Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

ep1987

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    133

  • Joined

 Content Type 

Posts posted by ep1987

    Live from eclipse 8/18 Baltic

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Best looking buffet lunch I’ve seen on a celebrity ship. Great selection of cakes, pies, cupcakes, apple crumble and more for dessert. Reasonable assortment of cheeses. Carving turkey and much much more. Hint: if you like spicy peppers on your salad, the pasta station has jalapeños....for pickles go to the hamburgers. Seating, as always is difficult.

     

    Aqua spa cafe has a fixed menu with about 20 small plates. Hot sweet potato soup (terrible...but likely just prepared wrong..it was bitter). Other dishes were quite good.

     

    Ocean view cafe specials lunch/dinner

     

    American bbq/gourmet burgers

    Stuffed meatloaf/taste of Germany

    Taste of Scotland/delicatessen

    Falafel and kebab/burrito corner

    Taste of India/savory crepes

    Taste of Russia/panini station

    Taste of Finland/ceviche corner

    Taste of Sweden/salmon Wellington

    /Apple strudel station

    pub and pies/Bruschetta station

    gourmet corner/sweet crepes station

    Extravaganza buffet/Belgian waffle corner

     

    Sent from my iPad using Forums

     

    How did you find out the specials for the entire cruise?

     

    Also is it true that you can see the MDR menus for the whole cruise via the interactive TV?

    Why?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    There are four ships scheduled for July 7 in Stockholm, not including the Silhouette. The ships are MSC Orchestra, Sapphire Princess, AIDAmar, Neue Mein Schiff I.

     

    It could indeed be a volume issue. Nynäshamn is about 32 miles from Stockholm. Makes an interesting read...

     

    http://www.cruisemapper.com/ports/stockholm-port-59

     

    Silhouette is in Sweden on July 12th. The four ships you list dock on June 7th. There are however also four ships in port at Stockholm on July 12th when the Silhouette is using Nynäshamn. Three others in Copenhagen (although one is less than 500 pax) on same day as Silhouette.

     

    I did this itinerary on the Eclipse in 2015 and can see that a port day has been replaced on all sailings (Helsinki on all sailings except the first where Bruges is skipped instead).

    Some questions about changing dining, plus buffet and show times

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Looking at a cruise on the Silhouette to the Canaries in October (2 previous cruises with X; first on Eclipse was excellent, second on Millennium was average).

     

    The only dining option available to select is late traditional (8:45) which we could make work but leaves me with some questions:

     

    1. If waitlisted for anytime (yes i've read about problems earlier in the year) what are our chances of being allocated that prior to boarding?

     

    2. If we end up at a table for 8 (manageable for one or two nights but we much prefer a table for 2) would it be best to talk to the Maitre D straight away and let him know we would like to switch, either to anytime or a 2 top if those become available.

     

    If we end up with 8:45 then eating something earlier (preferably between 4 and 5:30) becomes a must for me. On our last Celebrity cruise i remember that the options when returning from port were usually quite meager in the buffet.

     

    3: Is it still the case that in between lunch and dinner there is a gap where it's difficult to find a protein based meal?

     

    4: What hours does the buffet usually open on port days for lunch and dinner on S-Class ships (i assume being in Europe won't change anything)? What about the poolside grill that serves burgers?

     

    As we don't drink a lot we usually catch either the show or one of the late night activities like the Liar's Club.

     

    5: Can the show times in the theater be reliably predicted and if so what will they be?

     

    6: How often will there be an event in the secondary venue and what times are these usually scheduled for?

     

    Thanks for any help.

    Coffee Card

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted · Edited by ep1987

    1. I've seen it mentioned that you get unlimited hot chocolates on the cruise the card is purchased on, however this isn't stated on the IC menu. Has anyone ever had their card punched for a hot chocolate (does it matter whether you order a large or small)?

     

    2. Is it true that if you want a large you also have to ask for it 'to go'?

     

    3. What is the premium tea you receive with the card (it doesn't appear to be on the menu)?

     

    4. If you order a cappuccino in the MDR do they go to the IC to get it? If so how long does this typically take (in case we're ever a bit short of time and want to get seats in the theater)?

    Pub lunch

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    Summary for people new to the thread: Pub lunch offered free of charge on some sea days, two menus, likely queue if you arrive at opening, mixed reviews.

