Bellamariya

My husband and I are going to be first time Celebrity cruisers next January, on the Eclipse cruising South America and Antarctica for 14 nights and I am super excited!

We have a few cruises under our belts on P&O (Australia), RCI and Celestyal so know a little about daily life onboard but I would love to know the ins and outs of Eclipse and what we should expect from Celebrity before we arrive.

Any and all advice appreciated as I would like to get the most out of this experience :)

A group of 4 of us were on Mariner in March of this year. All 4 of us loved it!

I have read that the cruises leaving Shanghai will have a high percentage of Chinese guests but the ones that start in Singapore have lots of Aussies and that's what I have found on both my cruises on Mariner out of Singapore.

Menus were similar to our previous cruise out of Australia to New Zealand with one or two Asian choices added and all announcements were in English.

I love packing cubes! I have a few different sets so I can mix and match the sizes. Saves so much time packing and unpacking too. I bought mine on eBay.

I also use giant ziplock bags for dirty laundry.

Sleep in

Coffee in bed

Slow breakfast in MDR

Trivia

Mini golf

Our own version of shuffleboard and table tennis

Tutti Salad!!!!

More trivia or play cards in the Schooner Bar

Afternoon nap

Show

Dinner in MDR

Quest or other late game

We cruised with Celestyal from May 1st to 5th as part of a month long European holiday.

I was so happy our stop in Kusadasi and excursion to Ephesus were not cancelled and this was by far my favourite port on the cruise.

At no time did we feel unsafe and I would happily go back there for a land holiday as there was so much more to see that we didn't have time for.

We will be on our first Celestyal cruise in less than a month and have been impressed with their precruise communications and how helpful and prompt they are in answering every question we have asked. Good to see that won't stop after the cruise is over :)

When we were in Shanghai (non cruise) we went to Qibao. Short trip on the train, very easy to find. Our hotel concierge wanted to set us up on a tour that would cost us hundreds of $$, the train was less than $1 and we had a great time wandering around sampling the street food and seeing the sights.

In May we are going with a small local cruise company for a Greek Islands cruise that has a stop in Kusadasi and I'm praying they don't cancel, it's the main reason I booked it.

We were on Mariner for ours in 2013. Our invitation was for a lunch with private waiters, bottomless mimosas and a gorgeous cake was wheeled out at the end :)

Loved it!

We will be overnighting in Phuket in March and would love to do some snorkeling.

I have looked at options to go to Phi Phi Island as this looks like one of the best choices but can anyone recommend good snorkeling spots that don't need a boat ride to get there or are closer to Phuket?

Royal is notorious for not keeping their website updated. Here is the link to the announcement.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=7384

Thanks for the link :)

Just decided to do a few more mock bookings on cruises I have been monitoring since October, still not seeing the impact as the prices have not moved apart from one that has sold out JS's so GS's have jumped up.

One booking:

Guest 1

Cruise Fare 1,225.00

Taxes & Fees 60.72

Guest 2

Cruise Fare 1,225.00

Taxes & Fees 60.72

Discounts & Credits

BOGOHO - 613.00

Average cost per person 979.22

Grand Total

1,958.44 AUD

Not sure if I know how to add a picture but I have taken a screenshot of the next stage still showing optional addition of gratuities when choosing MTD so I am left wondering....

All cruises bought on the Australian Royal Caribbean website now for travel after 15 January 2017 include gratuities.

No option for removal.

Does not matter if cruise leaves from Sydney. Brisbane. Fort Lauderdale. Southampton, San Juan. Singapore etc.

Where do you see this? I am doing a mock booking on the RCI AU site (Legend of the Seas, Jan 29, departs Brisbane) and see the following:

Pricing Terms & Conditions

Prices are per person based on the average of passenger 1 and passenger 2 in Australian Dollars, based on twin occupancy and inclusive of all taxes & fees, which could be subject to change but any such changes would be apparent before you book. As such, you will always see the total fare inclusive of taxes and fees. Where you have opted in to pay onboard gratuities (tips), these will be added later in the booking process and before the cruise is booked. You will therefore see the total cruise price at the time of booking. Prices shown are for the lowest grade cabins available within each category. Prices shown are for the lowest priced departure of multiple departure dates (supplements apply for other dates) and are for new individual bookings only. Prices are subject to change and any such changes would be apparent at the time of booking.

That was so sweet :)

Congratulations!

Has anyone stayed in a virtual balcony cabin? Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

I had a virtual balcony on my last cruise on Explorer of the Seas and I loved the concept but I also have no issues with interior cabins to start with.

I spent some time reading reviews on some of the different drivers, and decided to go with someone who was recommended a lot named Zaidee. He was waiting for me with my name on a sign right at 8:30 am when I debarked.

We have just booked this itinerary and my search brought up your review and thanks to you I am even more excited about this trip :)

Thanks for all the effort you put in and I would love the contact details of the drivers you booked if you are still happy to pass them on.

Extra jus and horseradish :)

I have embarked in 3 very different countries and have seen the same process each time.

There have been clear signs for the checkin lines for Gold, Platinum, Diamond etc.

Which ships in the Adventure and Voyager classes has the roast beef sandwiches?

We were on Explorer March 6th-17th and noticed they had set up a small area with a hotbox on the Promenade. We didn't check it out til the last day and it was the beef on weck. So disappointed we didn't realise it was available earlier, it was one of our favourites on Radiance.

Call RCI on 1800 754 500 (Monday - Friday 09:00 to 17:00 hrs. AEST or ADST)

They should be able to direct you to the right department to resolve this.

Since it is just a few days I would hope that the digital copies are still available :)

This is another blow for Vanuatu and businesses that were struggling to trade after the cyclone are starting to close. Most of the employment comes from these businesses so the flow on effect could be devastating. If my business was to close that would be 15 people out of work and all of them support extended families.

Also a local told us they have started building an "embassy" there!

There is already a Chinese embassy n Vila, I got my Chinese visa from there when I traveled to Shanghai in 2013.

Beware shopping here rip off I purchased perfume for $125 Australian when I checked my bank, they had charged me $165, they had offered me a discount & said no currency charges. Then overcharged $40.00, very upset:mad:

That's terrible :(

Do you have a receipt or any proof of the price that you can take to your bank to dispute the charge?

We are sailing in early March so not too far away. Hoping the option will appear but would still like to know if people have been able to purchase a package once on board and how much they paid.

My daughter is booked on her first cruise and is interested in buying a photo package.

I went in to check the prices but this is the only option that doesn't have a browse button.

Does anyone know if they are still available to purchase onboard?

I found that my hair straightener didn't even warm up, let alone get hot, when I used the US plug, no issues with the euro plug so I would recommend just taking a euro adapter.