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MarKay525

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Posts posted by MarKay525

  1. 1 hour ago, spearmint said:

    <snip>  I waited until it was available, and had the latest Covid shot two days ago plus a flu shot, and one of my friends will have hers on Nov. 2.  Just in case, I printed a copy of the injection, but do I need to take any proof of medical stuff like that?  <snip>

    Bill

    Not sure if any countries are still requiring proof of vaccination - where are you sailing? 

     

    Has your TA contacted Celebrity to see if she/he can change you to select dining?

  2. Hi - health questionnaire is done within 24 hours of departure. Can also be done in the terminal during check-in. 

     

    Photos can also be taken at the terminal - takes 3 seconds and you don't have to figure out how to upload it!

     

    Once onboard you can go straight to your stateroom, drop luggage off & put things in the safe. You can do this even if there is a sign from your stateroom attendant stating the room is not ready. Just drop things off and leave. (We put hand luggage in closet so it is out of the way if room is not ready.) 

     

    Sea pass will be available whether room is ready or not.

     

    Enjoy your cruise!

  3. Hi - on Sunday, Oct 29 DH & I need to get from the Marriott at Newark Airport to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. We need to arrive at the terminal at 1:30 pm.

     

    Which would be a better choice:

     

    Pre-arrange pickup from Carmel Car & Limo 

     

    Arrange an Uber Black the morning of the 29th (unable to pre-arrange right now - don't use Uber enough to know if I will be able to pre-arrange closer to the actual date.)

     

    For an added cost, would either of these give us a "45 minute tour" of Manhattan on the way to the terminal?

     

    Thanks so much - Kay

  4. 3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

     

    I have to say that my downfall is Ice Cream and Gelato.   While  I don't drink I love the smell of Ameretto I could just sit there and sniff it for hours... LOL.....

    Hi Jim. Enjoying following along, as always.

     

    Mark just had Amaretto flavored ice cream last night at a small shop in Nags Head, NC. Delicious - best of both worlds and no alcohol.

    Kay

  5. How do you plan to get from the cruise port to the airport? 

     

    May not be relevant if you are able to walk off the ship early with your luggage in hand, but when we sailed into Seattle in May, once we had our luggage, the line for the cabs was at least 100 people deep (and the walk to the cab area was 5-7 minutes from the terminal) and the wait for an Uber was 45 minutes.

     

    YMMV with an early disembarkation, but we were very glad we had an afternoon flight.

     

    Do you want your lovely first cruise experience to end with stress hoping you make it to the airport on time if anything "goes wrong" ?

    • Thanks 1
  6. Hi - we've been to Le Petite Chef several times on various ships and were given the option of ordering off the "regular" menu or the alternate menu with no restrictions. (Menus are printed on opposite sides of the same piece of paper.) As CruiserByHeart said, if you order off the alternate menu, your food will not match the video image when the dish is set in front of you.

     

    If you have special dietary restrictions, then that is a different issue.

     

  7. 16 hours ago, deseylou said:

    I can’t believe this has dropped to page 3.

    I’m impatiently waiting for the rest of the trip and the cabin review.

    IMHO - Charla was unbelievable generous in sharing her precious time with Mini-Me to bring us along on her cruise. She is back at work now and taking care of her family & farm animals. I know she will return to finish sharing as her time allows.

     

    Patience is a virtue.

    Kay

    • Like 7
  8. Welcome to Cruise Critic!

     

    broadwaybaby123 has a great list (post #28), but not all of it applies to Celebrity.

     

    #5 - I've never had to show anyone my phone to prove I've watched the muster information. In fact, you can watch it on the TV in your stateroom once you are onboard.

     

    #8 - Reservations for the shows are not needed on Celebrity - just go to the theatre. (However, if you are in a suite, there will be a reserved area for suite passengers on Chic Nights.)

     

    #9 - Celebrity does not have Freestyle machines or reusable cups. There are free fountain beverages available in the buffet.

     

    #10 - On Celebrity, you can usually go directly to your stateroom as soon as you are onboard. Your Sea Pass/Room Key will be there. You can drop off your carry-on luggage and lock valuables in the safe before going to your muster station.

     

    When you get onboard, stop at the excursions desk to see if "ship tours" are being offered. It's just a walk around the public areas (free) done before Sail-Away, but it's a way to get somewhat oriented to the layout of the ship. DH and I did it on a cruise recently, despite the fact that we've sailed Celebrity a dozen times and had been on that particular ship multiple times, we still enjoyed the excitement shared by fellow passengers on their first Celebrity cruise.

