CU64

7 hours ago, Suzi66 said:

Of course, the place that the ship docks is different now to when mahdnc went in 2019.  Then the ship tendered in Akaroa.  Now it is docked in Lyttleton which is just out of Christchurch so that will make the trip slightly different.

I have read that Akaroa is lovely. Would the slightly different trip cause you to reconsider?….or maybe a better option in your opinion, since you are from Australia? 

Thank you all so much for your help.I did find the Australia New Zealand Forum which had great information. 
Barbara

20 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Here are my notes from taking the Trans-Alpine Railway excursion when we sailed on Solstice to New Zealand in late Dec - early Jan:

 

7:30 am We arrived at the Celebrity Theater as instructed on our ticket. 

 

7:45 am We line up to board the first tender. 

 

8:20 am We board our motorcoach. There are 28 passengers on our bus and a total of 3 buses. The bus ride is nicely narrated by the driver. 

 

9:05 am We have a scheduled restroom stop  It is very brief. 

 

10:00 am The bus arrives at the location in Christchurch to board our train. The train is empty and appears to be dedicated for the cruise ship. It only has around 4 passenger cars with an observation car. There are 84 passengers that board. The train ride is headphone narrated and is very comfortable. 

 

11:00 am A nice box lunch is served on the train  You can buy additional snacks or meals. The train climbs the mountains through 12+ tunnels along a beautiful river. The river is a pretty silty turquoise color which indicates that it is being fed from a glacier. 

 

12:30 pm We arrive at our destination, Arthur's Pass. Under gorgeous sunny skies, we get off the train and board the same 3 buses from earlier in the day. We make 3 quick stops for photos of the mountain scenery. The view on the bus ride down the mountains is as spectacular as it was from the train on the way up. 

 

2:20 pm. Two buses arrive at a sheep farm where free water, coffee, and tea are served along with snacks. There is a demonstration of the dogs herding the sheep followed by a sheep shearing demonstration. 

 

3:30 pm. We get back on the bus for the 2 hour bus ride back to the tender dock. I am currently on the bus. 

 

Amazing description. Thank you for taking the time to write.

Would the train be best or going to the “ center of the earth”….both all day…..or something else? 
we prefer the beauty of the area, not interested in wine tasting, ….Ty in advance to those who are in the know.

barbara

9 hours ago, prmssk said:

Everyone has different preferences and I get that it does provide more privacy.  I guess I just don't really need that privacy from my husband and have never had storage issues on Celebrity ships.  And we really like having a place to sit down that isn't the bed.  Do you book standard balcony or lower rooms on Princess?  Or do you normally get a mini-suite/deluxe balcony or higher?  For those getting a mini-suite/deluxe balcony or higher, they get both space and the storage/privacy so I can see how it would be the best of both worlds.

 

I think Princess makes it all worse by starting with smaller cabins.  When we noticed how small the cabins felt on the Emerald and Caribbean Princess, I looked up square footage.  Our premium balcony on the Emerald Princess was 15 square feet smaller than the interior cabin we have booked on the Eclipse coming up.  The interior cabin we stayed on the Caribbean Princess was 21 square feet smaller than the interior we have booked on the Eclipse.  It looks like Princess's Royal class ships made the cabins slightly larger (but with incredibly tiny balconies) but they still are less square footage than Celebrity's cabins.  So taking an already very small room and taking a quarter of it for the closet has a big impact.  Some will really like that big closet.  Others will feel the closet makes the cabin feel very cramped.

Yes, always a minisuite but any balcony will do if necessary. 

3 hours ago, Mississippian said:

I have a concierge aft balcony booked and intend to bid at least a little bit to move up to Aqua. I don't care so much about the food being "healthy," (seemed plenty fattening to me), but the quality and staff at Blu were out of this world on my one previous Celebrity cruise. It's currently "sold out," though.

Would rather eat in MDR or specialty restaurants than BLU. Overpriced. Same cabins and better see where they put you.

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess last month and the Emerald Princess in February.  We have previously been on the Eclipse, Summit, and Constellation.  We had a cruise scheduled for next year on the Crown Princess and cancelled it and replaced it with the Eclipse because we prefer Celebrity that much more.

