canderson

18 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

 Celebrity is no NAPA. 

Not even an AutoZone.  😁

13 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Royal Suite

 

Sounds like your shoreside concierge isn't on top of what kind of suite you're in.  They have a more or less stock email that they tweak to taste, but always has many common elements.  Among other things, they should have attached sample menus from the specialty restaurants, and said something like this in the email:

"As guests in one of our top suites, you will receive unlimited complimentary Specialty Dining. To give you a better idea of the diverse culinary offerings available to you, I’ve attached sample menus for each of the Celebrity Constellation’s specialty restaurants. When exploring your dining options, be sure to keep in mind that the specific menu items offered during your upcoming cruise may differ from the sample selections listed. When you’ve decided which specialty restaurant(s) you would like to visit and when, just let me know. I’ll then arrange reservations for you before you even set sail, giving you more time to relax and take in the beauty of the ship once you’re on board."

Did they even attach the sample menus as *.pdf files?  Ditto the bar setup.  Did they attach the wine and premium spirits lists as *.pdf files?

@20165

What cabin class do you have booked???

24 minutes ago, 20165 said:

I read that Specialty dining is free for royal suites and above but when i book in the app, it still tries to charge me.  Am i mistaken or will i get a credit after i book or maybe something messed up with my reservation?  Thx

Both the app and web based systems will be happy to charge you for all kinds of things you already have for free in RS and above.  Drinks packages, dining packages, WiFi upgrades.  It'll even ask you to select a check-in time.  None of their systems are smart enough that they will use your cabin class to display only the options relevant to you.

Ask your shoreside concierge to make your specialty dining reservations if you want to make some in advance of boarding.

1 hour ago, miched said:

Try to find any VP machines with 9/6 in Vegas or casinos in any state.   As rare as hen’s teeth.  
 

Hppy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Last one I saw was at The Palms many years ago.

53 minutes ago, Palms2Pines2Sea said:

Are there any sparkling wines, or rosés, on the "Premium" package?

Yes, if by "Premium" we agree this means wines for which they charge more than $10, but no more than $17 for a glass.  Again, they don't find vintages important (sigh), but figure they're pretty recent.  There are other reds and whites as well not shown above, but didn't spot bottle prices for them, which is what I was evaluating at the time.  Here are the BTG bubbly and rose entries, not checked for bottle prices:

     Champagne

Brut Domain Chandon Classic

Cattier Brut Icone

     Rose

Rose Jean Luc Colombo

Whispering Angel

Bertani Bertarose Vernoa

2 hours ago, KellyCz said:

Thanks. I assumed that was the purpose of the "message" option under our names.

You're correct.  That is the purpose.  For some reason, the owners of CC long ago decided to disable it.

17 minutes ago, SusieV said:

You can usually pre order them and have them waiting in your room.

Pre-order where?  Not showing in pre-cruise gifts.  We often pick up something at our departure port or an early port stop.  Better selection and $.  Never had a problem bringing them aboard.

20 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

One thing I do find interesting is some of the ship tour videos. A lot of the ones we watch, even current ones with full ships, the ship is really empty and it is daylight. So they are either one of the first on or they get lucky and everyone gets off the ship at ports. It is actually kind of weird. Perhaps X and other lines give these youtube channels special access for the tour videos, since it is really free advertising for them.

 

 

You may be seeing early cruises geared to travel agents and the press.

1 hour ago, 20165 said:

Well, i did mention our concierge  in post 1 so i thought i suite was implied, but ll be more clear next time.

I thought you were clear, and understood your confusion based upon the source.

26 minutes ago, TGfromTX said:

I've only been on one ship so far so I can't give a suggestion - but I raise this question to some of you that have crossed the ocean.  Should how easily a ship gets tossed in bad seas be a consideration?  I've only had one really rough cruise and it was on an older and smaller ship.  It's the only trip I've been really badly seasick on - even the crew was sick on that trip & I wouldn't want to do it again.  The likelihood of big waves seems greater on ocean crossings to me.  My understanding is that heavier and newer ship with the newest technology sway the least - however I question if wider with fewer floors might help too.   Opinions?

