amevola

Based on recommendations here and on FB, my husband Joe and I are going to take the "Ultimate Malaga History and Food Tour" by "We Love Malaga." https://welovemalaga.com/tapas-tours/ultimate-malaga-history-and-food

If anyone would like to join us, please let me know so I can speak to the company about a group.  In a nutshell, there will be 10 or fewer people in the group and the price will range anywhere form 75 to 85 Euro depending on the number.  It is a four-hour tour which begins at 10:30am so it will be perfect for those who want something with time to explore afterward.  Please see all the details on the site above.

1 hour ago, TMLAalum said:

I do! We ❤️Malaga

Damian was our guide for a wonderful walking tour of Malaga that had stops for wine and tapas. 

We Love Malaga | Unique Tours in Malaga and Southern Spain

We booked a private tour with this company for our group of 12 on a port stop there and 5 years later we all still rave about what a fantastic day we had!

Thanks so much, TMLAalum,  I have reached out to them and someone responded immediately despite actually being on a tour.  I asked him to wait until he finished the tour to talk.  I am looking at the Ultimate Malaga History and Food tour.  If anyone else is interested, please let me know. 

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

And I really like Malaga.  We have been there twice and thoroughly enjoy the area.  

If you have suggestions for tours, either private or ship-based, please feel free to share either here or privately! 🙂

23 minutes ago, tonyinoc said:

What other locations would be possible ? our last stop is the Azures before Bermuda . i mean if we where heading to Florida maybe but from Barcelona to New York not sure if there is a possible stop 

Maybe Charleston, SC?  That would be nice.

1 hour ago, Anne614 said:

Wow. I just did a mock booking with this code and price is lower by $900 than what I booked. Without the code price is higher than what I booked. Could I get a price reduction even if the code is for new bookings?  Has anyone tried?  Cruise is next year. 

I just tried this.  I could not without cancelling my 2/24 cruise and rebooking online.  I would lose our deposit of $200.00 and be penalized $200.00.  We do not save enough to make it worthwhile.

Hi, all,

Is someone here able to give me updated info on both options and what the cost will be?  I can only find more dated info.

Thanks so much!

8 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

The 2024 Eastbound Transatlantics?  I don't see them. 

I am watching for those as well. 

Hello, all,

My husband and I will on Celebrity Beyond from Barcelona to Cape Liberty (NJ).  I am very excited as we have never a TA nor sailed on new ship.

I can figure out what to pack for our two days in Barcelona and for our arrival in Cape Liberty, but I am unsure of the actual weather at sea.  Layers are important, I am sure, but if you have further advice, please let me know.

Thanks so much!

On 8/2/2022 at 7:46 PM, raspberry ridge said:

Both are lovely ships in their own way. Transatlantic crossing weather can be quite variable. I went on a TA in May where I was freezing the whole time and only able to use the balcony wrapped in deck blankets and have been on others a month earlier that were quite comfortable on deck. The reason I say this is that Constellation has a thalassotherapy heated pool. Reflection has a solarium covered pool but it is not warm like the T-pool.Constellation is older, fewer specialty restaurants, and on average smaller cabins than Reflection. It does have some of the biggest balconies afloat in aft concierge or family verandahs though and although sailing on Apex a few months back has given her competition for my favorite ship status Connie is still the one I like best and I believe I have sailed 3 TAs on that ship.So it really depends on what you are looking for. I am not able to advise on which side would be better cabin choice as I've not done a TA into Barcelona. Of course 3/4 or more of the time your view will literally be only "water, water everywhere".LOL Bon voyage!

What a wonderfully helpful description!  We have been on both ships and very much enjoyed both.  We would have a hard time deciding which to sail for a TA.  Guess we will have to do both at some point!

On 7/25/2022 at 5:17 PM, keesar said:

I called to change a reservation last Friday.  I was shocked that someone picked up in less than 3 minutes.    Call it the luck of the draw.  

I called yesterday to double check something and my call was picked up immediately.  I can tell you that I called at 2:15pm.  Any time I call in the AM, it takes longer. 

51 minutes ago, bama4cruisin said:

For our October cruise on Beyond, I made our select dining reservations months ago.  It’s a 9-night cruise, and we have booked specialty restaurants for 3 of the nights, but for the 6 remaining nights, we have 5 nights at 7:30 and one at 7:00.

Same here.  We are sailing the Beyond's Transatlantic in October.  We booked the cruise July 2021 and all of our dinner reservations in August 2021.  We are booked for 7pm for 10 nights and 6:30 for 2 nights for the MDRs.

I hope you are able to book soon!

This has come up before, and apparently not every airline offers seat assignment.  We were lucky in  booking Delta for our trip to Europe in October, and will keep Delta in mind for our next cruises.

If you use the Search box above for this forum, you will be able to find more info from those who post here.

Good luck!!!

27 minutes ago, H2OH! said:

 

 

If not in the protocol now, it will be! 

Sorry, I meant "now" as in the donor should be tested to help Celebrity avoid the lawsuit.  If the donor doesn't have HIV,  the patient picked it up somewhere else. 

A rectal hemorrhage is extremely dangerous and has to be treated immediately.  Celebrity would have been negligent not to treat the patient.  It also takes about eight hours to test blood for HIV.  There would not have been the time for testing.  The woman's life was saved by the transfusion.

Personally, I do not think anyone with HIV would step forward to donate tainted blood,  If the donor has HIV and did not know it, that person's life was saved. too.

Can the donor just be tested to see if the virus is present? 

If the donor has it and did not know, two lives were saved.

