MarLieb

50 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

I find equally negligent is a company that does not disclose that passengers on board their ships were found out to be COVID positive.   Health authorities from various regions contacted said company and received passenger manifests to try and contact the passengers that may be ill or potentially exposed within their respective regions.

When passenger(s) queried these cases to said company’s employees while on the next sailing [after the one(s) that had confirmed positive cases]; these cases were denied.   It was only when these passengers arrived home, they found there were “several” cases confirmed and they immediately went into self-isolation due to potential exposure.
 

Oh, yes.  Totally agree - that's terrible.  We have a NRD on a December Summit cruise.  I can't even fathom getting on that ship right now or any cruise ship for that matter.  I have no trust in Celebrity anymore.

3 hours ago, rhblake said:

 

 

Please explain how following governmental orders is either negligent or a poor decision? Princess ships were under the control  government entities.

How do feel about the Eclipse having to come back to the US because no other country will allow it to dock?

"After the infection was confirmed, company officials incorrectly assumed that the immediate risk was minimal because the sick passenger had disembarked. Health authorities recommended action immediately. “We advise thorough environmental cleansing and disinfection of the cruise,” Albert Lam, an epidemiologist for the Hong Kong government, wrote to the company on Feb. 2.

The company says it stepped up cleaning the next day. But it initiated only the lowest-level protocols for outbreaks. “There’s no point in going and start cleaning the ship when we really didn’t know what, if any, risk there was onboard,” Dr. Tarling said in an interview."

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/08/world/asia/coronavirus-cruise-ship.html

You really think Princess looks squeaky clean in all of this?  Their brand is certainly tarnished, to say the least.

How do I feel about the ship coming to the US?  Well, they are certainly safer and better off here than in Chile and with all the travel restrictions in place, it's really the only answer to get any US citizens safely on home shores (getting to their actual homes is another matter - with California on lock down, who knows how non-Cali residents or international travelers are getting home).  I don't think it was prudent for any of them to get on the ship to begin with or for any of these cruise lines to continue sailing, but, unfortunately, those passengers were caught on that ship when the cruise lines cancelled everything.  They were scheduled to come back here anyway, so, I'm not really sure what you are asking.  I'm actually glad they didn't dock in Chile.  As a US citizen, I certainly wouldn't want to be stranded there through all of this.    

I'm not blaming Celebrity.  I do think Princess, however, was incredibly negligent in the handling of the Diamond and then the Grand. 

No question for me - cash.

I'm really kicking myself from switching my refundable deposit to non-refundable to "save" $2k.  We don't sail until December 2020, but none of us want to cruise at all anymore.  At least in the near future.  We may just kiss the $1500 deposit goodbye.  There is no way I'm doing PIF on this in September unless things changed very drastically.

9 hours ago, Aussiegrlfl said:

How do Hawaiian cruises get away without stopping in a foreign port?

 

They don't.  Only the NCL Pride of America can do this as it's the only US flagged ship.  Every other cruise line stopping in Hawaii also has to stop at a foreign port.

50 minutes ago, finchy1950 said:

We are booked on the Millennium to cruise from Vancouver BC to Seward, Alaska on June 19th - this will obviously (at this stage) not happen due to the current ban on cruise ships in Vancouver. I was wondering would it be feasible or even possible for "X" change the departure port from Vancouver, Canada to Seattle WA? 

That cruise still has to stop at a foreign port.  Where would you suggest they go?  When we cruised to Alaska out of Seattle, we stopped in Victoria.  That isn't an option now.  I would expect all Alaska cruises to be canceled until Canada reopens their ports.

In Antigua, we hired Antigua VIP Tours privately for our family of 3.  Our guide did an excellent job of showing us the highlights of the island.

There is zero guarantee they will dock at any of the ports listed on the itinerary.  As stated in the Celebrity Cruise Ticket Contract:

We were on the Summit in December and, yes, there is a refrigerator in the Retreat stocked with beverages which you are free to take.

On 2/4/2020 at 12:57 PM, katiegirl1264 said:

Le Petit Chef was a highlight of our trip!!

 

Truly don't think some people get how amazing the technolgy is and that these dining expereinces play around the world for 150/pp. We saw it 2X, Looking forward to next time on Apex!

