insley

Thanks to the two of you who responded. Very helpful. 

Does Celebrity permit you to refare the cost of your cruise on a non-refundable fare with no penalty when the price drops?  Any caveats?

Thank you!

Pat

We were on the Eclipse for 18 nights on the recent trans Pacific cruise. Our cabin was an over the hump balcony on deck 7. Yes, the decor is tired and outdated and there are work arounds for outlets.
 

The one thing that we found unacceptable was the lack of sheer drapes. Our only option to shade the room was the blackout drapes. There was no option to have some natural light while diffusing the sun. You could see where the sheers had been there previously with some remnants of the sheers still on the rods. 
 

We heard similar reports from other passengers. 

A related question if you don’t mind. How can a photo be added to the check in after the fact. Didn’t want to take a selfie as suggested by the app  but wanted to upload a stored photo another day. Now I can’t get back to that part of check in.  Thank you!

2 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

My TA just called and asked if I had looked at my email. Nov 5, 2022 cruise on Millie will on be Solstice. We also have a TP for April 2023 that is canceled. 

Big Ben Boys,

Are you referring to the Sydney to Hawaii transpacific April 22, 2023? If, so how did you learn that the April TP was cancelled? 

We are booked on that TP as well as the Southern Japan on Oct.26, 2022.  YIKES! 

Thank you, 

Pat 

Thank you GulfshoresCruiser and BruceMuzz. 

We have opted for the later flight departure just to be safe. In regard to the cruise itself, we are comfortable waiting until when the final payment is due in late July to make any final decisions.

Pat

I don’t recall speakers on any of our Caribbean cruises. On the other hand there were wonderful speakers on cruises like our Transatlantic, Alaskan, Iberian, Baltic, South American, and our recent Panama Canal cruises.  

Thank you , Bruce. That is sobering yet helpful information. I appreciate such a thorough response. 
Pat

We will be departing on our international flight from Haneda to LAX following our cruise on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.  Our cruise is due to arrive In Yokohama at 6:30 am.  Would it be viable to book a 1:00 pm airline departure from Haneda that day? The next flight is not until 7pm. Not sure how much time is needed in debarkation and arrival at the airport.  

Thank you!

Pat

Thanks, Jim.  That’s helpful info. 

Can any one who has used a Celebrity excursion recently (during COVID cruises) share information about your experiences? What COVID protocols are being followed? Types of vehicles?  What kind of provisions are there for  social distancing?  Are masks required while in the vehicles? Are the protocols being enforced if needed?  Any and all observations and comments are appreciated. 

We will be on the Millennium the end of October for the Panama Canal transit and are weighing all the options for excursions in the various ports. 

Thank you!

Pat

I spent over 2 hours on the phone today lifting and shifting our April 17, 2022 TransPac (Sydney to Honolulu) to April 2023. Long process on hold with my TA who was on hold with Celebrity. Actually saved some $$ and kept all the amenities. Cabin location not exactly as before but good enough. Will monitor cabins and hopefully get back to the hump.
 

Was bummed but expected this announcement. 

Looking for advice from seasoned bargain hunters. We usually book at least a year in advance, never close to sailing. We are used to at least two perks being included - gratuities and beverage package. Currently considering a 10 night May 2020  sailing that is past final payment. There are still many concierge and aqua cabins available and cabin prices are being reduced. Have never paid separately for perks so have not been tuned in to the actual costs of the beverage package. How do you decide when it is worth it to pay for the beverage package?  We do love that perk for all its benefits.  Any thoughts are appreciated. 

22 hours ago, Phxazzcruisers said:

Your TA was telling you a "Story" Celebrity does not dictate wether their OBC would be refundable or not.  If the TA actually paid for the OBC it would be refundable, if they used a "special" from Celebrity and just passed it on to you it is Non refundable and should have been yours from Celebrity anyway.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I would have appreciated that my TA be honest with me up front.  I probably would not have jettisoned that company had they been honest with me. They didn’t even “own up” when the customer service representative called me after the cruise to try to smooth things over.

This past fall we had $400 from Celebrity and $350 from our big box TA whom we have used for 13 years. While we know that Celebrity’s OBC is non-refundable , the TA’s OBC has always been refundable. While on the cruise,  I brought up our account on the TV and both amounts were listed as non-refundable.  I was certain there was an error. Long story short,  after much discussion, Celebrity guest services called New Hampshire so I could talk to the TA.  The TA checked and said our OBC was in fact  non refundable. At one point the TA also said Celebrity dictates the type of OBC they provide. She also said it is “often” non refundable.  She said we had been lucky in the past. 