 

Princess rooms are really small.  If you want any seating in the room aside from the desk chair you need to book a mini-suite (or deluxe balcony on some of the newer ships).  Standard balcony rooms and below have no couch or comfortable chair and no place to put them.  Instead, they have an incredibly large walk-in closet that you would never fill (and can't get enough hangers for). 

 

We found the food on Princess to be very good overall but with very little variety and they were not great with handling my dietary restrictions.  Being allergic to dairy, I struggled to find anything I could eat in the buffet and although they modified meals int he MDR for me, they were often bland as they would just eliminate sauces instead of replacing and the menu had no indicators on it to help me pick naturally dairy free dishes (and the head waiter on both ships, who coincidentally happened to be the same guy, was of no help guiding me when I pre-ordered).  FYI - for those in my party with no dietary restrictions and who weren't picky eaters, they generally really enjoyed the food.  

 

They didn't allow smoking on the Emerald because of COVID restrictions but those restrictions were gone by our Caribbean Princess cruise and the smoke from the casino wafted into the atrium where several of the bars are.

 

I also agree with someone else who said public spaces feel crowded on Princess ships, more than I have generally felt on the M Class and S class ships.  The theater also has less capacity than Celebrity cruise ships.  I noticed you needed to get there very early on a Princess ship to get a seat and so I looked up theater capacity compared to ship capacity and Celebrity ships can hold a much larger percentage of their passengers in their two nightly shows than Princess can in their two nightly shows.

 

All that said, we had amazing service on Princess.  We did still enjoy our cruises.  The itineraries were good. The medallion concept is amazing (although it doesn't always work).  Internet is faster on Princess (unless they have a server down).  They had some great musicians on board that we really enjoyed.  So if Princess had an itinerary we really wanted, we would book again but if there is something comparable with Celebrity, we will likely spend a little more to go on Celebrity.

Prefer Celebrity but Princess design for hanging closet area by bathroom,

providing privacy while dressing + better closet storage…..hands down wins over Celebrity. Those dumb open bins over the bed are ridiculous.

13 hours ago, JFontaine said:

I would ask to stay in my cabin in a nice way, and continue to ask and not be dragged away.  Mental health is just as important as anything else. 

Me too

If you are flying, don’t go. More chance of getting Covid + by being in the airport, planes, crowds. 7 days is good if he is that anxious. ….tell him to stay off news, et al. Fear is not good for immune system 

2 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

Based on the behavior you reported, the way you were treated and basically dismissed, I think it is very  appropriate  to escalate this in writing to Celebrity higher management.  You paid for a Penthouse suite with the expectations you would very much enjoy your accommodations.  You did not expect your cruise experience to be ruined by passengers who behaved like trash!!! 

Agreed.. Write a letter on white stationery. Have it sent to main Celebrity management. Signature required.

12 hours ago, D. B. said:

I book our flights mostly with FBC and have learned that when a flight on their website is listed as a code share it is best to find the same flight on their list as being with the Providing Airline (Not Operated by XXX) you are more likely to have the chance to make a seat selection at the time you book the flight with FBC.

 Also, many airlines will Not allow you to choose seats until They are Paid by FBC so I sometimes tell FBC to go ahead and pay the airline so I can choose my seats.

 FBC gets Paid when You make your  Final Payment 90 Days before Sailing But they don't Pay the Airline till 45 Days before your flights unless you request them to do it sooner.

 I just had them pay for a flight to a Cruise from Barcelona Next May because it's on a Low Cost Carrier Level by Iberia (the only Non Stop SFO to BCN) that charges for all seat assignments so I could get an Economy Seat at the front of that section at a bulkhead with lots of legroom.

 I  guess they like keeping your money in their interest earning account a little longer.?