Yes, we understand how amazing the technology is.  What wasn't amazing was the LPC staff holding the meal for those guests who decided not to heed the request that we all arrive at least 15 minutes early to be seated, thereby stalling the start of the meal by 20 minutes and making the evening even longer for everyone else.  We thought the pacing was horribly slow, food mediocre and, not to post any spoilers, but the ending of each and every vignette was a bit macabre and got really old quickly.  If you don't mind waiting forever and eating mediocre food to admire the technology, then it's probably the right venue for you.  If you are more interested in a finer meal that is paced properly, this is not the place to go.  We see this technology a lot at another vacation destination where we go often and, the other destination does it much, much better.

We just flew from Orlando to San Juan in December for our Summit cruise.  Our flight was delayed about 3 hours due to mechanical issues and all other subsequent flights were booked due to people getting rescheduled onto those flights.  We tried flying stand-by on another flight but couldn't get on, so we just sucked it up and waited.  We eventually did get to San Juan that day - it was the day before the cruise, thank goodness.  There are some nice, fairly inexpensive hotels in San Juan.  I would highly recommend flying in the day before and having a nice, leisurely embarkation day. 

We did it on the Summit in December.  It was so drawn out and the food was not very good (Luminae is SO much better!).  If memory serves, it took about 2 hours.  It was kind of cute, but the novelty wore off really quickly and it was not worth the time invested in any way shape or form.  IMHO, it is definitely not worth missing any musical acts on your cruise to go to LPC.

I would dine in your suite or go to Luminae.  Tuscan Grille is just ok, IMHO and the food at LPC was not good.  The food and service in Luminae is top notch and, as this is the suites-only restaurant, the wait staff will get to know you over the course of the cruise and will treat you like gold.  We loved Luminae so much on our last cruise that we ended up outright canceling our Tuscan Grille reservation.

You will not need a reservation for Luminae.  If you choose to dine there for your anniversary celebration, I would simply alert the maitre d' prior to that evening so they can be prepared to help you celebrate.  If you would like to eat at Tuscan Grille or LPC, you should try to make that reservation prior to embarkation, though your butler can also help you with reservations once you board.

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

If you want (or need) you can pay extra to allow more than one login device.

Yes, this is what we did on our last cruise.  My husband and I had the unlimited internet perk, but my son typically wanted to watch his iPad the same time we were using our phones, so I ended up adding him on to my internet account, which meant we got his unlimited internet at a bit of a discounted price.  

Snorkeling with Woodwind in Bonaire was extraordinary.  Truly the best snorkeling experience we've ever had.   I would go back to Bonaire just to do it again!

5 hours ago, Eglesbrech said:

Are there and advantages to the non returnable deposits (I assume that’s what NRD is) Why have they introduced them?

 

I keep an eye on pricing and try to get the best deal and perks for the grade that I want but after that just go and enjoy the cruise regardless.😀

 

I really do not like non-refundable deposits, but I literally just got off the phone with Celebrity and transferred our refundable deposit booking to a NRD because it saved us $2200 (we have a Celebrity Suite booked over Christmas week), included all 4 perks and we were able to keep the extra OBC credit we received because we originally booked this cruise while onboard the Summit in 2019.  We fully intend to sail on this cruise, so I was willing to roll the dice on the deposit on this one to save $2200!

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Have to agree with you on the Daniel B specialty items with the exception of the Desert.    It is by far my favorite desert.  Pistachio Ice Cream, Meringue and Raspberries.

I should amend my post - I didn't try that dessert!  After the tagine, I gave up on the Daniel Boulud items.  We'll be back on the Summit in December, so I'll give it a try then - thanks for the recommendation!

On 1/20/2020 at 12:52 AM, ozziebound said:

This is all so useful thanks everyone! 

 

We've splurge on a celebrity suite so that we can try the suite perks and also have the kids in the living room and retreat to our bedroom! 

I'm told we'll never be able to go back after we try it! 😉

Adam 

We done two cruises on X with our son, both in suites - we LOVE it!  Luminae is fantastic and the staff there and in the Retreat will treat your children like gold.  There is definitely no going back for us.  

If you are essentially getting free unlimited internet, I would jump on it!

I can't speak to Luminae on the Equinox, but we sailed on the Summit in December 2018 and then the same week in December 2019.  I thought the food in Luminae was far better in 2019 than 2018.  I remembered the food being quite mediocre in 2018, but it was the opposite in 2019.  I literally couldn't believe how good it was for cruise food.  The only things we did not like were the Daniel Boulud items that were offered every night at the bottom of the menu (it was a chicken tagine that didn't taste like a chicken tagine).  Everything else was spectacular.

8 hours ago, ozziebound said:

Thanks for all your responses... 

