ChucktownSteve

We have done 15 cruises out of Bayonne and only our Summit Canada / New England cruise last September went by the Statue of Liberty. That was Captain Kate's first official sailing where she took over as Captain.

 

OP have a great cruise and take care of the ship. We sail next Sunday.

Here's a picture from that sailaway to NE/CA, CruisingChick :)

Steve wrote:

 

"Based upon what I read, they've removed or are removing Cafe al Bacio from Classic. That's an outrage if so."

 

Where have you read this? I agree it's a very bad thing if it turns out to be true!

This is the description on the web site that has no mention of premium coffee in the paragraph. But then I further clicked on the classic package PDF where it does say premium coffee included. Guess I just didn't click enough to find it.

Classic Package

Throughout your cruise, choose from beers up to $6 per serving, spirits, cocktails, liqueurs and frozen drinks up to $8 per serving, and wine-by-the-glass up to $9 per serving. Plus, with purchase of this Classic Package, you can enjoy a 15% discount on all wines by the bottle purchased on board, even our prized Reserve Wine list and Rare Wine list.

*Starting from: 55.00 USD Per NIGHT

Based on what i read, just well drinks, house wines and no access to Al Bacio (no fancy coffee)

Based upon what I read, they've removed or are removing Cafe al Bacio from Classic. That's an outrage if so.

As I've predicted before, the standard pkg will probably soon become the freebie perk causing a cash upgrade to classic or premium.

Maybe Celebrity Cruises will cut and paste what's on the X web site so that will clear up the confusion between Standard, Classic & Premium liquor packages. :rolleyes:

Has anyone heard whether Celebrity limits your pickles to two jars per cabin? If so, is there a limit on the jar size; 16 oz or 32 oz?

cruisestitch: Saving "Celebrity Cruises" the trouble of cutting and pasting from the Celebrity website: Good one! ROFLMAO!!!!

What's to say you can't move two wine bottles to your large suitcase that goes through the porter? Put two in a carry on and two in the porter handled suitcase at the port.

When we embarked in Charleston for the Mercury a few years ago, we put two in each carry on. We were not stopped.

I expect the situation will be dependent upon how diligent the port security personnel are.

Take the interstate! I've driven I-26 between Charleston and Columbia more times than I care to count and as Steve said, it's BORING. But it's also efficient. Get behind a slow truck on a back road in SC and you're done. Not to mention the speed traps in and near the little towns and crossroads you'd have to go through on the back roads.

I agree with what you said, but he's more likely to get behind a slow farmer than a semi on the back roads. It really depends upon whether sddsddean is more interested in speed or seeing the back roads of SC.

Thanks Steve. I'll just take time out to go through all that info before I come back to you with more questions and comments. First thing that struck me; I was going to take I-20 to Augusta and come down 78 to Charleston to 'cut the corner'. Is the interstate route quicker/better than doing this?

 

Thanks

 

Simon

Interstate is very boring. You could do that but 78 is two lane road with small towns. So if you're not in a hurry and want to see rural SC, that would work. Or look at google maps for I-20 to I-520 around Augusta then Hwy 125 to Allendale where you pick up Hwy 641 & 64 to Walterboro. Then in Jacksonboro pick up US 17 to Charleston. That route is more direct than 78.

The speed limit on the interstate in SC is 70mph. You could go 80 and have vehicles pass you.

Although I do not often have dinner in the Oceanview Cafe, but they grill fish, chicken, and steak. The fish was pretty good.

Yes but it's all overcooked and sitting for awhile in the pan. If it were fresh grilled that would be a different story. I've only experienced M class so far which isn't freshly grilled. I missed the aft station. grrrr

But it is still better than Carnival buffet I've experienced.

Hi Simon,

You'll enjoy Charleston. It's only a five hour drive from Atlanta. You can take interstate 20 to Columbia, SC and I-26 east to Charleston. (TSA checkpoints at major airports are taking about 3 hours right now)

Staying downtown Charleston, you'll pay for parking at most hotels. The Town & Country Inn in West Ashley as mentioned, has free parking if that matters to you. It's not a chain but a recently remodeled good independent property.

You may want to check out the King Charles Inn located on Meeting Street in downtown. It's only a couple of blocks from the Market area and tons of restaurants. They have free parking.

I can give you lots of touristy info for Charleston since I had a company in that arena for 14 years. You may want to check out the Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau web site. They have coupons and tons of good information. If you visit the Myrtle Beach Chamber website, you'll find a coupon for $5 off each adult at Patriots Point which you mentioned.

You can also take the Fort Sumter tours boat from Patriots Point.

You can take the Charleston Water Taxi from Downtown Charleston across the harbor to Patriots Point. Patriots Point charges $5 to park your vehicle. The water taxi cost is $10/pp all day. The CARTA DASH trolley system is free to ride around downtown.

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to give you my opinions if you contact me using my handle at outlook dot com.

If you're interested in visiting Monticello in Charlottesville VA, the home of Thomas Jefferson, a good route via the Blue Ridge Parkway would be to take I-26 from Charleston to Asheville, NC (about five hours drive) where they have the Biltmore House.

