Long review of our first Celebrity cruise - just back!

My wife and I returned a few days ago from our first Celebrity cruise – on the Constellation from Venice to Koper, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Naples, Sicily, Ravenna and back to Venice. Before the cruise we had a wonderful 4 days at the Locanda Vivaldi Hotel in Venice (review shortly to be placed on Trip Advisor). Here is our cruise review – may I please say at the outset that this, of course, is only our view and where we are critical I am not suggesting we are right and others with a different view are wrong – just that it is as we saw it!!

BACKGROUND

We have been on dozens of cruises on various lines since our first in 1984 but mainly on Princess and Cunard plus in earlier years P&O.

Due to my wife having a serious illness last year we had to cancel a couple of cruises so we splurged out this time on a Royal Suite, 6133 on Penthouse Deck.

EMBARKATION

Embarkation (and disembarkation) were extremely smooth. Indeed I would add that the whole holiday was very well organised by Celebrity – the transfers in Venice from airport to Hotel to ship to airport and everything else worked like clockwork.

SHIP

The Constellation took a little while to grow on us but did so during the course of the cruise. We did not like the piped music that was evident in most venues and in certain areas was excessively loud. I did not speak to one person who thought the volume was acceptable and was left with the feeling that it was mainly for the crew’s benefit not the passengers.

The bar service was a bit hit and miss for several days and was exceptionally poor in the Rendezvous Lounge on deck 4. The waiter service was very slow and many people gave up and simply walked to the bar to get service. Discussion with the Food and Beverage Manager led to a significant improvement in service in the second half of the cruise but it should not really have been necessary to do so.

We found there to be plenty of space throughout the ship even on sea days although in the evenings the lovely but small Martini Bar was just too busy and noisy for our taste – it was certainly a very popular venue though.

We did not like the fact that every restaurant on the ship closed for breakfast at 0830 on port days and 0900 on sea days – that really does seem a little early. We did have breakfast in the cabin on a few occasions and also in the Ocean View Buffet which we found to be extremely good (more later).

DRESS CODE AND EVENING CHIC

This is really our main issue with Celebrity and we did not like the dress code at all. We had 3 Evening Chic nights where, at an estimate, 35% of men wore tuxedos or jacket and tie – the rest were in the same casual wear worn on the remaining 9 nights.

On smart casual nights maybe 5% of men wore jacket and tie and the rest were casual and, of course, were complying with the Celebrity dress code.

My wife and I privately called the dress codes “Shabby Chic” and “Scruffy Casual” and without a word of a lie we spoke to several like-minded people who had used the same phrases.

Referring to my point at the start of the review (“this is just our opinion” etc) - for us, cruises are still special and part of the enjoyment is dressing up in the evening and everyone looking smart. Indeed we lost count of the number of people EVERY night who praised the way we were dressed – often while looking scruffy themselves. I found that most odd!

In conclusion on this section I must stress that our beef is with Celebrity NOT with our fellow passengers who obviously dressed as they wished and were complying with the official code.

It does mean though that for us Celebrity may not be a line to choose as plenty of their competitors (notably Princess) still have a limited number of formal nights. And, of course, so do Cunard.

It cuts no ice with us saying “wear what you want and ignore everyone else” as frankly we do not want to sit in a bar looking (in our opinion) smart and sitting next to someone looking as though they have dragged through a hedge backwards!

(Please note I am not trying to start another dress code thread but needed to explain our thoughts as a key factor in our decision whether to cruise with Celebrity again)

LUMINAE

The Luminae suite restaurant was a disappointment to us and also had a MAJOR issue which we feel needs urgently addressing by Celebrity.

We dined in there for the first two nights and were a little underwhelmed – the service and ambience were excellent but we were surprised to see just a choice of 4 starters and 4 main courses. The food was perfectly fine.

BUT…..on the second night we were eating at 8.00pm and on the adjacent table were a family group including an 18 month or so old child who bawled their eyes out for the whole meal.

We had already decided that Luminae was not for us but thought we would go in on the third night of the cruise as that was the first Evening Chic night so we could see if a really special menu was on offer. The answer was NO plus the family and (crying again) child were there but not sitting so close to us. I would add that the food itself that evening was excellent but still with a limited choice (at no time were we asked if we wanted to look at the menus from any other restaurants to supplement the choice available in Luminae).

So that was it with Luminae. A couple of days later the (extremely pleasant) Maître D’ saw us in a nearby bar and asked if everything was alright and where we had eaten and we had a lengthy conversation about the above points (which we had already drawn to his deputy’s attention.