Anyone know if they cut down the hours of activities if there aren't a lot of kids onboard? 

And are there options for kids to stay late Night at fun factory like on royal? I think celebrity cut out in room babysittng recently right?

Adam

I can't speak to reduced hours as we've only sailed X during Christmas weeks when they are running full force in Fun Factory.  We were just on the Summit over Christmas week 2019 and they did have a "sleep over" after hours option which ran from 10:00 pm - 1:00 am.  If memory serves, it was $8 an hour for those hours.  I think the kids could stay even later, but the per hour price went up again after 1:00 am.  My son is older than your children, but he really enjoyed going to Fun Factory.  They always had a lot of activities going on and would even bring them to Oceanview for things like cookie decorating and the Solarium for water games.

We've sailed on the Summit twice and will sail on it at least one more time in December of this year.  We like the size of the ship and my son enjoys their kids club and basketball court.  We like sailing out of PR and that looks like it is up in the air after 2020.  We currently have a river cruise booked through Adventures by Disney (it's an Amawaterways ship and crew with Disney-added activities).  After these two cruises, not sure where we will go next.  We have zero interest in Edge or Apex.  

3 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

Just discovered that our 20 year old will be joining my husband, myself and our 2 teens on a cruise I’m planning, I have to get the 5 of us into 2 cabins, because one person over 21 is needed to book each cabin. Am considering various combinations on either Equinox or Edge or NCL Haven, which has the 2-bedroom, 2 bathroom family villa.. 
 

I’ve read on this board that if you book a suite with an adjoining veranda, then its considered a “family suite” and the people staying in the veranda cabin have access to the Retreat. My questions:

 

1. is thus “family suite” arrangement only on Edge, or can it be done on S-class ships?

 

2. Does access to the Retreat include Luminae?

 

3. Am I going to have to call Celebrity to do this? Seems like it’s really hard to book 5 people without calling the cruise line directly, but I was hoping to book with a certain big box TA to get a nice gift card. Final payment date has passed, so I can’t transfer to a TA after booking with Celebrity. 
 

4. Does Luminae have assigned early and late seatings, or can you go whenever you want?

 

5. For those who have done this, is there am up charge for the people in the veranda cabin if it is combined into a “family suite,” since the people in that cabin would be getting some of the suite amenities?

 

Thanks for any advice you can provide. 

If you book connecting cabins, you can put a guest under 21 as the lead guest in one of the rooms.  We did this on Summit in 2018 - my DH and I were booked in a RS and I booked the connecting concierge stateroom for my son (who was 11 at the time).  They would only let us do this because the rooms connected.  In our case, our son got most of the suite benefits (Luminae and Retreat), because he was under 12 years old, but there was a lot of confusion about that when we boarded and ship-side had to confirm with shoreside that this was actually the policy.  I really don't know about Edge, but on the Summit, he only got the suite perks because he was in a connecting room and he was under 12-years old. 

I'm not sure if they offer this on all sailings, but when we sailed over Christmas week in 2019, shoreside concierge sent us an offer to add suite perks to any friends or family sailing in a non-suite stateroom.  The offer said this:  "I am delighted to let you know that we now offer a new Suite Privilege Package if you are traveling with any family that is not in a Suite! This package would allow your family to also enjoy the Suite experience. The charge for this package would be $59 per person per day and would include; complimentary access to Luminae for breakfast / lunch / dinner, complimentary access to the Retreat Lounge and Retreat Sundeck, priority Suite embarkation, priority Suite disembarkation and priority seating in the theater on Evening Chic nights. Kindly note, there are only a limited number of these passes per sailing."  Maybe call Celebrity and see if you can add this if you book the verandah for your son?  Or, could you simply book another Sky Suite so there aren't any issues with the amenities?  

26 minutes ago, son3cruisers said:

Was there beer ( Heineken) or any single serve bottles of alcohol ( vodka) and snacks in your fridge along with the drinks you listed? 
Someone posted a picture of the enclosed price list of items in the fridge (for purchase) and those particular items were listed on the sheet, as well as Pringle’s and Kind bars. Curious if they were there for those who purchased Drinks and More, or if they only “stock” fridges for those who need to pay. 
 

We did not have any snacks in our fridge and only had non-alcoholic items, though, we do not drink alcohol (and I told shoreside concierge about this prior to boarding), so I'm not sure if our fridge only being stocked with non-alcoholic items is the norm or not.  Hopefully someone else who purchase the package on a recent cruise can comment about the alcoholic options (if there are any) on the package