Giorgi-one

Info for this excursion is now available on Celebrity website. Looks like a pretty good deal for $39. I have been to Jamaica many times and would spend the day on an empty ship at this port. This is first visit for my cousin and his wife and I wanted to find something reasonable for them to do.

Has anyone been on the Ocho Rios Island Tour and Bamboo Beach Break on Celebrity? The tour is listed under the Shore Excursions but there is no info available when you select the tour. At $39 it looks like a good deal. I did post on the Jamaica site but no help there. I'm really trying to find out if this excursion is for real.

We had no problem booking excursion on board. We always arrive at terminal around 11 am and are among first to board. Went directly to Shorex desk and were only people there.

Always a chance of excursion selling out which means I probably spend a fantastic day on the empty ship with my beverage package. Or just take a cab to the beach. Also, you can usually get any shore excursion using a private operator when you get off the ship, usually at a much lower price and not in a bus holding 50 people.

Has anyone been on the Celebrity Island Tour & Bamboo Beach Break in Ocho Rios. It is listed on the Celebrity site but there is no info available. Looks like a great deal for $39.

If I understood correctly posters indicated that early and late traditional seating were waitlisted on many cruises. If traditional seating is so popular, why would Celebrity do away with it. It makes no sense which means that there is a high probability it will happen!!! When is the last time that a cruise line did something that actually made sense?

That simply is NOT the point!

 

No one should have to search to find out what is included in THEIR beverage package. The upsells are getting ridiculous, as are the thousands of questions posted here on a regular basis regarding the classic package. Celebrity is providing a perk, (via higher fares, mind you!) and they need to support THAT perk with information and have is clearly posted in menus at the various bars. It's not that damn difficult, and the OP shouldn't have to play guessing games or search the internet while sailing. :(

Totally agree. I made same comment on a previous thread a while back and got flamed by some posters who asked why people need a list for everything. DUH! One poster said all I need to do is ask the bartender and they will happily recite that list. Imagine doing that for every passenger even if they actually knew what was on the list.

Royal is really popular with families and people will spend for their kids. Just look at the price for Disney vacation!

I have not read every post on this thread but I assume the price was much higher both before and after OP placed courtesy hold. Obviously an error. I assume if a travel agent had mistakingly quoted this price, the OP would have expected the TA to take a loss. Lots of people on these boards with the same attitude. Me! Me! Me!

I'm guessing you already considered this but I would never never fly on embarkation day. I can tell you there are people on every cruise without luggage. Happened to us when we first started cruising. Also, if a flight gets cancelled, you could have difficulty getting another flight. I live in NJ, about 90 minute ride from Bayonne. I stay overnight at a local hotel to avoid the NJ turnpike on embarkation day.

Please don't listen to Celebrity. They know not of which they speak! ;)

 

It is cash plus 5%, so if you take out $100 your account will be charged $105. And this applies to all Celebrity ships.

 

You just tell the casino cashier that you would like xx$$ - no mention is ever made about OBC as they do not care. Just get your cash and walk away. It is so simple.

I thought you could only do that if OBC was provided by your travel agent. OBC provided by Celebrity cannot be taken as cash. Is this correct?

Look at some of the European Cruises! Constellation - Italian + Greek 14 night cruise in July - £6348 for a 2C Balcony (approx $9400)

 

The cruise we did last year around the Med this year has been running at between £1000 (no offers) -£2500 (when the 123 promo was on) more than we paid last year - This equates to roughly 35-75% hike in prices.

Was not looking at Europe. I agree that European cruises are ridiculous on all cruise lines. That's why there are so few ships in the Caribbean in the Summer. In my opinion everything about Europe is ridiculously overpriced. Really a very simple answer - lots of people with lots of money and the cruise lines and travel industry are happy to take it. Glad we did our Med cruise about 6 years ago.

I always book early, very early, and always check the big online TAs for deals on my cruises. 2/3 of the time my cruise is not even offered. The 1/3 of the time it is offered, the benefits are not significant.

 

I prefer controlling my booking. I can call if a price drop takes place. Some travel agencies are difficult to get in touch with (from what I read on cc) and one can miss out on price drops.

