Cookiegirl1329

An update to my earlier post.   I emailed our agent at the large agency we are all talking about.  I asked her to check our fares because of the sale and she just called me to tell me our fare was lowered by $700.  So, i am glad that she responded so quickly and VERY happy about the savings.

On 9/23/2021 at 11:24 AM, cruiserhal said:

Just as a follow-up on the 3 to 5 day agency.

 

I tried to direct dial the agent there who did all our bookings before Covid.

 

Guess what!   They changed all the extension numbers and provide no way  to get the new number.  Still can't talk to a human and all emails are ignored.

 

And like some others above, we are missing out on the 20% sale.   Celebrity is no help, we called but was told you must talk to your TA.    I want to try and cancel both our Cruises but DW says no and anyway I don't know who to call.    Venting over for now.

Add another unhappy customer to the same agency.   Can’t reach our agent because phone number has changed.   Must email and hope for a response.   Very frustrating since we have worked with them for years.  Never again!   I’d give up the OBC  to have control of my reservation.

We used Tours by Locals in St Petersburg.  Svetlana was our guide and Vlad our driver.  We were a group of 4 and were able to customize our tour to meet our needs and desires.  We saw everything the larger tours did but were able to add Jewish elements to the tour.  She also took us to two fabulous restaurants for lunch.  The two days with Svetlana were the best tour we have ever taken.  We have used Tours by Locals in many cities and never been disappointed.  They are more expensive because of the small group size, but so worth it!!

7 hours ago, Silvery Seas Cruiser said:

There are so many favorites of mine, but I'll mention the Colombian man who has been on more than a few cruises we were on. 

He serves coffee and pastries in the morning in the buffet. He is so funny as he circulates among the tables calling out, "Happy, happy morning. Happy, happy coffee!" He gets to know the regular folks and remembers their preferences. He is always funny and pleasant. My sister and I would be there together and he always called us Sisters. We are very pleased when we are on a Celebrity ship and hear him calling out in the morning, "Happy, happy coffee!"

We have sailed with Happy Happy several times.  He is from Cartagena and we have enjoyed getting to know him.   

We are booked on the Edge in October for a B2B .. the Adriatic and transatlantic.  Hubby is 73 and I am 72.  I have a compromised immune system and other health issues.  He has his issues too.  All of our excursions are booked and I was ready to book air when this all started. Have put air on hold.  In some ways I think it is harder to make a decision because we do have time before final payment is due.  If we were sailing this spring we would have already cancelled.  Additionally, suffer from silent reflux which causes me to cough.   So far, medication has not made the cough go away.  I carry a letter from my physician which says I am being treated for a chronic cough,  but I doubt that would be helpful in the current situation.  I see the looks people give me when I cough.  Even my friends are nervous being around me.

Last week my travel agent suggested we wait a bit but that was before new Celebrity policy was announced.  I am really torn.   Cruise is months away, but I still wonder if we should cancel and take the refund.  Would lose our insurance costs probably but we would have peace of mind.  Any thoughts?

Our travel agent has suggested cabin 7247 on the Edge.  We were ready to book it until I saw the authorization form which says it is obstructed.  He says it is next to the bump out.  We can see directly out and look down the one side.  On the other side we would see the balcony wall.  Is that a problem?  Has anyone been in this cabin or one like it?  Thanks in advance.

If points are important to you, I would do it.   Changing cabins is nothing!  Your cabin steward moves everything on hangars.  I think once you become elite on Celebrity you become Diamond on Royal.  Your points on Celebrity go on your Celebrity account.

We are booked on the Silhouette next June from Southampton. Hubby has been to London before (many years ago - before me), but I have never been. We are planning to stay in London before the cruise. Have a list going for what we want to see but am having trouble deciding on how many days we need. We are early 70’s and can’t do the really long days we did years ago. Suggestions?

Lawn Club Grill is fabulous!