 

Lufthansa nonstop to Barcelona ? Wonderful airline 

Just noticed almost 200 difference for booking  NZ cruise next March by TA, travel summary  vs what is listed on Celebrity website for same booked category on same sailing.  Supposedly those were the charges at the time of booking, (about 3 months ago) per the third party, & confirmed by Celebrity. My booking is reasonable with good perks, cabin, & location. Happy with that but surprised at those charges.Anyone have this happen to you? 
ty in advance

12 hours ago, carolina_yankee said:

I'm new to Celebrity with our first cruise on the Apex scheduled for November. My comparisons for service will be Disney Cruise Line (5x) and Avalon Waterways river cruising. My biggest concern before reading this was connection with the ocean. It was obvious from the deck plans that this was going to be iffy and it seems to be true. For the most part, I'll be fine. We have an Infinity Verandah (looking forward to it, recognize its pros and cons), so the major disappointment is lack of access to the bow for photography reasons. I'll just have to be challenged to find other views and will likely spend more time take aft-photos to get the wake!

 

I'm hoping that being off season, supply constraints will be less of an issue and staffing levels will be closer to norm (as well as better training). I'm prepared for some hiccups there. I'm a little disappointed to hear about the buffet quality, and again hope that it's due to supply and demand more than an erosion of quality. Disney buffets were good, not great, so as along as they meet those standards for breakfast and lunch, I'll be fine.

 

I'm looking forward to the dining most of all and this is why we specifically chose Edge class. Over 7 nights we will visit three of the specialty restaurants and each dining room once with squeezing in Raw on 5 somehow.  We're younger - some music and crowd noise won't bother us, but if it bleeds in enough to the restaurants to disrupt the ambience, that won't be fun.

 

We also have a HAL midnight sun cruise lined up for next summer (chose HAL for itinerary, pricing, and reputation in that order) so we do prefer more sophisticated but casual cruising without going all Downton Abbey every night, enjoy a bit of whimsy and fun entertainment but not Carnival-style, and we also love connection with the ocean. We'll see.  

 

We've embraced the attitude that these are not trips but adventures. We like adventure, so that will open us up to finding the fun in the novelty and rolling with the punches a little bit. As long as we can relax on Apex and tour fabulous ports on HAL Rotterdam, all the while enjoying ocean air and good food, we'll be fine.

Great attitude 

15 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

 “Personal” because we look at our cruises from a different perspective/point of view – we don’t participate in a lot of ship’s activities like Trivia/L&M/Quest, etc. Also, comedians/one man shows, all of them necessitating a good command of English. We go only to the big musicals, and on this cruise, DH had to leave after a few minutes, the sound being too much for his hearing aids.

 

 We don’t cruise for the beaches/hot weather, drinks and we gamble very small amounts (like 5-10$ pp per evening) just for fun. Usually bets of 1 or 2 cents 😊 On this cruise, after 3 long “dry dock” years, we found out that the minimum bet was raised to 75 cents, so our 9$ were quick to disappear. 

 

Then, why are we cruising? Mainly for the itineraries. Sometimes – for the ship. This time we found an excellent combo – interesting itinerary and a new class of ship.

 … and, for the food, mainly on Celebrity.

 

Therefore, our criteria of judging if we enjoyed the cruise is much more limited – itinerary, food and ship.

 

What we liked about Beyond?

*the lower staff (servers, waiters, cleaners, sales attendants, casino staff) were all excellent, always smiling, always willing to help.

*the pool – was the longest in comparison to every other ship. I’ve managed, early in the mornings, to swim some nice laps.

*all night light in the bathroom.

*the infinite veranda makes for a bigger room, but, if one of the cruisers is an early raiser and wants to spend time on the veranda, the light wakes up the other.

 

What we didn’t like?

Soulless. Too dark. Too much “real estate” taken by very high-end shops (Cartier, Bvlgari, Montblanc, La maison du chocolat – always empty), and not enough connection with the sea.

A dark mirrored hallway, which I’ve found down right creepy, fearing I’ll find myself stepping right into one of the mirrors [deck 5 on the way to Eden].

No library, which is weird, since Beyond was designed BEFORE Covid.

We like to sit and admire the wake. Eden. A very strong smell of fried fish from the restaurant below.

At Raw 5 we couldn’t hear one another due to the high volume of music in the Grand Plaza.