I was mainly upset because I would have more strategically planned to use the OBC had I not made the assumption about it always being refundable.  We had just booked two more cruises while on board and Celebrity had already transferred the bookings to our New Hampshire TA. When we returned home we asked that the two cruises be returned to Celebrity and took time to explore other options. We later transferred them to another TA that provides OBC in the form of a gift card upon completion of the cruise. 

It it all goes back to that old saying about what ASSUME really means. 

Thanks for sharing your cruise. We will be on the Connie Oct 20 for a 10 night cruise beginning in Cittavechia and ending in Barcelona. First time on the Connie. Also sailed the Infinity around the horn in South America. Looking forward to your posts. Enjoy!

Does anyone know which dock the Celebrity Constellation will use in Sete, France? It appears that there are three:

Quai d’Alger, Pier “P2”, and Dolphin berth “Epi Dellon.”

Thank you!

Pat

Thank you for all the great information.

I am trying to determine which of the two cruise ports we will dock at in Toulon in October. Does anyone know if Celebrity docks at the downtown port or La Seyne sur mer?

Thank you!

We stayed at the Embassy Suites in Elizabeth Town pre-cruise in October. Very nice property with spacious rooms. No views to speak of. Free shuttle from the airport. Our Uber to the port was about $30.oo. The hotel also offers a transfer to the port than you can book at check in. For us the Uber was less expensive and gave us more flexibility.

We stayed at the ES this fall when sailing on the New England cruise. We were very pleased. We used their hotel shuttle from the airport and used Uber to get to the port and after the cruise to get to the airport. Everything worked like clockwork. One small difference in previous experiences - NJ law restricts the complimentary happy hour drink to just one drink. We would return to the property with no hesitation.

What kinds of reasonably priced ocean view cabins are there for a family of 5 with kids ages 15, 11, and 2? Not interested in suites.

Have a question - we have never booked a future cruise on line - what are the benefits to doing so?

 

Thank you!

Typically Celebrity has promotions for on board bookings. We recently booked a cruise while on board. The promotion was good for bookings during Sep and Oct. The promotion included two amenities - we chose pre-paid gratuities and the classic beverage package. (the others we could have chosen were unlimited internet or $300 in onboard credit.) In addition there was also an on-board credit of up to $500 depending on cruise length and type of cabin. Ours was $250 OBC for a 14 day cruise in a veranda. Suites get all four amenities plus the additional on board $$ based on # nights and type of cabin

Deposits were $100'pp which was fully refundable. I don't know what the status of deposits will be going forward.

The bookings are pretty flexible. You can change sailings up to 90 days prior to a sailing and up to the range of dates for the promotion. Our ending date was for sailings up to April 2019.

These promotions usually exclude trans Atlantics, trans Pacifics and repositioning cruises.

You can later transfer the booking to a travel agent and receive additional on board $$. You have to transfer it within 60 days.

I hope this helps you. We see no downside to booking on board

Thanks for this great live review. We will be on the Summit in Oct for a similar itinerary. Your review is getting us excited for our trip. Do you know if the ship is offering transportation to Newark airport at the end of the cruise?

I too was on the Equinox Aug. 25th sailing and was in one of the cabins that had a power outage for about 18 hours. I have read with much interest the original post as well as the many responses. When I completed the end of cruise survey, prior to reading this thread, I chose to comment on the incident. I called the power outage a great inconvenience (18 hours of no power, no lights, showering, getting dressed, and using the bathroom in the dark, and no air conditioning, etc.) In my humble opinion, the response from Celebrity was a very minor one for a much greater inconvenience.

There have been some posts related to how some organizations in the the hospitality industry respond to disruptions in level of service. We just experienced a response from United Airlines due to what they determined was an inconvenience during our flight. While we were waiting for our connecting flight in Newark, we received an email apologizing for the disruption to their standard of service during our flight. Each passenger was given the option of either 5000 miles or a $100 certificate for future travel.

Here's what happened. About 15 minutes into our flight, there was an announcement made requesting volunteer medical assistance for a passenger who was experiencing a medical emergency. During the next 45 minutes or so we were mildly aware that volunteers were assisting the crew in dealing with the situation. Then things settled down and that was the end of the medical situation, i.e. about an hour of a nearly 11 hour flight. At the end of the flight the senior crew member apologized to all for any inconvenience due to the medical situation and any resulting delay in service. She reiterated that the crew regretted any level of service that was not up to their standards. Honestly, we did not feel inconvenienced at all and were grateful that medical professionals on board were able to resolve the issue for the passenger and that we were not diverted.

Imagine our response when we received the email from United with the offer of a token of appreciation from United. We couldn't help but make an immediate comparison to Celebrity's response to the power outage. The contrast, in our opinion, was a stark one.

My intention in this post is to simply point out how another corporation chose respond to what they determined was a disruption to their level of service.