoping to join you on the one. Looking forward to celebrity :)

Well, it seems like there are good deals to be had, but space is becoming limited. The transatlantic cruises seem to be exceptional value, the only thing is you don't get any perks like the 1, 2, 3, GO promotion. I noticed on this other LGBT roll-call type website (can't mention it here but you could google), there are some others looking for other single travellers to share a room, if that's something you'd be interested in doing. Good luck!

Hi everyone,

I was hoping someone else would start a thread for this transatlantic cruise on the Reflection. This is my first transatlantic, and I'm really looking forward to it. I noticed on another gay forum-like website, there are a number of LGBT couples joining us, but I thought I would start a thread on here as well. I hope we'll get some good conversations going.

Cheers!

Just bringin' this back up to the top...

Anyone else joining us on this cruise? Just over two weeks to go!

Fairly sure they were from January but for suite guests only. Hopefully someone presently on board will confirm.

I always select a room near the suites. I ask the room attendant for the Bulgari products and have never had a problem. I've also seen them regularly on the housekeeping carts in the hallways and I've seen people swipe them as they walk by. I don't think anyone cares.

Kind of the worry I have. I'm hoping since it's Princess's "Flag Ship" they'll be more upscale than what I've been hearing about.

I look forward to hearing the details from your trip! :)