ATLgirl15

Silent disco seems to be popular on all the cruises lately. Instead of a DJ playing music, everyone gets headphones. There are 3 different channels so people are dancing to the music they hear which may be totally different than the music the person next to them is hearing. I've never actually participated but people rave about how fun it is. Its usually one night instead of DJ - this was actually the first time I saw during the day at the pool.

The martini bar always had a good crowd too. The DJ often played there in the post dinner hours before heading to the "nightclub." Alternatively, the house band was nearby too and played current tunes. the live music is one of things I really like about Celebrity.

The activities on Celebrity are different than Royal but there are still plenty. Out at the pool they had DJ or live music at different times during the day. They had line dancing, silent disco, pool volleyball, pool Olympics. I'm sure there were more that I didn't see. If you are on S-class they have bocce ball contest day 1. Also during the day are indoor activities like Trivia, lectures, dance lessons, live music. Evenings have productions shows, comedians (there were 2 on our week long cruise) and games shows (one like Love and Marriage on Royal, Liars Club, Dancing with the Stripes (although our last cruise didn't have this one). 70's or 80's parties (minus the cruise staff in costumes). this sailing had a Motown dance night out on the pool deck.

Yes, Celebrity is definitely a different vibe than the others but it still has plenty going on. I love the belly flop competition on Royal but I also love the serenity of Celebrity. It doesn't need to be an either or.

We did an aft cabin on Silhouette a few years ago. We definitely felt more motion but nothing that bothered us. We didn't have any issues with soot as I have read about. My one issue was all the creaking. It wasn't one particular drawer or anything - it was just lots of creaky sounds from all over-guess from the motion or vibration. Don't get me wrong, it didn't ruin the cruise but I would think twice about an aft cabin again unless it had a mega balcony.

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Don't be scared. Celebrity is not snooty at all. Yes the majority of the passengers are older but not necessarily old. And there are younger people too. As with any situation, similar people tend to gravitate towards each other so you will have people your age to hang with. The martini bar seemed to be the younger hipper crowd where as ensemble was more traditional cruisers. You will find your place and fit in fine. As far as clothes, also not a worry. While I didn't see anyone in shorts at dinner it certainly isn't dressy. My husband wears dark wash jeans and a cabana shirt or long sleeve button down most nights. Even chic nights had plenty of people dressed casually. You will definitely enjoy the cruise.

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We sail both royal and celebrity - love both for different reasons. We were disappointed in anthem and the lack of service but felt well treated on Oasis last month. But we are just disembarking from reflection now and the service was exceptional. I think the Royal staff is great and they work really hard but there just aren't enough. Celebrity has crew everywhere and they really get to know you. We checked in at the casino on our first day and the host remembered us from our last celebrity cruise 2 years ago! The staff at Luminae hugged us on the last night saying goodbye. You will not be disappointed with your celebrity cruise.

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That was one of my favorites on Silhouette too and was looking forward to it on reflection. Sadly it was not scheduled on our itinerary. There was a cheese tasting at Sunset Bar but not the lawn concert :(

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Premium beverage package includes various water options. I prefer the spring water over Evian and there was never an issue finding any. There was a table at the gangway to "buy" bottles before heading into port. It was only the spring water though.

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I'm on reflection right now. We ate breakfast at luminae this morning - I was in gym clothes and flip flops and husband in swimsuit and baseball hat - no one batted an eye.

Aqua spa cafe is great although they could definitely use some more seating. I saw someone today eating some grilled salmon so I guess that is another special request like the chicken.

We are doing the self carry off and we're told to just walk off - there is no meeting spot. We were also told it would be around 7:30. I think walk offs have to be complete before regular disembarkation starts but since we have an early flight we are just going as soon as we can.

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On reflection now-she's hysterical!

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On reflection eastern Caribbean right now and we adjusted to island time.

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Thanks for the fun review. I'll be boarded on Saturday when you return!

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Here are some things I had posted on another thread from our recent Oasis cruise. I am not gluten-free but one of my travel companions is. I'm sure there are some other tips too but these were the ones I witnessed. The staff seemed to be so caring and accommodating - they really went out of their way to ensure items were gluten free, including showing labels of any sauce, condiments, etc. Almost anything on the menus (MDR and specialty dining) could be made gluten free. I cannot attest to the taste as I didn't eat any of it.

1. Sorrentos can make you gluten free pizza upon request. You'll have to wait 12 minutes but can take the full pie.

2. MDR at breakfast has gluten free pancakes (Krusteaz)

3. MDR lunch is best choice for options-the tutti salad bar or menu can be special ordered. Park Café also has made to order salads.

4. MDR will serve gluten free bread upon request

6. Café Promenade has Udi's gluten free cookies. I think they might be in Windajmmer too but honestly we never even walked into Windjammer this cruise. Pick up one before dinner and bring it with you. Then order ice cream for dessert and add the cookie. I think the dessert options are pretty limited.

Some other tips that might apply (they do for allure and Oasis). I am not the gluten free one but one of my travel companions is. This was the second royal cruise and they seemed to be very accommodating and take it seriously.