The SOUND. First time we saw many people leave after the show began, mainly because of the high volume. Yes, the issue was raised by me and others, nothing was done.

 

Unless we travel with family/friends, we usually prefer to dine at WJ/OVC. We’re "in and out" quickly, can try different dishes, mainly the stir fry, which we highly prefer. 

 

Quite from the beginning we were disappointed in the quality, quantity and diversity of the OVC’s food. There were a lot of heavy stews, unappealing for the most of time.

 

I found myself making one round, two rounds, trying to map the dishes I’d like to sample, and found myself “settling” for a grilled steak, chicken breast or burger…. In very contrast to all other cruises, where I’d make a round and say to myself: “ohh, shepherd’s pie, ohh, meat lasagna, ohh, seafood salad, ohh, this pad thai looks sooo good”.

 

DH was even more disappointed, since he mainly eats fish, seafood and salads. Usually, he’s going to the salad bar, and comes back with a huge amount of leaves, tomatoes, cucumbers, hummus, etc., his usual Mediterranean staple at home. Here, he found himself asking for two slices of this, two leaves of this, a spoon of this -- a rather tedious “affair”. Meantime, a line is forming after him, close enough to defy the purpose of being served in the name of “social distancing/ Covid”.

 

The first grilled fish he asked for was half frozen… The second – the same. He showed it to the server, who promptly left the serving and went in search of the “culprit” (the cook). Another line after DH. Someone appeared from the kitchen, and agreed, that, indeed, the fish was not properly unfrosted and grilled. Meanwhile, another “in-charge” saw the “fuss” and wanted details. DH explained the “case” and wondered why, 1 day after we left Rome, which is a fishing port, there are only deep frozen fishes on board, not to mention calamari, shrimps, mussels, etc. The standard reply, which we were going to hear repeatedly, was “difficulties in the chain of supply”. 

 

After 2 days of “buffet” diner, DH wanted escargot and we went to one of the 4 “free” restaurants. The escargots DH got were tiny and the meal was no more than OK but, as expected, took a lot of time.

 

Back to OVC.

After another 2 days of disappointing food at OVC, DH wanted a proper grilled fresh fish and we opted for “Cyprus”, which offered a grilled seabass.

 

While DH was eating the seabass, I suddenly saw him confused, murmuring “a bone” and taking something out of his mouth… turns out it was not a bone, it was a 1.5 cm long piece of … wire !!! He gently placed it on the bread plate and we called the waiter, who immediately called… whoever. DH, of course, was distressed. What if he ingested another, smaller, piece of wire and he didn’t feel it??

 

Me? I was speechless and worried sick. A perforated intestine was NOT in our plans… 

 

After a few minutes of looking one at another and pushing aside the beginnings of our entrees, the head waiter appeared with an “explanation”… the piece of wire comes from the brush used to clean the grill…”   Ahhhh, now we were “relieved”… 

 

We were so outraged, we just left the restaurant and went outside, to try to understand what just happened, and moreover, what IF another piece of wire was ingested? 

 

When we got back to our cabin, a bottle of white vine was waiting for us, along with some chocolate covered strawberries from the Cypress’ manager. The cheap bottle of wine really irritated DH: “I don’t want their vine, I want this going up and reported to the higher management, so that it will never happen again!!!” “It should have never happened in the first place” !!!

 

 So, first thing in the morning we went to GS with the vine in tow. Asked for “someone in charge”. The GS was reluctant, asking our room #, saying: “it is mentioned here”. I took the “helm” and said that we want to be sure it is “mentioned” up to the B&F director, and besides, we want to return their vine. Even if it’s just a “gesture”, might as well find out if we drink vine, and find something “neutral”, but that was not really the issue. We just felt that the vine was CYA. 

 

After a few minutes, the Cypress’ “in charge” came, claiming that it has been “reported”, “measures are being taken”, and, get this: “should you need medical assistance, we’ll be more than happy to provide it”. DH replied that “should I need medical assistance, I’ll be in big trouble, and Celebrity in an even BIGGER trouble”. He took the vine back, DH telling him that it was offending to receive a cheap bottle of several dollars by way of apology, instead a letter of “we will thoroughly examine what went wrong”, which surely will be more to the point.