He said he had received a lot of complaints about having to sit alongside a crying child for the evening but he said his hands were tied – Celebrity does not have a policy of children of that age not being allowed in the main restaurants at that time of night.

The Concierge in Michael’s Club also said she had received numerous complaints and was bringing the matter to the attention of Head Office urgently.

All I can say is that in 30 plus cruises we have never experienced babies of that age being allowed in the dining rooms at that time of night. We have children and grandchildren but would never have dreamt of taking them in to a restaurant at that hour when they were 18 months old.

We are again not trying to start a thread on the subject but I feel that any reasonable analysis would show that children of that age should not be present in a restaurant at that time of night. Breakfast and lunches – not a problem……………..8.00 in the evening is a problem, certainly for us and indeed the many others who complained.

I realise that as with everything some people may disagree – I would ask them if they REALLY want to be sitting within 2 yards of a screaming baby for their whole meal at 8.00 in the evening?

OCEAN LINERS RESTAURANT

As a result of our dissatisfaction with Luminae we decided to try Ocean Liners restaurant and WOW! We rediscovered cruising food and service that was the norm 30 years ago – a wonderful restaurant with loads of space between the tables, superb service and as for the food! I can only say WOW again. Tableside flambéed Dover sole, lobsters, chateaubriand – all superb. About a dozen starters and a dozen main courses to choose from plus you can order off menu to a limited extent with advance notice.

Now the downside……..the supplement is $50 per person per night although I have to say that one of the perks included in the Royal Suite was unlimited speciality dining so it did not cost us anything other than a hefty tip at the end for the superb service.

We ate there on 8 evenings and it was reasonably full every night (but please do not think our “perk” denied anyone else the opportunity to eat there as it was never completely full.)

Without exception everyone we spoke to who had been there said it was wonderful.

The Ocean Liners restaurant stands very good comparison with the Queens Grill on the QM2 (and is a much nicer restaurant inside) – we found the food, service, space and general ambience to be even better although in the Queens Grill on Cunard you can moreorless order anything you like. I must add that the Queens Grill is brilliant so when I say we thought Ocean Liners was better it is all degrees of excellence not a criticism of the Queens Grill.

We did eat one night in the other speciality restaurant Tuscan Grille so we could review that as well - $45 supplement. Excellent food and service but a rather out of the way restaurant on deck 11 (can only be reached from one set of lifts other than walking outside) and very cramped with tables extremely close to each other and a lot of bench seating. It was way behind Ocean Liners for us where, incidentally, every person had an individual chair with arms not a bench seat.

We did not eat in the main restaurant so can not comment on that although from a personal point of view I would have found it rather uncomfortable as none of the chairs have arms.

BUTLER

I am afraid our Butler, who I will not name in this review, was quite poor – we have had several Butlers over the years and he was way below the standard of previous ones. We are VERY low maintenance and we love speaking to the crew and finding out about their lives etc so the issue was not from our end.

He made several minor mistakes with breakfasts, drinks, laundry and other requests – nothing to make a complaint about but he really was not very professional.

On embarkation day we boarded at 1200 and he did not visit our cabin until nearly 1900 hours and did not know our names – that may be the norm on Celebrity but it is not our experience on other lines.

On the last evening of the cruise (which would be the normal time to say farewell) he was in the corridor on his mobile phone and just gave us a cursory wave.

After one of his several failures to comply with a request he contacted the Concierge himself to advise her (not that we did) and she wrote a letter of apology and supplied two bottles of wine. We did not actually use them but the thought was very nice. Unfortunately the Butler was just not really up to it in our opinion.

I was also more than slightly miffed to receive an envelope from him inviting a further gratuity after the normal level had been prepaid! Needless to say it was left unfilled!

BUFFET

Although I touched briefly above on the Ocean View buffet dining I must comment in further detail that we thought it was extremely good. Even on sea days there always seemed to be a table available and the food/variety was at an excellent level. We were most impressed with the organisation and the whole facility.

ROYAL SUITE

We loved the Royal Suite and the space it gave us – the balcony was massive and as we are big balcony users that was a huge bonus for us with two full sunbeds plus table and four chairs plus a Jacuzzi. The lounge area was a lovely place to relax although strangely we found the bedroom rather cramped as indeed was the wardrobe space adjacent to the bedroom. We did feel that had a little space being taken from the lounge area then the bedroom and particularly the wardrobe would have been more accessible. There was also a huge amount of storage space in the lounge area.

