Katzpur

We did this with a private tour company and were able to include both the Zoo and Cave Tubing. We enjoyed both very much. Check Trip Advisor or the Belize forum here for recommendations of vendors.

We had initially planned on doing just the Cave Tubing, but my husband is hesitant primarily because we enjoy taking pictures wherever we are and don't want to have to leave our cameras behind just to avoid having them get water damaged. Any thoughts on his concerns? Could you tell us a little bit more about the cave tubing? For example, would it be suitable for "active seniors"? ;) If we decide to do just the zoo instead, what's the best way to get there from the port? I'm a huge animal lover so stuff like this is really right up my alley.

Has anyone taken the ship's excursion to the Belize Zoo? The Celebrity website leaves a lot to be desired...not much info other than boat ride, lunch and zoo for $96, 6 hours. Was there a stop at the Howler Monkey Sanctuary?

 

Any info or suggestions would be much appreciated.....going on the Equinox, January 12.

 

Happy New Year!

Barbara :confused:

We haven't looked into the ship's excursion to the Belize Zoo, but would definitely be interested in sharing a taxi ride with someone. It's rated Belize City's number 1 attraction on Trip Advisor, but I can see a taxi ride for just two people as possibly being exorbitantly priced.

Oh, I see! Thank you all so much. That makes so much more sense. I was just envisioning a kind of madhouse with 2850 cruisers trying to get off the ship, see what there was to see and get back on board in an hour. Duh!

My husband and I are looking into a Celebrity Solstice cruise in February, 2016 to Australia and New Zealand. I notice that on one day, the schedule shows the ship as "Cruising" but with stops in Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound, and Milford Sound. In one of these cases, the ship is apparently at each destination for only an hour to an hour and a half each. Then there's an hour or half of cruising between ports -- hardly enough time to go back to your cabin to use the restroom.

 

I'm not just trying to check places off on a list of places I've been, and I'm wondering if one can really get off the ship, see anything at all and get back on board in an hour! We've cruised the Equinox before and I understand the Solstice is very similar in size and layout. I can't imagine 2850 people even being able to get off and back on the ship in an hour's time. On the other hand, I know nothing about these three ports and maybe it's entirely possible. I suppose if they're small enough and everything is very accessible it might be. Could someone who has had some experience in these ports give us some advice? Thanks.

Hi,

We were on the Equinox last July and Solstice in Sep '12.

Guests on Celebrity do tend to go for it on the formal nights but equally a lot of women wear cocktail length dresses and men lounge suits. One of the guys on our table on the Solstice wore jacket and slacks. They do specific ties for men on formal nights and almost everyone does.

We have seen a few get turned away but they were dressed very inappropriately for a formal night (one woman in t-shirt and shorts) can you imagine?!

There are always lots of other dining options and the Ocean Cafe buffet is excellent with lots of choice if you prefer casual on formal nights.

I hope you love Celebrity as much as we do. We are doing the Caribbean on the Eclipse in November.

Hope this helps and...Enjoy :-)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using the Cruise Critic forums app

Thank you! That helps a lot. I'm sure we'll be fine with what we've planned to take then. I like wearing dresses, and my husband is fine wearing a suit. I just didn't want to have to go out and buy an evening gown and my husband a tux. I guess that's one thing I don't need to worry about. :)

We're going to be traveling on the Celebrity Equinox this coming May. I know there are two formal nights out of the 12-day cruise. How formal are these really? Do I need to buy an evening gown or a cocktail dress (I currently have neither), and the last thing you'll find in my husband's wardrobe is a tux. I actually have a number of quite dressy maxi skirts and some very nice tops, and my husband has a nice navy blue suit. Would these be adequate? I do want us both to wear what's appropriate, and we'll put out the money for some real formal wear if that's really what's expected. I don't want to end up doing that, however, only to find that we're the most dressed up of anyone on the ship.

Whew, I am back,

Hello again Katzpur,

Even though the Eclipse has a large passenger population it doesn't feel crowded, most of the time.