     

    Then check out the rest of the ship and enjoying a Sail-Away drink.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 2
  9. Hi - we're considering a Princess cruise next year and I was just researching Reserve mini-suite vs Full suite (Penthouse) this morning.

     

    Princess now has two categories of mini-suites. From what I understand, guests in the Reserve (formerly Club Class) mini-suites can eat in the same dining area as the full suite guests.

     

     

    Reserve Mini-suites perks and FAQs:

    https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/reserve-collection/reserve-collection-flyer-faq.pdf

    https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/reserve-collection/reserve-collection-flyer-faq.pdf

     

    Full suite perks:

    https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/ships/PrincessSuite_eFlyer.pdf

    https://www.princess.com/learn/ships/staterooms/suites/

     

     

    • Thanks 1
  10. 20 hours ago, RichYak said:

    The luggage porters have tags

    20 hours ago, Mark_K said:

    There will a station for picking up and filling out blank luggage tags.

     

    We cruised out of Vancouver in early May and were very glad we had printed our luggage tags in advance, as the line for "non pre-tagged" people was very long.

    If there was a station to fill out the tags on-site, we never saw it.

     

    Any directional signage for luggage drop-off was nonexistent - thankfully we asked a knowledgeable person who told us we didn't have to wait in the long line since we were pre-tagged, just go directly to the porters (then they pointed us in the correct direction).

     

    There was one other ship sailing out on the same day [Royal Princess] and the luggage drop-off area was total chaos. (We arrived just before noon.) Perhaps the disorder was because we were one of the early sailings out of Vancouver this season, and maybe they've since gotten their act together.

    Once the luggage was dropped off, it took us about 1 hour to go through check-in and get onboard.

     

    YMMV

     

    Enjoy your cruise!

    • Like 1
  11. 3 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

    Great photos and commentary @TraderSam.  I am hopeful that your next postings will include a ride on the Rocky Mountaineer train to Vancouver, then boarding your ship to Alaska.  That's my idea of a great vacation in Canada and Alaska.

    Traveling Man - we just did that in April/May. 9 night Alaska cruise on Solstice, Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Banff and a lot of sightseeing along the way before flying home from Calgary.

     

    TraderSam - thank you so much for posting. We were in Banff for 4 days last month - one of the most beautiful, quaint places I've ever visited. We're not hikers, so really appreciate your photos. Smoke from the Alberta fires made for very limited visibility when we went up on the gondola, but we still really enjoyed it. Got to see a wedding when we were up there as well - obviously a popular spot for nuptials. Looking forward to more posts.

    • Like 1
  12. I went to the Celebrity website and started a mock booking for the cruise. Found two places on the Celebrity website that had info.

    If you are asking what actual time you will be able to disembark at each port, that depends on how long clearance takes and how long the lines are for the tenders.

     

    This information is from View Ports and Map:

     

    14 Nights
    Patagonia & Argentina Holiday
    Onboard CELEBRITY ECLIPSE

     

     

    Day 1, Sat, Dec 23, 2023

    VALPARAISO, CHILE
    Departs: 6:00PM

     

     

    Day 2, Sun, Dec 24, 2023

    AT SEA

     

     

    Day 3, Mon, Dec 25, 2023

    AT SEA

     

     

    Day 4, Tue, Dec 26, 2023

    PUERTO MONTT, CHILE
    Tendered: 8:00AM to 6:00PM

     

     

    Day 5, Wed, Dec 27, 2023

    CHILEAN FJORDS

     

     

    Day 6, Thu, Dec 28, 2023

    STRAIT OF MAGELLAN

     

     

    Day 7, Fri, Dec 29, 2023

    PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE
    Tendered: 7:00AM to 5:00PM

     

     

    Day 8, Sat, Dec 30, 2023

    USHUAIA, ARGENTINA
    Tendered: 10:00AM to 7:00PM

     

     

    Day 9, Sun, Dec 31, 2023

    CAPE HORN, CHILE

     

     

    Day 10, Mon, Jan 1, 2024

    AT SEA

     

     

    Day 11, Tue, Jan 2, 2024

    PUERTO MADRYN, ARGENTINA
    Docked: 8:00AM to 5:00PM

     

     

    Day 12, Wed, Jan 3, 2024

    AT SEA

     

     

    Day 13, Thu, Jan 4, 2024

    PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY
    Tendered: 7:00AM to 4:00PM

     

     

    Day 14, Fri, Jan 5, 2024

    BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
    Arrival: 8:00AM

     

     

    Day 15, Sat, Jan 6, 2024

    BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

     

     

    This page has more detailed information. Scroll down to Cruise Itinerary. (I am an old fart using a PC. Have no idea how this might show up on a phone.)