 

Quite reluctantly the “in charge” offered a free lunch at either Le Fine Cut or Raw 5, and we agreed to Raw 5, being seafood and fish.

 

DH was eating bananas from the fateful evening, in the hope that his intestine will “weather” any stray wire…

 

A day after the “wire”, I went to a “senior officers” meeting with Elite, +, etc. members. 

 

While I was sitting by myself, people watching, one of them came, randomly, to ask me “how do you like the cruise so far”? Big mistake on his part, HUGE…. I made a “so-so” movement with my hand, being masked and him also. Didn’t want to elaborate… but he was so surprised and, seemingly, interested…

I told him that the food quality, diversity, quantity is sub par for a Celebrity cruise, and us being foodies, are underwhelmed. He wanted examples and details, which I supplied.

 

Turns out he was the “procurement” officer, which enraged me more. I told him that there is no quality control whatsoever on the food, fruits in particular, and some products should never reach the buffet [overmature watermelon and kiwi coming immediately to mind]. Told him that, obviously, being veteran Celebrity cruisers, we have the “means” to compare.

 

He said that they pride themselves in the quality of food on Celebrity, being one of the things which set them apart from other cruise lines. I just gave him THE LOOK “not happening here”.

 

When I told him that I’ve heard the same from others, suite guests/Luminae, Le Voyage, The Fine Cut, etc., he excused himself and went in search of the F&B guy, and brought him to me.

 

At that moment I decided to check if our plea that the “wire incident” will go to the “top” was granted and was shocked to see that he never heard of it. Immediately he profusely apologized and asked where we’re going to eat tonight, wanting to see for himself that DH is OK. Told him we had a reservation for Raw 5 [which was made before the free lunch offer]. He promised to be there. He wasn’t… but he comped us the dinner….

And we were glad he did, since, how DH said it so succinctly: “the lobster tail was from the runt of the litter” [and the oysters were far from fresh]. On the “free” lunch, we ordered only fried items and they were good. 

 

There were other food disappointments, where you see “grilled steak” advertised, but no steak on the grill. When you ask about it, they search one in their drawers, put one on the grill and tell you to come back between 7 and 10 minutes… Fries? “We’re waiting for a new batch, come back in 5 minutes?” NO!! Someone should monitor the popular items like fries, and the moment it seems that in a few more servings, they’ll be out of it, to already bring a new batch. 

 

The last “straw” was potato salad. With no fries available, I’ve tried my luck with the 2^nd best… Long line, since the potato salad is with the “made to order sandwiches” and it takes time. I’m getting the last batch. Yay!! Sit down to eat, the potatoes are undercooked…

I calm myself, and go back for another batch. Same “quality”. Ask a waiter to call someone “higher”. A nice and seemingly harassed lady arrives. Stoked her fork too. “Yep!!, not cooked at all”… 

 

“What’s you room number”?? That was the "standard procedure". Can’t figure it out what my room # has to do with the undercooked potatoes, overmature fruits, not properly unfrozen fish, etc.

 

It’s not that someone called and apologized or explained. 

 

To sum it up, on previous cruises, at dinner you saw lots and lots of officers eating at the OVC. There were always stir fry stations, pasta stations, grill stations with every imaginable meat or fish being done on the spot. 

There were officers patrolling the buffet and keeping eye on everything. If a tray was about to be 2/3 finished, immediately a fresh one was brought, so there will be no delay and waiting. 

 

Not on Beyond. Not even one. 

 

DH, ever the cynic, predicted that in the last day, Celebrity will pull all stops and gave us a meal to remember. He was right… In the last day lunch there was a “buffet extravaganza”….

Things are very different after Covid. ….surely you must know this I suggest you travel Oceania for the food and itineraries. You will pay for it but your expectations might be netter served.

7 hours ago, RTR 21-0 said:

Same with our flight to Rome next year.  Originally booked with Celebrity but some legs were with British Air which I wasn’t a fan.  Booked a refundable direct with AA and was cheaper.  I checked with  FBC and they could get the same flights (not through BA) but cost was more and non refundable).  