The included laundry and pressing was most welcome with the dirty clothes from the days in Venice before the cruise (and plenty of cruise clothes needing pressing after 5 days in a suitcase) and although we had heard that the complimentary laundry/pressing for Royal Suites had been reduced to twice per cruise we were not charged for any of the rather large amount we had done.

ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment is, of course, subjective but we found it to be excellent. The production shows were well put together and there was an always changing number of guest artistes of whom we liked many. The Cruise Director Martin, a young very tall Belgium guy, was a great bundle of fun. The seven piece orchestra were absolutely brilliant especially the horn section led by Mark on the trombone. We had a long chat with him and learnt that they only have one run through with each guest artist before accompanying them live – when watching the acts though you would think they had played together for years which showed what superb musicians they all are.

PORTS

The ports were amazing. We particularly loved Koper in Slovenia (great tour to a lovely coastal town called Pirin and on to a quaint hillside village called Padna where the locals provided wonderful delicacies for us) and Sorrento where we went on a public ferry from Naples. We did four ship tours which were well organised and enjoyable.

TWO BIG GRIPES THAT CELEBRITY SHOULD DEAL WITH

One is the issue of babies in the restaurants in the evening.

The second concerns the selfishness of some passengers that could easily be addressed by Celebrity. We attended the show virtually every evening in the Theatre for the 1030pm performance. On EVERY night people were still ambling in at 1100 and talking while they were sitting down (and often during the show). I really do think that conduct was unacceptable and although it is the fault of the selfish passengers not Celebrity, I do feel that Celebrity should close the doors, if not the moment the show starts (which would be preferable) but within a couple of minutes so that anyone “just” late could be admitted but not those who come in towards the end of the show.

SUMMARY

We had a lovely cruise and would consider returning to Celebrity but it is not over likely. For us the dress code IS a deal breaker (however stupid that might seem to some people) and when added to the issues in Luminae, the early closure of restaurants for breakfast, the poor Butler and a few other matters we probably feel that other lines more suit our cruising wishes. I must stress though that there were good points, especially the wonderful Ocean Liners restaurant and overall the service and friendliness of staff were top notch.

I do hope this will be accepted as a balanced and reasoned review of our thoughts.

We sailed on the Connie in April so I feel able to comment on some of PrincessPete's comments. We were Concierge so cant comment on Suite facilities. We never used Ocean Liners either.

We also felt that the waiter service onboard was below acceptable standard. The exception being the ladies in Café Bacio. We had a similar experience on the Solstice in February. We are coming to the belief that Celebrity is cutting back on waiting staff which is going to have an impact on the overall cruise experience especially with such a push for drinks packages.

Elegant Chic nights: We are in the Casual club and find it unnecessary to get all diddly'd up for a couple of nights. Having experienced both formal and elegant chic I am in the camp of the latter. Over time I think even the more formally inclined will dress down.

I would agree as to the quality of the food in the buffet it was our favourite place to dine for all meals

Thank you for the review.

Thank you for taking the time to review your experience.

Thanks for your review.

We sailed the same itinerary in May. We sailed in Aqua Class so dined in Blu where service and food were quite good.

It's a shame that your dining experience was damaged by an inconsiderate family. We took our kids everywhere when they were infants but if problems developed, one of us removed the unhappy little one from the situation. I wonder if the maitre d' offered any babysitting services. If so many other passengers were bothered, it would seem like an obvious solution. Perhaps since ships are cutting back on staff so drastically, there are no longer people to do that in the evening.

Our cruise experience differed from yours in two other categories. Our embarkation was dreadful, the staff had no idea what they were doing. We did not care for the shows at all but we've cruised with Celebrity a lot and perhaps we've seen it all too much. We never saw the theatre more than half full but I think that was the result of the intense, active itinerary and most people were too tired to attend.

As for dress codes, these discussions always remind me of a quote from the movie Steel Magnolias...

Remember what Daddy always says...an ounce of pretension is worth a pound of manure!

Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion. Personally, I never even notice what other people are wearing, its just not on my radar.

Thank you for your review. I do have to comment about Luminae, though. I believe it's the best thing Celebrity has done in recent years. Although there are "only" 4 choice for dinner, they change nightly. And due to it being a small venue, the chefs are able to customize things for you. I found that there is not as much green salad and green vegetables in serving size so I just asked for them. On a couple lunches I asked for a plate of mixed greens and grilled chicken, some grated cheese and a vinaigrette dressing. Done. On a couple of evenings I wanted some broccoli cooked softer (I don't like hot half-cooked broccoli) and it was done. I wanted a piece of grilled fish - fairly plain - one night when it wasn't on the menu and I got it.