     

    https://www.celebritycruises.com/itinerary-details/14-night-patagonia-and-argentina-holiday-from-valparaiso-chile?packageID=EC14F106&sDT=2023-12-23&cCD=CO

  13. 1 hour ago, omeinv said:

     (20 items on certain water restricted cruises - Alaska cruises).

     

    Harris

    Denver, CO

    We were just able to do 30 pieces each on our 9 night Alaska cruise two weeks ago. YMMV

  14. Our experience:

    30 items don't all have to fit into one cloth bag. They can be split between multiple bags. Fill out a form for each bag and write 1 of 2 and 2 of 2 on form with a total of 30 items. I tied the two bags together just to be safe.

    (Our stateroom attendant didn't believe we could use more than one bag, so I got it in writing from the Capt. Club hostess.)

    Only time I've gotten clothes back on hangers was when we had them pressed. Everything has just been neatly folded.

    We put darks and lights in same bag at times and have never had a color bleed issue-we don't send  "new" clothes however.

     

    Safe travels. (I'm jealous of your B2B.)

    • Thanks 1
  15. On 4/16/2023 at 10:07 PM, Prost Seattle said:

    I’m a flight attendant, 33 years here.

     

    Don’t do it.  

     

    There are so many things that can go wrong, mechanical (no there aren’t just spare planes sitting around to swap), there currently is a shortage of pilots for the smaller planes and a few weeks or days before flying the schedule can be thinned, and the first to go are the smaller planes on shorter routes.

     

    I don’t want your vacation ruined by the airlines.  This isn’t the year to take that gamble. 

    Confused - don't do what - fly from Seattle to Vancouver?

     

    Based on the great feedback here, we've already decided we won't use Port Valet and will arrive at least 3 hours before our 2:45 pm flight.

  16. 1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

    <snip>

    So far I've also been underwhelmed with the Retreat Hosts -  Most hosts walk around and act like a host.    I think we have only spoken to them once and we are on day 3.   They have a tendency to all 3 standing around together at the podium.   Last night just as we arrived all 4 of them walked out at the same time at 7:30 and didn't come back until 8:00PM.    Really not complaining but just not the inviting feel we have had on other ships.   Maybe it's an E-Class thing.   Or maybe an Apex E-Class thing. <snip>

    We had a similar experience on the Apex last December. Three guests standing in front of the podium and the Retreat Host on duty did not even look up to acknowledge our existence. I realize she was busy with something, but to not even acknowledge us....

    I finally gave up and left.

    I mentioned it the next day to another of the Hosts who had been really helpful on our first day - just suggested she mention to her co-worker that an "I'll be with you in a moment" would be nice. I did receive a phone call from the non-attentive Host who apologized several times.

    • Like 1
  17. 1 hour ago, abbydancer said:

    Just curious - since I think you were in paid first/business, do you get anything back?  Or since it was your choice, nada.

    Recently flew on American and due to a series of major screw ups on my part, we were in coach rather than the first class seats we had paid for. American reimbursed us the difference in the fares, which I really appreciated since I flubbed up.

    So hopefully same will occur with Jim & Iain.

    • Like 1
  18. 1 hour ago, GranysT said:

    I have booked my 1st Celebrity cruise for this September. I've been on 41 cruises, so not new to cruising. However they have all been with Carnival, and Royal Caribbean. Can anyone tell me how a Celebrity cruise is different? I will be on Equinox. 

    How do people dress on elegant night? people have gotten pretty lax on the other lines. I still dress nicely, but no longer in gowns, is that ok?

    Any tips or help is appreciated..

    While you may see a few ladies in long gowns on the Chic nights, you'll see more in cocktail dresses, simple summer dresses, nice slacks and tops or designer jeans and tops. You'll probably even see nice capris & tops.

    Dress code says no shorts at dinner. Chic night is not "observed" in Blu (Aqua dining room), Luminae (Suite dining room) or in the specialty restaurants. Just need "country club casual" or Smart casual in these dining areas.

    Enjoy your first Celebrity cruise - we like Equinox.

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