karelet

57 minutes ago, glmacruise said:

I actually called in the other day to ask about this. Like someone said it’s arranged on board.

What are your thoughts then about pre-booking?

45 minutes ago, EMc&DrS said:

I tried to book this on Edge.  It tells me to "select a date below," but there is nothing to select.  When I click "next," it tells me that it's not available for the date I selected. Does this mean that there are no more spots available?

In the past, we have always booked these on-board. As others have said, I suspect if you pre-book that you are just buying a "place holder", and the date/dates will be announced on-board. We personally have never seen one organized the first night, as things are pretty disorganized, they like to send out invitations, give clothing/meeting instructions, etc., but I would be interested if anyone can confirm this.

Hi,

I'm on our cruise planner looking at dining reservations for an upcoming cruise and notice if you try and make a reservation for the Chef's Table, the only date available is the first night. Is this because they don't have the exact date scheduled? Is it best to book the Day 1 date and then change it after boarding? We want to make sure we get a reservation, but prefer a sea day.

Thanks!

I just ran across an RCI document talking about a variety of dining package options. One was a "Celebration Dining Deal" that offered a $30 beverage credit if you reserved a table for 4 at a specialty restaurant the first or second night of your cruise.

Does anyone know if this deal still exists, and if there are any other dining deals, in particular for the Chef's Table. Will crew members be offering discounts for various dining venues during the cruise (Transatlantic on Vision)? And what is the current cost for the Chef's Table?

Thanks!:)

I am looking at booking Choice Air from Madrid to Sacramento in May. CA is roughly $500 one way. Travelocity shows the same flights for $2200. We usually use CA from Europe but book domestic with Southwest. We have also had no problem upgrading with the airline for a fee for the premium seats once we have booked thru CA.

I was in the tub with the jacuzzi jets running. There was a loud BAM and the water immediately drained out of the tub to jet level. I think I was in shock. Didn't know what to touch or not touch, there was water all over the floor with unidentifiable stuff floating in it and my husband was on the balcony. He finally heard me and I was able to get out to the hallway carpet and we damned the doorway so water wouldn't get out. The front office, plumber and steward all came. Come to find out the next day, the hose had broken off the jacuzzi motor. The water also seeped down the wall and pooled at the balcony door and into the neighboring room as well. Days of drying machines, sucking machines and they cleaned the carpet when we disembarked. They gave us $150 and a bottle of wine.

Just some tid bits:

The HOHO bus the ship informs you about in Homer is $15 and has 4 stops. There is another local HOHO bus that stops at the same place on the spit. It is $12 and has a lot more stops. We have stayed in Homer before so we stayed on the spit and had the best Halibut lunch at Capt Pattys. Some friends had fish tacos at Mermaids and said they were excellent. We also went behind some buildings and watched them bring in the commercial fishing catch off these large refrigerated boats.

Diane Fast is a very talented entertainer and a nice person to boot. We were at the piano bar most every night. She is going back to school to become a teacher. She told us she'd be getting off the ship on the 24th.

In Ketchikan we took the local bus out to the Totem poles for $2 all day ride. Be sure and ask for the Senior Rate and have cash available.

We went on a ship tour in Kodiak as our flight for bear viewing was cancelled due to weather. You could really do this on your own as everything is close by. We went to the Monk's Cup and had borscht, Russian tea cakes and perogies. The highlight was when the staff came out at noon and started singing acapella!! Fantastic. Enjoy your cruise.

I'm working on the composition of a letter to the HAL Head Office. I'd be happy with FCC. We were also without water prior to this incident on 3 occasions. Like for hours at a time. One outage of 3 hrs was announced but the 2 others weren't. It's kinda bad when you go to the Front Office and everyone knows you.

Just an update as we disembarked the Statendam in Seattle on Monday. Another dive team inspected the ship in Homer. We were never really updated on what exactly was the problem. However, when we were in Tracy Arm at the Sawyer Glacier we noticed the infamous "sheen" in the water. There were a lot of boats/ships out there, though. So we missed Icy Straight, Glacier Bay and Anchorage but were given what we thought to be generous compensation. We rented a car in Seward, did downtown and the Marine Life Center, had lunch on the Marina, drove out to Moose Pass, stopped at a small salmon hatchery/fish ladder on Bear Creek and hiked out to the edge of Exit Glacier (awesome) and made a stop at Safeway. (Deals on Tshirts) A great day!!

So now ask me about the Jacuzzi tub in our room exploding with me in it.....!!!! :eek:

I'm sorry, but how would a missing person reply to Guest Services???? And there are always the winged out ones who don't follow directions.

I had no OBC of any kind from RCCL or my travel agent.

Find a different Travel Agent. You should always get OBC. The big box store TA may not always have the best overall deals, but always give a good amount of OBC.:)

My wife and I typically cruise Celebrity and have had the shares for about 3 years. We have received about $1900 in OBC over our last 9 cruises, mostly TransAtlantic; and the stock has risen dramatically, so we are very happy cruisers. On our one recent Royal Caribbean TransAtlantic, we were able to combine Shareholder with the Balcony Discount with an "agent" OBC and other perks for almost $1000 in OBC and perks. I think one of the secrets is using the Shareholder benefit in combination with travel agents that give additional "agent" OBC and perks (pre-paid gratuities, dinners, spa, etc.) rather than booking with Celebrity directly (on-board included). My wife and I are shocked at the number of people booking on-board months or years before a future cruise, especially since the on-board benefits have decreased. We suspect they really like booking a specific cabin rather than getting a great deal.

We're all about shopping, waiting, and getting the best deal...:)

That said, wouldn't it be great if there were a 2 for 1 stock split....LOL

While Cafe Al Bacio has already been mentioned for its free sweet treats, I have found that they have delicious breakfast muffins (blueberry, etc.) that are not available elsewhere on the ship. I often stop there and take one to breakfast in the buffet, or to eat with coffee on our balcony.

There is a room on the front of Deck 11 of the S Class ships called the Relaxation Room. It supposedly is reserved for Aqua Class and Spa Guests (although to my knowledge no one ever checks eligibility). It has tea and coffee, and is a wonderful place to read or view the approach to new ports. My wife and I have even gotten up at strange hours to view the passage between close land masses from there. It is absolutely empty at late hours.

We are amused when we see passengers who have accidentally stumbled in trying to decide if they can stay (they usually don't). Give it a try...

Now that the non-secret discussions have died down, I thought I would get back to the main purpose of this thread which is "Secrets".

A secret my wife and I have found is that after departure the various specialty restaurant staff circulate throughout the day trying to drum up business for their restaurants. It is often possible to get 2 for 1 pricing from these folks, or other offering. Due to this, we don't buy the upfront specialty restaurant packages; or perhaps just buy the most limited package if we are on a 2 week cruise.

Hey Alabama Girl, we'll be on that cruise, too. Got on CC for the same reasons.

Karen and John