nekzaadvakil

I'm keen to know what you guys felt once you complete this cruise. DW and I love Celebrity (S class ships) and we oscillate between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean (big ships) only.

I would't be keen to go for a much smaller and older ship, but that's just me. We sailed on the Explorer in 2016 and after 3 Celebrity cruises, we felt it was a tad less luxurious.

Nick

Yup, I made a ton of bookings on board. To answer your queries:

- Yes, they have lower deposits per person than what you would have to pay on land

- They usually come with 1 perk / some On board credit

- You can choose to get this OBC on your current cruise, or on the cruise you book.

- Just keep in mind that they've changed the rules recently which allow you to make changes free of cost only in the first 30 days after booking. Post that you have to pay a $100 change fee per person.

Cheers!

Nick

Here's the exact discussion and experience I had:

- The Future cruise expert mentioned that the main benefit of booking on board was that the deposit per person was only $100 - Perfect.

- They also explained that this deposit was non refundable, since they were offering on board credit - Also no issues.

- They then specifically stated that you can change your cruise (without mentioning that its free to change this in 30 days, and after that you incur an additional penalty of $100 per person)

- I even asked if we could change between Royal and Celebrity to which they stated that one could, but then you lose your perks.

- The TV in the stateroom also specifically stated that you could change your sailing and that the booking would be transferred to your travel agent.

- The Future cruise expert then requested us for some time to send us the booking confirmations to our cabin directly. So we didn't even receive the 1 pager with Terms and Conditions that many of you have mentioned. All we got back in our cabin was the booking confirmation (names of passengers on the first page, itinerary on the second page)

My family of 4 (wife and 2 kids) have always sailed in a Grand Suite for less than $5k for 7 night Caribbean cruises. Try getting that rate with a Next Cruise purchase - you won't get it. I haunt the website and IF I find a deal I pounce. If I don't find a deal we do land based vacations. Will be on HOTS this September again for less than $5k in a GS. When I pass by the Next Cruise desk on my upcoming cruise I will waive my middle finger in the air like Mr. Bean and chuckle at the people who waste their time and treasure in there.

Haha that was hilarious!

I'm a huge fan of Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises. I'd even say I'm loyal to the Royal family as you can see from my signature below, all my cruises have been exclusively on these 2 lines.

I'm very happy with the cruise experience, and I will continue to cruise these 2 lines. However, sharing my experience on booking future cruises while on board.

Experienced cruisers will know that nearly everyday, there will be flyers in your stateroom explaining amazing offers and benefits of booking your next cruise on board. They will also tell you that you can make changes to your cruise. However what they wont disclose is that this change is allowed free of cost, only for 30 days after booking.

After 30 days, you can make changes, but you incur a $100 change fee, per person.

I booked multiple future cruises in 2016 and had no issues changing them in the past. Now my remaining 6 future cruises have to either incur a $200 change fee, or I forfeit the booking amount if I can't take those cruises.

Hence, please keep in mind that this rule has changed and only book a future cruise if you are 100% sure that you're taking it.

Cheers!

Nick

Just finished an amazing cruise which ended in Amsterdam. We had seen Amsterdam a couple of years ago so went straight from the cruise port to the Airport. Checked on Uber, the estimate showed 70-80 Euros. The line for the cab was not long since we were the first few to get off the ship. The cab cost us 70 Euros including a tip. Was expensive but we didn't want to lug 2 big bags around.

SHIP: ECLIPSE

CABIN #: 6311

DECK #: 6

CLASS: Sunset Veranda

AREA: Aft - Back of the ship

QUIET?: Yes! No noise at all.

BALCONY VIEW: Great! No obstruction

BALCONY SIZE: Normal

WIND A PROBLEM?: No

SOOT A PROBLEM?: No

PROBLEMS/COMMENTS: Our first Sunset Veranda cabin. We loved it.

Really shocked to read this sad news. We sailed with him just 2 months ago on the Celebrity Reflection. Condolences to his family and his friends at Celebrity.

Celebrity has some amazing vegetarian food! We've sailed on the S class ships 4 times in the last 5 years, and each time we had at least 2 vegetarians with us. The buffet has a wide variety of vegetarian dishes (40% of the food there is vegetarian and across cuisines - from Indian, chinese, italian, mexican, continental, etc). The Mast Grill has some of the most amazing vegetarian burgers on the pool deck (complimentary). Even in the Main Dining Room (MDR) they have a separate Vegetarian Menu. But the best part is, that if you don't see something you like, they will make something specially for you. On our last couple of cruises, they used to come and ask us what we'd like to eat the next night and they NEVER said they couldn't. Their service and desire to delight every customer is really what keeps bringing us back to Celebrity.

Nick

Last month we used Rome Airporter thrice, from the airport to our hotel, from our hotel to our cruise port and then after our cruise, from the cruise port to the airport. Each time, they had our driver waiting on time at the meeting points and the cars were clean, modern Mercedes Sedans. Marco from Rome Airporter sends you a quick confirmation and we always had to just pay cash to the driver at the end of the trip.

I had heard alot of good things about Rome Cabs, but I found Rome Airporter alot less expensive and having tried them thrice, I will safely use them again when I'm in Rome.

Nick

We have booked this cruise for October 2017 with Celebrity, we have been told by people this is geared towards Orientals and not to do it! Our final payment is due soon and we are concerned as to what to do. Anyone done this? What do you advise?

It was quite nice to read so many favorable reviews of Celebrity's Asian cruise. Unfortunately, we've not received the same feedback from close friends and family members when they did their cruises in Asia. Yes, you're going to have alot of Chinese cruisers and that's normal since the cruise ports are close to China. We knew that their 'culture' includes cutting lines at the buffet, elevators, talking loudly, smoking where they shouldn't etc. (Heck who are we to complain, its not like we Indians are the best behaved either!)

But it did ruin their overall experience on the ship. The ports of call in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia were all lovely, but their experience on the cruise ship was well below par. I think one needs to keep expectations really low, be prepared to cruise with people who may not have the same high levels of etiquette that one expects from westerners and you should be good to go.

Personally, I yet have not found it worth my while and money to do so.

We did the Scandinavian/ Baltic cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette in 2015 and it was one of our best cruises. The S class ships are absolutely stunning and the itinerary is AMAZING. So many amazing places to see in 1 cruise!

I have a detailed review of all the things we did including where we took our tours. Unfortunately all pictures were hosted on photo-bucket which has now pulled down images unless you pay an exorbitant amount.

We grabbed some towels from the pool deck (gray colored towels) and returned them when we came back. Celebrity also has a nice beach bag which you can take off the ship. It easily fits 2 towels. This bag will be in one of the drawers in your stateroom.

The one thing that Celebrity does REALLY well is customizing your food requirements/ preferences. During each of our last 4 cruises on Celebrity, we were travelling with family members/ friends who were vegetarian. The Oceanview Cafe buffet has a wide variety of vegetarian dishes, across multiple cuisines. However even in the MDR, the staff was very eager to please. They noticed that DW did not enjoy the limited vegetarian continental dishes. They had a chef come out and ask us each night, what we wanted for the next meal in the MDR. We thought this was above and beyond anyone's duties and made sure that this feedback went to the right people. Celebrity really won us over with their awesome attitude.

Don't forget to try the vegetarian burger in the Mast Grill, DW loves it.

Cheers!

Nick

Got off ship last Friday and Spanish vat was applicable once we entered Spanish water.

I must say that some of the alcohol on the ship was cheaper than at any duty free. Especially the grey goose and the bailey's Irish cream.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We sailed on the Celebrity Reflection last month (Mediterranean) and our ship was completely full. We booked 2 months prior and the only thing that was available was GTY inside rooms. We got lucky and were assigned an accessible inside stateroom on Deck 9 which was larger than our balcony rooms.

I don't think Celebrity is having problems filling all their ships, especially seeing the prices for Med cruises.

Nick

 

So sad that all your good work has been ruined by the decision by Photobucket to remove all free links. They are now trying to hold millions of users to ransom by charging $400 per annum to use their service!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Yup this absolutely sucks! I told DW about this & tried to convince her that we now need to take another cruise this year itself, so that I can put up new pictures (not on Photobucket) and write a new review. But she's not buying that argument. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

On a more serious note, I'm hoping that this is a PR stunt and Photobucket decides to withdraw this decision.

Thank you for excellent review!

 

Do you have contact info of Gibraltar tour guide lady?

 

Mike

Hi Mike, sorry I don't have their contact details. It was more of a last minute thing. You can find them at the base of the cable car, that's where the tour starts.

Nick

Thanks so much for the review and pictures. Awaiting with anticipation your next cruise and review!

Hopefully will be soon. Keeping my eyes open for NZ in December.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

What time did you need to leave the ship to make your 11 AM flight?

We had originally planned on leaving the ship at 7 AM, and getting to our airport by 8 AM. On our last sea day, there was a special internet offer - 15 minutes for $7 - so we used that to check in to our flight and write to Marco (Rome Airporter) requesting him to postpone our pickup by an hour.

Celebrity has also change the way our bags go off the ship. Earlier we were asked what time we wanted to get off the ship and we're given different numbered luggage tags as per the time. This time we were just given a particular number and told that all bags would be taken off at the same time.

We left the cruise ship at sharp 8 am, walked off, picked up our bags and we were in our car by 8:10 am. We reached the airport by 9 AM, and had dropped off our bags by 9:15. Very convenient.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Thank you so much for your review and pics of your cruise. Lots of helpful info ,much appreciated.:)

Thanks for an excellent review. We'll be on the Reflection on 8/21/17. I'll probably read the review again before we board in August.

