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dani negreanu

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Posts posted by dani negreanu

    Advice please - moved to different cabin

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    To the OP - I've also been following this thread with great sympathy and I think that X could have alerted the "new"occupants that actually the cabin they've just booked was not available by I glitch in their IT, give them a small OBC or let them cancel - swift and short. As it is, X has invested a lot of "work" hours into this situation and it is steadly deteriorating.

    I'm also not sure if X "invested" any thoughts in explaining the "new" occupants the "history/circumstances" of the "old" booking :confused:

    I'd like to tell a short story ... Last year for our Alaska cruise I've "met" on the roll call 3 couples who where always cruising together. They graciously added us to their already booked "bear watching" trip. When boarding the 8 places van, we politely allowed the other couples to go first, and ended up on the bench behind the driver. After a 5 min drive from the pier to the office to settle the cash payment, we left our belongings in the van. One of the husbands approached us and asked: "would u do me a great favor and allow us to sit behind the driver?? My wife has bad hearing and so she can hear the driver"?"

    Of course we said yes and went to sit on the last bench, with the sun behind us. It was the least comfortable bench, the van didn't have air con, it was a very hot day (27 Celsius) and a trip due to last 4-5 hours lasted 8 hours, because the bears preferred to remain in their "air con hiding" and didn't venture outside:D We drove and drove around for hours - no bears....

    It was our worst shore trip ever and very frustating, at the end of the car we felt every bump on the already bad roads....

    BUT, the couple were so grateful to us for letting them switch places, it was WORTH it.

    Galapagos Review

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Anyone have any clues as to what the release price might be for the cruise with MP post trip? For August or Sept 2017? 2016 price for this trip is around $10500.00.

     

    2 years ago the difference between the 10 day versus the MP add on was 3.500$ pp (I paid for the cheapest cabin 4500$ pp and the add on was 8000$ pp), so take into account 3500-4000$.

    People I've kept in touch who have done the MP via X had said it was hassle free, but SHORT :mad:, everyone would've prefered a longer stay.

    Just got a "resident rate" & I'm an....Israeli citizen

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    [COLOR="Purple"][SIZE="3"][FONT="Century Gothic"]Thanks, Arizona.
    I was sure it applied to US residents only.
    I'll try again, may be now I'll get another version of the rate, with the correct taxes too....
    [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

    [COLOR="Green"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="5"]And Curt, my apologies for mispelling your name. BTW, how was your last minute inside GTY Summit to Bermuda ??[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR]

    Just got a "resident rate" & I'm an....Israeli citizen

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Thanks, Kurt.
    Both DH and I r "residents" of the state of Israel. We can qualify only for "senior" rate ...
    What I don't understand is - the moment I enter the X website, they "recognize" me as being from Israel. How can they even offer me a "resident" rate ?? But, since the taxes on this particular cruise I have my eyes set on r also "off", I imagine is one of their famous website glitches ...

    Just got a "resident rate" & I'm an....Israeli citizen

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    [SIZE="3"][COLOR="Purple"]The X online booking never ceases to amaze!!
    I'm "monitoring" an European cruise for the next year, checking the same cabin # (1C, 4125$ + 118.95 taxes pp.) The rate is identical in several online TA, as in X site - the "perks" differ...
    Just got a mail from X with Captain's Club "savings certificate". Went to check, though I knew the "perks"and CC r not combinable... Put in my CC #, checked the +55 box and got - "you're eligible to 'resident' rate - 375$ pp"!!
    Nice, isn't it?
    BUT, the taxes somehow were 216$ pp, and how I'm going to prove my non-existing "residency" ???
    I red in this forum about being "on hold" with X for hours, and since I can't phone toll free from Israel, I'm not going to spend a fortune to solve the resident/taxes conundrum by phone...
    Do X have also representatives who answer e-mails ???[/COLOR][/SIZE]

    Xpedition Gty?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Did any of you arrive in Baltra on your own? I know it is uncommon but it's what we are going to do. Curious about the time we need to arrive (we are flying in the day before) and the time of disembarkation.

     

    You'll find very useful info in those sites [and also on TripAdvisor "Galapagos Islands" forum, there is a trip report of someone who arrived independently to Baltra]. "Sealord", who is the unofficial host, has made the math for all of us, and, in the end, u r not saving much by arriving independently to Baltra, but u r saving lots of hassle and stress. Don't forget that the flight from Quito to Baltra is included in the 10-day package. Believe me, arriving from Israel, I made my "PhD" on how to save every penny. I even booked a cheaper hotel for the Thursday night, not staying at the Marriott because it was not included in the package. Another advice: arrive at least 2 days early prior to the cruise, u'll need to be fit and rested for such a "summer adult camp".

     

    http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43353240#post43353240

     

    http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=32175863#post32175863

    Lane swimming in the Solarium - Solstice

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    I'd like to "repeat" myself: at 7AM sharp I was at the Solarium and had the pool to myself (5 days out of 7) until 45 min later. I swam "diagonally" to "prolong" the "lap".

    2 days a man appeared after a couple of min and I stopped and asked him if he doesn't mind swimming only on one side. He was thrilled with the "arrangement", but got out way before me. One day, when both were swimming, another lady appeared and took the middle "lane" and kept to it. She also swam only 10-15 min.

    3 people doing "laps" at the same time was the max, and at this early hour it happened only once.

    Of course I wouldn't dream of doing "laps" when other people wanted to use to pool to relax and chat.

    The first day I've tried the openning hour (7AM) and it worked for me.:)

    Has anyone else never done this?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    YES, after spending 2 hr the first day of the cruise for a mediocre dinner. We tried the buffet for 2 consecutive evenings, found sushi and pasta, and would have continued to do so (even if we found the "ambiance" a bit dark/canteen like in the evening). On the 4th day I met by chance the MDR hostess who gave us the first table. She remembered me (I spoke Rumanian with her :)), and asked why we stopped arriving. Told her the food and the service were not up to par. She said "today is lobster day and I'll sit u at another table". The lobster was so-so, but the service was way better, and we didn't go back to the buffet for the rest of the cruise.

    Curious - how do you decide where you go next?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    I was always self-employed and DH had 5-6 weeks of paid vacation per year, so we took long land vacations, and we have Europe more or less covered, including St. Petersburg Hermitage :)

    But, even if DH likes to drive, I tired of packing and unpacking everyday, and, since we didn't like to plan ahead and "played by the ear", to start looking for a suitable accomodation in the early afternoon.

    5 years ago I found the "solution" - cruising. Flying out of Israel is expensive and loooong, so I choose very carefully the itinerary (and THEN the ship - if the itineraries are similar, I choose the ship with the highest level of satisfaction from CC).

    I wanted to "sample" the Caribbean and DH the Panama Canal - check.

    I wanted Galapagos - DH said "no way I'll travel half a world to see some turtles..." My dear cousin went with me...

    Norwegian Fjords (amazing) - check.

    Alaska - check.

    Some Greek islands - check, with Equinox to booth.

    Next ? Thinking of the Canarian Islands with Lisbon included.

    I'd like very much to see Hawai, S. Africa, Australia and N.Z. - only by cruising, but thinking of the looong flights to just get there, don't know if it's going to happen :mad:

    Lane swimming in the Solarium - Solstice

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    I'm swimming daily in the Olympic heated pool in my neighbourhood, and I managed to do quite good laps on the Equinox, every morning around 7 before b'fast. There were days when another person joined me, and I asked them to "split" the pool, I on the left/right side and they on another. 2 days I had a 3rd person joining us, who went in the "middle", but I was always the one who swam 40 min. If it's your daily routine, it could be done :)

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