 

Whatever works for you is fine. I book early and generally find prices go up.

Depends. I usually book about one year out but only if a good deal is available. Lowest price is not usually offered when cruise first opens for booking. NOTE I said USUALLY. As far as controlling my own booking I would not pay a penny for that. The agency I use has far more pull with any cruise line than I do. I just send an email to customer service and any problem, price drop or upgrade is usually taken care of in a few hours. I used to sell cruises and I know that the cruise line reps travel agents deal with are way more informed and cooperative than the agents passengers have access to.

Well yes and no, we wanted an inside cabin which had no offers combined with the price in the UK, only ocean view and above. We actually got the best price booking directly with Celebrity.

I don't know what your pricing structure was, but when I figured in the prepaid gratuities, beverage package and $600 OBC, it was cheaper to book a Concierge Class cabin than an inside cab!

Just a few comments on your review so far. Firstly, never book thru the cruise line because you are giving up amenities that most travel agencies offer. Also, you need to know the special deals offered by each cruise line. Note that these deals are constantly changing. It has been almost impossible to book a Celebrity cruise over the last few years without getting prepaid gratuities and a free beverage package if you followed the deals and used the right travel agent. In most cases you also received OBCs in addition. Our last cruise had $300 OBC. Our next cruise has $600 OBC. Not criticizing, just offering information.

Have no idea where comments on price are coming from. We booked a 7 day cruise on Reflection for next January in Concierge Class for $1099 per person plus tax. Amenities included prepaid gratuities, classic beverage package and $600 OBC. That is less than I paid for our first cruise in 1996 in an Oceanview cabin with no amenities. Cruising is the best value vacation out there and Celebrity prices are competitive or better than most.

Thanks all who participated in this discussion.

 

I am a mid-$ cruiser....Royal, NCL, Celebrity and Princess (which I haven't tried). Although it's been suggested to cruise with the higher end lines which would have better food, that's just not in the budget.

 

One observation that was stated many times is that the shorter five-day cruises do now provide the same dining experience as the longer days. Perhaps that's true but my first Celebrity cruise was a 7-day Western Caribbean and the menus were varied and outstanding.

 

At least from what I have read and personally observed and I will use Celebrity as my example, if you pay to be in the higher class such as Elite, then you get the benefit of dining in the Blu Restaurant that will have a nicer menu, presentation and service.

 

Other than that, the "Regular Cruisers" do have options of dining in the Specialty Restaurants for $25/pp. I have a problem with this. Yes, I have dined in these restaurants and had a very nice meal and experience but that was six years ago when my MDR food and experience was very nice also. So why should I now have to pay extra to get the quality of food and service that use to exist? But it is what it is and that is what the cruise industry has evolved to.

 

Service: I understand the automatic tipping. Some do not get tipped for the outstanding service as they should but I am not a fan. I always tipped generously. I just don't see the wait staff trying as hard. Maybe we are isolated because I read many who had wonderful wait staff.

 

I understand now; times have changed and it is what it is. I will lower my expectations or work my way to a higher status so I too can enjoy the food and service I fondly remember.

I booked a 7 day Celebrity cruise for next January in Concierge class for $1099 pp which includes the Classic Beverage package, prepaid gratuities and a $600 onboard credit. That is less than I paid for our first cruise on Royal Caribbean in 1996 in an Oceanview cabin with none of the above amenities. All things being equal, this cruise should cost about $2000 per person with no amenities. Do you still think you are not getting a great deal?

A lot of apples and oranges comparisons here. Certainly OceanIa, Seaborn, Crystal, etc have better food. That is a no-brainer. Did anyone mention that you will pay at least $1000 per person per week extra on these lines? The real question is which mainstream cruse line has the best food and Celebrity is as good or better than most. Also, someone said it would much cheaper to eat in Specialty Restaurants every night instead of moving to a Premium Cruise line. Very true. It was pointed out that these menus do not change but with 3 or more specialty restaurants and at least 6 fantastic entrees each, you should have no problem finding something great every night. If you are a very picky eater, vegetarian, etc. you will be disappointed in ALMOST every restaurant you ever visit on land or sea.