We've crossed on many different ships, some smaller than anything in Celebrity's fleet.  The worst waves we ever encountered were in the Caribbean on a Spring cruise back in 1986.  Remember that hurricane season storms tend to pick up steam as they head westward and find themselves able to pick up heat from warmer waters.  Out of the dozen and a half or so TAs we've taken (can you tell we enjoy them?), only one provided any real entertainment - by which I mean, the game was to get back to the cabin without touching a bulkhead.

Your odds of having an easy or rough TA depend upon how far away you are from peak weather seasons.  Earlier Spring and later Fall TAs are less likely to encounter weather, but it's a crap shoot from one year to the next when the season will run, or how much activity there will be.

As for motion and location, you'll want to do a little visualization here.  There are two primary motions (a couple of the third through sixth motions can be just plain ugly, but not as common) of a ship.  Side to side rocking (aka "roll"), where clearly the higher you are, the bigger the issue because while the arc being described is the same top to bottom, the distance you're moving is a lot more when you're higher up.  The second is front/back rise and fall, (aka "pitch").  Again, a little visualization demonstrates that being while the angle of the arc being described is the same, being fore or aft causes you to be moving greater distances.  So what many will advise if you're really concerned is low and midship.

The ones that really bring out the barf bags are large combined roll and pitch, with a little bile-raising yaw thrown in (ship spinning CW or CCW about its center).  With any luck, the captain isn't taking you through big waves at an angle that causes all of them at once.  When there's a bad case of both at once, even a few experienced seaman can be found huddling mid and low!

Fun, huh?  Most our Fall TA cruises haven't seen anything over 2~3m waves, and some have been less than 1m for most of the entire journey.

Our preference for a nice, long TA would be westbound on any of Celebrity's S (Solstice) class ships.  Those offer a bit more variety than the older M (Millenium) Class (dining, in particular) and unlike the newer E (Edge) class ships, have many real balcony cabins from which to choose, though its suites all do have balconies. 

S class is the sweet/suite spot for us for these cruises.  We booked late this year, so our TA will be on M class (Constellation) but we'll enjoy it all the same.

Edit:  Just how much 'suite' are you considering?  That might make a difference in the best answer.

6 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We were on the beyond a month ago, never saw or heard a word about using WhatsApp to reach the butler.  I even had DH download the app but the only contact info we had for the butler was a phone extension, which he promptly answered.

They call it Butler Chat.  Surprised it hasn't been rolled out on Beyond yet.  Would have thought the newer ships would see this first.

Exclusive services and amenities

• Contact your butler wherever you are with Butler Chat

Now there's an odd thought.

Book a veranda, no WiFi, no beverage package.

Win MoveUp to a suite.

Try to contact your butler using the new WhatsApp method that Celebrity now recommends.

Anyone else notice the disconnect here?

2 minutes ago, awhcruiser said:

Why would someone only want to bring extra USB A or USB C ports when these are at best very slow chargiing?

? USB-C can be very fast.  Depends upon the capabilities of the device being charged and the charger.  Along with data speed and a more convenient connector, higher charging voltages and current were a couple of its big benefits over previous standards.

Just now, ezemoney said:

Damn just gave a suggestion 😳 I have one. Works great. The key is no cord or surge protector 

 

Or multiple AC outlets, it seems.

4 minutes ago, ezemoney said:

Amazon has cruise ship approved plugs

Amazon has what manufacturers claim are approved plugs.  I own one of those that RCCL has just moved to the verboten category.

All accurate (ignore those videos).

However, some report having success in moving to a different location in same class.

31 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I just noticed that at 5:30 they have a Pre-Dinner show.   They also have the Bellissimo String Quartet who play nightly and a Pianist

Very nice.  They need to put you on the payroll.  You're selling cruises here!

8 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 And there are bill readers on the toilet paper dispensers.

 

 (I am old enough to remember when you had to pay to use the toilet stalls in train stations and gas station bathrooms.  Put a quarter in the slot to unlock the door !

 

Back in my day, it was cheaper than a quarter!

You do know that this is where the British expression "I'm off to 'spend a penny'" comes from, yes?

