sonia2509

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

Unfortunately, not everyone is canny enough to get a special deal. Those of us who have to pay the full price are subsidising passengers like you.  I don't think blatant price gouging is a reasonable excuse and not a good business practice in the long term, in a very competitive cruise market. As you say, if I don't like it, I will just go elsewhere. After doing my research on Celebrity's charging practices,  I've just booked another cruise with a different company.

That is the joy of living in a free market we can pick and chose where we want to holiday.  I was not canny in getting a special deal it was just pure luck.  I am certain you will have a great time on your cruise and enjoy!

10 hours ago, icat2000 said:

What do they charge per day for the beverage packages ? And what do you get in them. I haven't cruised Celebrity since 2016 so bit out of the loop. Good deal is the key. I haven't really seen any good deals from Celebrity of late. 

What I consider a good deal might not be a good deal for you.  It worked out to $300 a night for each of us. 3 in a sky suite in a perfect location Deck 10 right in the middle.  This was for everything including drinks up to $20 USD including gratuities.  How much would have a hotel room cost per night for 6 nights, then add breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks, transport to any tourist sites etc?  The website states how much the drink packages are.  We had no issue finding the drinks we wanted under $20, coffee, water, sparkling water, smoothies, juices and soft drinks. You download the App and will receive notification when deals are offered,  We paid an extra $10 a day to upgrade from classic to premium during the Black Friday sales.  The original cost was approximately $1200 each for a concierge suite which included Classic Beverage and internet.  The only extra we paid since boarding is the Eden food experience.  We found a bargain and have enjoyed the whole cruise. 

If you bought the beverage package on a good deal like we did, none of these prices matter.  We are on American ship with over 1200 staff who have to be paid (yes not very well), but the same staff have their accommodation , food and I think work clothes to be laundried for free.  Then actual cost of running a ship, insurance, fuel etc on top of staff costs would be millions a year, and the company reports to shareholders and therefore have to make a profit, what are they meant to do cut prices to keep us happy?   Unfortunately the AUD is not good and if we go back 11-12 years ago when you would get $1.05 USD to $1 AUD people would not be complaining.  And yes that was in 2013 when we travelled to the States.  If you are not happy to pay for the beverage package even the basic which includes coffee and water and some alcoholic beverage, then do not buy the drinks.  This is my first cruise since 2019, and we were very lucky to get the classic beveridge and wifi included in the cost, we then upgraded to premium during the Black Friday sales for $10 a day!  The whole 6 night cruise with a successful bidding upgrade for, concierge to sky suite worked out to $1,800 per adult.  There are 3 of us and we cannot complain.  I have at least 3 coffees a day plus 3-4 sparkling waters plus wine and cocktails and at $300 a night for accommodation food and drink we are not complaining. There is no additional gratuities on top of the prices, therefore what you see is the actual price.   I am so happy to finally be back on a cruise ship and on my favourite cruise line Celebrity, if you are not happy go somewhere else, there will always be happy American tourists who will replace us Aussies!   You go to the States you will be paying the same price for coffee plus state taxes plus tips! 

So if Gratuities are not paid or stopped as a lot of passengers do and tip by envelope you are still entitled to use select dinning is this called my time dinning thank you Aussie

I gather you are an Australian citizen and your booked your cruise on an Australian website? If you have as I said previously the gratuities are included in your total fare and therefore you cannot deduct the gratuities when you get on the ship.

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gratuity's have not been paid by my travel agent can i still go into select dinning ? thank you

 

Aussie

Gratuities are automatically included for all cruises booked with an Australian travel agent or the Australian Celebrity website for any cruises worldwide. The gratuities is included in the price you paid, this changed approximately a year ago

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We did our SP tour with Insider and highly recommend them. You will find more people on Cruise Critic have completed their tour with Best Guides and they were also very happy with them. Both are excellent and I don't think you can go wrong with either of them

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We just got off the Solstice yesterday. It was our second time on her as we did Auckland to Sydney the first time and the South Pacific just now we love Celebrity and had a great time again. You will love her!

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Sonia, I'm just finalizing our 2 days in St. Petersburg with Insider Tours and was wondering what you thought of the Vodka museum? Did you have a tour and tasting and did you enjoy it? We wouldn't be eating in the restaurant, just doing the museum part. I've read mixed reviews on it. We have some time in the afternoon when we are supposed to do St. Isaacs but since we are already going to Church on the Spilled Blood earlier I thought it might be nice to do something totally different. Thanks, Janet.

