Latest news with #CelebrityCruise
IOL News
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Cruising in style: Sorisha Naidoo's family voyage through Europe's hidden gems
Sorish Naidoo with her husband Vivian Reddy and their two children, Saihil and Kalina. Image: Instagram. Reality star and businesswoman Sorisha Naidoo, known for her role in "The Real Housewives of Durban", has taken to the waves for an enchanting European holiday alongside her husband, Vivian Reddy and their two children, Saihil and Kalina. The family set sail with award-winning cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, and their journey has been nothing short of spectacular. Documenting their unforgettable trip through a series of vlogs on her social media platforms, Naidoo has given her followers a front-row seat to their adventures. From luxurious days at sea filled with yoga classes and artistic glass sessions aboard the cruise ship, to explorations of historic destinations on port days. "Day one on the cruise, we boarded and watched the ship sail away ... Lots to do on the Celebrity Cruise ship, and I think for me it was about the yoga classes, the hot glass sessions, but we decided to take it easy into the night and have a little bit of sushi ... "Our first port day, we got to go to Pompeii. We saw tons of things," said Naidoo during the video. As the ship made its first port stop in Pompeii, the family was eager to embark on their exploration. The vlogs reveal Naidoo and her family experiencing the enchanting ruins of this ancient city, where history and architecture intertwine beautifully. "There's probably a million tourists at this time that we're here, so everything is packed," she continued. In a separate vlog about their excursion to the iconic Tower of Pisa, Naidoo expressed her admiration for historical structures. About a beautiful ancient church, she said: "It is so gorgeous, the attention for detail is incredible, why don't we build things like this now. I want to see more buildings like this. "I'm so tired of these glass fronts. These modern, boring, no imagination buildings, I think we need to go back in time. We need to step it up ... It's so detailed, it's unbelievable." Offering practical advice for fellow travellers, Naidoo advised to 'hold tight to your bag and keep your belongings safe,' while noting the hot Italian sun during this season. Her choice of attire, a lightweight linen ensemble, was both stylish and practical, keeping her comfortable as they explored stunning cities filled with charm and history. 'When you're going out to Italy or Europe in the prime of summer, linen is the way to go,' she recommended. Culinary experiences were also a highlight of their trip, as Naidoo described every dining experience as 'pure bliss". From fine dining aboard the cruise to sampling delectable local cuisine ashore, the family indulged in the flavours of Italy, making the most of their time together.
Miami Herald
27-06-2025
- Miami Herald
Celebrity Cruises airport journey shows why you need travel agents
Recently there is no question, when flying domestically or internationally, you may face unexpected delays, cancellations and even setbacks with your flights. The recent months have shown a steady increase in travel setbacks, some caused by the airlines but not all. The causes vary from mechanical issues, staff shortages, air traffic control problems, significant weather impacts to strikes in the airlines industry or transportation sector like we recently saw in Italy on June 20. Related: Carnival Cruise Line suddenly cancels sailing No matter what the cause, it is very frustrating sitting on the passenger side of things. When you absolutely have to be somewhere like a cruise and suddenly you're told you're not going to make it because of flight deviations, what do you do? There are only a few options but the faster you act on them the better. First, if at the airport, get an agent to help you navigate a remedy quickly as there are likely many others with the same problem. If you don't succeed first, get another agent or go to the front check-in counter and ratchet up your demand to get you another flight quickly. If you are not at the airport yet or if you live nearby, we recommend going there as the local agents can access your itinerary and get to work on a replacement flight or another airline. Dealing with agents over the phone when not at the airport is not favorable and you will likely be delayed even more. In some instances when flying late, there may not be flights, and a hotel stay becomes the next need. Most airlines will accommodate hotels if they have some involvement in the delay. Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise. Cruisers, if your heading out for a cruise and you are flying, you must leave space in between and try not to fly the same day. Usually leaving the day before is a good habit and spending the night somewhere close to your port of embarkation is recommended. If you must fly long distances involving one or two transfer connections or going international, then two days ahead is the safest way and just enjoy an extra day if you make it on time. But if you get delayed or canceled, there is room to reschedule or for the airlines to find another flight or airline to pick up the deviation. In some cases, we have had clients rent a car and get on the road to make their cruise, because it was so important to them and they were within the driving distance in that time frame they had left. Today and last night was a great example of how several cruisers heading to Greece from Miami for a 7-day Celebrity Cruise on Celebrity Infinity dealt with a bad set of situations. Related: Royal Caribbean crew member shows off tiny crew cabin The first thing that happened, they flew out of Miami yesterday and got stranded at Charlotte airport when their direct American Airlines flight canceled. They were able to get switched to a Delta flight but once on board last night, they developed mechanical issues while taxiing for takeoff, had to return to the gate and were grounded. With no flights or answers, they had to stay overnight in a Charlotte hotel. This morning came around and with no solutions or alternative flights available, they called their travel agent, Lisa Dennis from Postcard Travel Planning, who sprang into action. The cruisers who booked their trip were offered air accommodation through the cruise line by Lisa, in this case, Celebrity Cruise line. The advantage was, a better rate and assistance if a flight gets canceled, delayed or deviations occurred; they accepted and turned out to be their best decision. Once called,Dennis immediately gave the cruisers directions to work with the airlines at the airport and get on another flight or airline. While this was taking place, unbeknownst to Dennis, they became so frustrated with lack of support, they just wanted to cancel and go home, in turn would lose all their money and their Greek Isles cruise. Be the first to see the best deals on cruises, special sailings, and more. Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter. Dennis reached out to another agent, Amy Post, who recommended calling Celebrity Cruise lines emergency help number. Both Lisa and Amy came up with options and tried to ensure the cruisers would get it handled with a quick solution so they could make their cruise. After two hours and lots of calls, a representative from Celebrity found an answer. Since they had booked through Celebrity/Royal Caribbean cruise lines air department, they had a team of people behind them to solve the setbacks. Celebrity found them a direct flight on United Airlines out of Atlanta tomorrow, rented a car for them to drive over and put them up in a hotel for the night before leaving direct to Athens Greece in the morning. This story is not unique and can happen as we faced this three time in the past few weeks including a group of 8 traveling to Italy for another Celebrity Cruise. Their situation was similar with canceled flights and was handled similarly once Amy was able to get Celebrity Cruise representatives involved and they both came up with a plan. The plan got the group to Italy by 10 a.m. the day of their cruise, it all worked out and they got on their cruise. All three of the deviations were handled and two of them by Celebrity Cruise line and the two agents working simultaneously to resolve the situation. Remedies are not complicated. They just take planning. Related: JetBlue cancels all flights to major US airport, offers customer refunds First start by using a great travel agent. They will always fight for you and provide comfort and solutions when a crisis occurs. When booking a cruise or trip leave extra time on the front and back end. If booking a cruise, and it is long distance or international, use contracted air through the cruise lines as they help reschedule, provide lodging and/or will in some instances, fly you to the next port of call if the ship has already left. If not offered or available, leave extra space/time between your trip to your cruise. We recommend, if within a driving distance of 6-8 hours or more, leave the day before. When flying a great distance, leave on an early direct flight the day before, that will leave all day to recover if there are delays or cancellations. If you have multiple transfers or on an international flight, leave two days, and recommend sometimes internationally three days, just to account for the unexpected deviations domestically and abroad. Dennis Post is co-owner of Postcard Travel Planning, The Arena Group's travel agent partner. (The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.) Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@ or call or text her at 386-383-2472. Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
My family of 5 went on our first cruise. We had fun, but there are 4 things I wish we'd known before getting on the ship.
To celebrate my kids' graduations, my family and I went on our first cruise. Although we had a great time, I wish we had known a few things before getting on board. For example, turning our phones on airplane mode would have saved us a lot of money. 2024 was a big year in our household. All three kids were graduating — our oldest from high school and our twins from junior high. When it came time to celebrate these achievements, we gave them an option. We could throw a party or use the money for an awesome family vacation instead. So, before our oldest left for college, we came together one last time for a seven-day trip to Alaska on our first-ever cruise. We were all excited about the idea, and honestly, everyone had a fantastic time. However, I don't think any of us were completely prepared our first cruising experience. Here are four things I wish we had known before boarding the Celebrity Cruise ship. Our phones are such an important part of our lives that it's almost unheard of to go without them for minutes, let alone days. However, we purposely didn't purchase the ship's WiFi package because we wanted a chance to disconnect and enjoy Alaska's beauty. What we were unaware of, however, is that once we got away from land, we should have put our phones on airplane mode. Since we didn't, they switched to a service called Cellular at Sea, which uses satellites to keep the phones connected. However, this can be expensive. Luckily, after racking up $100 in charges within hours of setting sail, AT&T cut my device off until I contacted them. However, this was a costly lesson. Next time, we'll be sure to turn on airplane mode and call our cellular provider to talk about cruise packages. Typically, we're a jeans and T-shirt family. It's not that we don't clean up well; it's just that we don't do it often, so a formal night wasn't even on our radar. We knew we needed nicer clothing for our dinner reservations on the ship, but we didn't know that one night, everyone would go all out. We skipped dinner that night and hit the buffet instead (which, honestly, we did more often than not anyway), and we certainly weren't the only ones not dressed up. However, I wish we had known about this in advance, as it would have been exciting to join in on the fun. It's no secret that cruising isn't cheap. So, when it came time to book excursions, we knew they would be pricey. However, we still weren't prepared for just how pricey they would be. Luckily, almost every port we stopped at had third-party companies who would pick passengers up at the dock and take them to do fun and exciting things. For example, being in Alaska, we wanted to learn about and visit a dog-sled team. Although the cruise line offered this experience, we saved more than 50% by booking with an outside party. However, it's important to know your schedule and check to make sure the third party will guarantee you'll be back on time — because if you're not, the ship won't wait for you. On the days the ship doesn't stop at a port, finding space to call your own on the boat can be a battle. Tables at breakfast, couches by the windows, and lounge chairs by the pool all become valuable real estate. Instead of waking up early to claim a space near the pool, we chose to sleep in instead. However, because of this, we should've been prepared to settle for a less-than-prime space to sit and relax. Instead of a view of the ocean and the mountains, we got stuck in the middle of the ship near the bathrooms. Even with these small missteps, none of it was enough to put even the slightest damper on what was a fabulous time aboard our first cruise. The next time we take to the seas, though, we'll be better prepared for what's to come. Read the original article on Business Insider