Forgot to add: got my seats asap, refundable ticket, no change fees, and I also bought insurance this time.

I booked Delta RT LA to Sydney next March. Direct flights. Paid in full Premium Economy.

same flights through Celebrity air and same costs. Prefer my direct with Delta.

On 6/15/2022 at 11:40 AM, RTR 21-0 said:

Thanks for those explanations.  Makes more sense to me now.  I would really like the option to choose our own seats and last time I booked with FBC I knew there was a possibility the seats chosen wouldn't be the exact ones until final payment.  American's prices currently are pretty close to what FBC is offering and I don't mind paying flight upfront for a refundable ticket.  That being said, how far in advance do y'all book international flights for premium economy?  I've heard prices are expected to skyrocket even more in the near future.  Our cruise is next May.  

I booked and paid in full for 2 premium economy seats on Delta RT LA to Sydney March 2023.  Got my seats…direct flights. Bought insurance.Also flying in 2 days before cruise. Not cheap but happy I did it. 

2 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

How do you feel about smoking indoors?  celebrity is all completely indoor smoke free, Princess isn’t as I recall

I have been on Discovery. Lovely ship. Would definitely go. Smoking only somewhat noticeable in casino slots. Food Varies. No problem finding adequate food. I have always thought Celebrity a cut above Princess but have enjoyed Discovery & Majestic out of West Coast post Covid.

14 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

Oh decisions decisions.  What to do what to do?

11 hours ago, lovecruzin said:

Thanks for the clarification. 

Keep your C3, unless you want to entertain in your cabin…..

or have money to throw away.

On 6/14/2022 at 5:33 PM, D. B. said:

We did a bid up to Aqua class to try Blu and would never do that again.

After finding the menu items less than appealing we went to the MDR and they told us we could order from the MDR menu In Blu. We ended up doing that A lot.

the low ceilings in Blu amplified the crowd noise and we felt confined so while I’m glad we tried it I would never pay to upgrade from a regular balcony cabin to Aqua again.

to each his ( or her) own..

 

Agreed. Sailed Aqua once on Med cruise. Overrated…..had much more fun with interesting people in MDR and the food in Blu was so so

Used Princess Plus twice now. Had no problem ordering grey goose martini, Negroni, crown Royal Manhattan. They fit in under $12.

Facebook Princess Forum. So many furious posts about Crown in Alaska this month, cancelled ports, et al. People saying Crown should not have sailed until mechanical issues fixed. …..serious downers.

Mike’s posts adding perspective, thank goodness. The plumbing issues with thoughtless, ignorant passengers would make me furious.
 

It is always interesting to me how many people beat the system this way.

It did pay to take the time to stand at CS and ask for an upgrade for many when ship less full. Somehow, we were/are not interested in doing this scrabble. Prefer to secure cabin precruise and pay for it.

1 hour ago, Cuedon said:

Interesting-- my offer didn't include Tahiti as an option that I noticed; what category was it under? I ended up booking a 20d Carib Explorer and a 20d Central/MexRiv.

 

My third pick was a Hawaii that one of my family hadn't been on yet, but for some reason, the Oct 4(?) on the Sapphire was showing up as unavailable according to the rep, despite it showing up as one of the ones that were valid via the link and in the fine print.

That cruise is sold out. I had no idea those offers would apply to 15-30 day cruises to places like Hawaii or overseas. I have an offer but have not followed up because I, too, only want to go out of LA for now.

On 5/6/2022 at 8:55 PM, Happiest when cruising said:

 

If people want to use different toilet paper, they need to dispose of it responsibly. If anyone asked their room steward what to do with it, that’s what they would tell the guest to do with it. 

Anyone knows that putting Kleenex in toilets clogs them up & causes plumbing problems. We were in minisuite & tp holder right there. I used the thin paper: it did not kill me for 7 days. Maybe I will bring my own roll of tp which still will be fine to flush as it is tp, not Kleenex. If you cannot reach holder, do what another poster said: take it out & put on counter. Really, how hard is this !