     

    My questions:

     

    1. Is there any way of finding out which menu will be offered the first time they have the pub lunch on a cruise (if it's posted outside what time will this be)?

     

    2. Do they keep the skin on the fish (typical in the South of England)?

    Breakfast question

    in Princess Cruises

    Posted

    On the Grand Princess, the person making the omelet in the Horizon Court gives you a piece of paper with a number on it. You pick your table and place the number on the table. When the waiter comes to take your juice order and pour the coffee, he picks up the tag. The waiter takes the tag back to the omelet station and exchanges it for your omelet, which he then brings back to you. I'm sure it probably works that way on most Princess ships.

     

    I assume you can also get your own juice from a machine?

    Check your Credit Card AFTER you leave ship

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    You booked #xxxx stateroom on xxxx deck . Edit View

     

    Has always just said "view" for me. My Celebrity (where reservations are managed rtc.) is a .com address for all and i booked directly online so not sure why UK users would get less options (had to phone to pre-pay grats).

     

    Of course now the online check-in link no longer works (thankfully i filled it in a few weeks ago) so may have to ring up in any case and ask that they print it out for me.

    Is it reasonable to have to vacate cabins at 7am on disembarkation?

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    The cabin steward can only clean one room at a time.

     

    As some people need to/like be off early then have a way of identifying them.

     

    Taking it further have a system where room vacations are staggered to match disembarkation times.

     

    Passenger fills in a form, gets allocated a time to leave the ship as well as to leave their room and gets a sticker on the door to help the cabin steward.

     

    In the event that one cabin steward has several early or late departures then they can swap a room with another on their corridor.

     

    Avoids the chaos that everyone going to breakfast at the same time (some with hand luggage in tow) and then waiting in public areas will create.

     

    An unenjoyable end to the holiday will have a disproportionate effect on repeat bookings.

    Equinox MRD Menus

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Thanks for the menus, I'm planning to get all over that Chicken Chiquita next month!!!

     

    Had it on Eclipse in 2015 and was sure that it would be short lived; was the second worse dish* i've had whilst cruising. As it was served that evening it was unquestionably terrible.

     

    * The worst was a bread and butter pudding on P&O that almost everyone had just one spoonful of and then left the rest.

    Chi Lin Nunnery

    in Asia

    Posted

    Found the following on their website:

     

    祈福供天 正月十五日 2月11日(六) 上午 8:30 — 中午 11:30

    啟全年大悲懺 下午 2:00 — 下午 3:30

     

    Which as far as i can tell means that on Feb 11th (day i had been thinking of visiting) there are two 'blessings' going on. Essentially what i want to know is whether the Nunnery will be open to tourists at these times?

     

    I sent them an e-mail in English but haven't got a reply yet and communicating through translated messages probably won't help all that much.

     

    So i was wondering whether anyone had experience of visiting on days when prayer events are occurring or else had knowledge of Hong Kong Buddhist faith and could answer.

    Celebrity Millennium - recent views

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted · Edited by ep1987

    Some possible reasons as to why is Millennium in Asia getting poor reviews:

     

    1. General Celebrity cutbacks, with some staff reductions being fairly recent.

     

    2. M-Class ship, some wear and tear, regular cabins neglected during drydock.

     

    3. As i suspected there was a supplier issue.

     

    Plus there was a large amount of crew turnover when the ship re-positioned which will initially have exacerbated the above issues.

     

    For those who don't want to follow the above link here is the relevant passage:

     

    "We were informed by the executive chef that there had been a problem with a supplies container that had not been arrived in time for the ship's departure and that the destinations on the itinerary were expensive and difficult to restock from."

     

    Interesting; might explain some of the recent complaints about the food (tough meat and very fishy fish are two phrases i've seen repeated a few times). Would like to know when this occurred and how many cruises were affected if it is true (could be that HQ is trialing cheaper suppliers).

    Question: "Inside Access Ship Tour"

    in Celebrity Cruises

    Posted

    Celebrity does a kitchen tour and a backstage theater tour for free that you register on board for. Both come with a complimentary glass of mimosa or sparkling wine. I heard the bridge tours for Elites and higher are also free.

     

    I believe the tour you're describing is a lot more extensive into the bowels of the ship. ;)

     

    When and how should you register for the free tours?

×
×
  • Create New...