HeWhoWaits

I've passed along cash to these folks on more than a few occasions, especially when I see the same crew member repeatedly. Best reaction I ever got was when I handed the guy washing the pool deck at 5:00 a.m. a $5 bill.

Imagine tendering to embark and disembark! Early check-in no longer preferred. It's a MUST.

Other than changing some bigger bills to ones for on-the-fly tipping purposes, we default to asking the concierge first. If the concierce CAN'T help, they can usually get you a faster response than waiting in line at Guest Services.

Even if the only change is opting to pre-pay gratuities if it wasn't included at the time of booking.

That's what was so nice about docking downtown on our recent Celebrity cruise. Access to the local vendors just outside the pier area.

The staterooms will be assigned by the system, not by any potentially vindictive individuals. You will get what's available when the assignment is made. No experiential basis for this assumption, but it seems likely that the earliest guarantee bookings at the highest room type are assigned first and it cascades down through the final guarantee booking at that level, followed by progressively lower categories/later bookings.

All this talk about something between D+ and Pin got me thinking. Maybe what's needed is a level ABOVE Pinnacle. Call it the Super Mario.

Seems likely. That's how my wife handles her boarding passes for the airlines. Still wants that paper in hand for SetSail pass (maybe because it's easier to hand that to the bartenders than to show them a phone prior to having the physical SeaPass).

We've never previously used a travel agent for booking (I know - sacrilege), but for a recent trip with five other couples on Celebrity the person who originated the process (usually my wife, not this time) booked everything through Online Vacation Center. We were very pleased with what they did for us.

They only care if you're enjoying your cruise and hopefully that is due in part to be ing satisfied with the service they are providing.

This is an example of why my wife insists on having a printed copy of everything just in case.

Kids most certainly DO show. The system has the information regarding age and that is included on the confirmation, just like it does for all of the adults on the reservation.

Probably an "upgrade" to the app.

Four? Six? Pfft. On Valentine's Day, there were NINE ships in Cozumel- including both Wonder OTS and Mariner OTS (albeit at three different docking locations). Fortunately for us, Celebrity Reflection was one of the two docked downtown (plus another that arrived for an overnight stay after Norwegian Prima departed).

Your initial comparison would create a dilemma for us. On the one hand, Puerto Plata would be a new port for us making the slightly more expensive trip interesting. On the other, we love sea days and the opportunity for one extra sea day AND cost savings would be very difficult to pass up. Can we get one with Puerto Plata AND the extra sea day and just skip PDCC?

Yes. IF the fare you're seeing online is still available AT THE TIME you're speaking to them, they will see it too. Available fares are a dynamic thing and frequently change. My wife and I have sometimes logged in on separate devices and unintentionally done (nearly) simultaneous mock bookings and seen two different prices. Whichever one processed first is read by the system as a booking that reduces the number of staterooms available in the category. The second one shows a higher price than the first. The agent on the phone would see the same thing - the one you have open may cause the price available to that agent to be higher.

You are correct. There would be no screenshots available. However, when booking directly with an agent on the phone you can have them stay on the phone until you receive the confirmation email. We've done this on multiple occasions and in the couple times that something wasn't right, the agent was right there to make the correction.

You have experienced what we all like to call "Royal math." The numbers frequently make absolutely no sense.

If you stick around, you will be surprised (initially) to find that many posts such as your first one are truly one-and-done accounts created to attempt to stir up dissent. The "RUDE and OBNOXIOUS" comments are because those are so common and posters are simply sick of other less-experienced cruisers being poisoned by the bullsh!t. You think I need to do better with my apology? I've sometimes been called out by others on the board in the past for being too dismissive of such posts. This is the first time that an initial post that appeared to be questionable prompted me to include such a disclaimer. Something correctly told me that it MIGHT be legit.

I believe we can all agree that much of the first post by the OP is bogus. Booking for four in a stateroom will NEVER be double the cost of booking for two, unless the comparison is apples to bicycle chains (four person interior on Grandeur to a suite on Icon, for example). The drive-by bots aren't getting any smarter. Note: in the unlikely event that the OP is a real poster with a real problem, I apologize in advance. Just seems too conveniently fishy as a first post to be real.

The OP asked about snorkeling. My experience with Eagle Beach is that it tends to be pretty rough wave action, which is great for other in-water activities and irrelevant for "beach time." Other beaches may be better options for snorkeling.

I don't have direct experience with Celebrity's Camp at Sea program, but based on the very small number of children I saw on Reflection last week, if your kids like lots of other kids - stick with Royal. If your kids prefer smaller groups - go Celebrity.

I'd be good with that for many cruises. Port Canaveral instead of everything being from Port Everglades or Miami would save us 2.5 or 3 hours each way.

Just completed our first Celebrity cruise. Fewer overall things to do, but what was available was consistently less crowded than typical on Royal. If two nights longer is only slightly more expensive, we'd be all over the 7 nights rather than 5 nights, especially if it means more time at sea.

Happens all the time. Means absolutely nothing. As long as your status is correct on your account and therefore on your SeaPass, all will be well. On Celebrity Reflection last week, my status (Elite based on our Diamond + on Royal) was correct. My wife's showed "Preview" (and SHE'S the one who got us to D+). It was correct on the SeaPass, so again - all was well.