13 hours ago, crusin'k said:

DH and I are on the Beyond TA sailing on Oct 12, 2022.  A few months ago, I made reservations on FBC for MIA to BCN on Oct 7 (going a few days early since we've heard Barcelona is beautiful).  Checked today on Celebrity's website just looking for flight costs and I got a quote that is $205 per person less than the fare I originally had.  I called FBC to get the price reduction since I have not yet paid for the flight and final payment for the cruise is not due for a few months.  The girl I spoke with essentially said that lower fare is for new cruise reservations only and when she pulled it up under my reservation number it actually shows a fare about $150 more than my original reservation.  I asked her how that could be and she did not have a good answer.

 

Has anyone else had this happen?  I tried calling my TA regarding this question but the office is closed until tomorrow. I hope the air fare does not go up before then  

We are on the same sailing. 🙂  When I saw the flight info, I called on Saturday and received the same response.  I did find it annoying that we could not take advantage of a lower rate.  The customer service rep did not understand either so he searched his files.  He found the info that a new booking must be made between May 7 and May 11 (dates may be off a little) to get the lower fares.  I am so glad he made the effort to look for me, but it doesn't take the sting away.  We would have given up our nonstop Delta flight from JFK for a $39 TAP from EWR with one stop in Lisbon! LOL

On 3/29/2022 at 6:53 PM, roupa said:

I am so sorry this is such an issue for you and hope it will be resolved immediately.

If you are seated at a table for one, I can't imagine it is very far from another table with any number of guests.  My husband and I always request a table for two and are always just fingers away from another.  If we feel comfortable chatting with "neighbors", go for it.  If not, since not actually sitting at their table, it doesn't seem required to chat.  Sometimes I prefer to not have forced conversation, other times I need a new face to talk to.  😉

Like Roupa, my husband and I choose a table for two all the time.  We are always seated next to other tables for two and have struck up lovely conversations with those on either side.  A simple "Good evening" helps you gauge whether or not that table might be up for chats.  On one trip, a line of five tables for two were all friendly enough to say hello every time we went into the dining room. 

At the same time, if we simply wanted to speak to each other, no one takes offense as might happen at a big table. 

Finally, we never choose dinner for private conversations just as we would not when at a dinner party/family dinner.  We steer clear of politics and religion unless compatible.  We like to enjoy and digest our dinner. 😉

Ditto!  We were on Reflection in November.  She is in incredible great condition.  Celebrity must have spent much of the covid shutdown to spruce up all those places which are tough to keep up with.

The place I noticed the most was our veranda.  There was not in bit of rust on the railings.  Those are VERY difficult spots to maintain.

We are looking forward to sailing her again in February 2024!

A while back, I saw the "obstructed view" cabin list for Edge and Apex on this site.  It gave percentage info each cabin.  Because Beyond is longer, the list doesn't help me.

Has anyone seen a new list for her, especially Deck Six?  I will still love my cabin, but I am curious as to what to expect. ☺️  Thanks!

Having the same problem!  I have logged out and logged in again in the past to avoid this, but it isn't working this time.  Thanks!

On 11/23/2021 at 9:29 AM, amevola said:

• Ship:   Reflection
• Length of Cruise:  7
• Cruise Sail Date:  November 27, 2021
• Date email offer received:  November 6, 2021
• Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]:  Select
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  Celebrity
• Current Cabin:  Ocean View 8
• Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

 

If YES -  Bidding Details: 

 

• Cabin Category: Veranda 2C
• Bid Offer: $155 pp, minimum bid was $150 pp
• Notification Date: November 21, 2021
• Accepted / Rejected  - Accepted

 

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Thrilled to have been upgraded to Veranda 1A - 7241 when boarding on November 27.  Everything about the new cabin was terrific - the huge veranda, the location midship, and the quiet despite being close to everything.  Thank you, Celebrity!

2 hours ago, amevola said:

We had the same problem.  We sail this Saturday, and CVS cancelled the test we were supposed to have tomorrow morning last Thursday.  It was a trial to find another test site that could handle us before our flight tomorrow as most appointments were too late in the day.  We ended up going this morning for a PCR and have an antigen test tomorrow as a backup. 

 

Many people here have had success with the test you purchase from Celebrity. 

 

Good luck!

My PCR test came back negative at 7pm, thank goodness.  It took fewer than 12 hours.  Just waiting for my husband's test results as well as the results of three friends.  I happily cancelled my antigen test tomorrow morning.

On 11/24/2021 at 2:59 PM, ETHTrader said:

Make sure you have a backup plan though. I had an appointment scheduled at CVS for a cruise couple of weeks ago and they cancelled the night before. Staff shortage was the reason.

We had the same problem.  We sail this Saturday, and CVS cancelled the test we were supposed to have tomorrow morning last Thursday.  It was a trial to find another test site that could handle us before our flight tomorrow as most appointments were too late in the day.  We ended up going this morning for a PCR and have an antigen test tomorrow as a backup. 

Many people here have had success with the test you purchase from Celebrity. 

Good luck!

• Ship:   Reflection
• Length of Cruise:  7
• Cruise Sail Date:  November 27, 2021
• Date email offer received:  November 6, 2021
• Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]:  Select
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  Celebrity
• Current Cabin:  Ocean View 8
• Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details: 

• Cabin Category: Veranda 2C
• Bid Offer: $155 pp, minimum bid was $150 pp
• Notification Date: November 21, 2021
• Accepted / Rejected  - Accepted

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

17 hours ago, 39august said:

Don't forget the Aqua Spa Cafe, open to all pax, not just Aqua class. And there is free bar mix. You just have to ask for it, usually. We did have a bartender offer it on Equinox last month. 

We completely agree about the Aqua Spa Cafe.  We have lunch there almost every day.

Please tell me what you mean by a "free bar mix."