Mike981

My thoughts exactly, looks great.

We are getting VERY close to 60 years old and go with Travel Guard. The few times we have had to use them there was no issue. This is my wife's area of expertise. She will go to the comparison sites to make here decision to make sure Travel Guard is the best for us and then she reads ALL of the fine print. God bless her.

Same, for my 1/15/24 cruise. 🙃

2000 Celebrity Mercury. It was our honeymoon trip, 10 years late. The only vacation I had as a kid was to my grandparents home in a town of 1,000 people(it got very boring) . My wife grew up going on summer car vacations around the USA, but they were very mild and frugal. We met working in the restaurant business, the level of service we got was just amazing and we took it all in. I found out that I absolutely love being on or near the ocean. We both love the ability to just relax and not worry for a while. I often tell staff that I look at a cruise as 'adult daycare' and I will try my best to not get a timeout.

20+ years ago I would say that Celebrity kicked Carnivals butt on food. Today, not so much and probably closer to the same than anything. I know some won't like hearing this, but it is just my opinion. I was very close to booking our next cruise on Carnival, but found a decent deal on an Aqua room with the included items that we like on Celebrity. FYI we currently go on 10 day cruises so that changes the vibe on both lines.

Susie, thank you for asking this question.

@cgolf1My wife and I have done many AI trips, all in Jamaica. We have also done many cruises and for us they are different animals. Just like food reviews, they are very subjective and I feel it depends on what you personally need at that time. Both my wife and I have enjoyed the time to just kick back and relax/recharge at an AI, very chill. But there are times we also like cruises for more options, activities and excitement. FWIW I do enjoy leaving Minnesota and flying to Jamaica and experiencing a 100º temperature swing. We have left home and it was -30º and arrive in Jamaica to +85º. Now coming back home is not so much fun. But being from Wisconsin (go Big Red/Green & Gold) I'm sure you are familiar.

You are very kind @Sthrngary

Boy I can relate. I won't even entertain the thought of trying to plan everything for everyone. Back in the day when we were doing more all-inclusive resorts I had some folks that liked to travel with us from different parts of the USA and they would ask me where we were going and when so they could join us. I made it clear up front that it would be great to see them, but there better not be any complaining to ME about my choice of a resort. They never did. Years later I had someone try to talk me into putting a group cruise together and I told them this is where a good travel agent shines. They ended up not even going on a trip. So that leads me to this tip for new AND experienced cruisers. When folks hear about your trip and get excited so much that they want to travel with you, never leave yourself holding the bag. They need to pay their own way, through a TA or the cruise line. If they don't have any skin in the game it is too easy to change their mind and leave you eating the money. It amazes me how often I read threads on CC of people that are in this exact situation. The last one I saw, the person backing out didn't even have a good reason they just "changed their mind." If that was me I would be out the money and, someone that I considered a friend that I would never speak to again.

We give to the Epilepsy Foundation, we schedule a time and they come and pick it up. That will help with the driving issue.

Oh I don't dispute what you are saying Nuts. What I am talking about is when the cruise lines water down the perks you receive for your lifetime status and it is much different from what you received before. The very things that motivated a person to spend $$$$ to try to achieve their status, have been severely diminished or taken away. If memory serves, this started before Covid. I understand it is all about the money, I just don't think it's cool to punish some of your best customers.

Celebrity is not alone. Like a lot of companies, 'loyalty' means very little anymore. I stopped playing the loyalty game years ago, because my timing was horrible. I would get close to a new level and they would move the bar, talking to you Delta. I truly feel bad for folks that spent $$$$$ and were very loyal to Celebrity over the years, to now become an afterthought. I don't blame then at all for being upset.

Very true in my experience as well. We just booked our first cruise in four years and it is on Celebrity. The stars must have been aligned that day as I was able to get a decent price for an Aqua room (first time in Aqua!) and a good price on some non-stop airline tickets. We were willing to spend a bit more to try out some other cruise lines, but in my research they all had folks who were disappointed with the current product. I will add that inconsistency also seems to be industry wide.

Agree, it is not an easy search. My wife and I had been sitting and waiting to see how things will shake out and recently booked a cruise for this coming January (it will be four years since our last cruise). We know that there will be 'some' issues, but hope that by then they will be minimized. Add in the fact that we have to fly and we all know some air lines have been having issues, it can be a bit overwhelming to start again.

That is an interesting take Alex. If this is, or it becomes a problem, they will go the route of other lines and limit you to how many drinks you can order a day.

We enjoy that as well. Years ago we were watching for runners and I couldn't believe how many people (hundreds) were just taking a leisurely stroll and I was actually getting nervous for them. I told my wife and she said, "they are going on another ship you can't see, the pier splits to the left." Another proud moment.

As a joke I asked my wife if she wanted to go on a cruise I heard about in a forum, and surprisingly she said yes. I was a travel virgin and was blown away by the experience. January 2000 Celebrity Mercury on a seven day cruise.

True, and there are a lot of other companies under this umbrella as well.

That's to bad I would have used it as an excuse to make the drive, but sounds like a great trip. BTW, I was born in Milwaukee.

Any stops in Duluth, MN? Glad to hear this, I was trying to figure out how I was going to follow along. After you mentioned months ago that you were going to try Ponant, I went and looked at their board and it is very bare. It is turning out to be a banner year for allergies here in Central MN. Record breaking snow falls this winter and now record breaking dry weather and high winds. Sniffle, sniffle, cough, cough. I hope you are correct that things will settle out. My worry is that the bottom line will be more important than customer satisfaction. When all do the same, you have little choice but to go with the new reality. My wife and I just got are new Passport photo's done at Walgreens to start the renewal process. We have over six months, so we should be good. Congrats on the weight loss. My first cruise (2000 Celebrity Mercury) was the opposite. We had lost a lot of weight on a low carb diet before our trip and then enjoyed the wonderful bread baskets and anything else we wanted. In a seven day cruise I gained 15 pounds. Yea, 15lbs. But like I always say, I am pretty good at losing weight but the weight is better at coming back and they invite friends.

Well my friend you have done it again, wonderful job. Thank you! As others have said, I look forward to hearing your adventures on other lines. We recently booked an Aqua room on the Silhouette for this coming January, but are also looking at other lines to try. That said, it is hard to compare lines now since Covid, from what I have read ALL lines have been effected for the worse. Then add in the issue (as you just experienced) of air travel today.

Yeppers. Last cruise we "had" plans to do things on shore, but our room and some special places on the ship were so fun that we just stayed on the ship and enjoyed the peacefulness.

Using it has increased my enjoyment on CC 100%.

Is there any advantage to transfer my booking to a Celebrity certified vacation planner? I want to keep all communication directly with Celebrity, in case there are issues. I lost my TA a couple of years ago, so I don't have anyone I can rely on especially during off hours.

Great story about Luke and I can certainly understand your pain. My soon to be 30 year old son, got a screaming deal on Bernese Mountain dog when he was in college. "Lady", was absolutely perfect for him. Unfortunately two Christmases ago he had to put her down because of cancer and it rocked our whole family. He hasn't said anything about getting another dog, I am sure he is still working through his grief. Before she passed he made an imprint of her paw and just recently got a tattoo of it on his chest. And no I am NOT crying as I type this, somebody must be cutting onions.