You just have to ask.

Honestly we never care what anyone else is wearing and we will have to agree to disagree about the dress code on Celebrity. For us it's perfect. Neither of us would dream of wearing jeans on the cruise and we dress just "under" what you might deem 'formal' and enjoy not bringing all the extras that entails. I have no desire to return to a time where everyone wore fancy very formal gowns and white tails and their finest accessories.

I'm sorry your butler wasn't good. We've had very excellent ones and some who were superb and some who were very very good, and even if it took a day or so to get into the groove, we always had good service once we were on the same page. We've also had one who was brand new and one who had to take on extra rooms suddenly due to two butlers contracting Noro on the cruise! So one never knows... We, too, are low maintenance and wouldn't dream of asking someone to make a reservation for us when all we need to do is pick up a phone. Honestly we use the Michael's Club concierge more than the butler.

If Celebrity isn't your cup of tea (and I would strongly encourage you to try one of the S class ships which we love sooooo much better than the M class ships) I hope you find it.

Thank you for your review.

It's not only crying babies that can be disruptive. On our last sailing in January on the Summit we were in AQ and there was a group of 10 ladies traveling together. They were from all over the US so it was basically a reunion cruise for them. They were drunk, demanding and very loud every night and ruined most other passengers dining experience. We complained many times to the maître'd as did other passengers but they we never controlled the group. One was an elite plus or zenith guest and she was the "ring leader" of the group. They were very demanding of the staff in Blu and got their way with whatever request they made. While many other guests were waiting upwards of 45 minutes for a table in Blu, Blu was holding numerous tables grouped for ten for this group of ladies for whenever they decided to show up. We ended up moving to the MDR for the last few nights of our cruise where we got great service and the noise level was less than being in Blu with these drunk ladies. At the end of the cruise the maître'd admitted that he had been directed by the F+B Mgr to accommodate these ladies but said the situation was handled very poorly on Celebrity's part.

Really enjoyed your review, thanks for taking the time to post it:)

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Your reactions are your reactions, I'm not sure why others have to offer a rebuttal. We will be in a suite on Silhouette in January for the 1st time since Luminae debuted, and I have to admit I am skeptical going in. The menu just seems so limited, I've seen menus and several nights there are just no appetizers, etc that sound appealing to me. I've heard that we can order off the MDR menu but I'm not sure what the advantage is there, we expect an upgraded experience in Luminae and not the regular choice and quality. Anyway, I'm hoping we'll be impressed by the service and atmosphere if not the food!

Enjoyed the report, thanks!

Thanks for taking the time to write your review. Your reactions are your reactions, I'm not sure why others have to offer a rebuttal. We will be in a suite on Silhouette in January for the 1st time since Luminae debuted, and I have to admit I am skeptical going in. The menu just seems so limited, I've seen menus and several nights there are just no appetizers, etc that sound appealing to me. I've heard that we can order off the MDR menu but I'm not sure what the advantage is there, we expect an upgraded experience in Luminae and not the regular choice and quality. Anyway, I'm hoping we'll be impressed by the service and atmosphere if not the food!

Give it a try. We were on Reflection in Luminae in January and it was very hit or miss. The MD was like a used car salesman. All talk, no action, and would never leave us alone. He was OTT. He has since left the ship. The food was "trying too hard" and in most instances just OK. Never hot, but lukewarm. The only exception were the pastas that were absolutely delicious and piping hot upon delivery. I suggest getting a few pastas for the table as an appetizer to share each night to try them out. I am a big fan of gourmet food and found myself ordering entrees off of the MDR menu most nights as the frilly entrees on the Luminae menu just were not great...always one too many ingredients that made it more weird than elegant or tasteful. Even down to the beef and lamb items...MDR entrees were better than Luminae. The room itself is very nice and I definietly prefer it to the hustle bustle of the MDR. They need to rethink the Luminae menu a bit. It's been over a year now. Might be time. That said, I would still prefer dining in Luminae over MDR or elswhere. Good luck

Thank you for your review. We must agree to differ on the dress code, but the issue of a crying baby is totally unacceptable in any restaurant. I would not be in favour of banning children, but common courtesy would suggest that any child disturbing other diners should be removed by the parents. The sense of entitlement some people have makes it very difficult for staff to deal with them.