Thanks guys :) We can't wait for our next cruise.

The pool deck on the last night wore a deserted look. I think by this time the PCD disease starts affecting everyone.

Goodbye to the amazing roulette table where I spent a lot of time (and $$$)

We loved the Persian Garden and next time we may try Aqua class so that we can have access to it. They were selling passes at $130 or so for the entire cruise.

Here's the dreaded picture we all hate. We kept our bags out by around 8:30 PM on the final night of our cruise.

We woke up on the 9th and after a quick breakfast, said goodbye to our friends. We were catching a 11 AM flight to Dubai to spend a couple of days there with my sister and see my new nephew for the first time. Our friends were staying back in Rome for another day.

Our driver was waiting outside the terminal and we were at the airport is less than an hour. Our flight from Rome to Dubai on Emirates was empty and we had a very comfortable flight back.

Celebrity cruises and the Reflection ensured that we had a fabulous vacation and we were taking home a lifetime of memories. It just reinforces our belief that travel is something that you spend on, but leaves you richer. And cruising is an amazing way to travel and see the world in style.

We cannot wait to get back on our next cruise ship. We are very keen to do Australia/ NZ and its a toss up between the Celebrity Silhouette and Royal Caribbean's brand new Ovation of the Seas. We've heard that another S class ship, the Eclipse/ Equinox has replaced an M class ship in South America, so we're pretty keen to go there. Celebrity also has some amazing itineraries to Japan which we're interested in. So time to plan all those amazing adventures that await us.

Till next time,

Cheers!

Nick

P.S. If anyone has any questions, I'm glad to answer them.

Thursday, 8th June 2017 - At Sea

We love it when the final day of our cruise is a sea day. The casino is open all day long, and we get an opportunity to really do everything on the ship, which we haven't had a chance to do. We woke up late and had a nice leisurely breakfast. We then played some Table tennis throughout the day and finally agreed to stop when the total score between DW and I was 12 games all.

We played some Bingo and once again, didn't win anything. A lucky couple won the raffle where they got $1000 off on their future cruise. We had our burgers at the mast grill, infact we only had it twice this entire cruise. I am yet to try one of those hot dogs, which I intend to do on my next cruise on celebrity.

We booked a future cruise, we played some games in the cards room, where DW and I got the highest and 3rd highest scores of all time.

We went to the shops and picked up some ship souvenirs. Also picked up a casino chip to as a souvenir. I feel so stupid for not getting on the Silhouette, a ship that I've cruise on thrice !! I had a great time in the casino even though I didn't win anything, but hey I didn't lose a lot either.

As we wound down the final day on yet another amazing cruise, here are some images of the amazing Celebrity Reflection...

Celebrity Central (where we played Bingo) was great fun.

The Martini Bar

Nick - phenomenal review and photos. Thank you so much !

 

2 questions about the ship itself - (i) what were the minimum bets at roulette? I really enjoy roulette but I noticed minimums going up each celebrity cruise... (ii) where is the arcade and what's in it - I've never seen an arcade on an X ship!

 

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Forums mobile app

Hi Shadow. Thank you. There are 2 roulette tables in the casino. One is the American roulette (0 and 00) and the other is the European roulette (only 0). I played on the European roulette table. The minimum bet was $5 per spin. Outside bets minimum was $5 and if you're betting on a numbers inside you could bet $1 as long as you bet a total of $5 on the spin. It was good fun and i always got a seat at the table.

The arcade is on deck 15 - fun factory. It was supposed to be for kids but we didn't see a single kid there whenever we went. It's got an air hockey table, a bunch of racing games, a shooting game, etc. Most games were $1.50 per game.

Cheers!

Nick

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Once we were back on the ship, we got ready for dinner. With only a sea day remaining, we knew that this was our last meal in the MDR. And it didn't disappoint. The staff in the MDR was absolutely brilliant. They always asked us for feedback on how they could make our dining experience better, without being to intrusive. They genuinely wanted us to have a super experience. They were very accommodating with our dining requirements (DW and a friend are vegetarians) and always delivered with a smile.

We thanked the team in the MDR for a fabulous cruise once we finished dinner. This is usually when that horrid disease called PCD (post cruise depression) starts kicking in. Having a full day at sea remaining did keep our spirits up, but the 80s party hosted by our CD Maarten, really got us back in the mood to party. Out of all the entertainment on the ship, this is one event which I suggest should not be missed. The venue is beautiful, the CD and his staff are AMAZING and everyone had a super time here.

We really enjoyed our CD Maarten and its easy to see why he's one of the quickest to move from an Activities manager to a Cruise Director. He's one of the main reasons why we had such a great time on the amazing Celebrity Reflection. He's moving to the Solstice in Nov/ Dec 2017 for the Australia & NZ legs and we were thrilled since that's our next cruise planned.

After the party, we spent some more time in the Casino before retiring for the night.