1. Sorrentos can make you gluten free pizza upon request. You'll have to wait 12 minutes but can take the full pie.

2. MDR at breakfast has gluten free pancakes (Krusteaz)

3. MDR lunch is best choice for options-the tutti salad bar or menu can be special ordered.

4. MDR will serve gluten free bread upon request

5. First night dinner will be made special and other table mates will have their meals held to time together. They really can do almost anything on the menu gluten free. You aren't limited to just the marked items.

6. Pick up one of the Udis cookies at cafe Promenade before dinner and bring it with you. Then order ice cream for dessert and add the cookie. I think the dessert options are pretty limited.

7. Specialty restaurants are very accommodating also.

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We started out at North Star bar but it was too crowded. We just walked further back on that same deck and hung out. They had beverage carts set up at sail away so you didn't have to wait on the bar lines. Of course the drinks are limited but it was fast service.

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We sailed over 6 months ago so I'm not sure if anything has changed between now and then but we did. It have luck getting reservations through Royal IQ or anywhere once on board. BUT we did get on both north star and I fly in the standby line. North Star never seemed to have a long line so I think you will have really good chances of getting on. I fly was more challenging but the advice on CC was to go when they open in the morning. I think I showed up about 15-20 beforehand and was able to get in.

We had the same issue at home but didn't want to use wi fi calling because that caused other issues. We ordered a booster from t-mobile. It requires a refundable deposit (maybe $25) but otherwise it's free. We now get 5 bars at home.

I'll be the one poster to contradict everyone else. We were Sky class on the 5 night sailing recently and only ate in CK one night. We had no problem booking this table - I think we did it that morning (day 2) - so we figured it would not be an issue the other days either. We had specialty dining some nights but wanted to eat in CK for the final 2 nights. We spoke with them the morning of day 4 and were told that night we could eat after 9:00 and the last night, fully booked, no way. So maybe there was something special going on this particular cruise because it sounds like no one else on this chain had any issues. I will say CK seemed small. We were on Anthem over the summer and their CK seemed to be bigger and was never an issue getting a table.

Mornings were always quiet with plenty of seating available.

We use it all the time traveling and it works like a charm. Sometimes the Wi-Fi calling signal will drop but its never for an extended period of time (maybe it has to do with too many people being connected at certain times). This is why it is important to keep airplane mode on. I had an instance where we dropped the signal for about 5-10 minutes and just during that time I had someone call me and it used the roaming fee which was like $5/minute. I quickly ended the call, but what are the odds? The one port we were NOT able to use T-Mobile was St Thomas which is actually part of the US. Go figure.

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't mind waiting as long as we can eventually be seated. its not like there is any shortage of things to keep us occupied while we wait.

I think contacting your travel agent about dining is the best bet. The concierge will be able to help you but only about a week before the cruise. I think they are focused on helping existing passengers. We had tried contacting the concierge about a labadee cabana about a month prior to our cruise and didn't receive a response for a few weeks. It all worked out fine in the end and they certainly can pull some strings, just not this early. So don't fret about it too much if you can't get it assigned now.

We sailed on Oasis recently with a group and while we absolutely loved the food in coastal kitchen we thoroughly enjoyed the MDR energy and feel.

the comedy show is the same all week (except for the farewell show in the theater) so no need to book more than one showing. All other shows were no issue to walk in and get a seat.

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Thanks everyone. Luckily it's just 2 of us traveling so it makes it easier. I'll speak with them upon boarding - we do like to dine during peak times. On our last Celebrity cruise Luminae was in the process of being built so we didn't get to experience it. BUT we did luck out - we were contacted a week prior to sailing saying that due to the construction they anticipated MDR to be extra crowded. So they offered 7 night complimentary specialty dining to suite guests instead. That was a treat! But I am looking forward to eating in Luminae this time.

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Thank you. We had no issues get in walk in tables in CK on Anthem but on Oasis they were sold out half of our cruise. Glad to hear Luminae won't be an issue.

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We are sailing Reflection later this month and I was trying to make dinner reservations but Luminae isn't coming up as an option (yes, we are suite guests). Is this strictly walk in? Or does it mean it's all sold out? We just sailed on Royal Caribbean and their cruise planner allowed Coastal Kitchen (suite restaurant) reservations so I expected celebrity to be the same. Does anyone know the procedure?

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Just sailed last week and saw several people carrying on cases of soda. I guess if you are boarding after 1 and go straight to the room to drop it off it's not so bad. But I'd hate to lug it around the ship earlier.

You might be able to get a walk up reservation in the MDR. Some days they are busy and some not so you might luck out. There are a lot of free options for lunch but I can't think of anything else for dinner other than Windjammer. Some venues like Park Café and the hot dog stand I think might be open until about 6 but those are small plates. On a previous cruise we went to Vintages one night and just had a few tapas because we were trying to get to a show. Its not free but its not pricey either. There is always room service - I've only done it for breakfast so I can't speak to the menu or speed. Good news is Oasis DOES have tons of options - we never ate at the same place twice for lunch and they were all free venues.