Thank you for your review. We must agree to differ on the dress code, but the issue of a crying baby is totally unacceptable in any restaurant. I would not be in favour of banning children, but common courtesy would suggest that any child disturbing other diners should be removed by the parents. The sense of entitlement some people have makes it very difficult for staff to deal with them.

Agree with this statement

I don't think children should be banned no matter the time since some families are night owls and some are early risers, that family is paying a cruise fare also however any child that is crying needs to be removed by the parent(s) out of common courtesy. We have cruises with our children since they were infants and had both early and late dinner seating depending on the itinerary and how long the ship was in port. Any time a child was fussy one of us would take the child out of the area

We haven't sailed Celebrity yet and appreciate your thorough review

Thank you for your review, I am glad you did enjoy some aspects of your cruise.

I would just add a couple of comments as a regular Celebrity suite traveller.

Firstly, only on one cruise ever have we had an issue with a crying child and the level of professionalism it was dealt with was stunning. From the MD quietly going over to the family after the child had been crying for a few minutes and saying 'who needs their dinner keeping warm to give the little one some fresh air?' to our knowledge that the conceirge and the Luminae MD met with the family to offer a range of options. It seems this level of management was missing on your cruise. There are generally very few children on Celebrity and even fewer in Luminae.

Like you we do find the Luminae menu limited, but with the unlimited speciality dining included we simply pick and choose when to dine there. On S class ships there are more dining options.

You do not mention Michael's Club? We have found it a great venue for pre and post dinner drinks with stunning service and have particularly enjoyed the events hosted there. Perhaps you just didn't like or try the venue...You also do not mention any little 'treats' that usually come with a suite like a helipad party, a bridge tour invitation...Perhaps you were but not interested or perhaps that is another area of your suite life experience that was missing on this cruise.

Like you we are also usually quite low maintenance re butlers....I do understand your reluctance to complain re 'minor issues' we would be the same but I would say your experience on this cruise does not match ours generally, perhaps he was new to the job? As someone else has already said we would generally rate them from 'very good' (as in providing all requested efficiently) to excellent (as in predicting our needs/wants before we even requested anything!). After a few days of not good service I would, perhaps, have had a quiet word with the conceirge...perhaps he was being overworked by another suite or did need additional guidance...it is much better to get problems resolved quickly before they become a real issue.

Only you know if the positives of this experience are enough to encourage you to book Celebrity again. For us, we dress more formally on 'chic' night but have no issues with others who don't, know whatever cruise line you are on there will be an occasional difficult family (it is how the cruise line handles it that is important, obviously not well on your cruise)....

I write my comments not to 'stick up' for Celebrity in any way, your experience was in several ways below par....but to simply let you know that in our experience the 'product' we have experienced over many cruises has been significantly better. If you do decide to try X again I really hope you get more of the 'wow' factor we continue to experience.

When paying the prices you pay for a Royal Suite, Celebrity should only have one chance to get it right. When you have to lay out that much money, Celebrity's goal should be to exceed all expectations. Otherwise, you're only going to get one booking out of the passenger. I find that they're starting to be like Comcast in some regards: say the correct thing but never follow through and actually provide the service.

In their defense, if the family with the crying baby refused all help/hints, you're sort of stuck, short of banning the family from the dining room. As a manager, I would have made the call to do so, but who knows who these people are & why they were being given preferential treatment. Very disappointing that they'd rather ruin the meals for a dining room full of people.

I had a rather disappointing butler experience on my last Reflection cruise. I also saw several management issues that were more eye-opening to me. If it had been my first Celebrity cruise, I know I would be looking elsewhere in the future.

 

I had a rather disappointing butler experience on my last Reflection cruise. I also saw several management issues that were more eye-opening to me. If it had been my first Celebrity cruise, I know I would be looking elsewhere in the future.

We did too back in January. Broken glass in the middle of the floor was never cleaned up after we requested. 5 hours later when approached many excuses were given. It was downhill from there. Every minor thing we asked for was never done and when asked why, there was an excuse. It was so annoying we asked for a new butler who was really not any better. We decided they were more of a nuisance than anything. We got our own apps and brought to room in the afternoon and my dad got pastry and coffee in the morning bc if we relied on the butler is was prepared wrong and hot items were literally ice cold. As I said, it was just annoying and a waste of time and energy. We have had wonderful butlers in the past, specifially Gordon from Goa and Luis from Honduras. These past two, horrible.

For the prices you pay for a suite this is not acceptable. I blame management for improper, or lack of, training.

Thank you for your review. I always enjoy reading different perspective on the cruise experience. Yours was thoughtful and well written.