 

EXCURSIONS

If you are disembarking for a Celebrity excursion you will be advised of when and where to meet.

A private tour will accomodate your times. So if the ship docks at 8, as it does in most ports, the first half hour after the ship clears customs is busy, so plan your day around getting off after 9am. We have a private excursion booked for 9:30am in Aruba with another couple from our roll call, but we are doing the zipline adventure with Celebrity (ANA3) on Antigua and will debark about 20min before the time on the ticket. If you are doing a Celebrity excursion or 2 the tickets should be in your cabin when you arrive. If they aren't check with the excursion or customer service desk as soon as you can.

It is amazing how fast a ship can empty!

 

FOOD

Included

Yes, Katzpur, the MDR is open every day for breakfast and dinner, only on sea days for lunch, and it is included with your fare.

The Oceanview Cafe is a full buffet with great food. It is open most of the day, small closures for menu changes, and offers piza later at night.

This too is included.

There is also the Mast grill which offers pretty good burgers fries and hot dogs, it closes at 6pm, and the cafe al Baccio which serves specialty coffees and Ice creams for a fee but the little cakes and sandwiches (snacks) are free.

All the above are included.

 

Not Included

There are a number of 'specialty' restaurants that you pay a fee for; Bistro on 5 serves both sweet and savoury crepes as well as soups & lighter fare. It is $5 and you can eat as much as you can. It is more a daytime venue.

The restaurants that serve dinners are all under $50 and you can order whatever you wish off the menu, x2 if you are hungry.

We always say when we are going on a cruise that we will go to at least 1 of the specialty restaurants; we never make it, we enjoy our time in the MDR so much that we can't see why we should spend extra.

 

GRATUITIES

This is always a touchy subject as tipping is different culturally as well as from person to person.

What we do is pre pay the gratuities then if the cabin service has been good leave a little extra for both attendants. In the dining room we also give a bit extra at the end of the cruise if the service has been good.

This is a choise that only you can make as it is so subjective.

Bar staff and waiters, we give a dollar for service most times....a long wait no tip. We have had occasion where we have given a bar quite a good tip at the end of the cruise, but that was because they looked after me really well making me a different fancy cocktail every night; some even matching the colour of the dress I was wearing for dinner. We enjoyed the staff at that bar and they enjoyed us.

If you are anything like us, and tend to end up in the same areas most days, the staff start to recognise you quickly and will look after you well; they are the ones to tip, the ones you have a rapport with.

What is really appreciated by all who work on the ship is a positive report from you. At the end of the cruise you are left a comment type card, I can't remember what it is called, please fill it in and if someone deserves praise above and beyond mention them by name. This is how people earn promotions. On one cruise our assistant waiter was excellent, outshone the waiter, everyone of us (table for 12) sang his praises on the card so he could be promoted up to full waiter status sooner. You can also get a similar card from the Customer service desk if at some point you need to praise or reprove someone.

 

Goodness gracious I do go on. I do hope all this chatter helps you.

 

Cheers, h

Contact me

 

have fun

Wow! Thank you! You are a wealth of knowledge!

As I said, I am glad you are doing The Celebrity Eclipse Caribbean, you will love it.

Actually, it's the Equinox and it's the Mediterranean, but I'm sure we'll love it either way. :D

 

I can give you answers to most of your questions but first:

Have you joined the roll call?

Yes, I did that first thing!

Now for your questions.

Seating assignments in the Main Dining Room (MDR).

When you booked you were asked for your dining preference. this determines the time you eat and your prefered table size.

We always eat late and ask for a table of 8+ so the 2 of us can socialise over dinner. If by chance, after the first night your table isn't working for you, you can ask the maitre d to move you. We had to once when we were sat with 1 other couple, instead of 3or 4, and they didn't talk to us. We were moved the next night to a table of 10 hilarious people and we ended shutting the dining room every night then going on to the bar.