Hi Janet, we did the tour and tasting - we enjoyed it as it was something different. They do serve some Russian delicacies with the tasting of the vodka - and the delicacies were not to our liking [emoji37] we then ate lunch in the restaurant next door to the museum and it was fine

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The World Cup is not till 2018 - but it will still be busy

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You don't print out your actual ticket till you get to the Abba Museum, we were a bit early and they still let us in. I think the same will be if you are a bit late.

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FYI, the Church of Spilled Blood is no longer used as a church. I think maybe there's a service once a year. It was used for storage and as a hospital for WW2 casualties. It was then renovated and is now primarily as historical site/tourist area.

 

 

 

Unless your dh has opinion on even setting foot in a building with religious imagery, it's worth a look. Every surface inside is a mosaic. Very different from other big cathedrals, etc, around Europe. It's gorgeous, especially with the light filtering thru the windows.

 

 

 

Just an FYI, in case you'd be sorry to miss it.

 

 

 

We did a private tour with our group of 8, with TJ. Totally worth it. We don't do a lot of churches either, and Spilled Blood was the only one we saw. We had lunch at a fast food blini place, and dinner at Teplo, a home cooking sort of restaurant.

It is not for religious reasons, he is not into history - modern buildings and modern history especially the last century is his preference, that is just him. I would contact Insider Tours as well as were very happy with them as well.

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We are not arty people and my husband will not step into any type of church, therefore most of the group tours for St Petersburg will not suit. The best is to book a private tour. We booked ours with Insider Tours as they were willing to listen to what we didn't want to see. You need to do a lot of research and decide what you would like to see and then enquire with 2 or 3 of the tour guides regarding a private tour with what you would like to see.

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There is no "go over what the classic package covers"-- if it doesn't cover it, you pay the full price. Only the premium package covers part if you go over.

 

 

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That is what I meant- we stick to the premium package as we receive the classic as a perk and for the extra we upgrade there is no bill at the end of the cruise

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No the 18% is already included in the price and you do not pay extra unless you go over what the classic beverage package covers. All coffees are included espresso, macchiato etc are all included as well as the liquor coffees. The coffee in Cafe al Bacio is very good Lavazza coffee and not the horrible coffee that Starbucks sell!

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Uber they will be all around there as the ship will be disembarking. Just make sure you download the app and register before you leave. It is not far from Portside to the airport so traffic should not be a problem

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Our first port of call on the Sostice from NZ was Hobart and immigration was completed on the two sea days before we arrived in Hobart

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We took a private tour of Berlin - it was 4 of us. We were picked up in a car driven to Berlin in 2 and half hours spent approximately 6 hours and saw what we wanted to see and when it was quicker to take the car to the next spot we could as it could park anywhere. It was our favourite port on our Baltic cruise last August. I would have no hesitation in doing it again but only as a private tour not in a train with 50 other people

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This is why we get the drinks package as a perk, so it seems like we are not paying for it, and then there is no bill shock at the end of the cruise.

 

 

Exactly!!!

 

 

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That is why you get the beverage package before you board - the prices don't matter, it has all been paid for unless you go for the signature martini - that is if you are on the premium package [emoji483][emoji483]

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One more point you have many more people who use TripAdvisor to review their Tours, hotels etc compared to Cruise Critic. Email a few tour companies and then go with whom you feel the most comfortable with. I did not choose one of the 3 major ones, as one never answered my email, the other one did not even read my email properly as we did not want to see just museums and churches and I did not email the 3rd tour company. I found Natalia from Insider the most helpful

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We used Insider Tours last August for St Petersburg and Berlin. I highly recommend them and would have no hesitation in booking with them again. Natalia response to my emails were always very prompt and she was our guide for our 2 days private tour in St Petersburg. Berlin was even better, were we did another private tour and our guide was Australian like us and Berlin was the highlight of our cruise with Tallinn

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Just got off the phone from the USA consulate. All ok as long as we are not dual nationals with the listed countries.

 

I will still be a bit anxious till I get a written reply to my email.

 

Have grown up with the philosophy that nothing is worthwhile if not in writing.

 

This will be my last trip to USA.

That is good to hear and that is how I understood the news reports that I have read.

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True, people with Green cards (US residents) are being stopped from travel.:(

Yes I know but these people are from the banned countries, and unless Australian citizens fall under this criteria they will not be stopped at the moment. It is terrible what he is doing but people need to be very careful and not listen to a lot of false information and maybe speak to the US embassy for clarification

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Have tey also cancelled the 18% 'tip' for drinks?

I am not sure on this as I purchase the beverage package which includes the 18% gratuities

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It does not affect Australians/New Zealanders unless you have a dual citizenship with the countries currently banned or you have visited these countries in the last five years. The forefathers of the US and creator of The Statue of Liberty would be hanging their head in shame if they could see what is happening there at the moment. Scary times for the world

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