I hope this gives you some ideas that will make your visit most enjoyable.

OK I get the concept of going to different bars, but all of the "purchases" will still show up in one main account. I have read that after about 15 minutes they don't question it, so is that the minimum length of time I should leave between purchases?

I didn't have a problem with walking from one bar to the next and getting a drink. Or if I had tipped the bartender during the cruise, didn't even have to go to another bar. There's no hard and fast rule.

Regarding the question about the water. Only one per card at a time BUT you can ask for the large bottle of water which is the liter size...equivalent of two smaller bottles.

For things like this, they are supposed to take your information and then ring it up once the ship is out in international waters.

 

If the promotion is not around in early June, I will just upgrade myself as my wife will stick with the classic package. I've got a substantial amount of Celebrity OBC I have to spend.

Not in FLL. There were table tents all over saying you will be charged the tax while in port. I normally could have waited but we didn't sail until hours later due to power loss in the terminal that day.

I hope it lasts through mid aug. ;)

When I upgraded earlier this year in FLL, since we hadn't left the dock, I was charged local sales tax on the upgrade amount. Is NJ sales tax charged for the upgrade purchase while still in port?

AFT - DECK 14 (2 UP) Oceanview Bar

Sounds like a long walk forward to the elevator, a short ride and a long walk back to the oceanview bar. Or one deck up to the pool bar between the two elevator banks.

great thanks for the replies. I didn't know if it was frowned apon taking drinks back to your room or asking for unopened bottles!

 

......now I just need to locate the closest bar to my cabin.....:)

If you're in an M class ship AQ on deck 11, walk as far aft as you can. There's a doorway to the 15 steps down to the sunset bar. voila. :D

You may get a crab or two if you're seated with the wrong people at dinner. :D

Cruise Critic's worst nightmare! A dress code thread for doors!

ROFLMAO :D

On the same cruise I've seen door decorations on deck 3 and deck 11 AQ class. I didn't think less of them. It in no way affected my own cruise enjoyment. If it did, there would be something seriously wrong with me. Well besides that. :p

We had a Constellation deck 11 AQ cabin. I brought a two foot bungee cord after having read the tip on CC. It worked like a charm. There was a small knob on the fixed side as JimHam4 said. Looped it around the knob and both hooks fastened on the left door frame.

Here's a pic.

I agree Steve! I took a look at the Bermuda webcam yesterday and saw the aft of the Summit facing the bow of the BA! We finally decided to splurge on the PH for our next trip and I would hate to be out on my balcony looking up at that massive ship!

Not to mention you won't be able to wear your birthday suit on the balcony like my next door cabin neighbor on the Constellation did. She booked a B2B including the Bare Necessities Charter. Her suit wasn't wrinkled. :eek::D

If they're at the pier the way they are today BA bow nuzzling Summit's aft, it shouldn't be too bad. Most of the outdoor activity/parties on the BA take place in the aft at the adult section. I haven't experienced Captain Jacks yet....

Bummer if our cruise docks this way. I was hoping our AQ would have a non Breakaway view from the deck 11 aft balcony.

Last September when we were disembarking from a 14 night NE/CA cruise, they started with only two Customs agents so just before we got off the ship, (we were in line close to the gangway) they stopped all disembarking for half an hour until they caught up.

They finally got two more agents by the time we got to them. I can't say that is the norm or if it was a one off. It's totally dependent upon how the Customs Agents feel about working or not and that is not controlled by X.

Thankx ghstudio for your live report. I'm so looking forward to it since our first time on Eclipse (or any S class) will be this January. We opted for a SV instead of AQ for our 14 nighter.

It looks like your review will have some good insight. :)

I have seen people posting about how many ships will be in the ports when they are there. How would I find out this information for our cruise stops?

 

Thanks

Google the term "other ships in port" and the web sites will top the list.

Unfortunately, if one followed the history of Celebrity Masters (Captain), that for more than 20 years Celebrity employed Greek captains (with a temporary exception for a Norwegian), I believe that the female president picked a female captain.

When Royal Caribbean acquired Celebrity from Chandris (the Greek cruise line company), it is my understanding that part of the contract restricted Celebrity to having Greek Masters for 20 years. That provision expired. There was the exception as you pointed out.

http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Constellation-captain.html

Come on. I doubt if any of the people who want to cruise on a ship where she is the captain would make such a fuss about being on her ship if she was not female. There are lots of very good and personable captains who do not get as much press as she does.

 

I am not questioning her competency. She is probably actually better than most of the male captains considering the barriers that she broke to achieve her position. However many if not most of her want to cruise on her ship because she is the first female captain of a major cruise ship.

 

DON

What a bunch of sexist bull crap. What Captains are on your list of "lots of very good and personable captains?" IMO Capt Leo has the same type of following as Kapt. Kate. It's their personality not their gender.

The media has died down and if you read most of the statements of people who have actually cruised with her, they do not prominently mention her femaleness. You're the most fixated on it.

Have you sailed on one of her cruises?