chester32

Thank you joetop2467,do you have any photo's at all?

Here is a pic of 8101 which is the same as 7106 its pretty small pic but should give you some idea

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=217250&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1325856280

I have no time for the sarcastic posters that think people don't have the right to ask these sort of questions

 

I don't have to explain myself or my questions but I will - we are 1st time Celebrity Cruisers and my questions were genuine enquiries some for interest and regarding the gratuities - so we can make sure that we tip over what they would normally get.

 

I appreciate the people who actually answered the questions, the rest of you can crawl back in your holes. Thank you.

Well said KazAllen

Some people are so up themselves or they are just plain arrogant which ever simple question was asked smart arse answers not needed

I know what you mean it was more then twice what we expected to pay.

You can book without the package

I had a quote for an outside room on the Aria yesterday and it included the Premium Drinks Package so not limited to Balconys.

The drinks packages are not free as they state try book without the package and see the difference

We are considering taking a tour to Litchfield on a 1 day stop in Darwin.

Has anyone used either Litchfield Escapes or Northern Territory Indigenous Tours? If so, what was your experience? Any other tour companies we should consider

 

Thanks for any info.

We did this when we there on last cruise and went with this company small group 10 i think, couldn't fault great day

http://www.offroaddreaming.com.au/

Is anyone registered to take Shore Excursions Group LLC excursions on this cruise? Have you used this company before and been satisfied?

Are there any small group private excursions looking for another couple to join their group during the cruise?

Better off trying the roll call for your cruise, try this

http://boards.cruisecritic.com.au/showthread.php?t=2102873

Seems it was filmed on the 15 February 2013 sailing which was her first season here, she arrived in November 2012 and left in April 2013.:D

Not sure why you are doubting me Mic? but as I said we were on that cruise and It sailed from Freemantle on the 21 Feb 2014 and It was definitely that cruise , we saw the film crew and we made an appearance on the TV on two occasions so think I know what iam talking about

If you still think I am wrong have a look at the date on this newspaper article if it was 2013 as you say it took over 12 months to get to Newscastle

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2137370/crowds-welcome-luxury-liner-celebrity-solstice-photos/

I thought it was filmed in 2012 as they said it was it's first season in Aussie waters.:p

Not sure if they meant first time in WA Mic?

Yes, It is my favourite ship although the show is now several years old it still shows the ship in good light.:D

Not that old Mic we were on that cruise and it was Feb/March last year

I have had this happen before (three cruises) so before last cruise I did some looking around and there was a post that suggested eating a banana every morning, so I tired it and no swollen ankles whether it was just coincidence I don't know but will be doing it again on next cruise

No worries Chester32, the clip also bought a lot of memories back to me of the ship, we did an around NZ trip a couple of years ago. Its funny how a sound can bring back memories, hearing that chime when you put your card in the machine to go out for excursions took me back there.

 

I did love the ship luxury wise but am going on the Voyager next for a bit more fun vibe. I enjoyed the fun aspect of the slide when we went on the Spirit, the only aspect I think missing on the Solstice.

Yes your right Solstice is a bit more subdued our last cruise was on Radiance which is totally different . We much prefer the Solstice just the extra touches they have anyway thanks again

This documentary is nearly two years old. We were on last years top end cruise and this doco is of the earlier cruise

It was Feb/March 2014

Thanks for posting we were on that cruise so it is nice to look back on the trip thanks again

I think you may be correct MicCanberra, though for us this was one of the few times we used a TA (as we needed to send the vouchers etc. and thought it would be easier). I don't think the TA was particularly proactive. I much prefer to be in charge of my own booking.

In our case we went through a TA might be as you say how hard they go into bat for you but you would think it would be a standard thing?

We aren't going on the Solstice till Nov next year LuckiePuris so a while to go

Thank you! Unfortunately the TA line was closed last night when I thought of this, so thought I'd post here for info first while waiting for them to reopen today.

 

Thanks for your feedback and insight. I think I'll leave booking as is :)

We changed a booking on the Solstice recently and the deposit was just transferred to new booking . Your new booking would be repriced and that will include the Drinks package (Go Big promo) You may lose any Obc you might have had and may have to pay bit more on your original deposit which you paid onboard but if you are a Captains club member you get reduced deposits by 50% so yes you should be able to do it

Thank you very much

Sorry if this has been asked before but we booked a connecting cabin on Solstice but not sure how it works , is there an internal door connecting them or is it something else cant seem to find anything about we are in cabin9231 if any one can help

Thanks

I tried to google but can't find that price for QM2.

Try one of the TAs 1ST you should find it one TA is selling balcony $2918 2 adults with $600 OBC not bad

QM2 Brisbane -Hong Kong 13/03/16

16 Nights balcony $1419.00

Looking at some of the NZ cruises they isn't much around for under the $6000 price range (for a balcony) reckon they should jump on Voyager and take it to Singapore with flights back it wouldn't be that much more if not the same

By the way I have nothing against NZ loved it when we went just giving options

I don't believe this is correct - unless it's recently changed.

 

When it was prepaid, you were not able to get a refund once onboard.

On our Radiance cruise earlier this year a couple traveling with us had their prepaid grats refunded in OBC ,they still tipped staff individually it was just their choice . So whether this is normal practice by RCI not really sure?

Should add they changed from MTD to traditional dining once onboard,I thought you couldn't do that but they did

Hi,

Sorry, I am a bit confused. We booked about a month or so ago on Radiance out of Australia. We pre paid gratuities as we were told we could only do My Time Dining if we did this. Is that correct? So if I have paid them upfront are they going to apply them again once on board?

 

Thanks

You definitely don't have to prepay gratuities for MTD anymore on RCI if you have them included in your price and have MTD you can have them removed if you do remove them you will be charged approx. $12 per day pp once onboard ,if you don't remove them then you wont be charged any more on board ,you can also ask on the first day to have gratuities removed completely regardless whether you prepay or not that is up to you ,hope this helps

No, it's only Royal Caribbean and only cruises out of and returning to Australia or NZ. Unfortunately, we revert back to the same old story when we do the repositioning cruise on the Explorer in April. Nonetheless, it's a start.

 

Your Celebrity tips amount shouldn't change but I wonder how long it will be before they follow the suit of its parent company whilst it is Downunder.

 

Cheers

Di

Dizziedi we are on a repo cruise next year on voyager and with have MTD and didn't have to prepay tips?

This is where we stay before a cruise, excellent

http://www.pullmanquaygrandsydneyharbour.com/

Try again, Radiance Sydney Harbour

Aghh I give up