As to where in the dining room you are sat it is completely arbitrary (so they say). Some positions are thought better than others but I don't have any preferences. You can, mid afternoon on embarkation day, go to the dining room and check out where you are, and if you really really don't like it, hunt down the maitred and see if he will move you before dinner.

 

That ( above) is a tale for set dining; below is Select dining.

 

A section of the dining room is set aside for Select. You can approach Select dining a number of different ways; you can turn up at any time and be seated ad hoc, or you can ask for a table of a particular size, you may also book ahead for specific times and table sizes, and lastly, you can decide you want to dine at 7:30 every night at a particular table and request it for the rest of the cruise (7-7:30 are the busiest). They try to fulfill every request but sometimes a compromise has to be made.

Thanks for the info! I'll be watching for more from you later.

We have changed our cabin to a full suite and I can't tell you how thrilled I am.You'd think after almost 100 cruises I would be less than avid about another one. Especially since we just got off the last one 4 weeks ago. But this is only our 2nd time in a suite and I feel like Santa left his bag under my tree.

If I'd been on 100 cruises, that alone would make me feel as if Santa had left his bag under my tree. Holy cow! Is that all you do? Do you just get off one cruise and onto another? How many do you take a year? I'm just green with envy!

Another few questions...

 

We're booked on Celebrity's Eclipse for a Mediterranean Cruise in May, and I'm getting so excited!

 

1. Does anybody have any idea at all how the cruise line goes about determining the seating assignments in the dining room? And how many people are there to a table? Just curious.

 

2. The Eclipse is a pretty good sized ship. Passenger capacity is 2850. If the arrival time in a port is 7:00 A.M., how long is it going to take to disembark? I would hate to miss a scheduled tour or excursion because it has taken two hours for everyone on board the ship to disembark. Any suggestions on how to best utilize our time in disembarking and embarking?

 

3. So I realize that the cost of meals in the main dining room is included with the cruise cost, but what about meals in the other restaurants on board the ship? Does the cost of your cruise cover meals in the other restaurants or not?

 

4. The the price we paid for our cruise was said to include the standard gratuities. But are there any other gratuities we would be expected to pay that would not be included in the cost?

You have asked about booking tours hosted by Celebrity, and been warned off them.

The honest trouth is they have their place.

Actually, the individual who posted that "warning" wasn't referring to Celebrity cruises in particular, but to cruise ship tours in general. He didn't even say why to avoid them.

If I was doing Rome for the first time from a cruise ship I would be very tempted to take the Celebrity tour. The port is a long way from Rome proper and the roads are quite congested. Unless you know exactly what you want to see, get a reputable tour company or taxi, and are a very good time keeper, a first time in Rome can be ruined by the worry of getting back to the ship in time. It hasn't happened to me but have known quite a few who almost missed the ship.

We have been to Rome before, although it was many years ago. I know people are going to think we're crazy, but it is way, way down on our list of favorite European cities. I loved St. Peters and the Sistine Chapel, but aside from those two things, Rome really didn't do all that much for me. (Florence, on the other hand, and Venice... Don't even get me started about how much I love Venice. ;))

 

A friend of mine just got back from Europe (not on a cruise) and did a Segway tour of Rome. She said it was the highlight of her trip. I looked into these and found this Antique Appian Segway Tour, that's a Sunday-only thing "when the roads are closed to traffic" that looks fun. We'd probably have to miss the Vatican City entirely, but it would, at least, be something pretty unusual. It runs from 10:30 to 3:00. Our ship arrives in Civitavecchia at 7:00 A.M. and departs at 7:00 P.M., so I'm thinking the Segway tour would be workable. The last thing on earth I want, though, is to miss the boat!!!!

 

To sum it all up; there is nothing wrong with Celebrity tours but you sound as though you are confident in Europe so small pre arranged tours or independant taxi rides would probably suite you more.