Princess may be a good option if you are abandoning Celebrity. We found the food and dining room service was better, however the Anytime Dining management was atrocious. Less perks on Princess and the balcony rooms are smaller, with a chair instead of a sofa. The beds were excellent, but the bathroom was smaller and a not very good shower. This was the Island Princess, an older ship than S-class Celebrity. The library on Princess was much better than the poor libraries than Celebrity offers. The entertainment was about the same. The specialty restaurants are less expensive that Celebrity’s but we did not find a specialty restaurant that came close to Celebrity’s Murano.

 

If you find a good itinerary on Princess at a good price,take it.

After our first and last Princess cruise this summer on the Island Princess I would not give up my Celebrity cruises. I have to agree with everything you said, but I would go even further. The buffet was worse than a cheap cafeteria. In the dining room I had to ask at least 3 times to get an ice tea with dinner. Service was definitely not we see on Celebrity. I found the specialty restaurant way below Celebrity. Definitely agree with cabin and bathroom assessment. Shower was awful!!

We will finally be Elite on Celebrity after our next cruise. Yeah!! Noticed that above post about points was over a year old. Has policy changed at all. We are particularly interested in cruising to Venice since Solstice class ships on Celebrity don’t.

We are Concierge for our next cruise... Why? The extra 2 points a day will make us Elite at the end of the cruise. Will definitely go back to balcony afterwards unless price difference is small enough to make concierge worthwhile.

Packing today for the same cruise... we leave for our land part on Wednesday. I’m packing lots of layers, but am still questioning what to pack. See you on board.

We are a small group and have ONE day in Anchorage before our cruise. What is a must see or do? This is our first trip to Alaska and w are really struggling with finding and booking excursions for the land portion of our Princess cruise. We would appreciate any and all suggestions.

We are booked on an Alaska cruise early July. Several members of our group have never gone whale watching. Suggestions as to best place to book and companies you may have used.

Same story as above... when I finally managed to get someone on the phone they couldn't find any of the excursions I asked about included in the "sale". Of course, the premium non-alcoholic package isn't included either.

Then, when I tried to go on line I couldn't get in. So frustrating!

Trying to review/book shore excursions through cruise planner. When switching from one port day to another, the system invariably locks up ("loading" spins for a couple of minutes). When I try to stop it in any way, I get a message stating that, "for privacy reasons," the system will lock me out for 20 minutes. This is about the 20th time this has happened in the last couple of months.

 

I'm a huge fan of security and privacy, BUT . . . when your system doesn't work well, locking out people who want to pay you money to book stuff doesn't seem to be very good customer service. Yes, I can go back in 20 minutes and start over. But after going through this (literally) 20 times, it's getting old.

I feel for you. Just spent a very long time trying to do the same thing. So frustrating! Then I tried to order luggage tags. Finally gave up and called Captains Club.

Thanks. Boarding Friday also!

We lived in Columbia, MD for over 20 years. Raised our family there before moving to the eastern shore. Now we are retired and enjoying life in beautiful Hilton Head. We are in cabin 8262. Hope to connect with you while on the cruise.

Joan

We will see you all on Friday too!

Thank you so much for posting. We sail May 22nd. We are in CC for the first time. Looking forward to it. I, too, am interested in beach weather. Would appreciate any info you can share.

After looking at the park, stay, and cruise at Embassy Suites in Elizabeth ($249 + transportation to the pier) I booked Embassy Suites in Piscataway for $130, and will drive to the pier and park there. It is actually cheaper than staying in Elizabeth, and according to the hotel about 25 miles. We are coming from Virginia so it won't involve extra driving. We are sailing on May 22 so fortunately we will not be dealing with commuter traffic.

We are on the May 22nd cruise, and I appreciate suggestions about things to do in Bermuda. While I love the beach, hubby doesn't, so any and all suggestions are welcome. It has been many years since we visited Bermuda, and we stayed in Hamilton so this trip is very different.

Looking forward to a great vacation.

Just returned from the Silhouette Sept 15th cruise. We truly enjoyed the mimosa at embarkation (sure made you feel special), and as hot as we were after long days at shore the cold towels and cold drinks were a nice touch when we returned to the ship. Each time we were made to feel special and truly felt "welcomed home" when we were greeted by ship's crew.