We are sailing Celebrity again after 10 years cruising on smaller ships. I'm excited to see the difference in Celebrity's product.

All of these experiences now make me even more certain our decision to move on after 20 years of sailing with Celebrity was correct.

All of these experiences now make me even more certain our decision to move on after 20 years of sailing with Celebrity was correct.

Not all....my comments suggested more that the OP had been unlucky with a challenging family which perhaps had not been well managed and a less than good butler...

Our last two Celebrity cruises have been our best ever. More booked and no intention of 'moving on...'

It does all depend on your personal priorities. For the OP the lack of 'formal nights' is a real issue, for us it is a neither here or there, for some it is a bonus....

There would not be the variety of cruise lines there are without different people wanting different things!

I would agree that X may not be for you as one of the very few who still clamor for formal nights....Celebrity listened to their customers and the vast majority do not feel the need to bring formal clothing nor feel the need to judge those who have went "thru the hedge backward" but to those of you who still do there are lines for you ....be careful though, cruise lines all seem to change with the times and follow suit on other lines innovations, Princess will probably follow suit (or should I say follow casual) soon then you will only be left with Cunard....

My wife and I returned a few days ago from our first Celebrity cruise – on the Constellation from Venice to Koper, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Naples, Sicily, Ravenna and back to Venice. Before the cruise we had a wonderful 4 days at the Locanda Vivaldi Hotel in Venice (review shortly to be placed on Trip Advisor). Here is our cruise review – may I please say at the outset that this, of course, is only our view and where we are critical I am not suggesting we are right and others with a different view are wrong – just that it is as we saw it!!

After 90 days in HAL suites, we recently booked our first Celebrity cruise in RS 6141 aboard the Connie in Asia, Jan 2018. I read your review with great interest. The dress code thing is contentious, but we think a lot alike. I look forward to "puttin' on the Ritz". As I've said in another post, it's the only time I can wear a tux without paying for a wedding or writing a check to a charity. Your remarks regarding service at the bars and with your butler were informative. I wouldn't have waited 7 days to talk to the bev. mgr. but you did the right thing. I usually look them up early in a cruise, introduce myself, and pay a compliment to one of their staff. They never fail to stop when they see us and check on things, and the staff notices. Regarding the Luminae lack of entre choices, were you told you could order from the MDR menu as well? I thought I read that somewhere.

I'm sure you'll bring about some "discussion" on this forum, but I really appreciate your candor. We booked our cruise for the itinerary. We've been very happy with HAL, and you've added another dimension to some of the second thoughts I've been experiencing.

Thank you for a very interesting review and my sympathies re the baby...

As chemmo points out you do not mention Michael's Club or any little 'treats' like a helipad party, a bridge tour invitation etc

We have sailed in suites on S class ships and have experienced MC and the "treats" then. These little touches are usually down to the MCC and can make for an extra special cruise

We are in an RS on in August so are very interested to know how the MCC on Connie compares and how an M class ship in general measures up?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions on your recent cruise. i have also been to the Adriatic, but on an "S" class ship; recently I sailed on the Millie and I will not sail on an M class ship again, even though it was okay. I just enjoy a little more glitz with my cruise. The Adriatic is so beautiful, with so much culture to enjoy. I also agree with you regarding the menu in Luminae; too few choices. Furthermore, My DH and I would not enjoy crying babies, but Celebrity is trying to attract younger adults, so that may be the issue and consequence.

I do understand that many like to dress to the hilt, and wear their very best attire. I believe that is allowable, but others(my DH and I include)enjoy be somewhat comfortable when eating and don't have an urge to put on the "nines." That being said, I am glad the change in policy was made. It helps keep both sides somewhat happy with "Evening Chic."

Your review demonstrates how different we perceive certain rules and regulations. If babies star crying loudly, it really is the parent's responsibility to take them out and calm them down. Then, bring them back into dinner; however, if the families eating way too late, there is the inherent problem and it rests totally on the parents. If it become unbearable, definitely speak to someone. I always give Celebrity a chance to makes things better.

So, I would say. Try an S class ship if he itinerary is fantastic and nothing else looks good. You just might have a much better cruise...thank goodness we all have so many cruise lines to pick from, along with the means to enjoy the good life!:)

We usually eat late, and returning to our cabin from the Oceanview Bar during happy hour, we noticed all the families with small children feeding them at the buffet. They have lots of options up there for little ones. At least some folks have common sense not to put their kids thru a 2-hour dinner in the dining room.

You would normally not see young kids in Blu as cabins are for 2 persons only.