You know, I think the main thing I object to with any tours are that so often there are just so many people on the tour that it's hard to hear the tour guide and you just feel as if you're being "herded" everywhere. I'm not so confident that I'd want to take off entirely on my own in most of the ports. I just would like to be sure that the number of people on them is not excessive.

 

Sorry that I am so chatty, I am just happy for you.

Are you kidding? You've been the most helpful poster I've talked to so far. Keep those chatty comments coming!

Are you on the Equinox or Eclipse?

 

You posted in the Equinox roll call

Oops! Sorry, I'm actually booked on the Equinox. I just didn't read the post I responded to very carefully. It's a good thing these two cruises are leaving different ports on different days. Otherwise, I'd probably end up getting on the wrong ship and getting mad because they told me I had no reservation! :o

Katz, Hope you booked Eclipse.

We did! We put our deposit down and are ready to go!

 

Speaking of DIY excursions, we did both day and night boat cruises of Venice Grand Canal this Spring. Really one of cruise highlights.

Can you remember what these cost you?

 

I found HAL to be a floating nursing home with marginal food.I am also in my 70s.

So good to hear that we made a wise decision. Every time I mention our ages, I'm afraid people are imaging two old bent-over, withered up people. I'm not there yet, for sure. At age 61, I jumped out of an airplane 14,000 feet over Oahu! :)

I did that, and posted an introductory post. Thank you all! :)

Here's some advice I got from someone on another forum. I'd appreciate it if all of you would weigh in on it with your opinions...

 

Word to the wise: Never book ship excursions. Go on tripadvisor and find independent companies in each port. You will appreciate it!

Once you select a cruise line and a sign up for a specific cruise you can then go to the Roll Call section on the Cruise Critic index page.

Click on your cruise line. That will take you to a page listing the ships operated by the cruise line. Click on your ship.

The next page will bring up Roll Calls started by people going on a specific date. Look for your date. You must sign in to read/write into a roll call.

You can then interact with people who will be going on the same cruise. Some people form groups to rent vans with in a port or go on tours together. They also set up Meet and Greet events to get to talk face to face with those they have being posting with pre-cruise.

Some Roll Calls also set other activities depending on how long the cruise is.

However, not all Roll Calls are equal. Some have a lot posting going on and don't.

 

Bob

Well, we've booked the cruise. I asked the agent who handled the booking if he knew what a roll call was. He didn't have a clue. :rolleyes: So, thank you. This sounds like a good idea. I'll be checking it out.

This cruise sounds like a trip, so you may go home more tired than you left!

I know. That seriously does concern me a little bit.

One little word of caution. The tour guides carry a round sign on a stick so you can follow along. When I stopped to take a photo my group walked on. When I looked up all I could see was round signs every where.:confused:

Okay, you just about talked me out of the trip. ;) When my hubby and I were in Rome years and years ago (long before cell phones or anything like that), we got separated. We managed to find each other again after only about 10 minutes, but I swear I thought I was never, ever, ever going to see him again.

 

If I ever run out of new places to go on a Cruise to, I will take this one again.

It is so good to hear everyone tell me we're making a good choice! Thank you all.

Oh I am nearly wetting myself with excitement after reading your post.

My very first cruise was a Med cruise on the Solstice, sister to the Equinox, and I loved it!

I have been to some of the ports and really envy you starting in Barcelona. You will have to give yourself some time there pre-cruise so you can see all the Gaudi architecture. And of course ending in Venice it a treat, make sure you give yourself time there too!

There is so much I could say about the cruise I would drive you crazy- yes it is an itinerary I would love to do.

We have actually been to about half of the ports we stop at before, including both Barcelona and Venice. Actually, I specifically chose a cruise that included Venice, as it is my favorite city in the world.

 

I'm so happy to see you excited for us! I know that when people tell me they're going to go somewhere I love, I get excited for them -- just anticipating how much fun they're going to have. Your response pretty much alleviated most of my concerns.

 

Go check out the roll call and see what you think, though don't base your decision to book on that.

Check out the roll call? I'm not sure what you mean.

Okay, we're seriously thinking about a 12-day cruise on the Celebrity Equinox. Ports are: Barcelona, Nice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Capri, Mykonos, Ephesus, Athens, Dubrovnik, and Venice.

 

Most of the sailing is at night. I guess that's typical. I'd just never stopped to think about it. Two full days are at sea. We'd depart May 8, and we can get an inside room for $1789 per person (that's a discount rate). Any red flags anybody can think of?

Thank you all so much. All of your comments have been extremely helpful. I've started a similar thread on another forum I visit regularly and am comparing answers. So far, I'm feeling best about Celebrity and HAL, although a couple of comments have left me with minor concerns. One person said that Celebrity passengers tend to be a bit snooty; she also said, though, that in their defense, they are just extremely loyal to Celebrity and can't imagine anyone sailing with any other line. Have those of you who've sailed Celebrity found that to be a problem? I just can't imagine sitting down to dinner every night with people who pretended I was invisible, if you know what I mean.

 

HAL was said by some to have a reputation for being a tad "old fogey." While I'd rather have that than the other extreme, I don't want to feel like I'm on a floating nursing home, either.

 

One person on the other forum described NCL as "cheap and mediocre." Someone else said that was absolutely not the case.

 

Has anyone sailed with Royal Carribean? That was another option mentioned.

 

I also appreciate the mention of Oceania, but would appreciate a little more detailed information about it -- particularly regarding the clientele. The more I'm thinking about this, the more important it is to me that we basically "fit in." I know it's just a trip and we'll never see these people again, so maybe that shouldn't matter all that much. I just keep going back to my experience with Carnival and it's something I want to avoid in the future.

 

Any further comments would be much appreciated, and I thank you all again for being so helpful so far.

Hi, all! My husband and I are considering a cruise in perhaps March of 2014. By then, I'll be so sick of winter (I am already) that I will be absolutely aching to go someplace warm. We want this to be a great experience but really are pretty much in the dark about how to proceed. Here's what I can tell you about us that may help you give us some suggestions...

 

We've been on just one cruise before, and while we did have fun, I would honestly say that we found many aspects of it to be quite disappointing. We took this cruise roughly 20 years ago when our son and daughter were about 14 and 11 years of age respectively. It was a Carnival cruise and the ship was the Carnivale. I don't even know if the ship exists any long. It appears to be in pretty sad shape when we were sailing on it. It was very, very old, and clean but not the slighest bit aesthetically appearing. It was a Carribean cruise, just about 4 days long, which we booked in conjunction with a trip to Walt Disney World. It was a huge party scene and we didn't have anything in common with anybody we met on board the ship. I really don't know how to characterize the passengers without sounding pretty uppity myself (and I definitely do not consider myself to be an uppity person!). At any rate, I would very much like to avoid a similar experience in the future.

 

So, with that in mind...

 

1. We're 71 and 65, and both retired. We are not, however, ready to stop having fun.

 

2. We're not drinkers and we're not into partying, but we do like good food and we do enjoy socializing.

 

3. We enjoy luxury but we don't require it. We've been on a couple of pretty extravagant vacations (not cruises) and on others on which we were on a shoestring.

 

4. We are not comfortable with high-society snobs. We're not comfortable with the other extreme either. We're both college educated, socially liberal and interested in seeing the world.

 

5. I don't know if we should be looking for a large ship, a small one, or something in between. I really don't know what the advantages are to any of them.

 

6. We're thinking of going somewhere in Europe/the Mediterranean or to Australia, New Zealand or the South Pacific. I'd say that we'd definitely want to keep the total trip down to less than three weeks. Between 10 and 14 days would probably be ideal (although probably not very realistic if we were to go to Australia).

 

7. We really don't know which cruise lines (and specific ships) would be the best fit for us, but our total budget including airfare to the port of departure could not exceed $10,000.

 

Any help anyone could offer would be MUCH appreciated.