dx052

Do they tend to have the same amount of staff on a transatlantic cruises when going from say Florida to Europe for the season?

I am aplogies for basic question but I have never sailed on Carnival before although I have sailed on other cruiselines. Thinking off doing a short 5 day cruise in December and was wondering what the best route was for gettings my drinks on baord. We do like to have a nice social drink but we could easily just drinks sodas during the day and pay for Cocktails and Martinis etc around meal times and in the evenings? would that work out less than a full on drinks packakge? I understand both parties in the room would have to purchase one as well? I don't really want to be paying $500 or whatever it is for alcohol! as we are also thinking of doing a b2b this being the second one and we probably being drinking less at this stage. 

4 hours ago, Fogfog said:

@dx052 Did you see the B2B2B comparison on the Celebrity page? A recent cruiser compared MSC, X and a third--I think Princess. May provide some insight

Great call! made for a good read

I would love to do a med cruise on a Celebrity ship to mix things up a bit but as you said its very expensive and isn't good value for money for us, the only one I would consider is a Fjords cruise but that's another topic. We are actually booked for the Edge in December although I am excited to go on a new ship the 7 day itinerary for this one doesn't blow me away so we are seeing it as the ship being the main attraction lets hope we get it out of our system and tick the box and stick with the S class ships and look at new ports because there are only so many times I can see St Maarten especially post Irma. Back to the food on X I have noticed a slight drop, On our last cruise I don't think I put any weight on and it was for 10 nights. I am not a fan of a ship within a ship to extremes.

4 hours ago, Fogfog said:

 

Hi DX

 

have you sailed MSC in the Med or other parts of Europe? We have friends we met in the Baltics on Celebrity (they are from the UK) that sailed MSC. 

Wondering what you have thought in the reverse of your question/experience... we have considered trying MSC in the Med 

TYIA

Hi, we have never been on a cruise in the Mediterranean we normally just do land holidays in the med and cruise holiday in the Caribbean as it works out cheaper for us so I can't compare the two unfortunately.  

we don't really do the shows, in fact I think I have only been to one and left early on another so we are kind of lost after dinner so we make the most of our port days which is a big part of cruise. 

I appreciate your thoughts, we pretty much think the same way.

Has anybody here have experience with some other ships like NCL Bliss and MSC Seaside for example (not interested in Carnival) as I see a lot interesting things that I like. I have only been on Celebrity, we do mainly 10 night plus cruises in the Caribbean as we have to travel far from europe just to get to the ports so its not easy to just do a sample cruise to figure it out for ourselves.  We have been on Cunard before but that's another kind of cruise. Things we like about Celebrity which works for us is the drinks package, the food, the martini bar :) and the fact that there are less kids but that could be down to the time of year we travel.

1 minute ago, Orator said:

They have been changing ships very quickly and a number have left the company and have been replaced by new CDs. It's difficult at best to guess who will be on unless the CD tells you. They often joke that they read Cruise Critic to find out where they are going.

Many thanks I know what you mean, One thing I am confused about though is when you say they left the company do you mean left for good & or just having a short break?

Any ideas who will be the CD on Reflection in March? cheers 

Can anyone know the difference between the panoramic ocean view and standard ocean view? is it too do with the size of the window.

We like many normally arrive at the cruise port as soon as possible (circa 10am) in the morning, but I might try something different this year allowing us time to do some pre shopping etc. Lets say the ship leaves at 4.30pm am I okay to get there at say 3pm to check in and board etc? We fly in from the UK and go to our pre cruise hotel the night before without really doing or seeing anything whilst in Florida. I am assuming porter and check in staff are all at hand as usual.

Is it better to book when I am on board and Is it cheaper as a package?

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Can I get a refund if the amount I paid is higher than the price available today? I booked the cruise on board whilst on a cruise and got included on board credit and free classic drinks package but the price is slightly cheaper now without the on board credit.

Sailing in a couple of months time on a 9 night Carribean cruise and trying to figure out when the chic nights are. Thanks

Any news on staff on the Silhouette? sailing on her in November.

Thinking of visiting the gym whilst I am on the silhouette on my next cruise & just wanted to know how busy they get? Is there a certain time of day when it peaks.

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Any ideas who maybe on board the Silhouette towards the end of Nov/December??

How do I get to be invited to the sail away Helipad gathering?

Okay thanks guys

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I currently have a Celebrity cruise already booked for later in the year can I replace it with a cruise I have seen with Azamara? We haven’t paid for the celebrity cruise just our deposit and who do I contact as they are part of the same group.

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I was on Reflection a couple of months ago and I didn’t get the experience I had on other Celebrity ships like equinox & the eclipse. We didn’t feel that wow factor we have previously received on Celebrity, the service and dining selection felt very trimmed down like they were on some cost cutting exercise.

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Thanks sounds great

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How much does it cost and how many pictures can I realistically get for my money. Would be on a 10 day cruise.

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We did an overnight-er on the Reflection at Easter just gone and I had a pretty good idea what to expect before we even got there and I wasn't far off, the main shopping street I think is called front street is nothing like it was pre Irma and it has a long way to go with lots of construction going on, the main beach front was nice and there was a few bars set up behind it with drinks and some food, went to the Maho beach and had a few drinks at the bar and some food and that was about it. Personally I don't think it justified and overnight port visit as there isn't much going on to get of the ship for other than the beach.