Most agents at larger online cruise sites are not cruise experts. This is common knowledge and they do not try to hide it. For example, you cannot call one of these agencies and say "find a cruise for me". Their selling point is better deals. I can always get a better deal with the agency I use than with the Cruise Line. That does not mean they do not provide service. The agency I use has a separate customer service department and they have provided outstanding service on several occasions. One comment - in most instances Celebrity Passages booked on the ship are not combinable with special group rates and deals offered by any TA.

Not sure how long you have been cruising and if you are aware of the bad things that have occurred on cruise ships. For the most part cruise lines try to cover up these issues. There was a situation on a Carnival ships a few years back where a young girl was sexually assaulted by a crew member. The man threated to kill the girls family if she said anything. I'm sure you can get all the details if you search the internet. Bottom line - I would never think of leaving my children alone on a cruise ship. Get them out of bed and take them on the excursion!

Thank you for your positive review. Sorry the food in Blu disappointed you. We find it quite good. Maybe it was an off night?

 

AFAIK, Blu does not require formal dress on formal night. We do dress up for formal but we have seen plenty of diners in Blu dressed smart casual. That woman who asked you if that was your first cruise knew less than you did and she was out of line in IMO.

 

Reflection is the only S class ship we have not been on. Did you try the Lawn Club Grill?

 

Looking forward to your photos.

When you really come down to it, formal dress is not REQUIRED anywhere on formal night. Glad to see everyone chose to go formal. Also, not being sarcastic, why would anyone order risotto. It's just a dish full of rice! More carbs than you need for a week!

 

Unless you need to go back to the cabin you should take your luggage with you to avoid having to go back up to get it and then fight for a elevator to go back down. There will be a place to put it during breakfast. Then when leaving you will see all of those in line to get into the overcrowded designated waiting lounge for CC, AQ, elites and above.

 

Now imagine if 3000 people all take their luggage to breakfast!

That's really true. People dragging stuff around on the disembarkation morning is really annoying and cumbersome. I know that some have to do this because they have early flights and need to get off quickly, but they are usually gone pretty quickly. Others haul a bunch of stuff to the lounges with them and then through the lines to get off the ship.

 

It's an aside, but I also don't pack on water or wine or other stuff because I hate having to carry it around until our room is available and I think it's unfair to make the cabin stewards have to protect and deliver whole cases of water to rooms. It's just way too much trouble. Two bottles of wine in a backpack get mighty heavy after 2 or 3 hours of walking around.

 

It's becoming annoying on airplane's too that everyone wants to carry so much stuff on because they don't want to pay the $25-$35 to check a suitcase. Then they wait until the last minute to board and get bent because the overhead space is all used up.

 

I think the airlines should just charge more for the flight and go back to the policy of allowing people at least one bag to check. I've heard even Jet Blue (one of the hold outs along with SouthWest is going to start charging for luggage).

 

It also makes getting through the security lines a bigger pain.

 

We just consider the luggage costs part of the costs of flying.

 

Tom

Agreed. I especially like to hear people complain about taking formal clothes because it will cost an additional $25 when they spent $3000 or more for a cruise. Also, why do people have to leave their staterooms at 7 am and take 3 carryons to breakfast. Makes getting an elevator and seating in the buffet so much more difficult. Go to breakfast and then get your luggage.

We had Cat 2D Stateroom 6209 on our Equinox cruise in January. Fantastic stateroom. Very Large balcony and only about one half obstructed. Great location. This used to be a Cat 1A stateroom. Would book it again in a heartbeat. Just for info, this was our 31st cruise and we always book a balcony stateroom.

20 minutes free internet is an insult for someone on 4 b2bs in an inside cabin let alone a suite. I"m guessing most people here have never used the internet on a cruise ship. 20 minutes is about enough for one log-in session.

I don't remember late dining going to the show after dinner on first night, my experience is the shows are after dining on the formal dinings. I guess if you have a late departure that would happen. We did also have the show after dinner ***** silhouette when they had the big production shows and there were three of them.

Sailed on Equinox 1/23/15. First night show was at 10:30 pm for late dinner. Problem on first night is showing everyone to their tables. Long long lines going into MDR!