1 hour ago, Caipi said:

 

No, with a kettle and this thing (+Starbucks by Nespresso capsules), we take it always with us when traveling:

https://www.wacaco.com/products/minipresso-ns2

 

But in August on QM2 we were upgraded to Britannia Club (a kind of "premium economy"....) and there was an espresso machine, an Illy one with E.S.E. (easy serving espresso) pods. Which was a good thing, because after months of standing around unused the WACACO had stopped functioning.... But meanwhile WACACO sent me a new one. 🙂

Cool gadget!  Silversea uses the Illy as well.  I bring my own stainless fillable "pod" and my own favorite blend along for whichever machine is in vogue for a given line.  Celebrity uses Lavazza.

39 minutes ago, Caipi said:

I've been only on one cruise so far, on Queen Mary 2, but we could not drink the water from the tap, we did not like the taste, we had to use bottled still water even for our espressos. 

I hope the water on Celebrity Silhouette is drinkable for us, because normally I drink medium sparkly water, so I plan to buy bottled sparkling water and mix it with tap water. And we need water for making an espresso as well, I need that first thing in the morning. 🙂

How do you plan to make your own espresso in the morning?  In Royal Suite or higher?

2 hours ago, dj_crusin said:

We are about 50 days away from our Constellation transatlantic cruise in November.  
 

We have made reservations for open dining each night.  The Celebrity app is showing menus for the San Marco restaurant for each day of the cruise.  
 

Do you think these mens are anywhere close to the actual offerings?  If so that might help us pick nights for specialty dining. 

I'm with @LeeW on this one (and with you on the TA!)  That said, they do often start with Day 1 of the standard rotation, and the rotation is 14 days long.  What's posted now is as close as you'll get until we board in Barcelona.  It's the last few days that may vary since they don't normally need to provision for the specific items on the last few days of the rotation since the long Euro cruises in that part of Europe are 12 days.  Frozen items prepared sous vide for the last couple of days may not all be available from their European supplier.

We will book specific nights in advance with the shoreside concierge, but may need to try to switch when we board.

I've spent some time scouting a few of what appear to be 'half decent' (not 'great' - there aren't any!) values in full bottles aboard.  By this, I mean wines that aren't marked up to some silly multiple of typical retail.  Here are a couple of my favorite selections, including 'home' retail and a typical range of ratings for any vintage likely to be onboard a Celebrity ship (since Celebrity doesn't like to publish vintages).  Red price is Celebrity's.  It takes some looking, but they're out there.  Don't always assume a bottle will be marked up 3X, or even 1.5X.

Michele Chiarlo Barolo, Cerequio $135/bottle ($110 home) 92 to 94

Penner-Ash Pinot Noir, Yamhill $100/bottle ($90 at home) 93 to 94

Back to the topic at hand, the current state of "Premium" package wines isn't terrible, but they do seem to be picking as many 'value' wines as they can with reasonably decent ratings (averaging around 90).  Then again, I guess that's what anyone in their business would do.  Shown with both 'home' bottle prices, and range of reviews for recent vintages.

Whites

Selbach Riesling Kabinett ($27 at home) 90-93

Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc ($18 at home) 91

Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc ($14 at home) 90-91

Avivo Vermentino 91?

Reds

Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon 88-90

Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) 88-90

Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir Vintners Reserve ($18 at home) 90-92

Alta Vista Malbec ($18 at home) 89-90

Avivo Sangiovese ($20 at home) 91?

Torres Ibericos Tempranillo ($16 at home) 92

Jean Luc Colombo Les Abeilles ($17 at home) 90

Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon ($20 at home) 89-92

21 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I can’t rule it out. But if they do it on Celebrity it is less obvious than it was on Icon when entire decks and categories were not on sale. If they have data to support that they can hold back a dozen suites until after final payment and then sell them at a 50% premium, I don’t see why they wouldn’t. When 26/27 itineraries open up soon it may become more clear.  

Will be watching carefully to see what happens immediately after the next releases appear. 

The suite trick you describe might work on certain itineraries, but definitely not on all.  Perhaps there's something about westbound TAs (which I track carefully), but there's a definite trend here that says keep your powder dry unless you've got a very specific cabin in mind.  The 'hold suites' until after final certainly wouldn't have helped them move suite inventory for this Fall: