Trying Celebrity for the first time

[Silent Penguin]

When we started cruising our children were school-age and DCL was our line of choice because the onboard kid programs were out of this world.  No cruiseline comes close.  Then, we hit a time in our life when, if we wanted to continue cruising, we were going to have to try a more affordable cruiseline.  With an open-mind and low expectactions, we took our first Carnival cruise.  That was just fine for several years:we never had a bad experience on Carnival.  Now, our kids are grown, we can afford to branch out, and what's looking pretty appealing -at least on the Youtube videos I've been watching-is Celebrity.   

 

Looking forward to booking,  a couple questions have come to mind.  One is about the onboard app.  How realiable is the chat feature?  I'm aware that the  WiFi isn't so hot, but might it be more reliable to use Messenger rather than using the app?    Another question.  It's about presenting proof of vaccination.  With Carnival, you can opt to upload a copy of your certificate to the Verifly app but you don't have to.  You can just show up at the port with your card in hand, which is what I did on my last cruise since it was a very last minute booking (less than 24 hours), and I wasn't sure it would be approved in time. Also, I was reading someone's recent cruise report and she mentioned there was a problem verifying her husband's vaccination card, and I don't want that hassle.  

 

That's all for now.  I'm going to read more posts and reports and watch more videos before asking anymore questions.  

 

[jelayne]

Uploading the vax card is easy in the app.  We have done it 5 times and 1 time mine wasn’t accepted, it turned there was a glare on the screen.  Redid it with no problem.  Once you upload it it can take up to a couple of weeks to be verified, no worries you still have to show it at the port before boarding.

I can’t help with the messaging feature as it is just DH & I and I have a pretty pretty good idea where to find him & he knows where to find me.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, Silent Penguin said:

When we started cruising our children were school-age and DCL was our line of choice because the onboard kid programs were out of this world.  No cruiseline comes close.  Then, we hit a time in our life when, if we wanted to continue cruising, we were going to have to try a more affordable cruiseline.  With an open-mind and low expectactions, we took our first Carnival cruise.  That was just fine for several years:we never had a bad experience on Carnival.  Now, our kids are grown, we can afford to branch out, and what's looking pretty appealing -at least on the Youtube videos I've been watching-is Celebrity.   

 

Looking forward to booking,  a couple questions have come to mind.  One is about the onboard app.  How realiable is the chat feature?  I'm aware that the  WiFi isn't so hot, but might it be more reliable to use Messenger rather than using the app?    Another question.  It's about presenting proof of vaccination.  With Carnival, you can opt to upload a copy of your certificate to the Verifly app but you don't have to.  You can just show up at the port with your card in hand, which is what I did on my last cruise since it was a very last minute booking (less than 24 hours), and I wasn't sure it would be approved in time. Also, I was reading someone's recent cruise report and she mentioned there was a problem verifying her husband's vaccination card, and I don't want that hassle.  

 

That's all for now.  I'm going to read more posts and reports and watch more videos before asking anymore questions.  

 

Love your CC name. Don't rely on the app or smart phones. Have paper copies of everything, vacs certs, boarding passes etc.

[Beamafar]

We got an Xpress pass as a boarding pass.  Is this a priority boarding pass?

[hrhdhd]

28 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

We got an Xpress pass as a boarding pass.  Is this a priority boarding pass?

No, it's just the name of the boarding pass. At this time, only suite passengers have priority.

[Beamafar]

13 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

No, it's just the name of the boarding pass. At this time, only suite passengers have priority.

We’re booked in a suite, which is why I thought that.